The Monsters Within // Eddie Munson

vii. Swap our Places

"Any idea what she's writing? Did she sleep?" Katherine heard Steve ask quietly from behind her where she sat in a chair next to Max. "I mean, would you?" Dustin replied. Katherine kept her eyes away from what Max was writing like she promised, as she fiddled with Max's jacket pocket. She never slept either, spending every second next to Max, just in case.

"Okay so we have a plan." Nancy told the group as she came downstairs. "Thanks to Nancy's minions, we are now rock-star psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin explained, Katherine could hear the rustling of papers. "I'm now Ruth and she's Rose."  "Ruth. Nice gpa." Steve commented. 

"So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we'd like to speak with Creel for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics to which they said no." Robin told them. "But we landed a three o'clock with the director. Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor. Then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." Nancy finished with a small smile. 

"Hopefully, Victor has the answers." Robin told them, as the girls went upstairs to get ready to leave. "Wait, Wait, Wait a second. Uh, where's mine? Nancy, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again." Steve called out, with a complaint following them upstairs. Katherine leaned her head against Max's shoulder resting her eyes.

~

"I know you guys are staring at me." Max said from the desk, gently waking Katherine up from beside her. 

"What, sorry?

"You said you needed something?"

"Just hanging out." 

The three boys scattered on the couch and began playing with a ball Steve had found. "How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." Max rolled her eyes as her and Katherine got up from the desk and stood in front of the boys. "You can look at me now." She sighed.

"Sorry."

"Thank you."

"Sorry."

Katherine shook her head at the boys who were now giving Max their full attention again. "For you. For you. You. And uh, you." Max handed everyone a sealed envelope, "Oh and you can give these to Mike, El, and Will. If we can ever get ahold of them again." 

Katherine's eyes filled with tears looking down at her name in Max's loopy handwriting. "What are you doing? No, don't. That's not for now." Max held her hands out in front of her as the boys began to open them. They apologized. "What is this?" Lucas asked looking at his ex-girlfriend.

"It's a fucking death letter. And no." Katherine spit out, shoved her thick envelope into Max's chest. "You fucking keep this. And you tell me in person, tomorrow." She wiped the angry tears off of her cheeks going back to sit at the desk. 

The boys gave Max a confused look as she held the now slightly crumpled envelope she addressed to Katherine. "It's, um it's a fail-safe. For after. If things don't work out." Max explained, making their eyes widen. "Wait, whoa. Max things are going to work out." Steve said as the boys stood up from the couch. 

"No! No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out." Max yelled at them, making Katherine jump, "People have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming."

After a few second of silence, Max bends over and grabs Dustin's super walkie, "If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?" "Of course."

"Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve asked stepping in between Max and the staircase, "No. No. No! Max, Max. Seriously. Seriously, I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere."