Work Text:
September 20th, 1985
A breath taking gasp cut through the silence of the quiet night.
Max sat up from her flimsy mattress on the floor of Mike Wheeler's bedroom. She took large, deep breaths. She tried her hardest to not wake Mike, but it clearly didn't do anything because a moment later, Mike slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.
He reopened his eyes, spotting Max fully sat up, sweat dripping from her forehead as a tear rolled down her cheek. He automatically assumed it was another nightmare, just like the ones she had practically every single night.
"Max," he whispered, slowly shifting from his bed to the mattress next to it, sitting right in front of her. "Hey, what happened?"
It was like she couldn't even look at him. She stared off behind him, still trying to catch her breath.
Mike tilted his head slightly. "Max, talk to me. Another nightmare?" He coaxed, voice groggy and sleepy. As tired as he was, it was more important that he made sure she was okay— at least to him.
Max slowly nodded her head, head hanging low. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you–"
"Don't apologize," he quickly cut her off. "it's okay. Seriously."
They both sat in silence for a couple seconds, until Max spoke again. "Same dream." She informed.
Max was constantly having the same dreams about Billy over and over again. It was always her sacrificing herself instead of Billy.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No," she wasted no time replying. "No, it's okay. You can go back to bed."
He furrowed his eyebrows, uncertain. "Max, it's okay. I'm not tired. You can talk about it if you want."
They both shifted to where they were leaning against his bedroom wall.
Max stared ahead of her, hesitating. "I was in the mall again, watching Billy about to die." She bit her lip. "Again, I ran in front of him.. and I died."
Mike nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
"But it.. it felt so.. real. It was like it was actually happening." She wiped a tear. "I don't know, it's stupid. He was such a terrible person, yet I somehow feel so guilty and so terrible for what happened to him."
He immediately shook his head, softening. "It's not stupid, Max. Yeah, Billy was a terrible person, but.. he was still your brother. It's not a bad thing that you feel this way. You're just grieving."
"Yeah," she let out a humorless laugh. "It's my fault."
"What are you talking about?" Mike furrowed his eyebrows, utterly confused.
She fiddled with the fabric of her clothes, nervous for some odd reason. "Billy." She started. "It's my fault he died."
"No way," Mike shook his head quickly. "Max, Billy dying was not your fault at all. He sacrificed himself to save El." His face quickly drained at the mention of El, but it was only for a moment. Max noticed it. "That's not on you. Why would you even think that?"
"Because!" She whisper shouted. "If I had just.. I dunno, ran towards him and pushed him away, he would've still been alive. If I had noticed sooner that he was a host for the Mind Flayer.. maybe I could've saved him."
Mike noticed the tear rolling down her cheek again, her eyes pooled with tears. He swiftly rose a hand up to her face, tilting it towards him and wiping under her eye with his thumb.
Mike wasn't the best at the whole 'comfort' thing, so he honestly didn't know what else to say after. "Max.. that's not true, okay?" He hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't pull away, he kept it there. "It's not your fault. Don't think that."
She shook her head. "Yes it is." That being firmly said, Mike leaned his head back against the wall, it making a quiet bang noise.
Mike let out a quick breath. "You couldn't save Billy. No one could, even if we wanted to. Don't blame yourself, Max."
She repeated his actions, also letting out a breath. "Yeah. 'Guess you're right."
"You know, it isn't gonna feel like this forever." Mike started. "Whatever this is.. this feeling.. it'll pass eventually."
Max swallowed, leaning her head against the wall. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."
For a few moments, they sat there in each other's presence, staring ahead of them in silence. But it wasn't an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence that they could enjoy.
Mike broke the silence. "Are you okay to go back to bed?"
"Yeah, yeah," Max nodded quickly. "I'm okay now."
"Just.." Mike hesitantly started. "If you need anything, just wake me up. Okay?"
The corners of her mouth rose slightly. "Okay."
They both laid back down in their comfortable positions, in silence once again.
"G'night, Wheeler."
Mike smiled to himself, glad Max couldn't see him right now.
"G'night, Mayfield."