𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 ᵐᵃˣ ᵐᵃʸᶠⁱᵉˡᵈ

xxᴠɪɪɪ. ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏꜰ sᴛᴀʀᴄᴏᴜʀᴛ

"Sav, Sav it hurts. It hurts!"

"Come on." Max grabbed the girls hand, navigating their way through the hallways, finally finding the Scoops Ahoy door and exiting through, making their way towards the main part of Starcourt.

Max's eyes widened as she saw her brother standing in front of the Mind Flayer, El under him.

The Mind Flayer shot a gutty arm out of it's mouth, going for Eleven but Billy jumped in front of her, holding the taloned arm with his hands. Another set of arms came from the Mind Flayers side as Billy yelled.

The first ones hitting each of his hips, making him let go of the arm he was originally holding as more gutty arms stabbed his sides.

Viola's eyes widened as Billy screamed in pain, the monster letting one last clawed hand stab him in the chest. "Billy!" Max yelled as the man dropped dead on the floor. The red-heads eyes filled with tears.

Just then the Mind Flayer started to spasm wildly, slamming into the sides of the mall before dropping dead on the floor, fire sparking.

Max left Viola's side and walked over to Billy, Viola following behind her. "Billy." Max whispered, kneeling to his side. "Billy, get up, please. Billy, get up, please, please." She begged, tears falling down her face. "I'm sorry." Billy choked. Max began to shake her brother, begging him to wake up, but stopped when realizing he had actually died.

Max fell back into Viola's arms, crying into her chest making her red stained tank-top damp and wet. "I'm sorry, Max." Viola kissed the girls head. "It's okay. It's okay." Viola comforted, looking back at Mike and Eleven.

Military came in and escorted the teens out of Starcourt, bringing them outside to ambulances where they would get patched up. Max was leaning on Viola's bruised shoulder, tears still in her eyes. Savannah and Oliver sat beside Viola talking with Robin who was being patched up by a medic.

This whole night didn't feel real. Not one bit.

•••

THREE MONTHS LATER....

Steve pulled into the parking lot of family video, Savannah and Robin hopping out of the car when he put it in park.

"You put your mom down as a reference?" Robin asked, looking at the Harrington boys job application. "Yeah. Why not?" Steve shrugged. "She's, like, super well respected." He said, opening the door for Robin and Savannah who walked hand in hand into Family Video. "You're such a dingus." Robin insulted.

"Uh, just to be clear we weren't fired, you know." Robin told Keith who accused the three of being fired. "The mall burned down and, like, killed a bunch of people." Savannah informed. "Thanks for sharing. Didn't know." He said emotionlessly before handing the papers back. "Three favorite movies. Go." He pointed at Robin. "Uh.. The Apartment, Hidden Fortress, Children of Paradise." Robin said easily.

Keith moved his finger to Savannah who shrugged. "I didn't get a childhood, man. I never had time to watch movies." She answered. Keith paused, thinking about her answer. "Oh.. Okay." He muttered, moving on to Steve. "Favorite movies?" Steve asked. "Did I stutter?" Keith sassed. "Uh.. Animal House, for sure." Steve looked away from Keith, thinking more. "Eyes on me, Harrington." Keith pointed to his eyeballs. "Yeah, uh.. Star Wars." Steve continued. "A New Hope?" Keith asked. "Oh, that's one of the only movies i got to watch." Savannah suddenly said. Keith smiled and nodded at the girl. "A new what-now?" Steve asked cluelessly, looking between the two. Keith rolled his eyes turned back to the brunette. "Which Star Wars?"

Steve shrugged. "The one with the teddy bears. Duh." He answered. Robin dropped her head onto Savannah's shoulder. "No? Uh.. Oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out. The one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he's trying to bang his mom." Steve explained, chuckling. "Yeah, those are my top three. Classics." Steve nodded, confident with his answers.