CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
BROWN ENVELOPES

The group of six were sat together once again numerous hours later, listening not so patiently to Nancy and Robin's plan that had been spun up no more than four hours ago.

With all due respect, Aaron wasn't exactly paying attention to what the two girls had to say. In fact he was having to force himself to listen to their plan, knowing the group had to do something to help Max.

He was stuck in some sort of twisted daydream, beyond paranoid about what that very day would bring him.

Like usual, and without much thought, his gaze landed on the tired looking brunette sat next to him. Catching her forcing herself to listen to what Nancy was talking about all the same as he was. A ghost of a frown on her lips with her face void of any expression.

Although, Aaron guessed that she was feeling so much emotion, that her mind didn't know what one to show.

Aaron could have written a ten page essay on how much better Kimmy deserved than the life she had been given.

It seemed whenever something positive happened to her and she took a few steps in the right direction, something horrendously painful and unfair would plant itself smack bang in the middle of her life and would send her back for miles.

And it annoyed the life out of him.

Snapping his green eyes off of the girl, Aaron forced himself to listen to what Robin had to say. Simply unable to find a reaction within him at the wide eyed look on the older girls face.

The older girl was talking at an alarming rate, words falling out of her mouth so fast that Aaron was surprised she knew what she was talking about. And truth be told, he was already a little lost.

"Thanks to Nancy's newspaper minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin shrugged excitedly, passing the book she was clutching over to Steve so he could get a look at it.

Aaron had to stop the confusion showing on his face, knowing it was his own fault that he was slightly perplexed on what she'd meant.

"I'm now Ruth." Nancy added with a shrug. "And she is now Rose."

"Ruth?" Steve scoffed in disapproval, causing Nancy to send him a grin in return.

However before the girl could retaliate with her own teasing remark, Dustin was speaking up in an impressed murmur.

"Nice GPA." The boy hummed, glancing up from Nancy's book which matched Robin's one which Steve still had ahold of.

"Thanks." Nancy smiled proudly.

Aaron was exhausted. And if he were to be completely honest, unless Nancy and Robin actually had some point to all this sudden identity theft, he wasn't interested.

The blond was fighting to keep both his focus as well as keeping his eyes open.

He hadn't had the chance to ask Kimmy about how she was feeling since she'd woken up, having not been alone with her. Aaron supposed he could have asked her, but he hadn't wanted to drag the attention of the others, not wanting them to know her business.

Because of this, stress was eating away at him.

What if she had gotten worse?

What if she'd already seen something?

What if she-

"So, we called Pennhurst Asylum, and told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics." Nancy shrugged as if it were no big deal, breaking the boy from his thoughts.

Victor Creel  - the man who Nancy and Robin believed had been one of, if not the first victim of Vecna.

Apparently the guy was completely mental, or he was in Aaron's eyes. The blond wasn't so sure that everyone in the history of brutal murders had died at the hands of Vecna. Some? Sure. But Aaron was leaning more towards the side that the guy was just crazy and lost it on his family one night.

"To which they said no." Robin sighed after Nancy had finished speaking.

"But we landed a three o'clock with the director." Nancy rushed to add.

"All we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor." Robin grinned as if the entire thing was no big deal. "Then maybe we can... rid Max of this... curse-"

"You plan to just... stroll into an asylum and talk to one of the most fucked up guys of like... all time?" Aaron spoke up in a somewhat irked tone without thinking, unable to stop himself once he'd started.

The blond was already in a bad mood in regard to his what his girlfriend was potentially dealing with, and with all the stress rushing through him, it was like anything and everything was annoying him.

"Calm down." Steve scolded in an irritated murmur.

The boy clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at his older brother, internally debating with himself as he did his best to keep his cool.

Aaron wasn't acting like himself, he knew he wasn't. He was acting like a complete ass.

But when currently fuelled purely by stress and worry, it was a little hard not to.

"I am calm." Aaron lied, his voice raising with each word spoken. "I just also happen to be the only person speaking any sense. They can't just go talking to-"

"Oh, bullshit." The older boy scoffed.

Aaron took a breath in attempt to calm himself, although this failed.

The blond was pissed. Steve knew why Aaron was a little on edge and still he was teasing and pushing him. Leaving Aaron the furthest from impressed.

Just as Aaron decided he would leave the matter alone and ignore his brother, Steve grinned triumphantly at his younger brother, causing the blond to lose all his cool once more.

However just as the boy went to snap at his brother, a voice cut him off.

"I-"

"Leave it." Kimmy interrupted the blond with a firm tone before he even had a chance to start.

Snapping his attention onto the girl next to him, he began panicking that he'd upset her in some way.

Luckily, before unnecessary apologies could tumble past his lips, she spoke up once more, and he had the sense to realise it had been Steve her attention was focused on, not himself.

"Leave him." Kimmy shook her head at the older boy who looked to her in a mix of offence and surprise. "Robin was in the middle of talking."

Aaron looked to the brunette with slightly wide eyes, startled by her unusual short temper. Actually, Aaron didn't know what to call it. She hadn't lost her temper, he didn't know what she was doing or what was going through her head, but he knew whatever had been bothering her yesterday was clearly beginning to stress her out - just as it was to Aaron.

"Exactly, Kimmy." The blond added fuel to the fire by saying, nodding at his girlfriend in approval before sending his brother an almost smug look.

"Yeah, well, anyway, I've been doing my Victor Creel homework," Steve spoke up to Nancy before things could escalate and the two brother would bicker once more. "And- wait, wait, hold on, where's my fake name?"

Nancy sent him an almost apologetic look that Steve understood instantly, the older boy pissed off once more. Although unlike with Aaron, the boy was now seemingly seriously furious.

"Nance- no, no! I am not babysitting again!" The older boy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Yeah, because we're so thrilled about it." Aaron scoffed with a roll of his eyes, motioning to himself and his friends. "I'm fifteen years old-"

"They aren't babies, and Max is in serious danger." Nancy explained, ignoring the blond boy as she began to gather her things.

"No, this is bullshit!" Steve continued to complain, standing when Nancy and Robin did. "Why can't I come with you guys?"

Nancy motioned for Robin to follow her and the two began climbing the stairs out of the basement. "We already have a plan."

Despite being unwanted in the particular scenario, Steve trailed behind the two girls out of the basement with a string of complaints, leaving the 'babies' he was supposed to be babysitting alone once more.

...

An hour later and Steve had yet to make a return, Kimmy figured he was still attempting to negotiate his way into Robin and Nancy's plans.

This wasn't a huge concern to the brunette, in fact it wasn't a concern to her at all. The only thing she could find herself focusing on was both her best friend and her own situations in the ties she could make with herself and Vecna.

Admittedly, her concern was mostly surrounding Max.

However she couldn't deny the fact she felt a million times worse that morning, her headache thumping painfully in a way it hadn't days prior.

Rather stupidly so, she was still clutching onto hope that she was just sick and that she'd actually make it through the next few days.

Of course she hadn't told Aaron this, not wanting him to worry too much.

So there she sat on the couch in Mike's basement staring at the back of her best friend's head as she tried to push down the pain shooting through her.

She sat like that for a long time, stuck in a pointless daydream as she tried to think away her pain.

It was only when the boy next to her shifted against her side that she actually shifted her gaze and snapped out of her trance.

Well, apparently Aaron was in a daze also. The blond biting the inside of his cheek roughly as he gazed at his shoes.

Kimmy frowned at him, knowing it was most likely her that had him spiralling.

With that said, she did her best to push down her pain and shifted closer to him, forcing a smile as she patted his leg to draw his attention.

Startled, he turned to face her, face flushed with worry.

"You okay?" He rushed to ask, clearly seeing straight through her forced smile.

"Fine." She lied with a nod, ignoring the shooting pain pulsing through her.

She'd replied quickly - too quickly. Luckily however, Aaron didn't comment on it, despite knowing he'd noticed.

"Do you think Max will be okay?" He asked in a hushed voice, although Kimmy could tell he instantly regretted the question.

"Sorry." Aaron blurted out in a panic not even a second later. "Ignore that."

Kimmy turned to face him only to find the boy shaking his head at himself while tilting his head up at the ceiling, murmuring to himself while placing his hands over his eyes.

Despite the circumstances, Kimmy cracked a grin at his reaction. The boy always managed to cheer her up one way or another, whether he knew it or not.

The green eyed blond turned to her with his features blown wide with perplexity. Looking slightly terrified at the sight of her smile in that particular moment.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked somewhat cautiously. "Why are you smiling?"

Kimmy's grin only widened. "Am I not allowed to?"

Aaron looked to her blankly, as if trying to figure out what she was up to, what she was feeling and how he was supposed to react all within a matter of seconds.

"I guess." Aaron hummed with a shrug.

He continued to watch her a moment longer, as if to try read her. However the look he was sending her as he did this only caused the girl to snicker silently at him.

Within a matter of seconds, Aaron's facade slipped. With his eyes softening and the way a smile cracked out against his own lips, Kimmy could tell he'd momentarily forgotten about their troubles, just liked she'd hoped.

The two needed a distraction, even if it only be for a moment or two.

Leaning forward ever so slightly, Aaron reached out his pointer finger and poked just below her lip on the left side. Snickering, Aaron scrunched his face slightly before shifting away once more with a shrug.

"You get a dimple when you smile like that. Did you know that?" Aaron asked her before she had a chance to question his antics, referencing where he had just poked. "Right there, on the left side, just under your lip."

Kimmy blinked in surprise, not knowing what to say. No, was the simple and boring answer that her mind supplied her with - she hadn't known that.

Although that maybe wasn't completely outof the ordinary, considering she never usually saw herself smile, or not in the way Aaron was referencing anyway.

"Really?" She simply asked, unsure why she was so flustered over something so minor.

"Yeah." Aaron shrugged without missing a beat, an odd sort of look on his face that had the brunette inwardly panicking for no particular reason.

Kimmy hummed in response, not entirely sure what to say.

"I'd never noticed before." She told him after a moment silence, fighting the blush that wished to flush her cheeks.

Aaron scrunched his nose at her and she could have sworn his gaze softened the slightest bit. His expression changed, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Whatever thought had occurred to him, it had clearly sent him into yet another spiral of stress.

It was as if something had dawned on him then, perhaps something small, perhaps something big, Kimmy couldn't tell. But whatever it was, it had thrown him.

"Yeah," he breathed out somewhat anxiously. "Me either."

There was evident tension between the two of them, and Kimmy wasn't sure how to fix it despite knowing she'd caused it.

No, it wasn't necessarily bad, but it was clear the two of them were thinking far too much about what each of them should say to the other. As if the other was fragile and would break with the slightest of missteps.

Aaron was clearly stressed out of his mind about her, and in some sort of weird way, it made Kimmy feel horrible.

It made her feel awkward, and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

She hoped the two of them could push this aside for the rest of the day, Kimmy knew it would be the last day of normal for quite some time no matter how they handled it.

Whether Kimmy was doomed or no, Max was. And Kimmy knew herself she'd be distraught if the group were right and she followed in Chrossy's haunted footsteps.

On instinct, she turned her gaze onto her friend who sat with her back to the group, frowning as she allowed her mind to spiral with possibilities.

As horrible as it sounded, Kimmy was worried how she would react to the death of her friend.

She'd never dealt with such grief before, and she didn't know how she'd react. Sure, she could guess, but she didn't know. 

Kimmy had seen what Max had gone through when Billy died, she'd pushed everyone away - even Lucas.

In fact, Kimmy didn't even know if the two of them were back talking even yet.

What if she did that to Aaron? What if he got freaked out from all her heartbreak and emotions and it caused an unrepairable fracture between the two of them? What if she ruined her chance of a better life before it even started?

The thought made her nauseous.

All she knew was that she hoped Nancy and Robin knew what they were doing, because she didn't know what she'd do without her redheaded friend.

"I know you guys are staring at me."

Max's voice had Kimmy flinching in surprise, just as everyone else had.

Kimmy cleared her throat awkwardly, and adverted her gaze to look around the room hopelessly, bringing her fingers to her mouth and biting her nails anxiously.

Meanwhile, Aaron flinched also. Shifting closer to the girl and adjusting himself next to her as to look busy. Placing his arm around her shoulders and looking down to her in a panicked movement in hopes to look like that's what he'd been doing the entire time.

"What- sorry?" Lucas panicked, shifting in his spot next to Aaron. "You said you needed something?"

If the circumstances had been different, the brunette would have cracked a smile at his flustered blunder.

Max scoffed at his words, turning in her seat to face the group. Unlike predicted, she didn't look angry, she didn't look sad - just tired. Like she was already sick of fighting for herself before she'd even started.

"How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna? I don't know." She rolled her eyes at the group.

Before anyone had the chance to as much as process her string of mumbles, the girl was standing, clutching tightly onto something in her hands as she made her way over to the group for the first time that night.

Kimmy watched as her friend sighed, keeping her gaze to the floor as she walked. Max went to say something but stopped herself with an irked expression upon glancing at the four boys Kimmy sat with.

"You can look at me now." Max said bluntly.

The four seemed to sigh out of a mix of relief and nosiness as they glanced up at her, a string of exclamations leaving them all at once.

"Thank you."

"Sorry."

"Right."

"Okay."

Kimmy rolled her eyes at the four of them, looking to Max and sending her an encouraging nod to say whatever it was she had to say. To let her know she was listening.

Max nodded back at her and took a deep breath, going to try speak up once more.

Although just as she went to say something, she was cut short once more. Though not by any of her friends but rather herself.

Spinning on her heel, she walked up to Kimmy and offered her a tight smile, holding a brown envelope out for her to take.

Max cleared her throat awkwardly as Kimmy reluctantly reached out to take it, pursing her lips as she watched the brunette in an almost cautious manner.

Kimmy glanced at the envelope for no more than a second before adverting her attention back onto her friend stood before her with a puzzled expression, however Max had already began moving down the line. Handing Aaron, Lucas, Dustin and Steve all envelopes that matched her own.

"Oh, and, um, give these to Mike, El and Will." Max told Kimmy in a shaky voice while making her way back over to the brunette. Practically shoving the three extra envelopes in Kimmy's lap as she avoided her eyes. "If you can ever get ahold of them again."

A surge of tormenting emotions washed over Kimmy then as she realised just what was in the contents of her envelope.

A letter, that much was obvious. But seemingly unlike the rest of her friends, Kimmy had a good idea as to what type of letter. Most likely one following the themes of the one she'd written to Aaron several months ago.

"What are you doing?" Max demanded in a startled tone, rushing over to Steve and Dustin frantically. "No, don't! That's not for now. Do not open it now."

"Don't- okay." Dustin replied in a murmur as he awkwardly closed his envelope once more. "I'm sorry, what is this for?"

Max didn't want to answer him. Kimmy could tell by the way she was suddenly carrying herself.

Her face had dropped and she suddenly had a look of worry on her features that she desperately tried to hide.

"It's a fail safe." Max reluctantly explained herself, doing anything she could to avoid Dustin's gaze. "For after. If... if things don't work out."

Kimmy's frown deepened and she glanced away from the girl, not wanting to let her emotions regarding the girl get the better of her and work Max up anymore than she clearly already was.

"Wait, whoa." Lucas jumped in before anyone else could get a word in, sounding appalled and frantic at her assumption for the days to come. "Max, things are gonna work out-"

"No!" Max interrupted in a raised yet shaky voice that threatened to crack. "No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out. People have told me that my entire life, and it's never true. It's never true-" the girl paused to scoff, allowing her emotions and fears get the better of her. "I mean, of course - of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming-"

Stopping herself before she got carried away, Max shook her head and turned away from the group. Walking over to the other end of the room to the desk she'd been hunched over writing at all night.

"If we go to East Hawkins will this reach Pennhurst?" She asked in a blunt tone, holding up Dustin's walkie so he could see.

"Of course." The boy nodded instantly. "Yeah."

"Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve asked bluntly, looking lost.

Truth be told, it took it took Kimmy longer than usual to understand what Max had been implying, but once she caught on she nodded at her friend as encouragingly as she could.

"If we go now we could get back here before Nancy and Robin do." Kimmy told Max as she walked up to where she was stood.

That was the most relieved that Kimmy had ever seen Max, glad that someone had known what she was talking about without having to outwardly say it. Saving her all the looks of pity and sympathy that she so desperately hated.

"Yeah-"

"What- go where?" Aaron asked curiously from his spot on the couch, messing around with the corner of his envelope.

Kimmy turned to him with a wide eyed look, pathetically trying to tell him Max was asking the group to take her to the cemetery where her brother rested without actually saying the words.

Aaron clearly had no clue what she was trying to do.

"What-"

"No, no, no, no!" Steve exclaimed, he too standing as he waved his hands in protest. "Max, no."

The redhead seemed to hesitate, shifting her gaze to look at Kimmy to see what she thought about it all.

Yes, Max really shouldn't have left the Wheeler basement in fear something happened to her, but it was for good cause.

If Max wanted to go say goodbye to her brother for the last time, who were they to stop her?

So, Kimmy nodded at her and sent her a small watery smile that she tried to disguise as positive.

With that, Max turned and headed for the stairs, Steve quickly behind her as the climbed the old stairs two at a time while complaining loudly.

"What- where is she going?" Aaron asked Kimmy in a lost voice as Dustin and Lucas pushed past him to climb the stairs themselves.

Kimmy reached out to grab his hand, tugging him behind her as they climbed the stairs. "To see Billy."

...

SO SO SORRY long time no see, I know!! But I've had so much on these past two weeks it's been super stressful and I haven't had much time to write I'm so sorry!! I'm trying to write as much as possible but it is difficult to juggle everything right now!! Hopefully things smooth out soon and I can get back to more frequent updates.

ALSO I got a message from wattpad saying that this story has been nominated for some sort of thing I'm not really sure but let me know if you think I should accept it and enter lol.

Thank you so much for all the support!!! I appreciate every follow, read, vote and comment!!

Also I know that some people find comments annoying but I love reading them all so please don't be shy commenting your opinions and thoughts lmao!!!

Thanks again for all the support on this story, it means so so much to me!!

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Hope everyone had a great day!!!

- AJ :)