It Couldn't Get Any Stranger

The Letter

The house was cozy enough but something felt off.

As if the house still hadn't taken in Billy's death.

Max told you to sit down as she made a warm drink for the both of you.

There was a couple of pictures on the wall.

In almost all of them Max was frowning.

Except one whilst she was hugging this older boy at a baseball tournament.

You guessed that was Billy.

"Hey y/n, I brought you a hot chocolate, I put extra marshmallows!"

Max smiled mischievously and placed the hot chocolate on the coffee table in front of you.

You go to touch the mug.

Ouch. The mug was really warm. It was probably just your skin which was not used to the warmth of a hot chocolate.

There was a mild burn on the tip of your finger.

Max noticed, "y/n go and run that with cold water I'm so sorry"

"Max I'm fine it's alright."

"Are you sure, that looks like a bad burn"

"Yes I'm positive"

"Okay y/n, are you tired?"

You never noticed that you were tired. You feel your knees buckling with the weight of your body. Your arms began to shake.

You were tired alright.

Max led you to the 'spare' room, it was filled with marks on the walls where loads of posters had been.

This must've been Billy's bedroom.

You climb into the sheets and smile at Max.

She wishes you a good night.

When she closes the door, you climb out of bed.

One thing you didn't tell Max and Lucas was you knew Billy was possessed. His presence faded from reality to reality. You would occasionally see him wandering around Hawkins.

You'd never talked to him before though.

You recall one time you'd heard him saying the same words over and over again.

"Plan b, plan c, plan d! There are so many plans. Plan b, plan c.."

You now understood these. The mind flayer was not going to stop. But what did it want?

You search around Billy's room, careful not to make any noise.

You had become a master at sneaking around since that was all you did in the upside down.

It was quite a handy skill.

You pull open drawers. A leather jacket.

That looks cool.

You were just about to try it on when you see a piece of paper fall out from one of it's pocket.

You drop the jacket and pick up the paper.

It looked like a letter.

You didn't know him but judging by the photos and what you saw of him, Billy did not seem one to write letters.

You unfold the paper and read the message:

Max
Please say you find this before it's too late, the monster wants El. It wants anyone with superpowers. It will not stop at anything to get her so please don't hang around with her. It's dangerous and I don't want you to die. I'm pretty doomed already. It's sending mini monsters if this plan fails. Be careful.
Billy

Wow, it seemed Billy was a nice guy after all.

"Max!" You yell.

She comes running in her Wonder Woman pyjamas.

"I found this, you might want to read it."

Max read the letter. With every word she read her eyes began watering and before you know it she was lost in her own little ocean of sorrow,pain and loss.

She looked up and managed to choke out a few words

"W-wha— how did you f-find this?"

Dammit, you hadn't thought that far ahead.

"I errr, I hit my arm on the beside table accidentally and it dislodge from behind the wall and slid onto the floor"

You didn't think Max was listening.

She stumbled out of the room speechless.

You felt bad as she walked out, for when she walked, she left a trail of tears along the floor.

She was too sad to sob, the only thing that came from her was the tears.

Poor girl..

You just flicked off the bedside lamp and tried to sleep.