"What!" Rocky yelled out as he leaned his head over the bathtub, only for it to not go. He tried it again. "Oh, come on, you idiot!"

He got hair dye on the floor as he stood up. "Mom!"

Not here.

"Jonathan!"

With Nancy, likely.

"William!"

Nope, with the boys.

"Rocky." Rocky huffed as he grabbed his shirt, praying the summer night wasn't cool for the sprint he was about to make. One good thing that came out of fighting a Demogorgan that took his younger brother? Getting close enough with the Police Chief to use his shower on multiple occasions.

At the Hopper cabin, the chief in questioning hadn't been there. Instead, just two girls, that weren't friends until today. Max danced around as El sat on her bed, flipping through magazines. Max paused as she saw El fall on one page. "My man."

El gave a questionable look as Max grabbed the magazine. "That's Ralph Macchio."

"Macchio?" El rose her eyebrows at the last name.

"Yeah, The Karate Kid." Max smiled, as she made a karate chop, El laughed. "He's so hot. I bet he's an amazing kisser."

El flashed her a crazy look, Max went to talk again before a loud knock echoed. El turned to the door with wide eyes. "Not suppose to answer the door."

"It's probably just stupid kids that think ding dong ditching is cool." Max rolled her eyes as she went for the door, El following close after. She grabbed the door knob with a yank. "Yeah, we a-"

"Rocky." El smiled as he stood there, dripping black hair dye on his shoulders and shielding it from getting into his eyes.

"El." he greeted with a nod. "Red head menace."

"You're the one ding dong ditching us?" Max rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Boring!"

"Mom forgot to pay the water bill." Rocky looked to El as he spoke. "Again."

She pulled the door open as Max moved for him to walk in. "Your dads not here?"

"No." El answered.

"Jesus, that's never gonna come off." Max leaned over and whipped some hair dye off Rocky's shoulder.

"Egh, maybe they'll just look like freckles." he answered, heading for the bathroom. "Kinda like yours, except not in red."

"Hilarious." Max said unamused as Rocky went to the bathroom. "As if I didn't notice!"

Rocky towel dried his hair as he looked around the corner of El's room, coming across the girls again. They were in bed, tired it seemed. He dropped his voice to a low whisper then. "Hey, i'm heading out."

"Bye, Rocky." El gave a wave, making him grin and wave back. Max stood up and left her in the bed with the magazine.

"What happened to your water?" Max asked as she walked with Rocky toward the door. That was his favorite thing about Max. She could despise him one second and then care about him the next. It was confusing, but it kept her interesting. And he loved interesting. "Was it brown?"

"Mom forgot to pay the bill I think." he hummed, opening the door as the faint summer breeze flew in. "So, you two are friends now?"

"Guess so." Max cracked a grin as he passed her the towel. "You home alone?"

"Yeah, not sure where everyone went." he flashed a minor grin. "House is quiet for once."

"Quiets overrated." the redhead shrugged.

"Not true." he disagreed, leaning on the doorway. "It's good she's got a girl to hang out with. Mike was gonna become a bad influence after a while."

"Yeah, I had to save her before it was too late." she mocked, getting a half grin.

He dipped her a wave as he walked. "Hang loose, California."

"Hang loose?" she scoffed.

"Surfs up?" Rocky asked, walking off the porch and holding his pinkie and thumb up. "Stoked."

"Oh my god." Max gapped in disbelief. "Leave."

"I'm leaving." he smiled to himself, walking off the porch. "Peace Out, Brah."

"Oh my god." Max repeated, shutting the door as he went through the yard.

Rocky huffed as he heard knocking at the door, sitting up as the morning light shined through the thin curtains. He hoped whoever it was would leave, putting his head back down. The knocking returned. "Leave me be!"

"Rocky!" Max knocke d loudly.

His head snapped up, getting off the couch and going to the door to pull it open. The pair stood on the other side. "Ladies?"

"Hey, Rocky." El spoke.

"You're still asleep?" Max gapped at his tired stated.

"Nu-uh." he yawned. "Been up for hours."

"Told you he'd be no help." Max rolled her eyes as she looked to El. "Let's just go."

"What's wrong?" Rocky gave a questionable look, holding the side of the door.

"Remember when...hit Steve in the nose for your brother?" El gave a questionable look, getting a quick nod. "Need to do it again."

"Steve needs to be hit in the nose again?" Rocky came off the wall with a questionable look.

"No." Max cut in. "El things something is wrong."

"With Steve?" Rocky gapped.

"No!" Max yelled. "Nothing to do with Steve!"

"She said Steve, I don't know!" he defended himself with his hands raised in surrender.

"Billy and Heather." El stared at him to avoid a fight. "Might need you to hit Billy."

Rocky nodded with an exhale. "I can do that."

"It's gonna start pouring soon." Max spoke the next day as the trio walked down the street together, El put in the middle after she insisted they go to Max's to make sure the girl she saw was okay, "We should be at the mall or, like, watching a movie or something."

"You go to the mall when it rains?" Rocky gave her an odd look. "Weird!"

"You're weird!" she shot in return.

"Don't believe me?" El looked at both of them.

"I believe you saw some super weird stuff, totally, but you said Mike has sensed you in there before, right?" Max hummed to El's previous statement they filled Rocky in on, "So maybe it was just like that. Maybe Billy just sensed you somehow."

Rocky squinted up at the rain clouds, gapping at El's next words, "But the screams."

"Yeah, I know, but here's the thing." Max began with a long sigh, "When Billy is alone with a girl, they make, like, really crazy noises."

He had to laugh. "Max."

She looked over, getting a head shake from. "No."

"They scream?" El asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but, like..happy scream." Max tried to explain.

"Happy screams? What is happy screams?" El threw her hands slightly in disbelief.

"Nothing, she doesn't know what she's talking about." Rocky rubbed El's back. "She's a redhead, makes her brain act weird."

"You're the one that dyes your hair." Max gapped in disbelief in his direction. "It probably seeps into your brain."

"Please tell me all the science behind that?" he hummed with a questionable look.

"You dye your hair." she held a finger out. "You say dumb stuff."

"You have red hair." he held a finger out. "You said off the wall stuff."

"Oh, do you think saying an extra word makes your sentence better?" Max shot his way in disbelief.

"I do, actually. Thank you for noticing, California." he hummed in her direction.

"Oh, y-" Max started, stopping as they saw El walking toward the house. "El!"

"El!" Rocky called, she ignored them both as Rocky and Max huffed on sync, following after her.

•

kylie speaks

rocky the rockstar