𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 *𝙻𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚡

*Nightmares*

*Request : Hey guys, I'm staying up to watch volume two of season four of stranger things so I figured I would write this while I waited. I really hope Max and Lucas are okay throughout the next episodes but one can only wish for so much. I hope you guys like this cute angsty and fluffy one-shot written by me.

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Lucas sat up startled, a tapping sound on his window waking him up. He turned to his clock, his eyes still adjusting to the current dark state of his bedroom. It was the middle of the night after all. "What the fuck," He mumbled to himself rubbing his eyes as he yawned. The tapping only continued and transformed into a louder and stronger knock. Someone was outside his window.

He groaned loudly, walking over to his window and ripping open the blinds. To his surprise, his best friend, Max Mayfield was sitting on the other side. He furrowed his eyebrows, quietly letting her in. "Max, what the fuck are you doing here, it's the middle of the night!" Max quietly mumbled an apology, crawling into his room as she hid her face from him.

He continued to talk, annoyed that she had woken him from his deep sleep. "You just had to come here at-" His expression softened and he furrowed his eyebrows at her. Looking deeper into her current state, Lucas lifted her chin to make her look him in the eyes. "Max?" Lucas spoke, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the unusual puffiness of her face. 

"Wow, you look awful," He remarked making Max let out a soft chuckle. Her eyes weren't normally this red and she looked like she just rolled out of bed. But what Lucas didn't know is that Max actually did. "Hasn't your mom ever told you not to speak to women like that?" She snarked, pushing away her strong emotions as she continued to avoid his worried gaze. 

"But on a real note, are you okay?" He asked now genuinely concerned. You see, earlier that year, Max's brother Billy had died in a tragic car accident. However, the worst part about the whole thing was that Max had been in the car with him the whole time. She couldn't sleep for weeks after it happened and still, once in a while had frequent nightmares about the traumatic event.

Of course, nobody knew about this except Lucas. Though, even after all this, he had never seen her directly after one except for now. Max's expression sunk at his change in tone. She ripped his hand off her face, her mood changing. "Look, I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important." He cupped her face, searching for some type of answer in her eyes.

"What's wrong Max?" She tried her best not to look him in the eyes, her eyes filling with hot salty tears. She knew that if she did she would most likely start sobbing. "I just didn't want to be alone tonight, okay!" She admitted. But Lucas raised his eyebrows expecting more. "That's all?" He asked confused. Max sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "That's all." 

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The two lay beside each other in his small twin-sized bed. Lucas had caved into letting her stay, feeling bad for his poor friend. They both lay awkwardly, not sure what to do in this small bed together. She had just explained to him why she had ended up coming tonight. The constant nightmares. Obviously, he knew about them, he just didn't know they were that bad.

"So.. should I leave a nightlight on for you then?" Max sighed, shaking her head at him. "Jesus Lucas, I'm having nightmares, not turning into a toddler." He shrugged, "Right, just wondering."  He cleared his throat, making small talk. "So.." He went on, Max shaking her head at him. "Don't make this weirder than it already is." 

"Just hold me." She finally spoke, almost regretting it until Lucas wrapped his arms around her thin torso. She was glad that she wasn't facing him as her cheeks were now dark red. Little did she know, on the other side so was Lucas. His grip on her was strong yet so gentle. To Max, describing it was hard but all together, she just felt very safe. He made her feel very safe.

"What was your dream about?" He asked, not sure if it was too sudden. Sure he knew what they were about in general but not this one in particular. "It's just him." She sniffed, tears sliding down her cheeks. She was once again glad he couldn't see her, though he could hear her crying. "I just have to sit and watch him d-." Her voice cracked, not being able to finish her sentence.

"It's horrible." She continued, finally turning around to look at him. His heart sank at the view in front of him. He wanted nothing more than for her to be happy, it truly broke his heart to see her like this. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Nor did Billy. They both didn't. Lucas only wished he could make her aware of that fact. She was worth more than she could ever know.

He instantly pulled her into his arms, the two sharing a tight hug. Her head rested above his shoulder as she finally let out the sob she had been holding earlier. "It's okay," He tried but he knew he couldn't bring her any reassurance on the situation. It wasn't okay and It wasn't just a dream. It would never just be a dream. 

At the end of the day, Billy was actually dead. Max had lost her beloved brother and he was never coming back. "I've got you," He softly pressed a kiss against her shoulder, rubbing circles along her soft skin. Luckily, Max hadn't had any more nightmares for the rest of the night as she felt safer than she ever had before.

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