DEAR VAL,

I hate that I'm writing this. I really hate that I have to do this. You and Lucas are probably the only people I'll admit this to, but I'm really scared. There's nothing you can do about it, obviously, because if you're reading this, I'm already dead and gone and buried. So let's just skip the pleasantries and get right to it, since my hand is getting tired from writing all these.

You are like the big sister I never had, which is so weird to me, since I've only known you for a couple of days now. But still. Nobody has cared for me or had my back the way you and Steve do. I know I can be standoffish and frankly kinda rude at times, but you guys know I love you. I show my love for people in weird ways, and sarcasm is one of them. But since we're basically the same person, I know you love me, too.

Another thing I know since we're so alike: You're gonna be grieving me for a long damn time. And I'm not just saying that because I'm self-absorbed, or something—I'm saying it because I know you. So listen closely, Val: You only just got out of this hole you dug yourself into, your weirdo hole of being sad and having no friends and doing drugs every night. You made it out of there, even if it wasn't the normal, therapy-way. All it took was a few days of hunting Vecna with some D&D obsessed weirdos. Either way, you still changed. You let your real self out: You're a Stevie-Nicks-obsessed fake brunette with a heart as big as your ego. You're a freak, but now you're a freak in a good way. And I'm glad I helped you reach that conclusion.

     I still haven't forgotten the way you looked when I first met you: It was the morning after you watched Chrissy die. You looked freaked as hell. I was kinda worried you were going crazy, but then you told me about what you saw, and I knew you weren't. And I know all this is really sucky—Vecna, the curse, the Upside Down—but in a weird way, I'm glad it's you I had to go through it with. Otherwise we probably would've never met.

     Speaking of never meeting, you never got the chance to meet El. At least, not while I was alive. I hope you do, because you guys would get along so well. By the way, her real name is Eleven—like the number—which also happens to be the number of studio albums Stevie Nicks has released as of right now. So if the whole superpower thing doesn't make you want to be her friend, I hope that does.

On a more serious note, I want you to know something, Val. I know you're going to be sad over my death, but you gotta keep going, keep pushing on. For me. For Chrissy. For anyone else that falls victim to this curse. I hope to God you aren't one of them (but hope has never really been on my side, so I don't know how much help that will be for you).

Anyway, that's all I needed to say. I really don't want you to read this, though. I want to be there, watching you rip this up as we celebrate our victory over Vecna. But I know that probably won't happen. And if you are reading this, if I am dead.. please stay strong. Lots of people need you. Mason needs you. Eddie needs you. And I still need you, even if I'm long gone.

Love,
Red

     P.S.,
     I think Eddie has a crush on you, but I know you have a crush on him. If my death amounts to nothing else, I hope it brings you two together in some sort of trauma-bonded way. You two weirdos were basically made for each other. And seeing you trying to talk to each other without flirting made me gag every time.

     Love (again),
       Red

     P.P.S.,
     I need you and Steve to keep an eye on Lucas. I don't want him to fall down some rabbit hole because of me.

     Love (for the last time),
       Red

     P.P.P.S.,
     Please feed my dog for me.

     Love (for real this time),
       Red

A FEW WORDS ON THE PAPER were smudged with tears that had fallen from Val's lashes as she read over the note. When she finished, she read it again, searching for anything she might've missed the first time, and then dropped the paper into her lap and held her face in her hands. Her sobs were quiet, stifled by her palms. Her shoulders shook with silent cries.

She looked up to Max, still comatose on the bed before her. Somehow, some tiny part in Val's brain was waiting for her to wake up and tell her it was all a prank. She was still half-convinced she was living in a vision, all orchestrated by Vecna. Her sense of reality had been wiped away like a raindrop on a windshield, along with all of her trust, gone down the drain with Max and Mason's blood.

"I don't have a pen or paper," she said to Max, though she knew she couldn't hear her. She sniffed. "I can't write you a letter. I can't tell you how much I love you. I can't do any of it. It's not fucking fair that you got to say goodbye and I didn't."

She reached out and took hold of Max's hand, her voice low and shaky. "If I had a goddamn choice, it would be me in this bed. I wanted it to be me. I still do. If I could swap our places, Max, I swear to God I would do it. Like however your stupid Kate Bush song goes.. I'd make a deal with God, or whatever, and I'd get him to swap our places."

Her eyes drifted to the table next to Max's bed. Lucas had built a whole Kate Bush shrine at Max's bedside. A billion cassettes and vinyls were stacked together, some being repeats of the same album. Val reached out and picked up one of the tapes—the pink one she recognized as the album with Max's favorite song on it.

"I really..." Val's voice broke and she swallowed, wetting her lips. "I really need you to wake up, Max. I need you back. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing anymore. Mason's dead, and it's–it's my fault, because I told him to do whatever it takes to keep you and Lucas safe. I killed him. I basically killed you. They don't even know if you're ever going to wake up. But if there's any part of you still in there.. I really hope you can hear me right now, Max, because I need you to wake up."

     For a moment, Val held her breath, a tiny part of her waiting for the monitors to begin beeping and for Max to perform a miracle. But nothing came. Nothing changed. Max didn't magically wake up out of nowhere.

Finally understanding that there was nothing she could do except try to carry on beneath the pressure of survivor's guilt, Val stood from the chair, wiping her tears away. She squeezed Max's hand once.

The Walkman clipped to her back pocket clicked open and Val unhooked it from her jeans, taking the headphones off from around her neck. She stared down at it. There really was no use for her to keep it anymore. Vecna couldn't get her, as far as she knew. And if he did come back for revenge, she didn't want to stop him anymore.

"Hey, uh, Val?" Eddie's head peeked in the doorway. "They have Skittles in the vending machine." He tossed her a bag of the candy, then offered her a smile. "Figured you'd want some."

She looked down at the bag of Skittles and bit the inside of her cheek, before lifting her gaze back to Eddie. "Thanks, Munson."

"That's my name." He smiled cheekily. "Don't wear it out."

Together, they wished Lucas goodbye and headed off hand-in-hand back to Eddie's van, in which they drove down the side of the city that had not been effected by the 'earthquake', windows down and a weird mix of Black Sabbath and Stevie Nicks blasting down the interstate.

And as they drove off into the sun, Val rested her head against her car seat, thinking of everything she had lost and everything she had gained. Max and Mason were gone, but at least Val had people there for her now. She wasn't dealing with the grief alone anymore. And somehow, in some small fraction of a way, that fact brought a little bit of comfort to it all.

and with that, we close out the last chapter of this book :')
i am so so thankful for all of you who have stuck it out this far
and been so invested in not only val's story, but mason's, eddie's, max's, and all of the rest of them. i know some of the plots in my story weren't exact to the show (i.e. eddie dying) but sometimes you just gotta shake things up :)!!!

in any case, i don't want this to be the end. lots of you guys have been asking for oneshots or little short in-between chapters, and i am not opposed to the idea! so if any of you have anything specific you want to see (like character relationships you feel weren't shown enough) please drop them here! i am open to anything and everything <3

again, thank you for sticking with me and being so kind to me. i appreciate every comment and vote.

love (for real this time), via <3