"the mindflayer? but we destroyed it at starcourt. i told you guys it's probably just a misunderstanding." 
 "something weird happened to max this morning-" dustin cut off his rambling as he stared at mikes neck in horror. 
 the boy made a face of confusion as his friend stopped mid sentence, "what happened to her?" 
 "mike?" 
 "what?" 
 dustin walked up to him, inspecting his neck closer. there's no way it could be what he thinks it is. there's just absolutely no way. 
 "is that a hickey?" 
 mikes eyes went went wide & he immediately brought his hand up to his neck, "ouch... ow. n-no, it's a bruise." 
 dustin gave him a skeptical look, making mike roll his eyes. "yes, it's a hickey." 
 -
 the phone rang loudly, making max groan before she threw the covers off herself. she got up & walked over to her landline sluggishly. 
 the phone continued to ring, causing the redhead to huff with annoyance, "shut it! i'm coming." 
 she grabbed the phone & held it to her ear, wincing at the intensity of the person on the other line, considering she was still half asleep. 
 "have you heard from him recently?" el asked through the phone. max furrowed her brows & closed her eyes, "who?" 
 el inhaled deeply, "mike." 
 "uhm... i talked to him the other day, why?" 
 she leaned against the desk, the sleep in her eyes still prominent, her head pounding with another headache.
 max could hear el starting to pace & she squinted her eyes. "he hasn't talked to me in four weeks... everytime i call him, he doesn't have the time to talk. e-everytime i write to him, he doesn't write back anymore. it's odd." 
 "hmm... that is odd." she agreed to el's statement, thinking back to the other day. 
 el pressed the conversation, "what was he doing the last time you talked to him?" 
 still half asleep & only semi-awake, max started mumbling under her breath, but el caught just enough of the conversation, "i don't know, i think he was with a cheerleader... in the basement." 
 "cheerleader... as in girl?" she quickly asked, sitting down at her desk & staring out the window. 
 "yes," max continued, "they're just friends. mike wouldn't cheat on you, i hope." 
 "you hope??" el had a worried tone, her & mike were supposed to spend spring break together but he didn't even show. even will was upset about it. he was upset at mike for a lot of things.
 max quickly opened her eyes, paying more attention to the conversation, "he's not cheating on you! like i said, y/n & mike are just friends. & she's like a grade below us." 
 "y/n? that's such a... stupid name."
 this made max let out a small chuckle of amusement, "yeah, okay."