Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Four chimes. 

Four god damn chimes. 

Max.

Steve felt a sense of urgency, a rush of adrenaline to get back to her. His stomach was in knots. He had locked eyes with Nancy, both trying and failing to conceal their watery eyes.

They had failed. Robin’s words from earlier in the day rang in Steve’s ears: I have a feeling it may not work out for us this time. He wished he could go back in time and forbid Max from being the bait. He wished he would have stayed with her. He wished he could have chopped Vecna’s head off with the ax in his hand. He wished he wasn’t a failure.

But the only thing they could do now was rush back to the gate. Back to Dustin and Eddie. 

The three teens stumbled through the woods, moving at a pace that had not known was possible. In silence. What was there to say? They just needed to get back.

Time moved in slow motion. Each step took every ounce of their remaining strength. Their heads pounded to the beat of their footfall. Steve’s stomach churned at the thought of what was waiting for them in real Hawkins.

As they approached the edge of the woods, they heard wails. A gutteral cry unlike anything they had ever heard before. 

Dustin was kneeling next to Eddie, his head cradled in the younger boys arms. Demobat bodies littered the field. “Eddie! Eddie, please!” Dustin cried, shaking the older boy in front of him. He slammed a hand on Eddie’s chest. “No, Eddie! You need to come back!”

The older group approached the two guys who should have been the safest involved. They should have been safe in the trailer, and if not, they were told to leave. 

Why didn’t they leave?

Robin had stilled momentarily as the scene came into view, stomach lurching at the sight. Blood leaked from Eddie’s parted lips and he was covered in so many bites.

Blood pooled around the two. Without a second thought, Nancy kneeled down next to him and started quickly taking inventory of his injuries. “Henderson, what the hell happened? You guys were supposed to get out of here if things went wrong?!” Steve felt his voice rising. His words came out like poison, fear and confusion consuming him. “Dustin are you okay?” he asked, gentler this time. Steve had felt panic and concern for the younger kids before, but never to this magnitude.

“We were leaving. I already climbed out, but Eddie, he wanted to buy you guys more time. He cut the rope. Steve, we need to save him. Please Steve,” Dustin begged, clutching on to Steve’s shirt. 

They watched as Nancy’s hands worked over Eddie’s torso, frantically searching for the worst wound. Feverishly trying to stop the blood cascading from his body. But there was no movement below Nancy’s fingers. No rise and fall of his chest. No heartbeat. She glanced at Steve and Robin. With tearful eyes full of sorrow, she shook her head, wordlessly communicating they were too late.

Another shout pierced their ears drums as Dustin sobbed for his friend, one of his older brothers. He pushed at Steve trying to escape his grasp to hold on to Eddie, but Steve held him tighter. Dustin pushed at and hit Steve with a ferocity he had never seen from the curly-haired boy. Anguish befell him and it was now settling amongst the other group members. 

When the ground started shaking, Nancy and Robin grabbed on to each other for support. “Okay, we need to get out of here. Now. Before someone else gets hurt,” Nancy declared picking up her discarded weapons. 

Dustin’s cries had been muffled against Steve’s chest, but grew louder as he pulled back. “We can’t leave him! Please we can’t leave him! Steve, we can’t!” he sobbed, moving to hold Eddie again. 

They all knew, even Dustin, that they had to. It was going to be difficult enough getting themselves back, let alone a body. “Henderson, I need you to listen. We have to leave him right now. We aren’t in good enough shape to get him out. We don’t know what is waiting for us here or back in Hawkins. I promise we will do what we can to come back and get him, but we need to go now, kid,” Steve said, hands cupping Dustin’s face and wiping a few stray tears. 

Robin came alongside Dustin and Steve and helped them up. Unbeknownst to them, Nancy removed Eddie’s jewelry and bandana, stuffing them into her pocket. Dustin waivered and pushed against Robin and Steve before finally giving in and letting them help him towards the gate.

Back in the trailer, the Hawkins side of the gate appeared in a different state than they had left it. But they didn’t want to waste time contemplating what was out there. Robin and Nancy fashioned a new rope made of sheets and tossed it through. One by one, everyone climbed out, Dustin relying heavily on Steve. His leg was screaming in pain, but it was nothing compared to the torture he felt about Eddie.

Once everyone was out, they surveyed the area. Eddie’s trailer had been split in two and a longer, gate extended through the area. It looked like it might fall apart or cave in just by a look. Dustin hobbled to what remained of Eddie’s room, snatching a guitar before they left.  

Everyone moved stiffly to Steve’s car. Robin had pulled open the door and started sliding in when Erica’s strained voice crackled on Dustin’s walkie that resided in the backseat. “Dustin? Anyone? Please. Max is hurt. Hurry! The hospital,” Erica cried out. 

Everything that happened at the Creel house had been a whirlwind. Seconds seemed to take hours. Lucas was still cradling Max, screaming and crying for her. He didn’t want to move her, couldn’t move her without further damaging her crumpled body, but a gate was opening up in the room before them. 

Lucas lifted her lifeless body and moved downstairs and outside, starting CPR. He was just writing her notes, thinking about their first date back together after all of this. The sounds coming from Lucas were gut wrenching, with a mix of cries, pleading, and shouts. He wasn’t sure if or when Erica made it back to them. And Lucas couldn’t hear the wails of the sirens over his own cries. It wasn’t until an EMT grabbed his shoulder he realized they were there. 

He watched as they tried to make sense of her limp, broken body. They did their best to splint her bones and quickly loaded her on the stretcher. Lucas had stopped CPR before they got there because Max had a heartbeat again. 

As she was moved inside of the ambulance, they let Lucas ride in the back as long as he stayed out of the way, and Erica was in the front. He quietly begged and prayed for her to just stay alive. They could figure anything else out later, but he needed her alive. 

When they got to the hospital, they rushed Max back and made Lucas and Erica wait in the waiting room. He could barely move. Paralyzed with the realization that Max might not make it out. Erica had been scared all night, but now as her burst of energy faded all she wanted was her parents. “Lucas, we need to call mom and dad,” Erica demanded, holding onto his arm. 

He could barely register what she said at first. He nodded through his tears. His body moved robotically to the payphone. It only rang once before he heard a familiar voice. With that, the dam that had been keeping his tears at bay broke. “Mom,” he sobbed. 

“Lucas Charles Sinclair! Where have you-“ Sue started before registering the pain in her son’s voice and weak cries. After the kids had fled the Wheeler’s home the day before, the parents had sat around for hours trying to figure out what was up with their kids. They had all settled on notifying the others as soon anyone learned anything. So Sue and Charlie Sinclair had sat at home anxiously waiting for any news from Erica and Lucas.  

He opened his mouth to speak, but a mangled squeak was the only thing that came out at first. “Mom,” he said, his voice waivering. “I’m sorry. Erica and I are okay, but M-Max mom. She is hurt. Really bad. I my need you, please.” He could barely get the words out, his voice breaking with each sentence. 

Erica could see Lucas unraveling. She gave him a shove and ripped the phone from his hands. “Mom, we’re at the hospital,” Erica said. Lucas breath began to speed up, and he felt like the walls were closing in on him. “Yeah, mom. Please just come. No, no one else is here right now. Just hurry. I love you too. Bye.” 

A hand wrapped around Lucas’s arm, helping him come back to Earth. Erica guided her brother back to the waiting room, pushing him into a seat. She didn’t know what they were going to tell their parents, but she didn’t care. 

When they showed up 20 minutes later, they came flying into the waiting room. They wrapped their kids in hugs and inspected the cuts and bruising that marred their skin. Lucas all but collapsed in his mom’s arms in sobs when she came in. 

“Mom! She…it’s bad. I—She stopped breathing. I had to do CPR. They said they didn’t know and they took her back for surgery,” he cried. Sue rubbed his back. And Lucas sobbed until the point of exhaustion. Until he felt so dehydrated that he wouldn’t ever be able to cry again. 

He spent the next hour pacing back and forth, stone-faced. Slowly people began to trickle into the Emergency Room. Erica had saw some of the wreckage of the town and knew it would soon have more patients. After some time, Erica stepped outside of the waiting room talking on the walkie to the group who went into the Upside Down.

Lucas was so out of it, pacing back and forth, he hadn’t even realized other people arrived until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Dustin had walked into the waiting room and they looked almost as bad as Lucas. Upon seeing Nancy and Dustin enter the hospital, Sue and Charles made their way to the payphone to let the other parents know their kids were alive and would be home soon. 

It was Nancy’s hand that had grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her, eyes still filled with tears. Nancy had always treated him like an annoying younger brother for the almost 7 years he had been friends with Mike. “Nance,” Lucas cried. She hugged him as he collapsed into her arms, sobs flooding through his body. “It’s all my fault. Jason came and I tried to get him to leave. And then we got into a fight and he stepped on her Walkman. And I turned back and she was in the air and she was just breaking. And she is dying and it’s all my fault.” She hugged him as he tried to catch his breath. 

Dustin who already had been crying gave Erica a hug. She was obviously shaken by the events and Lucas was not in a place to comfort his sister. And she needed the comfort of someone who actually knew what all was happening. 

What color was left drained from Steve’s face. It was his job, his responsibility to protect these kids and he failed. Failed Eddie, failed Max. Robin wrapped her arm around Steve. She knew he joked about hating being the babysitter, but from the stories she has heard and what she has seen, Steve loved these kids as if they were his own siblings and would do anything to keep them safe. He was next to hug Lucas. He held on tight and let the younger boy cry. 

After the tearful reunion, the group settled down in the waiting room. Nancy and Erica had gone to the vending machine to grab some snacks. Steve and Robin sat on one side of Lucas and Dustin sat on the other. Sue and Charles rested in chairs opposite the kids. They all gave a quick, whispered overview of their time apart so others couldn’t hear. Lucas didn’t have the emotional capacity to cry about Eddie dying now, but he felt another ache in his chest. Eddie didn’t deserve to die, didn’t deserve to be persecuted by the town, didn’t deserve to be on the run in the last few days of his life. 

They sat quietly for a while longer. Suddenly, a doctor walked into the waiting room. Lucas immediately jumped up and made his way towards the doctor. “How is she? Is she okay?” He asked. 

“I need to speak with her parents or guardian,” the doctor said matter of factly. Lucas looked backwards, panic etched on his face. His dad started to stand up, but someone else was quicker. 

Without missing a beat, Steve stood up and walked over to them. “I’m her guardian. Her older brother actually.” His lie sounded honest, in part because it was the truth: he saw himself like an older brother to her. 

Despite the strong moral compass they had preached to their children, the Sinclairs didn’t call out the blatant lie. They knew what Max’s home life was like and she needed someone in her corner. Steve saying he was her guardian was going to be a lot more believable to the staff than the Sinclairs.

The doctor didn’t seem completely convinced, but spoke anyway. “I’m Doctor Truman, I will be the primary doctor for you sister. She survived the surgery, but she has a long road ahead. She received significant injuries and has multiple broken bones that had to be reset. We placed rods and pins in the breaks in her arms and legs. There does not seem to be significant damage to the spinal cord at this time, but due to the trauma, she will be in a neck brace for at least the next week. We aren’t sure how much mobility she will have once her bones are healed.”

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room. Dr. Truman had paused to read Steve’s expression and take a breath before he continued. “At this point, we don’t know the entire extent of her injuries, but we do know her heart is still beating and she is still breathing. To be honest, she is very lucky to be alive. A miracle. She is unresponsive right now and there seems to be significant damage to her eyes as well. Right now, she is in her own room. I can take two people back to see her, but just be aware, she will not look like her normal self.”

Steve glanced back at the people still sitting in the waiting room before he, the doctor, and Lucas headed towards her room. It wasn’t even a question that Lucas would get to see her first. The doctor stopped outside of her room and gave a look of warning at Steve. He looked at Lucas and said, “Why don’t I go in first, kid, so I can give you a warning about what to-“ Lucas ignored his words and went directly into the room. Nothing could be worse that watching her break and holding her when she stopped breathing.

Inside, laid what seemed like the ghost of Max Mayfield. Her hair was still tied back in messy braids. She had casts on her both of her arms, both of her legs, and a neck brace. She was incredibly pale and she had light purple splotches forming around her eyes. Lucas felt weak. It took what little energy he had left to make it to Max’s side. He gently kissed the top of her head and sat beside her. He was holding the fingers that were exposed out of the cast and he rested his head on the lifted part of the bed, right next to hers.

Steve could hear Lucas whispering to her and crying and sat further away to offer some privacy. The older boy felt an extreme amount of guilt. He should have been there. He should have stayed ‘the babysitter.’ He knew Lucas felt just as much, if not more guilt than he did and it broke his heart. 

Sunlight was streaming through the window. How was it possible that daytime was already back again? The plan had been kicked into motion last night around 7:30 when Max, Erica, and Lucas were dropped off. And an entire new day started, completely unaware of the events that had taken place and shattered so many hearts. Not to mention the almost 8 hours that had passed since he watched her break.

Every glance at Max and Lucas gave Steve an overwhelming feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. But he needed to be strong. He needed to be the loving adult Max so clearly needed in her life and needed to be strong for Lucas.

The hour in the hospital room had passed at an alarming rate. He could hear the occasional yawn from Lucas and gentle sobs over the machinery. With no Hopper and no Joyce, Steve knew it was now his job as the adult to keep the kids safe and healthy. Which meant prompting Lucas to leave for a few hours. “Hey Sinclair, let’s head home okay? Get a shower, sleep a bit, and then I can bring you back whenever you’re ready. I’m going take everyone home. Especially with the rift opening,” Steve said. 

Lucas lifted his head slightly. “No. You can tell my parents to take Erica, but I’m staying,” he mumbled. Steve stared at him. 

“Kid, I’m not going to force you to go, but you staying isn’t going to change anything. I’ll leave you for now, but tomorrow I will be taking you home for at least a little bit, even if it’s just to shower. Try to get some sleep Sinclair,” Steve said softly. He pat Lucas’s back and headed out the door. 

After everyone left, Lucas spent the next half hour whispering to Max. It came out in a mix of I’m sorries, I love yous, and please be okay. He eventually fell asleep with his head on her abdomen and hand on hers, or at least what was exposed from the cast.

As Steve headed back downstairs, he stopped at the nurses desk and gave them his information, including the Wheeler’s phone number. He knew he would help find her mom soon, but for today, he wanted to be contacted if anything happened. Walking into the waiting room, Dustin was asleep with his head on Robin’s shoulder and Erica was sprawled out by Nancy. 

Steve relayed Lucas’s information to his parents, before the older teens helped Dustin to the car. He drove in silence as he dropped Dustin off. Claudia wrapped him and Steve in a hug the moment she saw them. As if his mom didn’t already love Steve like her own, him bringing Dustin back home after being missing for over 24 hours solidified his place in the Henderson household.  

Finally, Steve drove back to Nancy’s. The three older teens had decided to stay together as a comfort in the twisted situation they were currently in. Nancy and Robin had started getting out of the car, but Steve couldn’t get himself to move. He heard his name, but it was like he was frozen in a trance, thoughts racing.

His fists began banging on the steering wheel as he shouted, “Damn it!” repeatedly. He was supposed to be ‘the babysitter.’ He was supposed to keep them safe. He was supposed to keep her safe. Robin slid into the passenger seat while Nancy watched on. 

Her hand found his arm and gently squeezed. “Steve,” she said softly. Robin was never this gentle and tender with him. He couldn’t hold it back anymore. His wails echoed in the car. He normally didn’t cry, especially not in front of the others, but he couldn’t stop himself. He sobs came out like screams and Robin wrapped her arms around him. The most she could muster in response was, “It’s okay,” as she held him. It was a lie. It wasn’t okay, but she didn’t know what else to say. She tried to hold back her own tears and she felt Nancy’s hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her new friend. 

They were quite the sight. Steve sobbing in the car, his best friend Robin holding onto him, and his ex girlfriend trying to comfort Robin while tears stained everyone’s cheeks. As bellowing sobs subsided into silent cries, no words were spoken. A still comfort blanketed them. When they finally made it into the house and into the basement, they collapsed onto the couch and fell asleep in the matter of minutes, Robin cuddling into Steve and Nancy laying her head on Robin’s shoulder.

There were few times when El left the void, she came out screaming. Really, it was just the time she went into Billy’s mind. But know she can add Max’s mind fight to the list. As El come out of her astro-projection, she came screaming and crying, shattering lights in the kitchen with the sheer level of energy.

After Mike’s proclamation, the four boys had heard very few things from El. The occasional groan or whimper, until she started panicking, a yelp disrupting the near silence. Then a soft, “No,” fell from her lips. And the previously flickering lights began to hum before they shattered, causing the four guys to jump. The only light left peeked in from the front and from the moonlight streaming through the windows.

El flew upright, screaming. Mike was the first to grab her, wrapping her in a hug, hoping to calm her down. She was tired in a way she didn’t know was possible. Her soul ached for Max.

After a few minutes, El was able to catch her breath. “We need to go back to Hawkins. Now,” she stated. 

Mike, Will, and Jonathan knew something happened. Something bad. “What happened, El?” Will asked gently. 

She stared directly into her brother’s eyes. “I—He won. Their plan failed. Max…she-“ El gulped unable to finish. A new silence filled the room. Will’s stomach churned for one of his best friends. Max couldn’t be dead. Mike’s eyes were wide beside them. Jonathan wore a look of worry. Worried for everyone still in Hawkins, worry for Nancy. 

Taking a shaking breath, she willed herself to continue. “He got to Max and he started hurting her. I stopped him before he could finish, but Max she…Lucas was holding her and she didn’t look or sound like Max. They were screaming and crying and so scared. And Max, she stopped breathing. I didn’t want her to go. It wasn’t fair. I don’t know what happened, but I kept thinking about Max. And then I felt so much energy and power right before I left. I think I made her breathe again,” El said, looking at them in confusion. 

No one knew what to do with the information El shared. It festered amongst them, everyone trying to process the chain of events. Max died. Their plan failed. But El maybe brought Max back to life?

Surprisingly, Argyle was the one to break the silence and in a lucid manner. “So what now supergirl? Heading to Hawkins? We better get on the road then. Jon and I can trade off driving,” he said.

Uneasiness settled in the group. Will and Mike helped El off the counter. She was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, so they helped her to the car as well, reminiscent to how Max and Mike helped her hobble around Starcourt in the last Upside Down attack.

No one knew what they would be returning too. If their plan really failed, they wouldn’t be able to call and even ask what happened before making it to Hawkins. Jonathan felt a pit in his stomach worrying about Nancy. Will, Mike, and El were nauseated at the thought of their friends hurt. 

But in the same sense, there was a comfort amongst the three younger teens in the back seat. El cuddled into her brother, seeking out the same comfort and love he had been giving her for the past nine months as her only friend. She quickly fell asleep against his shoulder while he and Mike whispered quietly to each other. The awkwardness washed away and replaced with concern and anxiety. 

And Mike did something for the first time in over a year. He had always been so good at reading Will, knowing exactly what his best friend needed. Mike stretched one lanky arm across El to rub Will’s shoulder and extended his other to wrap around Will’s hand. His heart soared and he relaxed into the comfort he had missed since El came into the picture.

What Will didn’t know was Mike holding him was just as much for Will as it was Mike. Over the past few days, he was beginning to understand how similar and different his need for El and Will were. Mike was willing to do anything for Will. And he would for El, too, but it was just different. Now that he thought about it, it was probably why he had been pushing Will away. It was all confusing and weird. You shouldn’t feel more comfort holding on to your best guy friend than you do when you hold your girlfriend, but here he is. 

Maybe there was a reason Mike had struggled to tell El he loved her. Because he did. He loved her and would do anything for her. But he loved someone else more. Someone he would be anything for. Someone he was certain he couldn’t live without because it almost been his reality a few times. 

Everything was cold. He had never felt this chilled to the bone before. 

And everything ached. Opening his eyes felt like he had just run a marathon. But he needed to push through. 

The ground was hard underneath him, rocks and pieces of gravel pushing into the palms of his hands. 

As his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed how dark it was, save for the occasional flashes of red lightning that streaked the sky. He was alone. But the last thing he remembered was being surrounded by familiar faces, friends.

He inhaled, sending floating dust into his lungs. Coughs echoed around him. His hand clutched his chest only to be met with a wet, sticky liquid. He should be dead. The amount of blood he lost. The flesh that had been torn from his body. 

He shouldn’t be here, but he still is. 

Eddie Munson was still alive, or at least some semblance of life.

Chapter Text

For nearly 24 hours, four white walls, a faint scent of bleach, and quiet beeping had assaulted Lucas and Erica’s senses. Time had felt like an illusion, simultaneously crawling and sprinting.

The siblings had barely been able to register the events of the past two days. Occasionally, memories would flash in their minds. Lucas cradling Max’s broken body. Erica frantically going to get help. Lucas performing CPR. The ambulance ride to the hospital. Being forced to sit in the waiting room with no updates for almost hours, Sue and Charles Sinclair by their children’s side. Being all but carried to the car and forced home to clean up and rest for a few hours as soon as Max was out of surgery and stable.

It was almost 8 more hours of waiting before they let Lucas in her room. He was glad to finally have a different image of Max in his mind rather than her mangled, dead body that appeared every time he closed his eyes. But a plaster-covered Max wasn’t much better. He knew what they were covering. He knew the amount of pain and anguish Max would be in when she woke up. He hoped that she couldn’t feel any of it in the coma.

Steve had come back and spent almost as much time in the hospital as Lucas during the day. They had placed Max in a medically induced coma. The doctors said they didn’t want her waking up until they could make sure her pain was under control. They said they would only keep her in it for a few days and then they would ease her out of it. After the additional surgery they planned to perform that is. 

Without her being awake, there was no way to tell how damaged her eyesight was. But to the hospital staff, the injury resembled that of a glaucoma patient. It was very clear she had experienced a great pressure in her eyes that caused the clouding in her vision. There was a surgery her doctor wanted to try to help heal her eyes. He had told them it likely wouldn’t reverse all of the damage, but it would be her best chance at regaining any form of eye sight.

The two boys at Max’s side couldn’t help but feel extreme guilt. They both had failed and now she was hurt. And wouldn’t ever be the same again. She likely wouldn’t be able to see again and her body would never work the same. And they felt even shittier knowing all of this information before Max. Knowing that the life she once lived was now over.

So Lucas became her knight, her guard, her protector. Never leaving her side, an indent was certain to be left in the tuft of the chair. One by one, their friends started pouring in. And each new person meant a new wave of tears and sorrow. When the Byers, Wheelers, and El appeared in Max’s doorway, Lucas felt a weight lift off of him. He held onto his friends as if his life depended on it. He had tried so hard to be strong, but the facade was up. The groups swapped stories and Lucas held out a small hope that if anyone could help Max, it would be El. 

Whatever she did was enough already. Max had died. She died.

But El somehow brought her back. With El, things just might be okay. Max would be okay. Something he would repeat to himself over the next week.

Silence once again filled the room as Will, Mike, El, Nancy, and Jonathan processed the scene before them. It was a comforting yet somber reunion. If there had been a battle of who looked the most crestfallen and broken watching Max, it would have been a toss up between Lucas and El. Nancy had given them the most important updates on the way to the hospital, but hearing about Max’s state versus actually seeing her like this, was something they found hard to grapple with. Even Mike who was constantly at odds with Max could barely hide the tears that pricked his eyes when he saw her fragile, unmoving body. 

Lucas still had no idea what Max had experienced when Vecna crawled into the deepest parts of her subconscious. He had no idea that El had appeared and had tried to save her. El was there for her. She tried to save her. Tried to protect her when he couldn’t. And she almost did. 

Thoughts of what Lucas should have done differently echoed through his mind over the past few days. Maybe if Jason wouldn’t have shown up. Maybe if he had gotten her out of it in time. He knew El would be thinking the same things. If only she would have been faster. If only she was stronger. 

As El sat at the foot of the hospital bed, she rested her hand on Max’s cast covered leg. Lucas placed a hand on hers, and she looked up to meet his eye. Who knew one look could hold so much meaning? Their dark, tear-filled eyes met. As if they had one brain, they could feel what the other was feeling. They both hurt in a way they weren’t sure anyone else ever had or ever would again. The guilt, the self-hatred, the fear, the pain. 

“It’s not your fault, ya know. If you weren’t there, El, I’m not sure she…” Lucas couldn’t finish his sentence. He shuddered at the thought of where Max would have been without El’s interference.

She managed a small nod. “It is not your fault either. Max would not blame you. She will get better, Lucas. Max is strong. Stronger than anyone I know. And brave. And so stubborn. I told her to go and she stayed. And she tried to stab him. She grabbed a piece of the bleachers and tried to stab him when he went after me.” 

Lucas couldn’t help but let a tear fall as a small remorseful smile graced him lips. Headstrong as ever. Who else would try to stab a monster with super powers for attacking their superhero friend? And then his brain wandered and curiosity washed over him. Bleachers. What was the memory she tried to hide in? “Hey, uh, El? I—Her plan was to hide in one of her favorite memories. Did anything look familiar to you? Do you know what one she was thinking of?” he asked bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.

He felt like he was intruding on her a bit, but he wanted, needed, to know where she had tried to hide. What her favorite memory was felt like a crucial part of him staying together. He needed some solace that she had a good peaceful moment before he came for her. Something he hoped she was dreaming about as she laid motionless in the bed. “Snowball. At the school,” El said.

Lucas felt his stomach in upheaval. Her favorite memory was the night they danced together, the night she kissed him. Her favorite memory. He longed to hold her, to talk to her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. Lucas remained lost in thought, checked out until the five visitors left. Silence other than the machines echoed around the room. 

Lucas felt a small hand on his shoulder and realized for the first time, Erica had scooted her chair over to him and was trying to comfort him. She gave him a weak smile. She had seen a lot of shit, but not nearly as much as her older brother. But she knew watching Lucas hold Max’s mangled body, screaming, crying, breaking was something they wouldn’t forget. Something that would torment them for the rest of their lives. 

And for the first time in a while, Erica felt Lucas wrap her in a hug. He placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, like he used to do was she was five and she would scrape her knee. He rested his head on top of hers and tears began to stream down their faces.

It was a comforting feeling despite the hell he was currently existing in. He knew she would get better. Because she had too. He wouldn’t be able to make it without her. 

There were a lot of things in life that Will Byers could never forget. Life before his dad was kicked out, being trapped in the Upside Down, the feeling of the Mind Flayer taking over his body. As they stood there in the field overlooking Hawkins, he felt it again. The unmistakeable sensation that brought a cold and stillness to his body. Made his stomach churn and insides feel like he was in a free fall. He instinctively reached for his neck, now riddled with goosebumps, as the colors in the world around him began to change. 

The once bright red, yellow, and purple flowers were slowly being drained of their pigment. A shade of gray replaced it. A color he associated with death and decay. With the Upside Down.

Off in the distance, the once plain, rundown Hawkins had seemingly turned into Pompeii. The town was streaked with rivers of dark red and clouds of black smoke. If he didn’t already know better, he would have assumed Mount Vesuvius had erupted once more, this time with Hawkins as it’s victim. 

They all acknowledged what lava-like cracks that spread throughout the town with mere glances passed to each other. Gates. And more than just gates. Before to get to the Upside Down, you needed to go through the gates. But now, the barrier between the two worlds had been shattered and they were coalescing into one. There was an eerily silence as no one dared speak of the obvious. Vecna had done it. He won. They lost.

After the groups had all been reunited, the California group and Nancy shared about their ventures while heading to Hopper’s dismantled and dilapidated cabin.  The ending to the battle that took place only days before was left so ambiguous for everyone. Vecna had technically won. He had killed Max, even if just for a minute. Even though he didn’t get finish his psychic carnage, her heart had stopped beating before Lucas and El had helped revive her. But that’s all he needed to completed his plan. 

But he was weak. Nancy, Robin, and Steve had done a number on him. Slinging Molotov cocktails and bullets at him, but it wasn’t enough to stop him. It was only enough to slow him for a few days. And given the scene that was now unfolding in their hometown and the prickly, sinking feeling Will had, he was healing. Quickly. 

Will felt like he was being transported back in time. He remembered confiding in Mike on that Halloween night about his “now memories” and how it felt like he was trapped between two slides of a ViewMaster. It was a horrifying thought to know that now everyone was going to be understanding for the first night what Will went though that Fall.

He instinctively grabbed Mike’s hand. The person who had been a source of comfort for him for so long. The person he had craved to hold for so long. The person who, if he really knew what Will thought, would be so disgusted that their friendship of 10 years would be over. Will quickly let go.

El turned back to face the three pairs behind her. “He’s healing. Fast. We need to find him,” she said, face devoid of expression. She was met with silence. There wasn’t anything to say. They all knew it already. They would have one more chance, maybe, to get rid of Vecna. She stalked back off toward the cabin. Everyone had just been through some sort of Hell, but they knew whatever was coming was going to be much, much worse. And they needed a plan.

In the hour that had passed since the Byers and Wheelers made their departure, the aura in Max’s hospital room returned to one of lackluster and misery. The bleak and barren room made the situation feel ten times heavier. Other than the drawing Max had made of them going to the movies that Lucas had taped to the wall and a few things he was able to scavenge from the wreckage of her trailer, the room was devoid of feeling and love. 

Max would absolutely hate it. Not to mention the monotonous drull of beeps and machines that lulled in the background. She was vibrant, full of warmth, and outspoken. And this room was the opposite of everything Max represented to Lucas.

But there was nothing he could do. At least not right now. He hoped she wouldn’t need to be here long enough for him to make room feel more like Max. Instead he planned to sit vigalantly at her side until she woke up.

That was the plan anyway. As if Erica and Lucas had both developed a sixth sense, they could feel a shift in the world around them. The siblings glanced at each other and locked eyes before the sun shine streaming through the windows disappeared and a chill settled in the room, as if the clouds had enveloped the sun. The younger girl stood first, quickly making her way to the window, a surprised gasp escaping her lips.

Lucas met Erica at the window. The once sunny sky had now clouded a dark gray and there was an ominous red glow that was spreading across the landscape. Gray flecks began to descend on the sleepy town. At first glance, they thought it was snow, but it was the ash-like spores Lucas recalled from his short time in the Upside Down tunnels while Will was possessed by the Mind Flayer. 

Alarms blared breaking the bleak silence. Both teens whipped their heads towards the machines. Lucas’s heart beat matched the intense tempo. Max’s once still body was shaking and convulsing in a way that made his blood run cool. Erica was already out the door before Lucas could tell her to get a doctor. 

Lucas moved with a speed he didn’t know was possible. He grabbed her free fingers with one hand while the other found her hair. “Max, please. Max, please be okay. Stay with me Max. The doctors will be here in a second. Please don’t leave me,” he begged, running his hand over her hair. He felt frozen. When the doctors originally shared about her state, they mentioned some potential complications that might arise and seizures were one of them. But knowing what could happen and actively watching someone you love experience it were two different things. The one thing he did remember to do was watch the clock. 

Footsteps echoed down the halls, but were barely audible over the beeping. But just as abruptly as it had started, Max’s body stilled and the aggressive beeping returned to their normal beeping rythm.  When the medical staff arrived, Lucas was ushered out to the hallway despite his multiple protests. Erica rushed to him and clung to her older brother, concern etched on her face. She looked so young. Younger than he had been when they discovered El in the woods and the nightmare began. 

“Lucas. Outside. When I passed by a window, the rifts they grew back. Do you think that means…” Erica trailed off, not really knowing what it meant, but it was ominous none the less. “And Max, it happened at the same time. They wouldn’t still be connected, would they?” 

Lucas’s jaw locked in place. He didn’t know what was scarier. Max being lost forever, her being locked in her own mind and unable to escape, or part of her still being trapped with Vecna. The thought of any of those was enough to make him nauseous. He was only able to manage an emotionless, “I don’t know,” before he found a seat out in the hallway, knees tucked to his chest and head resting on his knees. 

A spine-tingling, sinister aura had engulfed Hawkins. Robin, Steve, and Dustin emerged from the gym as multiple other curious minds filtered out. There was a quiet rumbling among the people about the snow falling from the sky. The air had chilled slightly, but no where to the point snow should be falling from the sky. The once serene blue was replaced with a full gray and dark clouds. 

Steve and Robin locked eyes and moved to find Dustin in the crowd. They recognized the flecks almost immediately. Particles from the Upside Down. At the front of the crowd, a mop of curly hair blew in the wind and the two older teens pushed through just enough to grab his arm and pull him in the direction of Steve’s car. There was a palpable silence between the three as they quickly got into the car. 

Dustin was still turned to face the falling ‘snow’. “That’s…” he started unable to finish. They all knew what this meant. They had already known Vecna had succeeded in killing Max, the marring on the Earth was proof of that. But he was supposed to be too hurt still to complete his plan, the plan of merging Hawkins and the Upside Down. 

The spores danced around the car in a flurry as Steve started pulling away. “The fallout,” Dustin finally finished. Less than a month ago, they had been learning about the nuclear bombs used in World War II and the radioactive dust and ash that would fall like snow, the fallout. And now they were encountering the first side effect of Vecna’s plan. 

“Steve isn’t that-?” Robin started to question, glancing at Steve. She didn’t need to finish, he was well aware of what she was asking. After the significant amount of time they spent in the Upside Down over the past few days, they knew by the first glimpse.

From the driver’s seat, Steve closed his eyes momentarily and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, Robs,” was all Steve was able to say. His mind was racing. They weren’t ready for another fight yet. “Henderson, get on that thing and call the others. They were headed to the hospital right? Then Hop’s cabin?” Steve directed. 

Mechanically, Dustin called for his friends. Clicks and a low static emitted from the walkie. Steve was stone-faced as he stared ahead. Knuckles turning white with his grip on the wheel. He barely registered the tinny voices that rang through the speaker. The others had seen it too. A chill ran down his spine. 

Steve’s trance was broken as Dustin spoke directly to him. “Steve, did you hear me? Lucas and Erica are still at the hospital. We need to grab them and then go to Hop’s cabin. Got it?” Dustin demanded using a tone Steve would have reprimanded him for if it was any other time.

“Geesh, shithead. Got it. When I pull up, you run to Max’s room and get them. If I get even the slightest hint that monsters are coming or any of this will go more sideways, we are coming back and I’m hauling Max’s ass out of that room,” Steve rumbled. He felt a hand on his knee. Robin. The tension in the car was sharp, leaving everyone on edge. Steve let out a breath he had been holding in and untensed some of his muscles with her light squeeze.

The rest of the journey was silent, save the explanation of Dustin going to Max’s room and only coming back with Erica. An uneasiness settled amongst them. No one wanted to mention the obvious malady that was ravaging Hawkins. But somebody had to.

Chapter Text

Everyone was already on high alert, but seeing things that had only seen before in the Upside Down brought a new level of alarm to the group. The original Scoops Troop entered the cabin and everyone was already in a heated debate about what was happening, rapidly trying to plan their next moves.

“We can’t just go after him when we don’t know where he is or what he is planning,” Nancy said adamantly, voice raising and fists clenched. “We knew what he was planning. We knew where he was. We knew how to get to him. And we still failed. People still got hurt. That can’t happen again.”

“So then we need to talk about what we do know. Before we talk about what to do next. All cards on the table. Anything we think might be helpful,” Robin chimed in, perching herself on the armrest of the couch by Nancy. The Hawkins crew were the only ones that had fought him, had really known about Vecna other than El, and still El didn’t even have the full picture. 

What the Hawkins crew didn’t expect to see was Joyce, Murray, and Hopper as they settled into place around the room. They all knew Hopper had died when the gate was closed. Hell, they attended his funeral. “What!?” Dustin exclaimed, eyes wide quickly passing around the others in the room. “Hop’s alive? But how? Am I being cursed right now?” 

Joyce gave him a weak and watery smile. “It’s a long story kid. But no, you aren’t being cursed. We need to hear all about this Vecna guy first. That’s the biggest threat we have right now. So go on,” Hopper said, voice hoarse.

Steve, Dustin, and Erica had grouped together behind the couch. “He was hunting people. Hunting kids who had a lot of bad shit happen to them. People who always had got dealt shit cards. Chrissy, Fred, Patrick, and M-” Dustin started, choking when he got to Max’s name. “And Max. It would start with intense headaches, migraines. Than the nightmares. Horrible nightmares. Max said she would wake up drenched in a cold sweat and with a headache. And the visions came last before he did his final attack. They always had the damn clock from the Creel house and Max figured out they had less than 24 hours after the first vision. The first time he fully possessed Max, we barely got her out with music. We got lucky. And he always went to the same place when he attacked. So Max risked herself for us to get a chance to kill him.”

“We hit him with fire and Nancy shot him quite a few times, but he was still able to get away. And Max tried to hide in good memories, but he was still able to get in. He used the Creel house as his home base, but based on what Sinclair said, a gate ripped right down the middle of it. So now, we don’t know where he’ll be or what his next move is,” Steve added. Saying Max’s name nauseated him. He failed her. He complained so much about being the babysitter, but when she needed it most he wasn’t there. Some babysitter he was.

El had been staring off in the distance, a crestfallen expression. “I went into Max’s mind to fight One. He wants to destroy the world. He wants to make something new. I did this too him. I turned him in to this,” El said. “I was just trying to make him stop, but I couldn’t control my powers. Before I sent him to the Upside Down, he killed almost everyone in the lab. And when he kills, he takes over everything the person was. He consumes them. Takes everything from them, takes their abilities. I need to stop him before he gets any stronger.”

Light blue eyes met El’s dark brown eyes. Nancy sheepishly looked up at her. “I saw him too. Steve, Robin, Eddie, and I got stuck in the Upside Down. And he struck as we were getting ready to go through the gate. He showed me who he was, he showed me his plan. He wants to take over Hawkins. And for some reason he let me go. They did such horrible things to him. But El, he was…he did bad things before any of the things in the lab happened. None of this is your fault,” Nancy reassured, reaching out to place a hand on the younger girl. 

A pair of eyes bored into Nancy’s. Jonathan stared at her with a mix of sympathy, anxiety, and adoration. Nancy had been through all this, survived, and kicked ass in her usual Nancy way. For the first time, maybe ever, Jonathan felt a rush of relief about Steve being with them, helping to protect the group in Hawkins.

Since the Fall of 1983, things had been weird between Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve. And yeah at first Jonathan and Steve had been jealous of each other, especially when Nancy broke up with Steve for Jonathan. But as time passed, jealousy had waned and an appreciation for each other had sparked.

He made a mental note to thank Steve for taking care of everyone later. Jonathan finally locked eyes with Nancy and squeezed her hand. “So Nance, did you guys have other ideas you didn’t try? Or anything else important happen?” Jonathan asked. 

There was an eruption of voices again. Everyone trying to share their thoughts and get their point across. And as important as everything they were saying was, none of it was necessary or felt nearly as important to the chain of events nagging at the back of Erica’s mind. 

Although the youngest, she felt like the only logical one at the moment. She was the one that broke through the chaos. “Will you nerds shut the hell up for a god damn minute?” she shouted, bringing an almost immediate silence to the room. Although she was young, she could easily command an army.

She looked so small. It was hard for everyone to remember that the boisterous girl was just 11. Younger than The Party was when this all first started. “I think there is something else happening. Before, when the rifts were reopening, at the same time, Max started shaking like a seizure. And as soon as the rifts stopped growing, Max was still again. It is too much of a coincidence. Do you guys think since Max’s death caused the gates to open she is somehow linked to the gates?” Erica pondered.

Eyes flicked towards Will. He had been sitting silently, taking everything in. But being connected to the Upside Down was Will’s forte, his area of expertise. Everyone looked towards him for an answer. “The Mind Flayer. It’s not exactly like my connection, but I can sense him. I can feel Vecna. What if since he technically killed Max, she is being affected by the changes with the Upside Down? None of his victim’s had survived before and definitely none have come back to life. So maybe it’s like that? Like how the Mind Flayer left his mark on me? My mom and Jonathan got it out of me, but I still have that connection. Maybe between me and El we could figure out where he is. Maybe we get rid of him and we save Max too?” Will offered.

There was a general hum in agreement. They turned the radio to a static station. El sat on the ground eyes covered, surrounded in silence. Only one thing was on her mind: Max. Then blackness, emptiness. She shouted for Max, for her best friend at the top of her lungs. Still, there was nothing. El wandered around, searching for something, anything to find Max. 

A similar feeling of dread began to fill her body. Any time before today that she had tried to look for someone, she was able to find them. Dead or alive. So how come Max was just gone? This shouldn’t be happening. It didn’t make sense. 

An exasperated huff fell from El’s lips as her hands moved to the cloth covering her eyes. She started to pull at it when she noticed a faint red glow, barely noticeable in the empty-blackness of the void.

But she had already broken her concentration and the cloth finished unraveling, exposing her eyes to the light of the room. Her eyes blinked open and was immediately greeted with tissues from Joyce. They could tell that El wasn’t successful. They knew it didn’t work. But what they didn’t know is why. And El so desperately wanted to know. 

She glanced around and locked eyes with Will, her comfort person. “It is just empty. Like Max’s mind is empty. There is nothing there. But no one’s mind has been empty like that before. Not Mama’s. And even though Nancy’s friend was gone, I could still see her. With Max it is just nothing, not even her resting in the hospital. That should not happen…” El said, defeated, eyes falling to the bloody tissues balled up in her hand.

“Maybe you need to recharge kid? Rest up a bit and try again in a few days,” Hopper said. Her head whipped back and forth in response.

Theories starting pouring out around her. An overlapping hum of voices made it hard to even listen to one theory or pinpoint a single speaker. Hopper analyzed his daughter, her face contorted in confusion, overwhelmed by the number of voices. He had just survived a Russian prison for almost 9 months, for Christ sake, and he did not come back to listen to the kids argue. “Hey!” he barked, exhaling at the silence that was created. “One at a god damn time. Anything else to add?” His eyes locked with El’s. 

She thought about it for a second. The red glow. “I am not sure if it was real or if it happened because I lost concentration and the light. But I saw a reddish glow right as I was leaving. Normally it is all black and empty. The only thing is the person and anything in their surroundings. Like when I saw Max and Lucas a few days ago…I-The red glow. It reminded me of him. It looks like the red flashes we have been seeing in real Hawkins. It is the same as what I saw when I was in Vecna’s mind lair with Max,” El finished, looking between her friends. The silence that filled the room felt large enough to drown them.

Jonathan looked at the girl who quickly became his younger sister. “El, when you told us about One, you said he consumes his victims right? Takes everything from them?” he asked gently. She nodded in response, turning her head to the side in thought. “Do you think…” he trailed off, not wanting to put into words what he was thinking. 

“Vecna still has her?” Nancy finished for him. “That would make sense why you couldn’t find her. You tried to get into her mind and she’s not there, that’s why the void was empty. When she- when her heart stopped, you said you somehow pulled her back?” Nancy was staring at El. 

Not everyone had heard the story yet. The members of the Hawkins group shifted in their places. “I did not want her to go. Her heart stopped and Lucas was trying but it was not working. I thought about all the happy things and good memories Max has had and about how much I wanted her to stay. And then her heart started again,” she confessed. She shuddered recalling the sound of Lucas’s anguished cries and Max’s voice full of terror. 

And then a surprising voice echoed in the room. “Yo, what if Supergirl just took her back from the weird creepy wizard guy?” Argyle asked. He was met with silence as the group thought about it. He wasn’t wrong. If Max was stuck with Vecna, El would do anything in her power to take her back.

Robin was the first to break it. “Yeah, so we know his plan worked. We heard the four chimes, the gates all opened. He won and he consumed Max or whatever. But then whatever you did was enough to bring her body back. And her mind is still trapped. That’s why you still couldn’t see her, but saw the flash of red. And that’s why they saw her reaction in the hospital. She still connected to her body, but trapped with the freaky monster,” Robin rambled. 

“We, well El, gets into his brain, find Max and pull her back?” Steve offered. Glancing around, heads nodded in unison. 

El felt a hand grab hers. Mike. He looked at her trying to read her eyes. “El, if that’s something you want to try, we will be here to back you up and help you with whatever you need. If it’s too much or if it can hurt you at all though, we can think of a different idea. But Max would kill us, or just me, if you weren’t given all your options and allowed to make your own choice,” Mike said gently. Part of him was jumping at the thought of her going back into Vecna’s mind, but he was trying to respect what El wanted to do. Because with or without his approval, he knew she would do anything to get Max back.

And if Max came back and found out Mike was anything but caring and supportive of El, Mike would have better luck against a Demogorgan. Even if Max ended up blind and paralyzed. 

She met his eyes. Despite his proclamation of love a few days ago, there was still a tinge of discomfort between them. Watching the small moments of Lucas with Max and Nancy with Jonathan, El had let her mind wander to Mike. They didn’t seem to have them same spark, same desire as the other couples shared. They were more best friends who sometimes kissed.

But that was a problem for another day. Instead, she settled for a quick response to him. “Mike, I will do anything to help get Max back. I need to try to get her back before we go after Vecna. I am worried if he is killed first, we might not be able to get Max back,” El said, her throat growing thick and eyes stinging.

From behind El’s spot on the couch, Joyce moved to crouch in front of El. An arm extended as she placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s cheek. “If anyone can do it, it is you, sweetie. But right now, everyone needs to get some rest and reset. We’ve all had a busy week. Right now, let’s figure out arrangements and plans for tonight. Unless something crazy happens, we can all sit down again tomorrow to talk about what’s next,” Joyce announced to everyone. She received sighs and grumbles of discontentment, but the group started preparing to disperse.

With the Byer’s new arrival and the cabin still being in ruin, Steve invited everyone who didn’t have a place to crash to his house. His parents would be out of town for at least the next few weeks. And probably longer once they heard about the Earthquakes. He had always found himself craving the buzz after times when they were together as a large group, so he was all too happy to fill his empty house with life. He loved having them around. He loved having a family.

Nancy ended up with Mike, Dustin, and Erica, her dropping the youngest member off at her own home, everyone else heading to the Wheeler’s home. Steve drove Robin, Will, and El while everyone else pulled into Argyle’s van. 

After arriving at Steve’s and deciding sleeping arrangements, the older teens and adults sat down to hash out any missing details and talk about what the rifts meant and how to deal with them.

It had been decided that after the first night, they would take shifts in pairs examining and patrolling the rifts. It was apparent that the Upside Down was seeping into Hawkins, but they had no control over it. The only thing they could do was watch for monsters and alert the others as needed. But for now, the home that was overflowing with love for the first time Steve could recall, settled into the stillness of the night, everyone processing the events of the day.

Never in his life had Eddie been this lost and confused. He was lost in a darker, macabre version of Hawkins. Bits and parts of the Upside Down mirrored actual Hawkins, but there were just few enough landmarks that Eddie was easily lost. 

It didn’t help he was repeatedly running to escape the different creatures of the Upside Down. Each time he seemed to catch his bearings, he would have to take off again and would once again be lost. He was still so confused about how he was alive. 

The more he looked at his wounds, the more he realized there were only a few deeper bites and many more surface level wounds. Wounds he wrapped just like he had seen Nancy do to Steve. And despite the wounds not being as bad as he thought, they had all still thought Eddie was dead. Hell, he even thought he was dead. So why wasn’t he?

Even more, time didn’t move the same here. He knew part of it had to be the adrenaline coursing through his veins. But he also knew that if he didn’t eat, or drink something, or rest he might not make it much longer. 

Maybe he could head back to one of the gates? Hell he knew there were at least three to choose from. He assumed from the moving vines and recurring monsters that they failed. And the frequent violent quakes that shook the Earth. Uh, well, the Upside Down Earth?

Or maybe, just maybe, he could find his way back to the Wheeler’s. That worked last time. Maybe it could work again? Or maybe there was an Upside Down version of a grocery store. 

So, Eddie decided to head in the direction that he thought was town. Whether he found food first or the Wheeler’s first would dictate his next moves. But for the first time in the time (hours? maybe?) he had spent here, Eddie felt hope. Hope that he might make it out after all. 

Chapter Text

Hawkins, Indiana. 
Population  13,264  5,947

Over the past week, what people that could had been fleeing Hawkins in droves. People who had their homes destroyed, people who could afford to go, people who were finally pushed over the edge by the murders and satanic cult claims.

Having a devastating earthquake in the middle of nowhere Indiana (the largest earthquake in Indiana history mind you), was enough to drive people away. But coupled with the press Hawkins had been receiving over the past few years and the satanic murders, that was the final straw for many residents.

The town was being kept alive by people that stayed. The people who couldn’t afford to leave, didn’t want to leave the place they called home, and people who weren’t scared of some satanic cult. 

Although not bustling like before, enough people remained to maintain the shelter at the school, a couple of grocery stores, the hospital, restaurants, and multiple other shops.

For the last two days, Nancy and Jonathan had been tasked with getting in contact with Max’s mom. She had yet to turn up at the hospital. The first day, Lucas had tried calling their home with no luck. With Hopper back in the picture (albeit behind the scenes as he was still legally dead and they had yet to come up with a cover story), he instructed Joyce to share Max’s information with the police station and shelter in case her mom contacted either place. 

Now Nancy and Jonathan made their way around Hawkins. They stopped by the trailer. It was obviously rattled by the ‘earthquake,’ but no one was home. So next, were her two jobs. Susan had not been to either location since before the earthquake. And they checked the shelter again. But still nothing.

Going back to the hospital, telling the others of their inability to find her mom was something Nancy dreaded. She had watched Max go through so much. Witnessed the sheer dejection as she was confronted with 24 hours to live, the terror of confronting the killer, and then seeing the ghost of Max inhabit her hospital bed.

Lucas, Steve, and Robin were at Max’s side when Nancy and Jonathan walked in. The younger boy, still with a swollen eye, clutched desperately to Max’s hand. His eyes tore away from the redhead as soon as they entered the room. 

Pleading eyes met Nancy’s, but Lucas couldn’t bring himself to ask. Instead Steve uttered the question on everyone’s minds, “Did you guys find her?”

The tearful grimace was response enough. Lucas tore his eyes away from Nancy and Jonathan, focus returning to Max. His eyes brimmed with tears again. Max’s relationship with her mom wasn’t perfect, but it was yet another thing in life she was going to lose. He couldn’t help but lean in and mumbled a barely audible, “It will be okay, Max. I’m here.”

Steve hadn’t realized the tenseness that had washed over his body until Robin gently squeezed his arm. “Poor Red. I know this absolutely, completely, and utterly sucks, but right now we’re all here for her,” she mumbled to him. 

The eldest in the room knew then what he would need to do. If her mom didn’t show up, she would maintain the older brother rouse. He wasn’t going to lose Max again. And if that meant shouldering her medical bills, helping her recover (because getting better was the only option), and having her live with him, then Steve would do it.

Whether or not she could admit it, Max needed people in her corner. She needed the love and support that came from family. But her actual family had let her down. So her real family were the ones to pick of the pieces and work to heal her. 

Even as she laid in her bed, unmoving, broken, asleep, she needed her people. And they were there. 

And with the news of Max’s mom still missing, they knew she needed people now more than ever and as long as a Party member required assistance, they would be there for her.

Living in the Harrington home was not something Hopper had anticipated on his journey back to Hawkins. Granted it was only going to be for a few days (just long enough to make the cabin livable again), but it was still…weird.

Especially since he had visited numerous times while Steve was in high school to break up parties. 

Relaxing was not in Hopper’s vocabulary. Although he did take the first day and night to ‘recover’, he was quick to move on to the next needed task.

So, Hopper and Joyce returned to his previously abandoned cabin to begin fixing it. They couldn’t stay at the Harrington house forever and with the real estate market on hiatus due to the chaos that was Hawkins, fixing the cabin was currently the best option. 

In reality, it wasn’t in that bad of shape. Was it dirty? Absolutely. Did the windows need to be fixed? Yes, but nothing that boarding them up couldn’t solve right now. Was there a whole in the roof? Anyone with eyes could see that, but Hopper had enough supplies to make that almost a nonissue. 

The windows and roof were the first things fixed with the help of Jonathan, Steve, Mike, Will, and Nancy. Now, the only thing that remained was bringing the dingy and dirty cabin back to life.

On the forefront of his mind, however, what to do about the destruction of Hawkins and what to do about the whole being legally dead thing. 

Him and Joyce had been having hushed conversations at the Harrington house about their next steps. The Upside Down was obviously not done with them, even if the merge with Hawkins had stopped for now. 

It was only a matter of time until demogogons or demodogs, or other demo-creatures came pouring out of the gaping wounds that now cris-crossed Hawkins.

And who was stuck dealing with it? A handful of adults and a bunch of teenagers. Great. 

Sure there had been an increased military presence, but without being able to talk to Owens, they had no idea what or how much they knew. And whether or not they could be trusted. 

And Jim had an inkling they could not be trusted.

He was able to remain in contact with Agnet Stinson who was working on a story about Hopper’s miraculous return. Right now, the plan was that he had been working undercover. And for his family’s protection, they made everyone think he was dead. But he couldn’t give anymore details. 

It was a wild story, but more believable than the truth would ever be. And he just had to wait go the green light to return to society. 

For now, he would continue busying himself with spending time with his found family, hushed plans with Joyce, behind the scenes prep, and healing some of his injuries (whether or not he wanted to).  

After three consecutive days and nights at Max’s side, Lucas needed a break. It was apparent any time someone walked into the hospital room.

A darkness settled underneath his eyes, his shoulders bowed forward, creases etched on his forehead, eyelids drooping over his glassy eyes. The Talisman was left abandoned on her bedside table. The words had been dancing around the page and he had reread the same paragraph aloud at least 4 times. 

Max’s hair had been washed that morning and now loose waves cascaded across her pillow. Lucas was absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair, barely keeping himself up right. He was so numb, so absorbed in Max that he didn’t even register as a dull hum of voices filled the room.

Eyes squeezed tightly shut and then opened wide as Lucas inhaled deeply. He looked like at any moment he might pass out from exhaustion. 

The two-visitors-at-a-time rule had been disregarded by the group of friends since Max’s first day in the hospital. Dustin, El, Will, Mike, Erica, Steve, and Robin entered the room. It was the first time The Party had been in the same room together since Will and El moved to California. 

Dustin announced their arrival with a greeting. “Hey Lucas, hey Max,” he said, sadness tingeing his voice. Lucas was unmoved, fingers still twirled in Max’s hair. 

Another voice. “Lucas,” Will started softly. Still nothing. 

Erica took in the scene in front of her. Her brother looked ready collapse, like the light and happiness had been drained away from. He seemed like he was miles away, completely unaware of the world around him.

Her shoes scoffed gently against the tile as she approached her brother’s side. “Hey Lukey,” Erica said, using his old nickname. A cautious hand reached forward and gripped his arm, snapping him very suddenly back to reality.

Lucas jumped up, quickly withdrawaling his hand from Max’s hair, quickly searching the room. Fists clenched, fear coursing through his veins. Until he processed who was there. 

The overwhelming panic he felt began to dissipate at the sight of his friends. Being replaced by the crushing weight of misery and exhaustion that had plagued him for the last few days. “Oh. Hey,” Lucas mutter, his voice dry and raspy. He was unsteady on his feet, his haggard body on the verge of betraying him.

No one knew what to say to him. What was there to say to their best friend who held the girl he loved as she died and came back to life? To the guy who was dedicating his time to protecting and caring for the girl who might not wake up?

But they were going to try. “Lucas, we need to talk,” Mike started before launching into a long-winded recap of their meeting yesterday. lol

“Will can feel him. He’s still alive, but he’s weak and hurt right now. El tried to find Max when we were first here the other day and then again at home yesterday, but she couldn’t. That’s not something that’s ever happened before. Even if someone is dead, El has been able to find them. And since Will can feel the Mind Flayer and Vecna, we know Vecna is connected to the Mind Flayer. So we were thinking, trying to figure it out ya know. And then Will brought it up—it was genius actually…” Mike said beginning to trail off.

Will took that as his cue to speak. “Even though mom and Jonathan got the Mind Flayer out of me, a part of it was left behind in me. So what if something similar happened with Max? Part of her was left behind in Vecna? Her mind was left behind with Vecna…” Will trailed off, glancing at his feet. 

“Just think about it, Luke. When Max—when she was shaking, the gates opened some more. And then they stopped at the same exact time. It has to be connected. Her body died and her mind got stuck,” Erica added, saying the last part almost in a whisper.

Brown eyes stared straight ahead, fixed to a point on the wall between his friends. Lucas’s brain was running so slowly, he could barely comprehend what he was hearing. 

A million thoughts flooded his mind and his emotions began to tangle together in a muddled heap. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He felt like a fish out of water. Lucas gulped, closing his mouth.

El had taken her place on the opposite side of Max’s bed the moment she walked in. And now, she reached her hand out across Max’s mangled body to hold Lucas’s.

He tore his eyes away from the blank stretch of wall, to El. His deep, coffee colored eyes locked with her rich, milk chocolate-toned eyes. “Lucas, I think we can get her back. I think she is still hiding. Hiding in her memories like she did before. I just have to find the right one and pull her back,” El affirmed.

Lucas tipped his head back and closed his eyes, feeling his eyes well up with fresh tears. It stung, but it was almost a welcome feeling rather than the numbness that had been growing. He took a breath and did his best to push them away. 

His hand rubbed down his face, feeling the weight of everything crashing into him once more. “I—I just can’t lose her. I need her back. She shouldn’t be stuck like this. She doesn’t deserve it. I just—I don’t think I can…if she, if she—I will do anything to bring her back,” Lucas admitted. “Please.”

This was the first time he had divulged what he was feeling about the situation. The agony, the fear, the sadness, the guilt, the exhaustion. It was eating him alive. 

It pained Dustin to see his best friend like this. “We all would do anything to get her back. We’re all here for her. You don’t have to do this on your own,” Dustin reassured him. 

Mike and Will made eye contact before glancing back at El. She gave them a quick nod. “Lucas, I cannot promise I will find her the first time, but I will find her. My powers are still growing again, but I will do my best. I will try everyday until I find her,” El promised. 

Within moments, Steve was ushering the kids around, helping them get everything ready for El while El and Lucas talked about other memories Max might try to hide in.

They decided on trying a memory from a snow day the party had had in January 1985, the first time Max saw snow. Obscure enough that Vecna maybe wouldn’t look for her there, but a good memory nonetheless. The radio clicked to a static station. A blind fold was fashioned and tied around El’s eyes. Then, silence.

As she entered the void, she thought of Max, Vecna, and her happy memory. She hoped she was right, she hoped this would work. 

Then, she made a connection. She felt herself falling into a bleary scene. White was everywhere. And the sky was painted a serene shade of blue.

She did it.

She did it.

She was in one of Max’s memories. This had to mean their theory was right. Max was trapped.

Everyone waited around her, and no one dared take a breath. Lucas desperately clutched Max’s hand, his eyes darting between El and Max.

A small gasp fell from El’s lips. Lucas immediately tensed up. “What do you see, El?” Robin asked tentatively, worried about her response.

“I am in a Max memory. I see snow. I see you guys. I do not see Max yet,” she stated, voice barely above a whisper.

She had to be hiding. She just had to be.

So, El searched everywhere she could think of in the memory. She saw the red, chapped cheeks of her friends, but there was no sign of Max. No flash of red hair, nothing unusual.

Nothing stuck out like when she found little Max skateboarding. But in that memory, at least she got to see little Max. This time, no copper hair contrasted against the snow.

El could feel her body starting to slow, the edges of the memory begin to fade out. She was getting too tired. So, reluctantly, she let her consciousness pull her away.

When El opened her eyes, she was met with insistent stares. Hopeful that it worked on the first try. A thin stream of blood trailed from her nose before it was smeared on the sleeve of her shirt.

Her face remained devoid of expression as she spoke, “I did not find Max this time. But I did go into a Max memory. That means she is in there. I just have to find the right memory. I will try again tomorrow.”

Her eyes shined with optimism as they stared at Lucas. But he looked broken.

Something Steve noticed. 

“Hey, why don’t you guys hit the cafeteria and vending machines? Get whatever you guys want and something for everyone, yeah? I want to talk with Sinclair for a few minutes,” Steve said, tossing Erica his wallet. 

The older boy waited until the group of five left the room before speaking. 

“Sinclair, listen. You are going to kill yourself doing this. You haven’t been home in what, three, four days? You look like you’re about to pass out or throw up. I know you care about her, but Max wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself. El is going to bring her back and when she does, you are going to need to be healthy and stable,” Steve had cut right to the chase.

Tears brimmed in Lucas’s eyes. He couldn’t leave her. What if something changed? Who would protect her? What if she left him for real this time?

He took a shaky breath. “Steve, I can’t. I was supposed to protect her and I failed. I was too busy with basketball to notice how much she was hurting. I can’t. She needs me. I need her. I can’t lose her, Steve. I can’t leave her again,” Lucas choked out, tears finally spilling out.

Walking closer, Steve rested against the edge of Max’s bed. “You have a group of people who would do anything for you, for her. She is going to need you when she wakes up. But you aren’t eating and sleeping. So it will be real hard to help her when you are in your own hospital bed. Sinclair, I’m benching you. We have all already talked about it. We will all take different nights with Max, but you can’t shoulder this on your own. You can have a couple of nights every week, but more than that, I will add you to the list of people who can’t visit. And I don’t want to do that. But you need to let us help,” Steve said, tears falling from his own eyes. 

His hand cupped Lucas’s shoulder, trying to steady the now shaking boy. Sobs wracked his body. 

“I love her. And I never got to tell her,” Lucas cried, struggling to catch his breath. Steve pulled him into a hug. 

They held each other in near silence, their wails and the machines becoming faint background noise.

Finally, Steve pulled back and broke the silence. “You’ll get to tell her when she wakes up. But you need to trust us with this one. You need to be sleeping and eating and leaving every once and a while. We’ll make sure someone is always with her, and you will get called if anything changes. But we all love you both, kid, and don’t want to lose you while you wait for her to wake up.”

Lucas nodded, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. His eyes had been tired before, but now he was fighting a losing battle to keep his eyes open.

When the rest of the kids returned, arms full of snacks and drinks, soft voices filled the room. If anyone noticed how Steve’s and Lucas’s eyes were now tinted red and puffy, no one said anything.

In truth, everyone was curious about what was said in the ten minutes they were gone, but the tear tracks that stained Lucas’s face told them everything they needed to know.

After another 15 minutes, Steve started rounding up all of the kids, including a reluctant Lucas.

El was staying tonight, so everyone else said their goodbyes to Max. No one was sure if she could hear them or not, but it didn’t hurt to hope.

In an intimate moment, Lucas held Max’s hand and kissed her cheek. He ran his right hand through her hair and rested his forehead against her temple. He whispered about how he would be back in the morning along with a barely audible, “I love you.”

After everyone had left, El sat vigilant at her friend’s side. She held her hand, braided her hair, and read her comics. She shared about California and what had happened while they were fighting Vecna. 

She talked about Angela and how mean some of the kids had been. How much she had loved and missed Max. And then she shared about how she smacked Angela with a rollerskate, knowing Max would have been right alongside her.

For hours, El talked to her, laughed, and cared for her best friend. Her best friend, who in a matter of time, would be able to talk and laugh alongside her. 

El would find her. Nothing would stop her from saving her friend.

It was day five. At least it was according to how Lucas and El were tracking time. 

Calendars had become irrelevant to them, opting to measure time as pre-accident and post-accident. 

To everyone else in town, it was April 1st, five days since an earthquake rocked the town and the satanic murders had ceased with Maxine Mayfield as the final victim. The rifts that now ran through the town had been blocked off by the National Guard. 

And still, no one was any the wiser of the actual hell and destruction that lay just below their feet.

The group was once again meeting at Hopper’s cabin. In part to continue fixing it up, but more importantly to talk about the gates. 

After another failed attempt at the hospital to rouse Max, Nancy and Jonathan picked up all the teens, excluding the Sinclairs.

The ride was solemn. El was unsuccessful. Again. Her head drooped lazily to rest on the cool glass of the window. Her brain had become a labrynth of thoughts, each new one getting her more lost and confused than she was before.

She was hurting. Aching. Still so much guilt wracked El’s mind. It threatened to drown her with each new wave that washed over her. She needed to bring Max back. She couldn’t let Max down. Not someone she cared so much about. Someone she loved.

Seated beside El was Will. Despite his declaration of love a few days ago, El had felt confused and tense when she was around Mike, so she was spending most of her free time with Will.

A cool hand rested on her shoulder. She tilted her head to look at her brother. So many things were communicated wordlessly. Will’s concern for El. His love for her. El’s guilt and worry for Max. Her mental exhaustion.

As the station wagon pulled up outside of the cabin alongside Steve’s car, the group piled out, heading towards the front door. 

Walking in, tension was almost visible to the naked eye. The adults were on edge. The teens were on edge. The world around them was coming undone.

Everyone knew what they were there to talk about. The most pressing issue besides Max. The gates. 

Will could sense Vecna’s weakened form, but he could also feel something else. Multiple somethings to be exact. It was like a persistent dull drum of things. Not as strong as the Vecna or the Mind Flayer goo monster, but there were more of whatever this was. Will was certain of it.

The group had found themselves in a similar arrangement to their last cabin meeting. El rested next to her dad, clutching his hand tightly. 

He looked between Will and El. “Okay. The gates. What do you two know about them? What do you two know about what’s inside?” Hopper asked.

If he was being honest, Will did not have a clue and would have preferred to avoid the conversation altogether. But he didn’t have that luxury right now. “I feel something. A lot of something. I can’t really explain it, but it feels different than One. Almost like a small army of creatures. Not nearly as strong as him, but I think there are a lot of whatever it is,” Will stated apprehensively. 

Instinctively, he scratched at the back of his neck and glanced towards El for support. “What if it is an army? What if He is building an army? You guys said there were bats. And the demogorgen and demo-dogs. What if that’s His army? Trying to get through the gate as a first wave of attack?” Mike pondered. 

Jonathan was standing, arms crossed by Nancy. “If that’s the case, we need to be watching the gates. We need to be prepared for whatever could come through,” the older Byers boy added. 

“Jonathan’s right,” Dustin announced. “In order to fight whatever it is, we need to be ready. We need to be watching for it. We could have a few people at the gates every night staying to watch them.” Eyes fell on the curly-haired boy. 

Dustin had always been known as the smart one. The strategist. The planner. And he was normally right.

A sharp inhale sounded in the silence. “Okay, okay,” Hopper started. 

His body was haggard, still visibly weak and exhausted from the Russian prison. Five days wouldn’t be long enough for anyone to recover, yet here Hopper is, about to dive into the next battle after months in a literal hell hole.

A hand ran down his face, stretching the wrinkles. “So we have pairs watch the gate every night? Then we use radios again to call for help if we need—“

Heads bobbed up and down as Mike interrupted Hopper. “Yeah, and if we go in pairs, that’s—“

“What are you talking about? We? Just the adults are—” Hopper started before another voice interrupted him. 

Mike clambored to his feet, feeling defensive and ready to argue. “That’s total bullshit! We have been in this just as long if not longer than the adults. And we were on our own this last time around. So let us help,” he shouted. His words rallying frantic head nods from all the other present teens.

Jim was exhausted, mentally and physically. And Mike had the ability to set him off unlike any other kid had before. But a small, tentative hand grasped his arm. Joyce gave him a gentle smile and he felt himself relax, even if just for a moment. 

“As much as I don’t like you kids being involved in this more, we see where that has gotten us. You kids can’t seem to stay out of it and I’m fairly certain you guys would end up in this mess again anyway. I don’t like it either Hop, but they were just doing it all on their own. And who else is going to be able to do it? And we can arm them and make sure there are enough of them if they do stay at the gates,” Joyce admitted.

The room fell into a comfortable silence as Joyce’s words sunk in. Just like it had been for the past three years, it was just some teens and a few adults to save the world. No one else in the town would be any the wiser. 

So the plan was made. They would gather more weapons, everyone would learn how to use every weapon, and then every night a few people would guard the largest gate while the others slept.

Mike couldn’t help but think about his and Will’s conversation back when he was in his room in California. It’s always up to them. 

Chapter Text

In the following days, the party had watched Lucas slowly turn back into a living breathing human. He was no longer just the shell of a person, rotting beside his love. He still spent all day at the hospital, but was leaving every evening as long as someone else was there.

And each afternoon, El tried to find Max. Everyone had written a list of some of their favorite memories with Max and it had been complied into a larger list that El was slowly working her way through.

Each day, El searched in at least one of the memories, sometimes two memories if she hadn’t already been using her powers all day.

But each try brought about a new failure. A new sense of dread and despair. A feeling that everyone felt deep in their bones, but wouldn’t let come to light. Leaving behind looks of apathy rather than the pain that bubbled below.

They had been rotating time spent with Max. With Lucas finally conceding to his friends attempts to share the pain, everyone was trading off nights spent at the hospital. Now instead of stretches of days where Lucas refused to leave Max’s side, he only spent the daylight hours there unless it was his night. 

With his first night at home, it took him far to long to leave, despite El’s persistent threats. He finally gave in and sulked out of the room after whispered “good byes” to Max when he felt a strange tugging towards the door. El wiped the blood that began to trickle from her nostril and gave Lucas a half smile as he started backing out of the room.

This is the first time El had been alone in the hospital room with Max. Something about it brought a strange comfort, but also an increased sense of sorrow.

She brushed her hand gingerly across her best friend’s forehead. “Max, I sent Lucas home. He will sleep and be back in the morning. Dustin said he was going to de-come-pose next to you if he did not go home,” El paused. 

Sorting through the labyrinth of thoughts and retrieving what she wanted to say was something El had always struggled with. Between being in the lab, not going to school, and just the overwhelming trauma that had splintered her skills, she always had to work a little bit harder than everyone else to share what she was thinking.

“I hope you are not in pain, Max. I am not sure what to do. Lucas said to just spend time with you and treat you like before, otherwise you would be angry. So I will tell you about my gah-sip since I left,” she stated, eyes darting to Max’s face, searching for a sign.

Despite the deep friendship that had blossomed between El and Max right before the Byers and El moved, they found it hard to maintain when they were worlds away. El would write letters, Max would try to call, Max would try to write letters but would end with crumpled balls littering her floor.

And then everything got inexplicably harder. Max’s life, no matter how shitty it was, began to disintegrate around her. El and Will left. Neil was yelling more and bruises began to speckle her skin. And her mom was drinking. And then, Neil left them and no matter how good that was, he took the savings and left them with nothing. So, moving to a trashy trailer park it was. And Susan’s drinking spiraled: start a job, be so stressed out she drinks more, drinks so much it impacts her work, she is fired and drinks more, sobers up for maybe a week when she realizes they are low on funds and she applies for a new job. And with the shame, pain, and overall misfortune, Max was keeping everyone away. 

So even though El wrote her once a week, she couldn’t be sure how much she actually saw.

Eleven exhaled as her fingers intertwined themselves with Max’s. “I do not know how many of my letters you read. But things were not good in California. The kids were mean, Max. Especially Angela. I mentioned her in one letter to you, but I did not tell Mike how bad they were. She made fun of and then broke my dio-rama I made of dad. And then she was at the skate place Will and I took Mike. And Max, she made fun of me more and they threw milkshake at me. She made me so mad. I hit her with a rollerskate. It bled and I think I broke her nose. And then I got arrested. That’s how the lab men found me I think. But now I have superpowers again. And I will use them to get you back,” El paused her monologue with a deep breath. 

She ran her free hand along Max’s exposed fingertips. “But that’s not all Max. Mike and I, we broke up. He could not say I love you and it made me sad. But him and Will found me in the desert. And Mike said he loved me while I was fighting One. But it was all wrong. He only said it because he was scared and I was losing.

“I remembered what you taught over the summer, Max. How I needed to figure out what I want and be myself. I realized that I need Mike and I will always need him, but not in a boyfriend way. I have seen how Lucas looks at you with so much love. And Mike and I do not look at each other like that. The only person Mike looks at like that is Will. We talked yesterday and we broke up. He seemed a bit sad at first, but also a bit relieved. When you wake, we will have more girl time and I want your help to be myself,” Eleven added, trailing off in her thoughts. 

She stared intently at her best friend. The girl she had hated and then longed to see. Someone she would do anything for. But she couldn’t do enough.

After El’s disjointed thoughts were uttered and suspended in the air, she didn’t know what else to say or do for Max. This resulted in her quietly humming a few songs, El braiding her red waves, and resting her head next to Max’s. Just like Lucas had done many nights before, El settled next to Max and her soft snores added to the symphony of beeps from the machines hooked to her. 

Tonight was Will’s night. Originally, Mike was going to be coming too, but Mike had called him earlier saying he wasn’t coming. 

Things had still been weird between them. Between all three of them actually. Will, Mike, and El. Mike had been distancing himself from both of them, El had been losing herself in finding Max and acting weird around Mike, and Will. 

Will felt like he was on a ship lost at sea. Each mixed signal Mike sent to Will sent another wave crashing into him, threatening to capsize his boat. 

But it wasn’t Mike’s fault. He didn’t know that Will had was irrevocably and completely in love with him. Why would he? They were both boys. Mike didn’t even know that Will had learned he didn’t like girls. Well no one did. Besides Jonathan. And Max.

But in the same sense that Will loved the barely visible freckles that dotted his nose. And how his dark hair slightly curled up on the ends. And how Will hated everything cold, but he was completely fine with any touch from his eternally frosty skin. He was pissed at Mike. Pissed that Mike made him feel so seen, but so invisible at the same time. So loved, yet so tolerated. So whole, yet so broken.

The worst thing of all? He couldn’t talk to anyone about it. His best friend? He was absolutely not telling Mike. Jonathan? He was having relationship drama of his own in the middle of battling the Upside Down. El? She was literally dating Mike. His other friends? He wasn’t ready to tell them yet. But Max?

There had been something about Max that brought Will an overwhelming sense of comfort. They hadn’t even grown that close until right before the Byers moved to California, but she was the one he talked to the most in those six months when he felt so alone. 

Between their painful childhoods, shitty dads, self-loathing, and depression, Will and Max shared a connection that not everyone could understand.

At first, Will let himself settle into a comfortable silence. Lucas had been reading to her when he got here, so Will wanted to give Max a small hearing break. Whether she would actually need or want it, he would never know.

After a few minutes of silence, Will spoke,

“Hey Max,” Will started softly. “It’s Will. I’m going to stay with you tonight. Sorry, I’m not Lucas or El. We’re all really missing you, ya know? I’m really missing you…” he muttered trailing off. 

He exhaled deeply through his nose, letting his eyelids shut. “Everything feels so messed up right now. Not even just the Upside Down things. I think I messed things up. I—I think you might already know what I’m going to tell you. But I never actually told you myself…”

His left hand engulfed her exposed fingers, while his right wiped at his stinging eyes. “I haven’t told anyone else yet. I mean I think Jon knows, but I still haven’t for sure told him. And I think you knew. But Max, I don’t like girls. Not like that anyway. I mean, I’m gay. And I don’t know what to do. And I’m just so worried and I don’t want to mess anything up and have anyone hate me. And I miss being able to talk to you,” Will confided with a sniffle.

The red head remained unmoving. Will knew that wouldn’t change, but he longed for her to wake up and for her reassurance. His hand shone slightly around hers as he felt himself falling apart.

“And that’s not even the worst thing, Max. When we were looking for El, I lied to Mike about a painting I made for him. I said El asked me to make it for him and he loved it so much. But he needed to love and be there for El. Especially when El was with you. But it tore me up, Max. I don’t want him to love El. Because I love him. And I want him to love me. I love Mike, Max. And I don’t know what to do. And El loves Mike. And I can’t do that her. Plus, Mike wouldn’t ever love me. And I just wish you would wake up so I can actually talk to you and you tell me how much of an asshole Mike is and how I can do better,” he divulged, chuckling as the last words left his lips. 

There was a momentary twitch in Max’s fingers that stilled Will for a second. But nothing else changed. He sighed before adding, “It’s all so weird and complicated and I just want to be able to talk to you or Lucas. But you’re still getting better. And I can’t drop any of this on Lucas. He is already doing so much and he is just so consumed with you Max. He loves you so much. And I just want what you guys have, don’t even try to deny that you love him too. But we can’t be just normal teenagers with normal love life problems. Instead we have to worry about the Upside Down, too, so everything else has to wait.” 

Another deep sigh left Will’s mouth. He placed a steady hand on Max’s cheek and gently ran his fingers along her face, brushing away loose hair. Even though she was comatose and likely wouldnt remember a single thing he said, Will felt the heaviness the secrets had been holding slowly ooze out of him.

He knew even if Max teased him about his confessions, she would hold no negative feelings towards him and would fight anyone that did. She was fierce and she loved hard and protected harder. 

A peacefulness settled in her room, the only sounds being her machines and their faint breaths. “You know, Lucas has your drawing up and a couple of other pictures. I think I’m going to draw you a picture and hang it up for when you wake. No offense, but I plan to put your drawing to shame,” he joked. 

He slowly withdrew his hand from Max and turned towards where his bag rested. Will pulled a sketch book and a pencil from his bag and set to work. Faint pencil scratches adding to the monontounous sounds of the room.

The rest of the night was spent in a rotation of drawing, one-sided conversations, and the occasional nap. Before Will left in the morning, his newest work of art was proudly displayed on the wall: a more detailed sketch of Max and Lucas at the movie theater, hands entwined and grins plastered on their faces.

Of all the people that had visited Max, Mike was certain he would have been her least favorable. Their only form of communication had been sarcastic jabs at one another and comments dripping with venom. But as much as neither would admit, there was a comfort in their relationship. 

They were so incredibly alike that it scared their friends. Both fiercely loyal and protective, hot headed, and independent to a fault. Not to mention the comfort they found in being unapologetically  blunt.

But with each visit to Max’s hospital room, Mike felt a discontentment. He didn’t feel like he had the right to be as sad as their friends were. After all, they were assholes to each other. 

No matter how much they would deny it, Mike and Max cared for each other in their own unique way. He might call her names or argue with her about everything under the sun, but he would do anything to keep her safe. She was like a sister to him. 

It was Mike’s night to stay with Max. Steve and Robin had been here when he, Nancy, and Jonathan arrived. Until the older teens left, Mike mainly just hung around in the background. He was a silent observer. Listening to their conversations, learning updates about Max, hearing about how Steve and Robin kicked Lucas out when they got there a few hours ago.

Now, the room sat silent. An awkward, grating, uncomfortable silence. And Mike wasn’t sure what to do about it.

He knew his friends would talk to her or read to her or play her music, but nothing quite felt right at first.  

And if he was completely honest, he wasn’t even really focused on Max at the moment. Instead his life falling apart and changing around him was center stage. 

He needed to talk it out. And if the only person to talk to wouldn’t respond and likely wouldn’t hear a god damn thing, then so be it. He was desperate to untangle the thoughts that jumbled in his head.

A sigh. Then, “Hey Max. It’s Mike. Sorry I know. Disappointing…” Mike trailed off. He felt stupid. He had seen everyone else talk to her like she would respond a million times. But to him, it just felt wrong.

“Well, shit. This is awkward as hell. Sorry. I just…Well El and I broke up. I know you are probably sooo broken up about it,” Mike teased. “Things had been weird. I mean they had been for a while. Ever since they moved really. Maybe before then? I mean you’ve probably heard different parts of the story already so sorry.”

He paused, running a hand through his wavy hair. The ends had slightly knotted. His hands moved back to rest in his lap as he began playing with his fingers. “Remember when I said I loved her right before Starcourt? I meant it. But for some reason, I hadn’t been able to say it since. Not until Will practically gave me a script about what to say when El was in your mind and she was losing. She was really upset about that, but I couldn’t understand why. Then we were talking and she suggested we break up. And part of me felt sad, but only because I was scared of losing a friend. To be honest, I don’t feel sad about losing a girlfriend,” Mike admitted. 

A groan echoed in the room. “I just—Max. Nothing is making sense. And I’m not sad. And I just want more than anything else in the world is for things to go back to how they were. When you were safe and could call me out if I was a dick. When Will wasn’t irritated at me for whatever I’m sure I did. I need someone to talk to that gets is. I—I’m sorry I’ve been a dick all these years…” Mike trailed off.

Tears stung Mike’s eyes. It hurt seeing Max like this. And he knows the hurt he feels could never compare to the pain anyone else feels seeing Max like this, but the entire situation is just bullshit. He makes a mental note to check in again with Lucas because he knows if this was Will, he would be shattered. 

Wait. Will?

Mike mulls over his thoughts. Will bring in this position would be the thing to destroy Mike. Not El. Will. Will would be the person to send him in a self-destructive downward spiral like Lucas is with Max. 

But Lucas loves Max. And Mike? Well he…well he…

His mind raced, blinking rapidly. He couldn’t be in love with Will. Right? I mean, Mike loved all of his friends. But he couldn’t deny the special connection he had to Will. He had always had with Will.

Mike snuck another glance at Max after wiping some of the tears that had gathered in his eyes. “You know, Lucas really loves you. We all hate seeing you like this, but it is killing Lucas. Max you need to get better. I need to talk to you too. The only person that will call me out on all my bullshit. I’m sorry, Max. For everything. I just—please wake up soon, okay? Please wake up so I can talk to you about how I think like boys and how I think I’m in love with Will…”

He had half been expecting Max to come shooting up out of the bed at a number of the comments he had made. But his last one revealing his feelings about Will? He assumed Max would pop up chewing him out about how he treated Will like shit. 

Maybe that’s why he said it out loud for the first time here. Maybe he thought Max would wake up with a million questions, but she would finally be awake. Maybe having finally accepted it himself he was ready to start sharing it with the world or at least the people important to him. 

But the stillness and tranquility of the room had not been disturbed. The only change was the occasional shift Mike made in his seating position. And that’s how the rest of Mike’s shift lasted. Mainly silence with the occasional murmured comments, trying to engage Max. Trying anything to rouse her. 

Two weeks had passed since a pervasive feeling of death had embedded itself in the party. Eddie and Max. And although Max was lucky enough to still be breathing (if you can call multiple severe broken bones, vision damage, and a coma lucky), Eddie hadn’t been lucky.

He took his last breath in Dustin’s arms, something Dustin couldn’t forget. How his breath rattled and gurgled in his throat, how droplets of blood would expel themselves from his lips, how the warm liquid oozed all over him as he tried to keep Eddie grounded, alive. 

And Dustin couldn’t move on. He hadn’t been sleeping, he hadn’t been eating, and he had been so much more distant. Yet, when asked about taking a shift with Max, he was quick to volunteer. 

It was supposed to just be Dustin, but if Steve was being honest, Dustin looked almost worse than Max. He looked on the verge of a breakdown and like he hadn’t slept in days. And as much as Dustin looked like shit, his attitude was worse.

He had a retort to everything Steve said, his words dripping with vile rather than their usual playfulness. He was grouchy, almost anything could set him off and cause him to storm out. And Dustin knew he was being insufferable, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. He was pissed at the world and pissed at Steve for making him leave Eddie behind.

As Steve and Dustin settled into the room, their was an awkwardness that tinged the air. Dustin sat in relative silence at Max’s side while Steve sat in another chair positioned against the wall.

The silence was too much for Steve. Dustin was hardly ever quiet. “Ya know kid, you can talk to her or read to her or sing to her. Sinclair has been reading to her. I think Will drew her pictures and Mike maybe brought in some music?” Steve shared, prompting Dustin to think of something to disrupt the monotony.

The younger boy made a face. He knew what he could do in the hospital and he did not need Steve telling him what to do. He was already dealing with Steve’s constant hovering and badgering him about whether or not he was okay and what he could do to help. 

“Steve will you just stop? I don’t need you constantly nit picking me. I’m fine Just leave me alone,” Dustin grumbled, voice sharp.

Questioning eyes washed over Dustin. Steve knew better. Dustin was not okay, no matter what he said. “You act like I don’t know you and haven’t been in your life for the past few years. I know it’s all a lot. I get it. And you can—“ Steve began. 

Before Dustin interrupted him, voice booming and echoing in the room. “No! You don’t get it. You didn’t watch him die. I loved him, and you just made me leave him. It’s not fair. He didn’t deserve that. You didn’t have to hold your brother while he died. And you made me leave him,” he cried. “It’s your fault, we shouldn’t have left him behind,” came out in a final exasperated sob.

Ouch.

Steve felt an ache in his chest. He might not know exactly what it feels like for Dustin, but Max (someone he saw as a little sister), died and is in the bed next to them barely hanging on. He had seen the kids almost die countless times. And truth be told, he felt a lot of pain with Eddie’s death too. 

And if he was honest, he wasn’t sure how best to help Dustin right now. Talk about it? Avoid it? But Dustin laid it all out in front of them. 

A pained, shaking breath escaped his lips. “I know, kid. I know,” Steve mumbled, rubbing his face. He extended an arm towards Dustin, trying to pull him into a hug.

“No, fuck you! How could you leave him? I blame you,” Dustin’s voice unexpectedly boomed. It all but shook the walls of the room. 

Steve had been perseverating on the same questions himself. Could they have saved him? Why did they need to leave him?

His eyes watered, threatening to spill over.  “I know kid, it is my fault I could have tried harder. Or we could have tried something different. I’m so sorry Dustin. I know you loved him and I cared for him too. I’m so sorry,” Steve yelled, voice stuttering through his tears. 

Steve attempted to pull Dustin closer which resulted in more smacks to the chest. Dustin was not okay. He was swinging and shouting at Steve, balling with snot running out of his nose. 

And all Steve could do was hold on longer. Whispering reassuring comments to him.

It wasn’t until the next morning they they realized the tears and argument had wore the other out. And both ended their night snuggled into the other, stiff and creaky bones the next morning.

As shining days were extinguished into bleak nights and the ashes and embers were reignited into a roaring fire. Each moment they thought about the slow twist of time, the Hawkins crew was reminded of the ominous ticking of the grandfather clock of Max and Nancy’s nightmares. 

They made up an intriguing group. Robin, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan (and Argyle until he went back home). Although Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan had gotten along okay 1984, things between the trio grew tense when Nancy left Steve for Jonathan. 

Not in a hatred way. More in an uncomfortable Steve-was-still-in-love-with-Nancy kind of way. But with his love came wanting the best for her, and him wanting her to go for what she wanted. 

And then along came Robin and things became more manageable.

Although almost unfathomable for Steve from 1983 to imagine, his only friends were a lesbian, his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend, and a bunch of freshmen. 

And 1984 Robin would have never expected to be best friends with and living with Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington and adopting that ragtag group of freshmen. 

And 1985 Robin could not imagine having to sit at the bedside of one of the freshmen who she had grown to see as a little sister.

But here she was.

The motor that normally ran Robin’s mouth was for once silent, but her head was anything but. Thoughts bounced around her brain like a pinball machine. Thoughts encapsulating every moment she had experienced over the past few years. 

She had already been here for a few hours, riding over with Jonathan and Nancy and sending Lucas, El, and Will home for the night.

Robin quietly and diligently doodled on the cast enshrouding her left leg. Flowers and stars and butterflies began to take shape. Humming quietly with black smudged on her hands, her mind wandered to how she could have helped Max before.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. Falling in slow motion, the droplets ricocheted and beaded up on the cast. “I’m so sorry, Red. We should have seen it. I should have seen it. You were hurt and I should have helped you. You need to get better so you can kick my ass,” Robin mumbled, wiping her eyes on the cuff of her sleeve.

She inhaled deeply, recollecting herself and quickly changing the subject. “Sorry, ‘bout that kid. Ugh! Ya know, despite how clumsy I am, I have never broken a bone, but I have always doodled all over my shoes and notes, so I figured your casts could use some personality.” 

Silence filled the room as Robin continued adding to her masterpiece. “Red, you probably don’t know but I moved in with Steve. I know your mom hasn’t been by yet, but when you wake up, you can always move in with Stevie and I. We already talked about. He already makes such a great mom and I would be such a fun wine aunt. Don’t cha think? And we will kill that asshole again. And you will finally be able to just relax…and maybe take that boy out on a date when you wake up?” she joked, waggling her eyebrows.

”Which reminds me, no one else besides Steve knows, but I know I can trust you. I have been talking to someone. And I’m going to ask them out soon, pending the end of the world. And her name is Vickie. Yeah, her. I feel like you probably already knew. You have the understanding vibes,” Robin exhaled, relief washing over her. 

Max was the first person other than Steve to know. And it’s not that she thought anyone would care. But how many gay people are out in Indiana? Let alone Hawkins? And the people she has to fight monsters with shouldn’t be super judgmental, but you can never be too sure. Especially when the Wheelers live on Maple   Street. 

She brunette extended her hand to Max’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “Alright kid. I’m going to rest my eyes for a bit, but don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. Now if you wake up, please don’t hesitate to yell and scream and do anything you can to wake me up. Night, Red,” Robin whispered, brushing a gentle kiss to her forehead and brushing away her loose hair.