Hawkins was like one of those generic small towns depicted in every little sitcom, teen drama Television show or movie. It was a small town that was tight knit and everybody knew everything about anybody.

Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened and you were fine with that. You didn’t mind growing up in a small town. You liked the life you had and you wouldn’t change it for anything.

Suddenly, out of the blue, in 9th grade, a new girl moved to Hawkins and was in your year. Max. Max Mayfield. Or madmax, know by the dig dug game at the mini arcade.

Her hair was a flaming red and her blushing cheeks were speckled with freckles, ranging in shades of brown. She was beautiful and you immediately wanted to know everything and anything about her.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from her.

Luckily for you, the two of you shared some classes together. You’d slowly befriended her over time as you missed another female presence in your group of friends but you also wanted to get to know her better.

You decided not to tell Max about your romantic feelings for her, no matter how bad you wanted to. You didn’t think it would have been easy to admit your feelings to her anyway.

It was hard enough coming to terms with what you felt for her, especially in this day in age, let alone actually having to tell her and speak those words out loud. You had feelings for a girl.

A girl....

It was always confusing for you to come to terms, doubled by the fact that you never found any interest in boys of any short, and when Max came around, it spiked a feeling in you that you just recently came to terms with.

You were conflicted but that didn’t stop you from enjoying the way you felt around Max. She was still your friend.

"You know that Dustin and Lucas like you, right?" You’d asked her one day while you were both at your house. The two of you were in your bed reading a plethora of different comics.

The aforementioned boys, similar you, were hooked on Max. Why wouldn’t they be? However, that had instilled feelings of jealousy in you and you were afraid that maybe the crushes Dustin and Lucas had on Max were reciprocated by her too.

Maybe it was a long shot that she would like you but hey, a girl can dream. And dream you did.

"I'm aware" Max replied nervously which was a complete opposite from how she usually was. She flipped the page of the comic to the next one, refusing to meet your eyes.

"Well" You nudged her "Don’t you like them? Don’t you have a crush on someone?"

At the last question, Max perked up and you could swear the top of her cheeks turned a light pink.

"there's a possibility" Max shrugged nonchalantly, though you saw through the act. She threw a glance your way "Do you?"

"I asked you first" you pointed out. "Tell me about your crush and I’ll tell you about mine" you reasoned, giving a trusting smile.

You could lie easily. Apart from Max, no one else caught your eye. You couldn’t focus long enough on anyone else when someone as breathtaking as Max was in front of you.

Part of you was dreading what Max would say but at least then you’d know for real. If she didn’t like you then maybe your feelings would go away and you could forget it about it all.

But you know you’d never forget the way she made you feel. You couldn’t rinse that emotion out of your mind or stomach easily.

"Okay" Max relented. "They’re really awesome. They like almost all the same things I do and they’re willing to hang out with me and watch me on my skateboard all day and watch me play Dig Dug"

You smiled, ignoring the pang of hurt in your chest "They sound cool..."

You liked all the same things Max did. You were both obsessed with Wolverine. You watched her on skateboard all the time, wondering if you should get one so she could teach you. So it would be more time the two of you could spend together.

And you watched her play Dig Dug at the arcade even though you could not stand video games. Unlike most of the kids your age, you hated video games. A good old game of Dungeons and Dragons would suffice for you.

"Yeah, she’s great" Max agreed, almost nonchalantly, as if that was something they've talked about before.

She?

"Wait, she?" You repeated. "it's a girl? You like a girl?"

"That’s usually what ‘she’ means" Max replied, a hint of nervousness. "and" she looked down at her comic book, to flip to the next page "she's in this room"

Your heart pounded out of nervousness and excitement as you now knew who the girl in question was. "I never told you about my crush"

"You are correct" Max smiled, looking at you with a glint in her eyes that made you fall for her even more. "You didn’t"

Licking your lips, you did the boldest thing you could think of in the moment and kissed her. Your lips touched hers and inside you screamed with joy. Pecking her lips again, you broke away and smiled at her.

"You still didn’t tell me who your crush is" Max teased, the blush from earlier still evident on her cheeks. They’d turned a blush red since you kissed her.

"I think I should kiss her again, just so she knows" you told her.

"Yeah, I think she’d like that"

Smiling, yours and Max’s lips touched once again.