(ep 4 pt 2) (A/N: I accidentally made this one super sad so if you cry, please tell me. There are a lot of cute but sad bonding moments leading up to this big event that might be off from the show. Enjoy!)

The woods were seriously creepy at night. I had a compass in my pocket that Dustin gave to me for my seventeenth birthday. He said it was for adventures. Well, now I'm pretty sure that I'm lost in the woods.

I think the house was north or something like that. It was one of the directions. I am really bad at this.

I checked my watch to see that I had only been walking in the woods for at least ten minutes. I didn't have a flashlight but I could still see since the moon was bright tonight.

I tripped at least twice on what seemed to be tree roots. I knew I had to be almost there when I started to see lights in front of me.

I started to run and soon saw my house, just a few hundred yards away. I broke into a sprint and knocked on the basement door.

"Shit," I heard Steve curse from inside. He looked out the window and sighed when he saw it was me. "You look like crap."

"Thanks Steve. Same for you," I smiled sarcastically at him.

"Charlie, thank god," Nancy ran up to me and hugged me. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Eddie and I have been bored out of our minds," I said, walking over to Max. "Hey, how are you?" I asked, watching her write letters. I pulled a chair over and sat down nest to her.

"Charlie, do you remember when I first met you?" Max asked out of the blue.

"Yeah, I do. You called me a bitch at the arcade because you thought Billy liked me more than he liked you," I remembered.

"I didn't say it then but I was jealous. You and Billy, you were like the cool parents I wish I had. Sure, Billy and I had tough love but he brought out the best in you," She paused. "Charlie, if... If I die tomorrow, promise me something."

"Max, nothing will happen to..."

Max cut me off. "Charlie please," She begged.

"I promise Max," I whispered.

"I want you to finally be happy. I want you to forgive people and not feel sorry for yourself," She turned around quickly and I followed her gaze to see everyone asleep on the couch. "Promise me that you won't distance yourself like I did. If Vecna gets to me, I want you to know that at least one person loves you. Billy loved you and I love you so much. You're my sister Charlie. You're the person who keeps me going and I refuse to write a letter to you because you deserve to hear this from someone for once in your life," A tear rolled down Max's cheek and her voice began to crack. "You are loved, Charlie Wheeler and I swear to god if I live to see another day I will make sure everyone knows just how much you mean to me and how much you mean to everyone around you. I just don't want to lose you like I lost Billy."

Tears were freely flowing from my eyes. "Maxine Mayfield, you are such a good kid and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe and that you live to be old and wrinkly with tons of grandchildren. I will watch you grow up to be something extraordinary and you will be so very kind. You are such a wonder, Max. I love you like a sister." I sobbed quietly.

We both looked at each other with wet faces and smiled. This kid, this young lady was like something you could never imagine. The love she holds for the people around her is like nothing you have ever seen. And if Billy was here, I just think that maybe, just maybe, they'd finally get along.

Billy truly did love Max, he just never said it in fear of hurting her and being filled with remorse. He did tell me he loved me once. He was drunk and I picked him up after a fight with his dad. He said he wished he could just hug Max and explain how much he loved the both of us, how he was scared to break us like his father breaks him. He didn't want to be a monster, he just wanted to hug and comfort people like his mother used to hold him.

So I hugged Max. I hugged her for Billy and for everything we have been through together. For all that this was worth, Max and I deserved much more than we have been given. We were more in common than most people thought.

"I promise that if we survive I will take you to a Kate Bush concert," I laughed as we stayed in an embrace.

"You know damn well that I am going to hold you to that promise," Max murmured.

"One thing I should tell you though," I said, pulling away but not letting her go. "I kissed Eddie."

I grinned something of a true genuine smile. Max had only one expression of pure joy and happiness.

"Charlie. Wheeler. You did not," She squealed, wiping her tears.

"I did though. It was so crazy. He's actually really sweet when you get to know him," I smiled.

"Just wait until Robin hears about this," Max said abruptly. "She's out with Nancy right now but I just know that she'll flip out. She's been betting with Steve when you'd get together."

"Hey hey hey, we aren't together, we just kissed. Yeah, he said he likes me and everything and offered to take me out but I don't think he'd want me..." My voice trailed off.

"You absolute dumbass. If an attractive punk rock dungeons and dragons player kisses you while hiding from police then I would assume that he likes you, wait, scratch that. He's probably in love with you," Max said enthusiastically.

'I wouldn't go that far. And I shouldn't get my hopes up. We still aren't out of the woods yet," I noted.

Max sighed. "Things were a lot easier before all of this." She glanced at the pile of unfinished letters. "I'm writing emotional letters to family members I haven't even seen in years. And I want to talk to Lucas again but there's just this empty riff between us. I know he's trying to help but whenever he gets close, I just feel like I need to be on guard so I don't get hurt again." She looked down at her pile of papers before looking back at me.

I yawned and checked my watch. It was super late now. "We need to sleep Max. You can finish your letters in the morning. For now, clear your head and get some rest."

I hopped off the chair and laid down on a sleeping bag someone had taken out. Max rested her head on the rest and turned out the lights.

I slowly could feel myself getting sleepy and drifted off to sleep.