Chapter One: MADMAX

chapter twenty-nine , The House on Mango Street

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Gus was walking down the halls while looking around worriedly. Fallon never came back to class and now she wasn't anywhere to be found. Gus felt a knot of uncertainty form in her stomach to the point, that she had to stop walking. Fallon didn't want to be found. She knew that as soon as Gus got one look at her, she would recognize something was wrong with the curly-haired girl. Gus and Fallon could never keep secrets from each other, that's one of the reasons they got along so well. Gus walks toward her locker and opens it, an orange flyer falls out. The brunette shifts her eyes to the flyer. She presses her lips together and exhales through her nose.

"What is this? Slut-Shaming: Halloween Edition?" Gus bends down and grabs the flyer. The short-haired brunette stands up and looks at the words across the flyer. She winces, "Gross." Gus crumbles the paper and tosses it behind her.

"What the hell?!"

Gus turns around and looks at the redhead behind her. "Oh. Sorry, Carol."

"Hey, at least it wasn't another punch, right?" Gus playfully lunges at Carol almost like she was going to punch her again. Carol wrinkles her nose and Gus laughs. "Well, I thought it was funny." Gus shrugs. Carol picks the flyer up that hit her and she approaches the short-haired brunette.

"Did you change your hair?"

Gus raises her brows, "Oh, uh--yeah. I guess..." she lightly touches her hair. It was usually frizzy and wiry with a brittle-like feeling to it. "I actually woke up and did it today."

Carol raises her brows, "Oh, is that right?" she keeps her eyes on Gus' fluffy voluminous hair.

"Yeah, I decided since I'm repeating my junior year, I should look good doing it." Gus shrugs. She then pulls her brows together. "Why am I talking to you about this? What do you want?"

Carol holds the flyer out to the bob-haired girl. Gus raises her brows, "I think I'll pass--thanks."

"Jeez. If you're gonna actually try and look good your second junior year. Shouldn't you take your looks out for a spin?" Carol tilts her head. "I'm sure...someone would want something to do with you."

Gus raises her brows, "What--like sex?"

Carol rolls her eyes. "You say it like that and you will forever have the nickname 'Virgin Guster'." she frowns. "But, yeah. I meant sex." she holds the paper out to the brunette.

Gus keeps her eyes on the balled-up flyer and she swipes her tongue across her lower lip. The brunette couldn't give two shits about her virginity. What she did care about is distracting herself from all the things that made her feel like shit. And that was everything in her life right now. Gus has never been to an actual party. She was curious, about what high school students did for fun. The teen lets out a breath and raises her brows, "What the hell?" she grabs the crumbled piece of paper. "I can have some...fun."

"That a girl!" Carol exclaims.

Gus keeps her suspicious eyes on Carol for a moment. "Thanks, Carol..."

Carol stands there for a moment with a small smile on her face. Gus blinks. "I should...get my stuff for my next class."

Carol raises her brows, getting Gus' point. "Right--duh! I've gotta go too. See ya, Freak." she quickly walks away with flushed cheeks. Carol brushes past Steve without a glance. He looks at Carol, wondering why she was walking away so fast. Then he looks forward and his heart jumps into his throat.

Gus' hair was brushing against her shoulders, she was starting to grow it out. The girl normally would cut it up to her jawline. Maybe she just hasn't gotten to it or maybe she just wanted a change. Either way, it made Steve's breathing hitch. Ever since the boy came to terms with his silent feelings for Gus, it's like his eyes were so much more attentive to her. The way she would tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear when she would laugh. When her eyes would light up, talking about something that made her so passionate that she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Steve felt like he was going crazy, it's like everything to him was so much clearer. And he just wished he was able to let Gus see the clear view from his eyes. Steve wanted Gus to understand that he was sorry about everything that happened. And he wanted her to know that he would be there for her.

Steve inhales a deep breath and holds it. He rocks back and forth on his heels, hoping to gain the strength to approach the girl. Steve watches as Gus closes her locker and his eyes widen. Now or never, idiot!

Steve quickly walks over to the girl, before she could walk any further down the hall. "August!"

Gus pulls her brows together and stops. She turns her head and her face relaxes. "Oh, hey...Harrington." Gus presses her lips into a small line. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"I just wanted to tell you that...I'm sorry."

Gus keeps the same look of disinterest on her face. "Is that right?" she scratches the side of her nose. "And why...?" she drags out her inquiry.

"After...what I said to you outside my house--"

"You mean, the conversation we had months ago?" Gus cranes her neck forward. Steve slightly opens his mouth, "Yeah...?"

Gus frowns, "Oh. Well, I'm over it." she shrugs.

"Wait--what? What do you mean you're over it?" Steve asks.

"I mean. I was hurt by our conversation, but after I released you from my worries I just...wasn't necessarily obsessing over that conversation anymore." Gus shrugs. "I mean, that's all in the past now."

Steve slowly nods his head, "Oh. Okay, well that's cool."

"Yeah, I know. My mental health is so much better without you in my thoughts 24/7." Gus scratches the side of her neck. Steve's chest tightens, seeing the relief across Gus' face. The brunette then frowns, "Or is that just the weed?" she then shrugs. "Either way something's working for me and I am loving it!"

"So, we're cool?"

Gus raises her brows and blinks. "Oh, no." she chuckles. "We're not cool, Harrington. I mean, just because I'm over it doesn't mean we're cool. And honestly, I don't think we'll ever be cool. So...sorry." she presses her lips into an awkward smile.

A pressure forms on Steve's chest and he feels like an elephant was sitting on him. A lump forms in his throat, knowing there was nothing he could do to get his and Gus' relationship back. Steve notices Gus starting to tap her fingers against her arm. She only did that when she was antsy or impatient and she wanted out of something. And at this moment, she wanted out of this conversation. Gus watches Nancy and Jonathan talking down the hall and she raises her brows.

"Listen, Harrington. I've gotta go." Gus gives him a curt pat on his arm before brushing past him.

Steve lets out a breath and disappointment floods into his body. The boy was left feeling cold. He instinctively turns around and watches Gus jog down the hall.

"Yo, Byers!"

Jonathan and Nancy stop talking and turn to the short-haired brunette. "Does she look mad?" the boy inquires, noticing Gus' quick approach.

Nancy raises her brows, "Uh...I mean, yeah. But maybe it's a different Byers?--"

"Jonathan!"

Nancy looks at Jonathan, "I-I'm gonna go--"

"Wait--no! Don't leave me alone--"

"You've gotta talk to her Jonathan." Nancy shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe next time you won't ignore her." she turns on her heel and walks away from the boy. Nancy and Gus walk past each other.

"Good luck." Nancy says.

"Oh--he's gonna be the one needing that good luck." Gus stops in her tracks and raises her brows. She turns on her heel and looks at the Nancy. "You cut your hair!"

Nancy smiles softly and touches the ends of her hair. "Yeah, I did. And you brushed yours."

Gus' smile grows, "You noticed."

"Of course I did. It looks amazing!" Nancy exclaims.

"My hair is amazing? What about yours?" Gus takes a step towards her.

Nancy laughs softly, but then she pulls her brows together. "We're getting off track." she speaks. "You need to talk to Jonathan."

Gus' smile drops, "Right!" she nods. "We'll talk later."

Nancy and Gus high five before walking into different directions. Jonathan holds his hands up as Gus stands in front of him with her pointer finger in his face. The girl was shorter than Jonathan, but her hazel green eyes had the stern look of someone who was 7 feet tall.

"I-I'm sorry." Jonathan speaks. "I know I haven't called you, but I just thought it was weird that--"

"What?! I didn't come over here to talk about that!" Gus pulls her face back.

Jonathan looks to the side and thinks. "Then...what's this about?" he looks back at her.

Gus drops her hand to her side. "You're dropping out of school?"

Jonathan's mouth hangs open. "How did you...?" he then closes his eyes. "Fallon told you--"

"Of course, Fallon told me--are you out of your fucking mind?" Gus seethes.

Jonathan's shoulders sag, "August, there are more important things I need to worry about, okay?"

Gus folds her arms. "I had important things to worry about too, J." she sighs. "Dr. Brenner's people are probably still out looking for me. My dad, who I thought was dead, is alive! My powers are still out of control." Gus inhales a breath and keeps strong eye contact with Jonathan. "I had more important things to worry about too, but then you convinced me to go to Summer School. You convinced me to continue my education even after I lost hope." she holds her arms out. "I'm here now, J. And I'm not gonna leave this shithole until I graduate. And neither are you."

Jonathan shakes his head as Gus keeps her arms crossed.

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

"Not at all." Gus shakes her head. "Also, I'm pretty certain your mom would freak if you dropped out." she tilts her head. "And I would hate to have to sick Joyce on you, Jonathan."

Jonathan looks away from Gus and laughs. A small smile forms on her lips. Jonathan looks back at Gus bunches his shoulders. "Okay, I will...think about what you said."

Gus presses her lips together. "That is all that I'm asking for." she sighs. "Now..." Gus claps her hands together. "...onto other news--" she pokes his chest with her pointer. "You've been avoiding me."

Jonathan touches the back of his neck. "Yeah, I have, uh...honestly?"

Gus arches a brow, waiting for him to speak.

"I didn't think that things would be normal after us kissing." Jonathan explains. "So, I thought maybe some space would do us some good."

"And you decided that on your own." Gus' voice had a snappiness to it.

Jonathan slightly opens his mouth. "I did...I'm sorry, I should've talked to you about it first. I know. I just...Gus, I really didn't want our friendship to be screwed up because of this and I panicked."

Gus bites the inside of her cheek. "I'm sorry, that I made things this complicated. If I could go back in time..." she trails off her sentence. "Honestly, I would still make out with you. Because it was nice."

Jonathan lets out a laugh and Gus joins him. Gus bites the inside of her cheek and holds her hand out to him. "Friends?"

A small smile forms on his lips and he shakes Gus' hand.

"Friends."

☆

"There's no way that's Mad Max."

"Yeah. Girls don't play video games."

Sofia pulls her brows together and looks at Will. "What?"

Will looks at the young girl and his mouth hangs open. "I-I meant...what I meant was--"

"You don't count," Dustin speaks.

Sofia snaps her eyes over to the boy. "What?"

Lucas and Mike facepalm.

"You're one of the guys!" Dustin exclaims, thinking that he solved the problem.

But, he just made it worse. Sofia keeps the crease between her brows, signifying her confusion. "One of the guys..." she softly whispers.

"Is that okay?" Dustin asks.

Sofia blinks and she raises her brows. "Oh. Yeah! Of course, I love being one of the guys. It's so...fun." she turns away from her friends and looks through the gate. Dustin pulls his brows together, noticing the girl suddenly becoming quiet. He leans toward his friends.

"Okay, so maybe she isn't okay with being one of the guys."

"Oh, gee, Dustin—what happened gave it away?" Lucas looks at the boy.

Dustin opens his mouth to speak again, but Sofía talks.

"Can you even get 750,000 points on Dig Dug?" She tries to get back on track.

All the boys look at her. "What?"

Sofía looks at them and shrugs, "Dig Dug? Can you even get that many points?"

"But her name is Max." Lucas states.

"So what?" Mike rolls his eyes.

"So, how many Maxes do you know?" Lucas looks back at the redhead.

"I don't know—"

"Zero. That's how many."

"And she shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score," Dustin speaks. "I mean, are you kidding me?"

"Exactly! So, she's gotta be Mad Max—she's gotta be?"

"Why does it matter?" Sofía scoffs, her tone coming out snappy. "I mean, do we really care about this?"

"Yes!" Will, Dustin, and Lucas answer.

"No!" Mike answers.

Sofía points at Mike. "Guys—"

"Plus she skateboards, so she's pretty awesome." Dustin talks over Sofía.

The girl presses her lips into a firm line and looks back at Max. Sofía's chest tightens and she inhales a soft breath.

"Awesome?" Mike cranes his neck forward. "You haven't even spoken a word to her."

"Hey—I don't have to. I mean, look at her." Dustin says in awe. He turns to where Max was, but she's gone. "Shit, I've lost the target."

"Oh! There." Will points out.

All the boys turn to the girl, who was throwing something away in the trash. Sofía exhales a scoff and turns to Max. The redhead walks up the stairs and enters the school. Lucas and Dustin look at each other before breaking off into a sprint toward the trash with Will following behind them.

Mike looks at Sofía, whose arms were folded. "You okay?"

Sofía raises her brows and looks at her friend. "Yeah, I guess..." she gnaws on her lower lip. "Is she really that awesome?"

Mike shrugs, "I dunno." He scratches the side of his nose. "But all I know is that you and Eleven? You two are awesome."

A smile finds Sofía's lips and her back straightens. "Thanks, Mike."

Mike gives her the same smile and shrugs. "We should go over there." He motions his head to the three boys. Sofía huffs, "Yeah..."

Sofía and Mike reluctantly jog over to their friends. Will and Lucas were covering the trash as Dustin rummages through it. "Got it!"

Mike and Sofía arrive at the trash just in time to see Dustin opening the crumbled-up piece of paper. The Alvarez girl purses her lips. "You guys are so obsessed that you're digging through the trash?"

"Stop spying on me, creeps." Dustin, Lucas, and Will speak.

Sofía raises her brows and laughs softly.

"William Byers and Sofía Alvarez."

All the kids turn to the Principal. "Your mother's here."

Sofía lets out a soft breath and her chest tightens, knowing what time it was. Even though Sofía has been getting checkups from the lab every day since she's been back from the Upside Down, she was still shaken to her core about being there. It almost feels like there was still evil lurking in the cold building that was hiding within the shadows. Ready to attack.

☆

Gus didn't find Fallon at all through the school day. She was worried sick about the girl and was going to stop by her house and check on her. Then she realized that Fallon told her that her mom hadn't been cooking lately. Cynthia started taking on more hours at work to make up for her ex-husband's absence. The mother didn't have an issue with it. It actually helped distract her from all of her pain.

But, this time wouldn't be the case...

A soft knock was heard at the door and Cynthia looks away from her book. She sets it on the couch and approaches the door. As soon as the woman opened the door, she was left disappointed.

"August, it's you."

Gus smiles, "Hi, Ms. Price."

Cynthia's chest tightens and she's smacked back into reality. Ms. Miss. She was never going to get used to it. Cynthia inhales a breath, "Fallon isn't here right now. She's out with Robin."

Gus raises her brows. Robin and Fallon have been spending so much one-on-one time together, that she and Gus haven't hung out in a while except for when they were in school.

"Oh, no. I'm here for you." Gus says. "I came to give you this." she holds the glassware out to the woman.

Cynthia grabs the glass and Gus enters the house. "Uh, what is it?" she asks, kicking the door closed.

"A meatloaf," Gus says.

"You can cook?" Cynthia asks. "Last time you cooked, I got salmonella."

"Oh, God." Gus covers her face with embarrassment. "I didn't cook this--I mean, my dad helped me."

Cynthia looks up from the aluminum foil and at the content brunette. "I thought you and the Chief weren't on good terms? Fallon told me you were upset with him."

Gus slowly nods her head and grips the strap of her satchel. "Yeah, I am still pretty upset with him," she admits. "But, I really wanted to do something for you. And I know I wouldn't have been able to make that on my own."

Cynthia's eyes slightly widen. "Look, Ms. Price, I know we're not cool anymore. And I understand, I've had a troubling past. But you are my best friend's mom and you were like a mom to me too." Gus shrugs a shoulder.

"After everything I have said about you...you would make me this for me?" Cynthia slightly shakes her head and her hands start to shake. "I don't understand..." her voice starts to tremble and Gus pulls her brows together. "Ms. Price? Are you--"

Cynthia lets out a soft cry and presses her back against the wall. Before Cynthia's trembling hands could drop the dish, Gus quickly approaches the woman and grabs the meatloaf from her. Cynthia covers her eyes with the balls of her palms. "How could I be so stupid?" she shames herself.

"You were in love, Ms. Price." Gus says. "Maybe you still are...you can't help who you fall for, y'know."

Cynthia takes her hands off her eyes, revealing her smudged makeup. Gus chews on the inside of her cheek. She sets the meatloaf on a stand and rummages through her satchel. Gus let's out a sigh of disappointment in herself. "I don't have any tissue, but I have..." she pulls out a bag of licorice. "...sorry."

Cynthia raises her brows and Gus starts to feel nervous. The short-haired brunette braces herself for a lecture about not having the right items in her bag. Then an unexpected thing happens. Cynthia laughs. Gus' tense body quickly relaxes, but her brows were pulled together. Cynthia was touching her stomach and she was bent over while a full-hearted laugh comes from her mouth.

Gus quietly starts to laugh too. With every second time passed her laughter grows and she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. Gus always seemed to laugh, even when she didn't get the joke. As long as that person was happy she was happy.

Cynthia soon wipes her tears and lets out a satisfied laugh. Gus holds the licorice out to the woman. Cynthia looks at the candy and chuckles, but she grabs one of the straw-like candies and chews on it. Gus starts to eat a piece of licorice too.

"You're still the same."

Gus looks at the woman, who for the first time in a long time had a soft expression while looking at her. "Ma'am?"

"You're still the same, Gus who wants to lift others' spirits." Cynthia smiles. "I'm sorry for doubting you, August."

Gus shakes her head. "You were just looking out for your daughter. I get it...we'll, I don't have a kid. But I get wanting to look out for the people you love." She explains.

"That's the thing..." Cynthia slows her chewing. "...I barely hugged my daughter. I told her that her curly hair—her natural hair was unprofessional." She shakes her head. "I told her everything my mom told me."

"I wasn't helping her." Cynthia realizes. "I was just giving her trauma to give her child."

Gus slowly nods her head, "Generational Trauma is a scary thing. You never know when it's happening until it's too late, or until your right in the middle of it." She swipes her lower tongue across her lower lip. "Ms. Price. You were in the middle of giving your daughter...trauma." She says hesitantly.

A small breath leaves Cynthia's lips.

"But, you've acknowledged it now. So, you can change it." Gus shrugs a shoulder.

Cynthia raises her brows and smiles. "You're very wise, August Castillo-Hopper."

Gus smirks, "And yet, I waste it on fighting and repeating school years." She sighs. "What a shame."

"Next year is going to be it for you, Gus," Cynthia says. "I know it."

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Cynthia asks.

Gus' back straightens and she smiles. "I would love to."

☆

Gus walks deeper into the dark forest. She had her flashlight waving back and forth on the ground, trying to spot the trip wire. As soon as she spotted the wire she hopped over it with a small grunt. As Gus walked closer to the house, she couldn't help but think about her conversation with Steve earlier. Gus had to admit that over the months of them not being friends, she hasn't thought about him. Maybe Gus would've felt bad about that if she knew that Steve was thinking about her nonstop.

Gus steps onto the porch and knocks rhythmically, hoping no one was sleeping. After a few minutes of her on the porch with her freezing hands tucked into her jacket, Gus could hear the locks starting to unlatch. The door slowly opens and Gus quickly enters. She exhales a sharp breath, expressing how cold it was outside. She kicks the door shut with her foot, takes her courdory jacket off and places it on the coat rack.

"Did Fallon's mom like the meatloaf?"

Gus lets out a loud gasp and her heart practically jumps out of her throat. She spins around and sees Hopper leaning against the counter with a beer in his hand. Gus covers her face and exhales a sharp breath. "Yeah..." she takes her hands off her face. "Yeah, she enjoyed the meatloaf. She asked me to stay for dinner, so we're getting somewhere." Gus kicks her vans off and sighs. She picks up her shoes and looks at her father. A hint of guilt forces her chest to tighten when she sees that he had the urge to apologize.

"Gus—"

"I'm really tired, Hop." A small sigh leaves her lips and she scratches the side of her brow.

"I just want to talk." Hopper's voice was soft. He didn't want to start an argument. But with Gus it was most likely bound to happen.

"Can't you just let me be mad at you?" Gus bunches her shoulders.

"Well, I could. But I don't like when you're mad at me." Hopper admits.

Gus raises her brows and her stomach turns. The girl was tired of holding so much anger towards people she cared about. But if Gus didn't have her anger and grudges. Who would she be?

Gus' soft and shocked expression quickly turns to a distant and cold one. The girl folds her arms. "Yeah? Well, I'm mad at like—3 other people, Hop. And they don't like it either. You're not special." She turns on her heel and walks into her shared room with Eleven.

Hopper's shoulders sag and he's left feeling defeated.

Gus looks at Eleven, who was laying in her bed with her eyes glued to the pages in her book. Eleven looks at her sister and a smile appears on her lips. "August!"

Gus instinctively smiles. "Hey, El!" She looks at the book in Eleven's hands. "Whatcha reading?"

She instantly recognizes the light blue and orange cover. The House on Mango Street.

"My dad gave me that book, y'know?" Gus sets her shoes down and walks over to the girl. Eleven raises her brows, "Really?"

Gus sits on the edge of Eleven's bed and nods softly. "During that time, people weren't being very...nice to me because I was Colombian." She shrugs a shoulder. "He thought it would help getting me this book..."

"Did it?" Eleven asks, looking at her sister.

Gus presses her lips into a small smile. "No. I couldn't even read it. Dr. Brenner never taught me how to read."

Eleven smiles softly and looks at the book. "I was trying to...read." She knits her brows together, trying to concentrate. She then looks back at her sister. "I can't."

Gus gives Eleven a sad smile. "You'll get there. I promise." She places a hand atop of Eleven's head of curls.

Eleven holds the book out to the bob-haired girl. "Can you...read it to me?"

Gus let's out a comforting sigh. "Yeah, I'll be your reading buddy. Scoot."

Eleven scoots over, with her shoulder pressed against the wall. Gus lays on the bed next to El and she lays the back of her head against the headboard. She looks at Eleven and raises her brows. "Ready?"

Eleven lays her head on Gus' shoulder and nods. "Ready."

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author's note.

GUS READING TO ELEVENNNN

Words : 4428