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Max's new roommate looked very similar to her. Blue eyes, fiery red hair, freckles splattered across their pale skin, and physical scars– though Van also had scars smeared across their face rather than places easily hidden by clothes. They acted like her too, sometimes. Every other sentence was a joke or a sarcastic comment meant to be taken lightly.
They're way nicer than her though. When the party came over to hang out with the first (and currently only) person to get an apartment of their own (with a roommate), Van treated the strangers like they're already best buds. They bonded with the boys about movies and even shared details that they didn't know about their favorite films. Van introduced strong female led films to both Max and El, as they sort of missed out from everything that went down in their teen years (though nothing from 1996-1997). Everyone liked their energy, even the prissy and stubborn Mike.
Max, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky with Van's friends. However, she gives herself grace as Van's friends are... intense. Natalie reminds her of Eddie; punk aesthetic with a packet of weed (or something much stronger) always at the ready. She's much more solemn than him; keeping quiet on the edge of the couch rather than making a spectacle of herself. Lottie was also on the quieter side, but she gave Max unsettling shivers down her spine whenever they made eye contact. Max couldn't look too long, fearing she could slip into the oblivion that Lottie's soul-searching eyes contained. Misty was the complete opposite of the two: too much energy. Van didn't even seem like they liked her around. Same with Shauna. She was just a tense ball of anger and apathy that annoyed both Van and Max to their core, though Van wasn't as outspoken as Max. Shauna seemed to hold some sort of control or power over Van that kept their usually loud mouth shut.
And it's just downright depressing when Taissa's over. The thin walls of the apartment barely conceal their deep affection for each other but Max doesn't even see Taissa. She's over the most often but rarely stays long enough for Max and her to be properly introduced. When morning comes and Van wakes up alone, Max ends up taking over their house chores as they can't work up the energy to get out of bed.
She doesn't complain. Van does the same for her. They don't mention it when they hear her screaming for her friends in the middle of the night. They don't bat an eye when she flinches at sudden loud noises or strange gurgles from the old pipes of the building. They even take up her chores when she's too sore (or emotionally drained) to get out of bed. All the shit that Max went through when she was a kid and whatever Van went through made their living situation work.
Up until the first time she properly met Taissa, which was unfortunately the last time she would ever come around. Max was out for the whole day, stuck with back-to-back classes and a date with Lucas right after. She came home feeling a good kind of exhausted, knowing that she'd have an actual night of rest rather than waking up in a cold sweat every few hours. When she walked in, her eyes instinctively scanned the living space, landing on the woman that she's only really seen in passing.
They were fighting in the living room. The apartment isn't big so Max had to go through the living room to go to her room. She tried being as quiet as possible but the heavy door creaked and slammed shut, alerting the quarreling lovers of her arrival. Van put on a sheepish smile while Taissa sighed loudly, not even hiding her anger at the interruption.
"Don't mind me. I'm just going to my room," Max announced, quickly depositing her keys and shoes at the door before making a run for her room. Van, desperate to pause whatever was going on before Max came in, decided this was the best time to finally introduce Taissa and Max.
"Max wait!" They yelled out with their hands shooting out, not touching Max but close enough to stop her in her tracks. She turned to them with wide eyes, quickly glancing behind them at a fuming Taissa. "I want you to meet Taissa. Tai, this is Max."
Max awkwardly waved as Taissa rolled her eyes. Max cleared her throat and stepped back slowly. "Nice to meet you. I would love to talk but I have an exam tomorrow and-"
"You wanna play this game?" Taissa interrupted, glaring at Van. "Fine," she turned to Max, who had wide eyes at such fiery eye contact. "Tell me something, Max. Do you have a boyfriend?"
Max nodded, uncharacteristically keeping her mouth shut.
"You love him?"
She nodded again.
"Would do anything for him?"
Her brows scrunched together as Van groaned, letting go of the happy facade. "Jesus Christ, Tai-"
"Shut up! You wanna prove something, let's prove it. Max, if your boyfriend gave you the option to whisk you away from all the troubles of your life and move you back home to where everything was better and easier and safer, would you take it?"
Now Max didn't know much about what Van went through. She saw the news articles about it, but she paid no attention as she was in the middle of recovering. She knew this was a loaded question, more than likely related to what happened years ago. Her and Lucas talk about it at times. They don't fight as intensely as these two, but it gets emotional, as one would expect after going through something like that.
Her home is different than Van and Taissa's home. Her home introduced her to the Upside Down, to Demogorgans and Demidogs, to Vecna. Her home also provided a level of safety, comfort, and love that she never thought she'd get. Her home isn't Hawkins; it's sitting with El and making fun of the boys while they play Dungeons and Dragons. It's having breakfast at the Byers-Hopper's home after a sleepover. It's getting a ride to and from therapy appointments from Steve and Robin. Her home is seeing Lucas everyday, seeing him finally happy and relaxed, actually seeing him.
"He already did," she answered softly. Van's shoulders slumped.
Taissa jerked her head back, clearly surprised with her answer. "And you took it?" She stuttered.
"No. It was wishful thinking. We knew we couldn't actually do it."
Taissa huffed, roughly grabbing her things and leaving, slamming the door shut behind her. Max jumped at the noise.
"So what did you do?" Van asked after the shock of the argument wore off.
Max smiled, a strange gesture to try to comfort her roommate. "We stayed together, fought together. What he goes through, I'm there to support him and vice-versa."
Van nodded and slowly walked to their room, slowly shutting the door out of habit. Van stayed in bed the next day, which Max suspected would happen after a night like that. The next day, they were gone. They'd paid the rent for the month but all their stuff was gone. They left a note for Max, simply stating that she was a great roommate and they wished the best for her.
Max would never forget Van. They were her first roommate. Despite the situation with Taissa, they set a high standard for roommates for Max. So much so that Max didn't want a roommate that wasn't one of the party. No one would understand her like the party, and like Van.