Max, Wake Up
Tw: heavy on the angst, THAT lumax scene rewritten
"Get your fucking hands off my sister, Carver!" a large bloody blur appears out of thin air, launching itself at a bewildered Jason.
"Billy? How-" Lucas starts, his throbbing head trying to process what he's seeing.
Billy Hargrove is in one piece, and he's angry- this resurrected embodiment of nothing but pure rage makes prior images of him at the Byers house look like child's play.
A wild animal has been unleashed, and by the grace of God, he's not even remotely interested in focusing any of that on Lucas.
He's never seen anyone fight with their entire body. Billy is pounding his fists into Jason, and his boots make squelched sounds as he stomps Carver's flesh like a Halloween pumpkin.
Crack.
Oh shit. Max.
His fiery soulmate is still suspended in mid air, and to Lucas's horror, her limbs are starting to contort into opposite positions.
Billy must see it, too, because he drops Carver, and grabs at Max's sneakers. "Shitbird, snap out of it! Sinclair, where's her damn walkman?" he snaps, urgency in his tone.
Lucas points to the damage on the floor beside Carver, and Billy shakes his head, his matted hair slapping his face.
Max's vibrant blue eyes are squirting out blood, and another agonizing crack fills the air.
"MAXINE! YOU LITTLE BITCH, WAKE UP!" Billy roars, and suddenly Max's crumbled body falls into her brother's arms.
Lucas's mouth is open but no words are coming out. He reaches for Max and Billy actually growls at him.
He's about to give Hargrove a piece of his damn mind, but then he notices how Billy is holding her. He's cradling her in his arms, shaking her gently, his shoulders moving up and down.
He's crying.
"B-billy?" Max gasps out.
"It's me, Shit Bird," Billy says, voice cracking.
"Billy, I-I can't f-feel or-or s-see anything."
"You're gonna be fine, Max, you hear me?"
"I don't.. I don't wanna die..."
"You're not gonna! I'm not gonna let you!" He cups Max's ears, and yells, "SOMEONE GET A FUCKING AMBULANCE! PLEASE!"
"D-don't cry, Billy..."
"ERICA! ERICA, HELP!" Lucas shouts for his little sister, tears streaming down his face.
"Don't... be mad, I'm going... to the movies with... Lucas..."
"I'm not mad, Shit Bird, I'm not. You're gonna be fine- SINCLAIR WHERE'S THE GODDAMN AMBULANCE!"
"ERICA!"
"Big... bro..." Max struggles to speak, her sightless eyes unfocused.
"I'm here, Maxine. Keep talking to me," Billy pleads, sniffling.
"Wish..."
She goes still, and Billy starts to shake her again. "No, no, Shit Bird, don't die! DON'T YOU DARE...Max?"
His voice sounds so small, a grieving mouse in a lion's body.
Lucas is watching one of the big bads of his childhood come undone before him.
But Billy Hargrove isn't a villain at this moment. Maybe he never was.
Right now, he's just a little boy, trying to wake up his sister.
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