Strawberries and Cigarettes // Max Mayfield x girl OC

Chapter Nine: The Piggyback

As Chris, Max, Erica, and Lucas entered the old abandoned house, they removed their shoes and left them by the door. The goal was to make as little noise as possible, so they didn't catch Vecna's attention before they were ready. They were all carrying lanterns, trying to pinpoint Vecna's exact location with the light.

Erica took the basement, Lucas searched downstairs, and Max and Chris—wearing headphones—covered the attic. Logically, Chris knew it'd make more sense if she split off on her own, as well, but she didn't want to. If there was ever a time to call Chris clingy, now was the time to do it. However, she felt as though her clinginess was justified in this situation.

Chris turned around to search the other side of the room and bit back a swear as she saw Lucas and Erica standing in the doorway. Chris tapped Max and nodded toward the siblings, the younger one holding a note informing them that she had found Vecna.

Erica led them down to the basement where, sure enough, the lanterns began to shine brighter.

Phase one.

Erica ran outside to the playground across the street to signal the others in the Upside Down. Lucas sat off in the corner while Max and Chris sat across from each other, both of them lost in thought.

Suddenly, Max grabbed the notepad next to her, pulling Chris back to the present.

'Hi," Max wrote, flipping the notepad around with a goofy smile.

Chris grabbed her own notepad.

'Hey loser.'

'I'm glad you're here,' Max wrote again.

'Me too!' Chris wrote. 'I'm glad to be with you.'

Max's smile grew, a sight Chris would never grow tired of seeing.

'Arcade date next Friday?' Chris suggested. It had been too long since their last arcade date. They used to go every Friday night. They'd bring all the quarters they could find and spend the whole night playing games and drinking slushies.

Max responded with a picture of her and Chris holding hands in front of the Palace Arcade sign. It was just a simple stick-figure drawing, but Chris felt like it belonged in the Louvre.

Before Chris could write her reply, Erica flashed a light from outside. Chris, Max, and Lucas ran to the window, where the latter flashed his light back.

Phase two.

The three of them slipped their shoes back on and prepared to continue with the plan. They walked back to the lantern they had placed as a marker for where Vecna was. With one last shaky glance, Max slipped off her headphones and switched off her Walkman. Chris closed her eyes and took a deep breath, not ready for what was to come.

"Hey! Asshole!" Max yelled, causing Chris to snap her eyes open. "I'm here. No more music. No more games."

The lantern flickered but gave no indication that Vecna was listening.

"Did you hear me?" Max called again. "What are you waiting for, huh? Come on! Do you want me or not?"

Chris crossed her arms and tried to ignore the fact that the love of her life was currently summoning a creature who had the potential to kill her in one motion.

Suddenly, the lantern in the middle of the room went dark, and Max's grew brighter. Vecna was awake.

Max followed the light and led the small group up the stairs to the attic. Once they were dead-center in the room, Max stopped. The lantern began to burn even brighter before fading back to a normal glow.