CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN
PAINKILLERS AND BATHROOMS

Just when Kimmy thought her day couldn't get any worse, Lucas' words from the car ride over to Nancy's house had somehow managed to put yet another damper on her mood.

Unlike Aaron, she had been listening to what he had been saying, even if she didn't comment on it.

Lucas had been with his teammates from his basketball team, that's why he'd been absent the past few times the group had met up - to answer Aaron's question from previously.

However, this had only turned out to be a good thing, seeing as the Sinclair boy had accidentally managed to find out just what the older boys slightly deranged plans were.

Apparently, the three boys who Kimmy couldn't remember the name of, had taken it upon themselves to try and find Eddie, seemingly having caught word of the fact Eddie was a suspect in the murder of Chrissy and Fred.

Kimmy was unsure how the boys planned to do this, but they'd apparently got it into their heads that they'd actually manage to kill the Munson boy.

Kimmy didn't know the three boys from the team well, or at all really, so she wasn't entirely sure what they were actually capable of, however she quickly realised that the most likely outcome was that they were driven by grief and were in way over their heads.

Lucas had emphasised to the group that the three seniors had somehow gotten the idea that Dustin might know where the boy was, and that until they actually found Eddie, they'd be targeting Dustin also - which Kimmy found to be ridiculous.

Dustin had done nothing wrong, the trio were looking for someone to blame and if they couldn't get ahold of Eddie, then they were under the impression that Dustin was the next best thing.

Surprisingly, Dustin wasn't too bothered by this, or not as bothered as Kimmy had assumed he would be.

This was because he clearly had bigger issues to worry about in regard to Max and Vecna.

It was late, so late that Kimmy decided it must have been early in the morning and that the sun may even begin to rise soon.

Steve, Lucas, Dustin and Robin were all sleeping. The four having dozed off one after the other, Lucas having fallen asleep the last out of the four about an hour ago.

Nancy had gone up to her room to sleep a little earlier, and Kimmy couldn't blame her. She too would have gone up to sleep in her comfy bed rather than sleeping in the crowded basement.

Only Kimmy, Aaron and Max were awake. However Max was on the complete opposite side of the room from the brunette and the blond, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.

Kimmy reached over and shook Aaron's shoulder to get his attention. The two were sat on the left hand side of the large couch in the basement, with Dustin and Lucas on the right.

The blond looked to her with an incredibly nervous expression, looking to her with such concern that it startled her.

"Are you okay?" He asked her frantically in a whisper.

"I'm fine." She nodded reassuringly, not wanting to worry him with her next question. "Do you think you could come upstairs with me to look for some painkillers, just so I can try get some sleep."

The girl then sniffled, feeling incredibly sick after having not had a dose of painkillers in over the recommend time.

Her nose was stuffy and her throat was beginning to hurt, however she viewed this as a positive, perhaps she really was just sick.

"Uh, yeah." He nodded, instantly standing and pulling her up with him. "Come on, they should have in the bathroom."

Kimmy allowed him to pull her up, following him up the stairs and around the house as he knew his way around the house better than she did.

Aaron did end up finding her some pills to take in the bathroom, the boy rummaging through the cabinet just to double check they were the best ones to give her as Kimmy sat on the edge of the bath while watching him.

"Here." He told her in a quiet mumble, sitting down next to her while inspecting the small box before opening it and handing her two pills to take. "I- oh, fuck. Uh... I can go get you some water if you want? Stay here, I'll-"

"It's fine, I'll manage." Kimmy shrugged, snickering at the look he sent her at her response. "It's fine, Aaron. There's only small, I've taken pills without water before."

Aaron looked reluctant but hummed in response anyhow.

Even after Kimmy had taken the small pills, they never moved from their spot on the edge of the bath. Perhaps they just wanted to be themselves for a moment after the night they'd had.

"Do you think Max will be okay?" Kimmy blurted to Aaron after allowing herself to get wrapped up in her thoughts.

Aaron hesitated, unsure if he should be honest or tell her what she wanted to hear.

"I don't know." He hummed, unsure what he was supposed to tell her. "I don't really know enough about it to say, but... I don't think it's looking good for her."

Kimmy frowned at his words, despite knowing his words were true.

Maybe she'd only asked him in hope he'd lie to her, and she could use his words and twist them as a scapegoat to force herself to believe her friend would be perfectly fine.

"I know." Kimmy hummed in defeat.

Kimmy didn't want to think about the state her friend was in in that moment, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep that night if she continued to stress herself out over something she couldn't control.

"Listen, I don't know much about... about what's happening with Max," Aaron begun carefully. "But, I think tomorrow, you should try talk to her as much as you can."

Aaron didn't elaborate on why, but he hadn't needed to. They both knew the logic behind his words.

"Yeah..." Kimmy trailed off quietly, casting her gaze down to her fingers in her lap. "I'll try talk to her, see how she's feeling."

Aaron hummed in agreement, and a long moment  of silence returned.

"What about you?" Aaron couldn't stop himself from asking the question, doing a terrible job at hiding his worry. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She quickly dismissed, glancing to him with a look of uncertainty. "I think I'm just sick, I- I think I'm best to focus on Max for now-"

"If you feel bad, Kimmy, you can tell me." He interrupted with a firm voice. "You're not taking any... worry off of Max. If you feel bad or anything you have to tell me-"

"I will." She nodded solemnly, forcing a small smile.

She met his gaze, and instantly wished she hadn't. His expression was pouring with concern, so much that Kimmy didn't know what to do with it all.

She never was too good with people worrying over her. It was like she couldn't handle it, she was much better at dealing with hurtful comments, as weird as it sounded.

Perhaps it was just what she'd grown accustomed to over the years, even if she was slowly growing out of her old mindset. 

So, she stood abruptly, holding her hand out for Aaron to take. The boy did so with no hesitancy what so ever.

Kimmy wasn't stupid, she could feel the tight grip he held on her hand due to pent up fear he possessed for the girl.

The two crept down to the basement once more, knowing most people in the house were sleeping.

Kimmy was absolutely exhausted, and she could tell Aaron was as well. What she could also tell, was that despite his exhaustion, Aaron would most likely not sleep a wink.

This only seemed to be proved correct when they retreated back to their spots on the couch and the blond made no sort of effort to even try drift off.

Kimmy was struggling to keep her eyes open and her head up, until eventually, she gave in, and allowed her head to rest against the blond's shoulder.

Aaron watched as her eyes fell shut with a frown, moving to rest his arm around her shoulders so she'd be kept in place.

The boy let out a huff, tilting his head back to rest against the back of the seat, trying to fight the sleep threatening to take over him.

Just as he went to drift off, the quiet voice of the brunette slumped onto him caused him to jolt awake.

"Aaron?" She whispered with her eyes still shut, clearly on the verge of sleep herself.

The blond simply hummed in response, too tired to try find the words, yet wanting to let her know he was listening to what she had to say.

"Do you think I'll die? Do you... do you think Vecna will get me?" Her voice was so quiet and gentle, a complete contrast to the words that had just fell past her lips.

Aaron didn't know what to say, all he could focus on was the rush of a shiver that rushed down his spine at the question she'd just asked him.

By the time the words found him, the girl was sleeping. And he was glad, because he really had no idea what to say to her.

...

Robin and Nancy had managed to get copies of an old newspaper when they had been off the other day looking into the Vecna cases or more specifically to see if this was a reoccurring event. The pair had since gone back to the library in hope to find more information and create some sort of plan, leaving the remaining six in Nancy's basement.

Kimmy was almost fully sure they'd stolen the articles. It was definitely likely, but she couldn't know for sure.

So, she sat reading the piece of paper that had been given to her, just like everyone else had been doing.

Or, pretending to read it to be more specific. She'd scanned the page, but she couldn't exactly make sense of it, and her mind was occupied with other thoughts.

Rather stupidly of her, Kimmy had somehow managed to convince herself that Aaron was right. That the two of them were over exaggerating as usual and that Kimmy's state of mind was an unfortunate inconvenience.

However her heart did tug and there was an under lining fear deep within her, she could feel it. Although she did her best to push it down.

Aaron however, wasn't exactly as successful as her in his attempts to calm himself down. But Kimmy had to admit, he was hiding his panic well. So well that no one had even noticed it or made a comment to him.

But Kimmy knew, she could tell.

She could see the way he was pretending to read his own extract from the news paper. She could see the way his leg was shaking ever so slightly, and she could see the way he was messing around with the strap on his watch.

He was biting the inside of his cheek roughly, clearly doing his best to hide his worries from the group he was with.

Kimmy frowned at him but said nothing, instead she reverted her attention back to her page in her hands as to not draw any attention to the blond. Knowing that was the last thing he wanted.

She'd talk to him about it when they were alone and make sure he was okay.

This was stupid, as Kimmy knew deep down that he wasn't okay and she knew why, it was because he thought Kimmy was going down the same road Max was.

The brunette wasn't as concerned for herself as she was for her friend, her best friend. Kimmy was about blind with worry in regard to Max, not herself.

She didn't want to think about the fact the next day, might be Max's last day with her. In fact she had to force the damaging thoughts from her head just to semi-function.

"Okay, to be honest. Uh..." Steve was the first to speak out of the group for sometime, pacing around the room as he looked down to his own piece of paper with a furrowed expression. "You guys understand any of this?"

"No." Lucas answered instantly in a calm tone.

"None of it." Kimmy agreed in a quiet voice.

"I mean, it's pretty straightforward." Dustin shrugged innocently, the smallest of smiles on his lips as he looked to Steve.

"Oh, straightforward, really?" The older boy scoffed with a roll of his eyes, causing Dustin to semi-glower at his friend.

"Well, what's confusing to you?" Dustin asked with a sigh, gently placing his paper down and leaning back in his seat. "So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse it's him."

"That's assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know." Steve retorted once more, looking down at the paper in his hands as he tried to make sense of it.

Kimmy shifted her gaze to look for Lucas and Aaron's reactions, just to try see what they were thinking. However this went out the window upon catching sight of the blond's face.

He was clearly deep in thought, almost like he was in a daydream. Clearly not paying attention to anything being said in front of him.

The brunette frowned and turned her head away from him.

"How can Vecna have existed in the '50s?" Steve asked confused. "It doesn't make sense."

"I don't know." Kimmy agreed with a tired sigh, looking to the older boy with a hesitant expression. "But, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down - as far as we know. She just opened the gate. God knows how long it's been around for, maybe that's how Vecna was around?"

"Exactly." Dustin surprised the girl by saying confidently. "The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions, even. I wouldn't be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs-"

"Okay, but if a gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through?" Lucas asked Kimmy with a perplexed look, cutting Dustin off in the process.

Kimmy simply sent him a look of great confusion as he shrugged her shoulders, as if to tell him she had no idea.

"And how's he getting through now?" Steve added to his statement smugly.

"And why now?" Lucas elaborated with his brows furrowed.

"And why then?" Steve questioned no one in particular once more, scoffing to himself as he rambled on. "He just kills one family, and is just suddenly all good? And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone? Only to return thirty years later and start killing random teens? Not buying it."

"Yeah," Kimmy hummed softly in agreement, looking to Steve with furrowed brows as the older boy watched her in mild surprise. "I'm not really sold on it all either. It's sketchy."

"Exactly! Straightforward my ass." Steve exclaimed in agreement, motioning to Kimmy frantically in agreement before turning back to face Dustin once more. "Honestly, Henderson, a little humility now and then, it wouldn't hurt you."

"Sorry." The curly haired boy scoffed sarcastically.

With that, the deafening silence followed once again. And once again, Kimmy found herself unable to focus.

Kimmy frowned at the state Aaron was in next to her. He'd shifted positions since she'd last glanced over.

It was like he wasn't even trying to hide his distress anymore, he also wasn't pretending to read his page anymore either.

Instead, he had fully leaned back in his seat on the small couch next to Kimmy, his head tilted up as he stared at the ceiling with a blank expression, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Kimmy wondered what his thoughts were, what exactly he was thinking about in that moment.

It was clearly something that was causing him great distress - most likely Kimmy and what might happen to her.

Kimmy wondered how much times he could overthink the same situation over and over. The brunette supposed it would be until the next day passed without Kimmy seeing any sort of vision, until he was sure she'd be okay.

The girl sighed to herself, glad it would most likely be her to follow the retched fate of Vecna rather than the blond.

He didn't deserve it, in fact Kimmy truly felt he didn't deserve anything but the best. She didn't like to see him upset or worried.

Kimmy decided that it might be best if she downplayed how she felt, just until this moment passed. Just to save the boy some worry.

Just as she looked away from the boy, she caught sight of Max, only worrying her further.

The redhead was sat away from the group, in the far end of the room as she sat at a desk writing frantically while she faced away from the group.

She'd been doing so for numerous hours, in fact, she hadn't sat with the group at all upon arriving at the Wheeler household, even the night prior she hadn't sat with the group. She'd been tucked away in that corner all night and all morning.

Kimmy's frown deepened. She thought about going over to see if her friend was okay, but was conflicted.

If Max had wanted to speak with Kimmy, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to isolate herself that night.

Clearly, there was a lot of things on her mind.

Eventually with internal debate, she stood with much reluctance, ignoring the looks Steve, Lucas and Dustin were clearly sending her.

Obviously Max had wanted to be alone, but Kimmy was beginning to worry. The redhead was evidently able to hear the five talking across the room, and Kimmy feared that the girl would feel isolated or left out - especially under the circumstances.

Kimmy knew that she'd want Max to check on her if it was the other way around, she knew that Max would.

"Hi." Kimmy mumbled somewhat nervously, crouching so they'd be at the same level.

Max turned to Kimmy with a startled expression, but she soon forced a small smile that the brunette soon returned.

"Hi." The redhead muttered, flipping the paper she had been writing on over so the contents were hidden and fully turning to face the girl.

"Did you get much sleep?" Kimmy asked the first question that popped into her head, despite the fact it was rather stupid of her.

"No." Max scoffed, irritation clear as day in her voice, although it was evident that the irritation was not directed at Kimmy. "Not exactly easy to sleep when I know I'll probably die tomorrow-"

"Don't say that." Kimmy stressed in a whisper, shaking her head at her friend. "You'll- Nancy said she and Robin had a plan, they- they'll help you-"

Max looked more than doubtful. "If they can help me. I mean, I saw Chrissy. She was fucked, Kimmy. I don't know if anything Nancy or Robin find could help me, I think it's a lost cause."

Kimmy bit her cheek as she fought back a frown, knowing Max was completely right, there was really nothing that the group could do.

The girl didn't know what to say to comfort her friend, spluttering as she desperately tried to think of something to say.

"You'll be okay." She lied, knowing that Max probably wouldn't be okay, but she didn't want her knowing that. "And, I'll stay with you the entire day, I promise-"

"Okay," the loud voice of Nancy Wheeler cut Kimmy off, the brunette snapping her gaze to the bottom of the stairs as Nancy and Robin climbed down them. "We have a plan."

The two older girls made their way over to the four boys and sat down, anxiously waiting for the two girls to make their way over also so they could explain as quick as possible.

Kimmy sent Max once last attempt at a reassuring smile, however she only received a look of great worry that she'd never seen caress the features of her friend before.

...

Is it bad that I still don't fully know what direction I want to take season 4 in?? Lmao😞😭💖💗💘🙄😂🩷👀🤮

Hope everyone had a great day and is liking the story so far!!!

- AJ :)