voyager // max mayfield

FIFTEEN: MORNING

When they arrived back that night everyone was tired - for safety purposes, Max was not allowed to take off her headphones, Kate Bush blasting just incase Vecna came back for her. Eve was extremely tired - the day had been a lot. the others were too, meeting up with Nancy and Robin at the Wheelers.

They'd agreed that night that people would take turns watching Max, just so they could alert the others if anything went wrong.

When Eve woke up the next morning, she looked over to see Nancy trying to wake Dustin, the last person on watch.

"Where is she?" Nancy snapped at him, making Eve very alert as she looked around the room for Max.

"She's right there," he gestured to the empty couch, "A second ago, I swear, I just died off for... and hour-"

"Jesus, Dustin," Eve mumbled, standing up before accidentally tripping on Steve's leg. She got up after a second, glaring at her sleeping brother before following Nancy up the stairs, once again stressed out of her mind.

They walked through to the kitchen, where Mrs Wheeler was cooking breakfast, Mr Wheeler sat at the island unit looking less than impressed. Eve didn't care for either of them, though racing through to see the back of Max's head.

Both Nancy and Eve sighed in relief.

"Morning guys," Karen greeted, a smile on her face - but Eve couldn't look at her, eyes staying firmly planted on Max, who had now realised people had entered the room. he sent a soft smile Eve's way, before looking back at the paper she was drawing on, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah everything's okay," Nancy told her mom. Eve send a smile in Karen's direction before walking ahead and sitting next to Max. Max took off her headphones.

"You scared the..." Eve stopped for a second, looking over at Holly, "poop out of me."

"Sorry," Max apologised, hiding her smile at the language, "I couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music in my ears for some reason."

Eve smiled softly at that, as Nancy took a seat on the other side of Max.

"Holly let me borrow some of her crayons," Max told them both, sending a smile over to Holly, "We've been having a fun morning, right, Holly?"

"Mm-hmm," Holly nodded, eyes not leaving her masterpiece in front of her.

Eve looked down at the paper in front of Max, grabbing one that was exceptionally terrifying - it was two people, stuck in weird red spiky things, clearly dead, "Is this what you saw last night?"

"I mean, it's supposed to be," Max nodded her head, "I thought it'd be easier to draw it out than to explain it, but... not so much."

"They're terrifying," Eve whispered, placing the sheet of paper back down on the desk for Nancy to see.

"Is that..." Nancy mumbled, grabbing the sheet that Eve had been looking at.

"It was like they were on display," Max explained quietly, trying not to alert the two parents behind her, "and then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream. A nightmare."

"Do you think Vecna's trying to scare you?" Nancy asked her as Eve stole a waffle off of Holly's plate, taking a bite, before putting it back down - holly thankfully didn't notice, still focused on her piece of art.

"With Billy?" Max asks, "Yeah. But when I made it here... I dunno, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there."

"Maybe you infiltrated his mind," Dustin suggested, standing in between Max and Eve as there were no more seats, "He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?"

Eve looked back down at the pieces of paper at that - wondering the same. Maybe these drawings were useful In figuring our just what Vecna is, or more importantly where they can find him.

"Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room," Dustin gasps.

"Freddie Krueger?" Holly asks, looking over at eve for answers.

"Don't ask me, Steve didn't let me buy it," Eve says with her hands raised in surrender.

"He's a super burned-up dude with razors for fingers," Dustin explained to her, "And he kills you in your dreams."

"Seriously?" Eve asked, seeing the scared look on Holly's face.

"Sorry," Dustin realises, "It's a movie. It's not real. Just... think about it."

"He's right," Eve said to them, "What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world? Maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere in these drawings. Like how will drew out all the tunnels."

"God we need will," Dustin hissed as he picked up one of the drawings.

"No shit," Max mumbled, "But I tried them again this morning, and it's the same busy signal."

Nancy suddenly stopped her, grabbing the drawing in Dustin's hand, a realisation flooding her, "Is this a window?"

"Yeah," Max nods.

"Stained glass with Roses," Nancy confirmed.

"Yeah." Max nods again, "See, I'm not terrible after all."

"Yeah, well, it helps that I've seen it before," Nancy says, beginning to fold it up into a door shape, before grabbing the other drawings and beginning to fold them too, creating the drawing of a house. She grabs a marker, outlining all the pieces, to make the drawing of a grand house.

"It's... a house?" Eve asks, turning her head to look at it as she steals a sip of Max's orange juice.

"Not just any house." Nancy says, placing the door in its place, "It's Victor Creel's house."

She gets up then, grabbing the drawings and going to leave.

"Where are you going?" Dustin asks.

"To wake the others." The other three got up to follow her down - they were gonna take down vena once and for all.

a/n

bit of a filler

exciting things to come

(Am currently 900 words into the next chapter so should have it uploaded for you lovely people in the next hour or so, promise a good max and Eve scene <3)

ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!