talk too much | max mayfield

37. i forgot that you existed

I FORGOT THAT YOU EXISTED

✧･ﾟ: * "Don't you think it's been long enough," Nora asks from seat at the top of the car, tapping her fingers against her knees anxiously.

"I'm sure she's fine," Lucas assures from atop the hood, but Nora does not feel comforted.

"Just let me check," Nora slides down, speedwalking over to Max.

"Nora!" Steve now also gets out of the car, not wanting his sister to interfere on Max's time with her brother.

"Max!" Nora jogs over and kneels down beside the girl. "Max?" She shakes her shoulder a bit, then gets immediately anxious as she sees Max's red, upwards turned eyes. "Max! Max, c'mon, can you hear me? Max! Guys!" Nora calls back towards the car where Lucas, Dustin, and Steve straighten up getting concerned.

They quickly rush over, all shouting at Max to get her to wake up from her trance. Steve shouts something at Dustin but Nora barely sees him falling over himself as she goes into a complete panic state, shouting and shaking Max over and over again. They just made up, this can't be happening. This cannot be happening. This isn't happening. No-

"Her favorite song!" Dustin comes over, dropping Max's Walkman and various cassettes on the ground in front of her. "What's her favorite song?" They all yell over each other confused, and Nora is filled with a sense of dread.

She doesn't even know her favorite song? Instead of wallowing for too long, she shoves open different cases, hoping she'll recognize one.

"Here. Here!" Nora finds "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, immediately recognizing it as the song leaking out of Max's headphones when she passed her and Annie in the hallways one time.

They all fumble to put in the Walkman and the headphones on Max's ears, still shouting her name to help her come to her senses. Nora allows herself a breath of relief, but it quickly gets caught in throat as Max's being lifted into the air by some unknown force.

No. No. No. No. No.

They keep screaming her name, hoping something will get through, and Nora knows there aren't tears coming out of her eyes.

It'll be fine. She'll be fine. She can't die. She's not dead. She's fine. It's fine.

She's drops down to the ground.

Nora reaches for her, and hugs her in her arms, everyone going to console as Max looks around frantically.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God," Nora buries his face in Max's shoulder, so intensely filled with relief she doesn't know what to do with herself. "It's okay, you're okay."

—

✧･ﾟ: * "Dustin," a crackly voice from Nora's left jolts her awake. "Dustin?" It sings.

"Eddie?" Nora grabs the walkie talkie, it almost slipping out of her hands in the process.

"Nora Harrington! Long time no hear," Nora can hear Eddie's grin through the static. "How've you been? I'm pretty good, thanks. Y'know, just hiding from the law."

"Oh my God, Eddie, I totally forgot you existed," Nora falls back onto Lucas' jacket that she was using as a pillow on the floor of Mike's basement. "Are you okay? What's up?"

"Yeah, missed you too, mini Harrington. So, listen, if you could tell someone who cares that I'm running low on food and am going to need a refill that'd be great. And, also, I'm thinking a six-pack would so good right now. Like, lite works for me-"

Nora looks to her right where she expects to see Max sleeping on the couch (the two were holing hands in their sleep), but the blanket is turned over and the couch is empty.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll call you back," Nora drops the walkie talkie and shoots over to shake Dustin awake. "Dustin!"

"Hm," the boy tries to rub sleep out of his eyes while still being shaken by a frantic Nora.

"Aren't you supposed to be on Max watch?" She exclaims.

"Hm? Yeah-"

"There where the hell is she?" Nora gestures to the empty couch and Dustin immediately wakes up fully.

"Um. Um. Um. Um," Dustin stands up, and Nora takes charge leading them up the stairs, they'll have to find her fast.

"Morning, guys!" Mrs. Wheeler greets the pair as they're about to walk out the front door, but Nora easily sighs in relief as she watches Max coloring over the dining table, headphones securely on her head. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Nora smiles back politely. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"I think it's so sweet you guys are sticking together like this," Mrs. Wheeler expresses, referring to the excuse Nancy gave earlier about everyone wanting to be safe what with a serial killer on the loose and all.

"You could try sticking together at a different house," Mr. Wheeler looks at Nora pointedly, not aware she's moved out of the mansion her parents own.

"You know you're welcome anytime," Mrs. Wheeler assure as Nora walks over to where Max is scribbling on paper. As she sits down next to her - while Dustin takes way too many breakfast pancakes - Max removes her headphones and smiles at Nora.

"Hey."

"Hey. . . you okay?"

"Just couldn't sleep," Max shrugs. "People kept blasting music in my ears for some reason."

Nora laughs as she looks down, suddenly taking in the red colored crayon-ed drawings. "This what you saw last night?" she picks one up, angling it differently.

"S'posed to be," Max sighs. "It's coming back to me in, like, fragments though. I dunno."

"Is this. . ." Nora picks up another drawing, this one of two people trapped in cocoon-like structures.

"It's like they were on display," Max picks up easily. "And there was this red fog everywhere. Like a dream- a nightmare."

Dustin goes on to explain his own theories, explaining Freddie Krueger to Holly in the process, while Nora just grabs Max's empty hand, offering a reassuring smile.

a/n:
why didn't we like Steve in season 1 🤔🤔🤔 rewatching and like all he's doing is being a boyfriend yk idk