𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

020. Favourite Song.

THE DOOR the guard had brought them through opened and shut loudly, "is he everything you hoped he would be?" Dr. Hatch called out to them, two guards on either sides of him as he walks down the hall. "I just had a very interesting conversation with Professor Brantley. Perhaps we should discuss in my office while we wait for the police." At the mention of that, Val got super nervous. But she complied, walking with Robin and Nancy.

"You're not listening. Our friend is in danger." Nancy told the man who turns to look at them. "Do you really expect me to believe anything you say at this point?" He asked. "It's the truth!" Nancy exclaimed and glanced to the other two girls for help. "You are free to tell your sob story to the police." Again, Val just fidgets with the fabric of her long skirt.

"Move along." One of the guards push Robin so Valerie quickly glanced over. "Don't touch me!" The girl exclaims as Val grabs her arm. "Let her go." She tells the guard who did as told, before they now exit the building.

"Come on." Robin whispered and pulled Val over to Nancy, catching up to her. "Victor said the night of the attack, everything went on in the house, but he made specific mentions of music. He said music was playing." Robin tells them. "Yeah. And he was humming." Valerie mentions, looking over at Nancy.

Robin nods before humming the tune. "Dream A Little Dream of Me." Val quickly says. "Ella Fitzgerald." Nancy told her, glancing over. "The voice of an angel." The Smith girl whispers, smiling a bit faintly before glancing at Robin. Leave it to her super genius girlfriend to always figure stuff out quickly. Top secret Russian codes, what Victor Creel's nonsense was about. "Hatch said that music can reach parts of the brain that words can't. So maybe that's the key, a lifeline." Robin tells them.

"A lifeline back to reality."

"It's worth a shot." Robin says and Val just smiled widely. "You're so smart." She whispers to her, leaning closer before looking at Nancy. "What's the plan, Stan?" She says again and Nancy glanced back. "I think we can beat them." She whispers and Val furrows her brows. "Like beat them up?" She asked.

"No. To the car." Nancy says. "Okay, I'm warning you now, I have terrible coordination." Robin said as she looks at the Wheeler girl to her left as Val chimes in, "yeah, she told me that she took it her six months longer to walk than all the other babies." She says, raising her brows. "Just follow my lead." Nancy dashed off so Val's eyes widen as she took off as well, holding onto Robin's hand tightly in hers.

"Hey! Get the hell back here!" One of the guards yell as Nancy was now holding her heels but the other two really didn't care as theirs flew off while running across the yard. "Cinderella, you dropped your shoe!" One of the patients, an old man, shouted out to them and Val laughs, jumping down and turning to Robin who hops down as well, grabbing her hand again before they continue running.

They follow after Nancy through an alley way leading to the front of the building, the guards were pretty fast but they were faster as Nancy unlocks the doors, they hop into the vehicle, Nancy in the driver's seat, Robin in the passenger side and Val in the back, adjusting her skirt as she shut the door. Robin yelps in fright when the guards show up to either sides of the front windows, hitting on the glass but Nancy had thankfully locked the doors in time. "Go, go, go, go! Drive!" Val shouts.

Nancy started up the vehicle as the guards shouted at them to stop and get out of the car. Clearly, they didn't listen as Nancy shifted the car into drive and sped off. "Holy shit!" Robin glanced back, looking behind Val who sat up, adjusting her curly hair, taking off the clips Nancy put in her hair quickly.

"You really are a weird runner." Nancy tells Robin as Valerie just laughs quietly. The radio by Val goes off, "Val? Robin? Where are you? This is a code red. I repeat, this is a code red!" Dustin. She quickly grabs it, looking up at the other two girls in the front.

"It's Val, we copy." She said. "Holy shit, finally! Please, please, tell me you guys have this figured out." He asked and Val sighs, nodding softly. "Yes, yes. Uh, Max, she--she carries around this Walkman, get that and play her favourite song for her." She tells him quickly. "Favourite song?" Dustin sounds slightly confused. "Dustin!" She says right away. "Okay! Okay, got it." He replied.

Val sighed, looking to Robin who reached out and grabbed her hand gently, giving it a small squeeze. "She'll be okay." She whispers and Val nods softly. "Can we head back to yours, Nance?" Val asked her and Nancy nods quickly. Valerie spent the whole time, staring out the window and biting her fingernails, flashes of Chrissy in her mind, turning into flashes of Max in that same situation.

She got anxious, her leg bouncing up and down on the whole way back. It was dark out when they got to the Wheeler house and as they drove into the driveway, another car followed. Steve's. Val quickly got out the vehicle as soon as the car stops. "Is she okay?" She rushed over to Steve's car where Max got out, rushing over to Val. "Oh, God," she threw her arms around the redheaded girl.

Max hugged back tightly, her head to Val's shoulder. She rubs the back of Max's head gently, letting out a soft sigh as the ginger sniffled quietly. "You good? Yeah?" Val whispers quietly as they pull back from the hug and Max just nodded quietly, adjusting her hair by tucking it behind her ear. "I was so worried." Val sighs, her hands on either side of the girl's head before glancing at the others.

"Where'd you guys even go?" She asked as the other two girls joined her side. "Um, I went to visit Billy." Max said quietly and Val glanced at her, nodding quietly. "Oh..." She said and then looked back at the others again. "We should all head inside... and get some rest. Right, Nance?" She looks to the other.

"Yeah, let's head inside..."

authors note steve and val being like max's older siblings is now my new favourite thing <3