DISCLAIMER:
If you are a Mike 'Stan' this story is most likely not for you. This fic is THE first fic that has a LOT of bashing on a character so if you do not agry with what I say please do not bitch about it in the comments.
(Also a lot of the bashing is NOT canon compliant, it never happened in the show, so keep that in mind)
This is FANFICTION. So be chill. Please and thank you
It had been months since the incident in Starcourt mall and everything around Mike's world was falling apart and it all surrounded one thing: The party was falling apart.
It had started with subtle things, Will making excuses to not hang out with him and he still dared to hang out with Max. Dustin and Lucas waved him off all the time, Eleven ignoring him and deciding to spend most of her time alongside the now heavily injured Hopper and Max- Mike didn't care about Max, she was doing her own thing. However- things changed when he noticed one thing they had all started doing.
They had all started avoiding Mike himself.
Will had outright told him to leave him alone. Mike still remembered the words he said that day and how much it stung when his best friend -Could he even call him that?- scowled at him.
"Can you just leave me alone?!" Will said as he finally turned around after Mike had followed him back home when he spotted the boy getting dice at a store
"Will-" Mike began but he was cut off by more angry and tired words
"I just want you to leave me alone, Mike. We're not friends- you made that very clear"
Mike wanted to scream back, he wanted- more like demand what he was talking about (Even though he had a pretty good idea what it was about) but before he even managed to say a word Will had walked to the door of his house and opened it- but he had paused, looking back at Mike with...regret and sadness
"Look just... please leave me alone"
After that, he and Will never hung out a lot. They never even so much as talk. The only times Will would talk to him was only when Joyce had sent him to give Mike's mom some gifts or dessert she had made but even then it was only a few words and at most Will treated him like a stranger and nothing more.
But he noticed how close Will and Max got all of a sudden.
He would always catch them hanging out and it made him bristle with anger.
Dustin avoided him like the plague.
And no matter how hard Mike tried to talk to him or hang out with him Dustin would always weasel his way out and make it impossible for Mike to find him.
Lucas on the other hand still hung out with him, until Mike had commented on Will and Lucas snapped. Lucas had gotten angry and Mike had no idea what to do or rather- why he was angry.
"Your acting as if Will is the issue here!" Lucas exclaimed as he shoved a finger on Mike's chest, almost making him stumble back "Will is just moving back after what you said to him!"
Mike stared at Lucas with wide eyes and he was about to argue back when-
"You haven't even apologized, have you?" he asked in disbelief
"He doesn't want to talk to me" he shot back
"And? AND?! That's never stopped you before!" Lucas is almost shouting at this point and Mike believes he WILL shout when he opens his mouth again but instead...he stops. He stares at Mike as if he just found the answer to a question he had been trying to answer and then he just- Takes a deep breath in and lets it out. He turns around and only stops when Mike calls out
"Lucas?"
"I- I need to think about something"
Mike blinks "About what?" he asks
Lucas glances over his shoulder and for a second Mike swears he sees Lucas flinch at the sight of him. As if he's finally seen something he hadn't before. And before Mike can say anything else-
He leaves, walking away from him
"Lucas? Hey, where are you going?!" he asks only once
But Lucas never turns around, he just walks away and Mike hears him mumble something "I owe Max and Will an apology"
And then he's gone.
Leaving Mike all alone.
And then...there was Eleven.
His girlfriend- His Ex-girlfriend.
Eleven, like Will, shut him up, she had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. And he wanted to know why. Why did she want nothing to do with him? Is it because of his lie? He was just doing what Hopper had told him to do! and he had tried to tell her that.
He had tried to explain that he was sorry and that he would never do anything like that ever again.
He had tried to tell her that it's okay to be friends with Max but not to let her manipulate her-
And that. That was what set Eleven off.
Mike gasped as he was thrown into a tree.
Despite the Starcourt incident taking a lot of Eleven's strength and control of her powers she still had her powers and Mike couldn't help but feel lucky that they were in the woods that surrounded Hopper's cabin and not out in the town where someone could see.
But he quickly brushed does thoughts away when he realized he couldn't breathe.
"E-Eleven!" he gasped out and she finally lets go of her grip on him, letting him slide down the tree he was being held against.
He looked up- and that had been his biggest mistake.
He had never seen Eleven look so angry until now, she was glaring at him with a scowl on her face as she growled out:
"My name is JANE. Not Eleven"
And Mike is left speechless at the anger is letting out
"And don't ever say that about Max, she is not 'manipulating' me. She's just being a friend. A GOOD friend, unlike you-"
"I AM a good friend and I'm just looking out for you!"
Eleven stares at him and he can tell she doesn't believe him, but the next words shock him
"Friends don't lie, not even to themselves," she said. Eleven- or rather, Jane, stared down at him and he can't help but feel like he was being examined. And just like that, she sighs.
She drops her arms and unlike Will and Lucas, who left without a word Eleven says this: "You're being a mouth breather, Mike."
He blinks in shock but just like Will and Lucas he cuts him off
"You're treating our friends like garbage," she said with confidence and with every bit of courage "And I can't be friends with someone like that"
And just like that Mike feels his world shatter around him.
Eleven turns away from him
"Wait-"
"No"
"Just tell me what I did wrong!" he yells
And Eleven stops walking, she turns around and with an uncaring- or was it pity in her voice?- voice says: "Figure it out yourself"
She left, just like Will and Lucas had done before her.
And Mike was left all alone.
Mike had no idea what was happening.
But he knew, for a fact, that it all stemmed from one girl.
And that girl was Maxine fucking Mayfield.
It had to be!
Ever since she showed up everything had changed, they had changed and Mike was getting left behind as if- as if he was nothing. As if he hadn't gone through everything alongside them!
And yet, all of them are on good terms with her.
Even when it was her brother (Step-brother he reminds herself) that had been going after them and had almost killed them!
But no.
Mike was the bad friend and not her.
It was as if he hadn't done anything for them. What has she done for them that he hasn't?
Well. it doesn't matter.
All that matters Is that Mike is going to get to the bottom of this. And he knows exactly where or rather, who to start with.
And that person is Max herself.
0Oo
Max sighed from where she was on the couch, squeezed in between Robin and Nancy as they watched a movie.
She wasn't sure which one and she didn't care. Instead, she distracted herself with the sound of their breathing, their sometimes sweet murmurs to each other, and their heartbeats which she could hear from where she was.
To say that things had changed in her life would be a drastic understatement.
The starcourt incident had changed their lives, specifically hers, for the better and worse in some ways.
Billy had died. He died and she had been glad he had died. It had made her feel horrible and for the following week, she had to be watched by one of the adults or older teens, preferably Steve and Robin just so that they would make sure she didn't do anything drastic.
But of course, the issues didn't stop there.
The police had investigated her house and had taken her out of there the second they stepped in.
Broken bottles and glass covered the ground, a drunk angry Neil almost shot one of the officers, and Susan cried, finally cracking and getting rid of that illusion she had made in her head
They said she was lucky to be as healthy as she was.
Quickly the topic of where she would go rose up and before they could try anything, Robin had practically begged her parents to take her in and had even added that they didn't have to take care of her and that she could do it herself.
They did take her in however they didn't give Robin full guardianship. Legally Max's guardians were Robin's parents, and despite their disagreement with it, Robin let her stay with her in the apartment she had gotten with Nancy when Nancy had an argument with her parents and had moved out because of it.
They were nice but Max was still calling them 'Sir' and 'Ma'am' despite the fact that they had told her they were fine with her calling them by their names. She does it anyway, she doesn't want to cross the line and mess everything up.
She was still getting used to it.
The feeling of...peace. It was over. And this time they were sure of it.
But just because it was peaceful didn't mean there weren't issues.
Max was messed up. She wasn't the same girl she used to be, she was broken and she was healing day by day. Robin and Nancy were part of the reason she wasn't shutting everyone out. It was because of them and everybody else that she was getting better.
Then, there was the party.
It had become apparent that there was tension in the party. And that tension stemmed from one person: Mike Wheeler.
Max had learned of the argument he had with Will. Had heard from Lucas of how he asked- more like demanded, advice to fix things with Jane seeing as how he and Max got together which was news to her since she and Lucas had never even dated. She had listened to Dustin complain about how Mike brushed him off completely, and despite most members of the party not being there for him in the events prior to the starcourt incident they had at least tried, unlike Mike. And then there was Jane who had not gone back to Mike and was figuring herself out, and she also told Max about what he said in the forest.
She had no idea what was happening.
Was Mike being an idiot, was he not thinking? Or was he being an asshole just because he could?
She hoped it was the former because if he was knowingly being an asshole then that would just prove her point. What point? The point is that Mike wasn't a good friend.
Max knew that Mike cared about everyone, he had been with the party longer than she ever had. He was their paladin. But the way he acted toward the others. What he said to Will, assuming things like he had with her and Lucas, neglecting Dustin like that, and treating Jane like garbage?
That wasn't okay.
Of course, there was his relationship with Max herself.
She and Mike had never gotten along. Their personalities just didn't mix well. Where he was open and sometimes annoying she was closed up and would snap at people who would push her buttons so far.
And yeah, She knew that sometimes she could be a bitch. She was aware of that.
However, she had learned from both Nancy and Robin that despite that it gave Mike no right to treat her like that. After all, it wasn't exactly a secret that Mike and Max despite being in the area of 'friendship' did not get along.
And Max was okay with that.
She didn't care about what he said to her or what he did to her. As long as he didn't hurt the others.
The party, in a way, had become her second home. It was the one place where she was surrounded by people who cared about her; they had become her family just as much as Robin, Robin's parents, Nancy and Steve had become.
And so, she began to take action.
It began with asking questions, did they really like how Mike acted? How he treated them sometimes?
Jane and Will had been the first to admit openly how Mike made them feel.
Jane had felt uncomfortable and had openly told Max that she didn't know why she had liked Mike back then and said, quote: "It felt forced". How protective and obsessive sometimes possessive he could be at times and Max had felt her heartbreak when she saw Jane's broken expression. Because Max knew that Jane had figured it out all on her own without her having to voice it. What she and Mike had never been real, maybe it never had been, it had been the spur of the moment and nothing else.
And Will?
Max felt horrible for Will. Because what Mike had done wasn't just make fun of or insult him for wanting to play his favorite hobby. No Mike had openly called him out, had outed him. And even if nobody had heard it was still horrible. She recalled Will holding her hands, they were shaking, and how betrayed and angry he was. Max knew of his crush on Will and she just...felt bad for him. But she was genuinely happy when he began to make attempts to move on from that crush, and Max supported him all the way through. She would be a hypocrite if she didn't.
Dustin was the one who noticed quickly and had moved on the first. He had been the fastest to realize that his relationship with Mike wasn't the same as it was before. Dustin had told Max that he missed the old day and that despite everything that's happened he didn't blame Jane or the Upside Down for being one of the main reasons things had changed between them. In his own words: "I don't know. I guess we're just growing up in different ways"
Lucas was the one who was in the most denial. He put the blame on everything and everyone but Mike and it almost made Max slap him but then he apologized to Max and Will. She had no idea what happened but the only thing he had said about it was: "He was being an asshole and I just couldn't listen to him anymore". Lucas had always listened to Mike's rants and it seems like he finally snapped and couldn't take it anymore.
Max knows that Mike probably doesn't mean to hurt their friends. But that still didn't erase the anger she felt every time she sat down with one of them and they let their feelings out.
Jane had felt chained by Mike. He called her Eleven or El, her number not even her real name.
Will had given everything for Mike, had loved him. And Mike turns around and stabs him in the chest.
Dustin had felt like Mike and the party cared about his passion. But when Mike had Jane as his girlfriend, Dustin doesn't blame Jane for that, he ignored Dustin and treated his passion and interests like shit.
Lucas who had been the one, if not the most loyal to mike had finally had enough of his attitude.
Max was afraid of what was going to happen in the near future. The next school year was drawing close, and this time Jane would be joining them. She really didn't want any of this drama making this a bad experience for her.
She was pulled out of her head when they heard the phone ring. Max sighed and lifted herself up "I'll get it"
Making her way to the kitchen where the phone was, she grabbed it and held it to her ear "Hello?"
"We need to talk"
Well...
Speak of the devil.
Max sighed "Well hello to you too, I'm having a nice day how about you?" she said sarcastically
"This isn't a joke Max. Meet me at the park"
And then he hung up.
Max groaned, always the dramatic one huh?
She walked back to Nancy and Robin "I'm going to the park"
Nancy stared at her and raised an eyebrow "I didn't know you guys were going to have a meeting" she was confused and Max felt guilty over not telling her but she didn't want to make Nancy feel guilty that it was her brother that was calling her out at night and was most likely going to argue with her.
"Neither did I but plans change I guess" she murmured under her breath. She put on her shoes and shared a knowing look with Robin who mouthed
M-I-K-E?
Max nodded silently and Robin looked back at the movie. She could tell that Robin didn't want her to go alone but they both knew that this was a long-time coming for both her and Mike.
She waved them goodbye and opened the door, stepping out into the night as she took a deep breath in and let it out.
Max just hoped that nothing bad would come of this.
But who was she kidding?
Something was going to happen and it was going to be bad.
But she'll be dammed if she let's this hurt her friends.
0Oo
When she arrived he was already there, sitting on a swing.
Max sighed and walked to sit on the other empty swing. Neither of them speaks so she takes the lead and asks "So?"
"What did you do"
Ah
Of course
Max turned and stared at Mike, frowning and asking "What do you mean?"
She knows what he means but she's going to indulge him for a bit before she finally lets loose
"Ever since you showed up in Hawkins-" Here we go "-things have changed. I gave you a chance because Dustin and Lucas liked you and I didn't want to make them mad and besides you were Lucas' girlfriend-" Max felt her eye twitch "-But now everything is falling apart"
He stopped and stared at her "So what did you do?"
"Bold of you to assume I did anything" Max drawled out
Mike glared at her
She sighed "Mike. You are many things but an idiot is not one of them-well, sometimes." Max looked at him knowingly "Everyone is moving on, and you're being left behind. They want nothing to do with you anymore-" he twitches "-so let me ask you this. What does any of that have to do with me"
He doesn't say anything so she continues "I haven't done anything. I haven't said anything-"
"Things changed after you showed up" he accused and Max scoffs and rolls her eyes, he sounded like a broken record
"Of course, things changed. What? You expected them to always stay like that?" she said with a raised eyebrow but then she sighed "Look. All of this that's happening with you and the party? It's not my fault. It's yours"
He glared at her "No it isn't"
Max stared at him "Do you think I would manipulate all of them to start acting the way they are?" she shakes her head "I'm not like that."
Mike stares at her and she says, the words she knows will set him off, "Maybe they just don't need a friend like you anymore"
He stands up and glares at her, she stares at him and wonders if he's going to punch her. Instead, he stands there and says "What do you know?"
"I know what you said to Will"
He flinches
"I know how Jane feels about you now"
He takes a step back
"I know Lucas and Dustin don't see you the same anymore"
Mike recovers and glares at her "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that you did this to yourself" she stood up and walked toward him "You may not have meant to hurt them but you did. What you did to Will? It was fucked up. How you treated Jane? You never had a right to act like that toward her like that or treat her like you did. And Dustin and Lucas? They deserve better"
She took a deep breath in
"And now you're here using me as your verbal punching bag, having the audacity to blame me for what's happening to the party. You think I made them push you away" Max shook her head "I didn't. I would never do something like that to anyone"
Max takes a step forward and jabs him in the chest with her finger.
"Your not a good friend and that's why things have changed. It wasn't me. It wasn't them. It was you."
Mike scowled at her "Your lying"
"Friends don't lie," she said and she relishes in the way he moves back as if she had just slapped him. "I'm just telling you the truth and the truth hurts sometimes"
He had no retort so she kept going.
"Will has been there for you when you needed him most. And what do you do? You turn around and slap him as if you and him hadn't been best friends for years. You call him out over something that isn't something he should be ashamed off" she shakes her head "Do you know how long he cried in my arms? How angry he was? How betrayed he realized he felt after it was all over?" She pointed at Mike "You did that!"
"I-I didn't mean to"
She frowned "Even if you didn't mean to that doesn't give you the right to say that out loud. It doesn't give you the right to treat his love for DnD like it's something childish because If I remember you also used to play that 'Childish' game. He loves it and you made fun of him for it"
Mike's eyes glanced around, as if he's remembering what happened that day
Max took a deep breath "He finally got done trying to stick by your side" a pause "And it's the same with Dustin. I mean, you completely shoved him away to the point where he barely saw you and you him."
"We were busy with our own things!"
"And the one time he asks you to hang out with him you walk away with Jane- and don't you dare bring her into this!" she warns with a snarl when he opened his mouth to speak "We spent most of our day with him and you just walked away. He tried but you didn't!"
Mike didn't respond instead his eyes widened "No I-" and then he stopped
"And Lucas. God. Me and him never dated!" She let out "We were just friends, and you just assumed me and him were a thing! We went to the snowball together because we didn't want to go alone and you just-" she stopped and sighed. This wasn't about that "Lucas has been on your side, but then you bring up Will and me- you just rant to him. You don't listen to him or even let him get a word in!"
She stops and a silence hangs over them. She mumbles a name that makes him freeze "And Jane. Don't even get me started on her"
"Why do you call her that?" He asked weakly
Max frowns "Because its her name? Eleven is her number, Jane is her name." she narrowed her eyes at him "Everyone else understands that, why can't you?" he flinches at that and since he doesn't say anything she continues "You, and Hopper in a way, never let her break free. You kept her close to you instead of letting her go and discover herself. Jane may have powers but she's human and humans need the space and opportunity to grow and learn who they are"
She looked at him straight in the eyes
"Not like some pet you keep at your side always and tell what to do"
She does her best to keep the anger contained. As if she hadn't held the girl mentioned in her arms and rocked her back and forth as she calmed her down. As if she didn't kiss the side of her head, ignoring her beating heart that was like a jackhammer and hating how warm and happy she felt when the girl she cared about so dearly was in literal tears.
Max remembered how angry she had felt. How she basically had to ask Robin to make sure she wasn't anywhere near Mike in fear that she might actually hurt him.
Nobody hurt Jane. Not like that.
Silence followed and Max took a deep breath "Do you get it now?"
Mike isn't looking at her, his hair is almost covering his eyes.
"I didn't do anything. You did." She said and then, once she noticed the look in his eyes, she sighed and glanced away.
"Look. I don't think your a bad guy, Mike." he snorts "But I don't think your a good friend. That doesn't mean you can't change, you have the chance to make things right, to apologize to Will, to make it up to Lucas and Dustin, and to support Jane as she grows"
She takes a deep breath in and walks past him, pausing as she said
"We're starting our first year in High School. It'll be Jane's fist year in high school. You can either get your head out of your ass and be better or be an asshole and watch as your friends leave you behind."
Max stands there and begins to walk off when-
"And you?"
She stopped
He says softly "What did I do to you?"
Max paused and shook her head "It doesn't matter. Because I don't care what you do to me"
Silence followed and he coughed "Wanna go to the arcade?"
She looked over her shoulder and stared at him. Max knew what this meant, this was him trying to be better and he was starting with her.
Max smiled a bit "Sure."
The two leave the park, Mike asks about Will and the others and Max tells him about everything that's been happening. How excited Jane is and how Dustin and Lucas are ready to beat the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt her.
It isn't better.
Nothing magical is going to get rid of the harsh truth she delivered to Mike and it certainly isn't going to erase the newfound knowledge Mike had gained or erase all of his past actions.
But, it's a start.
And neither of them can complain about that, now can they?