CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE
SUNRISE

The night had dragged on for Kimmy, she'd been up until all hours in the morning overthinking each thought that came into her head. Sitting perfectly still with her legs crossed as she pretended to watch the tv screen blasting in front of her.

Kimmy and the two brothers had decided they would watch Indiana Jones upon arriving back at the household. Well, actually, Aaron did. Steve had wanted to watch reruns of Family Ties and Kimmy had spotted a James Bond tape that she wanted to watch - they'd both been dismissed.

Truthfully Kimmy and Steve didn't put up much of a fight about it, Kimmy knew why the boy was so adamant on the group watching something so late at night and she had a feeling Steve did to.

He was scared.

Not the typical kind of freak out that he would normally have, genuine fear. He was being quiet and trying not to let it show, that's how Kimmy knew it was real. Something in the old house had absolutely terrified him - Vecna.

It almost surprised Kimmy that Aaron was so scared of ghosts. Yes, he was one to panic and have concerns that could border on meltdown, but this was something she hadn't seen before from him.

So, having noticed this, Aaron got to pick the movie.

It really didn't end up mattering anyway. Both Steve and Aaron had passed out about an hour in. The eldest of the two had his arms crossed and his head near falling off the sofa as he snored lightly, evidently exhausted.

Aaron on the other hand had tried and failed to stay awake. Unlike Steve, he hadn't lay down with the intention of dozing off. Because of this, he was sort of awkwardly slumped against Kimmy with his head resting securely on her shoulder.

The girl was staring off into space, trying not to let the troublesome thoughts of which would often begin creep in around this time get to her.

All she could find it in her to do in that moment was stop herself from standing and heading towards the phone. She just wanted someone to talk to.

She wasn't about to wake the two brothers, they were both exhausted and were in clear need of a decent sleep. And to be completely honest, she was worried that if she woke Aaron up, his fears would come crashing back into his chest and he wouldn't get back down again.

She wanted her best friend.

Biting her lip in thought, she reached down and gently took hold of his wrist, adjusting the watch which rest there so she could get a good look at the green numbers which would be flashing back up at her.

Kimmy let out a sigh at the sight. She could hardly call someone at four in the morning.

Taking a breath she looked back at the play screen of the movie Aaron loved, not bothering to try restart it after it had finished.

However, when the first thought to jump into her head at the silence was surrounding that of her parents, she rose from her seat in an instant, craving a distraction. Turning around before she ventured off, she gently lifted Aaron's head from where it had landed on the couch. Grabbing the first pillow she saw, she placed it under his head and patted his cheek for good measure.

Her feet drove her to the household phone almost naturally. Her hands picking up the receiver before she could even register what she was doing. Ignoring her shaking fingers, she dialled the first number she could think of.

If the phone had gone on to ring for more than ten seconds she might have had time to think over what she was doing. And she might have had the sense to hang up the phone before potentially wakening an entire house full.

But she didn't.

"Hello?"

Kimmy jumped at the quiet voice whispering through the phone, her heart skipping a beat as she tried to recollect herself. She had almost not expected anyone to answer, seeing how late it was. She'd expected the dial to ring out.

Clearing her throat, she spoke in as steady of a voice as she could muster. "Hi. Uh... it's Kimmy. Sorry, I can call another time I don't know why-"

"What's going on?" Max asked carefully, cutting off Kimmy's rambles before she could dig herself into a hole. "What are you doing up at four in the morning?"

Kimmy could hear the concern in Max's voice. Clearly the girl had assumed she'd been called because something bad had happened, Kimmy couldn't blame her, she'd assume the same if she were in Max's shoes.

"What are you?" Kimmy shot back quietly.

Max stayed quiet for several beats, and for a moment, Kimmy thought she wouldn't answer.

Maybe she shouldn't have called. Max was obviously going through a rough time. A very rough time. And she most certainly needed her sleep more than anyone, perhaps it was selfish for Kimmy to call so late.

"Couldn't sleep."

There was something about the way Max had spoken that almost spooked Kimmy. Her voice was quiet, tired almost. Though not the type where she'd crave sleep, the type where she was tired of everything, like she just wanted everything to stop.

Kimmy stilled at the thought. She knew the feeling too well.

"Me either." She mumbled in a small voice.

There was a moment of silence between the two girls, like neither of them knew what to say to fill the silence.

Truly, what could Kimmy have said?

They both knew why she was calling, they both knew why neither of them could sleep.

Neither of them knew what awaited them the following day.

Kimmy shivered at the thought.

Max hated pity, she despised it. But that wasn't why Kimmy was calling. She wasn't calling to offer her pity down the phone, make pretend promises and tell Max everything would be fine.

She could lie to her friends, she could lie to Aaron, hell, she could lie to herself, but she couldn't lie to Max. She wouldn't be okay, and the pair of them knew it, they just weren't ready to admit it just yet.

Kimmy wanted to tell Max how worried for her she was, how scared she was, how angry she was. She wanted to tell her reassuring words and fill her head with faux promises, but she couldn't.

Opening her mouth, she hesitated to speak, unsure of what she was to say to the girl.

"What do you think about roller skating?" Kimmy blurted with a shaky voice, desperate for a sense of normality, desperate to pretend.

There was a pause, then a laugh. "What?"

A watery smile broke through Kimmy's cheeks. "Roller skating. In the street. It's real fun, we've never done it before, could be cool."

Kimmy had only done it once with Aaron, and the pair of them had had a great night wandering the streets. She really wasn't sure why she'd thought of that just then, perhaps because it was a happy memory, and the two girls needed a bit of happiness at the moment.

"That would be cool." Max agreed with an airy laugh. "One problem."

"What's that?" Kimmy hummed.

They didn't have enough time left.

Kimmy felt her breath hitch.

Max hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I don't have rollerblades."

Kimmy let out a laugh at the bluntness, she could hear Max let out a snicker over the phone as she did so.

"Well, you're in luck. Because I have two pairs." Kimmy bragged sarcastically with a snooty voice. "Better get in gear, Mayfield."

"Oh, I see how it is, Jenkins." Max shot back in an instant. "Meet at the old park in twenty?"

Kimmy was not an idiot, she knew that going out with Max in the middle of the night, alone, with what was going on, was a stupid idea. A reckless idea.

She should have declined the offer, she shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. It was selfish to put the two of them in unnecessary danger. It was selfish to put her wants first. But it wasn't a want, she needed to see her. She didn't want her last memories of her best friend to be gloomy and dark. She didn't want to think of Max and see pain and suffering.

Kimmy wanted to be selfish, just this once.

She wanted to pretend for a minute, pretend everything was in their favour, that they could live carefree.

That's why Kimmy grinned as she spoke. "See you in twenty."

The girls said their goodbyes and Kimmy hung up the phone. Letting out a shaky breath as she ran her hands through her hair, breathing deeply to steady herself.

Without missing a beat, the brunette made her way towards the living room where the two brothers lay. Kimmy knew she had to leave if she wanted to meet the girl on time, yet she lingered in the doorway of the living room.

Watching with full eyes, she shuffled over to where Aaron was sleeping and bent down to his level before she could second guess herself.

She knew this was a bad idea, she shouldn't be going out on her own right now, she shouldn't be walking blindly into danger when this was probably exactly what Vecna wanted. She knew there was a possibility that spending time with her friend that night could have detrimental consequences.

That was why with a shaky hand she moved the sandy hair which rest on his forehead ever so slightly and planted a soft kiss there before she turned on her heel to leave. She really didn't know what came over her, she reminded herself that nothing would happen, but she couldn't be sure. She didn't want to wake him, but it felt wrong in a way to leave without saying goodbye.

With that said, she left. Heading straight to the garage to retrieve Aaron and Steve's roller blades that the younger boy had stolen months prior.

Kimmy practically ran to the old park, the two pairs of roller blades held tightly to her chest as she did so.

Admittedly, she was out of breath by the time she reached the bench her red haired friend sat on, fumbling with her headphones as she stared into space.

Kimmy took a shaky breath, ignoring her shaky hands.

"Hey stranger." Kimmy teased in as light hearted of a tone as she could muster.

Max's head snapped up in an instant, her startled look falling into one of amusement as she rose to her feet.

"Hey loser." She joked as she met Kimmy in the middle, taking the roller blades that she was handing her.

Kimmy pretended not to see the shakiness which possessed Max's hands as she did so.

She was scared.

Kimmy forced a smile.

"Where will we go?" She blurted the first question that came to mind, desperate to fill the silent air, tilting her head curiously as she did so.

Max grinned, "we can go anywhere. Who's here to stop us?"

Kimmy let out a laugh. "The cracks in the road? I know they're a huge bitch, and I don't think the wheels on these things are the sturdiest."

In reality, the girls really had no idea where they were headed, Kimmy certainly didn't.

What she did know was that they'd been skating along the road for a while now, and while she should be concerned with the dangers that could be stalking them in the shadows, she couldn't find it in her to care in that moment.

Because for a few hours, the girls got to be just that; girls.

They could laugh and crack jokes and stay out all night without a care in the world, like girls do. Like they should be doing during spring break. Not spending their time waiting for an unstoppable doom to reach them.

"That's so stupid." Kimmy laughed as she held onto Max's arm, the two far too unstable on the small wheels. "How the hell can you possibly prefer Madonna over Fleetwood Mac?"

Max scoffed, clutching onto Kimmy tighter as her wheel got caught on a small stone in the road. "Hello? She's Madonna. She's huge for a reason."

"I'm not saying I hate her, or that she's not huge, I like some of the Madonna songs, but she doesn't touch Fleetwood Mac." Kimmy declared.

"Well that's your wrong opinion." The girl shrugged.

Kimmy felt her jaw drop as she let out an airy laugh.

"Hey! My opinions happen to be educated and very much correct, thank you very much." Kimmy nudged Max with her elbow as she spoke, although this probably wasn't the best idea as it had the pair stumbling on their already unstable skates.

So much so, that Kimmy ended up slipping, landing right on her ass as she dragged Max down with her. The pair landed on the hard road harshly and in a tumble, each huffing out a breath as they turned to look at each other.

Kimmy cracked a smile at Max's spooked expression, her wide eyes taking the brunette by surprise. Kimmy could tell Max tried to resist the smile which threatened to poke through her own cheeks, but she soon surrendered. The girls breaking out into a fit of giggles in the middle of the road.

She tried not to let how much she was going to miss all this overwhelm her in that moment. How much she'd miss Max. How much she'd miss her best friend.

Kimmy's giggles slowed at the thought, her once crooked smile morphing into a watered down version as she stared at her best friend. She decided then that she'd take the opportunity to remember her best friend.

The way her dimple only showed on the left side of her lips, the way her eyes would crinkle when she'd break down laughing, how her freckles splattered all across her nose, how she'd bring her hand to her eyes when in a fit of laughter.

Kimmy took it all in. She didn't want to forget her quirks, or her voice, or how she looked. She didn't want to become victim of time and forget her.

Forcing a tight smile, she met her best friend's gaze, shaking her head and pushing herself to her feet before reaching her hand out to help Max up.

Kimmy adjusted her dark hair just so she had something to do with her hands, so she didn't have to focus on the drowning thoughts.

But, Jesus, how she was going to miss her.

"You're such a klutz." Max snickered, still smiling at the thought of their fall.

Kimmy smiled softly. "Like you can talk. You're always covered in cuts and bruises, I've seen you argue with your skateboard."

Max shook her head. "Shut up, asshole."

"No you." Kimmy retorted. "Nerd."

"Nerd?" Max giggled once more. "That's the best you can come up with?"

"I was caught off guard, okay?" The brunette argued back half heartedly, unable to keep up the annoyed act as she laughed.

Kimmy didn't know how long the two stayed out in the streets for, but she knew that by the time they'd skated back to the old park which was once for children but now usually fostered that of graffiti and broken bottles, the sun had begun to rise.

"That was fun." Max smirked as she tied her shoe back up.

Kimmy nodded in agreement, snickering as she spoke. "Yeah, we-"

The brunette cut herself off short. She hadn't meant to get carried away in her response, yet two words had somehow managed to do it.

We should sneak out again sometime.

The idea that there would be no more next times had almost slipped Kimmy's mind.

"It was fun." She corrected as she cleared her throat.

Max smiled softly, a distant look in her eye as she did so. Kimmy knew what she was thinking, the same thoughts which were pooling and swirling around her own brain.

Kimmy could hardly believe this might be the last time the two of them could hang out, or relax, or laugh together at all.

It wasn't fair. Max had so much left ahead of her, so much left to do.

And what was Kimmy supposed to do when she inevitable happened? Who was she supposed to turn to for advice? Who was she supposed to hangout with? Or call when the slightest of inconvenience would occur? How was she supposed to do anything?

Kimmy's hands began to shake.

Why should she hand to attend the funeral of her best friend before either of them had finished high school? Or had their first job? Or gone to prom? Or gotten married? Why should they have to say goodbye before they were ready?

Why should she have to say goodbye at all? Why was her truest and most heartfelt friendship being ripped from under her?

Kimmy wouldn't do it, she wouldn't say goodbye. Goodbyes are final, and this was not final. She would see Max again, she just didn't know when that would be. But she sure as hell was not going to give up on her friend, her best friend. She couldn't.

She couldn't say goodbye.

Instead, she offered the bittersweet words which fell from her lips next. The innocent words which carried such depth between the two and reminded them of the horror filled situation they'd been slammed into.

"You're my best friend." Kimmy blurted slowly, wrapping her shaking hands around Max and pulling her close. "You know that, right?"

Kimmy felt Max release a shaky breath on her shoulder, squeezing her tight as she nodded her head. "'Course I do, Jenkins."

The brunette let out a sniffle. "Just double checking, Mayfield."

The hug lasted longer than either had predicted, but neither of the girls wanted to let go, not yet. Not when it may be the last chance they'd get. Kimmy squeezed Max tight as she closed her eyes, burring her head on her shoulder as she took a shaky breath.

Max wiped her face as she pulled away, offering a small smile which did not fail to reach her eyes. Max spoke quietly, her voice flooding with emotion as she trembled. "You're my best friend."

Kimmy felt her smile widen.

With that, the two girls broke away. Headed in opposite directions as they ventured home in the early hours of the morning.

Silent tears fell from Kimmy's face the entire walk back to the Harrington home. Not bothering to dry them with her sleeve, she simply sniffled. Mourning the life she could have lived along side her friend had life not been so cruel.

...

I'm so depressed after season 5 if you couldn't tell.

- AJ :)