Chapter Text
Max woke up to the blaring music from her brother’s room, the thin walls of their shitty house giving her zero protection from the provocative lyrics. It was almost 7AM anyways, so she got up and started rubbing her eyes roughly until all the goop and exhaustion was more or less gone.
The first thing she did, like every morning since she hit puberty, was drench her body in deodorant. Under her arms, under her breasts, the dip of her stomach, and lastly her back. She couldn’t afford going to school with all the sweatiness of a teenage werewolf. Besides the fact that she’d be no doubt avoided and ridiculed, it was just uncomfortable to go through the whole day like that.
“Max!”
“Give me a minute!” Max groaned as her brother shouted and banged on her door, then moved on to the next room to wake up their sister. She hated having to be driven around by that asshole. She hated even more having to walk, or god forbid skate all the way to school, so Max more or less just bit her tongue and listened when he rushed her.
The ginger girl started rifling through unpacked boxes, searching desperately for something decent to wear before the banging on her door continued and she threw on whatever was in her hands. That meant she had an off color white t shirt, covered mostly by a flannel button up and jeans for her lower half.
“We aren’t even late-“ Billy blew some smoke into her face as soon as she opened the door and chuckled with that shitty grin of his as she coughed. He smelt like what Max feared she would have without all her deodorant- even going as far as to keep a stick in her bag- and the smell made her shiver in disgust.
“Robin-!”
“Billy!” Robin shouted as she opened the door, glaring at him but more or less listening to him. Max’s older sister was in a similar position to her, she didn’t really have the luxury of being confrontational with her ride to school.
“Just get in the goddamn car.” Billy snarled, walking out the front door and nearly slamming it behind him, leaving the two sisters to look at each other and start laughing.
“What’s wrong with him?” Max asked, wondering if Robin would know due to their closer age but the girl just shrugged.
“Let’s go ‘get in the goddamn car’
Before he really leaves us behind.”
Once all the Mayfields were in the same car, Billy zoomed off at speeds far too high to be safe. Let alone legal. Max quickly buckled her seatbelt and coughed up the smoke that was going directly into her face, she’d wanted to tell Billy to roll a damn window down but he didn’t seem in the mood for bickering so she just kept her mouth shut and put her earbuds in. The cassette tape inside was one of her least favorites.. she should’ve checked the inside before leaving this morning but it was way too late.
“15 minutes,” Billy spoke calmly, despite the speed he was driving and the cigarette in his mouth. Max idly wondered for the 1000th time in her life how he could focus on so many things at once when she could barely manage one thing.
“What?” Robin raised her eyes from the book she was reading. Was that the student handbook? Did she actually think they expected her to go through it? Max thought about laughing, but that thought disappeared as Billy continued speaking.
“You two got 15 minutes after the final bell rings before I’m leaving.”
“That’s not fair!” Robin shouted, taking the words from Max’s mouth, and the younger sister took the executive decision to let herself fall to the background as they started arguing. “I have to meet with the band director after school- we’re SO behind!”
“Yeah and whose fault is that.”
“Not mine!?”
For a second it felt like they were both looking back at her, but when Max dared a glance upwards they were just staring at each other with disbelief.
“15 minutes.”
“30!”
“If you’re not in your seat with a seatbelt on,” Billy glanced backwards to let Max know he was talking to her too before turning back to the road. “25 minutes after the bell rings. You both can walk.”
Or skate, Max thought, as she looked to the side to her skateboard sitting against the edge of the seat next to her. She took a risky glance to the rear view mirror to see Billy’s face, his gaze was hard but not as malicious as it could’ve been. It was that kind of look that told her Billy’s 25 minute limit would really be 40 minutes. Then she looked at Robin, and her face told Max that she would probably be at the car in 20 minutes.
Max had come to realize after several years with them that they loved playing this game. One sibling would put a hard limit, and then the two would compete over who could subtly pass that limit the most without showing the other they actually cared. A twisted way to show affection, but it somehow ensured everyone would be satisfied.
Once the car stopped Robin was the first to get out of the car and start walking quickly to the door, Max took a moment to adjust herself to the new surroundings as she grabbed her skateboard from the other seat. She’d need to keep it in her locker in case Billy decided to leave them behind for real.
Max walked through the hallways of Hawkins High feeling the eyes of more than a comfortable number of people looking at her. They hadn’t been able to move to Hawkins in time and thus were coming into school a month late, it wasn’t like they would miss much academically but as Robin so helpfully pointed out more than once, they’d be socially behind. Probably even the center topic for a few weeks because of how small the town was. There was only the one high school for basically every kid in the town.
She carefully looked over the schedule in her hand and then at the numbers on the doors.. why the hell were the numbers not increasing in order. Why was this door 107 and the next 111. Max wanted to scream by the time the bell rang and she was still wandering the hallways in search of 115. It had to have been almost 10 minutes after the bell rang when she finally found the door and walked in. More eyes landed on her and the area under her arms felt moist.
“Right. Maxine, I presume?”
“It’s-“
“Go sit in the open seat over there,” the old woman pointed and nodded her head before continuing what sounded like a long lecture. This was, Max checked her schedule one more time as she found her seat near the window, Biology. This was Indiana, the education was pretty slow. At least Billy thought so, and Max couldn’t really disagree when a lot of this stuff she’d learn the year prior in California. With that in mind, and the dragging in voice of the aging teacher stuttering through everything like she couldn’t quite get the words off her tongue, Max started to zone out.
/
Billy couldn’t not get over his disdain for this Hick state. He found himself sitting in the back of a classroom, leaning back as far as possible without knocking the chair back. It took a few periods for the other students to realize he didn’t tolerate unwanted attention, and he finally had some peace and quiet to stare at the ceiling of the room. He wished he had a cigarette right now.
He listened to the conversations around him in the hallways and classrooms, just feeling out the dynamics of this new environment. He heard the name Steve Harrington a little too much. The ‘King’. Billy chuckled to himself, looking to the side to find some bitch staring at him like he was crazy. She almost looked like the cows he imagined Indiana to be filled with, and that only made him smile more.
With his thoughts slowing down Billy found himself thinking how his sisters might be faring at this new school. Max would be fine. She was the weirdest mix of nerd and cool that she could probably make friends with anyone she chose, Billy just hoped she actually decided to make friends. Robin didn’t have the social skills like he and Max did, and with her.. differences, she wouldn’t be making many girl friends.
What was she thinking, joining band? Only queers and nerds joined band, and she clearly wasn’t a nerd. Robin was one of the dumbest people Billy ever met. It was a wonder they were related.
Then, Billy realized what he was thinking about and stepped back mentally. If Robin wanted to ruin her life with that bullshit, what did he care, and if Max wanted to self isolate, he’d still wake up in the morning perfectly fine. Billy bit his tongue in aggravation as the bell rang and decided he’d sneak out to smoke some.
/
Robin felt her skin crawl as she finally found the band room. It hadn’t been a particularly hard search but the school building was surprisingly big and she didn’t exactly have a map. She looked at her watch and saw she had 14 minutes left until the 25 offered were up. She’d need to run back if she wanted a chance for make it on time.
She swung the door open with a little too much energy and found the band already in practice- or they were before Robin rudely interrupted. The band here was smaller than the one she was used to in California but, didn’t seem all that different demographics wise. A good number of trumpets that she could hide between during assemblies.
They were all staring at her, Robin realized a little late, and she felt her nerves increase tenfold. She wasn’t sure how this worked because she was so late, usually she’d just sign a paper and show up one day. The teacher looked at her, and Robin offered a nervous smile before walking over.
“Hey- uh.. Robin Mayfield. I wanted to join band? I’m new here I.. didn’t realize you were meeting today.”
“Right, principal Higgins mentioned you might show up. 5 minute break everyone!” The helpful looking lady guided Robin to a room offshot from the main one and had her sit down.
“I’ve gotta go home with my brother in a few minutes.. if you want to talk later-“
“Nope we should be fine. What instrument do you play?”
“Trumpet, I was.. second seat at my old school.” She hadn’t been, but there wasn’t any real way for this lady to check right?
“Alright, my names Ms. Lee, we meet here every day after school except Fridays and before big events you’ll be expected to show up on some weekends. Understand?”
“Understood Mi- ma’am,” Robin gave her new band director a little salute and stood up awkwardly. “I have my own trumpet.. if I need to bring one.” Robin remembered how Billy suggested that the school might not have funds for individual instruments like their old school did.
“If you want to, we have a spare trumpet I’m sure.”
“Got it. See you tomorrow then?” The teacher nodded and Robin made a quick dash out of the room, both to avoid more stares and to prepare herself for the sprint to Billy’s car. She found an exit door pretty quickly, and when she made it to the parking lot there was just a minute left. Robin ran, stomping her feet on the asphalt until she made it to the car.
She heard the engine rev as she caught her breath and swung the door open before he decided to leave. “Jesus Billy,” she breathed extra hard as she fell into the seat.
“Seatbelt,”
“Fuck you.” Robin panted as she dragged the belt to her waist and locked her in. Once she caught her breath Robin spun around and smiled at Max. “So, how was your first day?”
“Fine,” Max stared out the window as Billy raced by fields of corn. “My Biology teacher was talking about endosymbiotic theory.. seemed like she had personal experience with it.”
“School’s got no standards for teachers. Pretty sure the Gym teacher is a predator.” Billy started pulling a cigarette out of a box, pushing it towards Robin until she lit it with his lighter left on his leg. “He did have a weird grin, now that I think about it.” Robin thought back, but couldn’t see what her siblings had. Maybe he just didn’t want to look at her, but Robin didn’t feel especially upset about that.
“Well, we’re here now. You find something to complain about every second.” Robin shot, looking out the window to avoid the glare Billy was no doubt giving her. Better he keep his eyes on the road with how fast he was going, they should be home soon anyways. “This place isn’t so bad.”
“It’s not so bad? Really? Roll your window down.”
“Billy-“
“Roll your window down Robin. I wanna show you something,”
“Seriously this is-“ Robin was caught off for the second time when Billy reached to the center and started rolling her window down.
“You smell that Robin? Cow shit. Actual cow shit.”
“I don’t see any cows,”
“What was that?”
“I said I don’t see any cows! Asshole.”
The rest of the car ride was silent, and Robin was glad to get out of the car as soon as she could. Billy beat her to the door though and already slammed the front door shut.
“I swear if that door is fucking-“ Robin slammed her fist on the door when the knob wouldn’t budge. “Open the fucking door Billy!” Robin hit the door a few more times until giving up to look at Max. She hated the way her little sister looked at her, so made a point to catch her breath and calmed down. “Max?”
The younger girl already knew what to do, with how often this happened. She opened the window next to the door and searched the front room before climbing in and opening the door for Robin. “Mom’s not here. I think she’s at the interview..” Max mumbled before escaping to her room.
“Fuck.” Okay Robin, totally lost your cool there and scared your little sister. She wanted to go to Billy’s room and talk with him, but with how tense it had just gotten there was no way they would get through a conversation without yelling. Max didn’t deserve to live with a bunch of assholes.
She sat down on the couch, ignoring the stains of mystery liquids. They would stay a mystery if she had any say about it. Robin just needed to calm down, her skin was burning with anger. Billy knew just how to pull it out of her, like he thrived on bringing her down to his level. Suddenly, with a new idea in her head Robin eyed the keys sitting on the coffee table. Billy should’ve known better than to leave them lying around.
Once Robin was in the car and started it, she heard the door swing open and Billy stand there for a second. He seemed more surprised that she had the audacity than anything. “I’ll be back!” Robin called, flipping Billy off before reversing. She knew how to drive, and with how Billy got around the town she highly doubted the police were going to pull her over to check for a license.
“You’re dead!” Billy called out, and Robin just laughed.
-
The lights of the store she entered rose all of Robin’s eternal alarm signals, and she did her feet to shield her eyes with a hand as she stared at all the ice cream options. Could she even realistically bring this back before it all melted? Robin wondered if they sold tubs of ice cream like back in California.
She’d been pointedly not looking at the boy behind the counter because she recognized him from school. Steve something. The name was on every girl’s lips in the hallways and even Robin had to admit that it sparked some curiosity. By the fourth hum, the boy started talking to her. “Do you want a sample?”
“Sorry I just.. don’t know what to get my baby sister.”
“Girls usually get chocolate?” Steve offered, he looked exhausted and as Robin’s gaze moved to the rest of the store she realized that no one was there. It was deep in autumn, so she wondered why the ice cream shop was even open. “Hey, do you sell tubs?”
“Yeah sure. Chocolate?” Robin shrugged, and nodded to him as he walked back behind the swing door. It took him another 5 minutes or so but he came back with a tub of chocolate ice cream and gratefully took her change. Was paying with only coins probably rude? Maybe, but she didn’t have much money. She needed a job. As Steve got her a bag, she looked back to the counter and saw the hiring paper.
“This still active?” She pointed to the paper and Steve looked up with the bag in his hand. Then he.. looked down at her body before back at her face. Gross.
“Yep.” He popped the p, before looking past her shoulder. A couple of other teenagers she hadn’t recognized walked in, already laughing and with bags in their hands. They kind of looked like a couple, and Robin found herself staring at the girl for a few seconds too long. Keep it to yourself Robin. She ripped off one of the numbers on the paper quickly and walked away with her ice cream.
/
Max sat in her room with the music filling her ears just staring at the wall. She was aggravated, scared, and worried all at once. Billy was pissed, she could still hear the way he shouted an hour ago calling their sister a number of names that max knew Robin wouldn’t have liked. Not to mention Robin being gone. She just fucking left, leaving Max with Billy.
There were a lot of emotions swirling inside of her, and none of them positive. Max wondered when her mom would come back, she wondered when Robin would return. So when the sound of an engine in the drive way came, she hurried out of her room. Billy swung his door open too and Max had to race him to the front door. If it was Robin, she didn’t want him to scare her away again.
“Okay so I wasn’t sure if mom was gonna come home with food and when I was out I figured- why not get some pizza? Celebrate our first day?” Robin offered as she walked in, awkwardly smiling at Max before looking to Billy. There was a tense few seconds before Robin tossed him his keys and Billy just sort of.. turned away and went to the kitchen to grab some paper plates.
“And we,” Robin leaned in to wink at max. “Can have some ice cream later, okay?”
“Yeah,” Max didn’t know what to say so she just nodded at Robin as she joined Billy in the kitchen. She wasn’t angry with Robin anymore, but this felt more like apology ice cream than just out of kindness.
“Did mom call?” Robin sat down after Billy took to putting the pizza slices to plates, he just shook his head.
“She’s probably just.. looking for a job.”
“Yeah probably,” Robin smiled at Max. A sympathetic smile. “I saw a job hiring, I might get an interview.”
“What about band?” Billy was still being annoying silent so Max decided to indulge in Robin’s attempt at conversation before she started scrambling like she was often to do.
“Well, you know. Money is more important. I can always play the trumpet on my own time since mom got me one last year.” Max knew that shitty trumpet wasn’t going to last much longer, but didn’t feel the need to mention that when her sister gave her another weak smile before starting her dinner.
Once dinner was over Billy sat up first, “Mom’s out drinking. Don’t lie to her,” Billy snarled at Robin before going back to his room and shutting the door with a resounding thud. Max looked up to see Robin smiling with her teeth tightly clenched.
“Come on, he doesn’t get ice cream because he’s being a dick.” She gathered all the paper plates, throwing them in the trash before putting the pizza box in the empty fridge. “Shit.” She mumbled and started frowning again when pulling out the tub of ice cream. “It might be a little melted..”
“That’s okay,” Max offered, wondering if she could get Robin to smile again but that was gone. The older girl just grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and gave one to Max.
“Two scoops?” Max nodded and watched as Robin put the spoon under hot water for the ice cream. If it was melted she really didn’t need to do that, but Max didn’t say that aloud. Max also didn’t acknowledge that Robin didn’t get her own bowl as the older girl sat down next to max.
“Mozzarella, you know I’m sorry?” Max hated that nickname but dared a look at Robin. She even nodded. “It’s just.. Billy- he.. he makes me so angry sometimes. You know?”
“He’s psychotic.”
“Hey- no. He’s not- not psychotic. He’s just upset, a lot. Okay? He’s not psychotic, he’s our brother and no matter what we have to love him.” Robin smiled, both at Max like she was trying to comfort her and like she was proud of her little speech. “Hey don’t give me that glare young lady.” Robin smiled wider, at her own joke. “I know you love Billy, and I know he loves you too.”
“Sure, if you’d call it that.”
“I would. Enjoy your ice cream,” Robin patted Max’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go apologize to him.”
/
Robin woke up with a headache, and she realized how hungry she felt. They had so much pizza last night, she really didn’t understand how her body could demand so much food from her. She found some clean clothes and socks before leaving her room, the first thing she noticed was the smell of alcohol and her eyes landed on the hardwood floor where Susan lied. God damnit.
Robin cursed to herself as she shook her mother, the woman just shook her head in her sleep and made a whiny sound. The teenager needed to carry her to the couch, and she made to that when she crouched and got her hands under the woman. It took a few attempts and a lot of self pep talks but she finally got the woman to the couch without a scratch on her head.
Robin moved to the kitchen and opened the fridge, she’d eat the last two slices. What would Billy and Max care if they weren’t even awake yet. Come to think of it, Robin glanced at the clock and found it was only 4 AM. Her schedule was so fucked now. She pulled the scrap of paper out from her pocket once back in her room and made sure to keep it near the phone for when she got home. She’d call it when they got back from school. Eventually her journey took her to the bathroom where she found unflushed vomit.
“Fuck- mom.” She grumbled, pushing down on the button and getting some toilet paper to wipe down the edges of the lid. Once everything was clean she washed her hands and brushed her teeth. If Max woke up to find any evidence of their mom’s nightly activity she’d probably just shut down from the family again for a few days.
With that thought Robin remembered to check the drive way, and just s she suspected Susan parked her car dangerously close to Billy’s. Sure. She could fix that too, because if Billy woke up and had to move her car, he’d be pissy all day and then everyone’s day would be ruined. So Robin grabbed the keys from Susan’s tightly gripped hand and moved the car just enough so Billy could get out and the car was still safely in the driveway. Robin even decided to waste some of her perfume in the front room to get rid of that alcohol like smell. When everything was done, Robin allowed herself a little pride. Wasn’t she just the best sister?
Once Robin started looking around the house once more she started doing more things. Sweeping up some of the dirt from the kitchen and throwing away loose cigarette buds before finally moving to the kitchen to make some breakfast- cereal- before Billy woke up and decided to wake up Max with his music. Did they have milk? She’d need to go shopping soon..
“She made it to the couch?” Billy woke up a few hours later wearing nothing but boxers and a wife beater, he already had a cigarette between his lips but like every morning Robin woke up before him he seemed a lot more calm.
“I carried her, don’t tell Max.”
“She’s not an idiot Robin, look at Susan’s face.”
“Mom’s face.”
“Not my mom.”
“You’re ridiculous you know? How kind has she cared for you.”
“That-“
“How long Billy. 16 years now. You were a baby when she took you in.”
“Took me in. She didn’t have a choice- and Robin, I guarantee you if she did none of us would be here and she’d still be in California.”
“Well we’re here. In the fantastic state of Indiana. Grow the fuck up Billy. She’s sacrificed so much more than you’ll ever consider” Billy just scoffed, sitting down to eat the dry bowl of cereal as Robin combed through her hair with her fingers. “She loves you like a son.”
“You know as well as I do how little that actually means. She loves getting drunk more than she loves us.”
“She loves Max.”
Billy didn’t respond to that, both of them knew Max was the favorite. Sweet, bright eyed Max. Why did Robin even say that? It didn’t prove anything to Billy, and likely just made him more upset.
“I’m gonna get a job, you should too.”
“Max’s father not sending anymore checks?”
“You know we can’t rely on that.”
“Everything’s cheaper here, and mom technically owns the house so it’s not like we gotta pay rent.”
“What about groceries Billy? Or repairing this shit hole. What if Max gets hurt and we need to take her to the hospital.”
“Just take that fucking skateboard away from her and she’d stop getting hurt so often.”
“You-“ Max walked out of her room at that moment, her eyes already missing the evidence of a deep sleep. She must’ve been awake during that whole conversation. Why couldn’t Robin go five minutes without arguing with Billy. She just wanted to give up sometimes.
“Morning Mozzarella, want some cereal?”
“Sure.” She sat down in the chair and ate her dry cereal in silence, none of them spoke at all until Billy finished eating.
“I’m leaving in 15 minutes.” Robin just bit her tongue. She wasn’t going to start another argument.
-
With the last of her money saved up Robin looked around the store silently. She needed milk, water bottles, and something meaty to get rid of these cravings before she blew up. Honestly, despite how much Billy liked to run his mouth about the state Indiana wasn’t all that different from California. Sure it got colder, a lot colder, and everything felt so much smaller. Not to mention the lack of an ocean. But stores like this felt relatively the same. She even had the same store clerks that stared holes through her back, thinking she was going to shoplift just because she was poor!
Back in California when she was still a stupid teen like Max, she did shoo lift pretty often. Just a few candy bar, as if she wanted to prove those clerks right. She was poor, and she did need the food, so why be ashamed of stealing. It never ended well, Robin had learned quickly, when she was caught and put in jail for a night. Her mother was so pissed nothing had ever felt scarier.
So she leaned her lesson. Obviously. But that didn’t mean the urge to stuff a chocolate bar into the waistband of her pants wasn’t there. Instead she decided to focus on what kind of milk Max would prefer and how tiring it’d be walk home with all these groceries until she was able to pay and leave.