...
"It is time, Max."
...
After Liv finally got Max to calm down Max explained that she just had a vision and might be cursed by Vecna.
"What did you see?" Liv asked as she and the others followed her into the hallway.
"A grandfather clock." Max said.
They all turned the corner to the hallway and saw nothing on the walls. Max pointed her flashlight at the wall and furrowed her eyebrows. The others just shared concerned looks.
"It was here. Right here." Max looked at the wall with furrowed eyebrows.
"A grandfather clock?" Nancy asked.
Max nodded. "It was so real." Max then turned to Liv. "Livie, I swear."
"I know. I believe you, hon." Liv told her.
"And then, when I got closer, suddenly I just... I woke up." Max continued as she looked back at the wall
"It was like she was in a trance or something." Dustin added. "Exactly what Eddie said happened to Chrissy."
Max turned to the others with glossy eyes. "That's not even the bad part." Max walked back over to Miss Kelleys office, with the others following, and looked back at Fred and Chrissy's file. "Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help. Uh, they both were having headaches, bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then... then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things. Bad things. From their pasts. And these visions, they just... they kept on getting worse and worse, until eventually... everything ended."
"Vecna's curse." Robin noted as she looked up from Fred's file.
"Chrissy's headaches started a week ago. Fred's, six days ago. I've been having them for five days." Max continued as everything looked at her in sorrow. "I don't know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so... looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow."
Everyone looked from Max to Liv noticing how Liv hasn't said a word in a while. Liv quickly noticed that everyone was staring at her so she wiped her eyes and pretended like she was alright. She wasn't and everyone knew that. Knowing that the love of your life might die isn't exactly something you would be alright with.
A loud clang outside of Miss Kelleys office got everyone's attention.
"Stay here." Steve ordered.
Steve went over to the office door and picked up a lamp. Of course no one was gonna listen to him so they all grabbed their flashlights and followed Steve out of the office.
They heard another clang which made them all stop in their tracks. They noticed the sound of someone of something running at them.
Whatever it was turned the corner making Steve raise his lamp and yell. Everyone else yelled and jumped back. Liv backed up into Max and Max, feeling like she had to protect Liv, cautiously wrapped her arms around the girls waist.
"It's me!" Lucas yelled.
"Lucas?" Nancy asked as she stepped forward.
"It's me." Lucas said again.
Liv sighed in relief as she leaned back in Max's arms. Max slightly pulled the girl closer, enjoying the close contact. Especially since she had just come to the realization that today might have been her last day on Earth.
"Jesus, what's wrong with you, Sinclair?" Steve yelled.
"I'm sorry." Lucas panted.
"I could have taken you out with this lamp!" Steve exclaimed as he angrily shook the lamp in his hand.
"Sorry, guys. Sorry. I was... I was biking for eight miles." Lucas panted as he put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Give me a second. Shit. We've got a code red."
"What?" Steve asked.
Lucas panted as he walked over to Dustin. "Dustin. I've been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they've gone, like, totally off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is. You're in terrible danger."
"All right. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason right now." Dustin said.
Everyone looked over at Max who still had Liv wrapped in her arms and tears coming down her face.
...
Later into the night after everyone was asleep in the Wheeler's basement, Max had gone upstairs to think. Liv woke up when she felt the absence of Max. She went upstairs, into the kitchen, and saw Max standing by the sink, drinking a glass of water.
"Hey. What are you doing up?" Liv asked.
Max shrugged and took another sip of water. "Couldn't sleep. Why are you up?"
"I couldn't sleep without you." Liv smiled as she walked closer to Max and it was only then she noticed Max's red, puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Why are you crying?"
Max looked down at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Come on, Max. Talk to me." Liv said.
Max sighed. "I'm scared, Livie. I'm so scared."
Liv quickly wrapped Max up in a hug as she noticed her start to break down into tears.
"I don't wanna die." Max cried.
"You're not gonna die, okay?" Liv gently rubbed Max's back. "We're gonna fix this, okay? I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
The two stood in the kitchen, the moonlight shining on their faces, and wrapped in each others arms as Max's sobs slowly turned into sniffles.
"You ready to come back to bed?" Liv asked as she pulled away.
Max shook her head. "I can't sleep."
"Can you atleast lay down with me?" Liv wondered.
Max nodded. Liv smiled and took Max's hand, gently pulling her back down to the basement and over to their spot on the floor.
After laying back down on the floor, Max turned to face the wall while Liv layed on her back just staring at the ceiling with a few tears coming down her face. A few seconds later Max moved her head onto Liv's chest.
"Good night, Max." Liv whispered.
"Good night, Livie." Max mumbled.
...
The next morning Dustin, Steve, Lucas, and Liv were sitting on the couch while Nancy and Robin went to go make a phone call. Max was sitting at the desk on the other side of the basement, writing something down on a few pieces of paper.
Steve groaned as he looked at the news article in his hand. "Okay, be honest. Uh... You guys understand any of this?"
"No." Lucas shook his head as he studied the paper.
"Not one bit." Liv said as she furrowed her eyebrows at the paper in her hand.
"Pretty straightforward." Dustin interfered.
"Oh, straightforward, really?" Steve sarcastically asked.
"What's confusing to you?" Dustin wondered. "So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him."
"That's assuming he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know. How can Vecna have existed in the 50s? It doesn't make sense." Steve thought.
"Far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She opened a gate to it. The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. I wouldn't be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs." Dustin went on.
"Dinosaurs? What are we-"
"Okay, okay." Lucas cut Steve off. "But if a gate didn't exist on the 50s, how did Vecna get through?"
"Oh, and how is he getting through now?" Liv pointed at him.
"And why now?" Lucas wondered.
"And why then?" Steve added. "Just pops out in the 50s, kills one family, and he's like, 'I'm good'. And poof, he just disappears. Just... gone? Only to return 30 years later and start killing some random teens? No, I don't buy it."
"Straightforward, my ass." Liv sighed.
"You know, honestly, Henderson, a little humility every now and then, it wouldn't hurt you." Steve told him.
"Sorry." Dustin said.
Liv put down her paper before her eyes moved to Max, who was still writing at the desk. Liv tilted her head before standing up and walking over there.
"Hey." Liv smiled.
Max jumped a little and covered her papers. "Oh. Hey."
"What are you writing?" Liv asked.
"Um, nothing." Max said.
"Looks like something." Liv joked.
"Just go away, Liv." Max told her.
"Liv?" Liv quietly said.
"Please." Max asked.
Liv turned around and went back over to the others at the couch. She sat down in between Dustin and Lucas with a hurt look on her face.
"What?" Steve asked.
"She called me Liv. She never calls me Liv." Liv shook her head.
"Any idea what she's writing?" Dustin asked her.
"No. She covered the papers when I walked over there." Liv told him.
"Did she sleep?" Dustin wondered.
"I don't know. She woke me up at least like 5 times." Liv answered.
"I mean, would you sleep?"
The door to the basement opened causing them all to jump and quickly look at the door. Nancy and Robin came down the stairs, each of them holding a folder.
"Okay, so... we have a plan." Nancy smiled.
"Thanks to Nancy's news paper minions, we are now rockstar psychology students at the University of Notre Dame." Robin said as she handed Steve her folder and Nancy handed Liv hers.
"I'm now Ruth." Nancy said.
"And I'm Rose." Robin said.
Steve looked up from the folder and looked at Nancy. "Ruth?"
Nancy gave him a slight smile as she tilted her head.
"Nice GPA." Dustin said as he looked over Liv's shoulder.
"Thanks." Nancy smiled. "So we called Pennhurst Asylum, told them we'd like to speak with Victor Creel for a thesis we're co-writing on paranoid schizophrenics."
"To which they said no." Robin jumped in.
"But we landed a three o'clock with the director." Nancy added.
"Now all we have to do is charm him and convince him to let us talk to Victor." Robin said.
"And then maybe we can rid Max of this curse." Nancy lowered her voice as she looked over at Max.
"Yeah. About that. We've been doing our Victor Creel homework, and, uh... we got some questions." Liv told her.
"Lots of questions." Lucas corrected.
"So do we. Hopefully, Victor has the answers." Nancy hoped.
"Wait... Wait... Wait a second. Uh... Where's mine?" Steve slightly laughed as Lucas, Liv, and Dustin passed around Robins folder.
"We need you to stay here with Liv, Max, Lucas, and Dustin." Nancy told him before picking up the folders and heading upstairs with Robin.
"Wait!" Steve yelled as he followed them up.
A few minutes later Steve came back down and mumbled something under his breath with a grumpy look.
"Babysitting again?" Liv asked with a smirk.
"Shut up." Steve ordered.
...
Steve, Liv, Dustin, and Lucas watched as Max finally put down her pencil and started folding up the pieces of paper, putting each of them in a separate envelope.
"I know you guys are staring at me." Max said as she slightly turned her head.
"What, sorry?"
"You said you needed something?"
"Just hanging out."
"What was that?"
Each of them picked up something random and pretended to do something with it while Max went back to her papers.
"How you think your eyes boring into the back of my head is protecting me from Vecna, I don't know." Max said as she picked up all her papers and walked over to the couch where the four were sitting, still playing with the random items they picked up and avoiding eye contact. "You can look at me now."
They all mumbled a sorry before putting down their items and looking at Max.
Max sighed before holding out a letter to Dustin. "For you."
Dustin stared at the letter which made Max slightly wave it. Dustin took the letter and Max moved over to Steve.
"For you."
Steve took his letter and she held one out for Lucas.
"For you."
The last letter Max had was for Liv. It was the easiest and hardest one to write. She had so much she wanted to say. Things that were hard to express on a piece of paper, which is also the reason why her letter is so long.
"And, um, you."
Liv slowly reached out, took the letter from Max, and examined it. On the front it said 'Livie' with a heart.
"Oh, and, um, give these to Mike, El, and Will." Max held out three more letters for Liv to take. "If you can ever get a hold of them again."
Liv took the letters from Max. Dustin, Steve, and Lucas started to open their letters but Max stopped them.
"Hey, what- What are you doing? No, don't. That's not for now. Don't open it now."
"Don't... okay." Dustin said as he, Steve, and Lucas closed their envelopes back up.
"I'm sorry. What is this?" Liv asked, holding up her envelope.
"It's, um... it's a fail-safe. For after. You know, if things don't work out." Max said, trying to avoid eye contact with Liv.
"Wait, whoa." Liv stood up from the couch and reached out to Max. "Max, things are gonna work out."
"No!" Max put out her hands to stop Liv from coming any closer. "No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out. Because... people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming."
Liv and Max looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Max walked over to the table and picked up Dustin's walkie talkie.
"If we go to East Hawkins, will this reach Pennhurst?" Max asked.
"Of course. Yeah." Dustin nodded.
"Wait. Why are we talking about East Hawkins?" Steve wondered as everyone stared at him. "No. No. No!"
Max, being the determined girl she is, grabbed her backpack and headed up the basement stairs anyways. Liv grabbed her own backpack and followed Max, making Steve, Dustin, and Lucas also grab their stuff and follow the two girls.
"Max, Max. Seriously. Seriously, I'm not joking. I'm not driving you anywhere." Steve told her as he followed Liv and Max up the driveway.
"Steve, if you think I'm going to spend what is likely the last day of my life in the armpit that is Mike Wheeler's basement, then you're out of your mind. So either take me where I need to go or you're gonna have to tie me down, which is technically kidnapping of a minor. And if I live to see another day, Steve, I swear to God, I will prosecute." Max tried to open the car door but it was locked. "Open the door."
"Uh, no." Steve shook his head.
"I know a good lawyer." Max threatened.
Steve shook his head and scoffed before taking out his keys and unlocking the car. "Henderson, that super walkie of yours better reach Pennhurst."
Liv opened the backseat door and hopped into the middle seat. Lucas got in on her right while Dustin hopped in the front seat. Max opened the other door and threw her bag in the car next to Liv's foot before she turned around and stared off into the distance.
"Max."
The sound of Liv's voice brought her back to reality. She sat down in the car on Liv's left, not even saying a word as Steve started the car and drove away.
...
A little bit into the car ride, Liv reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the envelope Max gave her. She fiddled around with it before she ran her thumb over her name and looked at Max.
Max had her head leaned back on the seat as she stared out the window. Liv tried to interlace her fingers with Max's but Max just pulled her hand away.
Liv sighed and looked out the window as Steve pulled up outside of Max's trailer. Max opened the car door and put on her backpack.
"Alright, this better be fast, Mayfield." Steve said as Max stepped out of the car.
"Twenty seconds." Max promised.
"You want me to go with you?" Liv asked.
"No." Max harshly said before she slammed the door shut and walked off.
Liv sighed and sniffled, trying to hold back her tears as Lucas stared at her.
"That thing's got batteries in it, right?" Steve asked, pointing to Dustin's walkie.
"I'm not even answering that question." Dustin shook his head. "Yes, it has batteries."
"Yeah, I got it." Steve retorted.
They all sat in silence for a few more seconds before Dustin decided to speak about an old topic that would stir up some anger.
"Hey, Liv... I just wanna apologize again for forgetting your birthday." Dustin cautiously said.
"It's fine, Dustin. I really don't care anymore." Liv mumbled.
"It was your birthday?" Lucas asked.
"Yup."
"Shit. I heard Jason, Patrick, and Andy talking about a birthday but I had no idea it was yours." Lucas cursed himself.
"Well, you should have. My birthday happens every year on the same day and we've been friends for years." Liv said.
"Shit, Liv. I'm sorry." Lucas said.
"It's fine. I don't really care anymore. We have other things to worry about right now." Liv waved them off.
"But-" Dustin started.
"Holy shit, Dustin! Forget it! I don't care anymore. All I care about right now is making sure my girlfriend doesn't die. If I can even call her that anymore."
"Why do you say that?" Steve asked.
"First, she calls me Liv. Second, she doesn't even look at me anymore. And three, I tried to hold her hand and she moved it away from me." Liv listed. "All of a sudden she's pushing me away from some reason."
"Maybe she's scared. If she does end up dying, she doesn't want that to hurt you so maybe she's pushing you away so that it would hurt you less." Steve theorized.
"I guess..." Liv shrugged.
"I say talk to her and see what's going on." Steve advised.
Liv nodded and then noticed that Max was coming back. When Max opened the car door, she was breathing heavily and her eyes were red.
"Hey, that was longer than 20 seconds." Steve told her.
Max ignored him and got in the car.
"Hey, whoa, whoa. Are you alright?" Liv asked, concern evident in her voice.
"I'm fine. Just drive." Max ordered as she buckled her seatbelt.
"Did something happen?" Liv wondered.
"Can we please just go?" Max asked.
Steve started his car and drove out of the trailer park.
...
During the drive Max was giving Steve directions. Every once in a while someone in the car would glance at Max to see how she was doing. It was obvious that Vecna had done something to Max at her trailer.
"Turn here." Max instructed.
Dustin looked at Max when he noticed the sign. "Here?"
Max nodded as Steve turned into the driveway. Liv looked out her window and noticed the sign.
Roane Hill Cemetery
The cemetery where Billy was buried. Max gave Steve directions to where he should go. Steve stopped his car at the bottom of the hill and Max got out. Liv also got out of the car and started to follow Max up the hill.
"Max?" Liv said.
Max turned and noticed Liv following her. "Liv, please, just wait in the car."
"Max, just wait. Max, please." Liv started to run after her.
"Liv, just wait-"
"Just listen to me. Just, please." Liv begged as she stopped in front of Max. "I know something happened back there with your mom. Was it Vecna?"
"I told you, I'm fine. Okay?" Max said. "I mean, as fine as someone who's hurtling towards a gruesome death can be."
"Max... you know you can talk to me." Liv reminded her. "Right?"
Max thought for a few seconds before giving her a fake smile. "Yeah, I know that."
"Okay, then why do you keep pushing me away?" Liv reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter Max gave her. "Okay, look, I don't need a letter. I don't want a letter. Just talk to me." Liv pointed to the others in the car. "To your friends. We're right here. I'm right here. Okay? I'm here."
"Just wait in the car. This won't be long." Max told her before continuing to walk up the hill.
Liv ran her fingers through her hair before walking back over to the car and sitting on the hood of it.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
"Mhm." Liv lied as she wiped her tears.
Max walked all the way up the hill and sat down in front of Billy's grave. She pulled out the letter from her pocket and started to read it.
"Dear Billy, I don't know if you can even hear this. Two years ago, I would have said, 'that's ridiculous, impossible'. But that was before I found out about alternate dimensions and monsters, so... I'm just going to stop assuming that I know anything. So much has happened since you left. I distanced myself from everyone and only spent time with Liv. Your dad was... a total mess. He and my mom started getting into fights. Bad fights. I don't think he could stand being here without you. So he left. And he didn't leave Mom much. She's taken an extra job, and we moved to that lovely trailer park off Kerley. Basically, ever since you left, everything's been... a total disaster. And the worst part is, I can't tell anyone why you're gone. I can't tell them that you saved El's life. That you saved my life. I play that moment back in my head all the time. And sometimes I imagine myself running to you, pulling you away. I imagine that if I had, that you would still be here. And everything would be... everything would be right again. I imagine that we... that we could've become friends. Good friends, like... like a real brother and sister. Like Liv and Steve. And I know that's stupid. You hated me. I hated you. But I thought that maybe... maybe we could try again. I also imagine that you would realize how in love I am with Liv and you would try and get along with her for me. But that's not what happened. I just... I stood there and I watched. For a while, I tried to be happy. Normal. I was only ever truly happy around Liv. But I... I think that maybe a part of me died that day too. And I haven't told anyone this, not even Liv. I... I just can't. But I had to tell you. Before it's too late. If you can even hear this. I really hope that you can. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Billy. Love, your shitty little sister, Max."
Max wiped her tears before folding up the letter and putting it back in the envelope. Dark clouds started to cover the sky. Max looked up from the envelope as she heard a clock chime and eerie laughter.
"Max."
...
Liv spent the next few minutes sitting on the hood of Steve's car and watching Max. She noticed that Max was sitting in front of the grave with her hands in her lap which got her worried. Liv hopped off the car and started walking away.
"Liv, just give her some time." Lucas told her.
"I have, all right? I'm calling it. She wants to get a lawyer, she can." Liv snapped before continuing her journey up the hill. "Max. Time to go, yeah?" Liv said as she approached Max. "Max?" She bent down and noticed that Max's eyes were rolled to the back of her head. "Max. Max. Max!"
...
"Max. I've been waiting to hear those words, Max. Waiting so very long."
Max gulped as she stood up from the ground and noticed Billy walking towards her. He was wearing the same bloody clothes that he was wearing the day that he died
...
"Wake up!" Liv yelled as she shook Max's shoulder. "Hey! Max, wake up! Max! Wake up! Max! Guys! Come on, wake up!" Liv yelled as Steve, Dustin, and Lucas ran over to her.
...
"But it wasn't the full truth, was it, Max?" Billy asked as he wiped a tear from Max's face. "You know, I think there's a part of you, buried somewhere deep, that wanted me to die that day. That was maybe even relieved. Happy."
"Billy, no, that's not true." Max said as she shook her head.
"That's why you stood there, isn't it, Max? It's okay. You can admit it now. No more lies. No more hiding." Billy said.
"Billy, that's not true, I swear. I swear it's not true." Max cried as she backed up.
"That is why you feel such guilt." Billy continued.
"No."
"Why you hide from your friends."
"No."
"Why you hide from your girlfriend."
"No."
"Why you hide from the world."
"No."
With every step back that Max took, Billy would take a step forward.
"And why, late at night, you have sometimes wished to follow me. Follow me into death." Billy continued.
"No." Max denied.
"That is why I am here, Max. To end your suffering, once and for all." Billy finalized.
"No." Max said before she fell from the ledge, onto the ground.
Max grunted as her head hit the ground. When she sat back up, in Billy's place was Vecna.
"It is time, Max." Vecna said. "Time for you to join me."
Max panted as she stood up from the ground and ran in the opposite direction.
...
"Max, you gotta get outta there!" Lucas yelled.
"Can you hear me, Max?" Liv shouted.
Steve grabbed the collar of Dustin's shirt. "Call Nancy and Robin! Go get them! Call Nancy and Robin! Go!"
Steve let go of Dustin's shirt and he fell backwards off the ledge. He quickly stood up from the ground and ran to the car.
"Please, Max!" Liv yelled with tears coming down her face.
...
Max continued to run through the graveyard before getting tired. She sat down behind a hedgestone and tried to catch her breath. She peeked around the corner and saw Vecna walking towards her.
"You cannot hide from me, Maxine." Vecna said.
Max looked around before standing up and running away.
"Livie! Lucas! Dustin! Livie, please, help! Livie!" Max shouted as she frantically spun in a circle.
Max noticed a red light emerging from the clouds. Intrigued by it, she started to walk towards it. The further into the fog she got, the graveyard started to disappear and the ground beneath her started to squelch with every step she took. She looked around and saw random objects floating around in the sky, sharp rocks sticking up from the ground, and the sky lit up red with every lightning that struck.
...
"Max, get outta there!" Steve shouted.
When Dustin returned he slid on his knees next to Steve and dropped a bunch of tapes and Max's walkman on the floor.
"What is this?" Lucas frantically asked.
"What's her favorite song?" Dustin asked Liv, ignoring Lucas.
"Why?" Liv asked.
"Robin said if she listens... It's too much to explain now. What's her favorite song?" Dustin yelled.
"It's Running Up That Hill from Kate Bush's Hounds of Love album." Liv told him.
...
Max walked around the red lair she was in as she took note of every detail. She noticed a clock floating in the sky and a door with a red rose stained glass window piece on it
"What are you doing in here, Max?" Vecna asked, although Max couldn't tell you where his voice was coming from.
As Max took another step she heard something pop. She looked at the ground to see she stepped on a spider egg. She lifted up her foot and tiny spiders started to scurry away, making her quickly back away.
"Come back to me." Vecna ordered.
Max turned around with a gasp as she bumped into something. Behind her was Chrissy's dead body on a rock, held up by vines. All of Chrissy's bones were cracked, her jaw was dropped, and her eyes were sucked out of her head. She looked over and saw the same thing with Fred's body.
"How do you like them, Max?" Vecna asked.
Max gasped and turned around when she heard Vecna's voice from right behind her.
"Would you like to join them?" Vecna asked as he stepped closer to Max.
Max tried to run away but a vine wrapped around her ankle making her fall to the ground.
"Shit!" Max yelled before the vine started to pull her and pin her up against a rock. "No!"
Two vines wrapped around each of her wrists and then one finally wrapped around her neck, choking her.
...
Liv, Lucas, Steve, and Dustin started to scramble through Max's tapes, trying to find Kate Bush's Hounds of Love album.
"Liv, which one is it?" Steve asked Liv.
"I'm looking!" Liv yelled as she ran her fingers through her hair.
...
Max looked over at Vecna as he slowly approached her. She whimpered as she tried to break free from the vines.
...
"Which one?" Lucas yelled.
"It's right here!" Liv quickly picked up the cover and opened it. "I got it!"
"Hurry up!" Dustin rushed.
"Give it to me." Steve told her.
Liv took out the tape from its cover and handed it to Steve. Steve took the tape and put it in the walkman.
"Okay, headphones!" Steve told Liv.
Liv picked up the headphones and put them over Max's ears. "Hit play, now!"
Lucas pressed play and Running Up That Hill started to blast in Max's ears.
...
Max looked behind Vecna as she noticed a portal open up in the sky. Inside the portal she could see her girlfriend and friends standing around her and shouting her name and telling her to wake up. Vecna turned around and saw it to.
"They can't help you, Max." Vecna said before looking back at Max. "There's a reason you hide from them. You belong here, with me."
Max coughed as the vine around her neck got tighter. "You're not really here." She managed to choke out.
"Oh, but I am, Max. I am." Vecna started to lift up his monster claw over Max's face.
...
Max started to float causing Liv, Lucas, Dustin, and Steve to scoot back. Liv ended up falling on her butt from leaning back to far as she watched her girlfriend lift up into the air.
"Max!" Liv yelled.
...
Max looked through Vecna's fingers and at the portal. She could hear her girlfriends screams and Running Up That Hill echoing all around her. She started to think back to when her and Liv were talking at the bottom of the hill at the graveyard.
"I don't want a letter. We're right here. I'm right here."
She closed her eyes and thought back to the time in the hospital when she and Liv were sitting in the waiting room talking. She thought back to when her and El were laughing in the mall. She thought back to when she walked the streets with Lucas, Dustin, and Liv on Halloween night. To when Dustin was showing her his ghost trap in the hallways on Halloween. To when her and El took pictures at the photo studio at the mall. To when she gave Liv the bracelet and how happy Liv was. To when she and Liv were talking and laughing on top of the bus in the junkyard. To when she and El were laughing in Mike's basement about how Liv accidentally confessed her love for Max. To when she was skateboarding in the school gym with Mike and Liv. To when she and Liv went on a date to the movies with the party. To when she was laughing on the field by the Nelson farm with Liv. To when she and Liv had their first kiss in Liv's living room. To her and El saying their goodbyes to each other. To when her, Liv, and El were laughing on the bus ride home from the mall.
All those memories made her realize that she didn't wanna leave all her friends. She didn't wanna leave Liv.
She got her arm free from the vines and ripped a vine off of Vecna. Vecna grunted as he lost his grip on Max. Max fell to the floor and looked at the portal.
She quickly got up from the ground and ran towards it. As she ran, objects started to fall from the sky above her. A huge rock fell right next to her, making her lose her balance and fall. She quickly got up and continued running. She dodged the falling rocks as she got closer and closer to the portal.
...
"Max!" Steve yelled.
Max's eyes shot open and her body fell to the ground. Liv was the first one to run over to Max, who was hyperventilating on the ground.
"Max! Oh my God." Liv said as she wrapped her arms around Max and Steve put his hand on Liv's back "It's okay. It's okay. I got you. I thought we lost you."
"I'm still... I'm still here." Max said with tears coming down her face.
"Oh shit." Liv whispered.
"I'm still here." Max said again before she pulled Liv closer as if Liv would disappear the second she let go.
"Oh, my God. I love you so much." Liv told Max.
"I love you, too. Please don't leave." Max begged.
"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I'm right here." Liv promised.