☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

°•. ┊ Daylight┊.•°
✧ ˚ ━ i understand, act three

CHAPTER SEVEN — dear billy

✧

Robin and Nancy arrive a few moments after Max awakens from the trance. She starts explaining what happened and what she saw. After watching Fred die because of this curse, I can't fathom Max having to go through any of it. And if she dies...no. I shake the thoughts from my head and roll my shoulders backwards. Thinking like that will only make things worse. We're in the hall, staring at the place Max saw this clock. "It was here. Right here."

"A grandfather clock?" Nance questions.

"It was so real." Her voice wavers. "And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just...I woke up."

"It was like she was in a trance or something." Dustin states, looking at his sister. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy." Max turns around, her eyes glossy.

"That's not even the bad part." She states, leading the rest of us back into the guidance office. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then...then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. Then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. These visions, they just...they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually...everything ended." Headaches, nightmares, cold sweat, the past coming back to haunt you...I haven't seen anything and it could simply be coincidental, but it sounds all too familiar.

"Vecna's curse." Robin breathes, looking up at my sister.

"Guys, Delilah and Max already know this, but I need to come clean. Cause now I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a dream." I stare between all of them and explain the entire experience. By the end of it, my hands are shaking uncontrollably and I feel extremely lightheaded. A pair of hands find themselves in mine and I look up, locking eyes with Steve, who's giving me a reassuring smile. He's so goddamn frustrating. I mean, he makes googly eyes at Nance, and now he's being too friendly with me. God, sometimes I really just want to punch him in his stupid face. "I'm not sure what it means or why I was able to see it. But if Max is cursed and supposed to be the next one to go, then I wasn't there because I'm next. Which means that I have no fucking clue as to why I was able to see it. My abilities are a mystery to me and the only one who could give me any information, is dead. So, if I could be any more useful to us, then we'll never know. I'm just the female Human Torch and that's all I will ever be. And that isn't going to help save Max."

"Female Human Torch, that's a good one." Dustin remarks, which causes Robin to elbow him in his side. "What? I just never realized that she- I'll shut up." Thankfully, Max changes the subject. Although, this topic isn't much better.

"Chrissy's headache started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago." Max pauses, her eyes locking with mine. "I've been having them for five days. I don't know how long I have. 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...looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow." No. Absolutely not. I don't accept that. My hand finds Steve's once more, needing some form of peace. A loud noise from the hallway grabs our attention. Son of a bitch.

"Stay here." Harrington orders, grabbing a lamp and exiting the room. Yeah, not happening. I follow him closely, while the others are behind me. Lila and Robin each have a hand on my shoulder, hiding behind me. Footsteps can be heard and pretty soon, two figures round the corner. Steve raises his 'weapon' in the air and then proceeds to scream like a girl. My hero.

"It's me!" Lucas yells.

"Lucas? Griffin?" I question.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you, Sinclair?" Steve shouts, clearly startled. The younger boy apologizes. "I could've taken you out with this lamp!"

"Sorry, guys. Sorry. I was... I was biking for eight miles. Give me a second. Shit." Sinclair says, while both boys pant like dogs. "We've got a code red."

"What?" Steve asks, everyone unamused with the pair and their antics. Lucas approaches the Henderson boy, while Griffin comes over to Lila and I. I give him a confused look, to which he responds by shrugging. Then bending over to continue catching his breath.

"Dustin." Sinclair starts. "We'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 terrible danger."

"All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason now." Henderson responds, turning to look at Max, Lucas's eyes following his. We all decide to hold up in the Wheeler basement for the night and indefinitely. Robin offers to call Sarah and fill her in on today's escapades and I tell her to go for it. After a while, everyone starts to fall asleep in various places, except for Max. She's sitting at the desk in the back corner, writing. And I have a pretty good idea of what she's writing. Mainly because I would be doing the same exact thing.

I quietly get up from my place on the floor and walk outside, look up at the sky, as I take a few deep breaths. I can't shake the pit in my stomach. And it grows with every moment that Max is cursed. I'm so consumed by my own thoughts that I don't hear the door open and close from behind me. A hand on my shoulder causes me to jump and spin towards the person. "Jesus christ, Steve. You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry. Uh, are you...okay?"

"Yeah. No. Maybe?" I mutter, while walking towards the concrete drive. "I don't know. I have a really terrible feeling about all of this. It's not just fear of losing my sister...it's fear of losing everyone. I don't see an ending where we win. Whether we defeat Vecna or not; we're still gonna lose." I've planted myself against the side of his car and I'm kicking at pebbles near my feet.

"You can't think like that." He says, moving to stand in front of me and taking my hands in his. "We always win. Have a little faith. Everyone is gonna be fine."

"We just don't know that, do we?" I question, rhetorically. "I'm just saying that we can't go into this with some half-assed plan. It has to be thought out and timed to the second. No matter where or when we kick his ass. Vecna is no Demo-Dog." He gives me a small smile, before a comfortable silence falls over us. My eyes return to the stars and yet my hands stay in his. What the hell are we doing? I find myself looking at the Harrington boy once more, only to find him already staring at me. "It's rude to stare, Harrington." I tease expecting some witty remark in return, but he doesn't say anything. He just smiles at me. "What's this-what's this look on your face? It's strange."

"I know that Robin's my best friend, but you're right up there." He breathes, dropping his head and focusing on our connected hands. "Even now, I still feel like I can tell you anything. I don't know, it's just something I was thinking about."

"That was all you were thinking about?" I ask the question, knowing that whatever follows is going to lead down a dangerous road. Steve's eyes meet mine again and the emotion they hold is different...hard to place. He furrows his brows and shakes his head slightly, taking a step forward. He releases my hands and wraps his index fingers around two of my belt loops, pulling me into him. We remain like that for what feels like forever and I let out a huff. "Jesus, Harrington. Just do something already."

"You asked for it." He whispers, smirking and roughly placing his lips to mine. I kiss back instantly and my hands find their way to his hair, pulling at it softly. I hear him remove his keys from his back pocket and he unlocks the back door. His hand on my lower back, he pulls me away from the car, and opens the door, laying me down on the seat.

The next morning, I wake up and find myself curled up with Steve in the backseat of his car. Not just an extremely vivid dream. Shit. I sit up and locate my shirt in the front seat, pulling it over my head. I look between the sleeping boy and the stereo, getting an idea. I grab his jeans from the floor and pull out his keys, turning on the ignition, checking to make sure he's still sound asleep. I flip through his cassettes, finding the mixtape I made him, knowing that the first song on it will be sure to wake him up. I pop it into the stereo, turn the volume up, and press play. 'Carry On Wayward Son' by Kansas starts blaring through the speakers and the Harrington boy jumps up. "Rise and shine, Stevie."

"You're an asshole." He groans, sitting up, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I smile at him, before chucking his jeans at his head. I move into the passenger seat, pulling my own pants over my legs. "So, what does this mean, exactly?"

"Nothing. It's just a small backslide. One that we are never gonna talk about."

"Oh, so how you like to handle most things? Got it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I question, adjusting my body to face him.

"Nothing. It means nothing, Sam." He huffs, exiting the vehicle. I debate pushing him to actually answer my question, but I side against it. I'm not sure I want to hear what he has to say. Not right now. I follow his actions, running my fingers through my hair as I do so, to smooth it out. I enter the basement, finding all except Max, Steve, and unfortunately, Griffin, asleep. I'm never going to hear the end of this. Max asks us what we were doing out there all night. Griffin quietly laughs to himself, while Steve and I share a few glances. "We, uh, fell asleep outside after talking. The fresh air was really nice. The stars were soothing and pretty. Uh, we should wake them up." By now, Griff is losing his shit and I grab a throw pillow and do just that; throw it and whack him right in the face. We wake up everyone else and Nance immediately disappears with Robin to do something. An unlikely, yet oddly perfect friendship. While they're off doing god only knows what, the rest of us are reading up on Victor Creel and his family.

"Okay, be honest. Uh...you guys understand any of this?" Steve asks, as he continues pacing around the room, which he's been doing for the past forty-five minutes.

"No." Lucas and Griffin reply simultaneously. Of course, Dustin understands it and they start bickering once again.

"Oh, straightforward, really?"

"What's confusing to you?" Henderson asks the older boy, hoping to relieve some of his confusion. "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."

"Yeah, that's assuming he was cursed, Henderson. Which we don't even know. How can Vecna have existed in the '50s? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, as far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She just opened a gate to it." I argue, looking up at him.

"Exactly." Dustin agrees. "The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. 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 questions, looking at Henderson.

"And how is he getting through now?" Griffin adds.

"And why now?" Lila offers another question to ponder.

"And why then? Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family, and he's like, "I'm good." And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone? Only to return 30 years later and start killing some random teens? No, I don't buy it." Harrington sighs, his eyes focused on the article. "Straightforward, my ass. Honestly, Henderson, a little humility now and then, it wouldn't hurt you." Dustin apologizes and the conversation dies out, the attention being turned to Max, who is still writing in the corner. Griffin asks if she's slept at all.

"I mean, would you?" Sinclair argues. The main door opens and down comes Robin and Nancy, as the latter of the two announces that they've come up with a plan. We gather around and the pair hand Steve and Dustin each a file.

"Thanks to Nancy's minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin starts. Apparently their aliases are Ruth and Rose. These two going off on their own isn't going to fly with Harrington. I know it.

"Ruth?" Steve asks, looking at the Wheeler girl. Henderson compliments her GPA. Now, I have a right to be peeved. He screws me in the backseat of a car and now he's looking at her like she walks on fucking water. And yes, I realize how hypocritical I sound because I said that it meant nothing. But of course it meant something. We just don't need to deal with complex relationship issues on top of Vecna and his curse. The girls explain how they called the asylum, and asked to speak with Creel, but were shot down. Thankfully, they did manage to get an appointment with the director.

"Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor."

"Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." Nance finishes, her eyes traveling to the young redhead.

"Yeah, about that." Steve starts "We've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh...we got some questions."

"Lots of questions." Sinclair adds, handing a file to Steve.

"So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers." Nancy responds.

"Wait... Wait... Wait a second. Uh...Where's mine?" Steve asks. Here we go. The brunette heads upstairs with Nancy and Robin, while the rest of us remain in the basement. Henderson and Sinclair are discussing Max and Victory Creel, while I'm putting my hair into braids, just to get it out of my face.

"Are we gonna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" I turn to the blonde boy.

"What you and Pretty Boy were actually doing out there all night." Griffin responds.

"Awe, are you jealous? Are you mad that Pretty Boy, as you referred to him, didn't screw you in the backseat of his car?" I tease him, but what I fail to notice is Delilah approaching the two of us.

"What?" Lila exclaims, rather loudly. I shush her, glancing at the younger teens.

"You're a little loud."

"Well, you're kind of frustrating." She argues. "Sam, you told Griffin before you told me?"

"I didn't tell him anything. Anyone with common sense, which I was unaware Griff had, would've picked up on it." I huff, running a hand through my hair. "It doesn't matter anyways. He's confused. And I- we have much bigger things to worry about than anyone's love life." Steve is the first of the trio to return to the basement and he doesn't look too pleased. We all occupy ourselves with various conversations, until the two girls return once more. A laugh escapes my lips, as I take in Robbie's attire.

"Shut up, Sam." She scolds me. Lila compliments her, which seems to aleve some of the Buckley girls uncomfortability.

"Okay, while Robin and I are at Pennhurst, I think a couple of you should check on Eddie. I doubt he'll be entirely safe out there, especially with Jason and his friends hunting for him." Nance suggests. "And seeing as Max is Sam's sister, I assume she isn't going anywhere. So, Griffin, Delilah, we'll drop you off to keep him company and watch out for him." The four of them head out, leaving Steve and I to watch out for the rugrats. This won't be awkward at all. I spend a little while secretly taking a page out of my sister's book. They're all so busy staring at Max, that no one questions my actions. Look, if Vecna wants to come after my family, he's gonna have to go through me. I have a better chance at defeating him than anyone else here and I won't lose my sister. I won't lose anyone else. And if anyone has to die this time around; it's going to be me. I assume she's finished her letters because she finally calls them out on their staring problems.

"I know you guys are staring at me." Max states, causing the boys to quickly avert their eyes and deny her accusation. "How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." She rises to her feet and I drop my notebook back into my bag, as she walks over to us. Max informs them that they can look at her and the boys lift their heads, whilst apologizing to her. Max goes around handing each of us an envelope. Steve and Dustin start to open their letters, until she stops them. "What are you doing? No, don't. That's not for now. Don't open it now."

"I'm sorry. What is this?" Henderson questions.

"It's, um...it's a fail-safe." Max pauses, looking down. "For after. If things don't work out." Lucas tries to comfort her, but she cuts him off. "No! No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out. People have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true."

"Max-" I breathe, but she interjects.

"Sam, it's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming." My sister walks over to the table, picking up Henderson's walkie. "If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?" Dustin assures her that it will.

"Wait, why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve asks, looking around at the younger teens. "No. No. No!" His immediate protests of her plan to leave the Wheeler home go unnoticed, as everyone else starts to pack up. He continues to verbalize his disapproval of the idea, even as we all exit the building and walk to his car. "Max, Max. Seriously. Seriously, I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere."

"If you think I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler's basement, you're out of your mind. Either take me where I need to go or tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute." My sister turns to look at him, while attempting to open the car door. "Open the door."

"Uh, no." Steve says.

"I know a good lawyer." Max argues. He looks over at me and I shrug. Fighting with her isn't going to stop change her mind, so what's the point?

"Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst." Steve warns, as he unlocks the car and we all pile in for what would be a very quiet drive. Max directs Steve back to the trailer park and when we pull up, he tells her that she's got 20 seconds to do whatever she has to. The rest of us wait in the car, when Steve turns to Henderson. "That thing's got batteries in it, right?"

"I'm not even answering that question." Dustin huffs. "Yes, it has batteries." Like I said, an old married couple. No one really has anything to say. With Max's impending doom looming over everyone, what is there to say? When my sister returns, it's much later than it should've been and she's clearly shaken. Steve begins to scold her for her lack of time management, until he realizes something's wrong. We all ask her if she's okay, but she just brushes us off and insists we leave. Another silent car ride, only this time a lot more concerning. We pull into the cemetery and pull up towards the plot where Billy is buried. I'm officially worried. My sister tells us to stay here, but Lucas follows her out.

"Are you okay with this? Cause I am not okay with this." Harrington huffs, running a hand over his face.

"We can't exactly argue with her." I breathe, turning to look at him. "If Robin and Nancy can't find anything. If we don't figure this out...Max dies. You can't argue with a fifteen year old who's running out of time."

We all start wandering around the vehicle, unable to sit still. Harrington gets impatient and starts walking up the hill to get her. Lucas argues with his actions. "I have, all right, Sinclair? I'm calling it. If she wants to get a lawyer, she can." After a moment, I notice him start to shake her. He seems to be extremely distressed. I round the car and take a few steps up the grassy mound.

"Something's wrong." Lucas says, the pair of boys rising.

"Max! Guys! Come on, wake up!" Steve calls out and we all run as fast as we can towards the two of them. With all four of us in a manic state, we're shaking her and calling her name continuously, but it doesn't do anything. Call Nancy and Robin! Go get 'em! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!" As Dustin nearly tumbles down the hill to get into contact with the girls, the rest of us try and fail to help Max. As I stare at my sister in this trance-like state, I think back to my vision. I was there when he killed Fred. I may not know or understand my connection to Vecna, but maybe I can use it. I can use the connection to bring me into Max's mind and distract him long enough for Max to get out. I take a breath, centering myself, closing my eyes, and I have a feeling that focusing on the strongest memory, my favorite memory with Max will be able to get me in there. "Sam. What the hell are you doing?"

"Shh." I whisper in response. He asks me the same question. "Shut the hell up, Steve. I'm trying something." After that it feels as though the world goes silent. I open my eyes and find myself in the graveyard, only it's dark and everyone else is gone. I rise to my feet and spin around, looking for any sign of my sister. "Max! Max, where are you?"

"You shouldn't be here, Sam." A deep and unfamiliar voice surrounds me. And I book it in a random direction, attempting to put as much distance between him and I as possible. I continue to check over my shoulder, looking for any sign of him. As I keep running forward, I end up in Freddy Krueger's wet dream. The ambience shifts from blue to red. I see two figures and make a beeline for them. "Max!"

"Sammy! Help!"

"Get the hell away from my sister, you freak!" I shout, starting to form a flame in my hands, but it fails. I try it a few more times and when it doesn't work, I choose good old fashioned brute force and charge at him. I'm stopped and lifted in the air, as he uses his mind to choke the life out of me. 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush starts blaring all around us and something in my peripherals catches my eye. It looks like a portal and I can see our friends, myself, and Max, floating in the air. "Max, you have to fight it. Run. Hold onto them. Hold onto us. We love you. I love you. And I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you. But right now, you have to believe in yourself. Believe that you're strong enough to win. Believe that you're loved." With Vecna's focus on me, the vines start to release her, and she starts to run towards them, but pauses.

"What about you?"

"I-" His telekinetic grip on my throat tightens. "I got myself in here, I can get out. Now, go! Run!" She takes off and the creature drops me. Various things get thrown at my sister, as she makes her way towards our friends. When she's gone, I realize that I didn't exactly have an escape plan. Thankfully, I'm booted back to my body and am waking up in a panic. I guess, since I was in Max's mind, when she left, it forced me out as well. I feel light-headed and dizzy, despite my criss-cross position, I lose balance. My body becomes too heavy and I lean into someone on my right. "Max. Is she-"

"She's fine. She's right there." Steve assures me, his arms wrapped securely around my body. I open my eyes and dive for her, the two of us holding each other in a bone crushing hug. "You're both okay. We're all okay."

[word count: 4267]

lexi's letters; a late update + one hell of a chapter