𓆩♡𓆪

MAX LETS OUT A loud gasp of air, staring up at her friend's concerned stares. Her knuckles are white as she takes in her surroundings. She's pale. Max looks at each of them which now include the four other girls.

"Why am I not in the hallway?" Max asks, her chest heaving. "What? You never left this room, Max!" Dustin shouts, panicked. She pushes the chair out abruptly, "Where's the—the clock? The grandfather clock!"

Brooke's grip on the edge of the desk tightens. A clock? She glances over the symptoms again, thinking right back to when she heard the mysterious clock chimes in her house but no actual clock. Steve watches Brooke's muscles flex in her hands, her nails basically digging into the wood of the desk. Meanwhile Stella stands behind them, a hand to her chest, waiting for her panic to settle.

"What clock, Max?" Paisley asks. She has no idea what they just walked into. There's files all over the desk and Max looks like she might pass out. "The—The," Max stutters and scoffs, running out of the room without further explanation. Brooke is the first to follow her out. The chiming of the clock won't stop chiming in her head now. It's replaying over and over again.

"Have we all officially lost it?" Robin asks but turns on her heel to follow the girls, the others following behind. Max stops at a dead end hallway, staring at the wall like the clock will form if she stares for long enough. Flashlights bounce off the school walls. "Max, there's no clock," Brooke states the obvious. The others are now behind her.

"No, no. It was right here. The grandfather clock," Max quietly says. Brooke contemplates saying that she heard the chimes but that would mean she's confirming to herself that she's cursed. It's most likely but she won't say shit until she knows. "A grandfather clock?" Nancy questions. "It was so real," Max says, "And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just....I woke up."

"It was like she was in a trance or something. Exactly what Eddie and Stella saw," Dustin recalls. Brooke's hand is shaking ever so slightly. She can feel eyes on her. She looks over her shoulder and Steve is shamelessly staring at her, trying to hide the panic behind his eyes. Whatever this Vecna fella is, it's now directly going after the others, not just Will or El. Max turns slowly, her eyes glossy, "That's not even the bad part. I need to show you something." Max walks between the group. The urge to beat her to the office and hide her own file comes to mind but they all quickly follow after Max so Brooke can't do that.

It feels like every step Brooke takes is further away from denial and closer to hurting the others around her. The seemingly inevitable death that comes with possibly being cursed.

She lags behind and walks in on Max's explanation. ".....they both came to Miss Kelley for help," Max says, purposely locking eyes with Brooke, "Uh, they were both having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldn't go away," Brooke doesn't move any closer, it's too late to hide anything now, the symptoms on there her close friends and Steve know she's been struggling with as well, "....then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things. These visions, they just.....they kept on getting worse and worse until eventually.....everything ended."

"Vecna's curse," Robin says but the words send a pain to Brooke's stomach. The thought of Max having even the possibility of ending up like Chrissy makes her sick. Brooke doesn't necessarily care if she dies a gory death, it's what happens after she dies. Danny being stuck in that house or his grandma taking him away without Brooke to stop her.

   "Chrissy's headaches started a week ago. Fred's six days ago. I've been having them for five days," Max looks at Brooke again, expecting her to speak up but for once in her life, Brooke is speechless. Well, she doesn't want to speak but the heartbroken look the group is giving the two girls nearly makes her run out of the school, never to return and not let them see Vecna kill her.

When Brooke stays silent, Max continues, "I don't know how long.....I have," The word 'we' had played on her tongue but she refrained noticing the look in Steve's eyes towards Brooke, "All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so......" Max breathes out shakily, ".....looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow."

A lump forms in Paisley's throat, tears threatening to fall but she speaks up anyway, "Don't say that, please," She doesn't have to turn towards Brooke for her best friend to know it's also directed at her. Steve's tear brimmed eyes nearly makes Brooke crack and admit to herself out loud that she's cursed.

A distant clang interrupts the tearful moment. "Oh, what the shit?" Paisley curses after nearly jumping out of her skin. Steve looks around at all of them, "Stay here." Brooke swallows her sadness, "I'm coming."

"No, no, stay here," Steve tells her all too sternly for her liking. Steve wants to scream, YOU'RE CURSED. YOU'RE FUCKING CURSED. He wants to sob at the thought of losing Brooke but he doesn't. Steve instead takes the lamp as a weapon. Penelope scoffs in disbelief, "You're so....dumb. Fuck your lamp," She struts right past him, hands dancing around to feel someone. "Are you—Nancy," Steve points the lamp in the direction Penelope went. "She's not my dog to round up, Steve," Nancy whispers.

He just scoffs, taking his lamp and going out into the hall. Steve is barely out there a second before Brooke is sprinting out behind him. "Brooke, Brooke!" Paisley shouts through gritted teeth, just like Steve she doesn't want Brooke doing unneeded things if she's cursed. Brooke is far too stubborn for that though.

Brooke turns the corner. "Steve, your lamp isn't gonna do shit," Penelope whispers. "Listen, your dancing fingers haven't exploded anything since that thing that was in El and the arms on the Mind Flayer. How do you know they even work?" Steve whispers back. "How about I explode your head and we find out?" Penelope does a spin with her pointer finger and suddenly there's a small headache that Steve winces at.

Brooke frowns, running up behind them, "Don't kill him." Steve jumps slightly while Penelope just smirks, knowing Brooke was there the whole time. His arms go limp spotting Brooke and the others, "I told you to stay there."

"And I didn't listen," Brooke retorts. Steve's jaw clenches, "Brooke, you're—"

"Don't say it," Brooke says with slight anger. Steve's eyes soften. Brooke showing out right fear is rare and even now she's slightly hiding it with anger. Brooke forces herself to look away from him and walks ahead next to Penelope, "Sense anything?"

"Yeah, but they're still too far," Penelope sighs. Steve is now next to them as well, lamp still in hand. "You look ridiculous. What if it's actually someone dangerous and you have a lamp?!" Paisley breaks the silence from the back. "Freak over here will take care of them," Steve nudges the lamp towards Penelope. "Don't kill him," Brooke reminds her when she sees the glare Penelope sends Steve.

The walk down the hall is anxiety inducing. There's more distant noises and then sets of footsteps approaching rapidly. "I feel them," Penelope says and slowly clenches her hands. Steve gets his lamp ready to swing and Penelope tightens her hand but yelling from Lucas Sinclair, Danny Martel and Steve makes the two girls scream in response and then everyone else.

"It's us!" Lucas screams, him and Danny panting, clearly out of breath. "Lucas?" Nancy shouts. "Danny?" Brooke shouts after her. "Why do I have a splitting headache? Bauman!" Danny holds his head. Penelope whispers a whoops and lets go. "Jesus, you morons! What's wrong with you?!" Steve shouts, still shaken up. Lucas' hands drop to his knees, "I'm sorry!" Danny holds his head, trying to catch his breath, "I can't breathe and I still have a headache!"

"I could've taken you out with this lamp!" Steve shouts, shaking the lamp. "Where have you been? Have you been home?" Brooke asks her brother. "With Lucas...and.....no...why?" Danny asks, still panting. "We...we were biking for eight miles," Lucas grunts and leans against the wall. Danny basically collapses to the floor as everyone just stares in astonishment.

"Oh, Jesus. Shit," Danny curses. Lucas gains his breath back first, "We got a code red!"

"What now?" Stella groans from the back. As if this couldn't get any worse. Lucas walks over to Dustin, "Dustin, I've been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy and they've gone totally off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie and they think you know where he is!"

"You're in a lot of....Jesus...danger," Danny is still bent at the knees, gasping for air as he relays the info to Dustin. The curly haired boy doesn't have much of a reaction though. He almost shrugs, "Alright, yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason now." The boy's eyes drift to Brooke and then Max. Fear strikes in the heart of Lucas and Danny. Deep stares burrow into the girls, one's full of fear and confusion.

DECIDING TO HUNKER-DOWN IN the Wheeler's basement, the group is coming up with theories or even ways to contact Victor Creel.

After explaining to Lucas and Danny what's going on, the two immediately joined in on ways to figure out how to stop Vecna. Brooke has isolated herself from the group, Max as well. Both of them are on opposite sides of the basement. Brooke's knees are tucked to her chest, watching her friends read different articles in attempts to save them.

There's a part of Brooke wondering why they should even save her. She's nothing but a burden at this point. She's staring at Steve now as he stresses out over all the Victor Creel information. The tragic, unexpected and brutal death of the Creel family is spread out on paper all throughout the basement. Brooke had glanced at it when they tried to make her eat but it was like her brain wouldn't let her process it. She kept blinking at the papers like they would disappear but they were still there, in everyone's hands.

It would be her luck that she is a fuck up and cursed, right? Seems on brand for how Brooke Martel's life goes.

There's a barely eaten grilled cheese Nancy made for her next to her. She keeps taking small bites but the two burnt out cigarettes are the only things she's fully consumed. Through the small basement window her eyes catch the stars, she can't help but wonder if it'll be the last time she does.

She can hear someone walking over to her but she doesn't look towards them, her eyes just try to memorize the stars.

"Please eat the grilled cheese," Danny says. Sad or worried is an understatement for how Danny feels. He's never seen Brooke so much like a shell so quickly. With no response from his sister, he moves the grilled cheese and sits next to her, "You never told me why I can't go home."

Brooke's eyes stay on the stars, "Why'd you party with Jason?"

"You do, why can't I?" Danny retorts. That makes Brooke turn with a slow roll of her eyes, "Grandma showed up."

"Which one?"

"Harriet," Brooke rolls her eyes again at the remembrance of the argument. Danny presses his lips together, nodding, "Why?" Brooke freezes up for a second, her shoulders rising before she realizes she can't look worried for Danny's sake. "She said that I'm not your mom, that our parents are not good parents and she should adopt you." Danny swears his eyes almost pop out of his head, he has to stop himself from yelling, "What? Adopt me? She couldn't even take care of mom!"

"Yeah, I know," Brooke says, "If you need something from the house we have to call beforehand to make sure Harriet doesn't try to kidnap you, okay?"

"She's frail, I'll just punch her," Danny says and punches the air. Not even a small smile appears on Brooke's face, she just nods in almost agreement and turns away again. The siblings sit in silence for a bit before Brooke suddenly feels a set of lips on her temple. Danny had laid a quick kiss on Brooke's temple, "Don't give up. I know how you are." Brooke doesn't know what to say or do. Her hands just grab at the ends of her hoodie and Danny leaves her side. Before she knows it, Brooke is running up the stairs and out of the Wheeler house, her breathing quickening.

In Brooke's head, if she lets herself die it'll stop the curse quicker. They can focus on Max and saving her, not Brooke. Maybe she should die, everything she seems to touch wilts beneath her touch.

  Brooke is standing in the middle of the street hyperventilating, grabbing at the cloth around her chest.

Right after Brooke had shut the door, Steve bolted up the stairs, telling everyone else to stay there.

As the tears fall down her face, Brooke feels weak even if she doesn't know if anyone is seeing her break down. She feels stupid because before the death of Hopper and Casey she could keep her emotions in check, it was rare that she was full of sobs but now when everything stacks, it turns into the hyperventilating mess she is right now. Blurry sight is stuck on the sky as she fails to calm down. Denial begins.

Brooke has had headaches and nightmares long before this week. Maybe it was just her hangovers, maybe they all just assumed she was cursed all too quickly.

"Brooke," Steve stands at the curb, carefully approaching his girlfriend. The street light makes Brooke's tears shine and Steve's heart breaks more somehow. He didn't think it could sink any lower but seeing Brooke in such a state brings him back to last year and panic runs through him. "Brooke, baby," Steve's voice is soft but Brooke is still gripping at her shirt, tears streaming down her face.

The sight of Steve causes more tears. What if something happens right here, right now and Steve has to see it? Brooke knows Steve cares deeply about her. She would never deny that. But that's the issue right now. Brooke's eyes widen as her hands drop from her shirt, "Steve, no. You need to watch Max."

"Everyone else is down there, angel, okay?" Steve reaches out for her and encases her with his arms, holding her tightly to his chest. "No, no. What if something happens?" Brooke panics. "To who?" Steve asks, resting his chin on Brooke's head. "To me. I don't want you to see that," Brooke says between cries. An idea strikes in Brooke's head. If Steve and her are broken up, maybe he'll care less, maybe it'll be less painful for him in the end. She doesn't move from his grip though, Brooke just looks up at him, "I think it's best if we break up, okay? I—uh—" She backs up from him but refuses to make eye contact. Her intense emotions are fucking with everything.

Irrational or drastic ideas that she would normally know is absolutely ridiculous if she didn't feel like she was losing her mind.

Steve's arms fall limp, "What?" He breathes out. Brooke starts to fake anger to hide her sadness, the typical move for Martel's. The more she pushes him or anyone away, the less it'll hurt, right? She's never had to worry about her life like this. All the years they've been going through this shit and she feared for her life, she fought for it. She fought to survive. It's not like she has nothing to live for, she has everything to live for. But Brooke's life fucks everyone else's up. At least when she dies she'll see Casey and Hopper again.

  "I saw how you treated Nancy when she was depressed so maybe we should just break up," Brooke says, her hands flying through her hair. Acting on emotion rather than actually thinking, the quick idea has barely any proper thinking behind it. Brooke doesn't want to break up but it's better for Steve if they do. He would never agree though so she tries to hit him where it hurts—the first time a girl ripped his heart out and stomped on it.

Steve's face drops, tears trying not to spill, "I—What the hell does that mean, Brooke?"

Brooke still refuses to look at him. Steve notices, "Brooke, look at me! What the hell does that mean? You think I'm shitty—you think I'm a shitty boyfriend?" Between the silence, the sounds of crickets remind them that they're standing in the middle of the street. Brooke wants to chuckle.

  Sometimes she thinks that Halloween was the start of their weird friendship. The night they stood in the street, Brooke drunk and Steve going through a breakup. And now he's here again, going through a breakup and Brooke is drunk on sadness.

Brooke dips her head, her forearms covering her teary eyes. No, no. I think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me but I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to you. That's what she would say if she could actually get any words out.

Steve steps forwards, gently grabbing at her arms to pull them away from her beautiful face, "I'm not breaking up with you—"

"You're right. I'm breaking up with you, Steve," Brooke says between cries, still insistent on this idea, blinded by guilt for something that hasn't even occurred. She takes a glance at him, unbeknownst to her, it's the same sad puppy dog look he gave Nancy two years ago. Heartbroken. Devastated.

He's not losing her, "I know what it feels like to feel—empty. A shell, really. You need to tell me what the real reason is. Okay, is it because of Vecna? Because that's bullshit—"

"Real reason? What real reason? I'm a fuck up! That's why! My life is full of fuck up after fuck up after fuck up! Everything I touch breaks and everyone I love leaves or dies!" Brooke yells, shattering what was left of the invisible glass walls around her, the ones that were bound to break in her lifetime.

Her sobs rip through her just like that night at the mall and Steve can't do anything but just hold her again, gently combing through her hair as she soaks his shirt with tears.

"You know I'm not leaving you, right? We're gonna save you and Max," Steve whispers, he has no idea if she can even hear it over her own sobbing. Brooke's breath hitches, the weight of what she said hurting her as her blurred thoughts become clear. She grips Steve's shirt with her fists, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of it. I'm sorry," She keeps repeating. It's like Steve can feel his heart breaking into pieces.

He knows she didn't mean any of it but still those words leaving her mouth scared him in an all too familiar way. She's pushing people back, putting her own boyfriend at arms length thinking that will somehow stop the death and loss she claims she causes around her.

As soon as Max said the symptoms, he knew Brooke was cursed too. No small bits of denial would actually do anything. She'd be Vecna's exact victim type. A traumatized, broken by something they didn't have control over, teenager.

Steve's hand combs through Brooke's hair, "I don't wanna lose you. I'm sorry about the argument. I should've beat my dad's ass. I should've." Brooke's body shakes as she tries to get words out, "I'm not mad at you anymore, S-Steve. Your dad is right," Brooke doesn't mention her grandma repeating that she's a fuck up the same day. Steve clenches his jaw and goes to hold Brooke's face in his hands, "No, you're not a fuck up. Don't say that," Steve's eyes stare right into Brooke's, "You are so loved, Brooke. Don't yell at me. I know that was cheesy, okay? I'm like, gagging thinking about it."

Brooke lets herself have a small smile and Steve smiles as well, his plan to at least get a small smile from her worked. Brooke's head dips down again, her eyes staring at their shoes, "Do you think Casey's death is my fault? He died trying to save me. Maybe I'm cursed as....karma."

"God, no. I wish I could tell him I'm actually thankful for him. He was quicker than me," Steve chuckles. Brooke looks up at Steve, she wants to say she believes him, that it wasn't her fault but that burden will always rest on her shoulders. She's the reason he and Stella will never grow old together, she's the reason Casey won't graduate or have kids like he always planned. Instead of denying it, Brooke doesn't have the energy to argue. The panic attack really tired her.

"Can we go back inside?" Steve softly asks, moving tear soaked hair from her face. She doesn't say anything, she just nods and starts to walk ahead of Steve and back to the basement. Brooke's foot reaches the curb when the sound of a clock chiming makes her stop completely. She dares to look around her and in the middle of the street, under a light, a large, brown grandfather clock chimes again, and again, slowly and agonizingly.

"Hey, hey, Brooke?" Steve nudges Brooke and she blinks. The clock has disappeared but a sinking feeling begins. "Sorry, just thinking," Brooke quickly says and basically jogs back to the house. Steve stares at where Brooke's eyes had stayed, confused.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! hope y'all had good celebrations n a good upcoming year :)