The day goes by, and Mike ignores Goldie at every turn, too afraid to actually approach her on the topic. Goldie is confused at the lack of Mike's company, quickly catching onto him avoiding her.

As the lunch bell rings, she confusedly packs her belongings.

"Do you think he's avoiding me because of this morning?" She looks over at Max, who is also packing her stuff.

"What?" Max gives her a confused look.

Marigold sighs, "I mean Mike. He's totally been ignoring me since this morning. I mean, normally, I see him between class in the hall, but it's like I find him in the crowd and he's rushing away."

"He's probably avoiding you," Max says honestly. "When you walked off, I sorta put him on the spot by telling the guys that you two kissed."

"Max!" She frowns. "Why would you do that?!"

"Well, why should it be a secret?" Max scoffs, walking towards the exit. "Think about it Goldie! If he really liked you and was planning on being with you, why would it be a big deal for his friends to know?"

"I don't know," she softly says, following her out of the school and into the high school parking lot.

They normally eat lunch on Steve's car, but haven't been able to as the boys have been having meetings as of late. However, there was no sign of an invite today, and Max couldn't be bothered to wait for one. Not today.

The two climb onto the hood of Steve's car, pulling out their lunches.

Max glances over at Goldie's lunch and practically salivates.

"No way! Steve packed you pizza AND cheesecake," she blinks in surprise, looking down at her plain ham and cheese sandwich with disappointment.

Goldie responds with a full mouth, "mhmm. He's like the greatest, pretty much."

"You are so lucky. Isn't he like super popular too? How did you even befriend him again?" Max sighs.

"It's a long story," Goldie hums. "Anyway, back to this whole Mike thing, what is up with him being all defensive? I mean, really, all I asked was what's wrong with Will."

Max tenses up a bit, "well."

She trails.

"Lucas told me that last year, around this time, Will went missing in the woods. It was this huge thing, and I think everyone's a little sensitive on the topic."

Goldie stops eating for a second, staring down at her food in disbelief.

"What? But," she lowers her voice a bit, "my mom researched this place before we moved here, and it didn't say anything about a missing persons case happening here- not for the last 14 years at least."

"14 years?" Max scrunches her eyebrows. "That's weird. Well, it definitely happened."

Goldie frowns.

"I'm gonna go to Will's after school. Something about everything going on just doesn't feel right," she mumbles.

"Yeah, ok," Max nods. "Are you planning on letting Mike know?"

"No," she immediately states. "If I told him he would try to force me not to."

Max finishes her sandwich and stands up off the car.

"Well, speaking of the idiots," she gathers her belongings, "shouldn't we go see what they're up to?"

"Yeah, totally," she agrees, hopping off the car heading back to the middle school.

As they approach the school, they walk straight towards the AV room, knowing that's exactly where they'll be. Luckily, just as they're approaching the door, the boys are exiting the room.

"Oh, hey max!" Dustin grins, acknowledging their presence.

Lucas rolls his eyes, "hey, Goldie."

"Hiya, pals!" She giggles while Max keeps a straight face.

Mike seems frozen in his spot, keeping his mouth shut. He wants to smile at her, maybe give her a snarky comic that'll make them both chuckle. Yet, he knows that Dustin and Lucas are expecting him to end whatever is going on between them.

He doesn't want that.

So, in that moment, he decides that ending things with Goldie can wait.

"Goldie, can we talk?" He clears his throat, stepping aside.

Marigold gives him a questioning look, but kids anyway and follows him just a little further away from the rest of the group.

"Do you think he's gonna do it?" Lucas questions, glancing from the two to Dustin.

Dustin shrugs.

"Do what?" Max worriedly questions.

"End things with her," He explains. "For her own good."

Max doesn't like the sound of that, but glances at the two to see them holding hands lightly as they speak.

"I don't think so," she shakes her head, nodding towards them.

Dustin and Lucas both glance over, immediately noticing their hands. Both look a bit agitated, but mostly, they look confused.

"What the hell, man," Dustin mutters. "What is he thinking?"

Lucas shrugs and sighs, "I don't know, man. Maybe he's just tying to move on."

"Okay, What the hell are you two talking about?!" Max grumbles, tired of feeling so left out and confused about everything.

"Nothing," the two respond.

Max says nothing, simply turns and stomps away.

"She's pissed," Dustin notes.

Lucas nods, "yup".

Meanwhile, Goldie gives Mike a stern look.

"So, why exactly have you been avoiding me all day?" She questions, seriously.

Mike tries to lighten the mood, "maybe because we spent all night together and we needed the space?"

Not mood lightening. Not at all.

"Mike. I'm serious," she grumbles, pulling her hand away, unamused by his response.

He guilty grabs her hand again, tightening his grip before he can pull his hand away.

"Ok ok," he calms, "I'm just worried about Will. When you stormed off yesterday, he had this whole episode, worst than Halloween. Then, he didn't show up to school today."

"Mike," she softly mutters, "what really happened to Will?"

Mike's eyes widen, noticeably.

"What are you talking about?" He quickly retaliates.

"I mean," she glances around her and lowers her voice, "I know he didn't really go missing in the woods. There were no missing person reports on a boy lost in the woods. So, what really happened, then?"

The bell rings causing them both to jump.

"I have to go to class," he quickly responds and walks away frantically.

"Mike!" She calls after him, but to no avail.

She would definitely be paying Will Byers a visit after school.