|| Lumax Oneshots ||

|| A Christmas Carol ||

Christmas, season four. As usual Billy's alive, El has her powers, and the Byers never moved away! This is extremely long so buckle up. Also this is a spin on a Christmas Carol, so yeah. Okay into the one shot 🎄
|| Max's POV ||
  I'm sick of this. Sick of living like this. In constant fear of Neil and Billy, of angering them. I'm sick of feeling scared to confide in my friends, scared to show my soft side when their around. But soon, I would have to worry about any of that.
I am running away.
Max had the idea in the back of her head for years, but she was only now putting it into action. What pushed her to do this, was nightmares. The nightmares.
  Recently Max had been tormented by horrible nightmares, in which Max saw many dead citizens of Hawkins, some Max had knows, some she didn't.
  She would most often see many children with shaved heads and hospital gowns on. But there was something wrong with all of them. They all had blood dripping from their eyes and mouths. Blood nearly covered all of their bodies, and their eyes had a dull, lifeless look to them. They would all say the same thing.
  'You will be the downfall of everyone you love'
  Max was deadly afraid of them, and those words. They were always stuck in the back of her head. When she was at the skate park, at home, hanging with the party, always. Now the nightmares had drove Max to the point where on Christmas Eve, Max just knew she had to go.
Sure, she'll be sad to leave all her stuff in her room, sad to leave all the memories she'd made in Hawkins, but the thing she'll miss most, were her friends. Eleven, Will, Dustin, Mike, and most of all, Lucas. It made her heart ache every time she'd even think of leaving them, but she just couldn't do it anymore. She just felt like she's drowning.
Now Max is packing a bag, all the items she might need. Some clothes, a jacket, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, a water bottle, the necklace Lucas gave her on their first date, and a picture of the party. Just the essentials..nothing I don't need.
I'm really doing it. I'm really leaving.. Max gazed for the last time at my room. A rush of memories flooded through her mind as her gaze swept through. She remember every time Lucas snuck into het room to pick her up for a date, every time El and Mac had a sleepover, every time Billy pounded on the door demanding she let him in, every time Neil slammed Max to the floor, kicking and beating her for something like forgetting to do the dishes or not answering his call quick enough.
This is what I need to do. Things will be better like this. They have to be.
Sneaking out of my bedroom window, she started to walk into the woods. Max have no clue where she's going, or what she's going to do when she get there, but all that matters is that no one can hurt her. Not anymore.
|| Little time skip ||
  Great, I'm lost. Max thought as she walked deeper and deeper into the forest. It was getting dark and she had started questioning if this was really the right thing to do. As soon as she was about to assure herself that it was going to be okay, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.
  "Going somewhere?" Max spun around to see the familiar happy, curly haired boy standing a few feet behind her.
  "D-Dustin?" Max stammered, surprised to see he had followed her this far. But as max gazed at Dustin a bit more, she realized he looked quite different. He was wearing a white robe type dress, and a wreath tangled in his curly hair, making Max giggle a little.
  "I know not of a Dustin." The boy spoke in a voice heavy with mock authority. "And what is so funny?" He raised an eyebrow, scoffing a bit when Max shook her head.
  "No, no, nothing." She stifled a giggle. Regaining her composure, Max realized the question she should have asked in the first place. "What the hell are you doing here Dustin?"
  "Like I said, I don't know any 'Dustin.'" He replied, "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I am here to show you why it is imperative that you stay." Max furrowed her brows, crossing her arms.
  "Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that?" He didn't respond, just started stepping forward. Max stood her ground. "What are you doing here? Did my mom send you or some shit? Or Lucas? He has to understand that this is what I have to do-" The boy cut her off, standing almost a foot away from the red head. Now that it was almost 10pm, it was very dark, letting Max now see the illuminating light that radiated off of him. The hell..Max thought before 'The Ghost of Christmas Past' as he called himself, started speaking again.
  "Take my hand. I'm going to show you a few memories you may have forgotten."
"W-What..?" Max was just getting more and more confused.
"Take my hand." He repeated.
"Uhm, no." Max said, turning away to walk away from the conversation. She only got a few feet away before she felt someone grab her hand. Before she could turn to challenge the Dustin lookalike, her eyes flashed white.
Max gasped, feeling nothing but numbness for a second. But the flash went away as suddenly as it came. The first few colors Max saw were the yellow walls of Max's childhood bedroom in California.
"What the hell.." Max uttered, barely able to comprehend what just happened. Panic flashed through Max's entire body. Her gaze farting around the entire room, she couldn't understand how she got here.
"Relax. I brought you here." The calm yet playful voice of the ghost speaking at her side.
"Good god!" Max screeched, jumping at the sound. "Where the hell did you come from? And how the hell am I in my old bedroom?"  She murmured, looking around the familiar room.
  "I told you I would show you some forgotten memories, and that's exactly what I'm doing." He said in a brief matter-of-fact tone.
  "W-What..?" Max questioned, annoyed at the fact that she was only getting more riddles that didn't have answers.
  "Just follow me." The ghostly figure instructed, walking towards the door. Letting out a grumble, Max hesitantly followed him.
  As they walked down the stairs, Max could hear the people talking and laughing. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Max was surprised to see her a bunch of members of her family gathered around a Christmas tree, taking turns opening presents.
  She saw her mother, Neil, Billy, and oddly enough, her younger self.
  "Is that.." Max murmured.
  "You? Yes. But younger. Couldn't be more than 10." The ghost interrupted.
  "This isn't real.."
  "I can very much assure you it is." He said, "Now watch closely." Doing as she was told, Max watched as little red head reach for a medium size box rapped in blue snowflake wrapping paper. Why does that look familiar..
  Staring at the girl eagerly ripping away at the paper, revealing a box with a large picture of a red skateboard with yellow wheels on it.
  "A skateboard! Thanks mom!" The red head exclaimed, ripping away the rest of the paper.
  "I-I remember this! It's the Christmas when I got my first skateboard!" Max remembered the day clearly, it was one of the best days of her life. "I thought you said you were taking me to memories I had forgot." At this point, Max was willing to believe this was all a dream, so she was willing to dive deep into the delusions.
  "This was a memory that you had to see before I could show you the forgotten one." Nodding slowly, Max stepped out of the way to let her younger self run up the stairs, her new present in hand.
  "Follow her, if you will." Walking slowing back up the stairs, time seemed to go by faster than usual. The light in the house grew dimmer and sound in the house grew quieter. Once they reached the top of the stairs, she heard Max talking on the phone in her room.
  She stepped in, being able to hear the girl better.
  "I know, Macy! The skateboard is so cool. I'm taking it for a test drive at the skatepark tomorrow. You in?" Max spoke.
  "Do you remember this?" The ghost asked, sitting down in the bed.
  "No.." Max trailed off as she heard Neil storm into the room.
  "Where is it you little shit?!" He slurred loudly, grabbing the phone out of Max's hand and slamming it back on the stand. He's drunk. Max thought angrily.
  "W-Where is what?" Max asked, confusion and fear plastered on her face.
  "You know what, you bitch!" Neil shouted, grabbing the red head's wrist and throwing her into the ground.
  "Hey! Get off of her!" Max screamed, lunging forward to pull Neil off of the poor girl. The ghost grabbed her wrist, stopping her from helping.
  "The can't hear or see us. You can't help her." He said with a solemn shake of his head.
  "No! No, do something!" Max shouted, turning back to see little Max being pummeled with punches from Neil. Tears filled Max's eyes as she helplessly watching her younger self getting horribly beat.
  Spinning around, Max closed her tear filled eyes and covered her ears.
  "Do you know what this is?" The ghost asked, walking up to stand right next to Max.
  "It's the first time Neil beat me.." Max whispered almost silently. When Neil started drawing blood with his punches, Max couldn't take it any longer.
  "Take me back, I don't want to see any more!" She yelled, her voice cracking with emotion. "Take me back, take me back, take me back!" She crumbled to the ground, the sound still coming through the blocks on her ears.
  Once her knees kit the floor, all the sound disappeared. She heard absolutely nothing.
"W..What..?" Max carefully took away her hands and opened her eyes. What just happened? She asked with a slight whimper, remembering her younger self being beat horribly.
"Here." A soft voice spoke. Max hesitantly looked up to see Eleven staring down at her, hand extended.
"El?" Max took her hand softly and stood up.
"No, I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." She spoke softly, her deep brown eyes sparkling. Looking more closely, Max saw that El too was wearing a gorgeous white dress with a wreath laying squarely on her head. Her brown hair was slightly curled, making her look angelic.
"Not again." Max groaned, "And I'm assuming your going to show me what's happening right now?"
"Correct." She answered. For the first time since she came back here, Max looked around. She realized this was not her past bedroom, not the woods, but Mikes bedroom. The hell am I doing here?
"Come on, let's go." El lead the way out of his room and down the stairs.
"Mike! Give me my money back!" Max heard Nancy shriek.
"I'll pay you back! I need it!" Mike shouted back, dashing through the basement door and loudly locking it.
"You asshole! Give it back!" Nancy pounded on the door, harshly shaking the doorknob. "Ugh! I'm telling mom!" Nancy stormed off towards her room.
"Jeez, how much money did he take?" Max asked the ghost.
"Enough to buy his friends Christmas presents." The ghost replied, walking forward to the door.
"You mean just El." Max scoffed, following her to the locked door.
"Let's see what your friends are up to." She replied, gliding through the door with ease, as if it wasn't even there. You have got to be kidding me.
Squinting her eyes shut, Max pushed her way through the door. Before she knew it, she was standing at the top of The Wheelers basement stairs.
"Wow..now that's next level cool." Max said in awe, sliding her hand in and out through the door.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Max turned wide eyes to see the El lookalike standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking amused.
"Uh, yeah." Max said awkwardly, hurrying to catch up to the ghost.
"Lucas, I have no clue what to get El!" Max heard Mike groan.
"You haven't gotten her anything yet?!" Lucas exclaimed, looking up from his X-Men comic.
"Well I thought I had more time!" He replied heatedly.
"It's Christmas Eve you idiot! How much time did you think you had?" Dustin cut in.
"Enough." Mike shrugged. "Lucas, I'm begging you, give me at least a hint on what you got Max!" Mike walked over tonLucas and dropped down to his knees.
"Not a chance dude. I picked out the best present known to man for for my girl." He said with a satisfied sigh.
"Not even-"
"No, not even a peek, not a glimpse, nothing!"
"Come on man!" Mike complained.
"N. O."
"God damnit dude!" Max watched the boys bicker, the familiar warmth flustering in her chest. Lucas got me a present? I wonder what it could be..
"Come on, it's time to move on." The ghost broke into her thoughts.
"S-So soon? I-I mean we've just started watching." Max stammered, looking back at Lucas with gleaming eyes.
"Yes, here we go." The ghost snapped her fingers and all of a sudden everything around them changed. She was in Billy's room, Max knew that immediately. She could tell by all the disgusting pictures of girls wearing tiny swimsuits.
"Billy's room? Why would I want to see anything that happens here-"
"Shhh, listen." The ghost cut her off.
"It is 11 pm, where the hell were you?!" Neil shouted, pushing Billy roughly into the room and slammed him into the wall.
"I-I was at a friends house! We were just hanging out." Billy explained through gritted teeth.
"Bullshit!" Neil screamed, slapping him hard across the face. "I know you were at that boy Tommy Hagan's party. You asshole." Neil continued to beat the absolute shit out of Billy.
"Wh..What am I doing here?" Max spun around to look at the ghost, but she had disappeared.
"Hello? Hello?!" Max kept turning around and around, looking for the ghost. "Where are you?!" She shrieked. The fight between Billy and Neil had been getting louder and louder, to the point where it was hurting Max's ears.
  "Stop it! Please, take me away!" Max covered her ears, and shut her eyes once more.
  "Open your eyes." A new voice broke into the chaos.
  "N-No!" Max shook her head.
  "Open your eyes." The voice repeated. Max hesitantly looked up, not removing her hands. There, in front of her, was someone who looked almost identical to Will. He even had the same bowl cut. But just like the others, he was dressed differently. He had a black cloak on, which was covering most of his body, except for her face, which looked grim and serious. Not again.
  Looking around, Max realized she was back in the woods where all of this started. Huh, maybe he's letting me go?
  "Come on." He said huskily. With that he started walking forwards, not glancing back to see if she was following. Alright then. Max followed him through the woods.
  "And let me guess, your the Ghost of Christmas Future, right?"
  "That would be correct." He said in a monotone voice.
  "And your showing me the future?"
  "How'd you guess?" He growled, glaring back at her.
  "Jeez just checking." Raised her hands slightly. The rest of the walk was in silence, except for the snow crunching under their feet, or the sound of birds twittering in the trees.
  Finally, they reached a road, which didn't look very busy.
  "What-"
  "Shut up and watch!" The ghost snapped. She did what she was told and stood there and watched the other side of the road. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes on the other side.  And before Max knew it, someone emerged from the undergrowth. She emerged from the undergrowth.
  "Is that me?" Max asked the ghost curiously.
  "Who else?" He replied. Max turned her gaze back on herself and she watched the other Max prepare to dash across the road. When she started running across, a car appeared out of no where and slammed into her, sending her flying.
  "No!" Max gasped. The red head just laid there, unmoving. Blood smeared across the road and the drivers windshield. 
  The driver, who had just stepped out of the car, looked horrified. He was sweating and looked panicked. He quickly hopped back into his car and drove away.
  "Y-You bastard! Are you just leaving me here?!" Max shrieked, running towards her own body.
  "N..No..Wake up! Wake up!" Max reached for he body, but her hands went right through her. "No..no!" Max saw the redhead's chest rose and fall for the last time.
  "That's you. You will die in the future." The ghost spoke coldly.
  "I.."
The ghost scoffed, snapping his fingers. They relocated to El's bedroom, where she was sobbing her eyes out holding a picture of Max.
"Your death caused so much pain, suffering." The ghost growled. Tears started welling in Max eyes.
  "I-I didn't mean t-to.." She whimpered, trying to step away. With every step, the image in front of her changed. She saw Dustin, she saw Will, she even saw Mike shedding a few tears, but the changing images stopped when she saw Lucas. He was perched on the roof of a large building. He was sobbing very hard and looking down.
  "N-No, Lucas, get down! Cut it out, you shit head, get off of there!" She shrieked, stepping towards him. He didn't hear her. He seemed to be whispering quietly to himself, so Max got closer to listen.
  "I-I'm sorry, Max..I can't do it anymore..I'm can't take I-it anymore..n-not without you.." Lucas whispered quietly.  Tears flowed from Max's eyes as she listened to him talk. "I-I miss y-you Max..I'll see you soon.." he muttered.
  "W-W-What? No, no, no, no!" Max tried to grab Lucas's hand, but the ghost stepped in front of her.
  "See what can happen when you do something stupid?" He demanded, "You caused this! You pushed him this far. You are the reason he is going to die."
  "I..n-n, b-but.." Was all Max could stutter out in between sobs.
  "You will be the downfall of everyone you love!" He said sharply, pausing before saying, "You must fix what you are about to do."
  "I..I will! I promise! J-Just don't let him d-die, please! I l-love him!" The ghost held his he'd high, and walked out of the way, so Max's view of Lucas was clear. Max watched in horror as he lowered his head and let himself fall from his perch.
  "No, Lucas!" Max shrieked with a grief and sorrow filled voice.
  "No!" Max jolted awake, glancing wildly around her room. A dream..it was just a dream..Max thought with a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the phone in Max's room rang loudly, causing her to jump.
"G-God damn it.." She murmured as she aggressively picked up the phone. "Who is this and what the hell do you want?" She demanded.
"Make the change." She heard all the ghosts say at once.
"W-What..?" Before she knew it the phone hung up, leaving a scared and disturbed Max.
a/n: heyyy, Merry Christmas!! 🎄🎁 it is the season of giving and to all of you, I give you this long ass oneshot! Be thankful 😌
Anyways happy holidays, and Uhm, comment what you got for Christmas!
-Allie