voyager // max mayfield

TWENTY FIVE: IT WASN'T REAL

"No!" Eve screamed as her eyes opened, back in the upside-down, her brother's worried face right in front of her. He instantly grabbed her as she began to fall, grabbing onto his arms like it was the only thing keeping her there.

"You're okay, you're okay!" Steve promised her as she cried, trying to desperately catch her breath after what she had been through.

"It was so real, it felt so real," She cried to him as he held her close, her friends watching from the other side of the gate with worried faces - it had been almost twenty minutes since the trance had started, Nancy having woken up a whole ten minutes ago.

"It wasn't real," Steve whispered to her, stroking her hair down as he shushed her, "It was Vecna trying to get into your head, it's okay, you're okay."

"It's him, it's always been him." She sobbed into his shoulder and once again Steve felt powerless to the entire situation.

"Come on, we've gotta get you out of here," Steve says to her, helping her stand up as she tried to catch her breath. She holds onto the makeshift rope with shaking hands, Steve picking her up so she's closer to the gate.

She climbs through quickly, falling onto the mattress as Max and Eddie move to get her off of it. She lets them, her head completely clouded as she is pulled off, before she turns towards Max and pulls her into a bone-crushing hug, her nose hiding in the Mayfield girl's shoulder as she breathes in the flowery perfume, the perfume she had bought for her over a year ago.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Max asks her hurriedly, holding onto the girl tightly as Steve finally makes his way through the gate, being helped up by Robin and Nancy.

Eve closed her eyes, shaking her head as she hides more into Max's frame - the whole thing had been extremely scary, Vecna using her biggest fears to get the better of her, to test her.

"We can't stay here," Steve shakes his head, looking from his sister to the gate in worry.

"We can go to my place," Max says from where she is hugging Eve. Everyone agrees, making Max look at the scared girl in her arms.

"Come on," Max whispers to her then, breaking away from her and grabbing her hand. Eve lets her after a moment, sniffing to herself as she wipes her eyes with her free hand.

She lets Max lead her out of the trailer, and covered her eyes with her free hand at the bright sun above, her eyes not adjusted after the darkness of the upside down.

The air smelt fresh, giving her a small ounce of comfort as she looked down at the floor - the floor being the same place her 'doctor' had died in the upside down. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"He's not here. He can't hurt me," she whispers to herself to keep herself calm, unaware that Max can hear her, as they all pile into her trailer.

The place wasn't messy, but it wasn't polished either - it was lived in, which was more than what Eve could say about Max's last home, that really only occupied stuff belonging to Billy and his Dad.

"Max, you should help her clean up a bit," Steve says to Max, seeing how his sister was still clinging to her for dear life - not only was he playing matchmaker for himself, but trying to help his sister.