Failsafe

by Unproductive-Fangirl

Expressing her emotions had never been Max's strong point, especially affection. It's not that she doesn't care, she loves her friends more then anything, but something about actually telling them that terrifies her. But if there's anything she wants to say it might be now or never, and as much as it might scare her there are things they deserve to know. (Max's Letters)

3. Steve

Steve,

I know I tell you you're lame a lot, and just to be clear you can be really lame sometimes. Like, incredibly lame, and no matter what anyone says you're the definition of a dork. But you're also sort of cool. Not in the way people usually mean it either, you're not high school cool or cool like those guys in Grease (my mom likes it, shut up). You're the kind of guy who will drive all the way across town to pick up a friend without question, or put himself in the way of danger to save someone else, and that's what actual cool people do. I mean, you barely even knew me and were still willing to put yourself between me and Billy without question just because you could tell how scared I was. That's pretty cool.

I don't think I ever properly thanked you for that day at the Byers', but it meant a lot to me. The way you stood up to Billy is one of the bravest things I've ever seen, and given everything we've gone through I don't say that lightly. You were the first person who showed me it was possible to stand up to him, I don't think I would have had the courage to confront him if I hadn't just seen you do the same thing. I'm sorry you got mixed up in all of our shit because of me, but I'm glad you did. You're the reason I was finally able to stop being scared of him.

There's also a lot of little things you've done that I really appreciate. Like, letting us sneak into movies, or the free ice cream, or that time you drove us an hour away because Dustin heard about that arcade with all new games. Even if you complained the whole time, it was really cool of you to do that stuff for us. This is probably going to sound stupid, but I think you're sort of what I was hoping Billy would be. When my mom first told me she was getting remarried I was skeptical, but I was also sort of excited at the idea of having an older brother. Obviously that ended up really bad, everything always does, but at first I thought it would be great. In movies and stuff the older brother might complain about it, but he'll always be there when you need him no questions asked. They'll scare away bullies and come pick you up or help with projects. It sounds childish now, but that's what I expected, and it's definitely not what I got. But you do that stuff, and that's really awesome of you.

That all probably made me sound really awful, huh? Talking about how much of a disappointment Billy was when he's not here anymore, but this isn't about making me look good anyway. It's about telling you the truth and all the stuff I never bothered to say in person. And the truth is that you're basically exactly what I wanted out of a big brother. So thanks, for giving me the chance to experience that, at least for a little while.

I know I don't even have to say it, but keep an eye on Lucas and Dustin for me. I don't just mean from the supernatural stuff either. Obviously I don't expect you to babysit them all the time or anything, but they'll need someone to make sure they don't turn into even bigger dorks then they already are and to stop them from being idiots. So just make sure they actually get out sometimes and don't just lock themselves in some basement playing D&D or whatever other nerdy thing they inevitably become obsessed with.

Mostly though, don't go around blaming yourself for what happened, okay? I know you think it's your job to look after us or whatever, but there's nothing you could have done to fix this. By the time any of us knew what was happening, it was already to late. So don't be some idiot who goes out of his way to blame himself for something that had nothing to do with him. Just focus on keeping the others safe and doing what you can do to make sure this asshole can't get to anyone else. Do what you can now, getting caught up in what happened won't help anyone. You've already gone above and beyond to help me plenty of times, more then most people have ever bothered to. I know if there was anything you could have done to help you would have in a second, so no guilt, alright? I mean it Harrington, none of this is your fault.

And thank you again, for everything you've done for all of us. I never said that enough. You showed me how to be brave and were willing to stand up for me when so many people weren't. You're the coolest guy I know, lame tendencies and all.

From,

Max

P.S. - Don't worry to much about Nancy. I know you're like in love with her or whatever, and I get it she's totally awesome, but there will be other girls. Eventually one of them will realize how cool you are.