Chapter Sixty: A Ride Home

(Will The Wise, Pt. 2)

***

Alistair watched as Mrs. Byers led Will to the car, a hand on his back, guiding him to the car while also keeping a firm grip, as if to assure herself Will was still here, still awake. His friends and family stood beside him, watching as Will got into the car, worry palpable in the air, Alistair almost tasting it.

Beside him, he heard Max say, "Okay, that totally freaked me out. Did that freak you guys out?"

Cami nodded, the only one. Alistair guessed that even in New York, nothing like what's happening to Will had happened before.

Not that it would. Aside from Will, Rowan and Nancy, Mrs. Byers, his aunt and Hopper, no one else who entered the Upside Down survived. And Will had been in there the longest. Who knew what marks the Upside Down had left on him aside from the episodes and trauma, like the doctors said? What kind of sinister scars that place had left on his best friend no one else but Will could see?

It made Alistair angry, to think Will could never leave the Upside Down, not entirely—that even in the real world, Will would never be free from the Upside Down.

But he swallowed the anger, and instead muttered, "Yeah, it... it was more intense than the ones he had before."

"Two episodes, in two days," Lucas murmured, looking at his best friend with worry.

"It's getting worse," Mike said, right as Lucas questioned, "You think it's True Sight?"

"What's True Sight?" Cami and Max asked in unison, as Alistair felt the confusion from his sister. More than anything, he wanted to tell Max and Cami the truth, but the risk of them finding out, of the tentative safety he and Rowan had, of being used just like El had been, silenced him.

Mike shook his head, a clear sign as any not to tell the truth, and Lucas ended up saying, "It's nothing."

Max frowned and Cami looked at Alistair, seeking an answer, both girls hurt by the exclusion but Max was hiding hers better. Alistair looked away, feeling even more of an asshole.

As Mrs. Byers drove away, Alistair watched the car go, eyes focused only on Will, his best friend looking at the window, face strangely distant. Alistair frowned; that was another thing. Ever since Will snapped out of the episode, something about his best friend seemed... off to Alistair. Like the episode had changed Will.

Alistair shivered with both dread and anger at that being true, at something from the Upside Down getting into Will, hurting Will, and—

"CAMILA!"

Alistair nearly jumped out of his skin at the shout as a girl the same age as Rowan ran toward them, her brown eyes wide and panicked, curls flying behind the patterned scarf that kept them back. Alistair didn't need to ask to know this must be Cami's older sister, Valerie.

Cami's eyes widened and she sprinted down the steps, meeting her sister as the older girl wrapped her in a hug before pulling back.

"You scared the shit out of me, Cami! ¿Estás bien? ¿Dónde estabas?" Valerie demanded, eyes just as panicked as her voice.

"I was with my friends—they had AV club. Estoy bien, Val."

 I know, but we're new in town and one of your friends vanished last year, and I was just scared, okay? I don't want to lose my little sister," Valerie said, her voice growing softer.

"I know, and I don't want to lose you, too," Cami replied. "Perdón."

"Está bien," Valerie assured, before she looked up, and saw her sister's friends—including Alistair.

When she saw Alistair, she looked back to Cami and asked, "¿Es ese el chico blanco del que te has estado enamorando, estrella de rock?"

Cami's cheeks flushed red and she screeched, "Val!"

Her older sister grinned mercilessly—a smile Alistair recognised from when Rowan wore it—before she grabbed her sister and said, "Come on, let's head home. Before Mom and Dad start a manhunt for me as well as you."

Cami still looked mortified, but managed to give a wave and shy smile at Alistair—Alistair returned it with his own shy wave—before she and Valerie walked away.

The minute the sisters were gone, their aunt said, "Well, kids, you want to start making tracks as well?"

"Yes," was the instant response.

But as Rowan and Aunt Aco headed to the car and Alistair said goodbye to Mike, Lucas and Dustin, who went to the bike rack after,  and was about to join his aunt and sister, he noticed Max was still standing there.

"Hey, do you have a way back home?" Alistair asked. 

"My stepbrother, but I think he left. Asshole," Max answered, muttering the insult under her breath, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. I can just skate home."

Alistair frowned, knowing how far Cherry Road was from school. No way could Max skate home, especially before it got dark.

Especially if the monsters from the Upside Down were back.

"My aunt could give you a ride," Alistair offered.

Max gave him a skeptical look. "You're serious?"

"Yeah! Look, my aunt may not be the best driver, but it's better than skating home by yourself," Alistair reasoned. Sticking his hands in his jean pockets, he added, "And consider it an apology for being an asshole earlier with the AV club room and Dart?"

Max stared at him, as if weighing up her options, before shrugging. "Okay, yeah. Fine."

Alistair grinned and ran to his aunt's car, Max behind him as he bellowed to his family, "Hey Aunt Aco! Max's coming with us! Do you think you could drop her home?"

Aunt Aco and Rowan turned, watching Max slow to a stop beside Alistair and giving their scratched-up car a look.

"Uh, sure. But Max, don't you have your own ride?" Rowan questioned.

"Yeah, kid, I don't want to drive you back home if someone's coming to get you," Aunt Aco said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, usually I do, but my stepbrother ditched me," Max answered, spitting the words out like poison, but Alistair thought he heard relief, that her stepbrother wasn't there to drive her back home. Again, Alistair wondered what was up with Max's home life, and if things were as bad as he was beginning to suspect.

Immediately, the expressions on his sister and aunt's faces changed—Rowan now looked angry and his aunt was frowning as she asked, "Does your stepbrother drive a blue Camaro and have a stringy mullet?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, yeah he does."

If anything, Rowan's anger darkened as Aunt Aco's mouth twisted and Alistair frowned, before his aunt jerked her head to the car and said, "Hop in, kid. We'll get you home."

Max looked taken aback. "Wait, you're actually serious? Al offered, but I can just skate home—"

"That's not happening. Hawkins may be small, but I'm not letting a young girl go back home by herself when it's almost dark," Aunt Aco cut in, her voice brooking no argument. "The weirdos come out at night."

"We're some of those weirdos, Aunt Aco," Rowan pointed out as she opened the door for the front passenger seat, Alistair nodding in agreement.

Aunt Aco's teeth flashed in a grin. "Yes, but we're the nice ones. Especially if I raised you and your brother right. Now, get in, kids."

Alistair and Rowan returned the grin and climbed in, Alistair holding the door open for Max. Max stared before she climbed inside, gripping her skateboard tightly. A second later, Aunt Aco was also inside.

"Seatbelts," she ordered and the three obeyed, just as Aunt Aco turned the engine on and the stereo came to life. Fleetwood Mac came through the speakers, and Alistair grinned. He liked Fleetwood Mac. His aunt or Rowan must have put it in earlier.

"Hang on!" was their aunt's only warning before she sped out of there like the Demogorgon had come back to life and was chasing after them, ripping down the road with the screech of tyres. Alistair jolted in his seat from the high speed, but he wasn't nervous. He felt safe with his aunt, just like Rowan did. Max looked a little nervous, but not much; Alistair guessed her stepbrother drove fast, too.

A jerk from a pothole had a Walkman and a couple of tapes slide out of Max's bag. Curious, Alistair grabbed one and said, "Kate Bush? Who's Kate Bush?"

Max stared at him like he'd been living under a rock and only just now returned to society.

"Kate Bush is one of the best singers in the world," Max replied, her face looking like his sister did when she talked about Joan Jett or  her rock n' roll and metal bands. Looking at the tape still in Alistair's hands, she said, "That's her first album, The Kick Inside. You can borrow it, if you want."

Alistair took it. "Thanks, Max. I'll listen to it when we're home. If you say she's good, I believe you."

Max smiled. "Don't worry, she is."

Alistair returned the smile.

"I have my own favourite singer, too," Alistair confided. "Elton John."

Max stared at him. "Wait, he is?"

"Yeah! He's awesome," Alistair said, grinning. "Do you listen to his music?"

Max returned the grin and said, "Not as much as Kate Bush, but I do, sometimes. He... he was one of my dad's favourite singers, so we would listen to his music sometimes."

Seeing that her dad was a vulnerable subject with Max, Alistair shifted in his seat and said, "Well, I'm glad. At least I have someone else who knows just how much Elton rocks."

Max grinned. "Same with Kate Bush."

Up in the front, Rowan twisted around and stuck out a hand. "Hey, Max, you mind if I borrow a tape to listen, too?"

Max looked at his sister, eyeing her up and down. "Uh, sure. I didn't think she'd be your type."

"I dabble. Plus, I love Fleetwood Mac and Siouxsie And The Banshees with everything in me, so if this Kate Bush is anything like Stevie Nicks or Siouxsie, then I'll probably love her music."

Max grinned and handed another tape to Rowan, who put it in her bag.

The drive continued in silence before Aunt Aco asked, "So... did you say no at first because you thought you were gonna be kidnapped by the con artist psychic and her accomplices?"

Max stared at Aunt Aco, genuinely shocked. "What?"

Alistair winced as Rowan turned to their aunt and said, "Aunt Aco, not everyone has heard that rumour."

Aunt Aco shrugged. "Yeah, but she was gonna to. Might as well hear it from myself."

Rowan groaned and Alistair buried his face in his hands, while Max said, "I heard about the rumours. Not the one where you kidnap kids."

"Well, don't worry, that one isn't true. I'm not that type of crook," Aunt Aco said, winking as she made a wild turn.

"Yeah. I heard the one that you're a fake psychic and scam people with it," Max said drily, pointedly.

"Hmm, maybe," Aunt Aco said vaguely, a grin playing on her lips. "Do you want the truth?"

"Oh really? I thought scammers and criminals were allergic to the truth."

Aunt Aco hooted with laughter. "I like this girl, kid! And I may be a casual criminal, but who says I'm a fake? There are rumours that we Graveswoods are witches, after all."

Max arched a skeptical brow. "You're lying."

"No, it's true, I swear! I am a real psychic, my niece here can summon storms and my nephew sitting next to you can speak to the dead," Aunt Aco said, grinning.

Alistair tensed and tried to smile in a way he hoped Max couldn't tell was fake while Rowan rolled her eyes, knowing Aunt Aco was half-telling the truth in a way that sounded like a lie.

It worked as Max scoffed. "Yeah, like that's true."

"Skeptical, huh? Good. Not enough skeptics in the world," Aunt Aco said approvingly, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she hummed to the song. Alistair and Rowan smiled, and while Alistair couldn't know what his sister was thinking, he was relieved that the truth sounded like a lie to Max, and she didn't believe it.

Twisting in her seat again, Rowan asked, "So, Max. Where exactly did you learn to pick a lock from?"

Alistair stared at Max. "Wait, that was you who picked the lock? I thought Rowan did it!"

"Thank you for having faith in my skills."

"No I don't. I was just surprised it wasn't you because you take such a long time."

Rowan glowered and swiped a punch at Alistair, who dodged it by leaning back in his seat and grinning smugly. Rowan gave him a middle finger and Alistair kicked the back of her seat.

"Al!" Rowan screeched, whirling around and smacking his leg. Alistair kicked the back of Rowan's chair again.

"Quiet, children," Aunt Aco reprimanded. "But now I'm curious. You picked a lock, Max?"

"Yeah. I saw it in a movie once. When Al and the others locked me and Cami out and wouldn't let us in, I thought I could use it," Max explained, giving Alistair a glare.

Alistair gave a sheepish smile, even though he didn't regret it; it had been Upside Down matters, so Cami and Max couldn't be there.

"Well, the movies lie about picking locks. If you want, I can teach you how to really pick a lock," Aunt Aco offered, grinning.

"Uh, I might, thanks," Max said.

"Don't mention it. I'm all for corrupting children and leading them into crime, especially girls. Not enough girls break the law, in my opinion, especially when the laws are bullshit."

Alistair and Rowan rolled their eyes as Aunt Aco cackled with delight at leading another into somewhat harmless crime, before Rowan twisted around and said, "Hey, I've heard from the squirt here you're apparently an arcade queen and kicked their asses at Dig Dug, especially Dustin's. And that your nickname is Madmax. Is that true?"

The grin Max gave his sister was practically wicked. "It very much is."

Rowan returned the grin and held her hand out for a fist bump. "Nice. Boys deserve to remember we girls can kick ass at their things, and be better at it."

"Definitely," Max agreed, bumping her fist with Rowan's. Alistair got the distinct feeling he'd witnessed a friendship both amazing and terrifying to behold.

"Also, your arcade nickname is awesome," Rowan complimented. "Makes you even cooler."

Max smiled. "Thanks."

Rowan returned it before she twisted back around. after another few minutes of silence, Alistair turned to Max and asked, "Hey, Max, do you think you could teach me to skateboard this weekend?"

Max arched a brow. "Really? I thought you were bad at it."

"That's exactly my question," Rowan interjected. "I think I remember you falling off a skateboard and nearly face-planting the ground really vividly."

Alistair hunched his shoulders. "That wasn't what happened!"

"It was. Eddie can corroborate. I had to stop you from eating grass."

Alistair hunched further, feeling Max's smirk.

"I'm guessing it's a no?" Alistair asked weakly.

Max shook her head, still smirking. "Nope, it's a yes. I'm now curious to see how bad you really are."

Alistair grinned. "Hey, maybe I improved."

"How can you improve without a skateboard, squirt?" Rowan piped up. Alistair glowered and kicked the back of her seat again. Rowan turned and smacked Alistair's leg. The siblings gave each other middle fingers before Rowan turned back around.

"For your information, I think I still have it in my closet, Rowan," Alistair said as he leaned forward on her seat.

Rowan was quiet before she suddenly cackled. "Oh God, forget about having the board shoot out from under you. You're gonna break it in half the minute you step foot onto it! The poor old thing that was probably enjoying early retirement."

Alistair glared. "Why do you have so little faith in both me and the skateboard?"

"Call it revenge for having little faith in my lock-picking skills," Rowan said with a devilish grin, before she added, "If you're still gonna do it, squirt, wear protective gear. I don't want you to accidentally break your neck."

"And I don't want to drive you to the hospital, kid. Or to the morgue. So be safe if you do this and wear that goddamned gear or at least a helmet," Aunt Aco put in.

"I will, promise. Hey Rowan, you have any food? I'm hungry."

"Sure. I have some chips," Rowan said, unzipping her bag and tossing them to Alistair. He grinned in thanks.

"Don't get crumbs in my car, kid!" Aunt Aco warned.

"I won't!" Alistair promised before he held out the bag to Max. "You want some?"

"Sure," Max replied, grabbing a handful.

As they ate, Alistair noticed Max was looking between him and Rowan, confusion and a sort of longing on her face. That had Alistair realise it was probably due to their sibling interactions, and he wondered if she and her stepbrother had anything similar.

Probably not, if him ditching her was anything to go by.

The car was quiet except for the crunching of chips, before Aunt Aco suddenly grinned and shouted, "Oh, kids! This is our song!"

Alistair and Rowan were confused before they heard the opening riffs for The Chain, and they grinned.

"Yes!" Alistair yelled, pumping the air and narrowly avoiding having chips soar out of the bag as Rowan turned the volume up, the music reverberating in the car, practically shaking it.

And as Fleetwood Mac started singing, so did Aunt Aco.

"Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise..." Aunt Aco sang, her slightly off-key voice echoing against Stevie Nicks' voice. Grinning, she pointed to Rowan and Alistair who returned the grin and they sang in unison, "Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies."

At the beat, all three Graveswoods head-banged and slapped their hands against the part of the car nearest to them—the steering wheel, the dashboard, the back of Rowan's seat—and belted out in unison, "And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again! I can still hear you saying, you would never break the chain, never break the chain..."

Alistair threw Max a grin, their audience for the moment, before he and his family sang again, "And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again! I can still hear you saying, you would never break the chain, never break the chain!"

At the instrumental, Alistair nudged Max and said, "Join us in the next verse!"

Max's eyes widened and she asked, "You sure?"

"Come on, kid! Anyone in this car has to sing along to this song, it's my only rule!" Aunt Aco shouted, while Rowan only threw a grin before she all but yelled out, "Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night!"

She and Aunt Aco pointed at Alistair, who grinned and sang, "Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies!"

Now Alistair was pointing to Max, who still looked like she didn't want to join in on singing their family song—little knowing that despite how much their aunt groused about his friends, the minute Alistair or Rowan made a friend, they were unofficially part of their family—but complied, singing, "Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light."

Alistair grinned at Max as the beat came and again, he, Rowan and Aunt Aco banged their hands against the seat, dashboard and steering wheel before bellowing, "And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again! I can still hear you saying, you would never break the chain, never break the chain..."

Alistair turned to Max, a grin on his face as the redhead was quiet, before she opened her mouth and her voice joined the chorus of three singing the next line.

"And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again! I can still hear you saying, you would never break the chain, never break the chain!"

Now Max was grinning, and as the instrumental started, Rowan began shredding on an air guitar while Aunt Aco slapped her hands on the rim of the steering wheel and Alistair and Max whooped and applauded Rowan's performance before Alistair began dancing as much as he could in his seat, a tug on Max's hand an invite to come join in, the half-eaten chips forgotten on the seat.

And when the last verse came, Max was fully singing along, her guard seeming to have dropped.

"Chain, you must never," they belted out before Alistair shouted out solo, "Running in the shadows!"

"Chain, you must never," Max and Alistair sang before Aunt Aco and Rowan belted out, "Running in the shadows!"

"Chain, you must never," Max and Aunt Aco now sang as the Graveswood siblings screamed out, "Running in the shadows!"

That was the rest of the song went, the four switching combinations until it was over and Alistair whooped and applauded his sister, aunt and friend, Rowan bowing and smirking before she did the same and Aunt Aco pretended to be modest, but she was grinning as she threw back, "You did great, kid!"

Max smiled as Rowan and Alistair whooped and clapped, Alistair throwing his arm around Max and giving her a celebratory side-hug.

"Our aunt's right! You were awesome, Max!"

"Damn right you were! You fucking killed it, Max!"

Max grinned. "Thanks."

The celebratory mood—and the rest of Rumours—lasted until Aunt Aco raced into Cherry Road and Max yelled, "Stop, that's my house."

Aunt Aco screeched to a halt, in front of a nice-looking house. Twisting around, she said, "Okay, kid, here's your place."

And like that, Max's guard was up again.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing her bag and opening the door, getting out. "See you at school, Al."

Alistair frowned. "See you at school."

Max slammed the door and headed up to her house and inside, the Graveswoods watching to make sure she got in okay.

Once she was inside, Aunt Aco reversed her car and turned around, heading back home. And as the Rumours tape finished playing and Rowan switched it with a new one, Alistair felt the worry over Will returning. He hoped his best friend was okay.

Even though Alistair was beginning to suspect Will wasn't.

***

AHHH THIS TOOK SO LONG!!!!

Yeah, both of the Graveswood siblings are feeling something off about Will (and Alistair being extremely worried about Will and angry that it's because of the Upside Down) Also, I loved writing Cami and Valerie's interaction! I love the Martinéz sisters as much as I love the Graveswood siblings :3

And the scene with Max and the Graveswoods! Originally, that wasn't planned, but it came to me and it ended up being the best part to write! I loved writing it, especially the one with them all singing to The Chain! (also, I like to think that Rowan's dynamic with Max is similar to Steve with Dustin) And yeah, that could be Max's second happiest memory, after her first :)

Spanish translations:

¿Estás bien? ¿Dónde estabas?: Are you okay? Where were you?

Estoy bien: I'm fine

Perdón: I'm sorry

Está bien,: It's okay

¿Es ese el chico blanco del que te has estado enamorando, estrella de rock?: Is this the white boy you've been crushing on, rockstar?

Next chapter should be soon!

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!