IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU

𝟤.𝟦

Beverly found solace in the Wheeler's mildewed basement. Nancy took her place in her bedroom, as expected, which left the six remaining teenagers to pitch camp in the lowest level of the house. Dustin and Lucas drew up a tentative schedule for who would be on "Max Watch," and what the times were. Each watch was two hours, leaving plenty of time for resting. Lucas had volunteered to go first, followed by Beverly, Robin, Steve, then ending with Dustin.

Steve could be heard muttering to the boys about proposing a "Beverly Watch," as the girl was in the same boat as Max, but was quickly denied, as Beverly had not gotten to the hallucinations. The girl in question tried to ignore it, but Robin all but huffed in frustration.

"You know, this wouldn't be so awkward if you—I don't know—made eye contact with him?" Robin hissed in Beverly's direction as they made up pallets on the carpet-covered concrete. Beverly tried to ignore that comment as well, and Robin allowed it.

Dustin took his spot on the recliner, kicking the foot rest out and almost immediately began snoring. Lucas and Max sat silently at the desk in the back corner, both avoiding eye contact. Beverly wanted to rub that in Robin's face, but chose not to as they stretched out on the couch, entangling their legs under a hand-sewn blanket. Steve took a pallet in front of the couch, not saying a word as he tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

In the darkness of the basement, the only light shining from the corner desk and the slit under the door at the top of the stairs, Beverly finally allowed herself to more than glance at Steve. She had not studied his face in months, actively avoided it, actually. He looked the same to her, same crooked nose in his silhouette, same floppy hair, bulging Adam's Apple, everything looked just like him. He looked tired, but they all did. It had been a long day, according to Dustin's recap of the events.

Before ambushing Beverly in her bed, the gang had split into two groups: research and action. Steve escorted the kids on a mission the break into the school, where they found Lucas soon after, while Nancy and Robin had gone to the archives to discover the story of Victor Creel. Once the renegades and their guide discovered the commonalities between Vecna's victims, and Max had fallen into a trance, the redhead recalled her interaction with Beverly, and how the cheerleader had shared her tissues with her in the bathroom.

Steve denied it all, but once the entire group reconnected and shared their discoveries, Robin looked horrified. She disclosed the countless number of times that she had soothed the cheerleader from migraines, sleepless nights, and shudders from remembering the horrible terrors she faced at night. Robin even noted that it had significantly increased in the past week, causing her coworker to squeeze his eyes closed.

"And that's how we got to you." Dustin had finished his poorly-told story with a grin. It had been nearly two hours since the story was shared with her, and all Beverly could think about was if Dustin's retelling of Steve's actions was credible. She doubted it, but the longer she stared at his silhouette in the dark, the more she wanted to believe it.

After what felt like two long hours of yearning for the sleeping man just an arm's reach away, Beverly shook her head and carefully climbed off of the couch. She quietly relieved Lucas from his position to take a spot on the floor, while she scooted into the desk chair and looked at Max.

"What are you doing?" Beverly asked quietly, looking at the paper in front of Max in the yellow light that came from the lamp.

"Writing." Max whispered back, not looking up from her work.

"Okay." The blonde replied, then looked around. She found blank papers on the shelf atop the desk, a blue ink pen, and some dusty tape scattered around the abandoned desk. Needing to distract herself from the larger issues at hand, she began to copy Max, but instead of writing, doodled with the run down pen.