revivalprojectooc | FALL TEST DRIVE MEME

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FALL TEST DRIVE MEME

FALL TEST DRIVE MEME
Application FAQ | Taken Characters | Reserves | Application

Welcome to the Current Test Drive for The Revival Project!

This game is a spin-off from the closed The Drift Fleet game. For more information about the game, including more details on the setting, please check out the FAQ here or the premise here.

A thread on the TDM will be required for all applications. Please view the FAQ for information about how this works. Any questions about the game please direct to the comment section of the FAQ as well.

If you are a Drift Fleet alumni bringing your character from the game, please label your character as 'DFAU' on your top level. Also, keep in mind you have complete flexibility on how your character comes here. They could be taken before endgame, after endgame, two years after, one year before, etc. It's up to you! If you want to completely restart your character, they're not considered DFAU anymore and won't need the label.

So go! Explore Agra 10! And, as always, HAVE FUN!

Thread ideas:

Fall in Temba and Sh'Ka

Fall is a season that, in temperate climates like that of Temba and Sh'Ka leads to great changes in the land. Of course in both cities that change is often peeking out amid the occasional dustings or drifts of volcanic ash, but with each of the light fall rains, it's almost as if the memories of the eruption that ended the summer are being washed away. Each city, though, has its own new challenges to face.

Temba seems almost peaceful, breathing out a sigh of relief after its near destruction. Just southeast of the city one finds signs of the damage in greater evidence. The recent lava flows have taken out large stretches of vegetation, replacing them with fresh volcanic rock left bare at the surface. In some places there's even residual heat given off, especially closer to the volcano that now rests as an unending reminder of what was nearly lost. Meanwhile in the city itself the plants that would normally provide a natural abundance outside of the domain of the greenhouse seem to offer scant pickings, perhaps a result of the intense heat of the summer.

Meanwhile in Sh'Ka fall proves to be a threat, though in a new way this year than in any before. The danger derives from the Blood Vines near the train station. Apparently ash-rich soil only feeds the vampiric plant, and its spines are larger than ever as its vines lie hidden under the mounds of ash, ready for any unsuspecting prey.

Explore ~~the city~~ Temba!

Here's a map of Temba and a bit more description of some of the buildings here.

Despite having been protected from being destroyed by the volcano itself and unlike Sh'Ka not having been buried in vast amopunts of ash, Temba still suffered notable damage from the earthquakes that came with the volcano's eruption. Previously restored buildings were damaged and others entirely caved in on themselves leaving them beyond any hope for restoration. The streets and paths are even worse to traverse than they used to be but for what it's worth water and electricity are still working. Most of the time.

Needless to say, exploring is more risky these days as buildings may still cave in without warning and seemingly solid roads may crack open to drop anunsuspecting wanderer into underground caves left behind by the quakes.

And yet the city can still be explored. If you are lucky, you might even stumble over The Deep End, the bar located on one of the mid-levels of the tower residences in one of the residence towers. Unfortunately no bright neon signs can lead you there, but it does exist.

Now what's happening with the hangar?!

A while ago, the ships vanished from the hangar and as of now no one can say why exactly that happened. Now your character may snotice that the map still indicates a hangar, but going there has them walk straight into- A force field? And a massive one at that. It's notably larger than the hangar building used to be and by no means translucent. Instead, your character will see a reflection of the city around. Or much rather the rubble and empty area around the location. What's going on here? Do you investigate the strange case of the missing space ships and now also missing hangar?

Try the network!

The network is back up! Upon arrival, your character will have on their person a small, handheld communications device. Maybe they know exactly how to use a computer, smartphone, or tablet, and immediately blast out a text or video trying to figure out what's going on. Or maybe they're not so tech-savvy after all, and everyone is about to get a lovely shot right up your character's left nostril.

There be storms...

These power-altering storms keep ravaging parts of the planet every once in a while. No one truly knows where they come from or what to do about them yet, but one of them appears to be approaching. You have the option to find shelter in one of the buildings to wait for it to pass. Unless, of course, you rather feel drawn to investigate.

Should you step inside the storm, or even get lost in it, it will show ghosts of people you know and those you don't. It drains you of any super-human abilities and tries its best to keep you from getting to its origin. Are you going to try anyways? Or are you going to chase the whispers of people from your past? Maybe you will simply find yourself calling for help or stumble across another lost soul in need of assistance.

More information can be found here.

Wildcard!

You're welcome to use any previous test drive scenarios or previous game events as a basis for a thread/situation, or simply make up your own! Keep in mind that you're currently stranded on a planet with only basic necessities, but there is enough food and fresh water. Creature comforts, however, seem to be distinctly lacking. Quite unlike a gathering of potentially dangerous creatures to encounter. The setting is yours to explore and have fun with!

✧ Premise ✧ FAQ ✧ Rules ✧ Test Drive ✧ Taken ✧ Reserves ✧ Application ✧
✧ Map ✧ Devices & Network ✧ Data Points ✧ Ships ✧ Flora ✧ Fauna ✧ Supply Requests ✧ Calendar ✧
✧ Activity Check ✧ Player Plot Suggestion ✧ Player Contacts ✧ Player Permission Code ✧ Hiatus ✧ Drop ✧
✧ Navigation ✧

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Max can feel when he closes off. The silence infuriates her further. When Billy takes her words of pained memories as accusations, it just makes it worse. She's ready to spit fire at him all over again, until Billy shares his guilt.

Everything in Max comes to a screeching halt. Fuck.

She tries to get right in front of his pacing path, so she can catch his eyes, make this as clear and simple as possible.

"Hey, Billy. Nothing that happened at the mall, was your fault." She's firm in her words, but her tone has softened down to that level of, 'Here are the facts,' with a tinge of worry and mild confusion. She can't imagine the others didn't try to explain, this is likely just another case of special Hargrove-Mayfield sibling brand stubbornness.

"The only thing you did, in the mall, was save El." This is the part that matters the most, Max breathes out, first, then says every word carefully and pointedly, "You are a hero."

Her eyes are still glassy and she can't be anymore serious about this.

Billy almost sidesteps her to keep up the pacing. It’s clear this is a normal "route" as this section of the room is clear of anything to trip over. Many evenings before bed spent pacing to try and wear his body and mind down enough to sleep.

Well, he’d sleep better if he took the medication that Tae gave him. The bottle sits on the mantle of the fireplace, ignored.

And Billy doesn’t move around her. Instead, he stops and meets her glassy gaze with his own dark one.

"Max," said with a hard tone that indicates stubbornness ahead. "I killed so many damn people after that night at Steelworks. I kidnapped Heather. I killed her and her parents. That stupid lady with her damn plants or whatever the hell it was." Billy’s voice is rising again. It’s so easy to slip into bad habits, including grabbing her shoulders in a hard grip. Not hitting though, just keeping her right there while they talk.

"I’m not a fucking hero, let’s get that shit clear right now. Doing one good thing doesn’t fix all the other shit I’ve done! Doesn’t make me a hero! I’m a bully and I’m learning not to be one while I’m here! So don’t give me fucking titles that I never earned. You got that, shitbird?"

It's steel against steel as Billy recounts the murders he was forced to do, and Max clenches her jaw, tightly. Her hands ball up into fists and she doesn't falter.

"You're right. You're a bully. And an abusive asshole!" her own voice rises, agitated all over again with the rising of his voice.

"And a shitty brother! I'm not delusional about you." Which means when she said that, she knew what she was talking about, but of course, he's not listening. That's not unusual, at least.

Max manages to calm down when she continues with, "You are trying, and learning. And yeah. Your hands killed those people. You will likely be left with those memories forever." She closes her eyes and realizes she can only suspect the weight of that guilt, how crushing it is. That kind of scar, she can't help with.

Her eyes open again. "But it wasn't you. You didn't do any of it willingly. You were forced to. You were being controlled." Breathe in. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. She feels she's just adding to the trauma, and she doesn't want to, but it's the truth. Billy had wanted the truth, right?

"Didn't anyone tell you about Vecna?" Once that name leaves her mouth, Max knows, there's no turning back.

It's like two brethren fighting to try and get the other to see how they're wrong in their views. The wind and rain howls outside the cabin. Billy doesn't let go of Max's shoulder, tempted to shake her. He does, just a little. A little. "Shut up! I know I am! You think I don't know any of that?"

Now his own eyes are glossy because finally someone called him that to his face. He's been here for a few months and felt like the other Hawkins teens tip-toed around him. Billy knew why. He knew exactly why.

Because he was an asshole, a bully, and a shitty brother and trying to say he wasn't was lying to himself. But Max was right, that he was learning and trying to be better. She could see that, too, in just how he was acting here. The words from both of them linger in the air like a dense, invisible fog, until she keeps talking. Asks about Vecna.

"...The other you, the one that was here when I showed up... she mentioned it. The others mentioned something about a Vecna song. I thought it was some bullshit thing for Eddie's discords and delusions thing." So he's heard of it, but didn't know what it actually was.

It's only a little shaking. Billy doesn't hit her, so Max will let it slide. It's an improvement on a lot of things. She closes her eyes tight while Billy yells back and shakes her, then comes back just as angry.

"Don't tell me to shut up! I'm not telling you because I think you don't know. I'm telling you I know!" She stabs at her chest, then aims right for his.

"I know who you are, Billy Hargrove. So when I say you were a hero when you saved El, I'm not making shit up, exaggerating or saying it to make you feel better. I'm not ignoring everything you've ever done, either. I'm saying it because I think you are! And you don't get to tell me how I feel about that!"

The information on how little Billy knows about Vecna, though, is sobering. Even the other her.... Fuck.

"Vecna's a person," she shrugs, "or was Henry Creel. Vecna's just faster to say, and he's way more monster than person now."

Max bites the inside of her mouth. "I'll tell you about him. But I need you to hear me out about this, okay? I need you to take me seriously."

Neither of them are coming to blows. The steps are small, but noticeable by someone like Max, who knew how bad he could get. The moment she yells back and stabs her finger to his chest, Billy gives her a little shove. Only enough to put some space between them, not enough to hopefully knock her down or into the wall. He's lived for so long with a man that tore him down at any given moment that positivity about himself gets pushed back on.

"If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have been in danger in the first place!"

But if not Billy, it would've possessed someone else. Harrington? Robin? That Wheeler chick? It could've been any of them. Billy just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.

The blond paces a little again, chewing on the stick of his lollipop. He wants to run. Wants to breakdown and lash out. He wants to get his hands on a dresser and destroy it with his bare hands. Wants to leave Max in this shabby little cabin with all of her little positive words like a some kind of daily affirmation calendar and her sharp words of her telling him not to tell her how to feel.

That'd be something Neil would do.

More pacing.

"So it's from that Upside Down shit? Why the hell would I not take you seriously after everything I've seen and lived through, Max? Seriously, don't be fucking stupid."

Max still has no idea how bad things got with Neil, but what she does know is she didn't give Billy compliments, and she's never seen him take one, beyond being flirted with. She can figure enough out to understand it's not easy for him to hear it. Fighting, yelling, insulting each other - all of that he can handle, but not the one compliment.

It's the reason she doesn't walk right out when he shoves her. It's not too hard, and she doesn't fall back or hit anything, but she glares at him for it. There's an annoyance to feeling that small. Even so, she knows Billy is showing improvement, so she sucks some of it in. She digs her heels in, tightens her fists and stands her ground.

None of that stops her from yelling again.

"Guess what, Billy! That's not true. Vecna was targeting El, so he would have gotten her one way or another. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else getting controlled. It would have happened no matter what. And maybe because it was you she lived!"

If he had left, Max would have just left as well, returned to the hotel, and who knows when they would have run into each other again. They both stay, they might salvage something in the end. Maybe. She just has to keep tolerating a little bit of his crap if he just tolerates hers.

Her voice returns to normal, the goes hollow as she speaks, "Yeah. It is. Billy, this isn't easy to talk about. Can we just...stop with the yelling for this?"

Billy only got compliments on things that mattered to him on the surface level - the way he looked and how he did sports. His car. Superficial things that didn't matter in the long run or something like that.

With the space between them again, Billy seems to calm a little again.

And Max voices his very own thoughts about how if it wasn't him, it'd be someone else. And he wants to run or flinch or kick her out or something or anything. It feels like a lot, and there is, but unlike his conversation with Robin, Billy doesn't want to back down this time. He may be a worthless loser, but he wasn't going to run from this.

The pacing slows and he finally leans against one of the other walls. Space between them again, but Billy isn't tightly closed off like he had made himself a few minutes ago.

"Fine. I can't help it sometimes," comes the soft answer. Billy almost sounds defeated, but he's just tired. He's fought so much for so long, and he was just tired. Being in Temba was supposed to be a break from that until he goes home to die.

If he did kick her out, she wouldn't come back, not of her own accord. Not any time soon.

The distance seems to calm her down, too. Her hands open up again.

"I can't help it with you, either," Max gives him that much. "You get loud, I get loud. I'm just going to tell you the truth. And it's a lot. It's not easy." But she's trying, so hard, on that.

Temba might be a break, but if gates open up here, anything could happen. Would it still be a break if the monsters came back? If Vecna showed?

She tries to look at Billy, "Vecna, Henry Creel, was," she corrects herself, though was isn't wrong, "is some creepy child serial killer. He and El have issues from their past. Maybe if I get to talk to her when I get back, I can get more specifics."

Max just chews on the inside of her mouth and takes a seat on the floor, back against another wall, eyes on Billy.

"She sent him to the Upside-Down. He got all twisted up. He was behind the whole Mindflayer thing. He controls the monsters from there. He controlled the Mindflayer. It controlled you. And he's still killing people back home." Killing her. Omissions aren't entirely lies. She fiddles with her walkman inside her jacket, running her fingers over it. Vecna's not here. Maybe they'll never have to worry about it.

"He's trying to break Hawkins so the Upside-Down spills over into our world. It's been a long term plan. So you...he used your body to do his dirty work for him. Now he's doing things more directly." And it disgusts her. Billy spent his whole fucking life a victim, just for Vecna to kill him off as one.

Wouldn't be the first time someone of the female identity walked out of his home and life. In that moment he thinks of the times Neil hit his mom, and the night she left. Quickly, Billy pushes those thoughts away. He has to focus on what she has to tell him. It's important, and it's a lot, so he's gotta stay focused.

El. Vecna. Henry Creel. Only one of those names mean anything to him. While possessed he didn't know who it was controlling him. Now he had a name at least to the thing that sank its claws into his head to take the wheel.

She fiddles were Walkman, and Billy fusses with his version of it still in his hands. Even with something in his hands to mess with, his breathing pitches shallower. It had a name. It was Vecna.

"Why did the others want to know what my Vecna song was? I don't get it." Robin had asked what his favorite song was, Harrington mentioned how Everybody Wants to Rule the World was his Vecna song. "Does he have shit against music or something?"

She doesn't want to walk out, but Max refuses to let Billy hit her and just take it.

Billy's fingers mirror hers, and Max watches, her stomach churning. He's so close to the whole of it, now she is the one who wants to run. He brings up Vecna song again, and Max's eyes close.

Too close. Billy was two to three steps away from either asking the wrong question or putting it together, and still, Max breathes out, opens her eyes and intends to do what she agreed to.

"Not exactly. A Vecna song is your favorite song. Something that works as a touchstone," she runs her fingers lightly over the buttons, but her free hand clenches again. "They asked 'cause they care about you. If Vecna starts to hunt you, you can listen to that song and keep him out of your mind. Keep yourself safe. Keep him from killing you."

Her eyes flicker back to the walkman.

"What is your favorite song, anyway?"

"Rock You Like A Hurricane by the Scorpions." The answer comes to him as easily as when Robin asked him. It's what was on the tape currently in his player, mixed with some others like Metallica. Because of course his Vecna songs are loud. Enough to blast that guy away if he tried to possess Billy again.

A touchstone. To keep Vecna from possessing him again. He thinks of the tape and how it had Kate Bush on loop, side A and B. He thinks about how it was only Robin who asked, neither Eddie or Harrington bothered - but that was just Billy thinking negatively. As soon as the topic came up, it had been out of Robin's mouth so everyone knew what it was in case of Vecna showing up.

"Something to ground you. Yours is Running Up That Hill. Kate Bush." Billy walks back over to the bed and pulls out tape that had come with the player. It's got Max's writing on it, with that artist and song title scrawled on it. When it clicks, he looks at her. "...Was Vecna hunting you?"

He was the stepbrother. Max's brother. It was his job to torment her like a sibling. Not someone else's. Billy knew he was dead in their world already. So he'd got to the Upside Down and rip Vecna apart if he could.

That answer gets a derisive smile out of her, with a mild chuckle. "Sounds right. You and Eddie might have music tastes in common."

Billy asks the question, makes it clear he put it altogether, and Max's eyes widen. She never considered he could die again, a spiritual death. She had been more concerned he might try to keep her on this alien planet instead of let her face her temporary death. Confront Vecna? That's so much worse.

She swallows, and answers, "Yes," as she pulls out the walkman from her jacket, everything still in tact.

"I'm Vecna's fourth victim," she states the words plainly, stares at him, intent, daring him to say anything about it, then quickly adds, "But El, Robin, Steve, Eddie, Nancy, Lucas, everyone, they're all fighting to help me. To make sure I don't die." Well, and for Hawkins to not break and be consumed by the Upside Down, but she wants Billy to understand why those people mean so much to her.

It's okay to leave out the part where she decides to call Vecna out, and it's just as much true the other way around, surely.

He and Eddie actually do have a pretty common taste in music - it was Eddie who showed him how to replicate tapes which was good. As close as he felt to Max listening to Kate Bush, he was tired of that one song. And as she states that she's his fourth victim.

And the world seems to come to a halt.

Except Billy doesn't. He starts pacing again. Why would he go after Max? Was it not enough to kill her stepbrother in front of her? Fingers clench around his tape player as he paces. The plastic creaks under his grip. "Fourth. Fourth victim," is all he can repeat.

Pace, pace, pace.

And Buckley and Harrington and Munson didn't tell him. Didn't even hint that his stepsister was in danger back home. Did they come from a point where they didn't know? The anger flares in him, barely contained mentally even as the pacing speed picks up. "The fuck do you mean fourth victim?!" Again there's that raising tone, starting towards yelling. Because Billy isn't great with this and now something back home was trying to kill his little sister!

Of course it wasn't enough to kill Billy in front of her, especially when Vecna could use Billy's possession and death against her, wear Billy's face and whisper poison in her ears.

He starts pacing again, and Max puts the walkman away and pulls back closer to the wall.

She isn't going to mention she told the others not to say anything, yet. He should save that particular anger for her. She will deal with that later.

At least Max had predicted Billy would handle this terribly no matter what, so the yelling mainly gets a firm stare. She manages to keep herself under control. For now.

"Chrissy was his first. He's using the kills to make gates. Rip a hole from the Upside Down to Hawkins. Once he has four, the Upside Down will break through to Hawkins completely."

Billy has no idea that Vecna was using him, even in death. The storm outside continues to howl, and it's how Billy feels right now. Only his just happens to be a raging inferno of anger. Not anger at anyone else except this Vecna asshole.

He meets her firm stare with his own wild look. "Chrissy? And things just get worse? I should've driven us back to California the night at the Byer's house and never looked back."

Not driving himself back to California. He had used 'we' in that sentence.

"Do the others here know? Did they even try to stop him or help you?" Because he's not thinking clearly and he can't remember if they said they had or not. But they also never mentioned anything about what happened to Max.

Yeah, Max isn't going to tell Billy the part about Vecna using him against her, anytime soon.

Part of her hesitates, feels tempted by Billy's words. "If you had, you'd still be alive."

But Max shakes her head. "But you didn't. They're my friends. I want to help them."

She should have discussed this with the others, considered how wrong this conversation could go. Max had only counted on so many factors - it's going beyond those.

"They're helping me. They're fighting him and trying to save me. All of them," Max tells Billy firmly.

She swallows, "And I asked them not to tell you anything. I wanted to handle this. It should be me you hear this from."

"BUT THEY KNEW!!" Billy roars back, lashing out with anger in his voice and volume when she calmly tells him they were fighting and trying to save Max. His stepsister. "They knew and no one told me!"

Why didn't they tell him?!

"Of all the important shit they could've told me and they left that out?! We've been here for MONTHS, Max, and no one even said a damn word. Harrington threatened me about you when I arrived, but nothing else!" And he couldn't even help her at home.

Hard to do that when you're six feet under.

"So if you never showed up here, I was just supposed to be left in the dark about this whole situation?! You're my God damn sister," not stepsister, "and no one had the balls to tell me?! Some help your friends are, Max!"

Billy's so angry, she pushes herself up and yells back, "I wanted to be the one to tell you! So yeah, if this is how you're going to act, it's better you were left in the dark!"

The fact he is using words like we, and sister just fuel her more to be protective. Billy might not realize sometimes he has to be protected from his own actions. Getting angry at the others from Hawkins will just further harm those bonds - she doesn't want that. Doesn't want him isolated. Wants him to at least get along with her friends. She should have thought of that before.

"I don't think all of them know from the times they're from. But you don't make telling you things easy when you get pissed about everything!"

He angry. And upset, and not processing any of this well. Billy wants to yell more, maybe even go outside and scream but he doesn't. It's hard when you've got a fifteen year old yelling at you. "Because I was supposed to protect you!" Somehow, though he doesn't know how he could've done that after the incident at the mall. But the mall hadn't been the end, and it hadn't been enough.

Nothing they ever did seemed to be enough.

"And I thought you were at least safe, even after the mall and you're not!" And he can't even blame it on Neil. If it was Neil's fault, at least he had a chance to be locked up. Billy looks torn about everything. Should he yell more? Continue being angry? None of those fix the 'problem' though.

Billy turns away from her, slamming his player onto the bed where it thumps uselessly. He slams his forearm against the wall and leans against that instead. Hawkins was such shit. Everything would've been fine if they stayed in California. Tears prick at his eyes and angrily he blinks they away.

"I was an asshole and a bully all to keep Neil from turning to look at you, and even then it wasn't enough! I can't even keep some upside down shitbag from taking—" Billy cuts himself off. He can't finish the sentence. It feels too real, and like a blade aimed at some vital organ to slash into.

Edited 2023-11-04 22:40 (UTC)

She could handle the yelling, Billy's rage, him angry at her, but she only realizes when she sees him leaning against the wall - that torn look on his face - this is so much harder. Realizing how much he had protected her, even wanted to - the sorry excuse for a little sister she is - cuts deeper. Max stares at him, listens, feels everything sink into her and fail to process. What has she done? Maybe this is why no one else told him? He's all action. And if he can't act, then what? He breaks?

Max finally moves, steps away from the wall, before she's completely aware of it. She reaches out, carefully, slowly, to gently put a hand on Billy's shoulder.

"There's always a bigger asshole. And you didn't know what was going to happen." Her eyes start to sting, too.

"Maybe we shouldn't waste more time being jerks to each other than we already have."

There's a flinch at her touch, but Billy realizes what the action probably looks like, so he relaxes back into the hand on his shoulder. Max wouldn't... okay, she could hurt him, but not here. He knows she wouldn't plan on doing it here.

Blue eyes look at her over that shoulder, wet and a bit glassy. All of it is a lot, but he tries to mentally power through it, even if it causes cracks in his swaggering facade. A facade Max has always been able to see through. But the cracks are there, evident with a singular tear that escapes down his face.

Billy quickly wipes his face before turning to face her again. "We're... we're supposed to be jerks to each other. We're siblings, Max." He grabs her by the shoulder, and it's like he's about shove her away. But he doesn't. He pulls her in to wraps his arms around tight.

Any desire Max had to hurt Billy died when he did. Right now, that is the last thing she wants. Seeing him cry in the tiniest bit makes her chest ache.

Of course she saw through his facade, it's part of why she didn't want to tell him about Vecna, but now it's way too late to take that back. Max broke him.

"Well, there's normal levels of jerkiness, then there's breaking skateboards, baseball bats -" anything else she intends to say is broken off when Billy grabs her shoulders. It's her turn to flinch, for so many reasons. Her body tenses.

When Billy embraces her, it takes a second for her body to calm, and when he stays Billy, her arms lift around his waist to embarce him back. Max buries her face in Billy's chest and she breaks with silent tears, hidden away.

Max doesn't say it, how much it hurt when he died, how scared she is to die, to face Vecna again, to go back, but she lets herself feel it, cry, when the shock wears off. Just for a little while.

They both were calling for honesty and this was the most honest thing between them. Once they got past this, maybe they could heal the rift that had been made between them over the years. He knows he was such a dick to her, and she didn't deserve that from an older brother. She deserved someone better. From their world Harrington comes to mind. Kaplan comes to mind here in the city afterwards. A better Billy for her to call a brother.

If he feels her tears in his shirt, Billy doesn't say anything. He's got his own silent tears streaming down his face. They're both scared to die then. Billy is terrified of facing down that monster again in the mall. Especially knowing that there's nothing he can do to stop it.

"I'm gonna be better. I promise, Max." It's said so quietly, like he doesn't want anyone else to hear him even if it's just the two of them.

She's already been warned Kaplan is a dork, and maybe Steve can still serve as a big brother, but she wants this has-been-a-dick she's hugging to fulfill that promise, after all.

Max is grateful he says nothing. They've said enough and she's worn out from it. She doesn't want to explain why.

Billy promises, and she sucks everything up. Max makes herself stop crying, so she can feel better about looking up, eyes still watery, and she can tell him, "I believe you. I bet we're both going to fuck up and it's going to take some time, but I believe you."

And she's going to help, as much as she can. She owes him that much - her angry brand of patience. Even if she gets mad, even if he does hit her at some point, even if she walks out - this time Max understands what words like "ever," "never," and "forever" really mean, and they can keep trying. They have that chance she thought she lost at Starcourt, and she isn't going to give that up so easily.

FALL TEST DRIVE MEME

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wrap as discussed