+ Come Back - Lumax +

Nine - party panic

      Lucas stared anxiously out the hospital window as Erica paced the room behind him. For once, she looked scared, and she had seen a huge flesh monster murdering Max's older brother at the wonderful age of ten. But now was the only time she was afraid, somehow.

      He was going to die. Max was going to wake up alone. Erica was going to be in the same situation as Max; with a dead older brother and unable to talk about the cause of his death. Dustin was going to lose another friend. The party was going to be back to four people, but a different group. Max would have to hear what had happened. Max wouldn't have anyone to talk to when she was too stressed. Max would lose the one person she talked to about her issues, as far as Lucas knew.

      Vecna had cursed him.

      A spark of relief settled in his stomach as a familiar car and a pizza van parked; his friends were here.

      He watched as everyone scrambled out of the cars, and then he watched the trunk of Steve's car open, and out came Robin, tumbling out of the trunk and onto the concrete ground.

      "Oh my god." He mumbled, swallowing back a laugh as he watched everyone's attention switch over to Robin, who was getting to her feet slowly.

      Erica rushed over to him, looking out the window as well. "Oh my god what?" She asked, watching the group as Jonathan and Nancy came out of the Surfer Boy Pizza van, nobody else following. Clearly, they'd been the only ones in there.

      He smirked, despite the situation. "Robin just fell out of Steve's trunk."

      His sister snorted, then went back to pacing the room, biting on her nails. He stared at the group, tracking them as they entered the mall quickly, Will falling a little behind. Steve looked annoyed with this, so annoyed that, instead of waiting for him, he walked over to the younger teen and hauled him over his shoulder, returning to the group with a stunned-looking Will hanging on his shoulder.

      It didn't take long for everyone to rush in through the hospital door, all staring at the boy beside the window.

      Erica broke the silence with a snort, staring straight at Robin. "So, you wanna talk about it?" She snickered.

      Robin sighed. "Do I wanna talk about what?" She raised an eyebrow.

      "Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that Lucas and I saw you fall out of Steve's trunk?"

      A look of annoyance filled Robin's face as she adjusted her Family Video jacket, proving Steve had probably picked her up from work, which may or may not get her fired, knowing the dude who hired her. "Well, I—"

      Erica cut her off. "What were you doing in Steve's trunk anyway? Was there not room in the perfectly empty pizza van that Jonathan and Nancy came out of?"

      "I didn't want to be in the back while these two," Robin gestured wildly at the couple behind her, Jonathan looking extremely awkward and Nancy sighing. "Clearly had some discussions to have!"

      Steve shook his head. "Alright, alright! Enough of this conversation, we have much bigger problems right now, in case you two have forgotten. Lucas, I need you to explain what Erica tried to tell me on the phone this morning. She thinks you're going to die?" He sounded desperate; perhaps he cared about the teens more than he'd like to admit?

      Lucas glanced at the group, all of them staring at him; Mike squeezing El's hand comfortingly, whether it was to comfort her or himself, Lucas didn't know. Will's expression worried, Dustin's eyes somehow more dull than they had been in the months since he'd lost Eddie, Nancy leaning her head on Jonathan's shoulder and Jonathan leaning his on her head. They all looked scared in their own way, minus Dustin, who just looked like he'd lost all hope in life. That hurt a little more than the fact that Lucas was going to die.