𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 *𝙻𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚡

*Vecna's curse*

*Request : Done by BrishtiMukherje, they asked for a one-shot where Lucas found out Max had Vecna's curse and felt guilty for not being able to do anything about it. I know this is sort of short but I hope you like this one!

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Seated beside her, Lucas watched Max's head hanging low as they drove past several cars. Now that it was a possibility, he couldn't bare even the thought of living without her. Dustin had just explained to him everything that he'd missed while over with Jason, Patrick and the rest of the Hawkins High basketball team. Things weren't so great for them over there either.

Now that Chrissy, Jason's beloved prefect cheerleader girlfriend was found dead the popular boy was losing his mind. He was convinced Eddie was responsible for it. Yet, no matter how much Lucas had tried to talk to him, Jason wouldn't budge. He was doing all in his power to make him pay for what he'd done, or at least for what he thought he'd done.

The worst part about it was that for a moment, Lucas had believed Jason. Even though it was highly unlikely, maybe Eddie had done it? Though, none of it mattered anymore, not to Lucas at least. He had more important things to worry about now. He needed to worry about Max. He'd missed so much in the past 24 hours. The girl he loved was doomed to die.

Max was intending and destined to die. It was inescapable fate. Death was simply impending on her like it had been decided the moment that clock began to tick.  The more Lucas thought about it, the less it felt real. I mean, it couldn't be. Max sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she continued to look out the window. Like him, she couldn't believe it either.

Lucas began to wonder, maybe there was something he could've done. Like a word he could've said or an action that could've been placed. He must've done something wrong for this to happen to her. Though he knew he couldn't save her, he dreaded watching her suffer even more than she already had been these last few months. 

He had been the one to watch her live in pain after all these months anyways. Even if they weren't necessarily together anymore, Lucas could still promise that he loved her. He could promise anyone that he loved Max. And now, he would have to simply sit there and watch her life come to an end. 

Nothing made sense anymore. Max had never done anything wrong, why should she have to go? She was the most compassionate, courageous, caring and sweet human being he had ever met. Sure, maybe she didn't always seem like it, but she was. She just had a tough time letting it show. She didn't deserve this curse.

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"Lucas stop!" Max laughed, kicking her feet as Lucas held her tightly in his arms, kissing her face all over. They plopped down on his bed, Lucas on top of her as his head sat in the crook of her neck. "Never," He mumbled into her skin, continuing to kiss it. Max continued to die of laughter, beginning to give into him and kissing back. 

Moments like these made them forget about everything else going on around them. When Max was with Lucas, she would just forget about all the horrible things that had happened to her in her past and current state. None of it mattered as long as she had him. No matter how hard things seemed between them sometimes, she too truly loved him. 

Her awful grades didn't trouble her thoughts, her new home didn't bug her, the fact that her mother would drink so much sometimes that she wouldn't remember her own daughters' names didn't bother her, and the fact that she'd lost so many connections didn't upset her. Even Billy's death didn't affect her in those moments, nothing mattered.

She wasn't sure how to react to her love for him, it was frightening sometimes. What should she do or what should she say? El and Mike both made it seem so easy. Though it was hard to accept sometimes, Max just needed him. Even in times when she hadn't made it incredibly obvious, she always had needed him. 

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Max suddenly turned around, facing Lucas. "I am sorry, you know." She declared, not exactly looking him in the eyes. "For what?" Lucas asked curiously, though he knew why she was apologizing. "For the way I ended things," She sighed, looking down and playing with her hands. "I just, I didn't know what to do and-" Max gulped, "I was scared." She admitted.

 She went on "But now-" Lucas cut her off, grabbing her smaller hand in his larger one. The two paused, looking at each other deep in the eyes. Things suddenly felt normal again. "I know Max," He smiled, squeezing her hand with his. He had known all along really. Part of her never fully left him. And at that moment, Lucas understood Jason's pain. 

Soon, that would be him too, he'd be the next Jason. Most didn't seem to understand why he was losing his mind. The clock was ticking, and shortly someone would take his Chrissy away from him too. The same person would be taking Max away from him, just like he took Chrissy away from Jason.

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