Steve pulled up to Max's trailer, where she had directed him to go against his will. "This better be fast, Mayfield," he told her sternly.

"Twenty seconds," she told him before she got out of the car, heading towards the trailer car. Beverly sighed quietly as she watched the girl head inside, hoping that she would just be in and out like she said she would be.

"That thing's got batteries in it, right?" Steve asked Dustin after a moment, looking at him in the backseat, referring to the walkie talkie.

Dustin gave him a look. "I'm not even answering that question." Steve's nose scrunched up. "Yes, it has batteries."

"Yeah, I got it."

"So...what do you think is in all the letters?" Chris asked slowly, looking at Lucas and Dustin in the backseat.

"Probably a goodbye," Beverly answered monotonously, trying not to show how much it affected her to say that in order to appear unbothered. "If something happens and we aren't there with her...then we have these to read." Although, her attempt to not seem sad failed since Steve was able to notice the melancholic glint in her eyes, and the others were able to pinpoint the struggle of her voice.

"Hey...you okay, Bev?" Chris asked, leaning forward a bit in his seat. Steve glanced back at him, seeing the genuineness on his face. But he could tell the boy no longer cared for her in a romantic way...they were just friends. And he cared for her as a friend.

Beverly hummed, feigning confusion. "What? I'm fine. Why — why do you ask?" Beverly replied, looking back at Chris and the other boys who were staying silent. She then looked at Steve. "Does it seem like I'm not okay?"

"No, no, it's just, uh..." Steve trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"We all know you care about Max just as much as I — we do, so it's okay to let us know how you feel," Lucas finished for Steve and the other boys nodded. But they could tell that something else was also up, they just didn't know what.

Beverly nodded slowly. "Yeah, no, um, same for the rest of you," she responded, looking back in front of her.

After they had been waiting for a while, they all decided to get out of the car. But, they didn't want to go inside just in case they disrupted Max since they knew they would probably be yelled at.

But the girl finally came back, hurriedly walking back over to the car. "Hey, that was longer than twenty seconds," Steve pointed out before he realized the look on Max's face. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. You all right?"

"I'm fine. Just drive," she told him, opening up the car door and getting inside.

"Did something happen?" Lucas asked in concern.

"Can we please just go?" she pleaded before Steve backed the car out, driving away from the trailer park.

Beverly looked over her shoulder at the redhead practically smushed against the car door since the seats only really fit three people, not four. "Are you sure you're—"

"I'm fine, Bev, seriously," Max cut her off, giving her a look. "I'm fine." Beverly sucked in a breath and looked back to the front, sharing a similar glance with Steve.

They drove in silence, not daring to speak to annoy Max. The only words that were spoken were Max's directions to the destination she wanted to go to. "Turn here," she told Steve.

"Here?" Dustin said in confusion since it was Roane Hill Cemetery. Beverly's brows furrowed, her chest tightening a bit at entering the cemetery since she rarely came there, and when she did, she always got emotional.

Steve drove up to it, stopping the car for Max to get out. Lucas decided to follow her, also getting out of the car. "Max?"

"Lucas, please just wait in the car!" she replied, trying to get away from him before he ran up to her. The others watched from the car, not being able to hear them anymore. But the conversation seemed...tender. Well, before Max abruptly left Lucas in the dust.

Lucas stared after her before he reluctantly trekked back to the car, where they all began to get out. "What'd she say?" Dustin asked him, but Lucas just shook his head, leaning against the car.

Beverly watched as Max sat down in front of a grave and assumed that it was Billy's. Why else would they be here? Her eyes wandered around the cemetery, looking in the direction of where he father's grave would be.

Her stomach dropped a bit. Normally, before going to his grave, she would have to prepare herself. Now, because of Max's wishes, she was completely thrown off. But she also felt the need to go and visit since she was already there.

"I'll be right back," she quietly spoke, making her way over.

"Hey, wait, where are you goin'?" Steve asked, reaching out and grabbing her wrist softly. She stopped walking, letting out a huff. "Bev, what's going on? You've been on edge ever since—"

"Ever since I found out about Chrissy's death, I know," she cut him off, looking towards him. "I mean, is that a crime? I can't be sad or something?"

"No, that's not — that's not what I'm saying. I'm just worried about you," Steve explained himself, letting go of her wrist. "We're all worried about you."

Beverly looked around at the boys, making eye contact with each and every one of them. They did all seem concerned. "I'm not the one you should be worried about. Max is cursed. Worry about her, okay? I'm fine. I just...need to be alone for a second," she told them all even though she was looking directly at Steve.

"Just...come back, all right?" he replied, tilting his head to the side a bit. She nodded slowly, turning around and heading over towards her father's grave.

She looked over at Max as she passed her, seeing that she was reading a letter to Billy's grave. Beverly let out a quiet breath, continuing to walk until she reached her dad's grave.

She didn't bother sitting down since she wanted to be quick, not wanting to make Steve and the others more worried than they already were. She just felt like if she was here, then why not pay a visit since she hadn't in a while?

"Hey, Dad. Thought I'd stop by and catch you up to what's been going on. Um, I've been living with Steve 'cause Mom has just been unbearable. She's practically broke and I've been working at familyVideo to try and help but...I don't know if I want to. I mean, I have so many memories with you in that house and I don't want to lose it but...well, you know how Mom is. Even worse after you left. I just can't deal with her anymore and ever since I started living with Steve, I've been...happier," she detailed, a sad smile on her face. "But now this shit is happening again and it feels like my world has been turned upside down. Literally." She let out a sardonic laugh, shaking her head as she stepped closer to the grave, looking over it. "I mean, I don't know why I'm worrying that much. I've gone through this for the past three years and we've won every time, so why is this any different? It shouldn't be...right? But for some reason, I just can't help but feel—"

Beverly cut herself off when a red liquid dropped on top of the grave stone, creating a small, red bubble. She furrowed her brows, looking up to see if something was on the tree above her, but nothing was. She then felt something dripping onto her lip and she reached up and touched her face, taking her hand away. Her breath hitched when she saw the redness on her hand, her throat becoming dry.

Is nose-bleeding one of the symptoms? Did I read that? No, I didn't, right? No, I'm just making this up in my head, she thought, trying to think back to Chrissy and Fred's file.

Steve watched Max sitting at the grave impatiently. "All right, it's been long enough," he finally said, pushing off of the car.

"Steve, just give her some time," Lucas argued.

"I have, all right, Sinclair?" he replied, going to make his way over to towards Max. "I'm calling it. She wants to get a lawyer, she can." Steve jogged over to her. "Max. Time to giddy up, yeah? Max?" Steve leaned down, realizing that something was wrong. "Max. Max. Max! Wake up! Hey, come on, wake up! Max, wake up! Max! Wake up! Max! Guys!"

Beverly looked up from her bloody hand once she heard Steve shouting, her eyes going wide. She quickly wiped at her nose, wiping her hand on the grass to get the blood off before she rushed over to him and Max.

Chris, Dustin, and Lucas ran over to them as well, immediately crouching down next to her to try and shake her away. "Max, you gotta get outta there! Max, can you hear me?!" Lucas shouted.

"Max, come on!" Chris yelled, trying to shake her awake like he did last time, but it wasn't working.

"Max, wake up!" Dustin shouted.

"Max?!" Beverly said once she had made it over, hoping her nose had stopped bleeding.

Steve then grabbed onto Dustin roughly. "Call Nancy, Alicia and Robin! Go get them! Call Nancy, Alicia, and Robin! Go!" he demanded and Dustin quickly ran over to the car, getting the walkie talkie.

"Max, wake up, please!" Beverly pleaded, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. As the teens shook and screamed in Max's face, Dustin tried contacting the girls but no one was picking up. "What's taking so long?!" the Crawford girl seethed.

"I don't know!" Chris replied, his brows knitted together as he continued trying to shake the redhead away. "Come on!"

"Alicia, where the hell are you?! This is a code red! I repeat, a code red!" Dustin screamed through the walkie talkie, which was next to Alicia in the back seat as Nancy drove the car away from Pennhurst.

She quickly took it and held it up to her face. "Dustin, it's Alicia. We copy, she finally answered after what seemed like ages.

"Holy shit. Finally! Please, please, please tell me you guys have this figured out!" Dustin yelled.

"Maybe! Why, what's going on?!"

"Max is in trouble! Vecna's got her! Please, just tell me!"

"Okay, okay, uh...music! Get music! Play a song that's important to her, whether that be her favorite song or one that — that holds meaning, and play it in her ears. It could bring her back to consciousness since music reaches a certain part of the brain," Alicia quickly explained, her eyes wide.

"Music? Wha—"

"JUST DO IT!" Alicia shrieked, not wanting Max to die because they were taking too long. The line went dead, so the girls sat in the car anxiously. They prayed that when Dustin got back on the line, it would be good news and not bad.

Dustin quickly poured out all the cassettes that he had found in Max's bag, quickly grabbing them and her Walkman before he ran back over to the others who were still shouting at Max to wake up.

"Guys!" Dustin yelled, tossing the cassettes on the ground so they could sort through them all.

"What — What is this?" Lucas questioned.

"What's her favorite song? What's her favorite song?"

"Why?!"

"Alicia said if — if she listens — It's too much to explain right now! What's her favorite song?!" Dustin exclaimed before they all began to sort through the cassettes on the ground. "Lucas, which one is it?!"

"Lucas, what's her favorite song?!" Beverly bellowed harshly, although she didn't really mean it like that. She just didn't want another person, a friend, to die.

"Come on, which one?!" Chris said, going through them even though he didn't even know which one it was.

"It's right here! It's right here! I got it!" Lucas said, holding up Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) by Kate Bush.

"Hurry up! Give it to me!" Dustin shouted as Lucas quickly handed the cassette to him, where he put it in Max's Walkman and placed the headphones over her ears. "Now!"

Steve clicked the button to start playing the song, but they continued yelling her name even though it didn't seem to help before. "Wake up, come on!"

"Max, we're right here!" Lucas shouted.

"Please, wake up!" Beverly yelled.

"Max!"

They continued yelling her name until she started to float in the air, making them all stumble back in shock. "No, Max!" Lucas screamed, being the first one to stand up to try and reach her, but she was already too high up. He was too busy calling her name for him to cry, just wanting to get his girl back to him. He had been without her far too long and he didn't want this to be the end.

The others also stood up, jumping and yelling her name. Tears started to fall down Beverly's cheeks as she watched the redhead in the air, thinking back to what Eddie had said about Chrissy. She didn't want to see that image of Max, someone who was even closer to her. She just couldn't.

"Max!" Chris shouted, his voice strained from all the yelling. Even though he had gotten closer to all of Mike's friends, Max was the one he was the least closest to because of the way she distanced herself from everyone this past year. Chris related to that, which was why he didn't go out of his way to try and talk to her since he knew she wouldn't have liked it; he wouldn't have either.

"Come on!" Dustin cried out, thinking back to the fun he had with Max when they were younger. She had been his second crush, after Beverly. And even though he hadn't been the one to be with her, he still loved her as a friend all the same. He didn't want to lose her.

"Max!" Steve shouted as he looked up before he looked at his girlfriend, who had started to cry. They had watched after these kids for the last two years, this one being the third one now. He couldn't bear to lose one of them since they had become the family he never had.

"MAX! MAX!" they all shrieked before Max's eyes returned to normal, her body falling down from the sky. They all quickly dived over to her, trying to soften the fall.

She began to hyperventilate once she had landed, looking all around to make sure she was really back and it wasn't just another trick by Vecna. "Max, oh my, God!" Lucas said, wrapping his arms around the girl to calm her and himself down.

"Thank God," Beverly breathed out, looking at Steve as he let out a relieved breath. She placed her hand on his arm and he looked over at her, placing his hand on hers.

"It's okay. It's okay," Lucas told the redhead as she leaned into him, trying to calm her breathing. "I thought we lost you."

"I'm still...I'm still here," she forced out breathlessly. "I'm still here."

authors note
i feel like this chapter
is bad for some reason idk
but ik u guys r probably waiting
for more eddie and carmen so dw...
heheheh