(Ep. 4: Dear Billy)

It's been a few minutes since Max headed into her trailer and all Gwen could do was just hold the letter she gave her. She's tempted to open it and ignore Max's orders, but she's afraid to even read it, because that would mean accepting that things could actually go wrong. If she reads it, it would make it more real, more terrifying, and more unbearable, so with reluctance, Gwen places the letter inside her bag and prays she'll never have to read it. 

"You okay?" Steve places his hand on top of hers, his voice low enough so that only she can hear. He quickly peers inside the car and checks on Lucas and Dustin, relaxing when seeing them conversing with each other and are perfectly fine.

Having seen the clock before Max did, Gwen wonders if there's the slightest chance that it's her that dies today instead. A part of her wants to tell him, but the broken part demands her to stay silent. If she's the one that dies, it means giving the others more time to find a way to rid Max of the curse. If she mentions anything, she's certain Steve would focus on her instead, and that's something she's unwilling to let happen.

"Are you okay?" Gwen sends the question back to him from already knowing Steve refuses to open up about his feelings since he prefers to ignore them and not work them out.

Steve takes a shaky breath as his shoulders visibly tense. There's a noticeable shift in his mood based on the way his hands have clenched and the way his eyes have lost their charming sparkle.

"Hey," she gently turns his face so he'd look at her, her heart shattering when seeing fear gathered in his brown eyes. "Everything is going to be okay. Nothing will happen to us, alright?"

"I don't know," his voice breaks and his eyes close to try and prevent letting her see into him. "I'm just- I'm scared to lose any of them. I'm scared to lose you."

Guilt overcomes her at the fact that she's not being honest or even caring for her life. She's refusing to let him know that she's cursed when he's afraid of losing her. How can she tell him now? How can she break his heart even more?

Swallowing her feelings, she chooses to focus on finding the last bit of optimism left in her. Even if she might not believe herself, she'll make sure he does. "Listen to me, you are not going to lose me, okay?"

Steve stares at her, his heart overflowing with intense fondness and love. Just staring into those bright blue eyes resembling the beauty of the ocean waves brings an undeniable sense of comfort as he chooses to believe her. He knows that if she were cursed, she wouldn't stay back and let this monster take her life. She would do everything to survive, because she's a fighter and the strongest person he knows, so with a massive amount of trust, he takes her word.

He raises his hand and pulls out his pinky, smiling when she also does as they remember the way they made promises before. "Is that a promise?"

Gwen tries her hardest not to burst into tears. She doesn't want to make a promise that she's not sure she's going to keep. All she wants is for Max to be safe and telling the truth would take all the attention away from her because she knows Steve. Even if he cares for Max, it's not in his nature to let her go that easily. But even if she doesn't believe herself and is doubtful, she interlocks her pinky with his, "It's a promise."

Steve's heart races a thousand miles a minute. Holding her hand, having her this close to him, and enjoying the silence of their companionship makes it feel like the olden days. As if no time has passed between them and they were back to being Gwen and Steve.

His eyes drop down to her lips, those beautiful and desirable ones that he's been dreaming of since forever. Slowly, he takes a step closer and closes his eyes, nearly meeting his lips with hers, only that's when they're interrupted when Max returns with a panicked look on her face.

Their attention quickly shifts to her, "Whoa, whoa, are you alright?"

"Max, what's wrong?" Gwen tries reaching her, but Max dismisses her and slams the door open.

"I'm fine. Just drive."

The pair glance at each other, knowing something definitely happened and she must have seen something. They quickly get into the car, choosing not to pry from being aware Max won't reveal anything to them.

"Did something happen?" Dustin asks.

"Can we please just go?" Max begs, her voice frightful and breaking.

Steve shifts the car into reverse, his arm laying behind the headrest as he turns the steering wheel in a swift motion and starts driving erratically away from the trailer park. He wishes to offer her comfort, to let her know everything will be fine since he won't let anything or anyone harm her. He continuously glances at her through the rearview mirror, fearing the time is nearing when Vecna chooses to attack.

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The entire drive has been silent. No one could find the right words to help Max feel better. Remembering her earlier words, offering some reassurance won't be of much use considering she's already lost all hope and refuses to believe them.

"Turn here," Max indicates to Steve.

Dustin looks at her with a trembling unease, "Here?"

Gwen can already tell this is nowhere near good. She recognizes the road, the trees, just everything about it. After the mall fire happened, she would constantly visit the cemetery and spend hours in Hopper's grave. She'd try avoiding Billy's knowing it's her fault in the first place that he became possessed by the mind flayer, so it would feel hypocritical if she were to visit him.

That is until the day before leaving for New York, she finally caved and stood in front of his grave for what felt like an eternity. She would constantly apologize and wish that time would turn back around so she could fix her mistake, but of course, nothing she says or does will grant her wishes.

Max nods, enough for Steve to hesitantly turn the corner into the cemetery. Slowly, he parks the car near the entrance and glances nervously at the young girl. Without saying anything, Max hops out and starts heading in the direction of the graves.

As Gwen, Steve, and Dustin walk out of the car, Lucas is already running in her direction. The rest stay back and try focusing on remaining positive, praying to the heavens that Nancy and Robin contact them with a solution and they're able to save Max.

Gwen holds her arms against her, rubbing them together for warmth when the most painful and unbearable headache hits her like a boulder. She whirls around, placing her hand on her forehead before rubbing her temples. Damn it, why is it happening now? She could only hope the others don't notice, but as expected, Steve is already hurrying in her direction.

Gently placing his hand on her shoulder, he immediately starts questioning her, "Gwen, are you okay?"

"Relax, I'm fine," her words come out harsher than intended, causing regret to consume her when seeing the hurt in his eyes once she moves her hand away from his. She wants to apologize and let him know it's nothing be did, but all she does is just walk away in the direction of her brother.

Dustin stares at her with concern and comes closer, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Her brows furrows in confusion, "Yeah, I know."

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Dustin studies his sister attentively and becomes much more worried that there could be the possibility that she's cursed. He's faced a demogorgon, dealt with demodogs, the mind flayer, and the Russians, but something happening to his sister is a million times worse than those monsters.

Even if he doesn't show it, he cares and loves her deeply. She took care of him when their mother was grieving and took on the massive responsibility just so he could enjoy his childhood. If that doesn't show what an amazing sister she is, then what will?

He can't imagine what he'd do if he were to lose her and be forced into living in a world where he doesn't hear her voice, deal with her annoying self, her overbearing joy over the holidays, and overall, not having his person by his side.

"Everything's fine," she finally says while not meeting his eyes. "You know, considering the situation we're in."

"Don't try to dismiss this. I know something's off with you," he interjects as he moves to stand in front of her. "You've been different for a while. After the fire, it's like you're a..."

"I'm a what?" Gwen hates how she's starting to become angered. He's simply being a concerned brother and here she is about to lash out on him.

Dustin exhales sharply, his shoulders dropping before composing himself, but that's when Steve starts heading in their direction. "Look, I'm just trying to say that I know something has been wrong. I suspected it since the summer and Christmas only confirmed it."

"Dustin, don't do this now," Steve interjects, noticing how uncomfortable and upset this conversation is making her.

"You said it yourself that something was wrong. How she was different and seemed like a ghost."

At those words, something breaks inside her. The last remaining part of her that had been whole was now gone, completely shattered at Steve's comparison.

A ghost is the remaining fragment of a person who used to be alive, but is now roaming the Earth void of anything. Does he truly believe she's empty? That she's simply just a shell of a person?

Her voice is barely a whisper, "That's what you think of me?"

"No, of course not!" Steve tries denying as he glares angrily at Dustin for mentioning this when he made him promise not to say anything. He confided in him out of worry that she was suffering and hiding it. Maybe trusting her brother had been a mistake. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. "Gwen-"

"Leave me the hell alone," she harshly glares at him and walks away.

Steve is tempted to go after her, but he knows it'd be wrong at this precise moment. He needs to give her space and hopefully, she forgives him for having went behind her back to speak with her brother about her.

It was a mistake confiding in Dustin instead of her. He knows that now, especially after all the times they argued on needing to have enough trust in each other to talk about their feelings, but he chose to speak with him over her.

"Shit. I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean-"

"Don't," Steve cuts him off, not sparing him a glance as he tries figuring out what to say. A part of him understands Dustin was only worried. It's understandable when she hasn't been herself in a while. He doesn't want to scold him for being a concerned brother, but all he could come up with were harsh words. "You've done enough."

Lucas rejoins the group and is quick to realize the tension in the air based on his friends' sullen expressions. He knows it's something more than just Max, but decides to remain quiet as it wouldn't be wise to mention it now.

All four of them wait in this torturous waiting. The time seems to be running slower, almost like it froze in some way. Gwen glances down at her watch, growing more impatient when seeing it's been far too long already.

She pushes back against the tree and starts heading up the hill. Only it seems Steve thought the same thing as now they're both rushing in Max's direction.

"Guys, just give her some time," Lucas interjects.

"Don't think so," Gwen tells him as she continues walking towards the redhead.

"We've given her some time, Sinclair. She wants to get a lawyer, she can."

The pair walk alongside each other in complete silence. All of their previous bonding had now disappeared and there was nothing left other than a giant wall between them. She can practically feel his gaze on her as she starts running up the hill, leaving him behind to try and catch up.

Steve softly calls out to the young girl in hopes she wouldn't snap at him, "Max. Time to giddy up, yeah?"

There's silence.

Not even a remark or a complaint.

Gwen exchanges a look of concern with him as both of them find it strange that she hasn't argued like she always does. Considering she threatened to sue Steve if he didn't bring her here, her silence only makes them question everything.

"Max?" Gwen crouches down next to her and it isn't until seeing her eyes rolled back when she realizes what's happening.

Vecna's curse has begun.

"Max!" Steve shakes her shoulder and calls out to her in hopes it's enough to snap her out of this trance like back at the counselor's office, but the more they keep calling out to her, the more they realize she's now becoming fully consumed by this curse.

"Dustin! Lucas!" Gwen yells as loud as she can and waves her hands in the air to catch their attention. "Stay with us, please! Max! Wake up!"

"Max!" Steve tries to remain calm, but it's getting harder maintaining his composure. Seeing one of his kids in this state is horrifying, especially when not knowing what to do to keep her safe. "Come on, wake up!"

"You can fight this! Don't let him take you!" Gwen pleads while holding tightly onto her hand. She can't lose her. She can't lose another person. Why did it have to be Max? Why her out of all people?

Dustin and Lucas finally reach them, both of them dropping to their knees and calling out to her in hopes she'd awaken at any second. "Max, you gotta get out of there!"

"Can you hear me?!"

Nothing seems to be working. No matter how hard they were trying, there was nothing strong enough to help her escape Vecna's grasp. They were terrified, panicking, and worried they'll watch their friend die and wouldn't be able to do anything to help.

"Max, please! You can't leave us!" Gwen's voice breaks as the sheer terror of losing her hurts her in ways never felt before. She shakes her shoulders and calls out her name like a prayer, praying to the heavens for salvation to come knocking at their door, but Max remains trapped in her trance without intentions of being released.

Harshly grabbing Dustin by the collar of his jacket, Steve screams at his face for help. "Call Robin and Nancy! Go get them! Call Robin and Nancy! Go!"

"Please Max!" Lucas begs on the verge of tears.

"We need you! Come back to us, please!" Gwen continues calling out to her, shaking her shoulders gently yet also harshly.

From the bottom of the hill, Dustin finally made contact with Nancy and Robin after an eternity. He starts to frantically look through the various cassettes in Steve's glove compartment, but ultimately decides on taking every single one of them instead. He might not know what Max's favorite song is, but Lucas certainly does, so quickly, he acquires every cassette and her trusty walkman and headphones.

Gwen glances at her brother and is confused when he drops various music selections onto the grass. "What did Robin and Nancy say?"

"What is this?" Lucas also questions, but neither receive a response.

"What's her favorite song?" Dustin instead asks.

Gwen stares at him incredulously, "Are you serious? Now's not a-"

"Robin said if she listens... it's too much to explain now! What's her favorite song?" Dustin yells, switching between various cassettes and holding them up for Lucas to inspect.

"Which one is it?"

"Hurry up!"

Lucas grabs the tapes and reads over each title. He tosses the wrong ones and dismisses the cassettes the others show them as he searches for that one specific album that he noticed Max was constantly listening to. It isn't until seeing the name of Kate Bush when he finally holds it up and places it into her walkman. "It's right here!"

Gwen isn't certain if this will work, but she's willing to try anything. She trusts her friends, so with all her faith, she places the headphones onto Max's ears.

"Now!" Dustin demands and Lucas hits play.

"Max! Wake up!" Continuing to shake her shoulders, Gwen prays this technique works and Max wakes up at any second. If her favorite song is the key, then that means anyone who's cursed has a chance to live and there's a possibility of defeating Vecna's curse now.

"We're right here!"

"Come back to us!"

"It's not working!" Steve frantically says as he frustratedly runs his hands through his hair. "Are you sure you heard correctly?!"

Dustin rolls his eyes at being doubted at a time like this, "Of course I'm sure! I'd never get this wrong!"

"Then why isn't she back?!" Lucas asks in a panic as he waits for her to return, but the music doesn't seem to be working no matter how hard they urge it to.

"I don't know! If I did, I would have said something by now!" Dustin's angered tone is enough to make the pair begin arguing, causing Steve and Gwen to try and put an end to it. Now is not the time to fight, but it seems their fear is making them release it onto each other as if it were the solution to everything.

Not even a second after, Max begins levitating off the ground. Kate Bush wasn't working and regardless of wanting to remain hopeful, they were starting to brace themselves for the worst.

This is the part when Eddie said that Chrissy's bones started to break and while they wanted to maintain their faith, they couldn't prevent from preparing themselves for their imminent loss.

Gwen remains paralyzed as she watches the girl that she's grown so fond of hover above them with her eyes rolled back. As if it were her life about to end, every memory of Max suddenly starts playing.

When she first met her when the party locked her out of the AV room, letting her drive Steve's car, making milkshakes with her at Scoops, and seeing her again after coming back from New York.

Gwen refuses to let Vecna take her away. She's not giving up on her, and most certainly, she's going to fight for her no matter the circumstances. As long as she's alive, she will protect Max with her entire being.

Hastily, she gets back up on her feet and tries reaching for her, but she's so high up that all she can do is plead with her to continue fighting. "Max! We need you! Don't let him win!"

Everyone does everything in their power to get her back. They call out to her and beg her to stay, to continue fighting, and to return to them. Even if they're not certain of what Vecna is putting her through, they know Max is strong and won't give up on herself. She's the strongest person they know, so they'd be damned if they lose their faith.

"Max!"

"Please come back!"

With a loud gasp, Max's eyes return to normal and she comes crashing down. There's a momentary doubt as she wonders if this is actually the real world, but once hearing the voices and feeling the protective arms of her friends, Max knows she's home.

"I thought we lost you," Lucas's voice is shaky and filled with relief as he embraces her tightly with no intentions of letting go.

Gwen thanks the universe for not taking her away and for bringing her back safe and sound. She breathes heavily and tries containing her cries, but the ecstasy and love for her kid prevent her from maintaining any sense of composure.

Max is alive and that's all that matters.

"I'm still... I'm still here," Max reassures them as for the first time, she's grateful for being alive.