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Who: Max Mayfield + You??
When: Sunday
Where: Here there and everywhere.
What: Arriving at the station and trying to figure out what's going on.
Warnings: Mentions of fighting and domestic violence. Spoilers for most of season two of Stranger Things!

[Her skateboard is clutched tightly in her arms as she makes her way down the various halls of the station. She has approximately 110 million questions burning in her mind, but she also doesn't know who to corner and demand answers from. As far as she understood, literally everyone got here the same way, which means no one's here because they chose to be.

She's still shaken up from the way Billy had charged into the Byers' house, first grabbing Lucas and then proceeding to beat the hell out of Steve as she'd stood by, paralyzed with fear. Way to go, Max, she thinks. It isn't the first time she's seen Billy in a rage like that, and it's never any less terrifying. He's so full of hate, of anger.

Her mind alternates between Hawkins and this new, foreign place as she wanders somewhat aimlessly, taking in the new scenery and thinking to herself that she's going to have to draw a map to figure out where everything is.

Because apparently there's no way back, and she's not sure how she feels about that.]

[Open to Roommates]

[In her wandering, she actually manages to find an empty room. With a bed. She sets her skateboard down carefully and then falls back onto it, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly. She's seconds away from passing out when she hears a weird noise. Opening one eye she turns her head in the direction the noise had come from. Definitely the wall.

Max sits up a little, eyebrows furrowing until she sees something bigger than a mouse scurry across the floor. Not a rat - it's - actually she's not sure what it is, but she quickly gets out of bed anyway. She hears another noise, this time from the adjoining common room, and she tenses, then makes her way out of the room, freezing when she sees another person standing there, looking back at her.]

Uh, hey.

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[It's hard to know where to go or where is safe. It's a whole new, unexplored place and it's a strange shock to see someone her age in such a place. She's used to being alone, she knows how to handle that.

People her age? Not so much.

At first she takes to following her, stalking her to see if she knows what she's doing, hoping to copy her. She's not sure what the thing in her arm is but it looks like a weapon so approach is too dangerous. It's not worth the risk.

She tries her best to be stealthy, to stay out of sight but she is, at the end of the day, a child. Her version of quiet is not as quiet as planned.]

[She doesn't notice at first. She's too caught up in the foreign setting to realize she's being watched, let alone followed. It's different when you know you're in a relatively safe place. Realizing people are stalking you when you're at school is easy, because the details of school are already familiar, and can be easily ignored, leaving you to focus on other things, like people.

So far here, she hasn't run into too many people yet and this whole place creeps her out. She's cold, and her green hoodie isn't warm enough to offer much help. Plus the lights keep flickering, making this entire thing seem a horror movie. It sort of feels like she's caught up in a horror movie.

It's when Max pauses for a moment that she hears it -- footsteps behind her. She turns quickly, clutching onto her skateboard more tightly, like somehow it can keep her safe which is stupid. She sees a figure down the hall and she squints, unable to see the person very well. But it looks like another kid. Jesus, why are they bringing so many kids here? she wonders, relaxing her stance a bit.]

Hey?

Edited 2018-02-05 16:25 (UTC)

[Well, there's no hiding now. It's futile to keep trying.

Eleven steps forward more, tentative and uneasy. This is not her strong suit, she's not even sure what to say. She looks the girl over, up and down, trying to ignore the pull in her chest at seeing such a normal looking girl, that beautiful long hair.

Pretty.

Crushing down the feeling of jealousy, she takes another step close and the light above flickers in an annoying manner, taking her back to all manner of bad memories. She looks up, focuses and slowly, it seems to stabilise itself. At least for now.

Regaining her focus, she eyes the other girl and holds up her hand, waving ever so slightly.]

Hi.

[The other girl seems hesitant, scared, maybe. Max can relate even if she'd probably never say it out loud to anyone. She's not supposed to get scared. She's a little wary about the way the girl is studying her. She's not sure what to think about it.

The lights flicker again, and then stay on but it doesn't ease her anxiety much. When she looks back at the other girl, for a moment she thinks she's going crazy. But she's closer now, and Max can't take her eyes off her face. She looks different, younger. Close cropped hair rather than longer and slicked back.

But her eyes. Her eyes are definitely the same - intense, even if not filled with a heated glare as she looks at Max.

What.]

Okay, this is...going to sound really weird but um, is your name Eleven? [Realizing that might freak her out, she winces involuntarily.] Because if it is, I know your friends.

[She hadn't expected that.

How did she know her name? Her friends? How was this possible? She frowns at the girl, instantly on defence. What did she know that Eleven didn't?]

How?

[Despite her body language, there was no fear in her voice, it didn't waver. She needs answers and she needs them now. Did she know where her friends were? Were they here? There were so many questions just dying to come out but she plays it close to her chest. For now.

She does, however, venture a more personal question.]

... You know Mike? [Troubling. She didn't want to be replaced.]

[That was...maybe not the best way to approach the other girl, in retrospect. But Max has a bad habit of saying what's on her mind, of being brutally honest, except for when it has to do with her own life. She can tell Eleven is wary, but the lack of fear in her voice is admirable. Not that Max wants her to be afraid -- quite the opposite.

She offers Eleven a hesitant smile, much less confident than the one she'd given her at the Byers'.]

I just moved to Hawkins a few days ago, but yeah, I know Mike. Um, there was some stuff going on... [She hesitates. She wouldn't want to be shielded from the truth, and Eleven doesn't strike her as the type that does either.]

Dustin found this little lizard thing but it turned out to be a demodog - uh, demogorgan. Like a smaller version, I guess? [She hasn't seen a full sized one. She never wants to. Even now she remembers Lucas' words about how Eleven had killed the thing and saved them all.] I got caught up in all of it a lot by accident and bad timing? Lucas filled me in on stuff.

[Her mind flashes back to the way that Eleven and Mike had looked at one another when they'd finally been reunited and her expression softens as she looks at the other girl.]

They've all missed you so much, especially Mike.

[That's a lot of information to try and process, on top of everything else. Her mind races with a mix of panic and concern. Her friends are in danger. If the demogorgan is back then they're in danger, it's as simple as that.

But they're not here with her. They're somewhere, out there, on some far away planet she probably can't even see from here.

She quiet as she takes it in - not that she's exactly a chatter box in general. Though the mention of being missed gets her. She looks up, her eyes wide as she considers what this means. She wasn't forgotten. Or replaced. Her friends missed her. She was missed.]

They're in danger? [There's a determined look in her eyes as she approaches the other girl.] We have to find them. [Yes, we.]

We need to go back.

[Max watches Eleven's reaction to the information she just dumped on her, and feels a little bit guilty for overwhelming her. Still. She feels a surge of hope that maybe she hasn't entirely screwed up or repeated whatever mistake it is she'd made back home that made Eleven not like her right off the bat, when she says "we."

Twice.

Except now she has more she has to dump on the girl to assure her that part's already been taken care of. But Eleven looks so determined, Max almost believes she can figure out a way to get them out of there and back home.]

It's actually about to get weirder? Um...okay so there's some kind of strange time thing going on here but I don't really understand it. I think - no. I'm positive we were brought here from two different points in time.

Different... different points in time?

[She frowns, curious, not quite sure she's getting it. It doesn't sound right. It doesn't seem right. Nothing about this syncs up in her mind. Did she lose time somewhere along the line? Was Max the future?

It was a horrible feeling, blind panic at the idea of lagging in the past and being left behind, even if she was missed.]

How?

[She's at a total loss as for how to explain the time thing. She's pretty sure any one of the boys could probably explain this. She likes science well enough, but she's not quite as into it as they are.]

I don't know. It figures that getting dumped into a different dimension in outer space also includes time travel or whatever, but I met you once before, back home. You were a little older and -- I mean, you saved all of our asses from the demodogs. It was awesome. You were a total badass.

[She was from the past but she was in the future once, meeting Max and seeing Mike again? It was strange, she didn't expect the rush of positive feelings she got from that, the feeling of hope and wanting. To know that her future was going where she wanted it to go. To be with her friends, to protect them.]

Badass. [Eleven smiles, a rare sight, unable to help herself.] Everyone is safe?

[And Max can't help but smile when Eleven does.]

Yeah, thanks to you.

[Mostly true. They're safe from the demodogs. Billy, however...that's another story. But there's no need to make her worry about something neither of them can do anything about at this point.]

Oh. Um, I'm Max, by the way. [She hesitantly holds her hand out.] I really hope we can be friends.

Max.

[She notes the name away in her head and holds out her hand, taking the other girls and shaking it as she had been taught not so long ago. What an odd gesture people insisted on doing.

She pulls back, close enough now to see the thing in the girls had, tilting her head to the side curiously.]

What's that?

[She looks from Eleven's gaze down to the skateboard she's still clutching in her other hand.]

Oh this? This is a skateboard. You ride on it, sorta like a bike, but it's obviously a lot smaller and a little harder to get the hang of.

[Max sets her board down on the floor and then steps onto it, not going far, but enough for Eleven to get the idea of what it did.]

[Huh. She sort of expected Max to sit on it or something, not use her legs. It was kind of cool, actually. She studies it curiously, amused, wondering how someone kept their balance on moving wheels like that.]

Skateboard. [They were kind of cool, she had decided.] Do you ride with ... with Mike and his bike?

[There was another pang of jealous. Of Mike playing with another girl, of spending time with them like normal kids but she tries to swallow that down. To push forward.]

[She turns the board carefully without stepping off it, rolling back toward the other girl. She tucks some hair behind her ear, stopping just in front of her.]

No. I live way on the other side of town. The boys all bike together to school. My stepbrother drives me.

[She's quiet for a moment.]

I mostly hang out with Lucas.

[And if Eleven's paying attention, she'll notice the way Max's cheeks grow a little pink at that admission.]

Lucas?

[Not Mike. Good. She feels a protectiveness to him, like he was hers and shouldn't play with anyone else ... petty, yes, she knew that. She was trying not to be like that but Mike was special.

She didn't want to lose him.

Knowing that she seemed to have a preference for Lucas? It sort of ease all that worry inside her.]

What's a stepbrother?

[Her cheeks feel hot when Eleven echoes the name and she rolls her eyes at herself.]

Yeah, it's - [She's not sure what it is, really. But Lucas had trusted her enough to tell her everything that happened the year before and that meant something to her. That he trusted her, that he included her.] I like him.

[Besides. Mike pretty much hates her, and she's barely spent any time around Will, and then Dustin -- well, truthfully she doesn't really know what's going on with Dustin. One minute he's been nice to her, and the next he bites her head off. She pauses at the question about what a stepbrother is, though. Right. How the hell would Eleven know about that when she'd been locked away most of her life?]

Well, you know how Mike and Lucas both have sisters, and Will has an older brother? So a stepbrother happens when one of your parents marry someone else. Um, so my mom and dad broke up, and that's called divorce, and then my mom married someone else who already had a son and that's...my stepbrother.

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