talk too much | max mayfield

38. lorax

LORAX

✧･ﾟ: * "Yeah," Steve stares ahead at the abandoned house the group has collected in front of, hoping it will give some insight on the Vecna. "That's not creepy."

They move forward together, Steve being the first to attempt with the door by taking out the wood planks blocking the entrance.

"What is exactly are we looking for in this shithole?" Steve asks as Nancy helps him.

"Not sure," the girl replies "We just know this house is important to Vecna."

They drop the front wood piece down together, blowing leaves everywhere and presenting the old, stained glass door to the group.

Nora feels Max grab her hand suddenly, and she looks to her concerned.

"Headphones?" Nora nods to the device around Max's neck, and the redhead nods quickly, releasing Nora's hand to adjust them around her ears only to interlock their fingers again.

Nora smiles to herself.

Nice.

"It's locked," Steve states after trying the handle.

"Don't worry," Robin lifts up a brick from the few bordering the flowers at the entrance. "I found a key," she then throws the brick at the door.

The window shatters upon impact, and Steve puts his hand through the hole made to open the door from the inside.

Nora and Max have to let go of each other's hands to fit through the single-laned door, Nora using her now free hand to grab the flashlight she managed to shove in the pocket of Lucas' jacket she was still wearing.

"Where'd everyone get those?" Steve asks, looking around as everyone but him took out a flashlight.

"Do you have to be told everything?" Dustin looks at him genuinely confused. "You're not a child." He then shrugs off his backpack and hands it to Steve. "Back pocket."

They all point their flashlights in different directions, still staying in the same area, especially Nora and Max as Max shines her light on an old grandfather clock.

"You see that too, right?"

"Yeah. . ." Nora confirms. "Is this what you see in your visions?" She asks, noticing the others gathering around as well. Max nods her head and Robin pushes around the two girls.

"I mean, it's just a clock. . . right? Just. . . a normal old clock," the older girl wipes dust away from the face with her sleeve.

"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve stares. "Maybe he's like a clock maker or something?"

"What have we said about you sharing your thoughts, Steve?" Nora doesn't even spare her brother a glance.

"That I'm better as a pretty face," Steve mumbles dejectedly.

"The answers are here," Nancy states. "Somewhere. . . Okay, everyone stay with someone else. Robin, upstairs."

"C'mon," Max grabs Nora's sleeve, Lucas trailing behind the two as well while Dustin and Steve banter a bit on their own.

—

✧･ﾟ: * "I wish we had a longer loop," Nora stares as Max rewinds her tape to allow her song to play continuously in her ears, Lucas moving past the two to further observe the room they entered.

"Forty-six minutes isn't bad," Max shrugs. "I think there are bigger concerns."

"Yeah, like, what if by listening to that song over and over again you get sick of it and it doesn't. . . work. . . anymore. . . I mean-" Lucas trails off as both girls in the room stare at him with cold looks. "That looks so interesting," he points his flashlight at a blank wall and walks away.

"Ignore him," Nora rolls her eyes at his stupidity. "Kate Bush could never lose her magic powers," she then says matter-of-factly.

Max laughs softly and Nora smiles at the sound. "Y'know, a cool kid would never say that," she refers to her Kate Bush comment.

"I'm not cool?" Nora pretends to be taken aback, and Max laughs yet again.

"Um. . ." Max tries saying something after the two settle down, but seemingly can't find the words. "So. . . about you and. . . Annie-"

"We're just friends," Nora is quick to assure. Who make out sometimes- used to make out sometimes.

"You and Annie Cunningham?" Lucas feels the need to talk for some reason. "Oh, she's so in love with you."

"Shut up, Lucas," Nora glares, hoping Max is tuning out everything he's saying.

"Yeah, she will not get off my ass about when we made out over Christmas break."

"You guys made out over Christmas break?"

"Barely," Nora seems to be the only frantic one in this conversation. "It was like a peck. If anything."

"Right," Lucas all but scoffs. "A peck."

Nora becomes hyper-aware of the fact that Lucas' jacket is still around her shoulders but can't figure what to say now as Max has seemingly lost interest in the conversation and is messing with old trinkets around the room.

They're saved from awkward tension that Nora is probably the only one to feel as a noise comes from Lucas' side of the room. The trio all look over to see an ancient lamp with its lights flickering.

"I promise I'm going to stop asking this-" Max starts, the previous conversation forgotten.

"Yeah," Nora nods. "We see it too."

The light gets brighter and brighter, Max reaching out a hand to touch, but as soon as she gets close to the lampshade, the light goes out immediately.

Lucas' eyes trail to the door, and Nora follows his gaze to see another lamp lit up now.

The trio trail out of the room to see various lamps lighting up throughout the hallway, the faint hum of electricity and Kate Bush coming out of Max's headphones being the only sound in the otherwise silent area.

They find the rest of the group through following various lights, and they all end up circled around a main chandelier on the second floor, flickering with light.

"It's like the Christmas lights," Nancy murmurs as if not to disturb the light.

"Christmas lights?" Robin leans into Nora to ask.

"When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights. . . came to life," Nora explains. "It's how we communicated with him."

"Vecna's here," Nancy states. "In this house."

"Just. . . on the other side," Nora furthers.

The light goes out.

"I think he just left the room," Max says. "Did he hear us?"

"Can he see us?" Steve frowns.

"Headphones," Nora nods to Max instinctively, and the redhead readjusts the device around her ears.

"Wait, wait," Nancy says. "Everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out."

"We're not gonna be able to see if we turn off our flash. . . lights," Steve trails off as he watches everyone comply with no complaint.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Nora looks at her brother in all seriousness, but he just glares back and turns off his light.

a/n:
throuple ship name is lorax hence the chapter title 🥱