Chapter Text
Mike and Max had never been the closest in the group.. Hell they were the least close but when both of them needed a job before college and the same positions their friends Robin and Steve had once occupied were up for grab they ignored the fact it was a whole summer working together and applied as soon as they could.
So now they were both scooping ice-cream and serving ungrateful kids, they certainly both had a higher respect for Steve and Robin after realising how annoying it would have been for them all those years ago. Though they were not as close as they were with other members of the party, during the three weeks they had already been working together, Mike and Max had gotten closer. They even considered themselves friends. Sometimes.
_______________________
The door to the shop opened and in rushed Derek Turnbow.
"Hey Max is Mike here." Asked Derek bouncing on his feet as he peered around trying to answer his own question.
"Mike, who's Mike?" She drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Oh come on," he was cut off as the door to the back swung open.
"Turnbow you're back!" He yelled throwing his hands in the air before swivelling on his feet and facing Max. "He's back!"
"Yes idiot I can see that." Max sighed.
Derek walked over to Mike who was leaning on the counter and the two started conversing over Derek's holiday with his family as Max went back to serving the queue of customers.
Soon Holly walked in and her and Derek started chatting as Mike once again failed to flirt with a group of customers. After serving the last of the line, Max sauntered towards the board where she kept tally of Mike's failed attempts at chatting to someone, a smirk plastered on her face as she marked off another in the 'you suck' side.
"Well idiot, it's official, you suck." Deadpanned the redhead, stifling a laugh at Mike's offended look.
"I can read y'know." He muttered under his breath.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the counter to ask the kids if they wanted to order anything, they were the only customers so their bickering over the best flavour didn't hold any line up.
Tapping her hand against the counter she thought back to the last shopping trip she had been on. It had been with El last week, it was the first time back in the mall together after it had been destroyed and the girls had spent the whole day laughing and trying on outfits not so unlike the first time they had been there. Max truly believed it was one of the times she had felt true happiness. El had that effect on her and if she was honest it scared her how open she was with the brunette.
She snapped out of her thoughts as the two kids finally decided on their orders and placed their money on the counter. They were 2 dollars short but knew Max and Mike would give it to them anyway.
______________________
Suddenly the lights in the shop went off and four masked men walked in whispering to each other. Holly and Derek whipped around in fear and clutched at each others hands blindly. Max met Mike's gaze her eyes fearful and inclined her head towards the back door and then pointed at the kids. Max pulled the kids behind the counter with them and hugged them tightly to try give them any sense of comfort. Thankfully the men were far enough to not see them especially in the dark and the older teens knew the layout of the shop like the back of their hands.
Mike grabbed Holly's hand and put a finger to his lips before pulling her and Derek to the door in the back. Max followed behind while keeping an eye on the men who were smashing up the windows and flipping tables. Silently Mike made sure the kids got through the door then pulled Max in with him as he shut it without a sound.
"I know we were kidnapped by monsters last year, but I'm really scared." Admitted Derek in a whisper hand still grasping Holly's tightly.
"It'll be okay, right Max?" Mike responded looking towards the redhead expectantly.
"Course, we won't let anything happen to you guys, I mean we fought of worse when we were your age." She replied, smiling tightly at the kids, trying to ease their fear despite her own.
"Okay guys, I want you two to go with Max and get help, I'll stay here and if they get through I'll hold them off as long as I can." He murmured.
"No way, I'm not leaving you." Scoffed Max, she then turned to the kids, "Holly I want you to take Derek and get out, follow the corridor then leave out the furthest door, it will take you outside. We don't have a phone but tell anyone outside to call for help if they don't, I want you to run to Hopper at the station. Can you do that?"
Holly clutched her newly fixed necklace and nodded. Derek looked at her as though he was unsure but nodded as well.
_________________________
Once the younger two had left, Max pulled out the small switchblade she kept on her ever since Vecna, though she knew it would do nothing against anything that wasn't human it kept her mid slightly more at ease, something which she was incredibly grateful for in this moment.
"Mike, we need to try to get a phone and the closest one is back in there." Stated Max, her ocean eyes glancing back over at the door leading into the ice cream shop.
"Are you crazy?" Hissed Mike, flinching at a loud crash from behind the door.
"Maybe, or maybe I'm tired of letting other people take care of me." She muttered in response, taking a step towards the door.
.................
The last thing either of them remembered was slipping through the door and Max managing to slice one of the robber's throats before the others had noticed them.
Mike knew that at some point he had lunged at one of them and Max had tried to bite the hand that had grabbed her in a bruising grip but after that, and the sharp pain he registered in his chest as something covered his face, all he could see was darkness.
________________________
Max woke first, her mind spinning as her heart pounded in her ears. The floor below her was like ice and the cold seeped its way into her bones causing a shiver to rack through her body, the sudden movement making her gasp in pain. She slowly dragged herself into a sitting position and looked around, she was in a small room and beside her was an unconscious and bruised Mike.
"Mike, wake up, please idiot. You gotta wake up!" She begged after crawling towards his crumpled form, shaking him in a desperate attempt to wake him up.
Almost inaudibly he groaned, luckily Max was close enough to hear and she let out a small sigh of relief that he was awake.
His eyes opened although one was almost fully swollen shut, and Max helped him to sit up.
He looked at her and she wrapped him in a hug.
"I thought you were going to die." She admitted quietly a sob ripping its way from her throat.
He said nothing just pulled her closer.
Neither knew what had happened but by the limited pain they felt despite their injuries and the fluttering in their stomachs, whatever they had been given to go unconscious had definitely not left their systems. From the looks of the room, the men had left quickly and were probably not coming back, still they had to leave and soon.
Max struggled to her feet then bent down slightly to help Mike up. Once they were both standing, they hobbled towards the door both limping slightly though Mike's was definitely worse.
They opened the door quietly and saw they were still in the mall, near the toilets.
At the thoughts of the lavatories, Max felt the overwhelming urge to vomit and dragged Mike towards the them.
............................
She hurled into the toilet before leaning against the stall wall as Mike sat across from her.
"I feel like shit." he grumbled and Max barked out a laugh.
"Me too wheeler, me too." She hummed. After a moment of silence she began to speak, the words rushing out before she could stop them.
"Mr Clarke's science class." At this Mike looked confused.
"It was the first lesson I went to and Mr Clarke made me introduce myself before I could take my seat. I saw you and Dustin and Lucas and Will, you were all talking together and I just felt so jealous you know? I wanted what you guys had. In California I only had Nate, Will reminds me of him sometimes, then I came here and Lucas,Dustin even Will want me in the party." She knew she was rambling now but it seemed whatever she had just puked up was still in her system and she couldn't stop.
"But you, you didn't want me there, then in the gym after dart I thought you were gonna be cool with me until El came up. I didn't understand why you hated me so much, then after Billy and the gate, after everything, I saw you at the snow ball with El and I was so jealous it was you and not me. Crazy I know, me and El had just met. Then when you guys were on a break and she came to me, I was so goddam happy because she wanted to know me. All she could talk about was you and I was so annoyed because I finally got to spend time with someone I really liked and they didn't care. I had just wished I was you and still I was so jealous she looked at you like that and not at me." Her words were slurring now and a few tears slipped down her cheek.
Mike looked shocked and swallowed a few times.
"But... El.. Shes a girl?" He stuttered.
"Mike.." The broken look she gave him felt as though it had shattered his heart and the realisation dawned on him.
"Oh.." He breathed out.
"Yeah idiot, Oh." She sniffled, trying to be her usual snarky self but failing miserably as her voice shook.
Mike pulled her into his arms and they both sat there in silence.
Neither pulled away, not when the police arrived with Derek and Holly being hugged by Karen, not when Hopper asked if they were hurt, not when El and the party crowded around them.
..............
El wasn't a boy but Max didn't care and Mike, he just wanted his friends to be happy, even if it took him a while to realise.