𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒| Eleven Hopper/ Jane Hopper

LIX. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞

You were my first best friend, I owe you my life for that.

-Love, Max

"Mav." a voice caught her attention, folding the paper and tucking it into her waist band. As she turned, Mavis had to sigh in relief. "Mav."

"El." she hurried into her arms, tucking her head into her neck as El held her, her hand pressing into the back of her head. Mav's hair was up in a clip, hurting El's hand to hold, but she didn't care. "Did you kick Vecna's ass?"

"Almost." El held her tighter. "Just glad you're okay."

Mavis pulled her toward Mikes bed, they sat down and joined hands. She smiled at her. "Your hair?"

"Yeah." El frowned as she touched her bald head.

Mavis leaned in some and squeezed her hand. "I like it that way."

El gave her a weird look, like she was speaking a different language. "You do?"

"Yeah." she smiled back. "That's how I met you, remember?"

El gave a little smile, flushed in the face. "Yeah, I remember."

"Shall I remind you anyways, for shits and giggles?" Mav suggested with a dramatic clear of her throat. "On the verge of going to jail, in a pink rain coat, freezing from the rain, and you scare the shit out of me, standing in the rain."

El grinned. "Then you taught me cool."

"So cool." Mav whispered dramatically, making an explosion with her hand.

"I think I loved you then, too." El moved in closer and laid her head down on her shoulder. "I didn't know it until Hops cabin, watching girl and boy get married on TV. I wished it was us, because of my drawing I did."

Mavis had to smile, kissing the top of her head. "I still have that drawing."

"I don't think I knew it, but I think I did love you before I knew what it was." El sat up and looked at her. "And when I heard you were infected, because of him, I got s-"

El froze, her voice cracked, her eyes got watery. Mav frowned as she placed a hand on her face, El exhaled as she gathered her feelings. "I got so scared, like i'd loose you. I never want to ever, ever, loose you. Ever."

"You're never gonna loose me." she promised her, cupping her face. "You couldn't, even if you wanted to."

"Never want to." El shook her head, launching herself forward into Mav's arms as they fell back slightly. Mavis held her, not realizing, genuinely, how insane El has been going ever since she found out Vecna had been targeting her.

"We're been calling you guys." Lucas stopped reading to Max, standing up to hug Mike and Will. Mavis kept her arms locked around El, hidden under a jacket.

"We know." Mike hugged him back. "We came as soon as we got the news."

They let each other go, Lucas saw El with Mavis. He sighed. "I heard what you did."

He hugged her. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry." El said back, because she did save Mavis, and she got Max back, but she didn't do nearly enough.

As Mavis looked around the room, she realized so many of them sacrificed themselves or others to protect her. It hit her suddenly and tugged on her heart so hard. She leaned into Will, he held onto her tightly as Mav kept her eyes on Max.

"Do they know...when she will wake?" El looked at Max in worry.

"No." Lucas frowned. "They don't know if she will."