CHAPTER ONE:
OCTOBER PASSED ME BY

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ELIZABETH HARRINGTON WAS exhausted. High school was kicking her ass, especially since she had joined the cheer squad. She had to learn how to balance her schoolwork, extracurriculars, and her social life. It was much harder than she originally thought it would be. She had decent grades, A's and B's in all of her classes, even the classes she wasn't great at like Math and Spanish. She was incredible on the cheer squad. She was only a freshman but Chrissy Cunningham had told her that she was on track to becoming cheer captain by her junior year. Due to her popularity status rising, Liz had a great social life. There was something about being a cheerleader that made everyone want to be friends with you. It also made every guy look at you differently. Liz had been asked out multiple times but boys had never been her type and she was hopelessly in love with her best friend.

The only thing that wasn't going right was her friend group. It was slowly falling apart no matter how hard the group tried to make it work and stay together. Not only were Will and Eleven on the opposite side of the country but Liz and Lucas were growing in popularity with their extracurriculars, while Mike and Dustin were locked in with the Hellfire Club. Due to his basketball schedule, Lucas had been having a difficult time keeping up with the meetings. Liz had attempted to join the Hellfire Club but with her cheer practices, she couldn't keep up and had to quit. And Max was suffocating in her grief.

Max had broken up with Liz only a month into the school year. They had only been dating for five months when she broke up with Liz. Liz was heartbroken and she could tell that Max was too. Liz wanted to fight for their relationship but she knew that Max needed to sort through her grief before she could be in a relationship. It had been months and Max had only gotten worse. She was seeing the school counselor weekly but it didn't seem to be helping. Liz had tried talking to her but most of the time whenever she tried, Max would just shut her down. It hurt Liz a little bit more every time, especially since she didn't understand why Max was shutting all of her friends out.

Liz had thought about it for hours on end, trying to figure out why Max was shutting everyone out. Liz had a few ideas but she couldn't ask Max about any of them. The last time she tried, Max avoided her for a week. Liz continued to think about it as she played with the hem of her cheer skirt in the backseat of Steve's car. A pep rally for the championship basketball game was being held early that morning before first period and the cheer team was performing a routine for it.

Steve was driving Liz and Robin to school, and annoying the hell out of them as he talked about all the dates he had planned. Liz disliked most of the girls that Steve went out with. He usually picked airheads with little to no personality, talked about how they might be the one, and then only went on one date before realizing they suck. Even though his love life was failing miserably, Steve still tried to give Liz dating advice. The only thing was, Liz was in love with her best friend and even if she wasn't, figuring out which girls were straight and which weren't, was very difficult. It was something that Liz and Robin had talked about several times.

"... And then there's Heidi tomorrow night, but the problem with Heidi is that she's going out of state for college. So it's like, do I really wanna start another relationship that has no point other than sex?" Steve ranted as Robin put on her makeup using the car visor mirror. Liz rolled her eyes at her brother's rant. "I mean, I don't know. Does that make sense to you?"

"Nothing you say ever makes sense to me," Liz replied causing her brother to glare at her through the rearview mirror.

Steve looked over at Robin who was ignoring him as she continued to do her makeup, "Robin! Are you listening?"

"Uh... yes — yes, I'm listening —"

Steve scoffed, "What did I just say?"

"Something about sex with — with Linda," Robin guessed.

"Heidi," Liz corrected as she reached forward and grabbed lipgloss from Robin's makeup bag on the center console, putting it on blindly.

Robin's eyes widened as she handed Liz a compact mirror for the lipgloss and she nodded, "Yes, Heidi!"

"Liz, don't give her hints!" Steve scolded as Liz smirked. Steve turned back to Robin as Liz handed back the lipgloss and the mirror. "I'm talking about Heidi!"

"Cut me some slack, please! Your love is one of labyrinthine complexity and it is seven in the morning, we have to go to this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a corpse!" Robin ranted as she observed her face in the mirror, fixing her hair and adjusting her makeup.

Liz scoffed as she looked over Robin, "Robin, shut up, you look hot."

Robin sighed and frowned at herself in the mirror. Steve shook his head at Robin stressing out, "You're worried about a basketball pep rally? You expect me to believe that?"

Robin looked down sheepishly, "Yeah? So?"

"So, we both know what this is about, okay? I'm not buying that. This is about Vickie," Steve explained. Liz smirked at Steve's response. Robin had a massive crush on another girl in the marching band who Liz had to admit was very cute. Robin was unsure if Vickie liked girls but Liz was sure that she did. "You know what else?"

"I really don't care —"

"I think you gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you're around her," Steve explained. Liz narrowed her eyes at his words, knowing he was repeating exactly what Robin said to him all the time. "You just gotta be yourself."

"So, basically, Robin is right?" Liz asked.

Steve shrugged, "Yeah, yes, Robin, you need to listen to yourself, you ever think about that, smarty pants? I listened. Look at me. Boom. Back in business."

"If by back in business you mean, failing at relationships endlessly then yes," Liz retorted.

Steve flipped her off and Liz flipped him off right back. Robin ignored them and sighed, "It's not the same thing for you okay? It's different for me and Liz." Liz nodded, agreeing as Robin started to explain it to Steve. "You ask out a girl and she says no. Big deal, nothing happens. Maybe your ego's a little bruised, but me or Liz ask out the wrong girl, and bam, we're town pariahs!"

Liz nodded, "Exactly."

"Okay, fine, I'd buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl," Steve told Robin. Liz agreed but she knew that Robin was unconvinced and too nervous to try anything. Steve looked in the rearview mirror at Liz. "And you and Max dated for a few months!"

Liz sighed, not wanting to talk about her and Max, "Steve..."

Steve frowned, "Sorry, Liz."

Robin looked back at Liz and gave her a small smile. Liz looked down at her skirt and continued to play with the hem as Robin looked back at Steve, "We just don't know that Vickie is the right girl, do we?"

"She returned Fast Times paused at fifty-three minutes, five seconds. Do you know who pauses Fast Times at fifty-three minutes, five seconds?" Steve explained. Liz rolled her eyes at Steve, knowing what he was about to say. "People who like boobies, Robin!"

Liz rolled her eyes once more and cringed, "Ew! Really, Steve?"

"Ew!" Robin agreed, cringing as well. "Don't say boobies!"

"Boobies!" Steve yelled once more. Liz leaned back and sighed in annoyance. "Not a big deal, okay? I like boobies! You like boobies! Liz likes boobies!"

"Steve!" Liz yelled, her cheeks coating a light blush.

"Steve!" Robin scolded. "She's like fifteen!"

Steve shrugged, "That's when I lost my virginity."

Liz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I didn't need to know that."

Steve ignored her and nodded confidently at Robin, "Vickie likes boobies. Definitely."

Robin shook her head at Steve, annoyed. Liz sighed and crossed her legs, continuing to play with the hem of her skirt. She grabbed her cheer ribbon that was tied to her backpack and put her hair up into a half-up, half-down style just as they pulled into the school parking lot. Robin quickly got out of the car, grabbing her things before rushing over to her marching band friends. Liz slowly grabbed her things and adjusted her outfit. As she opened up the car door, Steve gently grabbed Liz's hand. Liz stopped what she was doing and looked at her brother who had an apologetic look on his face.

   "I'm sorry about bringing Max up," Steve apologized. Liz sighed and nodded at him, assuring him that it was okay. Steve had been the one that Liz had cried to when Max broke up with her and Steve knew that Liz was still struggling with it. Not only did she lose her girlfriend but her best friend was pulling away as well. "I didn't think before I said it. I know how hard it's been for you."

Liz shook her head as she scooted across the backseat to get out of the car, "It's fine."

"Liz —"

"It's fine," Liz assured before getting out of the car and closing the car door behind her.

As Liz walked away from the car, Steve drove off. Liz walked toward the entrance to Hawkins High, pom poms in her hand as people started to say hello to her. Liz politely waved and greeted them back. Liz looked over her shoulder when she heard someone calling out Max's name. Liz saw Max getting off the bus, her headphones on her head like they always were. The school counselor, Miss Kelly, was trying to talk to her. Liz knew that Max saw her weekly. Liz watched as they talked for a moment before Miss Kelly walked off. When she did, Max's eyes found Liz. Liz's entire body relaxed upon seeing Max's beautiful blue eyes looking at her. Liz waved at Max and smiled but Max ignored her and kept walking. Liz felt her heart break a bit more.

Liz slowly started to head toward the gym where everyone else in the school was headed. She made her way through the crowd toward the women's locker room where the cheerleaders were before each pep rally. They finished getting ready in the locker room before their principal announced them, and then they would run out and perform before taking their place on the floor in front of the bleachers. Liz walked into the locker room where the rest of the cheerleaders were. Some of them were still getting ready while others were sitting around the lockers, gossiping or going over the routine. When Liz entered the room, all of the girls smiled and greeted her. Liz had never experienced so many people liking her before high school.

Liz set her things down against one of the lockers and made her way to Chrissy Cunningham who looked like she had barely slept. Liz furrowed her brows as Chrissy leaned against one of the lockers, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before fixing her makeup, "Hey, you okay?"

Chrissy cleared her throat and put on a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well."

Liz nodded. She could tell there was something else there but she didn't press Chrissy any further as the two weren't super close and Liz didn't want to overstep. They were friends and Chrissy was Liz's cheerleader big sister but they didn't hang out much outside of school except for team-building activities.

Chrissy pushed herself off the locker as she finished up with her makeup, "You ready for today?"

"The pep rally or the game?" Liz raised an eyebrow.

Chrissy chuckled, "Both."

Liz nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready. I'm not a fan of the pep rallies but the game should be fun. I just hope we win."

"Yeah, Jason is really hoping we'll win," Chrissy explained, talking about her boyfriend who was captain of the basketball team. Liz didn't like Jason all that much. Jason portrayed himself as a nice guy but Liz could tell that he wasn't always as nice as he portrayed himself. Lucas seemed to think that Jason was a great guy but he admitted to Liz that Jason could be a dick if he wanted to be.

With the sound of microphone feedback echoing into the locker room, the girls started to scramble. Liz quickly checked herself out in one of the full-length mirrors. She adjusted her skirt and fixed her bangs before grabbing her pom poms. The girls huddled in a circle before putting one of their hands out and yelling out, "Go Tigers!" They threw their hands up in the air and shook their pom poms before hearing their principal announce them.

Liz smiled brightly as the cheerleaders ran out into the gym. The girls ran out from one side while the boys ran out from the other. Liz waved with her pom poms at the cheering crowd of students. Liz felt a rush of adrenaline like she did each time she had to cheer in front of a large crowd. It gave her a little bit of anxiety but she also loved it, and she was decently good at cheer. She wasn't good enough to do flips and be thrown up into the air but she had the right kind of aura for it. Liz had the perfect smile, the right kind of attitude, and the perfect hair, and she had the reputation of being the ex-King of Hawkins High's little sister.

Liz started the routine with the rest of the cheer squad. The band was playing loudly and Liz spotted Robin beside Vickie. Liz continued to look around the crowd as she performed. She spotted Mike and Dustin, and then Max rushing in to stand beside them. Liz caught Max's eye once more. Max watched as Liz continued to perform. Liz never paid enough attention as she was always too busy focusing on not messing up so she never saw that during every pep rally, Max always kept her eyes on Liz the entire time, not paying attention to any of the other cheerleaders or even the routine itself.

As the routine ended, the cheerleaders all waved at the crowd again and Liz heard Dustin yell, "Yes, Liz!"

Liz looked up at the bleachers and saw Dustin cheering her on and applauding her. Liz laughed at him before waving at him. Liz turned her attention to Max who was already looking at her. As usual, Max had a frown on her face. Liz couldn't even remember the last time she saw Max smile and it killed her. Liz gave her a small smile anyway before kneeling on the gym floor with the rest of the cheerleaders.

"And let's hear it for your Tigers!" The principal called out.

The basketball team with Jason leading, burst through a paper sign reading Hawkins Tigers All The Way. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the team ran into the middle of the gym. Liz cheered when she saw Lucas and he waved at her before waving at Mike, Dustin, and Max in the bleachers.

Jason stepped up to the microphone that their principal had put out in the center of the gym in front of another sign that read Hawkins Tigers Can't Be Beat, "Good morning, Hawkins High! First off... I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand!"

The crowd clapped and cheered before Jason continued, "And, of course, of course, I have to give a special shout-out to the best and prettiest fans of all time... the Tiger Cheer Squad!" Liz chuckled as the crowd cheered for the cheerleaders. "Chrissy... Chrissy, I love you, babe."

Liz smirked as Chrissy blew Jason a small kiss. Liz wished that she could share that kind of love loudly with everyone but sadly, the world wasn't too kind to the kind of love that Liz had. Jason stepped back and continued, "You know... I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss. And sometimes I wonder... how much loss can one community take? In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said, Think of Jack. Think of Melissa. Think of Heather. Think of Billy."

Liz slowly looked over her shoulder at Max. Max looked down at her feet upon hearing her brother's name. Everyone around her gave her solemn looks but she ignored them. Liz couldn't help but scoff under her breath at Jason using the deaths in Hawkins as a way to make people want to care about the basketball team. It was disgusting but Liz looked back at Jason and tried not to wear a frown on her face.

"Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper. Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some crap school? No." Jason continued. Liz didn't care if she was in uniform and she glared at Jason's words. "For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No! Let's win this game! Let's win this game for them, and that's exactly what we did!"

Liz rolled her eyes as the students cheered, "We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house, and now tonight, tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy! Let's go!"

Everyone continued to cheer and despite what Liz thought about Jason's words, she was a cheerleader so she had no choice but to cheer with the students. Liz shook her pom poms and plastered a smile on her face, cheering along with everyone. As she did, Liz took a moment to look over her shoulder at the bleachers. She looked at Max who still looked depressed. Liz knew that Max wouldn't come but Liz wanted to invite her to the game anyway. She was a cheerleader so she got free tickets to the game for guests as did Lucas. Both of them wanted Max to come to the game, so they were planning on asking her. Liz just hoped she would finally agree.

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Liz knew that Max had a counseling session with Miss Kelly every Thursday after lunch. Liz also knew that Max had missed the counseling session the day before, so she was seeing her today. After lunch, Liz went to her locker and started to swap out her fourth-period books for her fifth-period books. Liz looked over herself in her locker mirror. She took out the ribbon in her hair and tied it around her wrist. Liz started to fix her bangs when Lucas walked up to her and leaned against the lockers beside her.

Liz smiled at him as he greeted her, "Hey. Nice job at the pep rally today."

"Thanks," Liz shut her locker and leaned against it, facing Lucas. He was still wearing his basketball uniform just as Liz was wearing her cheerleading uniform. On game days and pep rallies, the cheerleaders and the basketball players had to wear their uniforms all day. "Nervous for tonight?"

"A little," Lucas shrugged. Liz knew that Lucas had spent most of the season on the bench but she was hoping that he would be taken off the bench at the championship game. "Mike and Dustin are annoyed because I'll be missing the end of Eddie's campaign tonight. I asked them to ask him to move it to another night but Eddie is pretty against sports."

Liz pressed her lips together and nodded at Lucas. Lucas and Liz were growing in popularity while Mike, Dustin, and Max were still at the bottom of it. Liz didn't care about popularity but Lucas seemed to be enjoying it so far. Mike, Dustin, and Max didn't care about it. Mike and Dustin even seemed to enjoy being weirdos and outcasts. Liz, on the other hand, really didn't care about labels.

Lucas sighed, "We still gonna try to get Max to come tonight?"

"Yeah, I hope she comes tonight but... I don't know," Liz explained with a frown. Max had been doing everything in her power to push her friends away. Liz knew it had something to do with the grief but she still didn't understand. Liz looked past Lucas and saw Max coming out of Miss Kelly's office. "Oh, there she is! Come on."

Liz and Lucas rushed over to Max who was about to put her headphones back on. Liz jogged up to her and stood beside her with a smile, "Max, hey!"

Max looked over at Liz before looking behind her at Lucas. Max scoffed, "You two stalking me now or something?"

Liz frowned, her heart breaking a little bit at Max's words, "No, no, we just wanted to give you this."

Lucas took a green ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Liz. Liz handed the ticket over to Max who tore it out of Liz's hand and asked, "What is this?"

"A ticket to the game," Lucas answered. Max whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes at Lucas who immediately started defending himself. "I know you never want to go to my games, but this one is kind of a big deal."

Liz nodded, "Yeah, Max, it's the championship game, and the cheer squad is doing a routine at halftime —"

"So?" Max scoffed, shaking her head. "You guys really care about this?"

"Yeah, we — we do," Lucas answered as Liz went quiet. Liz loved Max but recently, Max could be really mean if she wanted to be. "Maybe you should find something you care about, too."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Max snapped.

Lucas looked at Liz. Liz looked at Max and sighed, "Max, you're just... It's like... It's like you're not even here anymore. You're... You're gone." Liz looked down at her feet and shook her head. "It's like you're gone, Max. And I... I want to help you come back but I can't if you keep shutting me out."

"Help me come back?" Max furrowed her brows. "I'm standing right in front of you."

"You are and you aren't," Liz explained. Liz was looking right at Max but it was like she was staring at a ghost. She was staring at the shell of the girl she loved. "I know you're grieving but this... this is more than that. And if you're gonna get through this, you need us. You need me."

"So that's what this is about?" Max narrowed her eyes at Liz. Liz felt a sting at Max's harsh gaze. Max had only recently started to look at Liz that way. Max looked at Liz like she hated her and it broke Liz's heart. "This is because I broke up with you?"

"What?" Liz scoffed, shaking her head. "No. No, Max, this is —"

"Look, good luck tonight, but I'm not going," Max interrupted, handing the ticket back to Liz.

Liz didn't take the ticket back, "Keep it."

"Liz —"

"Keep it," Liz repeated. "In case you change your mind."

Liz and Max stared at each other for a moment. Liz didn't understand why Max was acting the way that she was but it had only gotten worse. Max had grown colder ever since Billy died but it had gotten worse and worse as time went on. Recently, it had taken a dramatic turn. It was like a switch was hit and suddenly, Max was angrier and more depressed. Liz didn't know why but she wanted to help.

There was a glimmer of softness in Max's eyes before she stuffed the ticket into her pocket and walked off. Liz watched as Max stormed off, putting her headphones on immediately and hitting play on her Kate Bush tape. Liz felt a hand on her arm and she looked over her shoulder at Lucas who gave her a sad smile, "She'll come around."

Liz looked back at Max who had rounded the corner and disappeared. She looked down at her feet and held back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Liz missed her girlfriend but she mainly missed her best friend. She could live without dating Max but she couldn't live without being friends with her. Despite how much it hurt to have Max push her away, Liz kept trying and she was going to keep trying until Max finally came back to her, even if it took forever.

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October Passed Me By by girl in red is Liz and
Max in this book so go listen to it!!