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When El’s bedroom door was thrust open with all the force and vigour of a hurricane wind, El knew it would be Max standing in the doorway. She had gotten used to her girlfriend showing up unannounced, usually with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and Hopper in the back yelling about three inches.
While Max showing up was no surprise to El, her hair certainly was. Instead of the frizzy waist-length red locks El had grown accustomed to, Max was sporting not-quite-shoulder-length hair. El’s first thought was of Steve’s ice cream friend who had a similar cut, the second thought was ‘pretty’.
A nervous a slightly sheepish-a new word that thoroughly confused El- grin adorned Max’s face as she made herself comfortable on El’s bed.
“what do you think?”
“i love it”
A layer of pink dusted Max’s freckled cheeks.
“really?”
“pretty”, that settled any doubts might have had about her new look.
Without El needing to ask, Max launched into an explanation.
“i was tired of pretending to be someone that i’m not. My hair, my clothes, they’ve always been ways for me to fit in and hide myself”, El scooted closer and grasped her hand, “but now, i don’t need to hide who i am anymore.”
Max lay down, rested her head in El’s lap
“i guess i just got tired of looking in the mirror everyday and seeing someone who wasn’t me, it was my face, but not my clothes, and not my hair. I don’t know, does that make any sense?”
El leaned down and planted a soft kiss to Max’s forehead,
“yes, that makes sense. I understand exactly what you mean.”
El thought back to the first time she looked into the mirror at Mike’s house, she still remembers the alien feeling of seeing herself but feeling so wrong. Yes, El knew exactly how Max felt, but now, they didn’t have to feel that way ever again.