beyourzoomer | Open Post

Okay cool. We're ordering pizza. Any toppings you don't like?

I'm not really that hungry.

[She's sure there'll be enough if Nancy changes her mind.]

Okay. See you tonight then?

Sure

[ As much as he wants to be here to keep Lucas and El company, he also spends a lot of his time at the hospital because it means he doesn't have to see Nancy. He knows that he hurt her deeply when he blew up at her a month ago and blamed her for Eddie and Max not getting out of everything okay. He knows it's not fair of him, but he can't help but think that maybe if Nancy hadn't been so stubborn she would've realized how stupid splitting up had been. If she hadn't had to be in control, maybe she would've known better than to let Max offer herself up as bait and if she'd known Eddie better she would've known that he would do anything for his friends. But she couldn't have known how things would go and he can see the guilt weighing heavy on her shoulders, can see it every time she looks at him. And he hates it, but he hates that he didn't get to say goodbye even more.]

[ Today he's trying and failing to read one of the books stacked up by Max's bedside. His mind keeps going in circles, flitting from how to keep Will and El safe to whether or not he should tell his parents about the kind of danger they're all in. He knows his dad already wants to pack up and leave Hawkins, he's heard the arguments through the walls of the upper bedrooms. He doesn't know why his mom wants to stay, but he's grateful. He's not going anywhere, even if the idea of his parents and Holly far away from here sounds like a good one.

After a few hours of prodding, he'd talked El and Lucas to let him take over Max sitting so they could go home and get a shower and much needed sleep. He knows they won't stay away for long, but at least he can give them a tiny bit of relief while he's also avoiding his sister.

He sighs and gives up on the book, tossing it back on the pile by Max's bedside. It's then that he thinks he sees her fingers twitch. Mike's breath catches in his throat and he immediately reaches out to take her hand.] Max? Max, can you hear me?

Edited 2025-04-28 16:24 (UTC)

[It feels like she's been swimming toward consciousness for an eternity, and that it's been just out of reach. She can hear people talking to her, can even understand what they're saying sometimes, but she can't respond. She can feel pressure on her hand but she can't squeeze hands in return to let them know she's there, that she's listening. She's terrified that one day the voices will be gone, that there won't be that pressure, that she'll be alone. Sometimes she swears she can see and hear Eddie in the void of -- wherever the hell she is. Her subconscious? Some level of the Upside Down?

He keeps telling her to focus, to go toward the other voices she can hear, because clearly he can hear them too even if that doesn't make sense. She doesn't understand, and nothing makes sense.

She never hears her mom. That doesn't make sense, though. Why wouldn't her mom be with her if she was in the hospital? Probably off drinking away her sorrows.

Time passes, but the voices are there, almost constantly. Once in awhile things are quiet, but she can hear the steady beeping of machines, hear light snoring nearby. And then the voices come back. And so does the pressure on her hand. Her eyebrows furrow, and this time she feels her fingers curl around whoever's holding her hand this time. The voice is familiar but she can't place it yet, either.]

Holy Shit! [ He glances around the room wildly to find that there's no one there to witness this miracle, his fingers squeezing Max's tightly in return. He's unwilling to let go of her hand as he stretches haphazardly over her bed to reach for the nurse button.] Hold on, Max, okay? Just hold on!

[ For once, his ungainly limbs come in handy and he mashes the button repeatedly until an annoyed sounding nurse comes over the intercom.] She's waking up. Get in here!

[ He lets go of the nurse's button, focusing back on Max. Her brow if furrowed as if she's trying to open her eyes, but can't quite manage it.]> Come on, Max. It's time to wake up. Please wake up.

[She knows that voice. She knows she does. She doesn't know who he's summoning to come see her and for all she knows this is some elaborate trick of Vecna's, but -- she manages to open her eyes. But she can't see a thing anyway. A soft, protesting noise escapes her and her fingers clutch a little harder on the ones that are curled around hers, her heart beating faster in her chest now. Why couldn't she see anything?]

Mike? [Her voice is barely audible, raspy from disuse.] I can't -- I can't see.

[ They had told him about the white eyes and the floating and the blood, but he still isn't prepared when Max opens her eyes and there's nothing there but a white film. he feels his heart plummet to the ground, Lucas's tearful recounting of those last few moments echoing back in his mind. He grabs her hand with his other, as if that will somehow reassure her that he's there more than just one could.]

It's okay. [p It's not okay. None of this is okay. Max should be staring back at him with those deep blue and sharp eyes. The ones that have always seemed to see right through him to an unnerving degree. Instead, she doesn't even sound like herself. Her voice is small and faint, two things that have never been used to describe Max Mayfield. He swallows thickly, hoping the nurse will get her ass down there soon. ] I'm here. Lucas and El have been, but they went to shower and sleep. We've been waiting... [ For what? For this? It's still a miracle, even if she cant' see. At least she's here. ] You're in the hospital. A nurse is coming okay?

[The feel of his other hand wrapping around hers helps ground her, helps pull her from her panic even if only a little bit. She forces herself to take a couple slow deep breaths, focusing on the sound of Mike's voice. She's maybe a little surprised that it's Mike and not El or Lucas or her mom or even Steve there with her, but she's grateful for a familiar voice all the same. She and Mike aren't close, they've never been close, but right now she was so relieved to hear his voice that she wanted to cry. She tries to shift a little, but her entire body feels heavier than usual, weighed down. That's concerning, too, but she can feel her hand, and she can feel his hand, and -- she hears footsteps approaching.]

Don't leave me here.

Please.

[There's fear in her voice now, but she can't see and she doesn't know who's coming. It could be a nurse or it could be Vecna or --]

I won't. [ Said quickly, but resolute in it's promise all the same. Not the least of which because Lucas and El would kill him, but also because he's been hoping for a chance like this. A chance for him to say all of the things he never told her before. No, they aren't exactly close, but she's become part of the party, all the same. He may not have been her biggest fan in the beginning, but he's seen her missing El as much as he has, even if it's been from afar. He should've reached out to her. He shouldn't have let her pull away from all of them, but he'd thought maybe she needed some space. He'd never thought he'd come back from California to her in a coma.] He still has her letter tucked away in-between the pages of Lord of the Rings because he'd never been able to bring himself to read it. It would've felt too much like giving up.]

[The nurse makes her appearance, a look of surprise crossing her face, as if she'd thought Mike was trying to pull some dumb prank on her. She fusses over Max and gives him a dirty look when he doesn't let go of Max's hand and move out of her way. She promises to contact her doctor and her mother and then leaves them alone again, the room oddly quiet. Mike wants to tell her how glad he is that she's awake, but instead the question that's repeated itself over and over again in his mind slips out. At least it doesn't sound as accusatory as it could, it just sounds tired. ] Max, what were you thinking?

[She lets the nurse check her blood pressure, her heart rate, her lungs. She doesn't sound alarmed by any of it, nor does she seem surprised that Max can't see so she can only assume they'd assumed that would be the case. Questions are spinning in her own mind. How long has she been in the hospital? Were the others okay? Steve? Nancy? Robin? Eddie? Dustin? They'd all gone into the actual Upside Down to do battle with Vecna physically while she'd tried to contain him mentally. It hadn't worked out exactly, but --

El. She remembers El had shown up in there, had battled Vecna, too. And she'd had her powers back. Had that been real? Had she dreamed all of it?

She's not expecting Mike's question, doesn't really even know what he's talking about right now, because her mind is racing. All she can manage is --]

What?

[ Now isn't the right time for him to be asking this question. He can tell that much by the confusion in her voice. He tries to put himself in her shoes and think, too late, about how overwhelming everything is. But now her blank eyes are turned in his general direction and the knowledge that she may never see out of them again twists in his gut. He's never been good about holding his tongue.

He sighs, his flingers squeezing hers. ] They said you volunteered to be bait. [ He wasn't there. He doesn't know what it was like to have the clock ticking down, or the desperation they'd all felt to do something, but it still feels like a cry for help. It still feels desperate at best and a suicide mission at worst. He can't get over the fact that Nancy, Steve, Lucas were okay with her going through with it.]

You almost died. [ Almost. But she's still here. Blind and broken, but alive. He's grateful, he is, but there's also a bitterness that is hard to swallow when he thinks about Eddie.]

It was the best plan we could come up with. He was coming for me, anyway.

[And that's the reality of it. She'd made the choice, yes, but it was either make it on her own terms or just be a willing victim. And she wasn't going to be anyone's willing victim again if she had any strength inside her at all.]

Where are the others? Is everyone okay? Did = did they get that bastard?

[ He should be relieved that she doesn't seem mad at him asking the question at all, instead it just makes another pang of anger move up from his stomach into his chest.] Well, it was a stupid plan. They should've come up with something else.

[ He swallows, his expression falling. He's lucky that she's not able to see it, or maybe unlucky, since if she could, she'd know immediately something was wrong. He wishes he could sugar coat it, but there's no use. Lying would only put off the inevitable. Besides, it's not as if she really knew Eddie. Not like he and Dustin had. He knows she means the others as in the others in the party. Lucas, Dustin, Nancy, Steve...] They're fine, but he got away.

[ He doesn't know why his voice cracks, he'd thought he'd done all his crying a month ago. Maybe it's sheer frustration at everything they lost and for what? For Hawkins to fall apart at the seams anyway? For the nightmare to just be continued? He does his best to fight the threat of tears, clearing his tightening throat.] Eddie didn't make it., though.

[ There's something so much worse about saying it out loud other than just carrying the knowledge around with him. It feels like he's closing a door he didn't realize until this very moment was still open. He releases her hand so he can wipe his sleeve across his eyes. This isn't the time to fall apart. He tries to reach for that familiar anger that's been burning in his gut. The only thing that's been gluing him together.] El brought you back. I don't know how, but she did.

[ He'd wanted so badly to ask her to do the same for Eddie, but he couldn't, no matter how important he was. And that felt like another betrayal, another weight that he'd have to carry around with him for the rest of his life. Doing so would've put El herself at risk and the world needed her. They all did.] You've been in a coma for over a month.

It was my plan. [There's a hint of defensiveness there. But only a hint. But hearing that Vecna got away, that he's still out there -- her stomach drops. If he's still out there, he'll be back. For her. Maybe for Nancy. Definitely for El, whom he seemed to hate the most of all of them, for whatever reason. She only knows bits and pieces of that part, that she'd gleaned from Nancy's vision.

But then Mike goes on.

Eddie. Eddie was dead. All the air leaves her lungs at that. He might not have been one of the original members of their party, but he'd gotten just as wrapped up in everything as the rest of them, by no fault of his own. And he'd gone to try and help kill that bastard -- whether to help her, or avenge Chrissy, or prove something to himself -- she's not sure the reasoning mattered. What mattered was he'd done it, and he'd gotten caught in the crossfire of a war that wasn't his.

She can't see Mike's face, but she can hear the emotion that he's trying to contain, and all it does is make tears well in her own eyes. Goddammit. She felt sick. She squeezed her eyes shut.]

Jesus.

[ He takes a few deep breaths, trying to keep himself together. The truth is he hasn't really talked to anyone about any of this. Not his parents, not the others - he's reminded why by the pressure behind his eyes and the grief eating him from the inside out.]

I should've been here. [ Another sentence that's been repeating itself over and over again in his mind. Maybe there was nothing that he would've been able to do. Or maybe he could've talked one of them out of the plan. He just doesn't know, and that's the worst part of all of this.] Maybe it might have made a difference.

[ Max's response is one of shock and he watches as she squeezes her eyes shut, like it might keep it out. This probably isn't helping her blood pressure, all things considered, but he doesn't know what else to do. He's reminded of her crying over Billy's body - God, was that only last year? - and he knows without a doubt that she knows what this feels like, even if Eddie and Billy were nothing a like.]

I'm sorry we didn't know what you were going through. [ He wants to believe it would've made a difference. That they might have been able to keep her afloat so she wouldn't become a target. It might have been someone else lying here in her place.]

[She doesn't really know if Mike being there would have changed anything at all. Maybe it would have, maybe it wouldn't. It's not like they can time travel and do things all over again differently. She exhales slowly, trying to keep herself together. Her head hurts, and her body still feels too heavy and she can't seem to move much. Her legs and arms are kind of itchy in addition to feeling heavier than usual, and she hasn't figured out yet that they're in casts still.

She turns her head toward him when he apologizes though. The sincerity there is -- it's almost too much for her to cope with. Hearing it from Lucas had been difficult enough, but hearing it from Mike? Somehow that was harder. Maybe because the two of them weren't known for trading apologies. Mostly banter and insults and once in awhile something more serious.]

It's not your fault. It's not -- it's not anyone's fault. Except Vecna's.

[And her. She's the one who pushed them all away after El moved. After things fell apart at home with her mom and Neil. After they moved into the shitty trailer.]

Yeah. [ He swallows back the other words. Words that don't really matter in the long run. Too little, too late. But at least she's still here. At least he doesn't have to try to say goodbye again. He can still feel the anger just under the surface, but she gives him somewhere to channel it.]

We'll get him, Max. We'll make him pay. [ For everything he'd done to Will, to El, to Max, to Eddie, to all of them. It was going to end one way or another and now more than ever he's ready to make sure it ends with Vecna gone for good, not matter the cost. If he was more self-aware, he might recognize the irony, but self-awareness has never been one of his strong points.]

[ He pauses, realizing that he's pretty much just bulldozed through the last month. Probably not the best way to break the news to someone who just woke up blind.] Sorry, do you want me to call Lucas and El? I've got to call the others and let them know you're awake. Are you hungry? Thirsty? You must be starving.

Yeah.

[She keeps her eyes closed for a moment, still trying to process that Eddie's dead, in no small part due to her. Because it had been her plan. Maybe not the part that involved him directly, but -- at the end of the day the results were all the same, weren't they? Her chest felt tight and it hurt to breathe. It was a familiar feeling, one she'd felt so many nights after Billy's death.]

I'm sorry. About Eddie.

[Her voice was barely audible, fingers curling more tightly around his subconsciously.]

No, just -- let them rest. They've been here a lot, right? I don't -- I don't want anything.

[ He thinks maybe she's tired. He just laid a lot of heavy stuff on her after all. But then she says she's sorry about Eddie and he swallows thickly, shaking his head even though he knows she can't see him. He takes some comfort from the feel of her fingers squeezing his back.] I'm just glad we didn't lose both of you.

[ He smiles, hoping she can hear it in his voice.] How else am I going to learn how to skateboard? [ He's reminded of the last time Max had taught him something - Californian fashion - and how stupid he'd looked. He suspects this was by design, but he can't really bring himself to hold it against her now. Objectively, it had been funny.]

Max, if I don't call them, they'll literally string me up the moment they get here. I don't think Lucas has left for more than a few hours at a time since you got here. El's been here every day, too. [ He sighs. ] She was so scared when she couldn't reach you in the inbetween.

[She wonders, fleetingly, if he wishes it had gone the other way. That she had been the one to die, and Eddie the one who was waking up in the hospital for a month long coma. She wonders just as fleetingly if that would have been the better option for everyone. Eddie had been so full of life and she'd just been existing. Like a ghost. She let those thoughts go as quickly as she could because there was no point in wondering. She'd never know the truth of it anyway.

But -- skateboarding wasn't going to be something she could teach if she was blind and that seemed like it was going to be the case. It also meant she couldn't play video games or read comics or -

Another line of thought she shut down. She chews her lower lip for a moment, knowing she was right. Lucas would be furious with Mike and she didn't want to be the cause of a rift.]

Yeah I just -- no, you're right. You should call them. [She doesn't know what to do with the information that El's been trying to reach her in that inbetween space. She remembers El fighting Vecna -- and she assumes that was real. But then everything was just...a big blank. Except.

Except she could remember hearing Eddie's voice. And she could remember hearing other voices around her that she just couldn't respond to. Where had she gone that made her unreachable to El?]

Sorry, my head's just -- [She shrugs.]

Yeah, it's okay. [ It's more than okay. She's awake. The more he thinks about how he's going to break the news, the more he realizes just how much they've all been trying to prepare themselves for the worst. This is a win in a long, long streak of painful losses. He grins and pats her hand before withdrawing his. ] You sure you don't want anything else?

[ He knows once word gets around, the whole party will be descending on her hospital room. There's barely enough room in here for three visitors, let alone a full party. ] You're only allowed to have a few visitors at a time, but if it's the party versus the nurses, my money's on us. [ He huffs out a small laugh.] But if you want me to run interference so it's not so crazy, I can do that.

Yeah, I'm okay.

[She's not hungry or thirsty or anything that can really be taken care of by anyone else. She's exhausted, which she thinks is stupid as hell considering she's been unconscious for an entire month. But she wants the others there, even if she can't see them.

My money's on the party, too, for the record. [Especially under the circumstances. She hopes maybe the circumstances will mean the nurses won't give them too much trouble.]

But no, it's fine. Let 'em all come. [She pauses now, for a minute.] I remember hearing all of you, I just -- felt like I was under water. I couldn't answer. I couldn't always understand what you were all saying, but I recognized you. [Max bites her lip.] But I don't remember hearing my mom?

You did? [ He's never personally been in a coma, but this information is more than a little interesting. It's also a little heartbreaking, thinking that Max could hear them but couldn't respond that whole time. His eyebrows knit together in consternation at her question. It's one he probably should've expected sooner than later, but he's still caught off guard by it.

He takes a breath, but finds it hard to actually form the words. He clears his throat.] I haven't seen her, but it's possible that she's coming by when I'm not here. Lucas or El would probably know more. [ He pauses.] Uh, I did hear Joyce say she survived the earthquake though.

[ He'd heard a lot more than that, but it's probably better if Joyce tells her.] I can try to call her first. If you want?

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