Chapter Text
“Is Mike a good kisser?” Max teased.
Eleven recoiled uncomfortably. “I don’t know” she replied innocently. “He’s my first boyfriend.”
“Ex boyfriend” Max corrected. She saw the downcast look on her face and assured her “hey, don’t worry about it, ok? He’ll come crawling back to you in no time begging for forgiveness.” Eleven smiled, breaking into a giggle as Max continued to make fun of how they must be wallowing in self pity. When she finished she was glad to see her friend laughing again. “In the meantime, I say you and I spend some girl time together.”
“Girl time?”
“You know, hang out without any boys” she explained.
Eleven furrowed her brow a little. “Like shopping?” She asked, making sure if what they just did today qualified because none of the boys were around all day.
Max shrugged. “Yes, shopping counts. But also…we just hang out without boys and talk.”
“Talk about what?”
She shrugged again. She’d gotten used to Elevens endless questions, which was expected when you grow up in a lab she guessed, and was starting to find her naïve innocence adorable. “Whatever we want” she said, sitting crossed legged on the bed in front of Eleven shifting through the magazines she brought with her. “For example” she said, showing her one of the double pages of a boy band. “Which of these five is the hottest?” She asked her.
Eleven looked at the picture and their strange hairdos and clothes in befuddlement. “Hottest?”
“Most good looking” she clarified.
She kept the confused look as she nodded and took the magazine to examine them closer. Max waited over a minute before confirming she wasn’t going to get and answer other than more confused stares. “Okay, try something else. How about we take turns asking questions, that way we have something to talk about. You start.”
Eleven nodded, ponding for a few seconds before curiously asking “is Lucas a good kisser?”
“Wow” Max laughed, shocked at the audacity her friend leapt into that. Eleven giggled too, staring at the freckled teenager until she nervously replied “I guess he’s alright. To be honest, he’s kind of my first boyfriend too.”
“Really?” Eleven said in surprise.
“Really” she nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Growing up and moving around didn’t leave much room for boys, so… yeah. First boyfriend.”
“Ex boyfriend” Eleven added.
They chuckled again, bonding a little since they were in the same boat. “Okay, my turn” Max declared, picking up one of the magazines again. “Yes or no. Does this haircut look good?” She asked, pointing to another page.
Eleven barely glanced at it before recoiling. “No” she answered. Max agreed, simply wanting validation of her opinion. “My turn?” She asked, waiting for Max to nod before asking “how do you know if you’re a good kisser?”
It took Max a moment to think about that one. It was a curious question. “I guess you’d compare how much you enjoy it when boys kiss you?” She offered.
“No, I mean…” she pointed at herself, indicating Max had misheard her. “How would I know, if I’m good?”
“Oh. Well…I don’t know” she admitted. “You could ask Mike the next time you kiss him. If he’s smart he’ll say yes, that you’re amazing.”
“What if he lies?”
Max tilted her head, wondering why she was so worried. “Has Mike said something about..?”
“No” she assured her, her cheeks flushing red rather awkwardly. “Just…never mind” she said, averting her gaze.
Max shuffled closer, pulling her face back to her telling her “I’m sure you’re a great kisser. I mean, if Mike keeps wanting to kiss you then you must be, right?”
“Right” she agreed, though her voice gave away how unconvinced she was.
Max sighed, tapping her knee trying to think of something to cheer her up. Or better, reassure her. A spontaneous idea came to her and she jumped on it before she had a chance to talk her way out of it. “I know. Why don’t you kiss me and then I can tell you if you’re a good kisser?”
Eleven blinked as she stared at the red-haired girl, her expression turning to shock and confusion. “You want me to kiss you?”
“Sure” she shrugged. “In fact, if we kiss each other, we can both determine if we’re any good. You can tell me if I’m a good kisser and I can tell you. That way we’ll know.”
Eleven furrowed her brow again. “Do girls kiss each other?” She asked.
“I’m sure they do” she replied. “I mean, it can’t be that weird. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
Eleven wasn’t entirely convinced, but the suggestion had her curious though very nervous. But Max’s confidence was infectious and she shuffled closer on the bed till their knees were touching and their faces drawing closer. They looked at each other nervously and gulped. Max suddenly started to feel the same nerves, but she stayed calm for her friend. It won’t be weird she told herself, awkwardly leaning in to peck Eleven on the lips.
Eleven instinctively recoiled at first, her gut tightening as she turned red. She felt Max’s lips brush hers and she momentarily panicked. But she didn’t run away or freak out, which was good. They locked eyes on each other and took another breath before Eleven nervously leaned forward and did the same for Max.
“Okay. That wasn’t bad” Max breathed, staring at Eleven who was mirroring her as they licked their lips. It wasn’t quite the kiss that told them anything. It was too quick. “Maybe we need to try…”
“Again?” Eleven finished. Max hesitantly nodded.
This time they both leaned in together, both girls closing their eyes and their mouths came together and awkwardly connected. At first they just held them their. But then one of them moving closer to start the kiss. Then the other moved with her. And soon both girls were kissing experimentally. It was more fumbling and sloppy, but after half a minute they kept going and it got better, deeper, their mouths moving as one. Eleven’s hands fell onto Max’s knees and Max took hold of her shoulders. They made out until the warm exhale from their noses snapped their eyes open, their faces pulling apart ending it abruptly.
“Wow” Max inhaled, surprised at how long they held it for. Eleven was stunned too, staring down at her hand as she rubbed her bottom lip as if they’d transferred spit. Max pressed her lips together, feeling something fluttering in her belly as she looked back at Eleven. “That was…you’re a good kisser El” she told her, thinking it was probably better than any kiss Lucas gave her.
Eleven smiled briefly, blushing as she replied “you’re a good kisser too.” Max smiled back, the awkwardness rising between them. After a moment Eleven asked “what happens now?”
“I don’t know” she confessed, still staring at Eleven, her hands still on her bare arms, her belly still fluttering. She couldn’t explain why but she wanted to kiss her again.
Eleven seemed to feel the same as she reached out and cupped Max’s cheeks, leaning forward to kiss the girl on the mouth again. Max immediately closed her eyes and let her, her hands stroking her arms as she kissed her back.
The two girls made out for a long while, their lips pressing and moving together becoming more passionate. They kissed as if they were kissing their boyfriends, only without forgetting who they were kissing. Except the kiss went deeper than when they were with Mike or Lucas, their mouths opening and their tongues suddenly connecting. Eleven briefly froze a moment when this happened, but Max took the lead and began licking inside her mouth swirling her tongue around. Eleven mirrored her and soon they were panting heavily as the kiss consumed them. Their hands caressed their hair and necks and shoulders and waist and legs as they rocked and pressed together, their bodies lifting up as they seemed to take off. It was Eleven who fell atop of Max when they collapsed to the mattress, her head pushed gain at the pillow as Eleven climbed over her to kiss her more heavily. She moaned into it, her knees coming up, her socks brushing against Eleven’s calf as the girl stroked her cheek to swirl her tongue around inside her mouth.
It took Max’s knee brushing underneath her dress for Eleven’s eyes to snap open and release the girl. Once she did the spell seemed to break and both girls were left panting and staring at each other, butterflies in their stomach and their hearts raced. Without speaking they both seemed to asking the same question: what are we doing? What does this mean? Max looked at Eleven and knew she should push her off, yet she didn’t. Eleven looked at Max and knew she should climb off her, but she didn’t. They both stared at each other and knew they should stop, yet the leaned back in nevertheless.
Before their lips could connect again they both froze upon hearing the rattling of a loud engine approaching. Eleven’s eyes widened as her head turned to the door, Max shooting up from the bed in a panic as they heard the truck pull up and the engine cut off.
***
Still mad that he got stood up, Hopper came storming into his house smelling off booze. The first thing he noticed was Eleven’s door closed. Son of a… he thought as he immediately marched towards it raising his voice. “Hey, I said three inches!” He bellowed as he barged into her room.
He came to a surprised stop when he found Eleven on the floor reading a magazine alongside Max, both the girls looking up in shock. Except Max was a little more composed than Hopper when she snapped “jeez, have you heard of knocking?”
“Yeah, jeez” Eleven echoed.
Hopper stared at the two of them. He wasn’t expecting this situation. “Sorry, I thought…Um…” he stammered.
“Mike isn’t here” Max told him, making an educated guess.
“Max wanted a sleepover” Eleven explained innocently. “Is that okay?”
He blinked, looking at the both, still tipsy from the amount of scotch he had to drink. “Err…yeah, that’s fine. That’s cool. You good with the sofa?” He asked the red haired girl. She nodded instantly, which a sober Hopper might’ve noticed as too quickly. He might’ve noticed the shifty glances between the girls and the uncomfortable vibe in the room. “Okay then” oblivious drunk Hopper said as he took the door handle and awkwardly pulled it closed, bidding them a good evening.
Once the door was shut he leant against the door frame. Well that was uncomfortable he groaned internally. But at least Mike isn’t here he smiled, pouring another drink, throwing a meal into the microwave and kicking off his shoes as he slumped down into his recliner. I don’t have to worry about Eleven getting up to anything with a girl.