Their lips melded together as one, pink upon pink lips pressed into a innocent kiss. Mike's lips were delightfully cold against hers, her entire being seizing up and warming deliciously. It was freezing cold, but in that moment, all Max wanted to do was kiss Mike for the rest of her life.

A minute passed. Two. And yet they still hadn't pulled apart. Now his hands were tangled in her hair, the leaves once intertwined in her silky strands now fluttering softly to the ground. Her hands were pressed onto his rosebud cheeks. They're eyes were closed and the world around them was soft and fuzzy like the sun.

"Mike", she giggled. His hands slid from her hair to her back as he finally released her from the kiss, looking down at her gently with a gooey look in his eyes. Max wanted to punch him in the arm and laugh at how much he looked like a newborn puppy, but she probably had the same look in her eyes too. His lips were slightly swollen and she bet a hundred bucks that hers were too.

"I-I'm sorry I-", realisation drowned her in regret as she raised a hand to her lips. They had kissed. They had just done the ultimate forbidden act and kissed each other. Mike had just cheated on his girlfriend with her, his girlfriends Friend. Oh god oh god oh-

"Calm down. Shh, breathe, Max. Elle and I are broken up." The redhead drew in a sharp breath. "Both Of you are WHAT?!" She burst out. Max felt torn between feeling happy and feeling incredibly shocked. She felt supernatural, like she was about to explode into a ball of flames and swallow up the earth.

"We broke up. I thought that you would be...well maybe not happy but somewhat alright with it. Look, I know you and Elle are Super close..." Mike kicked at the grit with his dirty sneaker. Max could feel her face crumble into a frown. "H-how did Elle feel?"

"I'm leaving her alone now. She said that she wanted me to leave."

The redhead stumbled back onto the soft patches of discoloured grass. Finally, her feet were planted back on her own space. She needed to calm her head right now because all the blood in her head was in her cheeks. Max was conflicted. Should she stay or should she go?

"Max?" Mike said softly.

"I don't want to be a home wrecker." Max blurted out. Her voice was just as soft but smaller, exactly like how she was feeling. Her Best Friend was now suffering heartbreak and possible confusion and she wasn't there for her as she rightfully should be, instead she was here with her best friends ex Boyfriend. Kissing him. What did that say about her?

"Oh Max..." Mike stepped onto the grass, careful to avoid stepping on her feet in the darkness. He bend down slightly to wrap his Long arms around Max's frame, her head was warm and he tucked her beneath his Chin like a doll. Max hugged him back, her arms slow and hesitant.

Mike was hers now. No matter what, even if she couldn't properly love herself, She could put all her love into him. He was broken up and he...well he...loved her? Did he really come all this way to her house at midnight just to kiss her? It didn't matter for now. What mattered was that he was hers and she was his. After all the longing and confusion, she was here in his arms.

"Mike..."

"I'm sorry. This is a lot for you and I'm sorry but I just really, really needed to see you." The raven-haired teen confessed into the crown of her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead when she pulled away. "How are you feeling?"

"Weird. A part of me is withered I Guess, sad and emotional. The other part of me is relieved that we both agreed on breaking up. It wasn't just me, Elle thought so too." He said. Max watched his face in the dim light, one freckled hand clasped onto his pale one.

"She didn't say a lot, just that it would be good for us. And i think it really would be. I think...", Mike looked into Max's eyes, his brown chocolate eyes meeting her soft blue depths. Her eyes were like velvet, so soft and enduring and sweet. "I think that no matter what, even if she didn't want to break up, I would have still broken up with her."

"Why?" For me? Would you have done it for me? Max wanted to ask. The question hung in the air thickly between them like a large storm cloud.

"Because if I ever faced Elle again, whether today or tomorrow, I know that I could never love her again like I used to. I lost her once, and I didn't want to lose her again. And I didn't, I haven't, because I still love her, just not the way I used to. And now, I can't kiss her lips without thinking of you. I can't sit in English and not look over at your face just to see your freckles and eyes. I can't do so many things without looking back at you, Max. I'm always looking over my shoulder for you."

Tears welled up in Max's eyes at his words. Nobody had ever told her that, that they cared this much about her before. She had never had a Boyfriend because she never wanted to seem "easy", but being with Mike made her Long for that connection with someone other than her shitty family. She closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing and regulate it. God, she felt like a balloon, she was so happy she felt like she could float away but now was not the time to float away. She needed to be planted on earth and not in the clouds.

"Sometimes when I look at you and Elle and I see you guys holding hands, I feel jealous because I've never had that with anyone and because I wanted to be the one holding your hand. I like how you're such a nerd and that you always try to be there for everyone even if you're not the best at showing it. You make me smile and light up inside and make my cheeks go from cold to hot in just a few seconds. In just a matter of weeks, I feel like I've known you forever." Max whispered in the silent night, eyes closed and lips tilted up in a smile.

The ginger felt a soft pressure on her forehead before opening her blue eyes, her gaze meeting the sight of Mike beaming like the bright moon down at her. He was the moon to her sun, bright and brilliant in the darkness, radiating like no other here with her in the silence of Hawkins. He was her moon. Her lantern in the dark. Her pulse in her heart. Her sweet daydream.

"Does this mean that you and I are...I don't know...Boyfriend and Girlfriend?" Mike asked nervously, cradling Max's warm hands in his own. The redheads cheeks turned a bright shade of red, "Well I wouldn't really know how to be a Girlfriend, but I would like to try." She grinned cheekily up at the tall teen boy.

"You've never had a Boyfriend?" Mike asked, slowly seating down on the soft ground, bringingMax down as well. "Never. The time never came and the boys in my school were better off as friendly company than Boyfriend material, though some girls might disagree with me." Max laughed.

"Just be yourself. I would hate it if you started changing yourself for me. I just want you to be you."

"Princess Leia?"

"You're always Princess Leia to me, Max. You're special to me."

"And you're my Han Solo?"

Max Smirked, "Nah, I would rather be Han Solo than a Princess."

"No way. You're badass and amazing. You can't be Han Solo." Mike said. Max giggled again, her eyes facing the dark velvet night sky above them. Her lungs filled with relief and fresh air, not a worry in her bones. She could stay like this forever, hell, she could get drunk off the feeling of Mike's touch alone.

Suddenly, a thin faint line as thin as straw zoomed over the surface of the night. As fast as it came, it disappeared.

"Holy Shit! Mike, that was a shooting star!" Max beamed deliriously. "Did you make a wish?"

Beside her, Mike watched the ginger gaze back up at the now empty sky with wonderment and fascination. Her ocean eyes were like a lighthouse and her freckles stood prominently on her soft skin.

"What for when my wish has already come true?"

________