cute little hippie

✧

GIRLS' DAY WAS usually just Max and Rue hanging out for the whole Friday, just them, no one else — Well, that wasn't true — Nancy Wheeler had joined them plenty of times before. And so has Eleven. But most of the time, it was only Rue and Max, this is why it was a surprise to Max when she met Rue at the public pool, and she wasn't alone.

Summer in Hawkins was always hot. It was to make up for the cold Winters no one enjoyed. But sometimes, the sun was too bright, and there wasn't enough summer breeze to keep people from melting. Hawkins' public pool was always popular in the Summer — with the new Starcourt Mall.

Kids yelled and splashed at the pool, and their mothers' sunbathed at the beach chairs. There were long lines to the snack stand, people slipping in and out of the change rooms and friends and family pushing each other into the pool.

The Summer sun was always warm and inviting to Rue. She loved it with all her heart, and it was safe to say Summer was her favourite season. The sun made her feel tender, and she could lay under it with a book or her walkman all day if she could. But today, she sat by the edge of the pool in a black swimsuit, her feet in the cool water. She leaned back on her elbows, and red heart-shaped sunglasses that Jonathan had gotten her a few weeks ago sat on her face.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to pitch, you have to throw with your arm — not your shoulder."

Rue hummed, still keeping her head up to the sun with her eyes closed. "That makes sense," she said, "But I feel like I can throw further—"

"Yeah, it feels that way, but you can seriously hurt yourself. Once, I dislocated my shoulder by pitching like that."

Rue turned to look at the girl next to her. She lifted the heart-shaped sunglasses to sit on her head, and her eyes widened. "Really?"

She snorted, nodding, "Yeah — they had to snap it back and everything."

"Oh, wow— " Rue sat up now. "Maybe I should change the way I pitch," she mumbled. The last thing Rue needed was to dislocate something, and then an unfairly large hospital bill for Joyce to pay. Sure, her parents had left her everything they had, but Rue wasn't allowed to use the money until she was of age.

"I could teach you if you want,"

Rue smiled, "Really?" she asked, and the girl nodded, "That'd be great!"

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught the two girls' attention. They looked up, and Rue beamed at the sight of Max Mayfield.

"Max!" She grinned, quickly pulling her feet out of the water and pulling her girl in for a hug. Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, Rue held her tightly before pulling away. "Hey," she said softly, her dimples creasing as she smiled at the girl before her. There was a soft look in her eyes that she'd only have while looking at her.

Max smiled at Rue, her arms still around her bare waist as she asked, "How are you?"

"I'm good," she nodded before remembering the girl behind her. Rue slipped away from Max's hands and brightened, "Max. I want you to meet Sky — Sky, this is Max! The girl I told you about," she whispered the last part as Sky stood up.

Sky smirked at Rue's sentence and looked at Max, "Hi, it's great to finally meet you," she said.

Rue noticed the confused look on Max's face, and before the red-head could say anything, she spoke up, "El couldn't make it," she said, "And Nancy was a work so I called Sky and she was still in town and —"

"It's fine," Max forced a smile on her face, "It's great to meet you too, Sky . . ."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

It was a bad idea. It was a really bad idea to invite Sky. Rue just knew it. It was a gut feeling at first, but now she knew it as she waited in the snacks line. Her hair was dripping, and Rue shivered from being out of the water so suddenly. She stared at the two gingers sitting under an umbrella. They weren't talking — well, Sky was. From what Rue could tell, Sky was trying to start a conversation . . . and then Max . . . she didn't seem like she wanted to talk.

It was a bad idea, and Rue was worried that her new friend would want to leave after meeting Max.

Rue knew that Max was always sarcastic, and she could come off rude to other people. Max liked to hold an intimidating attitude, which was the opposite of Sky, who was openly approachable.

Even though in the last few months' Rue had opened a side to Max that was more social and less sarcastic and a lot more loving, the red-head was still her "badass" self around people she didn't know.

"Kid! You're holding up the line!" A middle-aged man yelled at Rue from three people behind her.

Her cheeks reddened, "Sorry!" she called, hurrying to take a few steps forwards until she was at the stand. As she looked at the menu, her jaw dropped at the sight of the person working. "Alex?"

The boy looked up from the register and smiled sheepishly at the sight of his old middle school crush. "Hey, Rue,"

"I didn't know you worked here too."

Alex shook his head, "I don't — my brother does. I just came with him today," he said, respectfully keeping eye contact with the girl in a swimsuit before him. "So. . . what would you like?"

"Three cherry slushies, please," she smiled, handing him a five-dollar bill.

Alex chuckled, taking the money. "Yeah, you got it."

Rue shifted in her spot, turning to look back to where Max and Sky sat, only to find that Max sat on the beach chairs alone. Rue panicked for a moment, and a part of her thought Sky had left until she saw her yelling at a teenage boy. "If you're gonna stare at her ass at least be subtle, shit face!"

"BITCH!" the boy called.

"Yeah, I am a bitch! And the baddest one out there, mother fucker!" she spat, flipping him off with both hands. "Suck my dick!"

Maybe Sky was a little more intimidating than Max, but that was only when she wanted to be.

"Here you go, three cherry slushies," Alex said, handing her the three cups.

"Thanks," she smiled, "—keep the change," she quickly said when she saw him digging in the cash register. "Um, Will says hi?"

Alex chuckled, "I know, I'm gonna go to the arcade with him later."

Rue blinked in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah, he called me this morning, saying something about finally being Girl Free,"

She playfully rolled her eyes, "He's a pain in the ass sometimes," she shook her head, "Okay, well, have fun you two — " Rue turned to leave before quickly spinning back around and glaring at Alex, "Not too much fun, though."

Alex's cheeks went red as he told Rue to leave because she was holding up the line.

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

"Max, holy shit!" Rue exclaimed, her feet slipping on the tiles underwater as Max had clung onto her back. Rue stumbled with the sudden weight, and she tried not to let water in her nose. Max giggled in her ear, wrapping her arms tighter so she wouldn't fall.

"No dunking!" Heather Holloway, the lifeguard on duty, blew her whistle at Max, who ignored her and climbed higher on Rue's back, making the girl double over and slipped on the tiles, bringing both her and Max underwater.

Rue was blinded by the water momentarily, and she pushed herself up and gasped for air. She could hear Max bursting into giggles behind her, and before Rue could wipe the water from her eyes, she felt a wave of water splash on her face. Rue squealed, blindly putting her hands out to block out the splashes that wouldn't stop coming. She chuckled as she felt slightly defenceless, waves of water coming from both her left and right. "Stop drowning me!" Rue exclaimed, laughing.

Max had climbed on her back again, and Rue knew it was her from her gentle touch. Max began to tickle at Rue's sides, causing the girl to burst into laughter and slip beneath the water again.

She swam a few feet away before resurfacing. She gasped for a breath wiping her eyes and staring at Max and Sky in shock, water droplets ran down her freckled and tanned face as she tried to force an annoyed look on her face, but it was impossible as she kept laughing.

"Why are you so far?" Sky asked, slowly swimming towards Rue, who backed away.

"I'm running away!" she said dramatically before turning around and bumping into a group of boys a few years older. "Oh, sorry," she said, feeling a lot smaller than before.

One of the boys grinned at her, shaking his head. "No worries, darling," he winked.

Rue swallowed thickly, feeling the slushy she had drank hurry back up her throat. She squinted as the sun shined on the water, making her hair glow a fire-like amber and her eyes to be a bright lime green colour. "Right," she nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Meredith," she lied.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, ignoring the way he was clearly making her uncomfortable as his friends snickered behind him. "Okay, Meredith," he tapped her nose, making Rue step back from him. "How come I haven't seen you around before, I wouldn't forget such a pretty face."

"I'm visiting family," Rue lied again. "Okay, bye," she turned around quickly, ignoring the way he called for her to come back.

Rue swam up to Max and Sky. Shaking her head, she pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge. "I hate men," she sighed, looking at the two girls who stayed in the pool.

"You and me both, babes," Sky agreed.

Max shrugged, "Some of them are okay . . ." she scrunched her nose, "I guess."

"Yeah," Sky scoffed, splashing her. "One out of a million."

Max frowned and looked up at the sky; the sun was much lower than it was when she had come, but it was still shining brightly. As she looked down at her yellow watch, Max saw that it was nearly five-thirty. The three of them were tanned darker than before from all the hours under the sun — well, Max and Rue were because it seems that Sky does not tan, only turn bright red as the sun hits her pale skin.

Max glanced up at Rue, "Are we going to your place after?"

She nodded, "Will won't be home tonight, Joyce is at work, and Jonathan is taking Nancy on a date after work, so —"

"He's not coming home," Max and Rue said together before laughing.

Rue turned to look at Sky, "Do you want to come with us?"

Sky smiled, "If it's okay with you," she said.

"Max?"

"Yeah, sure."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）

Rue sat between Max's legs, and she felt relaxed tingles crawl up her spine as Max braided her hair.

The Byers home was warm and welcoming for the three girls who had arrived somewhat soaked from the pool. Sky had ridden Rue's bike on the way, the girl promising that she was fine riding with Max, who had offered Rue to sit on the back of her bike.

With a warm summer breeze blowing them dry, they laughed and told stories on their way to the Byers' home. Rue and Max pointed at buildings, telling Sky where the best places to visit are, despite the fact there barely was any.

When they arrived, Rue offered clean clothes, and they showered the chlorine water off. And now, as the Sun was setting, painting the sky in hot pinks and oranges, Rue and Max lazily sat on Rue's bed, while Sky looked around Rue and Will's room.

Rue couldn't help but close her eyes and lean back as Max's fingers delicately brushed through her hair.

Rue could feel that she was going slow, and she loved it. It made her want to savour the feeling more, forgetting that Max would willingly braid her hair any time. Rue kept her eyes closed the whole time as Max did her hair, and she would've fallen asleep.

"Newby, you've got a lot of good clothes," She heard Sky say as Max had finished with her hair.

Rue sat up, missing the warmth from Max's body already. She leaned on one arm on her bed, the collar of her dad's old shirt slipping off her shoulder and exposing the tan lines she's earned from today. "They're my mom's," she said.

"Your mom's got style," Sky hummed, pulling Earth tones coloured clothing from Rue's side of the closet and setting them on Will's bed until she made a few outfits. "We're all about the same size . . . wanna play dress-up? — Um — " Sky scrunched her nose as Max laughed. "I sound like a fucking four-year-old,"

Rue joined in with the laughing but nodded anyway, "Yeah, sure,"

"Me too!"

Rue skipped towards the radio on the desk, pressing play. The tone of Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John started, and she danced towards the clothes on the bed.

"Don't go breaking my heart," she sang, pointing at Max to continue.

The ginger shook her head, saying she wasn't going to sing. Rue gave her a playful glare before she did so, "I couldn't if I tried. . ." she sang, and Rue beamed. She always thought Max had a beautiful voice.

"Oh, honey, if I get restless . . ." The song continued as they all grabbed their chosen outfits.

"Baby, you're not that kind . . ."

The three girls went to different corners of the room. Rue shimmied out of her dad's shirt and slipped on the brown surf-store shirt instead.

"Don't go breaking my heart . . . You take the weight off of me . . . Oh, honey when you knock on my door . . . Ooh, I gave you my key,"

"Awe! You're like a cute little hippie!" Sky beamed, squishing Rue's cheeks once they've all changed.

Rue grinned sheepishly. She had chosen a long green skirt and a simple small brown shirt, and a few coloured bracelets.

"Woo hoo . . . nobody knows it . . ."

While Sky looked for non-existing makeup in Rue's room, the girl had turned around to face Max, who wore long baggy jeans and a small blue shirt that stopped midway her stomach.

"But when I was down . . . I was your clown . . ."

Max kept shaking her head, wrapping her arms around her exposed stomach.

Rue snickered, inching closer to her and wiggling her eyebrows. "Woo hoo . . . Nobody knows it," she hummed, and Max playfully rolled her eyes, trying to stop the grin crawling on her lips. "Nobody knows it," Rue echoed.

"That right from the start. . ." Max sang, stepping forward and grabbing Rue's hands.

"I gave you my heart," Rue dramatically placed both hers and Max's hand to her chest, and soon, they were both jumping softly to the music.

"Oh, oh, I gave you my heart . . ." they sang together.

Rue bit her lower lip, singing with Elton John, "So don't go breaking my heart . . ."

Max giggled, "I won't go breaking your heart,"

"Don't go breaking my heart!"

As the song slowed a little, Sky had skipped back into the room, smirking at the two dancing girls. "I found eyeliner," she beamed. "Rue, lay on the bed!" she said over the music, and Rue did what she was told, slowly letting go of Max's hands and jumped on her bed.

"Nobody told us . . . 'Cause nobody showed us . . . "

"Max, do you know how to use eyeliner?" Sky asked, and Max shook her head no. Sky made a face but gave Max the liner anyway, "Just listen to what I say," she said, leading Max to the bed Rue laid on.

"Now it's up to us, babe . . . Whoa, I think we can make it,"

Rue's eyes widened, and the usual family of butterflies had come out when Max gingerly sat on her stomach and leaned forward to do Rue's makeup.

"So, don't misunderstand me . . .You put the light in my life . . ."

Her eyes fluttered close as Max got closer, focusing on not messing up as she passed the black ink on her eyes. Max's hands were slightly shaky and sweaty over how close she was, but she wasn't complaining as her heart rate picked up, and she wondered if Rue could hear it. Her red hair covered most of her face and it tickled Rue's cheeks.

"Oh, you put the sparks to the flame . . . I got your heart in my sights . . ."

It would be a lie if Rue said she didn't have the urge to lean forward and blindly kiss Max. She didn't care if she would mess up the eyeliner or Max would poke her eyes. Rue felt daring, and she really wanted to.

If only she knew that's the same thing Max wanted to do.

If only they both knew Sky was waiting for them to suck it up and fucking kiss already.

"Woo hoo . . . Nobody knows it . . . But when I was down, I was your clown . . ."

Rue started to think if this is what it would be like if they were dating. Would they live at each other's houses? Would they share clothes? Would they do each other's hair? Would they cuddle when they slept? She mentally scoffed. They already did all those things just as friends.

Max closed the eyeliner cap, it wasn't the neatest, but it was pretty on Rue's eyes. "I'm done," she whispered, feeling that with how close they were, it would be wrong to talk normally.

Rue slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Max on top of her. For a moment, she had forgotten why she was on top of her in the first place.

"Right from the start . . . I gave you my heart!"

With her brain blurred by the feeling of butterflies, Rue leaned forward to kiss Max. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she beamed at the thought of feeling Max's lips against hers. But she frowned when she felt nothing but air. Rue quickly opened her eyes and saw that Max was standing next to the bed, her face as red as her hair.

When did she get off Rue's stomach? She didn't know.

Rue felt a little stupid now. She sat up and looked at Sky, who gave her a sympathetic smile before standing from Will's bed. "Should we make pasta for dinner?"

"Yeah," Rue said shakily, "Um—" her voice cracked, "Yeah—I think Joyce has some . . ."

（ ₊˚. ✰┊📼 ! ）