{𝔑𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔤𝔬𝔫𝔫𝔞 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔤𝔬. 𝔊𝔦𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔩 ℑ'𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔩𝔦𝔣𝔢. 𝔒𝔥, 𝔟𝔞𝔟𝔶 𝔞𝔩𝔩 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔫𝔞 𝔡𝔬 ℑ𝔰 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔪𝔶 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲. 𝔖𝔬 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 ℑ'𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔟𝔶 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢, 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔣 ℑ 𝔡𝔦𝔢}
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Grayson was faced with a familiar roughish face staring blankly back at her. She looked conflicted almost like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ten-year-old Grayson was staring up at her with a look that almost made her blood run cold.
She recognized that expression. It was the same expression that she always made whenever she felt alone. Alone in the world with nobody there to catch her when she fell or to tell her off when she acted out.
At one point in her life, Grayson had wanted attention. She craved attention to the point where she began to depend on it like a drug. The Harrington's were always going around the world on long year trips to save their marriage. But even as an outsider looking in you could've seen them hanging on by a thread. That thread wasn't Steve or her but money. Money kept them together.
The truth was Mrs. Harrington didn't trust Mr. Harrington alone with his coworkers...especially his female coworkers. Right after Grayson witnessed him bring his assistant home when everyone was supposed to be away was the day where she had smoked her first cigarette. It quickly became an addiction. Not to mention how easy it was to get her hands on them. Steve had them laying around everywhere and by that I mean everywhere. Throughout the house every corner Grayson turned there they were, taunting her, waiting for the right moment to sneak up on her when her mental health began to slip. This wasn't an easy sight.
The scene began to change. Grayson watched as her younger self was replaced with herself from two years ago. The twelve-year-old brunette was sitting by the edge of a pool, breathing heavily as Tommy H and Carol sat behind her, urging her to do things she didn't want to do. Tommy had an almost sickening look on his face that made her stomach flip with fear. She wanted to puke, be anywhere but here where she felt pressured, anxious, and unsafe.
Older Grayson stared at the scene with shock. The color drained out of her face as her mouth ran dry. A pang of pain shot up her chest, engulfing her heart with a burning pain. She snapped her head to the right as her eyes landed on her brother taking Nancy inside the house with a stupid grin on his face. She never noticed how much of a jerk Steve was before they got along. It wasn't always the playful banter and heartfelt fights. They didn't always get along. It was so much darker than that.
"C'mon, don't be such a pussy, Harrington. Take one" Tommy gripped onto her shoulder, sinking his nails into her skin. "I know you want to" he whispered, waving the red pack of cigarettes right in front of her shaking eyes. Carol's laughter sent rings of panic throughout her stomach almost bringing tears to her eyes. Younger Grayson was getting pressured to smoke a cigarette by Tommy H her brother's ex-best friend.
"Tommy!" The brunette turned to look at the redhead shouting the boy's name across their backyard. Older Grayson creased her eyebrows with a panic. Barb. She stumbled forward with one thing on her mind: barb and how she was going to save her before it got her. Before it decided to show its ugly face. "Barb!" She panted a foot away from the redhead before the scene started deteriorating. "No, no, no! Barb!" Grayson shouted, missing the girl's shoulder by an inch before colliding with the cold wooden floor of the Creel house.
Grayson quickly stood up, backing up against the wall with her fists clenched, darting her eyes all over the empty room. She was on high alert. Her brain was buzzing anxiously with her thoughts pounding against her skull. Her expression quickly hardened as she clung to the wall just like fear clung to her. Even though it ran throughout her body she refused to let it show. She wouldn't give Henry that sweet satisfaction.
Grayson shook her damp hair out of her face as sweat rolled down her veiny neck and stained the hardwood floor beneath her. It was hot. Hotter than it should be and it wasn't because she was here. She grabbed the handle of the attic door immediately Yelping in pain as the skin on her palm burned. The handle had become red, molting with heat. If she was normal her skin would've come right off but luckily for her, she wasn't. She was far from that.
"Henry!" She shouted, clenching her teeth, fixating her eyes on the door handle while taking deep breaths. "Stop playing with me and come out!" Grayson had enough. She placed her hand on the door handle, trying to ignore the cinching pain pricking at her skin. She threw her shoulder against the wooden door until it fell at her feet, blowing dust everywhere.
"Stop playing with me, Henry!" She snarled, holding her burnt-out hand against her chest. Her breathing was erratic barely able to feel the throbbing pain traveling up her arm. "You bastard!" The scene changed. Grayson shook her head spotting her younger self getting kicked to the curve by her father or rather the man who was supposed to be her father. She hovered her wavering hands above her head. "No, no, no, no!"
That scene had been buried deep within her brain. She had tried so hard to keep it at bay but even then I guess it never really left. Now Henry was using it against her. He was probably enjoying this more than he should of. The scene quickly dissolved engulfing a whimpering Grayson with the eeriness of whatever was left of the Creel house. She stood up with a start, releasing heavy breaths of air as she looked down at her left hand already starting its transformation with terror.
Grayson traced her eyes over the uneven fingernails dripping with blueish blood. The faint remains of black goo gathered in her bloodstream, staining her veins a blackish color.
"Grayson...."
•••••
Lucas was careful not to move the two girls away from each other's embrace. He got on his knees franticly waving a hand in front of Max's face while Lex tried everything to get a response out of Grayson. "Max? Grayson? Can you hear me? Guys! Guys!"
His yells bounced off Eleven, sending shivers up her spine. "He has them" Jonathan snapped his head up sneaking a concerned glance at Will who locked eyes with Mike. The inside of his mouth went dry. "Them?" He squeaked. "What...what do you mean by them?"
El sealed her mouth shut before swallowing thickly. She knew how much the girl's well-being meant to him. After all, she had risked her life for him more than once and she would most likely do it again without hesitation. "He took Grayson too"
•••••
Max took another step backward, looking over her shoulder at the small space she had before her body collided with the wall. The helm of Grayson's shirt was now fully drenched with the blood that poured out of her dark careless eyes. "Max" Grayson furrowed her eyebrows, reaching out for her. "Where are you going? Don't be scared"
The redhead wiped her tears away with the help of her sleeve. She gulped, fidgeting around with Grayson's dragon ring with heavy breaths. "Stay away from me"
Grayson's cold and careless eyes morphed into something more sinister. Grey fog engulfed the whites of her eyes before shifting into black. "Max, I thought you said you were ready!" she let out a strained yell. Tears picked up in the ends of her eyes again. Dark liquid began to pour out of her eyes, lapping down at her feet, staining her worn-out Converses. "Ready to disappear! Ready to get out of my life! Ready to die!" She barked, crying hysterically as all the muscles in her body tensed.
Max felt her heart swell with pain before grabbing ahold of something to protect her from Grayson. A person who swore that they would never hurt her in any way. The real Grayson Harrington would never land a hand on her. Fear crawled up her face. "I said, stay away!" She shouted slamming a glass vase against the brunette's hand, watching her stumble with a growl. "You aren't her, Grayson would never hurt me!"
Vecna grunted, glaring at his own reflection through the broken window before glancing back at the redhead running out of the attic door. He clenched his teeth together in anger. Henry couldn't believe that two teenagers and their stupid useless love was dragging him down. It infuriated him.
El quickly walked up to her two best friends. She kneeled beside the two love birds, placing a hand on their shoulders. She furrowed her eyebrows as both their bodies started to twitch. "Grayson. Max. It's okay" Eleven grabbed the brunette's shaky hand giving it a light squeeze. "I'm coming"
Max parted her lips open, panting against Grayson's shoulder. El moved her hand to Max's back. "I'm coming. Just hold on a little longer. I promise I'll get you two out of there"
Eleven straighten her posture, steadying her heartbeat with a few deep breaths. She slammed her eyes shut, inhaling a small huff of air.
Will clasped a hand around Mike's forearm, glancing at the lights flickering wildly above them. El held onto the brunette's new scarred hand, winching as Max's memories started blending with Grayson's.
"I dunno if you can hear this. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Billy" El felt her heart become heavy as she brushed past Max's last memory with Billy. Next was Grayson's and those were nothing but eye-opening, dripping with childhood trauma.
El Watched as the scene changed from a lonely graveyard to someone's study. Her eyes scanned the photos of a wealthy man before turning her attention to a woman with a cold expression. It almost made El want to shiver.
"Grayson, sweetie"
"Mom?" Grayson whispered softly as she held her knees up to her chest, dragging her nails across her skin with anxiety running throughout her body. Her tear-stained cheeks made her mother's face harden with annoyance. She released a deep sigh, pulling the 11-year-old up by the wrist almost twisting it in the process. El flinched as Grayson's shirt was hiked up, revealing the bruises littered across her abdomen all differentiating from different colors and sizes. "why don't we keep this between us?"
The remaining light in Grayson's eyes went out like a flame in the wind. "Yes, I understand" but she didn't understand. All that she wanted to do was spend some time with the man that was supposed to be her father. Was that asking for too much? Wanting a father? Did it happen to Steve too? Did her father take out his anger on Steve as well?
El shook that memory out of her brain. She reached even further almost losing control of all the different emotions blending with each other. "Turn around. Look at what you see" Grayson's horrible singing entered the girl's ears making her let out a slight smile as memory Max laughed, wrapping her arms around the grinning brunette's waist.
"Trick or treat!"
Max jumped out of the brushes in front of Grayson with her arms held high. She let out a yell scaring the rest of the party as the leather-wearing brunette cracked a smile. "Hiya darin'" she chirped.
Max pulled off the white Michael Myers mask, biting back a small smile. "Hey" She muttered feeling small under the taller girl's gaze. "James dean" she nodded tracing her eyes down the red jacket under the leather jacket. "Cool, cool, cool"
Grayson licked her lips, staring down at the redhead longer than a girl probably should. "So awkward Mayfield" she smile, watching as Max's eyebrows crease with embarrassment. "It's cute"
Grayson balanced her pencil on the top of her fingertip before Macy the girl in front of her blew her gum, popping it as the classroom door opened.
"Ah, this must be our new student"
The girl tried walking to the back of the classroom before getting stopped by Mr. Clark. "All right. Hold up. You don't get away that easy. Come on up. Don't be shy"
Grayson cursed as her pencil wobbled side to side, watching it fall and roll towards the front of the classroom. The whole class went silent as it stopped at the foot of the new student. Her face grew red as she finally looked up, glancing at the girl who made her heart act up. The redhead carefully picked up the pencil, flipping it between her fingers before staring intensely back at the brunette who immediately avoided eye contact. Her stomach was busy doing summer salts. How could someone new be so stunning?
El focused on that memory hard enough before snapping her eyes open. She glanced around in horror as Grayson's memories were covered in black vines, drenching the brunette in black goo. Mike let go of Will's hand, glancing down at his dear friend whose face twisted in slight confusion. "What's happening now?"
"I think" she swallowed thickly, moving her eyes around in the pitch black nothingness. "I am in a memory. A max memory" She whispered softly still laced with confusion and newfound disbelief. For the longest time, El had thought that Grayson was open book but she was wrong. The girl's memories were strong and yet the redhead's memories still won. Why? Because they were contaminated just she was. Grayson Harrington was contaminated and the only thing keeping her alive was her love for Max. She was pushing forward with one thing in mind: Max and nothing else.
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A/n
The next two chapters will be longer and I'm really excited for you guys to see the outcome, hopefully, you'll be satisfied with the ending for season 4.