(Ep. 4: Dear Billy)

A few minutes had passed ever since Max headed into her trailer. Gwen held the letter she gave her and was tempted to open it, but she was afraid. If she read it, that meant admitting things could actually go wrong. She wasn't ready for the worst to unfold, so in hopes today wouldn't end in a tragedy, Gwen tucked the letter inside her bag and prayed she'd never have to read it.

Steve slowly approached her.

His steps were careful, almost calculated, as if he were afraid one wrong move could lead to her departure. He now stood alongside her, both of them resting against the hood of his car and staring ahead.

For a mere moment, their eyes met.

Then, she looked away.

"How have you been?" Steve asked, nearly cringing from his choice of question.

Gwen felt a tinge of amusement upon his blushing face. She sighed heavily and nonchalantly shrugged, "I've been doing fine."

He knew she wasn't being honest, but chose not to pry, "It's been a while since we last saw each other."

She was afraid he would mention Christmas. The worst night of her life had been her fault and she wouldn't blame him if he were to throw it back to her. After the pain she caused, she deserved all the resentment and disdain. No matter how much it would hurt, she would accept it with open arms.

"I know," she breathed out, her hands clenching and nails digging into the base of her palm. "It seems you're doing fine-"

"I am," Steve interrupted, like an attempt to sound convincing. "I've been saving up and thinking of traveling soon. Maybe take a road trip across the country."

She glanced down, smiling discreetly, "Sounds like a good plan."

He gazed at her, quiet, and assessing, "New York sounds like a good place to start."

Gwen's smile dropped. She held her arms together and felt as if she had swallowed stones, "It's not that great of a city. Too crowded."

Steve didn't want to feel disappointed, but it was inevitable not feeling it. She sounded like he didn't want him near, like she hoped to keep her new home just to herself. He always knew the grand city was her lifelong dream, but it never occurred to him that she didn't want to share it with him.

He lightly scoffed, staring ahead, "And yet you chose to move there."

Gwen knew she hurt him and she hated herself for it, "I did. I keep counting the days until I can head back."

His expression contorted into an unreadable one, but something inside him clenched. "Yeah, I don't blame you. Not everyone has the opportunity to leave."

She heard the hidden bitterness in his tone. He tried masking it, but failed to remember how observant she was. "You're right, but when the opportunity does come, not everyone is brave enough to take it."

Steve turned to her, brown and blue eyes colliding like a gruesome avalanche. "It's not brave if it's just abandoning your previous life."

Gwen considered she was going crazy upon hearing this. She knew he was referring to her decision to leave Hawkins for New York. He made it sound like it had been the easiest choice to make when it was the complete opposite. She was about to leave her dream behind to stay with him and she thought he understood that.

Maybe she was wrong about everything.

She glared at him, "Excuse me?"

"Not everyone wants to abandon their life or their loved ones," he mumbled.

She couldn't prevent from laughing in disbelief, "I always knew you didn't support my decision."

"I did support you," he argued, and gazed upon her much sternly. "But you changed the second you got there. You started pushing me away and didn't-"

"Not everything is about you," Gwen's eyes darkened as her face flushed in irritation. "Have you considered that? Or are you too self-absorbed to notice there's more to life than you?"

He swallowed thickly, "I know there's more to life than me, but it seems it's you that isn't grasping that."

She clenched her jaw and pushed herself off the car, "Screw you, Harrington."

Steve didn't say anything and only watched as she walked away. He wanted to apologize, but knew it'd be useless to do so, especially when it was something he actually believed. This had been gathering for months and it seemed that he finally had enough of staying quiet.

If only he had chosen a better time.

A few moments later, Max stormed away from the direction she came from toward the vehicle. She was rushing, as if afraid and wanting to run away. Something that caught everyone's attention.

"Hey, are you alright?" Steve asked in concern.

Gwen noticed from a mile away and wasted no time in rushing to her. She figured something must have happened at her trailer, but knew better than to pry for answers. She merely headed to the passenger seat, but kept looking through the rearview mirror to check on her.

"Did something happen?" Dustin asked.

"Can we please just go?" Max raised her voice, and Steve did as he was told.

It was just a matter of waiting for the unfathomable to happen.

__________________

The entire drive was silent. No one could find the right words to help Max feel better. Offering reassurance wouldn't be of much use considering she lost all hope and refused to believe anything they said.

"Turn here," Max indicated to Steve.

Dustin looked at her with unease, "Here?"

Gwen could already tell this was nowhere near good. She recognized 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 was 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 was 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 said or did would grant her wishes.

Max nodded, enough for Steve to hesitantly turn the corner into the cemetery. He parked the car near the entrance and glanced nervously at the young girl. Without saying anything, Max then hopped out and headed in the direction of the graves.

Lucas trailed after her while the rest stayed behind.

Gwen closed the door in a loud slam, but remained alongside her brother. If she were to keep her distance from Steve, Dustin would definitely notice and waste no time to bombard them with tons of questions. Instead, she glanced in the direction of the trees and tried focusing on them.

But then, the most painful headache was felt.

A loud ringing passed between her ears and reverberated throughout her skull. She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath, but suddenly felt a drop of blood trailing from her nose to her chin.

"Gwen?" Dustin noticed, taking a step closer to her. "Your nose..."

"It's fine," she said, and quickly wiped the blood. "It's just a nosebleed. Don't worry about it."

"That was a connection all the victims shared," Dustin reminded her.

"I've been getting them since New York, so it's not correlated to this," Gwen attempted to shut him down, but knew it would be in vain either way. He wasn't the type to let things go, especially in circumstances like these.

"Don't bullshit me," Dustin raised his voice, which was enough for Steve to finally notice and approach them. "Tell me the truth."

"What happened?" Steve asked, concerned about the grave expression the siblings were wearing.

She shook her head, "Nothing. Dustin's just being paranoid."

"Your nose was bleeding and that was a link between the victims!"

Steve felt his body turn cold, "Gwen, you need to tell us if you're having symptoms."

"I said I'm fine," she stated much louder, but sounded more angry than anything. "I would have told you otherwise."

Dustin remained unconvinced and grabbed her by the forearm away from the car. He nodded at Steve to give them a moment, which he reluctantly did. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I know."

"Then tell me what's wrong," Dustin pleaded, afraid she was actually cursed and was choosing to remain silent.

He had faced a demogorgon, demodogs, the mind flayer, and the Russians, but something happening to his sister was a million times worse than any monsters. Even if he didn't show it, he cared and loved her deeply. She took care of him when their mother was grieving and took on the massive responsibility to ensure he had a childhood.

If that didn't show what an amazing sister she was, then what would?

He couldn't imagine what he'd do if he were to lose her and be forced to live in a world where he didn't hear her voice, deal with her annoying self, her overbearing joy over the holidays, and not have his person by his side.

"Everything's fine," she continued trying to convince him. "It's just a nosebleed from stress. Nothing bad."

"Don't try to dismiss this. I know something's off with you," Dustin stood in front of her to prevent her from leaving. "You've been different for a while. After the fire, it's like, you're a..."

Gwen was afraid of asking, but she needed to know, "I'm what?"

"I'm just trying to say that I know something has been wrong," Dustin admitted, and it was then when Steve decided to approach them again. "I suspected it right when you left for New York and Christmas only confirmed it."

Steve knew where he was going with this. It was a scene that happened between him and Gwen, but Dustin had managed to overhear everything. Mentioning it now didn't seem proper, especially to use against her to prove a point. "Dustin, don't do this now."

He didn't listen, "You said it yourself that something was wrong. How she was different and seemed like a ghost."

Something broke inside her.

The last remaining part that remained whole was gone, shattered at Steve's comparison.

A ghost was the remaining fragment of a person who used to be alive, but now roamed the earth void of anything. Did he truly believe she was empty? That she was just a shell of a person?

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

"No! Of course not!" Steve denied, and glared at Dustin so harshly for mentioning this after he promised to never say anything. He confided in him out of worry, but trusting him had been one of the greatest mistake he made. "Gwen-"

She shoved his grip off, staggering back, "Leave me the hell alone."

Steve didn't want to listen. He wanted to go against her wishes for the first time, but he would worsen everything if he did. This was a mess he created and no amount of apologies would remedy the gravity of his words. They always argued about trust, how it was important to talk about their feelings, and he did the opposite.

He chose to speak to Dustin over her.

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

"Don't," Steve cut him off, not sparing him a glance. A part of him understood Dustin was only worried. It was understandable when she hadn't been herself in a while. He didn'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 then rejoined the group and quickly sensed the tension. He was smart enough to know this wasn't about Max, but decided to stay silent as it wouldn't be wise to mention it now.

The four of them waited for what seemed to be forever. Time appeared to be running slower, as if it had frozen in some way. From the trees, Gwen looked down at her watch and grew more impatient when seeing how long it had been.

She figured enough was enough and started heading up the hill.

But it seemed Steve thought the same thing.

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

"Don't think so," Gwen told him as she continued walking toward the redhead.

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

The pair walked alongside each other in complete silence. If tensions had been high earlier, it was one-hundred percent worse now. She could practically feel his gaze on her as she sprinted up the hill, not bothering to let him catch up to her.

"Max," Steve softly called out. "Time to giddy up, yeah?"

Silence.

Not even a remark or a complaint.

Gwen exchanged a look of concern with him, both of them finding it strange that she wasn't arguing like she always did. Considering she threatened to sue Steve if he didn't bring her here, her silence only made them question everything.

"Max?" Gwen kneeled down next to her and it wasn't until seeing her eyes rolled back when she realized what was happening.

Vecna's curse had begun.

"Max!" Steve shook her shoulder and called out to her in hopes it would be enough to snap her out of this trance like back at the counselor's office, but the more they kept calling out to her, the more they realize she was becoming fully consumed by this curse.

"Dustin! Lucas!" Gwen yelled as loud as she could and waved her hands in the air for their attention. "Stay with us, Max! Please wake up!"

"Max!" Steve tried to remain calm, but it was getting harder maintaining his composure. Seeing one of his kids in this state was 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 pleaded while holding tightly onto her hand.

She couldn't lose her.

She couldn't lose another person.

Why did it have to be Max? Why her out of all people?

Dustin and Lucas finally reached 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 seemed 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'd watch their friend die and wouldn't be able to do anything to help.

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

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

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

"We need you! Come back to us, please!" Gwen continued 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 frantically looked through the various cassettes in Steve's glove compartment, but ultimately decided on taking every single one of them instead. He might not know what Max's favorite song was, but Lucas certainly did, so quickly, he acquired every cassette and her trusty walkman and headphones.

Gwen glanced at her brother and was confused when he dropped various music selections onto the grass. "What did Robin and Nancy say?"

"What is this?" Lucas also asked, but neither received a response.

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

Gwen stared 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 yelled, switching between various cassettes and holding them up for Lucas to inspect.

"Which one is it?"

"Hurry up!"

Lucas grabbed the tapes and read over each title. He tossed the wrong ones and dismissed the cassettes the others showed as he searched for that one specific album that he noticed Max was constantly listening to. It wasn't until seeing the name of Kate Bush when he finally held it up and placed it into her walkman. "It's right here!"

Gwen wasn't certain if this would work, but she was willing to try anything. She trusted her friends, so with all her faith, she placed the headphones on Max's ears.

"Now!" Dustin demanded and Lucas hit play.

"Max! Wake up!" Gwen continued to shake her shoulders, praying this technique worked and Max would wake up at any second. If her favorite song was the key, then that meant anyone who was cursed had a chance to live and there was a possibility of defeating Vecna's curse now.

"We're right here!"

"Come back to us!"

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

Dustin rolled 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 asked in a panic as he waited for her to return, but the music didn't seem to be working no matter how hard they urged it to.

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

Not even a second after, Max began 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 was 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 remained paralyzed as she watched the girl that she grew 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 started 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 refused to let Vecna take her away. She wouldn't giving up on her, and most certainly, she wouldn't stop fighting for her no matter the circumstances. As long as she was alive, she would protect Max with her entire being.

Hastily, she got back up on her feet and tried reaching for her, but Max was so high up that all she could do was plead with her to continue fighting. "Max! We need you! Don't let him win!"

Everyone did everything in their power to get her back. They called out to her and begged her to stay, to continue fighting, and to return to them. Even if they weren't certain of what Vecna was putting her through, they knew Max was strong and wouldn't give up on herself. She was the strongest person they knew, so they'd be damned if they lost their faith.

"Max!"

"Please come back!"

With a loud gasp, Max's eyes returned to normal and she came crashing down. There was a momentary doubt as she wondered if this was actually the real world, but once hearing the voices and feeling the protective arms of her friends, Max knew she was home.

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

Gwen thanked the universe for not taking her away and for bringing her back safe and sound. She breathed heavily and tried containing her cries, but the ecstasy and love for her kid prevented her from maintaining any sense of composure.

Max was alive and that was all that mattered.

"I'm still... I'm still here."