Chapter Fifty-Seven

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Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Story Of Us

Annie hadn't moved from the desk since she first sat down. What started out as a way for her to get her thoughts out had become a mission. The small stack of papers by her side proved how hard at work she had been.

She had decided she needed to tie up loose ends. Despite how confident the others seemed in finding a way to save her, Annie didn't think it was going to happen. They didn't have any leads in how to prevent whatever was happening- they didn't even understand what was happening.

So she decided to draw. It was one thing she felt she was always good at and always able to rely on. What to draw had been bugging her for a while, until she found herself doodling a scene.

It was her, cheering on the sidelines while Lucas scored the winning basket. That's when Annie landed on drawing memories. Moments that meant so much to her. Once she finished, she turned the page over and wrote a small note to Lucas.

It was mostly telling him what she had drawn, but she also thanked him for being a great friend, and forced him to promise her something.

That he'd take care of Max.

After that, pictures just kept flowing.

She drew something for Dustin (the Arcade, duh)...

Something for El (shopping at the mall with Max)

Something for Mike (this was hard, but she landed on a movie night the Party had)...

Something for Will (the Snowball when they danced and became close friends again)...

And something for Steve (when she came out to him and he was nothing but supportive).

Everyone else- Nancy, Robin, Johnathan, Billy, and others- got notes. She didn't have enough significant memories for full-blown landscapes, but they each still had roles in her life, roles she couldn't ignore.

She left Max for last. This was the most important. She already knew what she was going to draw, and what she'd write, but she had something else for her to hold onto.

A will.

Dramatic? Possibly. But Annie could only feel comfort if she knew everything would be taken care of after she was gone. The outfit she wanted to wear, the things she wanted with her, and the things Annie wanted to go to specific people. A lot was left as, "Do whatever with it, just don't throw it all away," but she had a few things she wanted specific people to have.

As she finished up the last drawing, Annie could hear them over by the sitting area of the room. They had been talking about some Victor dude from the 50s. She honestly didn't care all that much.

Even when Nancy came hurrying down the stairs in a not-so-quiet way, all Annie did was glance back quickly. She wasn't needed in their plan, so she didn't pay attention.

However, when she was finally done, she realized she couldn't ignore everybody any longer. Annie carefully put each drawing into some large envelopes she found in one of the random drawers. Once the paper was in, she wrote the name, and moved to the next one.

Max sat on the couch, staring at the back of her girlfriend. She didn't know what to do. This kind of thing, being hunted by an inter-dimensional being, wasn't something she knew how to handle.

In all honesty, she already wasn't the best in stressful situations, but was good enough at it to keep Annie chill. This was totally out of her wheelhouse.

She tried her best to just follow how Annie was acting and go from there. Right now, she needed her space, so Max did her best to give it.

Clearly she wasn't doing too great. "I can feel all of your eyes boring into my back," Annie said, barely turning to look at them. But it was just enough to watch Steve, Max, Lucas, and Dustin all immediately pretend they totally hadn't been.

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