Chapter Text
The doorbell rang for the second time in twenty seconds, making Mike groan. Beside him, Eleven shifted, lifting her head from his shoulder. “Who is it?” she mumbled, blinking the fuzzy sleep look from her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Mike shut his eyes, leaning his head against hers. Eleven settled more into the curve of his body, nuzzling her nose against his cheek. Mike pulled the blanket further up, the sound of the rain hitting off the window, the tv faintly on in the background lulling him back into sleep. For a few seconds there was no movement, just him and El, like it should be, and then the bell went again.
“Shit,” Mike sat up, dislodging Eleven. She pushed herself up to lean against the arm of the couch. “I’ll be back in a second.”
“Hurry,” she smiled at him and his heart did that flip thing it had only ever done around her.
Mike jogged to the door, unlocking it and looking outside. The cold air made him shiver and it was getting darker, heading for six o’clock, rain battering off the ground in sheets. He squinted and saw no one. Huffing in frustration, he began to turn around, then caught sight of someone walking out of his driveway.
“Hey!” he called, waving his hand. The figure turned back and his stomach fell. It was Max, dressed in only a hoodie and jeans.
She stepped back to the front door and Mike felt his annoyance already growing. When she got to the door he answered, “What are you doing here?” It sounded more accusatory than he meant but he didn’t find himself regretting it.
Max looked up at him, hood pulled low over her face, skateboard tucked under her arm and shouted over the rain, “Lucas is coming to get me from this street, I was going to see if I could wait here.”
“Can’t you just wait in the street?” Mike asked, the words slipping out, and her face, too shaded by the hood to see properly, fell. She turned to go and he grabbed her wrist. “Hey, no, sorry. You can come in.” He made sure not to sound too happy about it.
Max hugged her skateboard to her chest. “Thank you.”
Mike stepped aside to let her in and she stepped past him, wiping her feet on the doormat. Mike winced at the water trails that dripped from her, wetting the floor. “Mike? Who is it?” Eleven came to the kitchen, wrapped in a blanket, smile on her face. It slipped off when she saw Max. “Oh.”
Max sighed, pulling down her hood. “I’ll be out your hair in a second, Hopper, I’m just waiting for Lucas.”
Eleven stepped closer to Mike, hand encircling his wrist. Mike smiled at her gently, then looked back at Max. “When’s Lucas coming?”
Max looked up at the clock, which read around quarter to six, and said, “Fifteen minutes.”
“Okay,” Mike said. “You can wait here. We’re just going to—“
Eleven interrupted. “What happened?”
Max looked at her, confused, and that was when Mike saw it. A sizeable bruise had made the right side of her face turn a dark purple red, a nasty looking cut starting at her cheekbone and travelling to the corner of her eye still bleeding a little. “Holy shit.”
“Oh,” Max’s hand fluttered to it, and Mike saw her fingers were shaking. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing, Wheeler,” she glared at him, and he finally felt a little concern settle in his stomach. “Maybe I will wait outside.”
She made a move to the door, but the lock clicked shut and she turned to Eleven. “Stop it.”
Eleven shook her head, concentrating on the door. Mike felt a little worry, knowing how drained she got using her powers since the Mindflayer, but kept watching Max.
Max squeezed her eyes shut, holding her skateboard against her chest. Mike saw her hands were shaking, blood leaking from under her nails. He looked at Eleven and she looked at him.
“It’s fine,” Max said, voice trembling. “I just need Lucas to come.”
“At least let me clean that,” Mike countered, surprised to find he was genuine. He stepped forward and with a gentleness he didn’t know he possessed for Max pulled the skateboard from her. He placed it on the floor and saw Eleven let go of the door out of the corner of his eye, wiping her nose.
Max opened her eyes that were filled with tears. Mike felt something inside him twist. “I just need Lucas to come,” she repeated and Mike could see she was shaking harder, face slowly draining of colour.
“Come and sit down,” he said, taking her elbow and pretending to not notice the way she tensed up at his touch, following him to a kitchen chair. He noticed the way she followed everything he said immediately, sitting down and staring at her lap like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Eleven watched from the corner of the room as he wiped the blood from Max’s face, smearing some antiseptic cream over the cut. That was as far as his medical expertise went and he sat back. Max looked away from him, head still bowed and hands clenched tight.
Eleven kneeled down next to them and looked at Max. The two girls made eye contact and Mike watched as she lifted her hand and traced it over the bruise. “Bad men?”
“Yeah,” Max admitted, voice unsteady. “Bad man.”
Eleven sat back on her heels, eyebrows furrowed. Mike began to put two and two together. “Billy?” he asked, and her eyes flicked to him, desperate and scared. He felt something rise in his stomach, a protective urge he only felt for his friends.
Max wasn’t his friend.
“I just need Lucas to come,” she said, blinking hard. A tear slipped down her cheek and Eleven caught it on her finger.
The doorbell rang and Mike stood up, heading to answer it. He opened the door and Lucas stood there, jacket hood pulled up and holding a spare one to his chest.
“Hey, Mike, weird question but is Max here?” Lucas glanced around.
“Yeah, she is,” Mike let Lucas past, eyebrows furrowed.
Lucas spotted Max and walked over, holding out his hand. “I have a jacket,” he mumbled, and her face crumpled.
Eleven stepped back, alarmed, as Max began to cry. Lucas crouched down, wrapping his arms gently around her middle. One of her arms looped around his neck, sleeve slipping down. Mike felt sick when he saw cuts lining the inside of her wrist and looked away.
“Come on,” Lucas said with a kindness Mike hadn’t heard a lot. “Put the jacket on, Maxy.”
“Don’t call me that,” she huffed through her tears, wiping her eyes and pulling away. She slipped her arms through and zipped it up. Lucas took her hand, lacing their fingers.
“Thanks, Mike. We’ll go now,” he said, stepping to the door with Max, who followed him so close she looked like a shadow. He bent down and grabbed her skateboard, tucking it under his arm.
“Thank you, Mike,” she murmured. “Sorry for interrupting you and El.”
“It’s okay,” Eleven said from just behind him, making Mike jump. Max looked at her and something in her stare softened, another tear trailing down her cheek. “I know about bad men too.”
Max bit her lip, nostrils flaring in an effort to not cry, and Lucas rubbed his thumb over her hand, watching her closely.
“You can come back if you need to,” Mike said without even meaning to speak. Max looked at him uncertainly. “Don’t stand in the rain.”
With a weak smile, she saluted and Lucas pulled her out the door, into the pouring rain.