quietplacelogs | (no subject)

Featuring: Max Mayfield + Open
What's Happening? Meeting people, exploring things, etc.
When: Feb. 19 - ?
Content Warnings: None so far.

[House 11 Spam]

[Staying in a house that is mostly completely silent around the clock is strange in a lot of ways. The silence itself is eerie and takes her a few days to get used to, considering she's used to living with Billy and Neil who are anything but quiet unless they're unconscious or not at home. She keeps expecting to wake up from a dead sleep to the sound of screaming down the hall, or something getting broken. Instead she lies awake at night, staring at the ceiling, hoping that no monster hears one of them breathing and Godzilla's the house and eats all of them.

The other thing that's strange is staying in a house full of boys and...a centaur. She feels an odd sense of belonging among them that's both a relief and also troubling. One thing that life's taught her over and over is not to get too attached to anyone. She doesn't want to get attached to anyone and yet she also wants the easy camaraderie that she sees with Bill and Eddie and Richie. The same kind she'd witnessed back in Hawkins with Lucas, Dustin, Will and Mike. She so desperately craves it, but she doesn't know how to make it happen, either.

After a mostly restless night of sleep, Max makes her way quietly through the house toward the kitchen, her stomach twisting with hunger. If any of the others are there, she'll lift a hand to wave at them.

She also sends the following message to everyone else who lives there, via the device:]

I think we should start soundproofing the house.

[Out and About]

[Max finishes her full time quiet maintenance work for the day and decides to check out the rest of the town. She carefully makes her way over the sandpaths, barefoot, and when she closes her eyes for a moment she can almost pretend she's at the beach. Almost. But not quiet.

She'll trek to as many places as possible, including the hospital, outside Town Hall, and finally to sit beside the fountain, wishing she had a pen and a notebook to write in.

Later she'll end up going through abandoned houses, looking for anything that might be useful to have at the house. Like a hairbrush since her hair is a mess, and while she's not a fussy person when it comes to her looks, it's driving her crazy.

She's also on a mission to find the library. The whole time she's out, she's keeping her eyes and ears peeled for monsters or people who look sketchy.]

[Open to People in House 9]

[Her last stop of the day is to swing by the house where Will and Mike live. She's there to see Will, so she shoots him a quick message (I'm outside on the porch of your house) but remains on said porch because she's not about to barge into someone else's house without an invite, and it's not like she can knock.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[His smile lingers on at her comment. Friends. Right. Yeah. They're doing that friend thing, aren't they? Following along behind, he takes a break in one of the kitchen chairs.]}

For a bunch of kids living alone, I don't think we've been doing half bad.

_{[Granted, it's only been a week. But it's been a week of difficult transitioning for all of them.]}

Do you want to go back out exploring and try to find some stuff for soundproofing? The less we have to tip-toe around, the better I'll feel.

[They are definitely doing the friend thing, and she's pretty glad about it.]

I mean it makes sense, with all the weird things we've all dealt with. We're probably better off than kids who come here from totally normal places where nothing out of usual ever happens.]

[She glances at him as she grabs a glass and fills it with water.]

Yeah, me too. I want to get this place done as soon as possible.

_{[She has a point about that.]}

I guess being weird helps. And not having bills to pay. Or child labor laws.

_{[The last comes with a wry curl of a smile. There's an unusual amount of freedom in the way they're living that a lot of kids their age might revel in... but it comes at a high, high cost.]}

Night time worries me the most. Making a noise when you sleep, you know? I can't control when I get a bad dream.

_{[Which is a nice way of saying he can't really turn his dreaming off.]}

[She gives a genuine, amused grin at the mention of child labor laws. At least they didn't have to deal with that. It's super weird having the amount of freedom that they have but for Max, it's not at all unwelcome. Not having her step brother breathing down her neck every second of her waking hours is more than a relief.

Max studies him for a moment.]

Eddie's room is fully soundproofed. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you crashed so you didn't have to worry about it.

_{[Like, sleep in his room...? He supposes that wouldn't be a problem if Jake didn't get dreams as frequently as he does. Eddie doesn't deserve nightly disturbances, or the prospect of trading for a smaller space.]}

I wouldn't want to take over his room. He, and Bill, and Richie could use it more since they know each other. I'll just work on muffling mine.

_{[He tries for a smile.]}

Don't worry, I won't bring the Sound Eaters down on us.

_{[... Probably.]}

[She sighs at the not-quite-a-smile he gives her.]

We can work on your room next so you can get some sleep without worrying.

_{[He notices her noticing him. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything about the night terrors--but he can't be the only one afraid to toss and turn in bed, right? It's habit, playing down his circumstances. It concerns people, and he wants the new friends he's making to have less, not more.

Still, he can't resist teasing her a bit, smile growing.]}

Are you worried about me?

_{[There's a softie underneath Max's tomboyish exterior. Don't even pretend there isn't, he can see it.]}

What about you? How are you making out in your room? We an always split the difference and work on the bedrooms a little at a time so at least they're all a little more sound-friendly.

[Sorry, Jake. She considers it one of her Big Sister duties to be worried about you. She narrows her eyes at the question, though, and gives him a look.]

Duh.

[Only her closest of friends are allowed to see that side of her. To know that about her. Everyone else needs to believe she's tough as nails.]

I'm okay. My problem is more insomnia than nightmares. If we all work on your room we'll have it done in no time, though.

_{[Well, too bad, he's not buying what you're selling, miss "invites an orphan home to live with her a hot minute after meeting."

He gives her a narrow-eyed look, the kind that says as much. Despite his best efforts to keep the line of his lips straight, the corners keep wanting to curl.]}

It takes a stubborn person to know a stubborn person. Then I'll make you the same offer: if you ever want an insomnia buddy, come and get me. You won't be interrupting much beauty rest. Then you won't have to worry, either.

Was the insomnia a thing for you back before this or did it just start?

[She returns that look with an arched eyebrow even if her mouth is twitching a little in its own effort not to smile.]

Okay. You've got a deal there.

[Plus then if she sees him having a nightmare, she can shake him out of it before it gets too bad. Hopefully.]

It's not new. It's just worse here. It's too quiet.

_{[Max and her tactical mind. If he knew the line of her thoughts, he'd have to commend her for sneakily finding a way to turn it to her advantage. His advantage, technically, but still.]}

I try singing songs as loudly as I can in my head. Sometimes that helps me here.

Was there some reason you had it at home, or is that a personal thing?

_{[No hard feelings if she doesn't want to share with him. He has secrets, too.]}

[Both of their advantages.]

What kind of music do you sing in your head? [Not that she's super likely to recognize any of it...

She considers for a moment before responding.]

My stepdad and stepbrother liked to have a lot of screaming fights at all hours of the day and night. It's weird not to get woke up by it here.

Bands I like and the Spider-Man theme song, stuff like that.

_{[He could leave it at that generic answer, but because it's Max and he likes Max enough not to mind embarrassing himself in front of her, with a sheepish smile he adds:]}

The Song That Never Ends, Wonderwall, and Queen's Another One Bites the Dust are the big three that get stuck in my head. When I was little and wouldn't go to bed on time, my mom would sing that stupid Lamb Chop song at me until I couldn't take it anymore and went to sleep.

_{[In a weird way, torturing his grey matter with it now is almost nostalgic.]}

I didn't know you had a step-family. _{[The confession is deserving of more seriousness, and he tilts his head.]} My step-dad and I didn't get along. Neither did him and my mom a lot of the time, honestly.