Brave Like You (Steve Harrington)

Thirty-Four.

Nancy and Robin were planning on posing as psychology students from Notre Dame to be able to get one-on-one with Victor at the asylum. They went up to her room to change into some nicer clothes to look like scholars.

Max was getting tired of us watching her. She had been writing all day, and now we knew why. She handed us all the letters she had been working on. She didn't want us to open them now, but later if it didn't work out. Max wanted to go to the cemetery to visit Billy, but Steve wouldn't let her go.

She threatened to kick his ass and steal his keys from him if he didn't drive her, so he did, of course. We drove her to the graveyard where Billy is buried. We let her go to his grave alone, well, we did after Lucas forced her to talk to him when she obviously didn't want to.

We all watched Max from Steve's car. She sat reading a letter she wrote to Billy out loud to his grave. We couldn't hear from the car, and I think she wanted it that way. After a moment, Steve got anxious. He wanted to leave. He went to retrieve her.

I tried to stop him from cutting this short, "Babe, don't, let her grieve on her own terms."

"I don't like this," He said, and he shook his head.

"She will never forgive you if you make her leave before she's ready," I told him, but he didn't care. He walked up to her, and I knew I couldn't stop him. He knelt down to talk to her since she was sitting. But then he started shaking her, calling out for her to wake up.

The other three of us ran to them. He shouted at Dustin to get the walkie and call for Nancy and Robin. Dustin got her music and had Lucas put on her favorite song. Nancy had told Dustin that it was a song that Victor was hearing that was able to keep him sane while he was in a trance like this. Max began levitating off the ground, until she got so high that we couldn't hold her down. Running Up that Hill by Kate Bush was blasting in her ears, but it didn't seem to be working. Steve was frantic. Screaming for her to come out of the trance. We all followed, trying to be as loud as we could to wake her up. Suddenly I had an idea that might work.

"Throw me," I said, looking at Steve.

"What?" He asks, looking confused.

I gripped the collar of his jacket, "I'm a cheerleader, and I'm a flyer, Steve. Toss me into the air. I can jump up and pull her down."

He knelt down, ready for me to get into position for him to throw me in the air. He tossed me up, and I was able to jump onto Max. But, she didn't come down, and now we're both just hanging in the air. "She's stuck or something," I said, "It's not working."

"Come down then, Babe," Steve called.

"Come on, Max," I said, hoping she could hear me through the music, "Wake up please."

I jumped back down, and Steve caught me. Max came down a few moments later. When she came down, she hit the ground hard. Lucas caught her, holding her in his arms. She was breathing heavily.

"I thought I lost you." Lucas said, his voice on the edge of tears.

"I'm still here," she said through gasps of breath, "I'm still here."

We gave her a moment to catch her breath, and then we left the cemetery. We went back to the Wheeler's house, where Max kept her headphones on, not talking to anyone. We told Nancy and Robin what happened.

I hardly slept. I kept having that nightmare again. I had a splitting headache, the worst one yet. It was awful. But a familiar voice was able to fully wake me up. "Dustin," I heard on the walkie, "Dustin? Are you there? It's Eddie the Banished. Dustin? Anyone there?"

I looked at Dustin, he was out cold, so I crawled to the walkie and I hit the talk button. "Eddie," I said, "Eddie, it's me. It's Candy."

"Candace!" He exclaimed, "I really need your help, Baby Sis."