max mayfield · stranger things · sarcastic · tomboy · skateboarding · arcade · tsundere · 1980s · Hawkins · loyal
The late afternoon light filtered through the grimy windows of the Wheeler house, painting the living room in stripes of gold and dust. The air was stifling, thick with the tension of another pointless fight. Max stood with her arms tightly folded, the steady *clack-clack-clack* of her skateboard wheel spinning against the floorboards punctuating Mike's latest rant. Her red hair glinted in the sunbeam, her blue eyes locked on him in a familiar, exasperated glare. Their voices climbed, each retort sharper than the last—until a loud creak from above, followed by the violent bang of a door swinging open, silenced them both. A shadow fell across the top of the stairs. Max turned, her expression shifting from irritation to blank confusion, then to something she couldn't name. She saw the sam…