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Mike doesn't know how it happened but he knows it definitely didn't happen over night. The tender friendship between him and Max had formed gradually over months. He smiles at her in the hallways of school, a pitying attempt at making her day a little better; that, shockingly, works, she graces him with a small smile back. They sit next to each other in class and watch Lucas' games together —snide comments muttered under their breaths about the stupid jocks.
Hell, Max starts frequenting Mike's stupid basement in an attempt to avoid her home. Mike let's her, let's her put on a silly movie she brought and let's her chat up each man and their muscles to him. Sometimes, he even let's her fall on his shoulder when guilt over takes her.
Max does the same for him in return. She let's him talk about his confusion with relationships, let's him ask all the stupid questions that rattle around his mind. Max lends him her own shoulder to lean on. He doesn't know how it happened but Mike knows it makes sense.
He's listening to music in his room, always is actually, when there's a knock at the front door. Mike thinks nothing of it and goes back to his work. He can vaguely hear the shuffles of Nancy getting the door and his dad grumbling about the interruption at this time of night. Then there's a knock at his bedroom door. Mike doesn't answer verbally, just gets up and opens the door, he expects to see Nancy but he doesn't. Max stands in his door way timidly, nervous almost. It's jarring, irritatingly different from the fiery personality Mike is usually on the receiving end of.
She doesn't ask anything, and in return Mike says nothing, just let's her pass by him and into his room.
They don't say much for a while, both sat against each other and lost in their own worlds, in their own music. Mike startles lightly when Max leans into his space and he slips his headphones off.
"You okay?" He asks quietly.
She shakes her head, a breath shuddering through her body. "I broke up with Lucas." Is all she says.
He wraps an arm around her and holds her tightly, wiping away the tears that fall on her face. It's cuddling, Mike supposes, but Max needs comfort and she came to him so he must deliver.
"I think he might hate me." Max mumbles into Mike's neck.
Mike laughs, abruptly, rudely. "No way." He states.
Max pulls away from him with a glare. Her face is damp and her eyes are puffy and red. "How do you know? You're not Lucas. You didn't see the devastating look he gave me." She snarls.
Mike knows she's not angry, annoyed sure but she's actually not mad, not at him, not at Lucas. She's angry with herself most likely, Mike understands, he was like that when he lost Will and El.
"Yeah, I'm not, but I know Lucas. There's absolutely no way you can get rid of him." He says.
Max glare at him one more time before she smiles. "Sorry I got tears and probably snot all over you."
Mike shrugs, he's used to it, Holly likes hugs. "Meh, there worse I've been covered in." Max raises an eyebrow at him. "Ew! Not like that, I mean the upside down spores and vomit and stuff."
That gets her to laugh and Mike has genuinely never been prouder of himself. Just to be annoying he opens his arms again, an inviting grin on his face. He fully expects Max to shove him, to insult him and start grumbling and pulling away from him again. She doesn't. Surprisingly, she takes his invitation with a small huff and falls into his hug, knocking him back against his pillow and headboard. Mike laughs brightly at her, his arms squeezing around her back. Max laughs too.
Yeah, Mike definitely doesn't know how they got closer —vaguely he thinks of El and Will's absence and the pit in both of their stomachs that accompanied it. But, Mike knows for certain, he would not change a thing about it.