CHAPTER ONE - MADMAX

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"WELL THIS PLACE is a shithole," Jacqueline Mayfield announced, stepping into the new house. Her voice rang off the empty walls as she dropped her keys onto the one lone coffee table in the center of what was supposed to be their living room. Everything else was still tightly packed away in the boxes placed around the rest of the house.

Their new home was tons smaller than their former one in California, her queen sized bed barely fit into her room. Not to mention her dressers which were squished into the far corner, and her vanity which she had to abandon the mirrors for since there was no space left for them.

She pulled the elastic from her hair, letting it fall back down onto her shoulders as she dropped her purse onto the counter, just arriving back from her drive around town. She'd been hoping to find at least something worth mentioning to her younger sister, who seemed even more upset about the move than she did—but quickly came to the realization that Hawkins Indiana was about as boring and simple as small towns came.

"Language," her mother scolded from the kitchen, and Jacqueline glanced over to see her loading some dishes into the cabinets. "I don't want Max to hear you say foul words like that."

"Right," she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Like she hasn't said worse."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she lied smoothly, clearing her throat. "Hey, speaking of Max, where is she?"

"Her room."

Jackie barged into her younger sister's room, not bothering to even knock. It was an unspoken rule between the two of them, neither cared enough to knock. She flopped down face first onto her bed, and Max moved at the last second to avoid getting jumped on. "So how was the grand tour?"

"Lame," Jackie replied, her voice muffled from the blanket. "Total downgrade from California. They have an arcade though." She pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Maybe you can get Billy to take you."

Max rolled her eyes, and Jackie bit back a laugh. The hatred the two of them shared for their step-brother was like no other. He was a dick; to say the least. An arrogant selfish asshole who would do anything to get his way. However, their hatred for him wasn't the only thing they shared. Both had very fiery tempers, shiny blue eyes, and the same bright red long thick hair.

"Why can't you just take me?" Max asked, closing the magazine she had on her lap. "Billy will make a big ordeal about it, you know he will."

"Yeah," Jackie sighed. "I know, but Mom wants me to go job hunting, or I would. I drove past a pizza place earlier, maybe I could try there."

Max raised an eyebrow, and bursted out laughing. Jackie blinked, shooting her a confused look. "I can't imagine you flipping up dough into the air. It's too funny."

Jackie stabbed her sister's side with her finger. "That's rude."

"But funny," Max grinned, then it slowly began to fade.

"I'm sorry," she said, following Max's train of thought, "I know you don't like him, but we're all stuck together now."

"I know," Max frowned. "I'll see you later? Maybe you can teach me some new skateboard tricks."

"Only if you're up for the challenge," Jackie responded with a grin.

"Oh it's so on."

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"I just don't understand why we have to take the same car," Jackie protested, glaring at her mom. "I was going to drive Max. I don't want either of us spending any more time with that scumbag then we have to."

"Jacqueline," her mother shot her an annoyed look. "He is your brother whether you like it or not." She went to snap back a retort, but ended up getting cut off. "Plus, we don't have the money right now to pay for three cars worth of gas. Will you please stop being so stubborn and get in the car?"

"Fine," she huffed, suddenly feeling guilty for throwing a temper tantrum. She didn't know they were on a budget.

Jackie climbed into the passengers seat of Billy's car, and Max slid into the back. None of them talked, and the radio blared excessively the entire way to the school. Jackie subconsciously shrank lower into her seat as they arrived to the parking lot. He definitely knew how to make an entrance, and she wasn't all too fond of being ogled at. They were already going to have loads of attention for being new kids, he didn't need to go the extra mile.

Students stared in their direction, Jackie refrained from reaching forward and shutting the radio off completely. Billy dramatically revved the engine one last time as he put the car in park.

They climbed out of the car as Billy put his cigarette out. She smiled at Max. "Good luck today."

"Thanks," she replied, grinning at her as she grabbed her bag. "You too."

Jackie watched as she skated off in the direction of the middle school. Max was never good with big changes, and she was worried. Jackie turned back to Billy when she noticed he had yet to walk away, and followed his gaze to a pair of teenagers standing by their car a few feet away.

A girl with short hair that fell above her shoulders with bright big blue eyes, and a knitted sweater caught her gaze first. Jackie tried her best to offer a smile, but Billy's voice called her back and she looked over to him.

"Let's go. I don't need to hear your mom bitching about you being late on your first day."

"Fuck off," was how she responded, and she shot a dirty look was shot in his direction.

Jackie lifted her bag onto her arm and walked towards the building without waiting for him. In California, none of the seniors ever used book-bags, only purses. She couldn't tell if it was the same at her new home or not.

She made it inside, pretending not to notice all of the glances she was receiving and focused on the schedule in her hands instead.

Her heart deflated somewhat as she hopelessly searched around the crowded hallway for her first class, but the number above the doors didn't match, and she inwardly groaned. She'd hoped at least one thing would be easy that day. She was certain she looked like a lost puppy right about then.

"Need a hand?" An unfamiliar feminine voice called out. She spun, coming face to face with the same girl from the parking lot.

"Oh, yes please," Jackie nodded, handing the girl her schedule. "Thank you."

"It's no problem," she smiled. "I'm Nancy, by the way. Figured you could use a little help. This place isn't too intimidating once you get comfortable."

She pursed her lips in attempt not to blurt out that nothing about Hawkins was scary, let alone intimidating. "I'm Jackie," was her response.

"You're in room one-thirty," Nancy told her, and Jackie nodded as if she didn't know that already from reading the page. "Across the hall from me. Come on, I'll walk you."

"Great," she replied, forcing a smile.

"So..." The other girl began, and Jackie struggled to control her expression. She was not one for small-talk. "I know you're new, but there's this Halloween party tomorrow and I just thought maybe that'd be a great way to put yourself out there. Make friends, you know?"

"Oh," Jackie breathed in surprise when Nancy handed her an orange pamphlet. "Thanks, yeah I'll think about it. Kinda on a costume shortage, though."

Nancy laughed quietly. "Well, if you need anything I'll be happy to lend you some like...weird funky clothes or whatever." Jackie smiled again, and this time it was less forced. "Well, this is you. See you around? Maybe if you haven't forgotten about me by lunch you can some sit."

"Yeah, sure," she adjusted her bag. "Thanks Nancy. And thanks for walking me."

She nodded with a small smile, before turning to go the opposite direction, and Jackie made her way into the classroom, students filled the seats, and she stood awkwardly at the front of the room. Finally, she faced the teacher, who looked extremely aggravated with the amount of paper balls being flung across the room, and stepped closer to his desk. "Where should I sit?"

"Ah," the man glanced up to her through his square glasses. "I'm assuming you're Miss Mayfield. Assigned seats aren't required in my classroom, feel free to sit anywhere."

Jackie sighed, and glanced around the room. Just because the teacher didn't assign seats didn't mean that they weren't there. She scanned the classroom, there were already about ten students present. She hesitated before choosing a seat almost all the way to the back of the room, towards the left, praying that it wasn't someone else's spot.

As more and more students piled in, her anxiety lessened when no one confronted her about it. However, her luck quickly ran out when Mr. Robinson made the announcement that there was a new student. All heads turned her way, and Jackie bit the inside of her lip to stop her face from heating up. God, she hated public speaking.

"Tell us about yourself, Jacqueline."

She swallowed, willing her voice not to waver nervously. And she refused to stand up. "I, uh, moved from California. I have a sister... And I really hate being the center of attention," she paused, trying to think of something else to say. "Also, call me Jackie."

"Of course," Mr. Robinson said with a smile. "All right class, pull out your textbooks and flip to page two-hundred. We're starting a new unit today."

The rest of the school day passed in a blur, and before Jackie knew it she was back home. Just as she thought, there was nothing exciting going on. Although, she had seen Nancy a few more times in the halls, but neither of offered each other anything except a small smile.

When lunch had arrived, Jackie had lost all the nerve to stand in the front of the room like an idiot while everyone watched her look for a place to sit, and decided to eat outside instead. It was better like that, anyway. Less noisy, and she didn't have to deal with annoying teenage boys chucking food at one another only for it to end up hitting her and getting stuck in her hair.

Jackie sat on her bed, writing in her notebook while one of Queen's older albums played on her record. She was astounded with how much homework she'd already been assigned. The current F she'd been writing on her paper suddenly became very sloppy as her door banged open and Max barged in. Jackie dropped the pen out of fright.

"You will not believe what happened to me today. I had guys stalking me. Literally stalking me. Totally creepy."

"What do you mean by stalking you?" Jackie questioned, turning to face her younger sister.

"Like I was going to the school gym and they were watching me behind a fence like a couple of weirdos."

"Huh," she mused in response. "Maybe they like you."

"Gross," Max's face practically turned green. "Are we still on for Halloween?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, thinking about that Halloween party Nancy had mentioned. "I might have other plans."

Max raised a brow and sat on the edge of the bed. "You've got a boyfriend already?"

Jackie snorted, and closed her notebook. "Uh, definitely not. Just got invited to a party, is all. This girl I met today wants me to go. Something about popularly points or some stupid shit."

"You should go," Max encouraged, straightening up. "I'm sure you'd have a lot more fun at a party than trick or treating with me."

"Max, no that's not true. I love spending time with you."

"You are so corny, you know that? Besides, you spend enough time with me."

"Hey!"

"I kind of want to go alone," she admitted, and Jackie felt her heart plummet. She should've known this day would come, but she didn't think it'd be so soon. They'd always gone trick or treating together, it was a tradition. "I'm old enough to right? No offense but I don't really want a babysitter. I feel grown up when I do stuff on my own."

"Fine," Jackie said with an eye roll, understanding how she felt completely because she was the same way. "I'll go to the party, but if anything happens you let me know and I'll beat some bitches up, okay?"

Max beamed at her. "Okay. Deal."

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authors note

rewritten as of 3/12/21. this was one of my first fics ever and my writing style has changed DRASTICALLY so i've decided that i'll be fixing everything i hate. no major plot changes or anything of the sort, just making the writing less shitty.