CHAPTER THIRTY. RELATIONSHIP ADVICE FROM THE UNDERQUALIFIED

☆ミ ☆彡

A COOL SUMMER BREEZE JOSSLED THROUGH HER HAIR as she sat on the sidewalk. A book rested in Challan's lap as Max skateboarded on the road in front of her. The redhead had been trying to master a new trick for the past few days but couldn't quite get it right. Today, she decided, would be the day that she mastered it. And Challan would be there to see it.

Max wasn't sure why she still tried to impress Challan. She already got the girl, she didn't really have a need to. Maybe she just wanted to keep Challan interested in her. She didn't want to give the girl a reason to get bored. Maybe. She didn't know.

Challan was only half paying attention though, too busy reading her book. She would look up occasionally when Max was grunt or groan in frustration, wanting to make sure the redhead was okay. Currently, Challan's eyes were on her book, reading silently as Max attempted the trick again. The redhead jumped up and nearly tripped on the skateboard, which went rolling down the road.

"Shit!"

Challan looked up, watching the skateboard roll down the road. "You okay?"

Max nodded with a huff about to go retrieve her skateboard but stopped when it was kicked up and grabbed by someone. Eleven walked up to Max, gripping the redhead's skateboard in both of her hands. Challan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She didn't know why Eleven was there, the girl had never attempted to hang out with them before.

"Hi," Eleven greeted Max once she came to a stop in front of her. Challan closed her book and stood up, eyeing Eleven wearily.

"Hi?" Max said, also extremely confused. Her blue eyes looked to Challan, Eleven's eyes following Max's and then the two faced one another again.

"Can we talk?" Eleven asked hesitantly.

Max and Challan glanced at one another and Challan walked forward. "About what?"

"About Mike. I think he's... losing interest in me," Eleven replied.

Challan's eyebrows furrowed and she nodded, "Uh, okay. Let's talk then."

Max nodded too, "Yeah, sure, I guess."

The three walked to Max's front door, entered the house, and made a beeline for the redhead's bedroom. Challan took a seat on Max's bed as Eleven began looking around the unfamiliar bedroom.

Challan and Max looked at Eleven expectantly and after a moment, she began explaining the situation to them. At some point as Eleven talked, Max began pacing in front of where Challan and Eleven sat on the bed.

"And then he said he-he missed me. And then he just hung up," Eleven finished. Challan thought over everything Eleven had told the two, trying to deduce why Mike was seemingly acting so strange.

"He's a piece of shit," Max spoke.

"What?" Eleven asked at the same time Challan exclaimed, "Max!"

"Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today, and his Nana obviously isn't sick," she stopped pacing and pointed at Eleven, "I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now."

"But, friends don't lie," Eleven said.

"Yeah, well, boyfriends lie. All the time," Max countered.

"Do they?" Challan questioned, wondering how exactly Max knew this.

"Yes. Because boys are stupid. Precisely why girls are so much better," Max answered, sending Challan a wink. Challan playfully rolled her eyes, a bashful smile on her lips whilst her cheeks became hot.

"So... I should date girls? Because girlfriends don't lie?" Eleven was extremely confused with the situation.

Max shrugged her shoulders, "If you want."

"If I want?" Eleven asked unsurely.

"Yeah, if you like a girl the way you like Mike and she likes you that way too, then in an ideal world, you can date her," Max responded matter of factly.

Eleven grew pensive as she tried to understand Max's words. Challan looked over at the redhead before looking back at the brunette.

"Really?" Eleven questioned, still unsure. This was completely foreign to her and she found herself learning something new every day.

"Yes," Max confirmed. She and Challan shared a look as Eleven looked down in thought. It was as if they were sharing a conversation with just their eyes. Challan broke the stare and turned to Eleven, clearing her throat.

"You know, Max and I are together. Like how you and Mike are together. We're dating," Challan admitted.

Eleven's head tilted in confusion as she looked between the two. "You are?"

Challan nodded, "Yeah."

"So... you can really do that? Date each other? Two girls? That's okay?" Eleven asked for further clarification.

"Yeah, it's like I said if you guys like each other then why not? A girl and a boy can date, why not two girls or two boys?" Max attempted to explain.

Eleven sat silently for a moment, which made Challan nervous. She had no idea what the girl might say.

"Oh... okay," Eleven finally said, nodding her head in understanding.

Challan looked over at Max who looked back at her. The two then turned back to Eleven. "Are you... okay with that?" Challan asked timidly.

Eleven stared at her as she thought over her question, eyebrows furrowed. "With what?"

"Us, you know... dating?" Challan elaborated.

"Yes. Why would I not be?" Eleven asked, becoming confused again.

"It's just that... some people aren't," Challan answered.

"Why not?" Eleven asked next.

"Because some people are assholes who need to mind their own business," Max replied, crossing her arms, her face scrunching up angrily.

"Max," Challan spoke gently.

"It's the truth," Max defended, uncrossing her arms and giving Challan a look that said, 'you know I'm right.'

"Who are these assholes?" Eleven questioned, sitting up straighter.

"Why? Do you wanna knock some sense into them?" Max asked, a smirk forming on her lips.

"Should I?" Eleven asked.

"No!" Challan exclaimed at the same time Max said, "Yes!"

Eleven looked between the two girls who were now staring at each other. Challan sent Max a pointed look and Max relented.

"No," the redhead muttered. Challan smiled and the second she turned away, Max was nodding her head at Eleven and mouthing a "yes." Eleven nodded her head in understanding.

"Now, back to Mike," Max clapped. She sat down in between Challan and Eleven, the curly-haired girl moving over to give her space. "You're going to stop calling him. You're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" Eleven repeated, both confused and intrigued.

"He treated you like garbage. You're gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine," Max explained.

"Give him the medicine," Eleven said. Challan quirked a concerned eyebrow. She opened her mouth to speak but Max beat her to it.

"Mm-hmm. And if he doesn't fix this, if he doesn't explain himself, dump his ass," Max said with finality. Eleven's eyes widened a fraction.

"Whoa, okay. Maybe let's dial it back a minute and talk this through," Challan interjected.

"There's nothing to talk through, Chal. Mike is a liar and if he doesn't come clean, Eleven should dump him," Max stated.

"Maybe but maybe she should try to understand why he's lying first," Challan proposed.

"What's there to understand? He lied to her and probably didn't have a good reason," Max retorted.

"There's a good reason to lie?" Eleven asked the two.

"No!" They both responded.

"Look, lying is not a good foundation for a relationship. You should always be honest. I'm just saying maybe his reasoning wasn't malicious," Challan tried to explain.

"Malicious?" Eleven repeated, unfamiliar with the word. "What does malicious mean?"

"It means intentionally harming someone in some way." Challan answered with a smile. Eleven smiled back.

"Why are you defending him?" Max asked eyes narrowed at Challan.

"I'm not defending him, I'm just saying—"

"Really? Because it sounds like you're defending him. Which is weird because since when do you defend liars?" Max interrupted.

Challan was taken aback for a moment, "Max—"

"So you would be okay if I lied to you about something?" Max stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.

Challan grew uncomfortable, eyes darting to Eleven for a moment before looking at Max. "Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?" Max asked.

"Like you're trying to pick a fight. We talked about this," Challan replied.

Max scoffed, "I'm not." The two stared at each other. "You didn't answer my question. Would you be okay if I lied to you about something?"

"I don't know, Max. Would you dump me for lying to you about something?" Challan countered.

Max blinked in surprise and began to sputter, "That-that's different."

Challan stood now too, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why is that different?"

"Because... because it is," Max lamely replied. Challan's eyebrows raised.

"Would you dump me if I lied to you?" Max turned it back around on Challan.

"I think it depends," Challan answered carefully.

Max scoffed, "It depends?" She hadn't been expecting that answer. And though her face remained neutral, Challan's answer upset her.

"Yeah," Challan nodded.

"What does it depend on?" Max asked, pursing her lips.

"I don't know, the circumstances I guess," Challan said.

"You guess?" Max scoffed again.

"Jeez, Max. I'm not really sure what you want me to say," Challan spoke.

"I don't know, Challan, maybe the truth. Tell me how you really feel," Max retorted.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Challan grew defensive. What was even happening right now?

"It means what I said. It sounds to me like there's something you're not saying so just say it," Max said.

Eleven looked between the two, beginning to grow uncomfortable by the fighting. "Guys," she spoke quietly. Neither girl seemed to hear her.

"What are you even talking about? I answered your question and you just got mad at me and I don't know why," Challan said.

"Oh, you don't know?" Max asked.

"No, Max because I'm not a mind reader. So why don't you just say what you're holding back," Challan countered

"I'm not holding anything back," Max denied.

"Right, yeah, I totally believe you," Challan said, obviously not believing her. The two girls turned away from each other.

"Why are you guys fighting?" Eleven asked, looking between the two girls.

"I don't know, ask Max," Challan replied. Max rolled her eyes and huffed. An uncomfortable silence settled in the room as none of the girls said anything. Max and Challan avoided each other's eyes. Minutes felt like hours and no one said anything. Max finally grew fed up, grabbing Challan's arm and pulling her out of the bedroom. She led her to the bathroom, pulled her in, and closed the door.

Challan's arms remained crossed on her chest. The two girls stared at the floor silently. Max sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"You've been apologizing a lot lately," Challan mumbled.

"I know. I don't know what's wrong with me. I know how it seems but I promise I'm not trying to ruin this. Not intentionally. I just... I don't know. Do you... do you want to break up?" Max said.

"What? No!" Challan shook her head.

"It's just the way the conversation was headed—"

"If this is about me saying it depends when you asked if I'd dump you for lying, I didn't mean it in any kind of way. I just meant that it depends on the lie. Like if you lied about liking my grilled cheese sandwiches then obviously I wouldn't break up with you. But if it was like, a big lie then maybe. It just depends. I'm sorry if I made you feel unsure about things," Challan explained. Challan wasn't the only one who needed reassurance in their relationship, she was beginning to realize. Max needed it too and she could understand why.

"I'm sorry for being so defensive and an asshole. You didn't deserve that," Max apologized.

"Apology accepted," Challan smiled.

"Why are you always so forgiving?" Max asked, a fond smile coming onto her face.

Challan shrugged, "It's easy to forgive the people you care about."

Max's smile widened a fraction, "Even if they don't deserve it?"

"I'm the one who decides if they deserve it and you deserve it, okay?" Challan stated. She pulled the redhead into a hug, "No more picking fights, M. I hate fighting with you."

"I hate fighting with you too. I'm sorry, Chal," Max muttered.

"It's okay, babe," Challan whispered.

Max pulled away, "Babe?"

"I was trying something new," Challan shrugged. Max laughed before placing a soft kiss on Challan's forehead.

"Let's get back to Eleven," Max suggested and Challan nodded.

The two walked back to Max's bedroom where Eleven was still sitting on Max's bed. She looked up when the two reentered the room. Eleven looked between them. "Are you guys... okay?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah, we're good. Sorry about that," Challan answered. Eleven nodded her head as the two girls sat back down on the bed. "Okay, so Mike."

"What do I do?" Eleven questioned.

"I say if Mike continues to lie to you with no good reason, dump his ass," Max answered.

Eleven looked over at Challan, awaiting her response. Challan pursed her lips, "If it's something that happens more than once, then yeah I guess you could dump him."

Max suddenly grabbed Eleven's hands, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Eleven cautiously asked.

"To have some fun. There's more to life than stupid boys, you know." Max grabbed Challan's arm and pulled her up from the bed. The redhead pulled the two out of her bedroom. She made a detour to Billy's bedroom, leaving Challan and Eleven outside his door for a moment. Max emerged with a large smile before pulling the two out of the front door.

Challan pulled on Max's arm and yanked her to a stop. "I feel like I should be concerned because sometimes your definition of fun isn't my definition of fun," Challan spoke.

"Relax, Chal. This definition of fun matches your definition. Trust me," Max responded, a giddy smile coming onto her face.

Challan and Eleven shared a look, the former shrugging her shoulders. "Alright, let's go then."

••••

I know I've been M.I.A. but I've been super busy with life so it's not my fault. But just know I haven't forgotten about this book lol. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Please vote and comment. Have a great day.