CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. IT'S JUST A MOVIE

☆ミ ☆彡

CHALLAN LOGAN LOVED HER FRIENDS A LOT. She loved the fact that she even had friends. What she didn't love was how inconsiderate they could be. Specifically Mike Wheeler.

The group had made plans to see Day of the Dead on its opening night, which was tonight, weeks ago. Challan wasn't particularly fond of horror movies but everyone else wanted to see it and so they made plans. They agreed to meet up at the new Starcourt Mall at a certain time so that they could find good seats and not have to worry about anything. Everyone else was on time except for Mike. Challan wasn't all that surprised, Mike had been late to a lot of group hangouts, if he even showed up at all, because of all the time he had been spending with his girlfriend Eleven.

Challan understood him wanting to spend time with her, she herself always wanted to spend time with Max. And although she and Max were practically attached at the hip, much like Mike and Eleven, the two girls still made time for their friends and they were always punctual. Mike couldn't say the same.

Another sigh left her lips as she looked down at her watch again. The movie would be starting soon. She looked back up to see if he had arrived yet but the boy was still nowhere to be found.

Max groaned, throwing her head back, "Where is he?"

"Where do you think?" Lucas grumbled.

"Can we just go in and save him a seat? The movie starts soon," Challan proposed, tightening her jacket around her waist.

"I doubt there are any seats left," Will spoke.

"If we miss this movie, I'm gonna kill him," Max threatened.

"Yeah, and I'll help," Lucas said. The two friends fist bumped.

Challan and Will looked at one another and shook their heads, a light laugh erupting from Challan's mouth. Max and Lucas were quite the pair.

Mike came into view on his bike, riding it toward the group.

"There he is," Will pointed to him.

"Finally," Max complained.

The Wheeler boy came to a stop in front of his friends. "You're late," Lucas chastised.

"Sorry!" Mike panted.

"Again!" Lucas continued.

Mike began locking his bike to the bike rack as Will spoke. "We're gonna miss the opening."

"Yeah, if you keep whining about it. Let's go!" Mike retorted.

"'If you guys keep whining about it. Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh,'" Lucas mocked. Challan grabbed his arm and pulled him forward and toward the mall doors as the group began moving.

"Just please stop talking, dude," Mike said to him but Lucas did not stop talking.

"Let me guess. You were busy," Lucas began making kissing noises as the group of five began walking through the mall.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike said, annoyed.

"'Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends,'" Lucas imitated what he was sure Mike would say.

"Lucas, stop," Max chastised.

"Will thinks it's funny," Lucas responded.

"Because it is," Will laughed.

"Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend," Mike retorted.

Lucas lowered his voice, "Challan and Max spend romantic time together all the time, and yet they're never late."

"Why are we being brought into this?" Challan asked, her eyes meeting Max's who smiled.

"To prove a point," Lucas replied.

"Do not bring up our relationship to prove a point, Lucas," Max said before looking at Mike. "But he's right, Chal and I were hanging out all day today and we still came on time."

"We were early, actually," Challan added.

Max turned to her, "Yeah because someone wanted ice cream."

"I am not sorry," Challan replied. Max playfully rolled her eyes and grabbed Challan's arm, pulling the girl closer to her side. If anyone were to see them, it wouldn't look suspicious. They'd just look like two friends walking through a mall with their other friends.

The mall was extremely crowded like it had been since it opened. The construction of the Starcourt Mall had been the biggest thing to happen in Hawkins. No one expected a small town like Hawkins to create a mall so extravagant. Challan wasn't even sure how the town had been able to afford it. One of her father's coworkers at the fire station had loads of conspiracy theories, even one where the mayor was working with the Russian government and built this mall so that the Russians can do some evil stuff. Yeah, he was crazy.

The group of five walked down the escalator, pushing past people while saying "Excuse me," over and over. Challan tried not to bump into anyone as she skillfully maneuvered her way around the people.

"Excuse us!"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

"Excuse me, I'm sorry."

"Sorry."

The five made it down the escalator. Mike accidentally bumped into a girl that immediately shot him a glare. "Hey! Watch it!" She snapped.

"Yeah! Watch it, nerd!" Erica Sinclair, Lucas's younger sister, said. She was sitting with her friends, all eating ice cream. Why the young girls were at the mall unsupervised, Challan didn't know but it was mildly concerning seeing as none of them were older than ten years old.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Lucas said to his sister.

"Isn't it time you died?" Erica countered, making Challan's eyes widen and Erica's friends laugh.

Lucas was also shocked by his sister's words, "Psycho!"

"Butthead!" Erica yelled.

"Mall rat!" Lucas retorted.

"Fart face!" Erica snapped back.

Lucas childishly blew a raspberry at Erica who rolled her eyes.

"Oh, now that was mature," Max said to him, grabbing his arm and yanking him forward.

Challan turned back to Erica and her friends, "Bye Erica! Have a nice night and be safe!"

"Bye Challan!" Erica called back.

Challan smiled and jogged a little to catch up to the others who were further ahead.

Lucas sent her a glare, "I can't believe you're being nice to her after she was mean to me."

Challan rolled her eyes playfully, "She was mean to you, not me."

Lucas scowled at her, "You're supposed to be my friend."

"What's the matter, Butthead, you jealous?" Max joked, discreetly intertwining her fingers with Challan and pulling her closer.

Lucas mocked the redhead who rolled her eyes, releasing her grip on Challan's hand when an older couple looked over at them. Challan wasn't sure if they saw the girls holding hands and that made her a little concerned. The couple walked past them without a second glance and she relaxed just a little.

They walked into Scoops Ahoy where Steve worked with a high school girl named Robin. Robin was standing at the counter, her face falling once she saw the group walk in. Mike was the first one at the counter and began obnoxiously ringing the bell.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here," Robin announced to Steve. The sliding window was pushed open and Steve's head peeked through. He looked over at the five in disbelief.

"Again? Seriously?" The older teen asked.

No one said anything as Mike stared at him with a deadpan look and rang the bell once more. Steve rolled his eyes and ushered them into the back. He took them through to the back tunnels that the mall's employees used to bring in shipments and whatnot without disturbing the mall's patrons.

Steve opened a door and looked around before moving out of the way for the five to walk through. "Come on, come on."

They began walking down the halls in the direction of the movie theater. "I swear, if anybody hears about this—"

"We're dead!" They all said simultaneously, having heard the boy say this many times before.

Mike was leading the pack through the halls, stopping at a door. He pulled it open, peeked his head out, and looked around. "All clear."

They walked out of the secret tunnels and into the main hallway of the theater and in the direction of where they would be showing Day of the Dead. The lights in the theater were off but the illumination from the screen was enough to help them see. They quickly scanned the theater for empty seats. There were no seats that would sit the five of them together in one row but there was enough seats for them to be close together.

Challan, Max, and Lucas went to sit in the row in front of the one Mike and Will opted to sit in. The three sat about a seat away from Mike and Will at a sort of diagonal.

"See, Lucas? We made it," Mike whispered loudly to his friends.

"We missed the previews," Lucas replied.

"Still made it. Fart face," Max said, sending Lucas a grin as he rolled his eyes. Challan suppressed a laugh and settled into her seat.

Will and Mike began pulling snacks and drinks out of Will's backpack and dispensing them out to the group. Challan was handed a soda and a bag of M&Ms, whispering a thank you to the boys. A few seconds later, the movie started.

Challan was not a fan of horror movies and was already on edge before anything had even happened. Max leaned over to her and began to whisper, making her jump. Max chuckled quietly and shook her head, "Relax, jumpy. It's just me." Challan turned her face to the redhead and smiled.

"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.

Max only grinned before beginning to repeat what she was initially trying to ask, "Can I borrow your jacket? It's a little cold." Challan nodded her head, lifting herself up a little to untie the oversized jacket from her waist. She passed it to Max who put it on quickly and zipped it up. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Of course," Challan whispered back.

The two turned their gazes back to the movie screen. After a few minutes, the projector began to mess up until the screen went completely black, submerging the theater into darkness. Immediately the audience began erupting into shouts of disappointment and annoyance. Challan sat back in her seat, letting out a sigh as she waited for something to happen.

She absentmindedly reached for Max's hand, intertwining their fingers once she found it. Max didn't oppose the action, holding Challan's hand gently in her own. The theater went almost completely silent, save for the few whispers, crunches of popcorn, and slurps of drinks. After a few more minutes, the projector came back on, making the audience cheer.

Challan looked around the theater, not understanding all the excitement. She returned her attention to the screen, wanting everyone to stop yelling so she could actually hear the movie. Eventually, the cheers died down and everyone refocused their attention to the movie. Challan kept her hand in Max's, her anxiety high as she tried to anticipate jump scares. Hands shot out of the wall in front of the woman in the movie and Challan jumped, burying her face into Max's shoulder.

Max laughed gently at the girl, shaking her head. Challan lifted her face from Max's shoulder and looked back at the screen. Another jump scare startled her. She looked over at Max, eyes wide. "Next time, I'm picking the movie."

••••

Challan Logan was no stranger to nightmares. She practically had nightmares every other night when she was younger. After a while, the nightmares started to lessen and lessen. They came back more consistently after Abigail and her friends attacked her at school and again at that sleepover from hell. But as the months went by, Challan's nightmares of those events began to dwindle. Now, maybe it was because they had just watched a horror movie that sparked the nightmare or maybe her brain was really just against her. It didn't really matter what triggered the nightmare at the end of the day, did it?

She shot up abruptly in the bed, a scream leaving her lips as she scrambled to a sitting position. Her eyes frantically searched the darkness for something familiar but for a moment, she couldn't find anything to focus on. It was as if she wasn't even in a room, not even on a bed, just floating around in pitch-black nothingness.

A lamp was quickly switched on and Challan's eyes began to focus on the familiar bedroom. It wasn't her own but rather Max's. The redhead rested her warm hands on either side of Challan's cheeks, turning her head to face her. "What's wrong?" Her tired voice was frantic, eyes wide in fright.

Challan shook her head, her breathing labored as she searched Max's eyes for comfort. She found that comfort immediately, slowly starting to relax. Tears pooled up in Challan's eyes and Max continued to look at her, waiting for her to say something.

But Challan couldn't speak, the tears spilling down her cheeks as she looked at Max helplessly. It took Max a moment to deduce what had likely happened. It wasn't the first time Challan had had a nightmare and it wasn't the first time Max had been there to witness one. Each time scared the redhead shitless, Challan almost always screaming herself awake. And for a moment, Max would just be filled with so much dread and fear, her mind immediately racing with the worst possible thoughts imaginable; that something terrible had happened to Challan or someone else she cared about the moment she heard the girl scream. But looking Challan in her eyes, feeling her warmth, and seeing her breathing would always bring Max back to reality. Everyone was okay.

Max pulled Challan into her, wrapping her arms securely around the girl and holding her in a hug. She held onto a trembling Challan tightly, whispering reassuring words to her. They stayed like that for a long time, Challan clinging to Max like a lifeline. Eventually, her tears slowed down until they stopped completely and she calmed down. Max was rubbing comforting circles into her back and Challan began drawing shapes into Max's thigh, her eyes focused on the shapes she was drawing. Max stared down at her, patiently waiting for Challan to speak when she was ready to. A few more minutes passed by and Max suppressed a tired yawn.

Finally, Challan stopped drawing the shapes and pulled herself slightly away from Max. She met the redhead's eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry for waking you up... again."

"It's okay. Are you okay?" Max replied.

Challan shook her head no and closed her eyes. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Max asked the girl. Challan shrugged her shoulders, her eyes remaining closed. Max's eyes remained on Challan's face.

The curly haired girl contemplated asking Max the question that was currently burning in her brain. She didn't want Max to look at her differently, to pity her. She wanted Max to keep liking her.

"You can talk to me, Chal. You know that, right?" Max murmured. Challan squeezed her eyes shut tighter and nodded her head. After a beat, she opened her eyes, brown meeting blue.

"Do you... do you ever think about disappearing?" Challan whispered. Her thoughts were clouded by the words Abigail had spoken to her that horrible day. Those words had stayed with Challan ever since, her mind refusing to let her forget.

Max's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared at her girlfriend. "What do you mean?" She asked in concern, wanting clarification.

Challan shook her head, shutting down. "Nothing, never mind, forget it."

Max grabbed her hands and pulled them into her lap. "Chal, talk to me, please. What's going on?" Max rubbed the back of Challan's hands gently, her eyes pleading with the girl to open up to her. To trust her. And Challan did trust her, but she just couldn't tell her this. She didn't want Max to know about the thoughts that had haunted the girl for a long time now.

"I had a nightmare about that day Abigail and her friends tried to burn me," Challan told her instead. Max knew this isn't what she wanted to say before but said nothing, choosing to sit and listen. "But it was different. They were throwing actual gasoline on me, I could smell it. And, there was no one there to help me. And Abigail just, got closer and closer with that lighter and right as she was about to... I woke up. It felt so real."

"But it wasn't real. It was a nightmare. You're right here," Max said. She pulled Challan's hands up in front of her face, resting her palms against Challan's. "You feel my hands?" Max asked to which Challan nodded. "That's real. I'm real," Max continued. She then intertwined their fingers together, keeping their hands raised. "Abigail isn't going to hurt you ever again. No one will hurt you, okay? You're safe."

Challan took a shaky breath and nodded her head. "I'm safe," she repeated.

"Yeah," Max nodded. Challan nodded too, allowing the redhead to pull her into her arms again. Challan cuddled up into Max's side, breathing in her comforting scent. The two lowered themselves down onto the bed until they were laying down again.

"Thank you," Challan whispered.

Max nodded her head and smiled. "Anytime."

Challan sighed, beginning to be lulled to sleep by Max, who was running her hand through her curly hair. Slowly, she began to fall back asleep. Max wasn't so lucky. Her mind kept going back to Challan's question. Do you ever think about disappearing?

Max wasn't sure what she meant by that but the longer she thought about it, the more unsettling Challan's words became. Her thoughts became clouded with the idea of what she could have possibly meant, shaking her head. There's no way Challan meant what Max had been thinking. No.

Max held Challan tighter, as if doing so would somehow shield the girl from the world that had been so cruel to her.

The redhead placed a kiss on the crown of Challan's head and snuggled into her, allowing herself to fall back asleep finally.

••••

We are now officially in season 3 territory. Also if you enjoy sapphics in media, check out the show Willow on Disney+. Then come back to Wattpad and read my new Willow fic Onism for more sapphic fun ;)