cuz you and i - [Max Mayfield]

Better for everyone

Warning: Suicidal-ness

Belly opened her eyes, she was, weirdly enough, alive and in a van, she got up holding her throbbing head, and sat up, there was no one in the van, except her and Eddie. She groaned, making Eddie, who was sitting at the floor of the vehicle, look at her.

"Syringes man, fucking heroine" he said to her "Are you out of your mind? What the fuck were you thinking Isabell Wilson?" he got up, looked her up and down "You don't know shit about what they can do, just a slight overdose and you could've been dead. Do you realize that!?" he scolded her

"Would be better if I did, wouldn't it?" she asked looking into his eyes "Better for everyone" her eyes filled up with tears she sniffled "I didn't put enough in that syringe" she sighed

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me" Eddie dryly chuckled "You almost OD'ed, you scared me to death, you scared all of us to death, and now you're the one with a fucking attitude, he look at me" he instructed "Quit being a little bitch and learn to take accountability for your actions, hurting others and yourself" he took a deep breath in realizing what he just said

He took a seat beside her as he wiped her falling tears.

"That's not what I meant, you know" he said in a low voice and she nodded "I just mean that you're not only hurting yourself but everyone by this, all of them are so worried about you" he looked down

"Why are we here? What's going on?" and Eddie explained to her their 'plan' and what happened after she went unconscious

"So, they are in there collecting weapons and I am here with you, for obvious reasons"

"This is a shit plan" she shook her head "Why the hell is Max risking her life, there's gotta be another way. Why are all of y'all risking it all?" Eddie chuckled "What?"

"Nothing, just, the redhead said said you'd say exactly everything you just said" She smiled "Where'd you get heroine and a whole fucking syringe anyway?" he asked her but they got interrupted when everyone came back. Erica telling them how Jason and the basketball guys are here.

The group rushed out of there and Eddie signalled Belly to try and talk to Max.

"Hey" she said sitting down beside her but Max completely ignoring Belly's entire existence "I know I screwed up" she said in a low voice reaching for Max's hand but the latter pulling away, and rewinding the tape instead, Belly sighed "Listen this could mean, everything, or nothing at all, and i just want you know that, like anything could happen and i just want you to know that, I" Belly gulped "I love you, Max" she said and Max still did not look at her

"What?" Max asked taking off her headphones once she finally looked at Belly, she did not hear any of it Belly just smiled and shook her head as nothing, Max went back to her headphones

They reached an empty field and immediately divided tasks and formed groups, Eddie and Dustin, Erica and Lucas, Max and Nancy, Robin and Steve, Belly stayed back in the van, she would take a nap, she needed a nap, because of how the last few hours went, so technically she was with Robin and Steve who were checking up on her every few minutes to make sure she wasn't using.

"I gotta ask you something, love guru" she looked at Steve with pleading eyes, when he came in to check on her he sat down

"Yes, what is it?"

"So, I know this is not the best time-"

"Oh my, how well you read the situation" he replied sarcastically, and she did not blame him for that considering what she did a few hours ago

"I told Max, I love her" he immediately looked at her

"Great" he said and saw there wasn't a tint of joy on her face "She did not say it back?"

"She didn't, I mean she was wearing headphones, and she did not hear me, but it's not that" she sighed "It did not feel right" she admitted "Like I didn't feel good after saying it, I felt like, it was a wrong choice to say it"

"Well, it's obviously your personal thing like, something that only you know why you felt it was wrong, but it's just words, these don't define your feeling completely, a human is capable of feeling so many things, that not at all, can be put into simple sentences and words" he said "So maybe I love you is just not your thing, eventually, you'll find your word that will feel just right to say" he said as he got up

"Hey, Steve" she called him "Thank you, and I am sorry" she said he only nodded before leaving and she knew she screwed up big time. After a while, the others came back and they left.

Max, Erica, Lucas and Belly going to the Creel house, the rest to the upside down. Belly hugged Eddie before leaving.

"Don't die" she said

"Quit doing drugs" he replied both smiling before parting ways, Steve did not even look at her before driving away.

The four entered the mansion, parting ways, Dustin to the playground, the three others checked the whole place and stopped where the intensity of the light was flickering, Erica ran outside to inform Dustin. Lucas gave the two some space, while Belly and Max sat in front of each other.

Belly Took out her notepad and wrote a 'Hi' on it before showing it to Max. She took the notepad and marker, wrote something and showed it to Belly 'Why'd you do it?' Belly sighed reading it and wrote something on hers, and she kept writing, she abruptly stopped and tore off the page, 'I don't know' she wrote and showed it to Max 'would you like to go out again sometime?' Belly showed the paper to Max, with hopeful eyes 'if it's not Vecna chasing, sure' she said back and they both smiled at each other. And they saw yellow lights, the signal. Lucas came in and signalled back.

The three walked inside the other room together, the light still flickering, Max took off her headphones and turned the walkman off

"Hey! Asshole" she called out "I am here, no more music, no more games." But nothing happened. They waited for a moment. "Do you hear me?" nothing "C'mon do you want me or not?" she shouted as the light buzzed and faded, suddenly the lantern in Max's hand lighting up with more intensity and it led the three upstairs, carefully they followed.

Reaching upstairs, they walked until the lantern shone the brightest and they stopped, suddenly the lantern dimmed, the three looked at each other, confused.

"What're you waiting for, asshole?" Max mumbled "Hmm? I am right here" she said "I am right here?" she repeated with a louder voice "I know you can hear me, I know you can read my thoughts" she paused "Even the worst ones. Maybe mostly the worst ones" she took off her head phones from her neck and walkman and put them at a table.

Lucas and Belly looked at each other, reassuring each other that it was gonna be fine. Even though none of them were sure themselves. Belly crossed her arms in a self soothing manner.

"I thought about what you said" Max sat down, cross legged "About how I wanted my brother to die, I thought you were just trying to scare me, to anger me. But you weren't. Were you? You were just telling the truth" Lucas and Belly looked at each other once again and that's when Max's eyes went white and she saw nothing

"Max!" Belly kneeled beside the girl "Max! Can you hear me?" she waved her hand in front of her and nothing. Both Lucas and Belly panted, terrified and Lucas ran to the window, signalling to initiate phase three.

Belly sat on Max's one side and it had been too long for Erica to respond and they were growing more and more worried by the second.

"Lucas go ask her what's wrong" Lucas signalled through the window.

And the door suddenly creaked open, someone was walking towards the room, the creaking floorboards indicated, the two looked back to see Jason, with a pistol in his hand, walking towards them.