Cherry Wine| Max Mayfield

.twenty-five| 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮

If she wasn't pacing the room, she was pacing the entire hospital.

Max wasn't okay, but her heart beat was still there. Or, it came back. Lucas told her everything, because by the time Clove arrived, Max was already being taken to the hospital. The insane amount of guilt weighed on her, flooding every vein in her entire body. She really thought she had Vecna, she would have bet her life on it.

Yet, she failed, and now her girlfriend was paying the consequences for it.

El, Mike, and Will arrived at the hospital when she was in the process of coming back from her stroll around the parking lot. Seeing them took a lot of stress off her shoulders for a moment, relived they were okay and still alive. She held onto Mike and Will for what felt like forever, kissing them both on the forehead before they went in. El stayed with her a moment, the pair sitting on the bench outside of the hospital and really talked, just the two of them, like they use to.

"I really thought I did it, El." she admitted, sighing sadly. "I thought I had him."

"You did, he is strong." El crossed her legs and hid under her hoodie. "And mean."

"So mean." she gave a sad laugh as her eyes filled up. "He was gonna come for me."

El frowned as she took her hand. "He didn't."

"Because of Max." she met her eye, sadness dancing all around the dark brown shades. "She saved me from him, and I couldn't even save her."

"Clove." El grabbed her shoulders and shook her head. "You did so much. Henry is-he's like a disease. Hard to beat. But, Max is still alive. She didn't die."

"Yeah." the blonde looked down again. "I just wish I could talk to her again, I didn't even realize how much I missed talking to her until we couldn't."

"Me too." El frowned, pulling her into a hug. "Can I see her?"

Clove nodded, standing up. They kept their arms around each other the entire ride up the elevator and into the hospital room, coming across Lucas hugging Mike and Will. He let them go and hugged El as well, she squeezed him in guilt. "I'm sorry."

Mike put an arm around Clove to pull her into his side, she did the same with Will so they were all smooshed together next to Max's bed. Mikes eyes flickered to the many, many, many mixtapes and a bunch of books. Many that he'd seen in Cloves room. He then remembered. "Buttercup is at my house."

"What?" she looked up at him.

"El tried to spy, to find you, and she said Buttercup was the only one at your house. We went and got him before we went to my house." he said in return.

Clove felt immediate guilt, praying her poor dog didn't feel scared during Vecna's attack on Hawkins. She pressed her head against him more. "Thank you."

Will laid his head on her shoulder as her arms tightened around his waist. El looked down at Max. "Do they know...when she will wake?"

"No." Lucas sighed.