#ler!max

"...Did we get that verse right? It's 'unfold behind the clouds?'"

Dustin stared at his two least favorite friends with nothing but disappointment. Out of every traumatic thing that had happened to them over the past few months, he was clueless as to how this ended up being the one thing they just would not let go of.

Realistically, maybe Dustin should be more glad to even be sitting here right now. Safe, uninjured, and together with his friends and family.

Well... at least for the next couple of hours.

It was starting to feel like every time the party had a peaceful moment together, something just had to come and ruin it. The only difference this time is that the Byers were moving away, and even though they all made promises to keep in touch, there was no denying that their party wouldn't be the same without Will.

None of them could ever be the same after what happened.

And still, regardless of how lucky Dustin was to get to hear his friends laugh and sing after everything, he couldn't help his irritation at their song of choice.

"...Yeah, but you're butchering it, so could you please stop?"

The curly-haired boy made a show of rolling his eyes when Lucas just carried on.

"So then join in, Dusty-bun."

Dustin hid his face in his hands as they doubled back down on the teasing.

"We just wanna hear you sing!"

"I am not going to—"

"Turn around!"

"..."

They were going to be the death of him.

The curly-haired teenager flipped them off with a look that promised a shunning for at least a month, promptly getting to his feet and carrying the box he'd been sorting through to the other side of the room.

"Aww, I think our Dustin's embarrassed!"

"Are you embarrassed, Dusty-bun?"

"And what have I told you about calling me that?" he snapped, halting his steps to properly stare them down. The innocent looks plastered on their faces succeeded in annoying him further.

"Oh, right-" Max crossed her arms over her chest. "Only Suzie gets to call you that!"

"Max, let it go already!"

Lucas grinned. "Should we go radio her? Maybe then we'll get to hear you—"

"I said stop, guys!"

An empty box soared across the room, doing little to silence the giggling couple with its hollow clunking across the floor. A silence stretched for a moment, as if deciding the fate of the boy who was now slowly backing away from two mischievous figures.

"So we're throwing things now, are we?" Lucas laughed, reaching for an old Star Wars figurine, its colors faded and missing a limb. It looked nostalgic in the mostly empty room, unfit for the strange bareness of the walls and lack of laughter that would be soon to follow the Byers out of their home. And then it was soaring out of the boy's hand and right into Dustin, who squeaked out a curse and searched for more toys to fling.

Things went on like this for a while, plastic figures clattering around the three teens as war broke out, no rules and no real goal but to hit the other party as much as possible. It felt like a tension was leaving them— one that made conversations hard and last hugs awkward. Like maybe the end of the day didn't have to mean the end of everything.

Dustin panted as he ran across the room, diving behind a stack of boxes to avoid getting hit. Figures knocked into his makeshift shield in a flurry of taps as he stuck an arm out to flip off his offenders.

He reached for some of the mess on the ground, popping out from his hiding spot and hurling a couple of toys at his friends.

"Take this, assholes!"

Suddenly, a sharp cry silenced the chaos in an instant as Dustin caught sight of Max grabbing at her eye. Lucas immediately dropped his ammo as he turned to check on her.

"Oh, shit." He stumbled to his feet, making his way over to the pair. "Sorry, I didn't mean t—"

The teen cut himself off with a squeal as Max suddenly bolted towards him.

"That's it. You're dead, Henderson!"

And then his world was turned sideways as she tackled him to the ground, both a mess of shouts and flying limbs in the middle of the room.

Lucas, recovering from the abruptness of the whole situation, rose with the intention of diffusing the argument before one of them pushed a bit too far.

"MAX! Waitwaitwait stohop it!—"

Like right now.

"Okay, Max. Get off of him," he sighed, placing a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder with gentle caution.

"No, he'll be fine," Max smirked, in the process of prying the boy beneath her off of her arms. "He just needs to learn some awareness."

And then, in the matter of about two seconds, Dustin shrieked with such conviction that Lucas was tempted to throw the redhead off, startling as the teenager twisted violently under her touch.

"Fuhuck yohou! Fuck fuhUCK!"

Another squeal flew past his lips, and then, all at once, things started to make sense again to Lucas.

The curly-haired boy's face was twisted into a wide smile, shiny teeth on display to the whole world through explosive giggles. All the while, Max dug under his arms, looking pleased with herself for how effect her methods were proving to be.

"Yeah? How about fuck you for trying to blind me!"

Dustin shook his head, elbows clamped to his sides in a death grip, though it did little to stop the digits wiggling in his armpits.

"To be fair, I don't think it even left a mark," Lucas interjected, unsure of who exactly he should be helping right now. On one hand, he could come to the rescue of one of his closest friends before he totally lost his shit, or aid his very beautiful and amazing girlfriend in committing murder via tickling.

Dustin snorted sharply, head thrown back in hysterics.

"Gohod damn ihit! I'm soho gonna kill yohou!"

The athlete reached for Max's hand, and in an instant she turned to glare deep into his eyes. When she spoke, she sounded completely serious, and it would've been nearly impossible to guess what she was currently up to by the look on her face.

"Help him, and I dump you."

Ookaaay, not doing that.

Lucas shrugged in defeat, settling just above his friend's head as he tugged his arms up with an ease that came with his newfound interest in sports. Dustin gave a pleading look upwards as his defenses were wrenched away, flailing twice as hard now that he was properly pinned.

"Luhucas, shit— don't do thihis!" he cried, but all he received was an apologetic smile and a much harsher scribble along his side.

"Hey, Max?"

"What is it, stalker?"

"You're doing it wrong."

The girl looked up irritatedly, fingers halting for a few blissful moments as she looked at her boyfriend expectantly.

"Okay, then tell me how to do it right."

Lucas smirked, ignoring the babbling below him as he chose violence. I mean, go big or go home... right?

"His stomach is way worse. Dude's got it bad there."

Max hummed, poising her fingers over their new target. Dustin groaned indignantly.

"What is it, Dusty-bun? Is this a bad spot or something?" She drummed her fingers over his midsection a couple times, laughing at the squeal that bounced off the walls in response.

"Trahaitors! Yohohou guhuys—" he kicked his legs out frantically in an attempt to knock at least one of the bodies off of him. "You fuhucking suck ahass!"

And that was the last coherent sentence the boy managed before being submit to a tickly doom by the hands of his own party. The remainder of his vocabulary consisted of giggly threats and an occasional plea for his release, though even those became intelligible after a while, lost to bright laughter.

The minutes ticked on, and soon enough, as Dustin's laughter had gone silent and breathless, the redhead decided she'd got her fill of revenge. She sat back on his legs, smoothing over his shirt before giving him a pat that he would later deny flinching from.

Lucas released his arms, snickering when it took him a couple of seconds to come to and bring them down.

"You okay, man?"

The teen rubbed his eyes, wet and droopy from being worn out so recently. He groaned.

"I'm never... talking to either of you... ever again."

"Yeah, yeah. You love us."

Dustin gave her the finger.

A peaceful silence filled the space while the three took their time picking up the aftermath of their silly game. Soon enough, the room was clean and organized, bare in such an unfamiliar way that one couldn't help but long to just get out. Not that there was much to leave behind anymore.

"We'd better take these to the moving-truck," Lucas murmured, glancing out the window just as Ms. Byers passed through, carrying a suitcase and an old jacket he wasn't sure he'd ever seen her wear before.

Dustin nodded and lead the way outside. The door clicked quietly behind them, leaving an empty room behind. The afternoon sun filtered through the windows, giving the wooden floor a strange glow that lit up the plain walls, illuminating dust particles as they floated aimlessly across the space.

Outside, a group of friends gathered for a last goodbye. Hawkins was going to be different, but maybe change doesn't mean the end.

Maybe change would be a good thing, after all.

“Oh my god. You like someone!”

Max looked excited. Really, really excited. The tight grip she held on Jane’s wrists said it all. Her smile was teasing, almost like she knew something. Jane didn’t see how that could be possible when she herself still felt so confused.

They were having a sleepover. It was their mission to have one at least once a month; Max said it was criminal how long they had been apart, and this was the only way to fix it. Plus, they deserved it for saving the world. Late nights reading magazines, watching bad movies, and getting high off too much sugar. It was Jane’s new favorite thing.

It was also the perfect time to get something off her chest. A series of weird thoughts and feelings that she’s been noticing for maybe a month now.

“What does it mean when you think about someone a lot?”

Jane wasn’t expecting such a big reaction to such a simple question. But the more Max prodded for details, the more convinced she seemed that Jane had a crush. Which was, apparently, a very big deal.

“No.” Jane shook her head halfheartedly, “I…I don’t think so?”

Max gaped at her, “You definitely do. There’s a guy you supposedly can’t stop thinking about. And! You get a ‘weird fuzzy feeling’ when he compliments you? Jane!”

Maybe it was a little obvious, but she had never felt this way before. In all the romance movies Jane has seen, love always looked so big and dramatic. She never imagined it would feel like a gentle simmering in her chest at just the thought of someone.

“I don’t know. I guess I do?” She smiled shyly, twisting her hands out of Max’s grip, “I just didn’t think I would like him.”

“Hey, it happens.” Max shrugged, “One day you think a guy is kind of a weird, nerdy, loser, who may actually be stalking you. And then all of a sudden.” She mimed a firework going off with her hand.

Brows furrowed, Jane tilted her head, “He explodes?”

Max rolled her eyes, shoving Jane by the arm and sending her toppling onto the mattress with a little laugh, “You know what? Sure. He explodes.”

Jane giggled, fiddling with the hem of her frilly pink pajamas. This was exciting. She had a crush! Now that she understood, the fuzzy warmth in her chest felt twice as intense. Jane wanted to sit in this feeling forever.

Max cleared her throat softly, blinking in rapid succession when Jane looked over to her, “What?”

“Well?” Max waved her hands expectantly, “Who is it?”

“Oh, umm.” For reasons she couldn’t explain, Jane felt hesitant to share, a sudden shyness taking over her.

“Oh, come on!” Max grabbed onto her side, shaking Jane back and forth gently, “You can’t say all that and then not tell me!”

She shrugged, laughing when Max held up one hand in a fist as if planning to hit her.

Max thought for a second, crossing her arms as she observed her friend. Jane could only smile up at her, happily rocking from side to side where she lay on her back, “Is it the cute guy in your history class?”

“There’s a cute guy in my history class?” Jane blinked at her.

“I don’t know, that’s what Will told me.” Max shrugged, “You guys have history together, right?”

Jane nodded slowly, trying to remember every other student in their class. Will never told her he thought someone was cute. She would have to pester him about it later.

Smirking, Max leaned back against the bed with a playful sigh, “Well, it wouldn’t exactly be the first time you guys liked the same guy.”

Not this again. Jane covered her face with her hands, groaning into them, “Maaaax!”

“I’m just saying! It is actually unbelievable. You finally. Finally! Break up with Wheeler, and then Will likes him too?” Max made a face that would make someone think this is the worst thing she’s ever heard. It probably is. “Ugh!”

“It’s not his fault.” Jane quietly came to her brother’s defense, removing her hands from her face, “And I think Mike likes him too.”

“Oh, no, he definitely does. He’s just too stupid to figure it out on his own.” She sighed, “Someone’s gonna have to spell it out for him. You know Dustin thinks they’re already dating?”

Like magic, warmth seemed to seep through Jane’s skin like a tiny fire ignited by the quickening thump of her heart. She nodded, playing with the ends of her pajama shirt once again.

The room was quiet. Too quiet. No sound except the slow tick of Jane’s blue wall clock. She looked up at her friend, and Max was staring right back, a curious amusement drawn across her face.

“I almost forgot.” Max pressed a finger to Jane’s stomach, “You still need to tell me something.”

With a little wiggle, Jane shrugged. It felt like bubbles were floating inside her chest. Almost nervous, but in a good way. She kind of liked the attention, Max studying her with narrowed eyes like she was a puzzle to be solved. This was a new feeling too; a good one.

Two hands rested atop her belly, lightly ruffling Jane’s shirt. Now she felt bubbly for a whole different reason, but Max didn’t seem to notice, carefully considering her next steps.

“You know you're a terrible liar, right?” Max suddenly asked.

Jane pouted slightly, “Lying is bad.”

“But sometimes it’s necessary.” Max nodded, “Like when you, I don’t know, want to keep a secret from your best friend?”

She leaned down slightly, hands pressing into soft skin. Jane pulled her knees up, rubbing fuzzy socks against her comforter while Max held her in place with a calculating gaze. A silly little smile refused to leave her face.

“Because I think I figured something out.” She continued, “And when I ask you about it, whether you like it or not, I will know the truth.”

Every word was emphasized by Max shaking her hands atop the squish of Jane’s belly. Little tingly feelings and nervous anticipation teased at Jane’s mind until she started giggling and couldn’t stop.

Max’s brows furrowed, chuckling softly as Jane pushed her hands away, “Are you ticklish?”

The question seemed to make Jane laugh even more. Still, she shook her head, “No…”

For a second, they sat there. One girl giggling up a storm while the other watches, unknowingly making it worse with her stare.

Max shook her head, an evil little grin on her face, "What did I tell you about being a bad liar?”

Then Jane was covering her tummy, trying to defend against the hands that quickly launched an attack over her midsection.

“Mahahahax!” She squealed softly, stomping her feet against the sheets and wiggling in place while fingers poked along her stomach.

“Were you hiding this from me, too?” Max easily avoided the attempts to block her hands. “We like keeping secrets now?”

“Nohoho! Ihihihi dohon’t!” Jane shook her head, grabbing hold of Max’s wrists. It didn’t stop the tickling, but it did slow her down just a bit.

Until Max stopped poking her, leaving her hands in place to wiggle her fingers against the edges of her belly. Jane’s legs kicked out, writhing around and bunching up the blankets.

“Then, tell me.”

“Whahahat?”

“You know what.” Max sped up her fingers for a second, making Jane shriek and roll over onto her side, facing her lavender walls. Following after her squirmy friend, Max sat up on her knees to lean over and look at Jane’s face.

“Is it someone I know?”

Her eyes shifted, staring at the wall and not making eye contact. Max scoffed at Jane’s refusal to answer, poking her side and watching her flinch.

She leaned down slightly to whisper in Jane’s ear, “Is it someone with curly hair?”

She knew. They both knew that she did. Max figured out who was occupying all the thoughts in her head. The boy that she suddenly seemed to think was really cute. Who had always been nice to her, but now it made her palms sweaty and her insides feel all fluttery and weird.

But Jane didn’t want to just tell her. It was dizzying, being playfully scrutinized like this. She wanted Max to drag it out of her. To tickle and tease until she couldn’t take it anymore.

So she shook her head.

Max pinched her side, and a short, loud screech seemed to echo through her room before she fell back into her typical giggling. Max huffed out a laugh, clearly shocked by the noise.

“Is this a bad spot?” Jane shook her head again, “You know, for someone who hates lying, you keep doing it.”

“Ihihihi aham nohohot!” But then Jane screeched again when Max began squeezing up and down her side.

“Let’s see…” Max sighed, pausing to rest her hand unmoving over Jane’s side, “Is he kind of nerdy?”

Jane barely got to shake her head before a series of rapid squeezes right in the middle of her side had her jolting with a bubbly laugh. Max’s knees pressed against her back, a solid reminder that there was nowhere to go.

Max stopped again, waiting for Jane to calm down before asking, “Does he really like Star Wars? Like wayyy too much?”

Once again, Jane says no, and Max takes it out on her side. It left her feeling twitchy, somehow worse than continuous stretches of tickling. She could stop this only by answering correctly, something she refused to do. Max knew that, and was toying with her, basically saying, ‘How long are you gonna keep this up?’

Wild giggling didn’t die down at all as Max geared up for her next question.

“What about video games? Most guys like those, right?” Max laughed when Jane visibly hesitated before giving the tiniest shake of her head.

“EEEHEHAhahahahaha!” Max tasered two fingers into her ribs as well this time, her own little way of upping the stakes. Jane’s arm flinched back to cover herself, only to be chased away by a quick poke at her belly.

“Does he like sports?”

She started to shake her head instinctively before registering the question. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Max eyeing her knowingly, “If he’s not a nerd, he must be into sports.” She shrugged.

Jane didn’t look away as she nodded, giggling while Max sighed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She smiled, somewhat proud of Jane’s stubborn defiance.

“Mahahahahahax!” This time, when Max started squeezing her side again, she didn’t stop. Not even when Jane squealed and kicked, sunny laughter bouncing around the room.

Max ignored her, pushing up her pajama shirt to skitter over her stomach while tweaking her ribs. Jane screamed, trying to pull her shirt back down. “MAHAHAX! EHEHahaAHAHeha!”

She sighed, as if this whole thing was one personal inconvenience to her, “You know, it honestly seems like you like this. Or you love lying to me, either one.”

“IHIHIHI’M NAHAHAT!”

“Of course you’re not.” Max nodded sarcastically, “You definitely like some jock guy I’ve never met and not one of our close friends. Right?”

This was the closest they’d come to saying it out loud; the not so secret identity of the boy she liked. Jane felt flushed, leaning forward slightly to press her face into the cool sheets. She shoved Max’s hands away from her belly, only to squeal when nails pressed into the skin just above her hip.

Max leaned down towards her face again, “Right, Ellie?” She whispered, making Jane hike up her shoulder as soft breaths tickled her neck. The words seemed to crawl inside her ears, fluffing up her brain with little feathers.

“Ehehehehaha!” She flopped over onto her belly, clenching her arms by her sides. Hearing her nickname made Jane feel like a warm puddle of syrup stuck to her bedsheets.

Max wasn’t even surprised when Jane once again found a way to avoid answering her question. She sighed loudly, smiling at the giggles that tapered off into the sheets.

“You’re so stubborn,” She muttered, placing her hands onto Jane’s back and laughing softly when she jumped. Max tapped her nails at the sliver of available skin. “Maybe you need this spelled out for you.”

A singular nail dragging down the small of her back had Jane crying out in pitchy, desperate squeals. Already wiggling from side to side, she grew frantic when Max started calling out letters.

“D.” Max paused, holding Jane down with her free hand as she traced the next letter, “U.”

“STAHAHAHAP!!” Her face felt hot, legs kicking rapidly as Max dragged out pronouncing, “S,” slowly slithering one nail down her spine. “EEAHAHA!! STAHP! STAHP!”

This was beyond mean—evil and targeted in a way that could only come from her best friend. Jane reached up towards the head of her bed, faltering slightly as Max crossed off a “T” along her exposed side. She grazed the corner of one of her pillow cases.

Max hummed quietly, trailing her fingernail up along the center of Jane’s back. She almost couldn’t believe such a tiny touch was enough to make her usually quiet friend go insane like this. Although Max knew it had to be more than just the tickling, very aware of the way Jane’s laughter grew louder the more letters she got through. It was cute, honestly, how shy she seemed to be about her little crush.

Swirling her finger in circles to dot the “I,” Max was interrupted by a soft thump against the side of her head. She flinched with a quiet, “Oof,” looking down to see a pillow resting beside her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jane flipped over one final time, still in hysterics with her back pressed against the wall.

“You hit me…” Max looked slowly between her friend and the weapon she used, a pretty light pink pillow.

“Ihihihit tihihickled!” Jane looked up at Max with a nervous shine in her eyes, curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping herself in a tight hug. “Ihihihi’m sohorryyy!”

Max narrowed her eyes, picking up the pillow, “So you hit me?”

Jane’s spine dug into the wall, “Mahahax, pleheheahehese- AAHAHA!” She screamed when a soft pillow repeatedly thumped over her, hiding her head in her hands.

Max only hit her a couple of times, not wanting to be too mean. When she tossed the pillow to the side, Jane was still giggling, hands raised to protect herself from another attack. Pushing a hair out of her face, she shook her head with a little smile, “You can relax. I’m done.”

For a moment, Jane still looked wary, waiting for a sudden movement. After it seemed she was truly in the clear, she rose on shaky arms before launching herself at Max, the two of them landing back on the bed with a thump.

“What the-” Max braced herself for retaliation, relaxing when Jane simply wrapped her in a hug, nuzzling more quiet giggles into the side of her neck.

“You’re soho mehean to mehehe…”

Max smirked, rubbing along Jane’s back gently, “Isn’t that why you love me?” She laughed when Jane shook her head with a little whine.

Jane slowly calmed down as Max rubbed away the lingering tingles. Only to stiffen up when Max offhandedly mumbled, “I can’t believe you like Dustin.”

“Maaaax.” Jane pressed closer, head bumping against Max’s chin and making her chuckle.

“No, it’s cute! I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Another quiet moment passed between them until Jane finally whispered, “I like his curly hair…it looks soft. And he’s really nice to me.” Max knew Jane was smiling from the way she wiggled in her arms slightly, “He makes me laugh, and he thinks I’m smart. And he likes that I take all my Calc notes with a glitter pen, even though we’re supposed to use pencil.”

Max couldn’t help but coo, imagining Jane blushing in their math class after Dustin complimented her notes. They’re such dorks.

“Well, you know,” Max pulled away slightly, just to look at Jane’s face, “For Dustin, calling someone smart is basically the same as saying they’re super hot.”

“Max!” Jane squirmed, going all pink just like Max knew she would.

“It’s true!” Max smirked, “He probably likes you, too.”

Jane faltered, plopping her head back down on Max’s shoulder, “I don’t know. I think we are just friends.”

“Hey, you don’t know that. He could be at his desk right now brainstorming cheesy pick-up lines to use on you.” Jane giggled slightly, and Max continued, “Having a crush should be fun. Don’t even worry about it.”

A happy little hum muffled into Max’s sleep shirt, Jane clearly feeling a bit better. Then, quietly, she asked, “How did you know I liked him?”

“El.” Max laughed, “I said his name and your whole face went bright red.”

“No, it didn’t.” Jane looked mortified, with wide brown eyes and pink cheeks that only got darker as Max kept laughing.

Max pinched her side, giggling at Jane’s mousy squeak, “Now you’re saying I’m lying?”

Jane squished her face into Max’s chest, mumbling, “I wish you were.”

Giving Jane one last squeeze, Max pushed herself up, separating from the hug, “Okay. I think we’ve talked enough about boys for one night.”

“Can we paint our nails again?” Jane sat up as well, flapping her hands, “Joyce bought me some new colors!”

There was something so endearing in the little things Jane got excited about. Max chuckled, “Sure. That’s perfect actually, I brought some music I wanna show you.”

An excited little squee is all Max heard as a flash of pink rushed off the bed to gather her nail polish.

Richie could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ran across the football field, not daring to glance behind him. Maybe, just maybe, his assailant would trip, and he’d be able to get away.

Who's after him? Of course, it’s Max Jägerman. Richie had accidentally shoulder-checked him while trying to make it to his bus, and Max decided that tormenting the nerd would be worth the walk home.

“Get back here, shit lips!”

Max was hot on the boy’s tail, hardly breaking a sweat as he darted across the field towards his target. The teachers had gone home for the day, and there was no after-school practice. Richie’s ass was his.

“P-please go away! I’m sorry!” he panted, though the nerd knew trying to apologize was a fruitless effort. Still, it made him feel a little less crazy.

Max laughed at that, finding the apology more cute than anything. “Hell no! You bumped into me, you dick! Your ass is grass!”

Predictably, Richie ran out of energy—adrenaline can only get you so far—and began to slow. Max easily closed the distance, tackling the poor boy to the turf.

“No! No, Max, please!” Richie kicked beneath the jock, feeling his arms get yanked above his head. “I didn’t mean to, honest!”

“Don’t think it matters, does it, Richie?” Max sneered, poking the boy’s chest to emphasize his point. Richie thrashed during one of the pokes though, and it landed on his stomach instead.

Richie jolted in the jock’s hold, a smile taking over his terrified grimace. “GYEEH! M-Max!”

That got the bully’s attention. Experimentally, he poked Richie’s stomach again. And, once again, the poor kid squeaked and flinched hard.

Oh, this’ll be good.

Leaning down, Max got in Richie’s face. “You seriously ticklish, shit lips?”

“I-I— No! Just let me go!”

Internally, Richie was panicking. Oh, great—Max just had to discover that little fact about him. He’d almost prefer being stuffed in his locker to that fate. At least it was kinda cozy in there, unlike the moist blades of turf digging into his back.

“Now you’re lying to me? You just wanna die, don’t ya?” he huffed, glaring down at Richie. He’d played around enough—it was time to strike.

Max’s fingers dug into the nerd’s stomach, testing out his reactions. And boy, did he get a reaction from that.

“SHIHIHIT! M-MAHAX, WHYHYHY?!” Richie squealed, arching his back as the other boy’s strong fingers dug into his stomach. It was surprisingly not painful, but damn, did it tickle.

The jock snorted at his reaction, finding it oddly entertaining. There was another emotion buried there too, but Max was a bit too occupied to acknowledge it. Also, he just didn’t want to. “Damn, you’re loud. Does it tickle, Richie? Huh?”

“OHOHO MYHY GOHOHOD!”

Richie’s face burned with flustered embarrassment as he listened to Max’s stupid words. They were meant to get to him, and they were certainly working. If it weren’t Max doing the tickling, he might even be having some fun.

Well… No, he wouldn’t think like that. Max was a bully, nothing more. He shouldn’t enjoy a second of the boy’s teasing. Definitely not.

“Not here, nerd,” he chuckled, kind of enjoying the way Richie lost his shit. That big smile, the stupid blush, his messy hair…

Damn, Jägerman, get your head out of your ass. He’s a nerdy prude. Not worth those kinds of thoughts, not like a hot chick would be.

To try and distract himself, he went down to Richie’s knees. He remembered that was a pretty bad spot from his own childhood. It was worth a shot.

“NYYAHAHAHO! M-MAHAHAX!”

Richie shrieked, throwing his head back against the turf. His knees had been his worst spot for as long as he could remember, and Max wasn’t holding back. He could barley sputter out pleas anymore, simply laughing his head off.

Unfortunately for Max, his reaction was the wrong kind of distracting.

The jock’s eyes were trained on Richie’s tickle-drunk expression, his burning cheeks, and the way he simply couldn’t take it. A strange feeling grew in his chest—one different from that of the burn sparked by pretty blondes or model magazines.

He couldn’t handle his mind anymore. He stopped the tickling, climbing up off of Richie. His own cheeks were flushed at that point, but the nerd was thankfully to wrecked to notice. “Watch where you’re walking next time, dumbass.”

“I-Ihihi…uhuhuhugh…” Richie panted, simply attempting to recover from the intense tickles. He hadn’t even tried to sit up, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

He looks…ugh.

“Fuckin’ nerd,” he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked away from the exhausted boy. Max just needed to get home and smoke to get…whatever those feelings were off of his mind. Yeah. Just needed a smoke.

Richie, on the other hand, was going through it. Max fucking Jägerman had tickled him senseless, and he wasn’t even all that mean about it. He almost seemed…happy?

Nope, too much weird for Richie’s soupy mind to handle. He would simply view his lack of bruises and wedgies as a blessing, nothing more. Once he regained his breath, he hauled himself to his feet and started the long walk home.

During their treks, boys had one another on their minds. Still, being the dumbasses they were, they refused to acknowledge it.

Max (Lee)

I can not stress this enough but he is a HUGE giggler!

On the ticklish scale of 1-10 he's totally an 9.

curse a little too much when tickled.

He defiantly a "FUHUHUCK YOHOHOU AND YOUR MAHAHOHOM" kinda person

He will send death treats and will not hesitate

he squirmy too

If you don't hold him down he will flail like crazy

if you attack him from behind I can see him acting like he's getting kidnapped

He's a folder, poke him, he folds and backs away.

After getting wrecked he mostly sticks with the person who just did it. He follows them around like a dog

He honestly doesn’t mind it, but in certain situations he’s very panicked and embarrassed.

Nikki was the first to find out while Max had his arms up, a bug flew and landed on his jacket. Without knowing about the bug, Nikki began to try to scoop up the bug off into her hands. Max jumped and grabbed Nikki’s hands saying “what the fuck are you doing?” Nikki responded “there’s a bug on your jacket” Max looked down and then flicked it off. “Jeez Max, I only touched you, don’t freak out!” But then Nikki just thought about that, and he poked him in the side causing a help from Max.

his biggest spots are hips, knees, neck, and ears.

Max (Ler)

HE. IS. EVIL!

He never learned how to really tickle somebody until he learned from David.

He loves to tease.

"What this spot to much for you? What a joke!"

"Woowww your weak!"

He's not very strong but he will try to pin his Lee, (Try)

He like to sneak attack 100%

he pounces on his Lee like a tiger to try to get the upper hand

His favorite spot to go for first is the stomach

Main targets are Neil, Nikki, and sometimes David.

He wants to go for more people but he thinks it’s weird and sticks to what he knows

He likes to warn people before he attacks so he says simple phrases to warn them

“You know what’s funny Neil? You haven’t laughed in a while!”

“Jee Nikki, you know what funny? This!”

he won’t let up until he lee yells to stop, the others know this so the same rules apply with them.

Thinks tickle fights are stupid, in reality he thinks a multiple person tickle fight is stupid, he doesn’t mind the 1 v 1 tickle fights