#and i know i’m already too deep into nancy/steve/jonathan

[poly-space-nerds]

still sad we never saw the teenage team fully complete. Eddie and Jonathan would def have gotten along.

[upsidedownwithsteve]

Love Letters: Day Five

Steve Harrington x fem!reader [3K] A touch of a hand, only one bed with Steve.

THE LETTERBOX ♥

“Robin,” Steve hissed across the kitchen island, “Robin, I swear, I will actually kill you.”

The girl blinked, unfazed after so many years of friendship and empty threats. She grabbed the glass of water that Steve was definitely pouring for himself - not her - and grinned. 

“Sure you will. Do it in the morning, yeah? I’m beat,” she winked, backing towards the stairs where Nancy was waiting. “Sweet dreams… and you know, safe sex and all that.”

Steve glared, but his anger was overshadowed by the way his cheeks were glowing pink, even in the dark of the evening. 

You were waiting on the sofa, nervously picking at a loose thread on your shirt, pretending you didn’t hear everything that had just been said. Steve swallowed, blew out a deep breath and gave you a small, shy smile when you looked up and met his gaze. 

Honestly, Steve hadn’t even wanted to come on the trip. But it was Valentine’s weekend and despite breaking up a few months prior, Nancy and Jonathan were going above and beyond to assure the rest of the group that it totally wasn’t awkward and of course everyone could still hang out together. 

And what better way to prove that than to rent a cabin for a few nights out by Sugar Creek, courtesy of Mr and Mrs Harrington’s credit card, of course. Steve had shrugged off the offer at first, unbothered and wanting a weekend off to hang out in his room and be lazy, play some video games, reunite himself with his stash of playboys and maybe even catch a basketball game with some old school friends. 

But Robin begged and begged, claiming how much fun it would be, waxing poetic about forest walks and log fires and marshmallows and movie nights. The boy hadn’t perked up until she mentioned your name, and how you’d be joining. 

And that was fine. It was. ‘Cause you and Steve were friends, closer than ever, actually. Hanging out more and more just the two of you until Steve wasn’t sure what was just friends being friends and what was a date. But the first night at the cabin rolled in after pizza and some movies, a game of go fish that had alcoholic consequences and suddenly the bags that had been dumped at the doorway needed to be allocated to rooms. 

The three bedrooms. For seven people. 

Nancy and Jonathan cleared their throats and exchanged tight smiles, looking awkwardly around the room until Nancy’s voice went a little too high and bright as she exclaimed, “Robin! Roomies?”

Robin agreed, looking over at you with a silent apology, ‘cause she was the one who’s invited you. But you smiled and shrugged and weren’t all that surprised when Jonathan claimed Argyle and the two boys shuffled off to the room furthest away from Robin and Nancy’s. 

It just left you, Eddie and Steve. It seemed simple enough to deduce that you’d sleep on the sofa, sure that there’d be some spare pillows and quilts hidden in a closet or two. But Eddie threw himself down on the cushions before you could, stretching out and groaning theatrically, a grin on his face that seemed to be reserved for Steve. 

“Well,” he declared, beaming at you both as you stood shoulder to shoulder, lips parted in surprise. “Night night, kids.”

Steve made a strangled noise, somewhere stuck between surprise and a protest of some sort, but you beat him to talking. “Uh, wouldn’t I be better on the couch, Eddie?” you smiled, shy and sweet and it made Eddie grin wider. “You guys can bunk together instead.”

Eddie scoffed, already shrugging off his hoodie and throwing it somewhere across the room. “And leave a lady on the sofa?” He pouted at you. “What do you take us for, huh, sweetheart? Two douchebags?”

He didn’t give you a chance to protest. 

“Don’t sweat it, you and Stevie can share a room, it’ll be real cosy.”

You were definitely sweating it. And by the looks of the boy’s wide eyes and flushed cheeks, so was Steve. 

Eddie grinned again, salacious and as if he knew something you didn’t.  He lay back on the cushions, an arm sling behind his head as he waved the other at you both, fingers wiggling. 

“Leave room for Jesus,” he winked. 

————

Leaving space for the lord and saviour didn’t seem to be a possibility, ‘cause when you opened the door to the last bedroom, you stood and stared at the sight before you. From over your shoulder, with his chest almost pressed to your back, Steve swore quietly. 

There was only one bed. 

And it was tiny, less than a double, only a little larger than a single, with two pillows stacked on top of each other. You dropped your bag as you stepped into the room, a cosy space with matching pine furniture and deep green walls, almost the same shade as the forest outside the window. 

You spun on your heel, looking at Steve who was more flushed than ever, cheeks a pretty tint of pink and his lips were parted in a silent gasp that didn’t seem to end. He looked a little overwhelmed, the same way you felt. 

“Um—”

“Look, I can,” Steve interrupted, his voice a little weak, apologetic almost. “I can share the couch with Eddie.”

You frowned, a tiny stitch between your brows that Steve wanted to soothe away with the pad of his thumb. He didn’t. 

“Steve, the couch is smaller than the bed,” you huffed out a soft laugh but Steve could sense your nerves through the humour. He saw the way your chest was rising a little too quickly, the way you were pushing at your hair behind your ear. “And no offence to Eddie, but I think he might take up more room than me.” You smiled, shy and unsure and it felt like an offering. 

Steve smiled back, just as nervous, hands a little clammy ‘cause despite all the afternoons, the late nights and days out he’d spent with you, the closet he’d gotten was sitting beside you in the dark of his parents living room, shoulder to shoulder so he could feel you flinch when the movie screeched and the murderer appeared on screen. 

This was different. This was so much closer. This was more than the possibility of a date. 

“I could sleep in my car, or something,” Steve tried again but he really didn’t want to sleep in his car. But truly, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to sleep next to you. The idea of it overwhelmed him. “I don’t wanna make you uncom—”

“Steve,” you cut him off, not unkindly, voice all soft and unsure and you were frowning again but shitshitshit, you looked sad. “Do I smell bad, or something? D’you think I have cooties..?”

“What?” The boy looked alarmed, “no! No, no, of course not. You smell, like, the opposite of bad.” Steve was rambling, his chest tight and hot with embarrassment but he couldn’t stop himself. “You smell like, super nice, all the time. Like, like mango or something. Cherries ‘n shit. Fuck.”

 You were grinning by the time he cut himself off with a curse, lashes fluttering shut as he winced and you wanted to reach out to him, curl your fingers around his in reassurance but you didn’t feel as brave as that. Not yet. 

“I won’t feel uncomfortable,” you told him instead and it warmed Steve to hear how sincere you sounded. “As long as you’re okay with it?”

Steve could only nod. 

And then you were disappearing into the tiny bathroom across the hall, a bundle that Steve assumed was your pyjamas clutched to your chest with your toothbrush. You smiled as you passed him, still shy, cheeks as flushed as his and you were pretty, you were so, so pretty that it made Steve’s chest hurt. 

The boy groaned into his hands when you closed the door, wondering how he was supposed to spend the night pressed up against you and not pop a boner. ‘Cause that shit had been happening most mornings for the last eight years and having a pretty girl tucked in beside him wasn’t a necessary ingredient. 

He heard you run the tap, the sound of your jeans and sweater hit the floor and he startled, rushing to pull out what he’d packed. Despite the extra pair of jeans, another sweater, a few t-shirts, a handful of boxers and the switched off walkie- talkie Dustin insisted he took, there wasn’t anything that Steve could wear to bed. 

He swore, groaning again as he threw his bag down onto the carpet and started to panic. Of course he didn’t pack pyjamas, he didn’t own pyjamas and he really didn’t expect to be sharing a room with anyone other than Eddie this weekend, maybe Robin, and neither of them certainly cared about him sleeping in his underwear. 

Steve was standing in the middle of the small room when you reappeared, still in his jeans and t-shirt, one hand buried in his messy hair. He smiled at you, an almost grimace that looked like an apology but it quickly faded into a slack jawed gape as he took in your shorts, your tiny tank top with tinier straps. 

You scrunched your nose as you dropped your clothes on top of your duffle, crossing your arms over your chest and you faced him with a new sort of shyness. Steve wasn’t sure he’d seen this much of your skin before.  

“Sorry,” you murmured softly. “I kinda assumed I’d be in with Robin.”

Steve let out a laugh, just as soft as your voice and he smiled a little easier. “Same,” he grinned before it faltered, nerves overshadowing once more. “I don’t, uh, I don’t have anything to wear to bed.”

You swept past him, mango and strawberry body wash left in the air behind you, as you sat on the edge of the bed, a heat to your cheeks that only you could feel. You swallowed hard, licked your bottom lip and tried to sound bolder than you felt. 

“You can take your jeans off, Harrington, I won’t bite.”

Steve turned beetroot at your words, lips parted and you swore you heard his breath hitch. But he nodded, hands fumbling at his waistband and you smiled, ducking your chin and turning away so he could undress with your eyes on him. 

You heard the denim hit the floor with a soft thump, his sweater following, until Steve cleared his throat and you turned back to see him in chequered boxers, a white T-shirt that looked old and soft. His hair was a riot from how he’d undressed so swiftly, eyes bright with nerves? Anticipation? Excitement?

There so much skin to see, all bare legs and arms between you both, your tank top revealing more of your chest that you’d usually put on display and when Steve stretched over the desk to turn off the small lamp, you caught a flash of his tummy, the trail of hair there, the jut of his hip bones before the room went dark. 

You couldn’t see him. Not with the absence of street lights outside the window, the tall forest hiding you both from the glow of the moon. But you felt Steve fumble over, heard him curse when his toes hit his bag and the bed dipped when his hands found it. 

“You got a preference?” He whispered, “what side do you wanna sleep on?”

You shook your head and shrugged before you realised that the boy couldn’t really see you either so you let out a breath and whispered right back. “I don’t mind,” you told him but you shuffled back anyway, crawling up the mattress until you could tuck yourself under the duvet. 

Steve followed, slowly, hesitantly, the sheets lifting and the bed dipped as he lay beside you, his head on the same pillow, close enough that you could smell his shampoo and the cologne he always wore. 

“Shit, sorry,” he winced when his hip bumped yours, an inevitable outcome considering the lack of space but the contact made your body burn so you could only hum back a response. 

The silence stretched on as your eyes grew used to the dark, until the ink black turned into shades of navy and you could see the outline of the furniture, the rise and fall of Steve’s chest beside you. The boy was as close to the edge as he could get without falling off, and you were almost sure he’d planted one foot on the ground below to ensure that didn’t happen.  You were on your side, body stiff and straight when your hands curled to your chest so you didn’t accidentally touch him and it was uncomfortable, it was impossible, it was frustrating. 

“Steve?” Your voice rang out like a bullet in the quiet, despite how softly you spoke and Steve startled. 

“Yeah?” Steve shuffled further away and your stomach dropped. “You good? I can go downstairs, honestly, there’s an armchair that looks like it might actually recline and I—”

You reached out, a hand across the mattress, across the cool space between you both until your fingers trailed across his arm. He was warm, much warmer than you and you let your hand curl around his bicep, underneath the cotton of his shirt and you felt him still. You circled your thumb on the inside of his arm, just once, in a way that you hoped was reassuring. 

Steve stopped talking. 

“You can come closer, you know,” you hated how shy you sounded, how unsure. But you were wearing next to nothing in bed with the boy you really, really liked and maybe it had been a stupid though, but you started to believe Steve liked you too. You couldn’t handle his rejection, not like this. “If you want to. It’s okay.”

You held your breath. Then, Steve moved, shifting across the sheets -  inches, really - until his leg was pressed to yours and then he rolled, settling onto his side and facing you. He finally relaxed, and you felt it, the way he sunk into the pillow, the way his breath left him in a long, soft sigh that smelled like spearmint toothpaste. 

You could make out the line of his jaw, the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips. He was watching you, lashes fanning over the highs of his cheeks and Steve was all shades of blue and lavender in the shadows. You watched him part his lips as if to speak, but he decided against it, smiling softly instead.

So you whispered, “hi.”

His smile turned to something even more gentle, his body shifting a little closer still when you brought your hands to lay on the mattress between you both. Steve did the same, centimetres apart, close enough to feel the warmth from the other. 

“Hi,” he whispered back. He was looking at you like he thought you were magic, like you were made of gold dust, of stars. “Is this okay?”

You nodded, bottom lip tucked between teeth and it was okay, it was very, very okay. “Yeah, it’s okay, Steve.”

His heart clenched at the sound of his name on your lips, the way it always did, but Jesus Christ, you were whispering it to him in bed and it made him dizzy, made him see colours behind his eyelids that weren’t there when he blinked, hazy, feeling drunk. 

It made him feel braver. The dark, the blue shadows, the way you were looking at him like he wasn’t close enough. So he inched his hand forward, fingertips touching yours, a light graze, a small advance, a question, a what now? 

It was electric. 

Steve could’ve leant in, closed his eyes, found your mouth with his in the dark. Or maybe he’d wait until the last second, let his nose bump against your own until he could see your lashes flutter and your lips part for him.  

Would you do that? Would you let him? 

Your toes brushed his ankles, a shock of cold in the heat of the bed and it made Steve sigh, made his hand move over your own  a little more bravely. His pinky finger slid along the length of yours. He watched you swallow, eyes wide, bright even in the dark. 

He whispered your name, another question. Maybe a promise. It sounded like ‘please.’

You nodded, breath held in your chest until it burned, a white, hot lick of heat over your throat and it was delicate, it was insane, it was the best thing you’d ever felt until—

Steve leaned in, slow and careful, pupils blown wide and his nose pressed to your cheek  as you lifted your chin for him, lips parting so his slid over your own, a warm, soft kiss that made you gasp into his mouth. 

It was chaste until it wasn’t. It was gentle until your hand left Steve’s and they curled into the front of his shirt, soft cotton fisted between your fingers and you were pulling him closer still. His hand found your waist, slipping over and under the silky material of your pyjamas, an almost accident but he gripped you tighter when you pushed yourself into him. 

And then fingers were trailing up your side, a ghost over the dips and curve of your breast, almost too sensitive without a bra, too much bare skin to feel. Steve’s hand cupped your jaw, a soft cradle, a sweet hold until his thumb tugged at the corner of your bottom lip, sneaking between his mouth and yours so he could coax you to open up for him and you did with a breathy keen. 

Nothing else happened that night, but it was enough. You whispered into the night, kissed each other sweet and slow and deep and dirty and fell asleep tangled in each other. And in the morning, you avoided everyone’s knowing gaze, ignored the way Eddie grinned and wiggled his brows. 

“Good sleep?” He’d asked you both over a bowl of cereal, the smell of fresh coffee over taking the smoke from last night's fire. You flushed and Steve nodded, glaring at him. “Was there enough room for Jesus? Did he get squished? It’s really rude to squish Jesus, y’know.”

Neither you nor Steve answered, but the second night, you left even less room than the first. 

[neonghostlights]

A/N: Next chapter is going to be the last one ):

Summary: You haven’t been the same since you woke up in the hospital with memory loss after the earthquake hit Hawkins. When strange things start happening and you feel like you’ve started losing your mind, a group of strangers offer to help. Even though you’ve never met them before, they seem to know you better than you think. 

Warnings: Blood, Vecna Related Gore, Injury, Weapons, Guns, Hospitals, Medication, Reader's mom, Self-Sacrifice, Death, 18+Only

Wordcount: 4k (I honestly thought this would be longer?)

Series Masterlist

Part Fifteen

“I’m going to be the one to confront him,” El said as she sat beside you on the couch. 

Your skin prickled from her nearness. You still weren’t completely comfortable with being around her. Dustin said it’s because of Vecna. You could only hope that he was right. She seemed like a good kid, just with a lot of weight on her shoulders. It would be nice to actually have a conversation with her after all of this was over.

If there was going to be an after for you. 

“And I’m going to stay out of your way,” you add, confused on how to stay out of the way when you’re in your own head. El said that you’d figure it out when it was happening though. 

The group was here at your house, even including Nancy and Jonathan who drove back to Hawkins for this. Even Hopper and Joyce Byers showed up; two people you would never expect to see in your house. 

What was really surprising was the amount of weapons they had brought with them. When you asked why Dustin gave you a small, “just in case.”

Just in case of what, you didn’t know. 

Nancy even had a damn shotgun with her that she handled expertly. It was so surprising to see. 

She gave you a tight smile, like she wasn’t sure how to talk to you. Honestly, you weren’t sure how to talk to anyone here besides Eddie and sometimes even that was rough. 

“No pool this time?” Nancy asked El as she handed you a glass of water. 

“No. I’ve been practicing,” El said in a hushed voice. 

Nancy gave Jonathan a worried look who just shrugged. 

Eddie was pacing back and forth, tapping a hand against his jeans and sometimes snapping to a song that no one else could hear. He would pause for a second,  searching for your eyes like he was going to say something to you but then he would just start pacing again instead. He was nervous, probably more so than you were. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Eddie announced finally, ceasing his pacing to come sit beside you. He placed an arm around your shoulders. You leaned into him, finding a sense of comfort in his presence. 

“What else are we supposed to do? We can’t let him stay,” Robin argued from where she stood across the room with Steve, their own weapons in hand. 

“I know. It isn’t safe though,” Eddie explained, hands moving dramatically in the air. He was scared to the point that you almost expected him to snatch you up and run away. 

What if he did? Would you find a place together and say damn your memories? You could get to know him again. You could learn to feel for him the way he says you used to. You could live a life of just you and him before Vecna ended you once and for all. 

“I think we’re past any of us ever being safe,” Steve said slowly.

You looked at Eddie, silently begging him not to argue anymore. The more freaked out he got, the more freaked out you got, like your bodies were connected and reacting to each other. 

“I think we should start,” El announced, raising her hands to place them on your temples. 

“Wait!” Eddie blurted out, grabbing your hands. “I love you so much. I just need you to know that.”

“I know, Eddie. I know I don’t remember anything but I know deep down I love you too,” you said, feeling the tears well up in your eyes. You wished you could voice to him all the things you were thinking. This could be goodbye, afterall. Maybe it would be easier for him to let you go if just left it at that. He didn’t deserve to suffer anymore than he already did. 

Eddie pulled you to him, hugging you tightly. 

“I’ll see you soon,” you whispered into his ear. You felt his body warm against yours.It might have been a lie to tell him that. Only time would tell. 

You pulled away, wiping your tears and avoiding looking at him. If you saw him crying you would lose your bravery. 

“I’m ready. Let’s hope this works,” you told El, closing your eyes and waiting to feel her enter your mind.

You felt her fingertips touch your temples with a feather light touch and then nothing at all. 

When you opened your eyes to see what had happened you were no longer sitting in your living room. 

The world spun and you felt motion sick. Your vision went back and forth and you grasped onto the metal chains on each side of you. You were swinging on a swing set. Your short legs pushing you back and forth. The back of the swing jostled and the chains clinked as a strong hand pushed the back of the swing to make you go higher. 

“See!” Your dad called out with a laugh in his voice as you went higher. “It’s not that scary, right?”

Younger you let out a breathy laugh, adrenaline still coursing through your blood from the rush. “Nope!  I can’t wait to prove to Tammy that I’m not a baby!”

Your dad chuckled from behind you. 

You remembered this now. You used to be afraid of heights so much that you refused to get on the swingset at school. Kids at school used to pick on you for it so much that you came home and begged your dad to help you get over your fear. 

Your heart clenched as you looked back at your dad, alive and happy. He smiled at you like there wasn’t a care in the world. You wondered if he would still smile at you like that now that you were back to being afraid. 

Your surroundings started to wisp away like smoke. Changing to a new scene. 

The plastic phone was clutched to your ear as you stood in your moms kitchen, leaning against the wooden paneling of the wall. Your face was twisted into a worried expression as you twirled the cord of the phone between your fingers. 

“What do you mean Will Byers is missing?” You ask Nancy on the other side. You chewed a piece of skin off your lip, tasting a hint of blood on your tongue.

You remember this day. You had been home sick with a cold and Nancy Wheeler had called to let you know that Jonathan Byers brother hadn’t been home and they couldn’t find him. You knew who Will was, you had babysat him a few times when he was a little younger. 

Little did you know, this was going to be the start of a lot of strange things for you. 

You're wooshed into a new memory, this time you’re in a shed with Nancy, Jonathan, and Joyce. It’s so hot and you're dripping sweat. You’re trying to get the mindflayer out of Will to save him but it wasn’t going well. It was hard watching him suffer like that. Even after your group eventually won against the Mind Flayer, the memory of that night still affected you. You wondered for months after if this would ever really be over. 

You snapped into another memory.  This time, you were holding onto Max while watching Billy die. She’s screaming and trying to pull out of your arms but you can’t let her get too close to the monster or you’ll lose her too. Glass and blood glisten around your feet and it crunches as you try to stay steady and hold her back. You think that she’ll never forgive you for not letting her go to him. 

You’re thrown through bits and pieces of memories, all of them making up a bigger picture. You cry, laugh, love as you watch the way your life had played out before Vecna  and the upside down destroyed it. You know these people, your family that you found through fighting monsters together. You love every single one of them like they were your own blood. 

Another memory, this one you’re thrown so hard into that your head spins and the ground hurts underneath your knees. 

You’re frantically pressing on Eddie’s wounds, trying to stop the bleeding. Red lightning lights up the sky in flashes, mocking you as the tears stream down your face. 

Eddie had sacrificed himself to the bats to save you and Dustin. His body had been ripped apart by the sharp teeth while he screamed so loud that it echoed off of the ruined trailers in this hell. 

Dustin sobbed on the other side of Eddie, trying to help you while you barked orders at him. He shouldn’t have been here. He shouldn’t have to see this. 

“Stop,” Eddie croaks out, voice gurgling from the amount of blood flooding his mouth. Some of it dribbles against his pale skin, staining his chin. 

“I can’t stop, Eddie,” you say through clenched teeth. 

“Baby,” Eddie said, a cold hand brushing against yours. You look up at him and he’s staring right back at you with this look on his face that’s telling you he’s giving up. It rips your soul apart. 

“No,” you say, shaking your head while you sob. You held more pressure to the wound on the side of his neck while Dustin focused on what he could reach on Eddie’s torso. 

Eddie stared at you, each blink taking longer and longer as his eyelids fluttered. 

“I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything. Please don’t let him die,” you think, not bothering to say the words out loud. No one had been listening to your begging so far. You and your friends had been abandoned and you would all die here, one by one. This horror would never stop until it sunk its teeth into every living thing in its way. How stupid of all of you to think you could be the ones to stop this when the government couldn’t even keep it contained. 

“Anything?” A voice echoes in your head, responding to your innermost thoughts and making you flinch. 

It definitely wasn’t God and there was only one evil guy that you knew of that was making himself at home in people’s minds. Vecna. 

You squeeze your eyes shut, understanding who it was speaking to you. You had never heard his voice before this but you knew it was him. It felt like a million spiders crawling up your spine and sent an ache to your head. 

You knew him like you would know the villain's voice in a horror movie. He was evil but he was also powerful like El. If anyone had the ability to save Eddie it would be him. 

“I’ll do anything. Please make this stop,” you think.

“I can save him but it’s going to cost you,” he tells you.

You would sacrifice your life for Eddie’s. You would give him your last breath just so his lungs could fill with air again. You would hand over your soul if it meant he would make it out of here. He could have it all. 

You prayed that if he killed you, they wouldn’t leave your body down here to rot amongst the rest of the dark decay of this place. 

You could feel him starting to invade your mind, prying through it like he owned it. Faint claws scratching against your memories, flicking them away like they meant nothing. You knew what he wanted then, you could feel him settling in. “Let me borrow your mind. I need a place to rest.”

He didn’t want your life. He wanted the rest of you. For some reason, that seemed worst. Disappointing. 

You took one glance at Eddie. He was deathly still, eyes staring off into the distance, his chest rising just slightly enough to make you wonder if it was a cruel and hopeful trick of the eye. It didn’t matter what happened to you anymore as long as Eddie was safe. If you made it out of here alive your friends would save you from whatever condition Vecna had left you in. You knew they wouldn’t let you go even a week without figuring out something was wrong with you. 

Vecna was a parasite, a psychic vampire. He could take your mind, twisting and warping to his heart's desire if it meant that Eddie made it out of here breathing. He could take your body, using it as a nest to build himself back up. He could make it the perfect home for him to get stronger if he wanted to. The world would just have to deal with the consequences of your decision later. 

You heard Vecna laugh in your head at your thoughts like he knew something you didn’t. Goosebumps rose on your skin but you couldn’t say no. There would be no point in living in a world without Eddie. 

Eddie had sacrificed himself for you, and you were sacrificing yourself for Eddie. 

“DO IT!” You yelled in your head before everything went black. 

You're alone in a hospital bed when you open your eyes. This was a memory you had buried so deep down. You had thought it was a dream once, a fuzzy one that you wake up barely remembering. This is one you had thought to once be due to the drug induced haze you were in for a while. 

Your limbs feel heavy, like they didn’t quite belong to you. Something had happened but you couldn’t remember what. An accident maybe? There’s an ache in your head, just behind your eyes. 

People are yelling and there’s shuffling at the end of the bed. Something hits the metal frame, jolting you awake even more as your limbs jolt from the surprise. Your mom is screaming at someone and a feeling of dread is pooling in your stomach. The high pitched shrill of her voice is making your head hurt even worse than before. 

You peek your eyes open slowly. They still feel heavy like there’s weights attached to your eyelashes. You blink a few times, trying to make out the scene in front of you. The room is dark with only the light of the hallway pouring through the open door; you can see a bit of the full moon through the blinds of the window across the room.

There’s a man in your room, holding himself up by the metal footboard of your bed. He’s hunched over, clutching his sides as he breathes heavily. There’s a line of blood dripping down his arm in a stream. He’s staring at you with a determined look. You can’t make out his features much because your eyes are still fuzzy, or maybe the medicine had messed with your eyesight.

“Get him the hell out!” Your mom is screaming at one of the nurses who looked like she’d rather be anywhere but in this room with your mother. The other nurse is talking to the man softly, trying to coax him away from you.

When he realizes you’re looking at him he stumbles forward, hands clutching the railings of the bed to bring himself closer. For a moment, you’re worried that he’s going to fall and hurt himself even more than he already was. He’s barely moving and each step makes his face twist in pain but he doesn’t stop approaching you. The blood is dripping on the floor now and splattering onto his hospital gown. 

“He ripped his IV out,” one of the nurses complained as she rushed out of the room for something. The other nurse that was being yelled at by your mother stands back unsure what to do as she glances frantically around the room with her hands up in the air. 

“Hey,” the man says softly as he gets close to you. “It’s me.” 

His voice croaks when he talks to you and it scares you. You push yourself away from him as much as you could in the small hospital bed, pulling the thin blankets up like some sort of shield. 

His face crumples and it makes your chest hurt but you don’t know why. 

“Baby, look at me. You know me,” he begs. His hair is wild around his face, shielding his features from you even more in the dark room. 

You shake your head quickly. You don’t know this man and he’s scaring you. Maybe he was some sort of monster sent here to haunt you. The thought makes your heart speed up to a gallop in your chest. He reaches a hand out but it’s the one covered in blood and it makes you jump. 

“Mr. Munson, sit down before you hurt yourself. You can not be in here.” The nurse is back with a wheelchair and an older man is with her.

“Sit the hell down, Eddie.” The older man demands as he pulls the bleeding man into the chair. The man lands with a painful thump into the seat, holding onto himself around his torso. 

There’s a security guard being dragged into the room by your mom. You hadn’t even noticed she left, too preoccupied by the stranger in the room. 

“Do you know him?” The security guard looks at you, pointing a bored finger at the man that’s now crying in the wheelchair. 

You look at him for a moment, taking in as much as you could. He looked familiar, like someone you may have passed on the street before, or maybe someone you once saw at the grocery store and then dreamt vividly about later that night. But, no. You didn’t know him.

You shake your head. “No, I don’t know him.” 

“Turn the light on,” the man in the wheelchair begs with a broken voice. “She can’t see me, it's too dark in here.”

The nurses grab the wheelchair, taking the man out of the room despite his begging. Your mom is following them, yelling some more and threatening to send him to jail. 

They leave you alone in the room and you fall asleep again. 

Wooden planks pressing into your back wake you up this time. 

You lift yourself until you're standing in the foyer of a worn down house. Vines cover the walls and the wallpaper is peeling. Little particles float in the air, telling you exactly where you were in case there was any confusion. 

This wasn’t a memory. This was right now. 

You had never been inside the Creel house before, only passing by to and from school. You remember Nancy explaining what they found in here after she, Steve, Robin and the kids had explored it while you hid with Eddie.  

The fact that you could remember that made you happy, but it was short lived. 

A chime of a clock could be heard echoing through the house so loudly that it vibrated the walls surrounding you. At any second these walls could crumble. 

The floor looked like someone had taken an ax to it. Sharp planks of wood jutted out everywhere. You were sure you were still in your head, so you still needed to be careful since if you got hurt here, then it would most likely reflect into the real world too. 

You heard a loud thud from upstairs. You were torn, either you could stay down here and wait, hoping the El could pull you out soon and be done with it or you could go upstairs to investigate. 

You wanted to hide but what if you were supposed to go up there? What if this was another piece to getting your memories back even though it didn’t feel like you were forgetting anything anymore?

You grabbed a loose piece of sharp, splintered wood from the ground. It would have to make a good enough weapon. 

With your piece of wood in hand, you silently crept up the stairs, hoping that the rotten steps wouldn’t give out beneath your feet. Another thud shook through the house, this time coming from the attic, followed by a scream. 

You rushed up the steps, reaching the attic door and throwing it open. 

El stood in the center of the room, hands pushed forward. Blood dripped from her ears, nose and eyes. You stifled a gasp when you saw Vecna pushed up against the wall, held in place by her mind. 

You had seen him in your nightmares before. He had been in front of you the whole time, torturing you. 

He was fighting it, thrashing against the wall in hopes to break free from her invisible restraints. El was struggling, her blood dripping faster and sweat breaking out on her brow, making her short brown hair stick to her forehead. 

“El!” You yelled as Vecna lifted a hand to use his powers back on her. He was weak still, if he was at his full strength this would have already ended badly for you and El. 

“I can’t hold him!” El gritted out, pushing her hands forward again to throw an extra bit of strength. 

You look down at the sharp piece of wood in your hand and another memory came back to you. 

Steve had once asked if you could drive a stake through Vecna’s heart. You were about to see if that theory was correct. 

You rushed past El, coming face to face with the monster on the wall. Without thinking, you shoved the stake into his chest, right into his heart. 

He looked you in the eyes as he died, black blood squirting out of the wound in his chest and covering your hands. You could feel the weight lift off your head, the pressure that lived for so long in your brain that you hadn’t even realized it was there. 

You turned to face El, her own blood running down her face. The walls started to shake again, dust fell from the ceiling covering the tops of your heads. 

“We need to go,” she said before you woke up. 

The living room was so bright compared to the dark interior of the Creel house. You blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the lighting. 

El’s hands were no longer on your head, instead she was pulled away and held tightly by Joyce and Hopper. You looked around the room, searching the faces of those around you. 

The people that you had fought beside, bled beside. 

Your family. 

You slapped a hand over your mouth, trying to keep in the sob that threatened to escape. You hadn’t even realized anyone was touching you until he slid next to you, cupping your face as best he could between two calloused hands. A worried look was etched on his face. This was the moment of truth. 

When he entered your field of vision you wasted no time grabbing him and pulling him to you, bringing his surprised lips to your waiting ones. He froze for only a second before he caught up to what was happening and started moving with you. You could taste the mint on his breath and feel the warmth of his full lips. You had done this so many times before and it sent a rush of joy through you that you remember him. It felt like home. 

 He let out a sigh of relief against your mouth. He pulled away for only a second, against your protests to ask, “Do you know who I am?” 

You looked into two beautiful brown eyes, the ones you had loved for so long. Eddie, the love of your life and your soulmate. The man who tried to give his life for yours but you gave yours in return. 

“I remember you,” you finally said, putting him out of his misery. 

He stood from the couch, pulling you up with him in a tight embrace. 

“I love you, Eddie,” you said into his neck, running your hands through his hair to soothe his trembling body. 

“Marry me,” was all he said before kissing you again. 

[withacapitalp]

Joyce had never been more tired than she was at this moment. It was in every one of her bones, stuck deep into her soul, and it felt like it would never go away now. She wanted to wrap herself up in a dozen blankets and never resurface, become a female Rip Van Winkle. Maybe slip into her bed and cry for a little while over Bob. Sweet, kind, gentle Bob, who would still be alive if he had never gotten mixed up with her.  

But she couldn’t fall apart over that just yet. There was still one more kid she needed to take care of tonight. 

“Hi sweetheart,” Joyce said softly, squatting next to where the boy was slumped down on her couch. The kids were all clustered up around him, fast asleep. They had been like this when she and her sons had returned, and Will had quickly found his place in their pile, tightly pushed next to Mike and El and falling asleep in an instant. Only one was left awake. 

“Hi Mrs. Byers,” Steve murmured back, barely opening his eyes. Dustin snuffled impossibly closer as Steve shifted to somewhat sit up, curling up against his ribs and sighing. Steve idly played with the younger boy’s hair, clearly completely out of it. She had no idea where he had gotten all of these injuries, but it was too late to ask about that now. Steve blinked slowly at her and sighed

“‘M sorry. Fell sleep. Meant t’stay up,”

“That’s fine,” She cooed, pushing any exhaustion lingering in her bones back. Will was taken care of, Jonathan was in his own bed with Nancy, but there was still a child in front of her that needed her. She could focus on him, and not on the grief that was waiting patiently at the back of her mind. She needed to focus on taking care of Steve. Just for now. 

Joyce carefully reached up and slowly pushed Steve’s hair away from his face, minding where his injuries were. Steve melted into her touch, letting out a soft shaking sigh as the tension leaked out of him like air out of a balloon. 

“What hurts?” Joyce whispered, holding his chin in one hand as she put the tiniest bit of pressure against the injury along his hair line. Steve winced anyway, but didn’t pull away from her touch. 

“My face. My ribs. Everything, kinda,” Steve shrugged. 

“That looks like a pretty nasty cut,” She agreed, keeping her tone light even as her concern continued to mount, “Can you come with me and let me clean you up a bit? Maybe put on some pajamas or something?”

Steve finally pulled away at that, forcing himself to sit up and roughly rubbing his palms against his eyes. Joyce wanted to grab his hands to keep them away from his already injured face, cringing at the harsh way he pushed against the bruises marking his cheeks. 

“Oh no it’s okay. I’m gonna go home I think. I just wanted to wait till you and Hop got back,” Steve mumbled, practically rambling as he tried and failed to force his body to stand. 

“Okay, okay,” Joyce said, doing her best to soothe him into lying back on the couch. There was zero way she was allowing this boy to go home and lick his wounds in isolation, but she needed to phrase it in a way that would make Steve not fight her. Joyce couldn’t handle that tonight.

Then it came to her all at once. 

“Can you do something for me?” Joyce asked softly, running her fingers back through his hair again. 

“Mhm,” Steve hummed, nodding immediately. She didn’t know Steve particularly well, but given everything she had seen, and given what she had learned through the few interactions with Jonathan and Will that he had had, the boy was clearly a caretaker. If she phrased it right, she might even get him to see her patching him up as him somehow taking care of her. 

“If you left now, I would be scared for you all night long,” Joyce began, keeping her voice soft and patient as she tried to find the right words, “Would you let me take care of you? Just so I feel better?”

Steve stared at her through his bloodied eye for almost a solid minute after Joyce stopped speaking. She wasn’t sure what exactly he was working through, but she didn’t falter. She didn’t look away, didn’t pause in the gentle touch. 

Joyce didn’t mind giving him the time. There were a thousand things she didn’t want to think about right now. It felt good to just be able to help, even if it was something as small as a mother’s touch.  

“Okay,” Steve whispered, leaning into her hand and closing his eyes. 

[cherubkeery]

The Gold

Had a shitty birthday so I decided to write an angst fic.

The silence was loud like a gun shot that had gone off. The moment when only a ringing could be heard. You played with the drink in front of you. The ice had already melted. You swirled the straw for a while. Then stopped. You were no longer interested in the drink in front of you. Steve watched you in this silence. His heart hurt, he’d known he done the worst thing he’d ever done to you.

“Did you ever love me? Or was I just simply a place holder because you couldn’t have Nancy Wheeler.” Saying her full name stung you but you rather liked the way the words stung your tongue. It reminded you how much this had shattered your heart to pieces. Remembered Jonathan’s poor heartbroken face as Nancy’s lipstick was smeared. Steve held the remnants on his own.

“I did. I do. I always loved you.” He said, he gulped. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by you. You’d always noticed the small details about him. Every fidget, every breath. If you were blindfolded, you only had to touch your hand in front of his face to know, it was his breath breathing softly against it.

“Liar.” You whispered. Finally stop eyeing the drink and meeting the eyes of the boy who hurt you. Scars; the only thing you saw him as now. He left one very deep scar down the middle of your heart. You could feel it, every breath you took. Because it hurt so much to do so.

“You don’t love me. People who love another don’t cheat. You love her. She’s been the girl your heart has always sang for. Always burned for. I just ended up in the crossfire.”

Tears were falling down his face. Your throat burned because you knew you would have wiped every tear away from his face. If it meant he didn’t have to hurt anymore. But no, you couldn’t do that here. Nothing about what he did was okay.

“I’m sorry. Okay I know you don’t believe me. But I love you. It hurts me that I hurt you.” You let out a dry laugh and shook your head.

“You know, I really thought you stripped King Steve off of yourself. But that’s all I see when I look at you. That’s all I’m going to see onward.” Steve face showed the hurt you knew he couldn’t hide. You had went for the lowest blow. He knew it, you knew it. That’s why you’d said it. It felt good for a second but the face he made. You wish you could take it back somehow.

No, it was okay. Really. This was how it was always going to be anyway. He was never over Nancy. He was never going to be over her. You pulled out your wallet, knowing in another occasion or another alternate universe where you two were in love and happy. He would have stopped you. And you would have let him. Not now. Not ever again. You slipped the twenty dollar bill out of your wallet. And placed it on the table.

“Good luck out there Harrington. I hope she’s everything you wanted and more.”

Steve went to stop you, he’d placed another crisp twenty dollar bill out of his own wallet. But it’s been too late. You’d made your choice.

“Please.” He choked out. “Please, don’t let this end like this. This isn’t our story.” He grabbed your arm, trying desperately to stop you from leaving the diner. From leaving him.

“What is our story? All I see is shards of a shitty relationship. That’s all this was. We didn’t have a story. Just forget me. That’s what you should really do. Don’t talk about me to anyone. Don’t tell your future kids about us. Erase me from your memory. Let me go.” You managed to pull your arm away from him. Walking away from the only boy you ever truly loved. He had let your heart bleed. And no one was ever going to do that to you ever again.

Forget everyone he’d ever knew, forget the relationship you’d had with him. That’s what you were going to do. And you were going to leave this damned hell town if that was the last thing you would do.

[tartarusknight]

5 times Steve had to prove he was worth love + 1 time someone just loved him without needing him to.

_1_

I've been falling much more deep Than I wanna I've been wishing I could breathe Underwater I hold my breath I can't see what comes next I don't know when I'll see dry land again

__Nancy and Jonathan__

His relationship with Nancy had been blooming. It had made him feel giddy whenever he thought about it. He had been striving to prove himself to her. That he loved her. That he wasn’t just some stupid guy working his way through the girls in Hawkins High.

But all of it was over now.

Steve had seen Nancy with Jonathan’s arm around her. He had seen a moment that he wasn’t meant to see and felt the ground crumble underneath him. Any thoughts about the kind Nancy Wheeler, the one who looked at him with adorably innocent eyes, were gone. He had stumbled down and did what he did best. Put on a fake emotion to hide what he was feeling.

The crushing hurt, the heartbreak. It all was masked under annoyance that turned into anger as Tommy and Carol stood by him. Those feelings had stuck with him until he was on the ground, Jonathan straddling him. The anger died then. Too much guilt mixed with the hurt until he was telling Tommy and Carol to fuck off in a desperate attempt to prove that he wasn’t the type of person who’d do what he just did.

He had gone home and had begged for someone, anyone, to show him how to be good. Steve had known that Tommy and Carol weren’t good, that they weren’t kind. But was he? No, no he was an asshole and he knew it. That’s why he hadn’t let himself simmer in the quiet house. It’s why he had turned on his car and driven to the Byer’s house.

He had seen the Christmas lights through the window before he knocked. “Jonathan? Are you there, man? It’s Steve! Listen I just want to talk!” He shouted through the closed door. He paused before knocking once more. Except it wasn’t Jonathan but Nancy who opened the door. “Hey, uh, Nancy?” He felt his heart drop. He had gone to Jonathan’s first because it would be simpler. Apologizing to Nancy would be harder and he wasn’t ready to see her disappointment.

“Steve, listen to me, you need to leave.” She ordered, her voice not leaving any room for arguments but Steve needed to fight this.

He put his hand up, “no, no, I’m not here to start anything, okay?”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t care about that.” And she looked completely annoyed. It made Steve want to crawl into a hole and die if he was honest. “You need to leave, right now.”

“No, no, no, I- I- I messed up, okay? I messed up.” He said, unsure of what to say to her. Of how to start the conversation.  “Really, please, I just want to make things right.” His voice quieted and her eyes softened, leaving only worry behind.

But that made him worry. Because why was she worried? Then he saw her hand and everything became worse. “Wh- Hey, what happened to your hand?” His voice went so soft that it surprised him. He reached out to touch her but she pulled away. “Is that blood?”

“Nothing, it was an accident.” She stammered and he could see the lie in her face.

And it didn’t matter if she didn’t like him how he liked her. He could still be there for her. “What’s going on?” He asked, desperately hoping she’d let him in.

But her face went stony, “nothing.”

As she glanced back into the house his worries grew. He remembered hearing about how Lonnie Byers was a violent man. How he never treated those he loved well but how Lonnie was still seen as a good person. Steve had never understood and now, standing here he wondered if Jonathan was the same way. Steve already knew he packed a mean punch. “Wait a sec. Did he do this to you?”

Her eyes grew wide and worried, “no.” It was sharper this time and Steve thought understood what she was worried about.

“Nancy, let me in!” He pushed his way through and froze at the sight of everything around him. “What is… what the f-” he murmured as he noticed Christmas lights around everything. A baseball bat with nails hammered into it.

Jonathan moved fast and shoved at him. “You need to get out of here.” Jonathan’s voice was dark and he pushed Steve towards the door. But it only made Steve’s eyes catch on the matching bandage. “Listen to me. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you, get out of here!”

“What is this? What is that smell?” He was starting to panic and as he glanced around. “Is that- is that gasoline?”

As he struggles against Jonathan he glances at Nancy. “Steve,” she snaps and he hears the cock of a gun as she points a pistol at him. “Get out!”

Jonathan backs off of him to get out of the line of fire and Steve’s unsure of everything now. “What? What is going on!”

Nancy doesn’t look completely confident but that isn’t comforting. “You have five seconds to get out of here.” She snaps and he waves his hands frantically around himself.

“Okay, is this a joke? Stop. Put the gun down.” He tries and the lights flair to life around them.

“I’m doing this for you,” she says and actually looks guilty about it all. Like she wasn’t aiming a gun at him.

Jonathan’s trying to get her attention as he tries to get a sense of what was happening. Nancy counting down like she’s ready to shoot him if he doesn’t leave. “Nancy! The lights!” Jonathan shouts and it’s the first time Steve’s heard him yell. “It’s here,” Jonathan stumbles to the nail bat.

“Wait, what’s here?” He questions but they don’t pay him any attention. They are watching the walls like something was going to jump out at them. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going-”

He’s cut off by the ceiling caving in. Not just caving in. But it’s like something was breaking through. A white creature that Nancy aims and shoots at quickly. It steals Steve’s breath away and he’s sure he’s about to die. He vaguely watches Jonathan pull Nancy back just as the creature hits the ground, snarling at them. “Get out of here!” Jonathan grabs his hand and pulls him along. “Jump!” Jonathan warns and Steve barely sees the bear trap in time. He just runs after the other two listening to the creature roar behind him.

But the silence was worse. It made his panic bubble and explode because there was a monster that broke through the ceiling. Except now the ceiling was fixed and he’s wondering if accidentally smoked some back weed. And as Nancy snaps at him to just leave, he listens. He stumbles out to the car and drops his keys in his panic.

Then his door is open and he’s looking back at the house. God, he just wanted to apologize. He didn’t need this shit. But then the lights are flickering. He thinks of Nancy’s worry and how they were determined to fight this thing. “Jonathan!” Maybe he’s an asshole but he can’t let them face it alone. He runs back in at the sound of gunfire and snarling. Seeing Jonathan on the ground, the nail bat just a few feet from him. Nancy back away from the creature that was moving towards her.

He doesn’t know if Jonathan’s hurt but right now, Nancy’s okay and he’ll keep it that way. Steve picks up the bat and jumps between Nancy and the creature as Nancy’s gun clicks again and again. He smacks it hard and moves to keep it away from the other two. He knew they needed it in the bear trap. So, he was determined to force it into the bear trap. Swing, move, dodge. The thing's long arms almost hit him as he has to get in close to hit the damn thing.

It feels like a life time until he hears the clang of the metal and watches it falter from the bite of the bear trap. “He’s in the trap! He’s stuck!” He shouts.

Nancy moved next to him, “Jonathan now!” She yells and Steve’s relieved to see Jonathan up and moving. He tosses his lighter onto the gasoline he had smelled and the creature went up in flames. But as Jonathan puts out the fire and the smoke clears, the creature is gone.

Steve swears under his breath but then the lights are back on. He stays in front of them and but the lights stay gentle. Just a glow instead of the intense flashing and as Jonathan whispers, “mom?” Steve lets him in front. He has no clue what’s happening but Jonathan looks relaxed.

They stand there for a moment before Steve feels a hand grip his arm. He glances down at Nancy and she gives him a watery smile. She mouths ‘thank you’ and he just nods. He lets them head inside and for a moment he thinks about leaving again, but he pushes that aside. He just leans against the wall out there, letting it wash over him.

And later as they get the call about Will, he offers to drive. Jonathan packs a few things for Will before they both get into his back seat. He drives faster than normal but it’s not the biggest worry in his mind. As they get there and they stumble out, they pause. “You saved my life,” Jonathan says softly and Steve’s unsure what to say.

He swallows, “yeah, well, I figured I owed you one… and well that was a better apology than anything I could’ve said.” They looked shocked for a moment before he smiles, “go see your brother, man. You deserve it,” he grins and Jonathan nods, jogging towards the hospital.

“You’re a better man than I thought you were, Steve Harrington.” Nancy smiles and Steve blinks. “Keep going like this and I might just think you’re a good one.” She murmurs and he thinks maybe he can prove that he is good. She nods to the building and he’s about to say no when Nancy grabs his hand. “Keep proving it to me?”

Steve shuts the door to his car and locks it. “Yeah, I can do that.”

_2_

Another 40 days I'm lost at sea I'm just gonna swim until you love me Hoping that your heart will rescue me I'm just gonna swim until you love me Swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim, swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim.

__Dustin and Lucas__

Steve knows he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But at the same time, he was in the right place at the right time. Because as he sits in the junkyard school bus with Dustin, Lucas, and Max, he knows they’re better off because he’s here. Sure, they’re not completely safe. Sure, there are better people they could’ve gotten. And sure, he probably lost his chance with Nancy. But right now, he’s protecting these little shits with all his heart.

A painfully familiar sound cuts through the air and he’s up on his feet before he can really think about it. Looking out into the fog and feels dread in his bones. “10 o’clock! 10 o’clock!” Lucas’s voice goes up in pitch and Steve knows the kid is scared. Hell, Steve’s terrified. But he looks out and points out the monster to Dustin. For a moment he’s just glad it’s not 7 feet tall this time.

But then that little bit of relief dies because “he’s not taking the bait. Why isn’t he taking the bait?” He questions and there’s a sinking feeling in his chest.

Dustin glances at him and he looks confused too. “Maybe he’s not hungry.” He says softly and something clicks in his mind. And he knows that him just being here won’t be enough, but he has to try.

“Maybe he’s sick of cow.” He backs up from the window and it takes a second to completely hit him. But he knows what he has to do. He steels himself and heads to the door.

“Steve?” Dustin moves like he’s going to follow him but then he stops like he can’t move any further. Steve thought back to school when they taught flight or fight. The response to fear… no one ever talked about freezing up. But it happened to everyone. “Steve, what are you doing?” There’s worry in his tone but Steve knows he has to protect these goddamn kids. “Steve?”

He looks back to Dustin and pulls out his lighter, “Just get ready.” He says and tosses the lighter before he heads out the door.

He hears the door shut behind him and he feels something settle in his chest. He was helping. He was proving to these kids that he could help them. So, he whistles and calls out for the dog-looking creature as he gets up to the pile of meat. “Human taste better than cat, I promise.” He says before the fog clears just enough that can see the thing.

“Steve! Watch out!” Lucas shrieks like Steve wasn’t already completely focused on the target.

He huffs and swings the bat a little, “a little busy here.” He calls back.

But then Lucas says something that makes his entire body flood with fear. “3 o’clock! 3 o’clock!” The thing in front of him hasn’t moved. So, as he glances over and sees 2 more, his panic builds.

Dustin’s calling his name and Steve hopes he won’t get murdered in front of a bunch of middle schoolers. “Abort, abort!” Dustin yells but then the thing is growling at him.

He turns his focus back on the creatures and all at once they rush toward him. He dodges the first, rolls over the hood of a car to dodge the second, and hits the third with his bat. He takes the moment to turn and run. Everything in his body screamed at him to move faster, to be faster. They snarl behind him and all the kids are at the door waiting for him as he jumps in. Slamming it shut and holding it there with his legs. Thankful that he doesn’t skip leg day.

He puts a piece of metal in front of the door as the kids devolve into panicked chatter. It makes him think of his own freaked-out yells back at the Byers’. The whole bus rocks as they slam into it and Steve looks at these three kids. But then one is clawing through. He takes his bat to it repeatedly as the kids back up. Except then things are surrounding the bus and Steve’s not sure he has this under control.

He hears one get onto the roof followed by Max’s screams. He shoves Max out of the way as quickly as he can. Putting himself between him and the damn thing. Once again putting himself between someone and a monster. It roars and the flower petal mouth brings up all the worst memories. But then as the bus rocks one last time the things run off. He’s shaking as it gets so quiet so quickly. Then kids all stand up and look around the best they can through the slots of metal. “What happened?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t know,” Max mutters and she sounds shaken.

“Steve scared ‘em off?” Dustin offered.

Steve shook his head, “no. No way. They’re going somewhere.” He looks back at them, and they all look scared.

They all stand there for a minute and Steve lets the bat hit the ground. However, he’s surprised by Dustin barreling into him. He’s unprepared for the hug and he stands there shocked for a long moment before Dustin pulls back. “You were going to die for us.”

Steve raises an eyebrow to hide the emotions inside, “I mean I was gonna try to live.” He drawls and Dustin smiles up at him.

“The Steve Harrington was willing to die for me.” Dustin is grinning now and Steve rolls his eyes. Steve reaches out and ruffles his hair the best he could with the hat on his head. “Guess your not just a douchebag... suppose I should keep you around.”

Steve snorts, “well I am your ride. Come on, let's get moving.” He calls out and watches Lucas and Max snap out of whatever moment they were having.

_3_

I've been drowning in these sheets Feeling lonely Wishing you were here with me Every morning Over my head The tide comes rolling in I don't know when I'll see dry land again.

__Hopper, Joyce, Mike, and Max__

Steve leans against the wall on the floor of the Byers’ house. His vision is wobbly but he keeps his eyes on the unconscious form of Billy Hargrove. The kids are all around him and he’s got Dustin under one of his arms. Mike is sitting mostly by himself, eyes trained on the door. Max is on Steve’s other side, not touching but not too far away and Lucas was on her other side. All of them were exhausted but unwilling to fall asleep before they learned if they were successful today. If they won or lost.

“I’m sorry,” Max breaks the silence and Steve drags his eyes away from Billy. He looks at her but she isn’t looking at him. Her eyes on trained on her lap and he wonders if she’s talking to him or someone else. “If I hadn’t been here you wouldn’t have- Billy wouldn’t have-” she starts and Steve knows the other kids are staring.

He just reaches out and pulls her so she’s tucked under his other arm. “It’s fine. I’ve been wanting to punch him since I met him.” He grins down at her and she has a slight smile on her face.

He’s starting to struggle to stay awake but he has all the kids next to him. Well, not all. “Mike,” he says and the boy glances over. “Get over here,” he huffs and Mike blinks like he’s surprised. “Come on, over here.” He jerks his head to Dustin but it makes everything a blur. He has to freeze, his entire body tensing up. But once he’s back into his body, Mike’s on Dustin’s other side. All of them together. Steve’s hands are on Lucas and Mike’s shoulders while Dustin and Max curl up into his torso. Steve notices one by one the kids falling asleep and he’s glad. They needed it. He would love to sleep but he forces himself to keep an eye on Billy and the door.

They stay that way until the door opens and Joyce comes in. She’s holding the door as Jonathan and Nancy support Will. None of the kids move a muscle and Joyce goes quiet when she spots them. He gives her a tired smile but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t know if he could with Max and Dustin holding onto him. They disappear down the hall but Nancy reappears. She pauses and looks at him. He smiles back, “done?” He mouths and she nods.

She jerks her thumb at the knocked-out Billy and Steve just mouths, “Drugs.”

Nancy’s mouth twitches like she’s stopping a smile from forming on her face. “You alright?” She mouths to him and he gives her a weak smile in return. Eventually, she disappears again and Steve tries to rest his head against the wall but it makes his head burn. So, he just keeps his eyes trained on the chaos. Soon enough, Nancy and Jonathan reappear and they struggle to pull Billy out of the house. Steve would help but he knew he wouldn’t be much help.

When she gets back, Jonathan gives her hand a squeeze before he’s heading back toward where his brother and mom are. Then Nancy’s moving over to Steve and the kids. She moves and sits down next to Mike. Her arm wraps around Mike and the kid doesn’t wake, just leans into her. They stay in silence and Steve feels himself nodding off.

He’s not sure if he actually falls asleep but he jerks into awareness when Hopper gets back with El. El’s in his arms and Steve’s instantly worried. However, as she’s lowered onto the couch, Hopper notices him. “She’s just tired,” he says softly and Steve relaxes slightly. But he isn’t the only one who woke up to Hopper’s return. The kids all seem to awake and then they're talking. Nancy tells them Will’s okay as Hopper does the same for El.

It’s loud and Steve can’t seem to move from his spot on the ground. He hears Nancy talk about what happened and the kids tell the others what happened on their side. But then it goes quiet. He barely even noticed until he feels a hand on his shoulder. “Hmm?” He questions and blinks to see Hopper looking him over. “Lookin’ at m’pretty face?” His words feel slurred and he knows that’s not the best, but he’s too tired to worry.

“Did anyone look you over?” Hopper questions and Steve snorts. It makes his nose burn and he lets his eyes close.

“Kids bandaged me up,” he jokes. Referring to the colorful bandages they slapped on him before they went into the tunnels.

“Steve let’s get you up,” Hopper orders and Steve groans.

Hopper’s hands try to help him but each move makes his brain swirl like a soup bowl. “No, m‘fine here. M’dizzy,” He groans but then Nancy’s also helping him to his feet. As soon as he’s on his feet his stomach rebels and he gags. Suddenly he’s moving fast with the other two helping out the door. He heaves the small amount of shit he’s eaten that day onto the lawn.

“I’m gonna drive him to the hospital,” Hopper states, and Steve whines. “No, it’s not an option kid. Keep an eye on the kids.”

“Is he going to be, okay?” Max questions.

“He was fine earlier,” Dustin says nervously.

Steve lets himself be manhandled toward the truck. “Adrenaline probably’s worn off. I’m sure he’s fine,” Hopper assures and Steve nods in agreement. It makes the older man snort. “Come on,” he orders and Steve gets some help getting into the truck.

As Hopper drives, Steve just leans against the window. “Kid, I want you to stay awake. I’m no doctor, but even I know it’s not good to sleep with a head injury.” Hopper states and Steve groans. “Shh, I don’t care, just listen to me.”

Steve hums, “I already slept.” He groans and Hopper huffs. He looks over and Hopper’s face is a mess of emotions. “M’sorry about tunnels.”

Hopper looked over and he had something on his face, but it wasn’t anger. “Kid… I know it wasn’t your idea about the tunnels. Just thank you for keeping an eye on them. Joyce and I really appreciate it… You’re a good kid.” He says and Steve blinks, feeling tears welling up.

Hopper clears his throat, “And well, I know you were trouble in the past. Parties, alcohol, fights… But you’ve really stepped it up. You’re becoming a role model these kids need.” Steve looked down at his hands and everything was blurry. Whether it was tears or just dizziness he didn’t know. “That’s why you’re going to be fine. Cause you have to be,” Hopper’s voice is gruff and Steve gives him a jerky nod before he sinks into the seat of the truck. “So, stay awake.” Steve nods but his eyes shut anyways.

_4_

Another 40 days I'm lost at sea I'm just gonna swim until you love me Hoping that your heart will rescue me I'm just gonna swim until you love me Swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim. Swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim.

__Robin__

Steve had his back to Robin, tied to each other, to chairs. Knocked over laying on the ground. He felt like shit but he couldn’t really focus on that right now. Not when there were problems at hand. “Robin, are you laughing?” He groans and she continues to laugh.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry,” she laughs but then tries to calm herself. “It’s just- I can’t believe I’m gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. It’s just too trippy man.” She starts laughing again and he lets his head rest on the cool tile.

“We’re not gonna die,” he says but it’s a lie. He can’t think of a single way they're making it out of here. That’s why he tried to stay behind alone. But once again he wasn’t strong enough.

First, it was running away from the Demogorgon. Then Max came in to save his ass. And now it was how he couldn’t even block a door by himself. It was pathetic… he tries to stay positive and tries to think but then Robin’s still talking. Not an escape plan that would probably fail but about sophomore history class. “I sat behind you 2 days a week for a year. Mister funny. Mister cool. The king of Hawkins High himself.” She makes it harder to breathe as her tone goes darker.

“Do you even remember me from that class?” She asks but they both know the answer. He sits in his self-hatred as she scoffs, “Of course, you don’t. You were a real asshole, you know that?”

He doesn’t hesitate to answer, “Yeah, I know.”

She swallows, “But it didn’t even matter- it didn’t matter that you were an ass. I was still obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular. Accepted. Normal.”

Steve feels like he might break down if he lets her continue. But he knows the right thing to do is let her tell him off. He can’t bury the past. He can’t pretend he wasn’t an asshole. She had every right to bring it up. “If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn’t all that great.” He admits and tries to hide the emotion swirling in his chest, “Seriously. It just baffles me… everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just…” A small laugh escapes him, full of pain. Seeing Nancy’s righteous fury as she looked up at him and said “Bullshit.”

He feels exhausted and sighs, “but I guess you’ve got to mess up to figure things out, right?”

She shifts a little to lean more against him and the closeness makes it a little easier. “I hope so, I feel like my whole life has been… one big error.” She laughs and so does he, even though it’s sadder than funny. Maybe in a better world, they’d be able to laugh about this, years down the line. But the truth was, Steve, expected to die here and he knew Robin did too. Even as they dream about meeting each other earlier. As they wish they never learned about the Russians under their feet.

“Gotta say though, I liked being your schmuck,” he chuckled. In a better world, Steve could’ve proved himself in a different way. But in the end, he’s never really been able to prove himself outside of life-and-death situations. Destined to be alone or never able to truly relax because the next near-death experience will bring another person into his life. He sits there and for this moment… he wanted to be her shmuck. “It was fun while it lasted.”

Robin’s shoulder presses into his and it’s a comfort, “it was.”

***

Steve had sat in his house all alone after getting home. After Russian torture, Monsters, doctors, and government cover-ups. He had taken a shower and curled up on his couch until the sun rose into the sky. Still, he didn’t move. He didn’t know if he had the energy anymore. He had gotten checked over but his brain was too scrambled to really know how he was supposed to do to take care of himself. He was just too exhausted from it all.

Yet around noon, a knock came on his door. He didn’t move until whoever it was knocked again. He pushed himself up and groaned at the movement. When he opened the door, it was to Robin. She stood there in a Madonna tee and baggy shorts. “Hey,” she murmurs and he steps aside to let her in. He walks back to the couch and lowers himself with a groan. “Are you taking any pain medication?” She questions and he glances over to the bag on the coffee table, full of everything they gave him.

He sighs, “Mostly just trying to lay here until I either heal or die.” He smirks and she smiles back at him.

But then she grabs the back and digs through it. Reading a pamphlet and organizing the few bottles on the table. “Steve,” she says and he glanced over here. “You’re not okay, are you?”

Steve sighs and looks back up at the ceiling. “No, I’m really not.”

She’s quiet but then she’s shifting until she is laying down as well. Her head by his, their feet dangling over the side of the couch. “What- why are you here?” He can’t help but ask as they fall into a comfortable silence.

Robin doesn't say anything for a long moment and Steve’s just about to take it back when she sighs. “I told you my deepest, darkest secret…”

Steve shifts his head and looks at her. She turns hers and their faces are inches apart. “Just because I was high doesn’t mean my opinion’s changed, Robin. You like boobies, big deal. So do I…” he pauses and looks back up at the ceiling.

He clears his throat, “I mean I don’t get it. Not really. Never seeing someone as attractive. Like seriously, some guys are ridiculously attractive.” He shrugs, “but to each your own.”

Robin sucks in sharply and Steve winces as she sits up quickly. But she’s not moving away from him. Instead, she’s on her elbows, hovering over him and forcing eye contact. Her face is completely serious, “Steve Harrington, did you just… come out to me?”

He frowns, “I guess.”

Her expression melts into a grin. “You know, for someone who was an asshole, you’ve got a lot of depth.”

“Is that any way to talk to your best friend?” He jokes and she looks so happy at his words.

She shrugs a little and shifts to lie back down next to him. “Ehh, you’ve proved to me that you’re not… you’re a surprisingly good person.”

He lets his eyes close at her words, “thanks I guess.”

“It’s a compliment!” She promises and he nods, letting the words sink in. They settle just like all of the others before.

_5_

I will never get over you.

Another 40 days I'm lost at sea I'm just gonna swim until you love me Hoping that your heart will rescue me I'm just gonna swim until you love me.

__Eddie__

Steve walked side by side with Eddie through the Upside Down. “I guess I couldn’t accept the fact the Steeeve Harrington was actually… a good dude.” Steve looks to the ground, feeling that old familiar feeling stir in his chest. But Eddie had every right to hold those grudges. Steve didn’t know if he ever actually did anything to the guy, but he probably didn’t stop anything either. “Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine,” Eddie says.

And Steve thinks, maybe he was doomed to be an asshole from the start. Maybe it was just who he was meant to be. Thinking about it, it makes sense. Maybe no matter how much he proves himself, he’ll still be a rich kid who peaked in high school. No matter how much growth, he’d always have that obstacle to overcome.

Then Eddie leaned in closer, so close that Steve had to lean back a little to stop them from touching. “Still super jealous as hell, by the way.” He grins at Steve and Steve can’t help but smile back. Even in this hellscape with his head foggy from pain and the world blurry after he pulled out his ruined contacts after he faced yet another near-death experience… he smiles back. Eddie’s got a good smile, a nice smile.

Steve bumped him back and swallowed back the emotions swirling through him. “That’s why I would’ve never jumped in to save your ass. Not under any, uh… normal circumstances.” Eddie just kept talking, walking right next to him. There’s a noise off to the right and Steve directs the flashlight in that direction, but it’s just more of the decaying landscape. Eddie looks scared for a moment as they stop talking. It makes Steve want to ask him to keep talking. To keep filling the space between them…

Eddie cleared his throat like he heard Steve’s silent prayers. But maybe Eddie needed to fill the silence too. “Nope, outside of d&d I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that’s what I’ve learned about myself this week.” He says, sounding so guilty that Steve could taste it.

Steve can’t stop himself before he pats Eddie’s chest. “Give yourself a break, man. We all run the first time,” he states and his words seem to hit Eddie.

“You’re telling me that, you, Steve Harrington, the man who just bit one of these creatures, ran the first time,” Eddie says and his voice is so unbelieving that Steve can’t help but snort.

He looks over and knocks their shoulders together. “Yeah, I did,” he sighs. He pictures running from Jonathan, Tommy, and the Demogorgon. He thinks of how he avoided Billy, his parents, and anything about the Upside Down. But then he remembers going to help Dustin figure out the Russians, getting them out of the elevator, knocking out the guard, holding the door, taking the hits… Steve learned to push past his own cowardice.

Steve sighs, “Eddie, you ran and it’s okay. Jesus, it’s okay to run from this shit. Sometimes running means, you live.” He states, picturing all of the people who died fighting. Billy comes to mind. The guy holding his ground. Planting his feet and facing the monster for them. Dying painfully in Max’s arms.

“Sometimes running means someone else dies,” Eddie says and Steve looks over at him. The bags under his eyes. The haunted look that was, no doubt, reflected on his own face.

He looks at the ground, “the first time this stuff happened… someone died in my backyard. She was there for a party and while I was upstairs fucking her best friend, she was being torn apart. I didn’t run, I didn’t fight, man, I didn’t even know it happened. Once again my ability to stand off to the side of everything, got someone hurt... She was there for a party I threw after a kid went missing and I didn’t even care that she was missing the next day.” Steve rambled and felt the old guilt building up. “I was too worried about my parents and- Nancy was right it was bullshit.”

Steve looks over at Eddie, he looks surprised and Steve gives him a small smile. “So, sure, you ran but at least you tried to save her. And I get that it’s easier to blame yourself than to feel like you couldn’t have done anything to save her. But don’t go and do something stupid to make up for it.” His voice goes quiet and Steve glances down at his bandages that were slowly turning red. “Cause dying isn’t going to bring her back.”

Eddie clears his throat, “wow. I- uh, you’re surprisingly wise, man.” He sounds emotional and unsure of himself.

Steve sighs, “nah. I just graduated.” He teases and gets a shove for it. He laughs and Eddie snorts like he couldn’t believe him. He’s got a small smile on his face and he rolls his eyes at Steve. It’s lighthearted and it makes this hellscape feel a little bit lighter.

They fall into silence and Steve breaks it. “But just, thanks for coming in after me.”

Eddie shakes his head, “I was too damn ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. Those ladies, they jumped right in after you. They didn’t waste a second. Didn’t even hesitate.” Steve blinks and looks ahead at the girls. “I don’t know what happened between you and Wheeler or what your deal with Buckley is, but… you’ve got two ladies who are willing to die for you. That’s love... It’s a sign of love if I’ve ever seen it.”

Steve blinks and then he sighs, “Honestly, I would’ve rather you guys run than dive in after me.”

Eddie moves to grab his shoulder, making them pause. He looks back at Eddie, raising an eyebrow. “Well, sucks, man. We came in after you. And now you have to deal with us.”

It makes Steve smile, “trauma bonds us, huh?”

Eddie laughs, “Yeah, Harrington. You got a friend today because of this shit.” It’s not a surprise to Steve. He always seems to get friends from this shit.

“Okay, Munson, sounds like a plan.” Before they can say anymore the earth shakes and Steve holds onto Eddie. They keep each other up as Robin yells for Nancy to come back.

_+1_

Swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim. Swim until you love me Swim, swim, swim.

I will never get over you.

__Eleven__

Steve didn’t have the same childhood as others did. He spent most of his childhood in the back of a car or on a plane. Moving everywhere with his busy parents. He spent more time in a hotel room with his mom than time in his actual house. His mom would put something in front of him and then she’d put as much distance as she could between them.

Once he started school it changed. His mom brought him home and he got used to staying in one place. He met other kids and adults who actually liked their kids. But as he grew up, he began to understand what he had missed all his life.

You’re told that from the minute you’re born, your parents love you. But Steve knew that wasn’t the truth. Just like everyone else, you had to prove yourself to them. Just like a teacher, you had to prove that you were good enough to be loved by them.

And as Steve grew up, he joined sports, played piano to make his mom smile, he learned to use his words to charm everyone. But his parents never believed his charm. It was never enough. Steve was never enough. Eventually not even his mom stayed home with him. It was just Steve in that house. He had tried and tried to be who they wanted but it was never enough. So, he started to act out. He did stupid shit just so they would come home. Even though it was only ever for an argument.

He wanted to prove that he was enough. That he was worth their love. But he never managed it. Over time he learned that was okay. He’ll never prove himself to them, but he can keep proving himself to the family he got through pain and bloodshed. The people he was able to show his love to. The people that were able to love him regardless of his faults.

He drove the kids everywhere they wanted to go. He looked after them so Joyce and Hopper could have a night out. He listened to Robin and supported her through her developing feelings for Nancy. He held Nancy after she and Jonathan broke up. Told her about bisexuality and gently pushed her and Robin closer. He distracted everyone to give Jonathan time to sneak out with Argyle so they could go relax. He sat next to Max’s bed so Lucas and Erica could go get some rest. He talked to Max quietly as she woke up disoriented and sore. He sat with Wayne next to Eddie after the idiot still went to prove himself. He volunteered at the school and pushed himself as much as he could to be the person everyone needed. There was no time to be anything less.

Still, he couldn’t stop the way his body was slowing down. He hadn’t been taking care of himself. How could he when everything else was so much more important? Instead, he said that he’d spend some time at the cabin with El who was once again in lockdown. He made his way through the forest and knocked the weird knock. The door swung open and El stood there looking tired but happy to see him. “Hey, kid,” He greets and heads inside.

“Hello,” she says softly back. It’s shy but kind. It’s expected. Steve hasn’t hung around El too much and never alone. He only really knew her through stories from the others.

“So, what do you want to do? What do you normally do? I uh- I’m not uh…” He trailed off as she grabbed a bowl of already-made popcorn and pulled him over to the couch.

She looked over at him with those big eyes of hers. “I do not have lots of experience with hangouts. Max and I…” she trailed off, her eyes growing watery. He shifts and pulls her into his side.

He clears his throat, “well, I have some. Robin and I do dumb shit together all the time.” He looked over at this girl who hadn’t really had a chance to be a teenage girl and hang out with other girls. Being surrounded by boys who weren’t going to teach her to lean into her feminine side.

He sucked in a sharp breath, “You deserve a girls' night and while I’m not a girl, I can do my best.” She looked confused as he stood up from the couch. He groaned as the movements made his bites pull. “Now, where is your nail polish? That always seems like a good start. I’m going into the kitchen to see what you have to make face masks.” She blinked up at him before her face cracked into a grin.

As he mixes up the oats, using the recipe Robin had told him oh so long ago. El moves around him, the movie long forgotten. “Alright, so I know the next step is talking about crushes and that shit.” He states twirling around to look at El. He easily applies it to her face and he pulled his hair into a half up/half down to keep it out of the mask. “Everything we say is safe and stays within the girl night.” He grins, leaning into overdramatic just so she’ll laugh.

“I uh, broke up with Mike.” She admits and Steve leans over to take a hand of hers to start applying the soft yellow polish.

He hums, “and how are you feeling about it?”

Her mouth twists as she tries to find her words. “I think, I think it is good. But I still love him in a way.”

Steve nods, “love doesn’t just go away. When Nancy and I broke up I went insane. For months I was always upset but then I decided to sleep around to see if that would make me feel better. It didn’t so I don’t think you should go down that road.” He teases and she smiles at him. “But even now I love her. But it’s not romantic love anymore.” He shrugs and sticks his tongue out in concentration.

“I don’t think I love him in a romantic way. But knowing if you love someone in an uh," she paused and looked at him before slowly saying, "romantic(?) way is hard,” She sighs. He nods in agreement; it seems to get her to keep talking. “I thought I loved him in a romantic way but it feels like when I see Will. And Will is my brother… Max, I thought-” she cuts herself off with a sigh. “I thought I liked her but I am happy that she is with Lucas. They are quite cute together. I do not think I understand love.”

Steve pictures Eddie's big smile as he said, big boy. “Love is hard, but sometimes to figure out who you love you have to look at those you already understand.”

She looked confused and Steve smiles at her, moving to her other hand. “I loved Nancy, I know I did. But I understood that I liked men by comparing my feelings when she smiled at me too when a guy would get in my space. But I also thought I loved Robin until she fit firmly next to Dustin in my heart. And with Eddie he easily took up the space Nancy left behind.” He admits and her eyes are wide. “So take two people you know for sure and compare everyone else to them.” He says and she nods, brow pinched.

“Will is my brother, I do not want to kiss him.” She states, “Mike used to make me feel like…” she pulled her hands back and mimed shimming and grinning like a lunatic. He couldn’t help but laugh and she gave him her hand once again. “Lucas is like Will, I love him but I do not feel like that with him. Mike, as you said, left space in my heart. But he feels more like a friend.” She nods and he’s proud of how she sorts through people. She frowns, “Max makes me happy but I do not want to kiss her. I want her to be happy and I want to hang out with her.”

She frowns, “Dustin is my friend. He makes me happy. He makes me feel loved and strong.” She says softly, “I do not know… Steve?” She asks and she sounds so lost.

His heart hurts for her. “Kid, I can’t explain your feelings for someone. I just know that when someone makes you happy, you should hold onto them... With Robin, I think I could’ve lived with her the rest of my life. But then she turned me down. And now, it’s gross to even think about kissing her. She’s my sister,” he laughs and she grins at him. “With Nancy, she fell in love with someone when she was with me… our love faded and it couldn’t be helped. But I hold onto my love for them even now that it’s changed. Maybe one day you’ll know what category to put him in, maybe you won’t. But being around him will help that.”

El nods and Steve’s down with her nails. She waves them around to dry them. “I was happy that he was okay. He is nice,” she’s got a small blush on her face and he hopes that this time it would work out for her. “I am really glad he’s okay,” she says softly and takes the paint from him to start on his nails. He offers them easily, holding the bottle in his free hand for her.

Steve thinks about how Eddie’s blood dripped down his back as they carried him out of the Upside Down. “Fear is one way to kick start crushes.”

She nods, looking sad. “It is not fun,” she sighs and he knows that to be the truth.  

They fall into silence as she focuses on his nails. But once she’s done she smiles at him and puts it away. They wash their faces and sit on the couch. He tosses a piece of popcorn and catches it easily. She watches him before attempting to do the same. They stay like that until she looks over at him. “I love you like a brother, like Jonathan.” She says and she makes it sound easy like it’s not a big deal.

It hits him because he’s never been through hell with her. They’ve always been in opposite roles and never once did he put himself in front of a monster for her. “You can’t,” he says softly.

“Steve,” El looks up at him with big eyes. She looks so innocent and it feels like he’s taking advantage of her naivety. She didn’t know that he was always meant to be an asshole. She didn’t understand that he had to prove himself. “You are… Joyce told me that you can say I love you to those you care about. Family, friends, anyone.” She says and she looks a little worried. “She told me that a brother does not have to be a real family member. It is about… being there for each other and caring. You are so kind; you care about us. So, you are our brother.”

Steve shakes his head, “but I- you barely know me, kid. I think you need to take a moment before you decide too quickly. I’m not- I’m not a good person.”

Her nose scrunches up, “you have only ever been kind to me.”

That makes him blink, “well, yeah. But I met you after I worked on becoming a better person. So, you just don’t know.”

El looks over at a picture of the party she pinned to the wall. “They told me you used to be an asshole.” She states and he waits for the words. But you’re better now. You’ve proved that you’ve changed. Instead, she shrugs, “I don’t see it. You have always been kind. You have not proven yourself to be an asshole.”

Steve feels his throat closing and shifts on the couch, “no. El you don’t understand, you have to prove to others that you're worth loving. You can’t just- you can’t just love me. I’m- you-” There’s something pulling in his chest and it’s like he can’t breathe.

“I think you are wrong. For a long time, I did not understand love. It felt wrong. Like a chain to those who demand things of you…” He can see how tense she is and hates that he’s the one making her think back to the lab. “Papa loved me because I proved him right because I was his. But Hop showed me that you can find love everywhere. It is good, it is… it is freedom.”

She looked up at him with determination. “Joyce told me that loving someone is being happy with them. If they make you smile. If they make you feel safe. And if you love freely, you will be happier. My love is free. I want to give you my love.” Steve choked on his tears and she hesitates before she reaches out and takes his hand, “Will you let me?”

“El, I-” he can’t spit out the words he just nods. El easily pulls him into a hug. Always so strong for someone so small.

She loved him even though he was made to be an asshole. She loved him without any hesitance. He cried openly, holding her tightly. She held him just as tight. “I love you too,” he promises and he can feel her smile.

[loove-persevering]

Promise (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Description: Reader is helping Dustin and Eddie with the bats when things go south. Eddie makes the reader promise to admit her feelings for Steve if they make it out alive.

Warnings: SPOILERS SEASON 4, Character Death, Broken bones, Gore, Mentions of death.

‘’Promise me you’re not going to do something to get yourself killed?’’ Steve asks you. You were both sitting outside the RV, you were wrapping the wire around the spear you were going to use against the bats in the upside down.

You rolled your eyes at his assumption, ‘’I’m don’t plan on dying anytime soon Steve,’’ You set down the spear on your lap looking at him, ‘’You better not either.’’ You say threatening him. ‘’Then who is going to drive me around?’’ You say earning a hint of a smile from him. ‘’I’m thinking of making you drive me to Yosemite next.’’

‘’Yosemite huh?’’ He asks, sounding amused, ‘’I’ve always wanted to go on a roadtrip like that, take all my kids with me when I have them.’’ He tells you.

‘’Kids as in plural?’’ You ask him. ‘’You already have like six,’’ You say gesturing out in the field to Dustin and Eddie who were wrestling, Dustin was in a headlock making you laugh.

‘’And I want six of my own too,’’ He says and you widen your eyes at him making him laugh, ‘’I could change my mind but at least two, no three.’’ He sounded very sure of his answer.

‘’A big family sounds nice,’’ You tell him.

‘’You think so? Doesn’t scare you away when I say that?’’ He asks fiddling with his hands.

‘’No not at all, plus it makes sense you’re an only child. Figures you’d want a big family.’’ You tell him.

He looked at you like he was shocked, he let out a sigh before he spoke. ‘’I never really thought of that, but it makes sense.’’

‘’I always do Harrington,’’ You say, taking your hand pushing on his arm gently. You glance up noticing Nancy and Robin talking, she was sawing her gun down it seemed like her conversation with Jason made her a little on edge. ‘’So you and Nancy?’’ You ask Steve.

He looked a little uncomfortable when you asked, ‘’What about us?’’ He asks and you give him an annoyed look, he knew what you were asking. ‘’I don’t know what's going on I’m just as confused as you.’’ He explains. ‘’I think apart of it is because Jonathan is halfway across the country.’’

You look down at the ground unsure of what to say, ‘’What if it’s not that?’’ He looks over to you, ‘’Would you do that again?’’ You ask him, it was practically eating you alive to know.

‘’I feel like a lot of things got left unresolved with us,’’ Is all he answers, ‘’Would it be wrong if I did?’’ He ask you.

‘’I mean it’s your love life Steve,’’ You point out. ‘’Why do you care what I think anyway?’’

Steve looked at you, his face looked like he was confused, ‘’I always care what you think Y/N,’’ He tells you.

You stand up and Steve looked to you as you did, ‘’Who knows what happens when we go in upside down Steve, you almost died earlier.’’ You say scrunching your face up at the thought, seeing Steve on the floor, those bats gnawing at his skin would forever be etched in your brain. ‘’Now is not the time to hold in emotions, if you care about someone you tell them.’’ You see Steve visually take a deep breath, he patted his hands on his jeans standing up next to you. You watched his eyes on Nancy as he took a hand patting your back walking over to her, Robin slowly made her way over to you.

‘’You okay?’’ She asks.

You watched Nancy smile at something Steve said and you shake your head turning to Robin. ‘’Never better,’’ You say, offering her a fake smile.

If only you could take your own advice.

______________________

Steve was the first to go into the upside down, then Nancy followed of course. Then Robin and finally it was your turn, you grabbed onto the sheets pulling yourself up and finally felt yourself free falling, landing on your back knocking the wind out of you. Steve reached out a hand helping you up, as soon as you were on your feet you pulled your hand from his and he seemed distressed. ‘’You okay?’’ He says his hand is touching the side of your arm.

‘’We are currently upside down, how do you think I’m doing?’’ You say the sarcasm dripping from your voice.

‘’Right,’’ Steve says, a moment later a pile of weapons falls down landing on the mattress. You and Steve both turn looking down at it, you bend down grabbing as many as you could, taking yours and strapping it behind your back.

It was moments before you all split up, just as you walked out of the RV behind Dustin and Eddie that Steve stopped you. ‘’Hey listen, if things start to go south, I mean at all you abort.’’ His voice was serious, you glanced at Dustin knowing you had to do what you could to protect him, that if anything happened to him Steve would never forgive himself.

You hear snapping breaking you out of your thoughts, Steve looked at you, ‘’You hear me Y/N? No hero shit.’’ He emphasizes.

You walk closer to Steve staring him straight in the eye, ‘’Now do we look like heros to you?’’ You ask him to gesture to Dustin then Eddie.

‘’We are not heroes,’’ Eddie emphasized behind you, laughing.

You reach forward laying a hand on Steve's shoulder, ‘’Don’t worry Steve, you can be the hero.’’ You tell him. He gave a sort of half hearted grin but he still looked nervous as Hell.

His eyes lingered on your for a moment before he pulled away your hand dropping back to your side. Just as he turned around Eddie stepped out from behind you, ‘’Hey Steve?’’ He calls out. Steve turns around to look at him, ‘’Make him pay.’’

Steve nods, turning back around taking off with Nancy and Robin. ‘’We should go,’’ You tell both Eddie and Dustin. You all began walking off in the opposite direction, a few seconds had passed and you glanced back to look at Steve for more time, he had happened to be looking too. You shift your weapon on your back, turn around and walk backwards, you look at Steve and give him a salute from afar but it was too far for you to see his response back.

‘’Humor me Y/N,’’ Eddie tells you. ‘’How long have you been pining over Harrington?’’ He asks.

‘’What?’’ You ask him to turn around, noticing both Eddie and Dustin with an amused smile on their faces.

‘’At least since last year,’’ Dustin chimes in.

‘’Dustin!’’ You yell at him. ‘’You don’t know that!’’ You tell him.

‘’Do you not remember when you were on drugs last year?’’ He asks you to refer to the Russian Base underneath the mall. You had worked there with Steve and Robin last year and got wrapped into everything.

‘’Drugs?’’ Eddie says amused. ‘’You don’t take me for that kind of girl.’’ He smirks.

‘’I’m not!’’ You glare at Dustin, ‘’He left out key information, which was that I was unknowingly drugged by Russian Soldiers!’’ You say and Eddie's face looked bewildered.

‘’What?’’ Eddie says his voice seemed confused and amused at the same time.

‘’She totally confessed to being in love with Steve last year when she was on drugs,’’ He tells you.

‘’Why have you never told me this?’’ You ask him.

Dustin Shrugs his shoulders, ‘’Never came up,’’ He says simply.

You sigh and Eddie laughs, ‘’Is it really that obvious?’’ You ask tilting your head.

‘’Kind of I mean you practically lost it when he got pulled in the water,’’ He says. ‘’Why haven’t you said anything to him?’’

‘’Just never the right time, last year after the mall was just too much. And finally when things were calming down this happens.’’ You admit. ‘’And now Nancy is back and Steve has a soft spot when it comes to her, and I don’t know if I want to compete with Nancy.’’

‘’She was his first love,’’ Dustin chimes in.

‘’Thanks,’’ You pause. ‘’For that reminder Dustin,’’ He holds his hands up in defense.

‘’You should tell him,’’ Eddie says.

‘’If we make it out of here I just might,’’ You admit to him seeing the RV in the distance. ‘’Emphasis on the if,’’ You felt the nerves in your stomach getting worse by the minute and it was only going to get worse from here.

‘’Promise?’’ He says.

‘’What?’’

‘’Promise you’ll say something,’’ He says.

You look at him amused that he cared so much, ‘’Promise,’’ You say scrunching your eyebrows not questioning him as to why he cared.

When you got to the RV everything had seemed to speed up, you were waiting for the phase three signal from Robin. Dustin was supposed to tell you when Eddie was and Dustin were on top of the RV getting the Amp set up to broadcast the sound, you were down on the ground putting up more metal to help shield you when the bats came. Plus eventually you’d end up here anyway, that was the plan when the bats got closed you all were to use the RV as a way to shield yourself knowing they would come after you.

You hear Dustin from up above you, ‘’Copy, Initiating Phase three!’’ Dustin yells. Only a moment later you heard Eddie beginning to shred on the guitar, as the song went on you felt your heart practically pouding out of your chest. A flash of red lightning is what caught your attention seeing the silhouette of the bats getting closer.

‘’Dustin!’’ You yell, you could see him glance down at you from the top. You point with your finger at the bats showing him your plan was working, he looked through the binoculars and yelled to Eddie. You ran back to the inside of the cage surrounding the van your hand against the metal ready to close it when they finally came down. And the thirty seconds quickly turned into ten and Dustin and Eddie came barreling in as you slammed the cage shut just as the bats hit causing you to jump. ‘’Inside! Inside!’’ You scream at them following behind as they ran in the RV slamming the door shut.

You were all panting, your hands rested on your knees as you were bent over trying to catch your breath, ‘’Dude!’’ Dustin calls out gaining your attention, ‘’Most metal ever!’’ He says and Eddie and him begin jumping upside down, you look at them both laughing.

‘’That was pretty amazing Eddie,’’ You tell him.

‘’Best concert I’ll ever go to,’’ He laughs as you tell him. Dustin and Eddie look to one another and begin yelling, jumping up and down shaking the van even more than it already was from the bats outside.

It didn’t take long after that for you all to figure out you were surrounded, the screeching was getting louder meaning more and more were around you. They were banging up against the metal, all three of you stood back to back with your weapon in your hand as you all just waited for them to break through.

That was when it got quiet.

‘’Hey dipshits!’’ Dustin screams.

You took a deep breath as he yelled, ‘’Dustin!’’ You whispered.

‘’Give up that easy huh?’’ Dustin screams even lounder.

Both you and Eddie shush him, ‘’Is that really necessary?’’ Eddie asks.

The clattering from above you stopped any conversation. You looked up hearing the metal above you being scraped, ‘’Eddie they can’t get in right?’’ You ask him warily, all of you followed the sound above ending up under a vent. ‘’Eddie?’’ You ask him after no response

You screamed when the bats broke through the vent, the panic rising in your chest. You lifted your weapon moving in close with Dustin taking turns stabbing the bats trying to get in. “Die! Die, Die!” Dustin screams everytime he stabs them.

“Eddie!” You yell. “Eddie help!” You yell in a panic.

A second later you feel Eddie pushing you back slightly, “Get out of the way! Get out of the way!” He yells the shield he made earlier in his hand. He runs directly at the vent slamming it over top of him stopping the bats. Dustin falls back leaning against something a deep breath falls from his lips.

“Holy shit, Holy shit,” Eddie keeps repeating.

You felt yourself relax but it was only for a short moment, until Dustin spoke. “Are there other vents?”

The look on Eddie’s face told you there was, “shit, shit, shit!” He kept muttering. Everyone moves with him running to the back of the RV where Eddie’s bedroom was and as soon as he swung the door open the bats came flying toward you ready to attack. “Shit!” He screams along with you and Dustin pushing you both back behind the door slamming it shut. Immediately after he shut the door the wood began to break, you knew it wouldn’t hold long.

‘’Shit, shit, shit,’’ You mutter, also hearing similar words from both Dustin and Eddie. ‘’What do we do?’’ You yell over the bats pounding into the door, ‘’That’s not gonna hold long!’’ You yell at them.

‘’Let’s go! Let’s go!’’ Eddie screams.

You turn to Dusin who already had his hands on the sheets, you help him by holding his foot in your hand giving him something to push off as he climbs through the gate. ‘’Eddie, go!’’ You yell at him as Dustin goes through the gate.

You were the oldest making sure everyone got through before you was important, ‘’You first!’’ He tells you.

‘’Eddie, go!’’ You yell trying to plead with him.

‘’We don’t have time to argue go!’’ He yells at you holding his hand out for your foot. He was right there was no time to argue the door was breaking further by the second. You lift your leg putting your foot in his hand and he helps give you a push up at you grab onto the sheet pulling up as fast as you could. You landed on your back, Dustin held his hand out pulling you up so Eddie had a place to land.

You finally got to your feet looking down at the gate seeing Eddie starting to climb, he was about halfway up when he paused. ‘’Eddie! Come on!’’ You scream down at him, Dustin doing the same next to you. ‘’Come on!’’ You yell at him.

Eddie seemed to have some sort of realization on his face as he looked up at both you and Dusitn. ‘’Eddie climb!’’ You yell at him. You got down on your knees peering down at him as he glanced back at the door.

Eddie let go of the sheet a moment later and you and Dustin screamed, ‘’Eddie what the Hell?’’ You yell down at him. He picked up his spear and cut the sheet and it dropped into Dustin's hand.‘’Eddie! No! What are you doing?’’

He picked up the mattress and began flipping it out of the way, no doubt so you and Dustin couldn’t follow in pursuit. ‘’No! No! Eddie!’’ Dustin was screaming next to you.

‘’What are you doing Eddie?’’

‘’I’m buying more time,’’ Is all he says. Grabbing his shield and the spear, he ran off after that.

You watched Dustin next to you with his hands on his head in distress, ‘’Oh god,’’ He says to himself.

You looked around panicked and unsure of what to do, you couldn’t let Eddie go alone. Think, think, think. ‘’Dustin, I am going to get him and bring his ass back here.’’ You tell him. You grab the chair laying a few feet away, putting it just under the gate.

‘’Y/N let me go!’’ Dustin yells at you as you brace yourself for a run. You were a few feet down the hallway you knew a running start would help you.

‘’No,’’ You tell him sternly. ‘’You stay here, do not follow me Dustin, and when you can radio Steve.’’ You instruct him. You took a deep breath ignoring the rest of Dustin's pleads to get you to stay and him to go.

You took off running and as soon as your feet got to the chair you jumped, you went through the gate and landed on your arm. You screamed in pain when you landed, ‘’Y/N? Y/N? What happened?’’ You can hear Dustin yelling.

When you finally got over the immediate wave of pain you pushed yourself up with your opposite hand looking down you could see your hand was visible disformed at the wrist, you had broken it. ‘’I’m fine Dustin,’’ You call up to him though your voice says otherwise. ‘’Radio Steve when you can!’’ You tell him through your tears, the pain was terrible, but you had no time to wait around Eddie was in trouble.

After that you walked out of the RV, Eddie couldn’t be too far ahead from you. You looked around the area when you got outside noticing the bike was missing that had been there previously. ‘’Dammit,’’ You mutter to yourself. You heard a loud noise come from inside the RV one similar to when you had come down. When you peered in the door you saw Dustin laying on the ground his face grimaced in pain as he held his leg.

‘’Dustin!’’ You yell running toward him. ‘’I told you to stay!’’ He must’ve landed on it. ‘’Are you okay?’’ You ask him.

‘’I landed on it.’’ He tells you through the tears in his eyes.

‘’Can you walk?’’

He nods his head, you reach down grabbing his hand with your good arm helping him off the floor but he puts no pressure on his leg. ‘’Go ahead without me,’’ He tells you. You reach over grabbing what looked like a broom handing it to him so he could use it to help walk.

You didn’t wait another second; you practically ran out the door glancing around for the bats in the sky. The red lightning illuminated the bats and you saw they were swarming in a circle which couldn’t be good at all. You looked back Dustin was only a few feet behind you hobbling toward you, you quickened your pace running over toward the bats not giving yourself long enough to debate if it was a good or bad idea.

When you finally got there all of the bats had dropped from the sky as if some invisible force had killed them. You saw Eddie laying on the floor, all the bats surrounded him. You ran as fast as you could landing on your knees in front of him. The blood was coming from his mouth, you knew that was not a good sign.

‘’Eddie? Eddie?’’ You say taking your good hand touching his cheek, tapping it lightly, ‘’Hey come on you need to look at me,’’ You forced a smile at him with the tears forming in your eyes at his state. ‘’You’re okay, you’re okay.’’ You kept repeating.

A moment later Dustin dropped onto his hands carefully getting on the ground with you, he pulled Eddie’s head so it was resting on his leg, ‘’Oh god Eddie,’’ He said examining him, there was blood all over him.

‘’Dustin,’’ You say still trying to hold back your tears but he just kept his eyes on Eddie, ‘’Dustin I am gonna try and find something maybe we can stop the bleeding,’’ You tell him. He doesn’t seem to pay attention so you raise off the ground and start running back toward the RV once again, the sheet in there that could stop the bleeding right?

You ran as fast as you could to the RV still cradling your arm to your chest, you finally made your way back running inside. The sheet was already on the floor so you quickly picked it up running back out of the RV toward Eddie and Dustin, that was when the ground began to shake. You felt the ground shaking and immediately tripped but caught yourself. The loud noise behind you caught your attention and you watched as the gate that was once inside the RV had broken out and it just kept expanding straight ahead, luckily it was opposite of where Dustin was.

The ground shaking was making it hard to walk but you got back to Dustin as fast as you could, you noticed when he came into view that he stood above where Eddie had previously laid on his leg, Eddie laid on the ground shaking with the earth but he wasn’t moving. ‘’Dustin?’’ You yell out at him gaining his attention. When you got close enough you noticed the tears were streaming down his face, ‘’He didn’t-?’’ You couldn’t finish the sentence.

He shook his head before you could finish anyway, ‘’What do we do?’’ He asked and you could clearly hear how emotional he was.

‘’I don’t know-’’ You say glancing around, ‘’I don’t know!’’ You say. ‘’Did you radio Steve? We need to call Steve - Nancy, Nancy will know what to do.’’ You tell him feeling distressed.

‘’I did,’’ He tells you. ‘’No response, from him or anyone else.’’ He tells you.

And it seemed like someone, somewhere was looking out for you and Dustin because only a moment later you heard a voice sounding just a stressed as you felt coming through.

“Y/N! Dustin?” You hear coming from the radio, it was the sweetest sound you had ever heard.

____________

‘’Y/N!’’ You hear your mom call from downstairs, ‘’Phone!’’

‘’Busy,’’ You yell, staring up at the ceiling, not busy at all in fact.

You hear footsteps coming up the stairs and you pull yourself up from the bed resting on your elbows anticipating her opening the door. She swings the door open a moment later, ‘’It’s Steve,’’ She pauses, ‘’Again.’’ You sigh. ‘’He really wants to talk to you honey, he’s probably just worried.’’

‘’Are you going to work?’’ You ask, noticing her scrub uniform.

‘’Yep, lots of shortages. Lots of people packed up and left, I don’t blame them if we had the money we would too.’’ She tells you. ‘’Do you need anything before I leave? Need any more medicine for your arm?’’ She asks and you glance down at the cast.

‘’I’m good,’’ You tell her. ‘’Love you,’’ You tell her before she leaves. Your mom worked as a nurse at the hospital when you finally got out of the upside down you went straight to her and she was pretty much able to help you get in to get your arm that same night although your injuries were nothing compared to some peoples.

A few hours later you were down in the kitchen making a frozen pizza, a little bit after the pizza went in the doorbell rang. You began walking toward the front door when the person decided to knock persistently, ‘’I’m coming!’’ You yell, shaking your head slightly annoyed.

When you pulled the door open Steve Harrington stood in front of you hands in his pockets. You looked at him in shock for a moment which gave him the perfect opportunity to slip in the house, ‘’Can I come in?’’ He asks, already walking through the door.

‘’Sure come on in,’’ You say sarcastically, shutting the door behind you. ‘’What are you doing here?’’ You ask him.

He puts one hand on his hip resting it there, ‘’Well you don’t return calls and it’s been three days.’’ He tells you. ‘’Why are you ignoring me?’’ He asks.

You sigh, ‘’I just needed some time to myself…a lot,’’ You say your eyes are focusing on a single spot on the floor, ‘’A lot happened.’’ You tell him.

‘’I know it did,’’ He says, stepping forward. ‘’Are you okay?’’ He asks.

You shrug your shoulders, ‘’I mean yeah,’’ You tell him but you can tell in your voice that you were about to break.

‘’Hey,’’ Steve says gently, pulling you into a hug, your hands wrapped around his torso as he rests his head on top of yours. ‘’You’re okay now,’’ He tells you.

‘’We just left him Steve,’’ You sob.

You could feel him pull you in closer if that was possible, ‘’We had to get out, and there was no way we could carry him out.’’ He says rubbing comforting circles on your back with his hand.

‘’His uncle-He-He is putting up missing flyers for him.’’ You try to get out your crying not letting you get out a sentence without having to take a deep breath. ‘’My mom she told me they’re all over the hospital.’’

Steve pulls back from you, ‘’Come on,’’ He says walking you to the couch sitting down with you, he still had his arm around you and you curled your body up so it rested on him. ‘’We did what we could, what we had to do.’’ He tries to tell you. ‘’And that doesn’t make what happened any easier but we have to think about what could've happened had we not gotten out when we did. Someone else could’ve been hurt, then what would we have done?’’ He asks you.

‘’It just feels wrong,’’ You tell him. You push yourself up looking at him, ‘’How is Dustin?’’ You ask, realizing you hadn’t talked to him since you got home.

‘’He’s rough,’’ He admits. ‘’But managing.’’

You didn’t say anything after that, you just both sat in silence. An hour or so later your head was in his lap and he was tracing circles on your shoulder as you stared up at the ceiling. ‘’Thanks for coming over,’’ You tell him.

He looks down at you, ‘’This is the only way I could talk to you,’’ He says and you smile sheepishly at him.

‘’Steve?’’ You ask. He hums in response, ‘’I don’t know what happened with you and Nancy and I made a promise I would do this, and I really want to keep it.’’ You start to ramble and Steve looks at you intently. ‘’And I'm just gonna come out and say it instead of beating around the bush-’’ You continue.

‘’Y/N,’’ Steve interrupted you, ‘’Just say it.’’

‘’I’m in love with you, and not in the way best friends love each other.’’ You say watching his eyes widen a bit looking at you as if he was shocked. ‘’And I have been for a while..’’ You pause, not really sure how he was feeling.

‘’You are?’’ He asks. ‘’Since when?’’ He asks.

‘’Since last year,’’ You tell him, ‘’When you got the job at scoops and I was training you I had a crush and we’ve hung out a lot more since and yeah,’’ You explain to him. ‘’And I just-,’’ You pause feeling emotional from the confession. ‘’I just had to tell you, I promised Eddie I would.’’

He glanced up when you mentioned Eddie his facial expressions looked shocked like he didn’t know what to say. “I just had to tell you and if you don’t feel the same-“ You began to say but your were cut short when you felt his hand come up to your cheek he was staring at you not saying a word.

“Steve?” You say breathless from his touch.

He doesn’t say anything instead he leans in his lips touching yours. He was slow with it and delicate, his hand gently resting on your cheek. “I never wanted to ruin anything,” He says when he pulls away. “Last year I realized I felt the same, and then now when we were upside down all I could think was is Y/N safe? That's when I knew.”

He paused for a moment, “And then I heard Dustin on the radio and he was begging us to come and I felt like I couldn’t breathe because he was so vague I thought something happened to you,” He tells you.

You reach your hand up putting it over the one that was on your cheek, “And then I saw you and your hand,” He glances down to the cast.

“I was fine,” You say, offering him a smile, “I was just waiting for you,” You admit. “You always keep me waiting, Harrington,” He smiles.

He leans in kissing you again, “No more waiting around, I’m right here.” He tells you.

______

Thanks for reading! apologies for any mistakes i’m on my phone writing! Let me know how you liked it!

I have like 5 other fics im working on rn so just wanted to post something but Request are open still!

[lowaltitude]

can you do a short steve x reader? i need something to read on my bus ride. fluff maybe?!?!? i don’t want it include the demogorgans

Know What? | Steve Harrington

- Stranger Things

- x Reader (Y/N)

- edit: STEVE’S POV: HERE!

- 2,437 words. Read time: 5-9 minutes

❪ FEM! ❫

───── ❝ description + disclaimer ❞ ─────

𖥻 steve & y/n enemies to lovers? one shot. set in s2. small prologue before s1. You know about the upside down, etc. friends with Nancy.

𖥻 Billy included as a “love interest” for quick story progression. short & probably a bit shitty (it’s 5:30am and i’m angry at tumblr)

───── ❝ prologue - 1982 ❞ ─────

My pants were stained from some jerk spilling his drink at lunch. My shoes had brown and black tyre marks across them from my little brother’s bike. And the cherry on top; I got dress coded for my sleeves being too short. MY SLEEVES, can you believe that? I’d already woken up in a bad mood today, why couldn’t the universe just do me one favour.

I wanted to pound my fist into the metal of my locker, I’d put the combination in more times than I had cared to count but it wouldn’t unlock. All I wanted to do was grab my stupid $80 text book and go to the last class of this awful day.

“Do you need some help?” The voice was right beside me and I turned my head to look at who it was. One of the boys a couple of grades above closing a locker a few down from me.

I ran my tongue over my teeth and went back to turning the lock “No.”

“Are you sure? Because I can—”

“I said, ‘No.’ Which word don’t you understand?”

“Jeez” The boy laughed but you could easily tell how forced it was. “What crawled up your ass?”

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.”

“Well, aren’t we a bloody ray of sunshine.”

I harshly pulled the paper I’d scribbled my locker code down on from my pocket and scanned the numbers. 19 0 75. That’s what i’m putting in!

“Hey” I rolled my eyes at the sound of someone else approaching. Another boy stopped at the locker beside me. He whistled and muttered something under his breath before leaning against the locker and looking at me. “Ok, I’m here. So tell me, what do you want for your next wish?”

I grumbled and dropped the lock, giving up on attempting to unlock it and hoping that since it was our first day we just wouldn’t have to do any actual work.

Turning away from them I began towards my class and just hoped that it would go fast. “What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?”

As I walked into class (late) all eyes turned to me.

“Miss Y/N, was it?” The teacher said, eying the list of student names he had.

“Uh- Yes”

“Late on the first day, that doesn’t set a very good standard… And I hope someone’s already told you about your shirt being inappropriate?”

Gritting my teeth, I forced a smile to stop myself from lashing out at the man. “I’ve been told. I’ll just take my seat now” I shuffled down to the only empty seat in the back of the classroom, some girls shooting me a look of pity but Jonathan Byers greeted me with a cautious smile as I sat beside him.

The teacher let out a deep exasperated sigh. “No textbook, I see. Mr Byers will you please share with her.”

Jonathan pushed the book towards the centre of the table and I sighed, grabbing a pen and opening my notebook.

“What’s the matter with your shirt?” Jonathan whispered.

“Oh, you can’t tell?” I scoffed. “My arms are, quote, very distracting and it’s a shame for a girl like me to be wasting my potential flaunting myself in the hall, unquote.”

Jonathan, seeing how bad my mood was, nodded to himself and went about his studies. Allowing me to marinate in my anger without him getting burned.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

“How was your first day?”

“Oh splendid” I huffed. “High School is absolutely positively amazing”

My mother stared at me for a second before turning her attention to my brother. “How was your first day?”

He happily spilled details of his day, and I sighed to myself. Hopefully tomorrow would be better, and maybe I could apologise to the boys I’d yelled at.

───── ❝ 1984 - 2. Trick Or Treat, Freak ❞ ─────

As I chained my bike up, I couldn’t help but hear the loud sound of an engine. And neither could anyone else apparently since all eyes were on this shining blue car with California license plates.

New kid in Hawkins.

I found Nancy as she stepped out of Steve’s car. She lifted her hand to wave and I saw Steve follow her gaze towards me, the smile disappearing from his face and causing in to appear in mine. I raised my hand to wave back at her but unintentionally caught the eye of the new kid.

He looked around and, since Nancy was across the parking lot, didn’t see anyone waving back so he assumed it was for him.

“Hey” He nodded, smirking as he strutted towards me.

“Oh, hi?” I uttered. “I wasn’t waving to you, actually.”

He forced a short laugh, as if he didn’t believe it. “Sure. I’m Billy. Hargrove.”

“Cool.” Turning away from him, I tugged my backpack straps and smiled at a few girls from my class. The boy followed me and it took me a few seconds to register. “Sorry, am I meant to introduce myself too?”

“It would be nice” He scoffed. Steve and Nancy passed by, Nancy not saying anything while Steve’s jaw was practically on the floor. A disgusted scowl on his face.

“Uh, i’m Y/N.” I did my best to mimic his voice as closely as I could.

“See you ‘round then?”

I forced a sickeningly sweet grin on my face. “Probably not.”

Billy turned into the administration office and I continued to my locker, Steve already raising an eyebrow at me.

“Problem, Harrington?” He simply hummed in response, closing his locker door and going off to his class.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

Tommy H made his way though the crowd of students trying to get home, leaning on the lockers between mine and Steve’s. “What’s your costume?”

“Nance and I are Joel and Lana, from Risky Business”

“What about you?” Tommy looked at me expectantly and I just stared at him. My mind blank. Steve was gawking at the back of his best friends head, as shocked by the question as I was.

“Excuse me?”

“Your costume. What is it?”

“Trust me, not even make-up can make her look good” Steve scoffed. We’d been somewhat ‘nicer’ to each other since he began dating Nancy, but of course he decided to be a dick like always.

I hummed, closing my locker. “Weird you think you need a costume, since you’re always pretending to be something you’re not”

Steve opened his mouth to make a comeback but I was sick of looking at him already. I poked my tongue out at him, swinging my backpack over my shoulder and staring the walk out of the building.

Billy was just outside the door, lighting a cigarette. “Hey” He spoke as I almost bumped into him.

“Hi” I continued walking, Billy deciding to walk alongside me.

He stood idly as I unchained my bike. “You don’t drive”

“Amazing observation”

“You don’t like me”

“Ding ding ding. Another winner”

Steve walked out the door, stopping in his tracks when he saw Billy and I talking. Billy turned to look at where my eyes had wandered, clicking his tongue when he saw Steve there.

“Ah, you’ve got a crush on that guy?”

“Ew. Steve? God no.” I fake gagged aloud, beginning to walk with my bike, Billy jogging to catch up with me. “He’s got a girlfriend, and he hates me”

“So, will I see you at that halloween thing tonight?”

“Not a chance”

“Y/N” Steve called. I looked past Billy, giving him a questioning look. “Come over here”

I groaned, turning my bike so I could go towards Steve. Billy only laughed, pulling his keys from his pocket and taking another puff of smoke “I’ll save you a drink”

“I’m not going” I beamed, the two of us parting ways. “What?” I hissed at Steve.

“I think you need to stay away from that guy”

“I think you pretending to care about me is annoying”

“He’s an asshole”

“And you’re what, better than him?” Steve blinked a few times, not daring to answer.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

The music was blaring as I entered Tina’s house. A few steps inside and I already wanted to go home, regretting my bold costume choice of just not wearing a costume and found my way to the kitchen for a drink.

“We’ll don’t you look…” I looked over Billy’s costume “Shirtless”

“You did show up, I knew I was irresistible.” He passed me a plastic cup before scooping another in the punch bowl. Walking out of the kitchen, Billy followed closely behind me.

I sipped my heavily spiked punch and eyed the blonde “You’re obsessed with me a little bit, aren’t you?”

He laughed, leaning against the wall and looking down at me. “Youre obsessed with yourself if you believe that” He brought his cup to his lips, looking around the room and giving a few suggestive winks or smiles to girls that were drooling over than him. Each girl would immediately perk up, turning to the friends surrounding her and practically go into a giggling frenzy.

“Why do they like you?” I wondered aloud. “I get it, they think you’re ‘like totally smoking hot’ but they don’t know you”

Billy opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by almost everyone near the kitchen gasping, I tried to peer past him but failed to see what was so shocking. He lost interest quickly, the party returning to how loud it had been a moment ago and Billy giving me his attention again. “Mystery is part of my charm.”

I hummed in response, sipping my drink again when a door down the hall slammed, Steve rushing out. He glanced at me, keeping his head down as he went towards the door. “Harrington?” I questioned but he kept walking. I pushed my cup into Billy’s hand and pushed my way through he crowd to the door. “Harrington!” I repeated, the door closing behind me.

“What? What?!” He shouted, throwing his arms in the air and turning to look at me.

“You never leave a party early, you’re King Steve.” I walked down the steps, clinging my arms to my chest in defence against the cold breeze. “I know youre a douche but I’m still concerned. So what’s wrong?”

“Why don’t you ask Nancy? Or did you already know?”

“Know what?”

Steve walks closer, now only a few inches away, anger radiating off of him. I could even smell the alcohol on his breath.“You know.”

“Jesus, I’m trying to help you but if you cant put this petty feud aside for 15 seconds then I’m going back inside” I pushed his chest, turning back around. Steve moved quickly, now blocking the porch steps.

“I’m surprised you didn’t make it a point to tell me, wouldn’t that have made you happy? Rubbing it in my face that Nancy doesn’t love me!”

“I—” Steves words slowly sank in and I registered what he had just said to me. “She doesn’t love you?”

He paused, the anger fading as he realise I hadn’t known but I felt the anger now boiling inside of me

“You’re so good to her, too good to her. You fought a man eating monster from another dimension for her! How could she not love you?”

Steve stepped forward, one hand of his gently placed on my hip. His face coming close to mine, eyes closing, lips puckering up, and all the other sounds of the world going silent— the wind in the trees, the party in full swing— all silent, as Steve’s highly educated lips met mine. I was frozen.

And then below this, my heart reacting. Not a loud thump. Not a leap. More like a melody. My heart moving between two elements: one, excitement, and the other, fear. I tried to pay attention, push him away from me but I found myself unable to. My eyes fluttering shut as the heat rose in my cheeks. Finally, Steve broke off the kiss. He looked at me blankly a moment, and without a word he walked away, rushing down the front lawn and away from the party. I touched my finger to my lips before turning to see if Steve was gone before slowly walking back up the steps and in to the house.

“Hold the door” Jonathan spoke as I got inside, he held up a drunken Nancy. Stepping out the door, I put Nancy’s other arm over my shoulder to help him. “Thanks”

We made our way to his car in silence, carefully putting Nancy in the passenger seat.

“Do you need a ride?” Jonathan asked, closing the car door.

“No, no. I’ll find a way, just get her home.” I was afraid if I stayed with them I’d tell them what just happened, and I didn’t full understand it so how would they? Jonathan nodded and climbed in the drivers seat, startling the car as I went back inside again. Billy was leaned against the wall still holding my cup as he sipped on his.

“Hey” He grinned “I was afraid you weren’t coming back.”

“Yeah, I’m ready to head out.”

“Let me drive you, parties boring anyway.” He shrugged, throwing his head back and finishing his drink. Putting my drink on a random table, I followed closely behind him and out the door for the last time. He twirled his keys around his finger, walking down the lawn in an almost perfectly straight line, indicating to me he was sober enough to drive. Hopefully. I doubt there would be many cars on the road, and it would only take 2 minutes to get to my house.

Billy’s car was nice to say the least, and he instinctively turned down the radio as the car started. He didn’t say anything for a minute but when he finally spoke I barely even noticed him talking.

“What?”

He exhaled sharply out his nose, as if angry I hadn’t been listening but not wanting to show it. “I asked what was wrong with Harrington, why’d he storm off?”

“He was too drunk to tell me” I shrugged, hoping it was a decently believable lie. Billy nodded seemingly accepting it. “Turn left”

He did as I instructed, and parked when I pointed out my house. “Nice place.”

“It’s alright.” I opened the door, Steve was still running though my head and I wanted to think of anything but him even for a few more minutes. The lights were off, my parents probably long asleep. “Do you want to come inside?”

[i-me-mine]

As time goes by | Chapter 2: Pouring rain

Pairings: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Word Count: 4.3k

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | AO3

You take some painkillers with a glass of water before leaving your home. You had a hell of a night - your father arrived late hurling insults and breaking things, nightmares plagued your sleep, and when morning came, you were reminded that the fight you had with Eddie was real. But you are hopeful that things will get better. They have to.

Eddie has band practice during the morning, and you have your art club assignment with Jonathan to complete - Walking in the woods helped clear your mind a bit, so you felt a bit better once you arrived at Byer’s house when Joyce was leaving.

“Hey dear, how are you?” Joyce hugged you and then gave you a good look. “Seems that you haven’t slept much; look at those circles in your eyes… ask Jonathan for a cup of coffee. He is in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I have to go; I’m already late… but take care, ok?” 

You stepped inside and reached the kitchen, and found Jonathan already eating. He pushes the plate full of cookies to you, “Thank Will for these.” and gets up. “What do you want? Coffee, tea, milk…”.

“Tea would be great, thanks” - Jonathan prepares and gives you the cup when he finally notices you. “You look awful, bunny… what’s going on?”

The pet name warms you a bit. When you were kids, you found Jonathan crying in the woods about a rabbit his father made him kill. He felt so guilty about it that he buried the rabbit and kept coming back to mourn it. 

You felt how sad he was and started to make him company during those visits. You were in silence most of the time; not good starting conversations back then, but he didn’t mind as he was not much of a talker too. Finally, after a week, you gave him a drawing of himself holding a bunny. He smiled at you, “Thank you, bunny.”. That was when your friendship solidified, and he never stopped calling you bunny. 

Back to the present, you asked him, “Good or bad news first?” trying to smile. “Good first, please.” 

“Well, next Friday, I’m going on a date…”. And you could see how Jonathan got excited. “This is awesome, bunny!! Take care, people of Hawkings! A new competitor is coming full force to shake the dating scene of this small city.”

“Ok, no need to be sarcastic, I know I’m throwing Earth out of balance by being asked on a date.” You said, laughing.

“Don’t say that! You are a great girl, and I’m glad that finally someone saw it and asked you out. But hey, what about the bad news?”

“Well, Eddie didn’t get happy as you did... He was so mad that we had a fight, and basically, he said he doesn’t want to speak with me anymore.” Your heart ached a little by remembering the fight. 

“That’s because he is an idiot!!”

“He is not!” you replied quickly.

“C’mon, it doesn’t matter if he does not like that you are going out or whom you are dating… it’s your friend that matters the most. You have to stay with her, you stand by her side and support her decisions, even if they are dumb ones, and deep down, you wish that she would change her mind and see that all she needs is right next to her and not with a stupid King of Jocks that worries more about his popular image than about her…”.

“I guess we are not speaking about Eddie anymore, right?” you said with a supportive smile. You know that Jonathan is in love with Nancy and that seeing her with Steve hurts him. And you also know that while Nancy cares a lot about Jonathan, she is so happy to be with Steve finally... Sometimes it is hard to be friends with all of them, but you do your best not to be caught in the drama and to try to support them the best you can. 

“I’m sorry, I guess I got lost in my thoughts. Let’s try to get to work, shall we?” you nodded and followed him to his bedroom. You both spent the morning working on your assignment, which consisted of putting side by side your drawings and his photographs, showing the different perspectives of the same things, and detailing the techniques and compositions.

Jonathan cooked lunch for you, and as you were getting ready to return home, he asked you to follow him again to his bedroom. “I know you are sad because of Eddie’s reaction and afraid of what this may mean for you…”.

And then he opened a box with many photos, going through them to find something. So you take the pictures and see photos from colleagues, people in the streets… “You are not taking creepy photos of others without permission again, are you?” 

He then picked one of the photos and looked back at you. “No more creepy photos… although you know that photos still help me read people better. But I just wanted to give you this, so you can remember what you have and that it’s greater than just a small fight.” then he hands you a photo.

It’s you and Eddie, sitting next to each other in the park in a middle of a good laughing session as he was tickling you. You wished you could pinpoint exactly when that picture was taken, but a scene like that happened so many times… you both seem so genuinely happy in the photo, like a perfect moment frozen, allowing you to keep it forever. “Thank you.”, you murmured while getting emotional, and then he hugs you. “C’mon, I’ll give you a ride home.” 

Back at the trailer park, you decide to talk with Eddie after waving goodbye to Jonathan and holding the photo inside your pocket.  You knock at his door, rehearsing inside your head what you will tell him when Wayne opens the door, a confused look crossing his face when he sees that it’s you. 

“Hey, kiddo, what happened? Is Eddie ok?” You then match his confusing look. Why was he asking about Eddie?

“I hope so, Wayne. I want to talk to him…”.

“Oh… he said he would be away the whole day, not to wait for him to come home… I thought he was with you.” you give Wayne a small smile and turn around, returning home. 

So he would be out today… not mentioning where he went to. Was he avoiding meeting you on purpose? Well, he couldn’t do it forever. So you decide you will chat with him tomorrow at school.

Ok, now you don’t have any doubts that he is doing all he can to avoid you. He was not at your usual meet spot at school, he didn’t come to your locker during the morning to talk, and when you tried to reach him at his, he slammed it shut and hurried to the other side. 

You make one last attempt, entering the cafeteria, hoping he will look at you, but he does not. You take your place at the table right in front of Nancy. 

“I can’t believe Eddie and Jonathan both found out about your date before I did. I thought that you would tell me first!” She seemed disappointed but still smiled at you, inviting you to tell her more. 

“I’m sorry, I would have told you earlier, but I knew you were spending the weekend with Steve…” it was a small lie, you know… but hopefully this would make Nancy feel better.

“Ok, no hard feelings! I want to know all the details, and we have to think what you are going to wear - no way I’m letting you go on a date wearing one of those band tees…” and you both started giggling while Nancy began describing what she believed that would be perfect for you to wear.

Eddie was staring at you at the other side of the cafeteria, thinking, “Sure, she must be all excited telling Wheeler all about Ben and daydreaming about her date.” 

“Earth to Eddie! Earth to Eddie! Hey man, are you listening?” - Jeff was poking Eddie, trying to get his attention. 

“Sure, man, whatever.” mumbled Eddie.

“You are acting so weird today… and you seem annoyed…” But Eddie had already disconnected from the conversation again, and Jeff got no answers. 

You hurried home after your work shift, hoping to be able to talk with Eddie. The sound of loud music blaring through the trailer Eddie lived in made you smile. He was home, and you two could finally talk.

But you knock several times, and he doesn’t answer. You try to reach his bedroom window to get his attention and see him closing the curtains. You can’t believe that he is acting so childish. You could feel the anger rising within you. You were undoubtedly sad that Eddie was ignoring you, but anger made you feel better. You let it wrap around your heart, shielding you from the pain. If Eddie doesn’t want to speak with you, you would also ensure that he cannot. 

The end of the week was approaching fast, and Eddie had still not said a single word to you. You don’t even remember staying apart from each other for so long. But you decided not to try to speak with him anymore. He would have to make a move - even if you were dying to have the chance to talk with him again. 

“Hey, wait!” You see Jeff coming your way. “What’s up, Jeff? Everything good?”

“Far from good… that’s why I’m coming to ask for help. Eddie is so grumpy this week... none of the boys can take it anymore. What’s going on? Could you talk with him and ask him to be a little less dickhead to us?” 

“Eddie is not speaking with me, so I’m afraid I can’t help” So it seems that Eddie is being a pain not only to you.

“Wow, how so? Well, that would explain his shitty attitude this week. Do you think you two can get along before our Hellfire meeting? You know he will give us hell if he is having a hard day.” he was looking at you with puppy eyes that seemed to scream, “Please!” 

“I’m busy, so I’m not coming, Jeff.. sorry. But you and the boys will be fine. Have fun!” and you turned around and left before any more questions were asked.

“Oh boy, we are so screwed if these two don’t make amends.”

“You got this.”, you say to yourself while looking in the mirror. Then, you take a deep breath and check again to see if everything is fine. It took you a long time to get your hair in a way you think is minimally acceptable. The lipstick makes your lips look smooth, and the mascara makes your eyes shine (or that’s what Nancy told you). 

The jeans look good on you, and your red shirt shows a hint of your collarbone. Red looks good on you, or so Eddie says. But, no, it would be best if you don���t think about Eddie now. 

“Where do you think you are going?” You hear the rash voice of your father. “I’m going out.” you reply. 

“No, you won’t.” You can see that he is drunk again. You try to avoid him and get closer to the front door, but he starts yelling insults your way. “Father, please…” you beg him, but this only angers him more, and he starts to throw things your way. You do your best to avoid being hit and run out the door.

Adrenaline pumps your veins when you arrive at the arcade, but you take a deep breath, decide to forget about this, and enjoy your night. Ben is already closing the door and opens a smile upon seeing you. 

“You look amazing! I’m glad you came.” You are unsure if your cheeks are red because you are blushing or if it’s still from all that has happened. But you smile back and say, “Thank you!”.

You follow Ben to his car and listen to him while he tells you about his week and work day. A booth is already waiting for you when you arrive at the diner. The waitress comes and gives you the menu.

“The beef sandwiches are awesome. You’ll love them.” then you are not sure if this means that you should let him decide what you both will be eating or if you are still free to choose other things. You start to feel silly as you have no idea how to behave, maybe you should have asked Nancy what you had to do. 

As you nod, Ben goes ahead and makes the order. You have to admit, he does make an effort to keep the conversation going, and you try to keep up, but it’s hard. 

He doesn’t like to read, so he doesn’t know any of the books you love. He really likes sports, but you are not into it, so you try to listen while he details how the championship is going. He is excited to tell you about his last vacation trip to California… and ask you about your favorite one… but you never left Hawkins, so you don’t have anything to tell him, so you keep asking him about his trips. Finally, he starts talking about all the colleges he is applying to, how hard it is to choose where to go… and all you can think is that you are not even sure if you can afford to go to college when you finish High school. 

It starts to get very uncomfortable for you, and you are beginning to get desperate. Ben is friendly, but it seems that you have nothing in common. You dreamed about having a nice date, even getting a kiss at the end… and here you are, not even being able to keep a conversation, hands sweaty, wanting to run away. Dates were not supposed to be that hard, were they?

You see the waitress looking at you, and she seems concerned. Does she know how nervous you are? Maybe she also had once a date that was getting weird. She does not say a word, but she goes to the Jukebox and turns it on. You recognize the song, and so does Ben. You both start to hum along; you breathe a sigh of relief and smile back at her, thanking her in your mind for easing things up for you, even if just for a bit. A pouring rain starts. 

“I think we should get going. It’s raining a lot, and it’s already late, let me take you home.” If it weren’t raining, you would try to convince him that he didn’t have to give you a ride, but there was no way for you to go home alone in that rain. He paid the bill and walked you to the car. “Where to?” 

“I live at Forest Hill.” You say in a low voice. “The trailer park?!” you could sense in his voice that Ben didn’t expect that, but you just nodded, and he murmured, “Ok.”. The ride back was awkward. Quiet. Tense. Ben was not saying anything, and neither were you. You pointed to your house when you entered the trailer park, and Ben stopped the car. You knew that it was crazy of you to wish that, but you wanted Ben to kiss you at that moment. And you were unsure if it was because of him or because you just wanted something good to happen. 

“Well, thank you for the night. You are a great friend; I guess I’ll see you around.” Ben said, unlocking the car door. The subtle rejection burned you from the inside. “Sure, thanks, Ben. See you.”

You stepped out of the car, looking for your keys in your bag in front of your door. When you looked back, Ben had already left. “What a great date we had, huh?” you say to yourself while unlocking the door. But when you tried to open it, it opened just a little. “No, God… please, no”. Your father had put the door chain on. So you could not open the door. You tried to knock, but no answer. You hit harder and yelled, calling your father, but it was useless. 

You walked a bit and tried to open one of the windows, trying to find a way to enter your home, but it just didn’t work. You walk to the middle of the road, trying to think about your options, but the truth is that you don’t know what to do. 

You open a broken smile, thinking about how ironic it was… you were rejected twice… one time by Ben, another by your father, who left you outside on purpose. You were getting soaked. It was too much to handle, and you started to cry, the tears streaming down your face blending perfectly with the raindrops. You are cold, all alone and just want to curl up like a child. 

Eddie whips his trailer door open, causing you to startle slightly. He is looking right at you. God, you miss him so much that just seeing him hurts. You keep looking at each other in silence. You then see him raising his arms on his sides, which you interpret as a “What?”, a way of sending you away or complaining because you were there, disturbing everything. 

“Third time’s a charm.” you think… it was the 3rd time someone rejected you that night, but nothing hurts more than Eddie’s rejection… because he used to be your safe place. You stand there in your rain-soaked clothes, your arms crossed in front of your chest… because it’s cold, and you are trying to hold together the pieces of your broken heart, you are trying to hold yourself together, but you are already falling apart. You close your eyes, wishing you could disappear. 

Eddie keeps staring at his blank notebook. He had fun at Hellfire, but it was not the same without you. And the boys complained again, saying that he was intolerable. Ok, he admits, he was impatient and tense… he had been feeling this way during the whole week. There had been nothing new added onto the pages of that notebook, he just had no inspiration or motivation to do anything being away from you. 

You haven’t been gone for long, but it feels like a lifetime for him. He has been sleeping so strangely at night, and he has missed you terribly… but you seemed to be handling things great so he decided not to make a move. 

He then heard the sound of a car. He looks out the window and sees you and Ben in the car but turns quickly. “I don’t want to see them kissing.” but his mind is already painting the whole scene for him. He presses his fingers in his eyes as if it would make it go away, but it doesn’t. Then he hears loud noises, and when looking again, he sees you knocking hard on your door. Something is wrong. He knows it. 

He hurries to put on pants and a shirt, runs to the living room, and opens the door. He sees you standing there, all soaked, seeming so sad… and all the anger he felt during the last couple of days vanishes. The goodbye, the attempts to avoid you… they mean nothing at all; nothing matters, just you. You are looking at him, but your face does not seem happy to see him. He wonders if maybe you really don’t want anything related to him anymore. He opens his arms in a shy attempt to invite you to hug him, to come back to him… but he sees you crossing your arms around you and closing your eyes.

He doesn’t care if you are going to reject him; he just can’t let you stay there. So he steps out in the rain and runs to you. He is right in front of you, but you are still with your eyes shut. He then asks, “Are you hurt?”

“Are you hurt?” You think you are dreaming. It’s so good to hear his voice again. You ponder the question. Emotionally? You were hurt beyond repair. Physically, no. So you decide to go with the most straightforward answer. But you notice that you cannot articulate the word when you open your mouth to say no.

You open your eyes and stare at Eddie, shocked that he is really there. He looks at you with those chocolate button eyes filled with worry and you notice his face details, his wet curly hair. Was he always this beautiful? Or did you just miss him? You want to say something but can’t find your voice. Dammit. 

“I’m taking you home; hold on, ok?” He picks you up in his arms and returns to his trailer. He does it so effortlessly that you feel like flying, You wonder again if you are dreaming. The part of you who was fueled by anger the whole week is screaming inside your head, “So now you care? Don’t pretend that you’re worried about me! Leave me alone as you did all these days!”. 

It’s still raining a lot, and you are both so wet, yet you can feel all his warmth, and that other part of you just thinks, “Please, let me enjoy this, even if it’s just for a bit. I need this, I can deal with the pain later.” When he puts you on the couch, you can feel his absence, and you shiver, thinking that it was over too soon. “Let me get some towels for you, be right back.”

Recently you were feeling more like a stranger each time you came home… but Eddie’s trailer… 

It was inviting and cozy, just like always. It felt like home more than your own house. Maybe it’s because you have so many happy memories there. Eddie and Wayne, who you consider family, have accepted you into their lives as if you were one of their own. And maybe that’s why it was hard losing all of that while Eddie was giving you the cold shoulder. 

“Here, a towel and some of my clothes. You should take a hot shower; I don’t want you to get sick”. You were going to complain, say that it was not needed, but his hand was already on your cheek, a small gesture of affection. “Please, sweetheart…” he said in a softer voice, and you melted. It’s been so long since he demonstrated anything good to you… you were not going to waste it; you would do as he asked. 

After the shower, you felt more alive, and things seemed more real. You inhale the scent of the clothes he gave you… they smell like Eddie. You wear them, cloaking your body in their comfort, and then return to the living room. He is relieved to see you back, as he was worried that you would be hiding in the bathroom forever, not wanting to see him. He puts a blanket around your shoulders. “I also need a shower, but I’ll be super quick. Stay here, don’t leave me, please.” You smile, thinking there is nowhere else you would like to be. He smiles back at you while you get more comfortable on the couch. 

Eddie is relieved when he comes back and sees that you are waiting for him. There are so many things he would like to tell you. “I missed you so much, I was so stupid, could you forgive me? I was so worried. I care about you so much. Please, never leave me again. Things are not the same without you here, you mean so much to me.” The list goes on… 

But when he opens his mouth, he can only say, “Do you want me to make you tea?”. You nod, and he starts preparing. He is worried because you haven’t said anything yet. But you are still here, which gives him peace of mind. 

He puts the tea cup in your hand. You are then able to say, “Thank you, Eds… for everything.” Your voice is filled with love and kindness, as he remembered. He is so glad to hear it again. You drink your tea, and he is afraid that now you will want to leave. But you do not move. You are not sure what you should do now. 

“Bad night?” he asks. “Bad week, and tonight was even worse.” you reply. He feels guilty he gave you a hard time this week, but he also knew that there was more to it. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” 

You wondered if you wanted to. Yes, you want to talk about it. You want to discuss many other things, but are too tired and have a lot to think about. “Not right now.”, you say with a tired voice.

He may be pushing his luck, but he approaches you and asks, “Is it ok if I hug you?”. You give an awkward laugh and a low “yes.” He goes a step further.

He presses his lips to your forehead and closes his eyes while hugging you. He is devastated to think he hurt you when you did nothing but take care of him since you met him as a kid. Then, he starts to rock you back and forth in his arms, trying to ease the tension you both were feeling. 

“Are you feeling ok now?” he asked. You nodded.

“Can I stay here?” you asked, hoping he would say yes, as you had nowhere else to go this night.

“Of course, sweetheart. I think you should get some rest”. 

A long conversation about everything that has happened would be necessary, and you know that. But just for today, you would allow yourself to enjoy a quiet and safe night. You will deal with everything tomorrow.

Read next chapter

Notes: I've done my best, but as English is not my first language, and this had no proofreading, there may be minor mistakes; feel free to highlight any of them in the comments so I can adjust - Feedback is always appreciated too

@sidthedollface2 @bimbobaggins69 @roxy9295

[satoruyes]

caught blue handed (blue balls reference there)

steve harrington x gn!reader (one shot/drabble?? idk the difference) 580 words

warnings// unfaithful!reader, so angst?? , smut!! voyeurism??

prompt: your boyfriend calling you while they're balls deep, you not stopping when the phone rings, forcing you to answer and speak as if you arent clenching around them | credit: @meduim-rare-bimbo

m.list | navi

“fuck baby, right there,” steve says, his hands on your hips guiding you up and down his length. As obedient as you are you follow his orders and continue riding him at a steady pace. He starts to encourage you to be louder, the two of you were home alone anyways. His parents out doing whatever, “cmon let me hear you baby, no ones here anyways,” he says, engaging you in a sloppy mid sex kiss. You can only moan in response. The pleasure overriding your senses.

Your phone vibrates and youre too caught in the moment so you ignore it and hope it wasn’t your mother. It vibrates once more and then you hear your ringtone go off. You and steve stare down at the phone trying to get a glance at the caller ID so you start to slow down. You look to go see who it was calling you this late— it’s Jonathan; your boyfriend. the same boyfriend youre cheating on right now. Whoops. You froze and looked at steve, he didn’t even look the least bothered, if anything he had a smug grin. You figured this was a whole ego thing since he seemed to be still salty about Jonathan taking Nancy from him although you hoped this wasn’t just a way for him to get back at jonathan. “answer it,” he says grinning, you pause and started at him to see if he’s serious “now.”

So you oblige, hopping off of steve, well atleast trying to before he grabs you tighter by your waist and flips you over on your back. Putting his dick back inside of you as he reached for your phone on the bed side table. “what has gotten into you harrington,” you say laughing a little bit. He only chuckles back and answers the phone for you.

“hello?” you hear on the other side of the line “ba-babe wuh-whatsup?” you ask. “oh um well i haven’t heard from you and i called your mom and she said you weren’t home,” he says. “oh- uh fuck- i’m sorry Jonathan it must have slipped my -uh mind,” you reply trying to keep composure as steve mercilessly thrusted into your warm insides. “it’s fine babe.. where are you though?” he asks and by the way he asks you swear he already knows.

Guilt was starting to get to you and you knew jonathan was a sweet boy and you honestly didn’t deserve him Nancy kind of broke his heart and now you were going to as well. Maybe you should’ve broke it off when you left california. “hello?” he says again. “oh um- im with robin and steve, we’re- fuck i mean watching a movie,” you stutter out. Steve had sped up at a brutal pace if that was even possible. “oh you’re with steve?” he asks and you can almost sense the jealousy laced in his tone. “ye-yeah well i’m in the bathroom right nn-now though” you reply, jonathan hums in acknowledgment. “well me and argyle are about to go to his place so i’ll call you later, i love you y/n” *silence* “i love you too”

“what the fuck steve.” you say laughing, but feeling slightly guilty about what happened but still on cloud 9 from cumming so hard. “what? you liked it right? must’ve liked it enough to cum on me so fucking hard” he says back. something about making a person cum while theyre on the phone with their boyfriend boosts’ the ego. “whatever you little shit, one time thing” you say back. “sure. sure it is”

i usual write for anime characters but these prompts are too good although i could use some for anime characters (which i will in the future) figured why not write for “stranger things” also i love steve and jonathan that’s why i added the guilt part cause i love him sm i’d never cheat on you bae 😜

© ymylu (2022) reblogs are appreciated! ☆

[chemistryread]

e.m.

she's not you.

disclaimers/tags: female reader. angsty. no triangle, just jealousy. no spoilers.

i want to make a sequel to this, conclude the story, lmk your thoughts pretty please <3

“you broke her heart. you know that, right?”

“well, she told me she didn’t have one. so, it’s hardly my faul-“

“get serious, eddie. you really want me to believe you don’t care?”

“i don’t.”

“okay. she does. she would never say it, but i know.”

“how would you know, henderson?”

“well she’s been hanging out with a steve a lot, and when - not like that - when i talk about you, steve rolls his eyes but she gets stiff, and she sighs. her eyes get cold and she wrings her fingers together like your name is a curse she’s still under. which i think speaks louder than steve’s reaction.”

————————/-/-

later, when the day is over, dustin rejects eddie’s offer for a ride.

“don’t need one, thanks though.”

and he runs off to that same old car.

he sees you on the passenger seat, playing with the radio.

who could imagine you, out of everyone he used to know, would get the privilege to dictate the music playing in steve harrington’s ride. does he like your picks? do you change your taste for him if he doesn’t? does he change his for you?

a smile shines on your face, directed at both boys, before you speed off and he finally climbs inside the van.

—————/-/——

friday, wheeler and henderson manage to get under his skin before he’s even sat down to eat.

“i’m just saying we should it give it a chance, one party doesn’t change who we are deep down, essentially.”

dustin emphasizes the last word, connecting his index and thumb’s fingertips for theatrics.

“a party?”

mike’s obnoxious helmet he calls hair shakes when he jumps at eddie’s sudden appearance at the lunch table. dustin keeps his head down, apprehensive.

he ponders if he ever really gave them reason to be this intimidated outside of D&D afternoons.

“uhm, yeah, well.” he stutters, spit it wheeler. “y/n invited us to this party.”

“more of a get together, she said” the other kid tries to smooth things over, kicking his pale friend in the shin.

“alcohol?” a lot of it, and not for us, steve’s words. “harrington’s gonna be there?” i mean, it’s for former seniors. robin’s going too.

his head is spinning with possibilities. mostly the grotesque visual of you dancing with steve to some brainless pop-y song.

mike is rambling about how he told nancy she can’t go, she’s been to enough of them and to think of jonathan. he got slapped in the arm for that.

“fine, i’ll chaperone.” he’s used to it, but many pairs of eyes shoot up at him, surprised. “if your sister’s not going, someone has to make sure you two don’t steal a can of miller lite to share and end up puking warm beer for the whole night.”

“one can? put a little faith- okay, got it. so you’re driving us?”

shit, he regrets it already.

———————-/-/——

with a swift move, eddie closes the van’s door after the two boys jump out. he’s trying to build up false confidence (no hope for the real thing), even though he can taste the bile in his throat.

he’s been to a party or two before, crashing into some punk kids’ houses, following the crowd after a small local concert.

this is different. these people know him, if they remember him.

walking up to the open door, a couple of kids smoking outside are already pointing at him.

he throws them a look. he’s not violent, but they don’t know that.

turning around, walking backwards and talking to the strangely relaxed boys, he grabs them by the shoulders.

“i’m gonna circle, if anyone bothers you, find me.” they seem very uninterested, not concerned. puffing his chest out, eddie continues. “oh, and this does not make you men. not yet. monday, you’re still gonna be the insufferable little idiots who keep tripping on their own shoelaces. remember that.”

god, he hopes no one inside saw him do the finger guns.

stepping in, more people give him a side eye, but most look away and pay him no mind.

without his shadows following suit, he feels a little clumsy. definitely out of his element.

sniffling and tugging his leather jacket closer, he walks to the kitchen to find something to drink.

the bodies filling up the small space don’t lend him way, and he’s not scared to push, earning some glares. he shrugs, mumbling an apology.

at the end of the room, there’s finally some space to breathe.

eddie snaps a beer can out of the package, hesitating to open it, noticing it’s definitely been sitting there for a while.

pouting, his eyes look around to see if anyone else is drinking these.

instead, he immediately finds you.

you’re hanging out with steve and robin buckley, leaning on a wall.

the former’s got one arm next to your head, gesturing.

a year ago, that same move would’ve nauseated you and angered eddie. half of that is not the same anymore.

there’s some other people surrounding you in a circle, but you seem more interested in what the boy-who-used-to-be-king is saying, laughing so hard the red cup leaves the grip from your teeth and you bend down.

a whole body laugh. you look goofy, genuinely enjoying yourself.

if dustin was here, eddie would talk about not missing when he was the one getting giggles out of you. the way you would be looking just at him. smile spreading through your entire face, reaching your eyes, which were crinkled and he’d kiss the lines sweetly.

oh, no, he doesn’t miss any of that.

he stared for too long and got caught, the short haired freckle-faced girl nudging you and singling him out in the kitchen.

your eyes meet, and he drops the can on the floor, spraying beer everywhere. he just might be everyone’s favorite person in this party!

when he comes back up to set the dented aluminium back on the counter, you’re there.

smiling.

“what are you doing here?”

your tone is friendly, but in a ‘good cop’ type of way. it’s inquisitive.

“hello to you too, darling. i was invited.”

“by mike and dustin?” you challenge. god, your eyes are so sexy when you know he’s lying. “here, don’t drink that.”

your fingers brush with his, taking the can off his hands.

like you’ve been here before, you stretch up to grab two red cups from the file on the top shelf. spinning, he can’t see what you pour into them.

turning back, you’re already sipping from yours and handing the other one to him.

you’re watching.

eyes locked, he gulps down the liquid without checking its color first. the burning is refreshing to his accustomed throat, chuckling at your pick.

to his delight, you laugh along with him.

“it’s steve’s dad’s bourbon. nice, huh?”

now he coughs. “this is harrington’s place?”

you step into his personal space.

(he’s glad to be wearing perfume. something old he bought a long time ago at the mall.)

whispering in his ear, “and you just deliberately walked in.”

pulling back, you’re grinning in his face. he rolls his eyes but follows when you nod for him to anyways.

going through a sliding door, eddie glances back at his two former classmates, curiously observing. robin’s arms are crossed, but she’s half smiling, knowingly. steve’s arm is still leaning against the wall, but his lips are pursed and his stare is cold. he doesn’t seem too happy.

————-/-/——

out in the backyard, the two of you sit on the rusty swings.

“you don’t feel weird inviting two freshmen to your adult party?”

“don’t you feel weird being friends with two freshmen when you’re nearing twenty?”

touché.

“they’ve never been to one. it’s best if their first is where we can keep an eye on them. it’s steve’s house and we’re all here. no one’s getting shitfaced. it’s easy.” eddie never thought he’d hear you call a house party with these people easy. “plus, i told dustin i’d share my shotgun and radio privileges in the car if mike and him don’t touch any alcohol or drugs. it’s under control. i don’t think they’re gonna like this too much either way, so-”

“sorry, but to hear you talk about him so casually is very trippy.”

eddie laughs, but it’s not as natural as he intended. it’s petty.

he’s not looking, but he can tell your face is contorting into something akin to disappointment.

why ruin the mood, munson?

well, because it’s what he does.

“why are you really here?”

a long swig of bourbon, and he answers truthfully.

“to check up on you. make sure you’re not making any mistakes.”

bitterness scapes your lips. “and what would that look like? a mistake.”

“let’s see, he’s got needlessly tall hair and eagle-like eyebrows-”

“jesus, eddie.”

of course he’s embarrassed to be this childish in front of you, but he’ll consider it atonement.

“i just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

your scoff is impetuous, gasping in disbelief.

it takes a second, but you come back strong, voice unwavering.

“a little too late, don’t you think? unless, you mean that type of thing is reserved for you. in which case, showing up here to guarantee it was the right move.”

his chest tightens, fingers balling into fists and breathing deep.

“i said sorry.”

“and i’m trying to be your friend." you sound so sick of him, it crushes him. “but it’s hard when you’re acting like this.”

“jesus christ, i don’t want to be your friend, isn’t that obvious?” he’s up now, pacing in front of you, ignoring your hurt stare. “i- i- i miss you. the way things were. i fucked up, i know but-”

“you said her name, eddie.”

his heart sinks remembering the moment. rings scratch his eyelids when he rubs them, trying to fight the memory off.

“it was just an accident, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“you said her name. it means something. that you were thinking about her, wishing it was her. it means ‘you’re not good enough’.”

no, no, it’s not at all like that.

it was so stupid.

maybe then, he couldn’t see what he had right in front of him. too obsessed with a crush on the cute cheerleader who was living her own life without remembering they ever met.

but he’s learned from it. chrissy is not who he wants, she’s not even a thought. she is but a fond memory of purer naive days. he was a kid.

you have always been better than what he deserved.

the words choke in his throat, and he can’t let them out.

so you get up, walking past him.

“you should go. mike and dustin will be fine.”

just like that, you disappear back inside.

he chugs the rest of his drink, getting in his van and slapping the steering wheel repeatedly.

now he had to go to home alone, having made a fool out of himself again, and try not to think about steve harrington being the shoulder you’d cry on.

[thegreencanary]

The Wrong One

Based on this request!

Summary: The gang goes out to a party and Billy has to stay behind with the kiddos. Until he gets a call.

Paring: Billy Hargrove x Female Reader

TW: Fighting, Cursing, Breaking the Law, Light sexy times (no full smut), Smoking. MINORS DNI. I’LL GET HOPPER ON YOUR BUTT.

A/N: this is my original work. I give NO ONE permission to copy it or post it somewhere else claiming as their own.

P.S: I was almost done and forgot to save the draft so now I have to START OVER 😭😭😭

7:45pm

Leather pants, Judas Priest T-shirt, and red heels; you felt good. Nancy, Vickie and Robin were in the kitchen pre-gaming, Jonathan and Eddie were in his van smoking and Steve was probably still screwing around with his look in the mirror. You managed to steal away to the room with the phone and made a call.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come tonight? I’m pretty sure El and Max can take care of that whole group…”

Billy had to play babysitter tonight, it was his turn; but you didn’t like going to parties without him. He was your safety net, it didn’t help that you’d been in love with him for years.

“I know they can, but Neil isn’t gonna be happy if I leave Max with kids her age…you know—“

“No I understand. We’re both babysitting tonight.”

Billy’s deep, sweet laugh made you smile and play with the phone cord. God you were in deep.

“Yeah I’d take the brats over drunk Wheeler any day. Plus you’ve got Princess Steve and I’m assuming Jonathan is getting high with Eddie.”

“Yes, yes and yes. BUT Nancy and Jonathan will be in a room before midnight screwing each others brains out. Eddie and his new boo thang will probably be the first to leave the party and Robin, Vickie, Steve and I have fun together.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line.

“You and Steve are going to be hunting tonight. I swear to God if you get drunk and hook up with Harrington I’ll never let you forget about it.”

“Oh come on Billy. Not in a million years. He’s like my brother! If anything I’ll be wingmaning him tonight and flying solo like always. ”

The pause was even longer this time. It felt heavy, a little awkward. You always stayed single because no one matched up to Billy in your mind.

“Well…make sure you have my number on you. If shit goes south call me. Or make it easy for someone else to call me so I can come help.”

“You got it. Hopefully you won’t have to ruin your night to come save us dumb drunks.”

“You’re cute when you’re drunk. MAX WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU— I gotta go, Max just started my car I’m gonna kill her.”

You chuckled as he hung up. A bright red blush painting your face as he called you cute.

“Y/N!!!!!! Come onnnnn we’re leaving!!”

Nancy was already drunk. This was going to be a long night.

—————————————————————

11:55pm

Eddie and his partner left. Nancy and Jonathan were nowhere to be seen and you laughed to yourself. You really should start placing bets on these things. You’d found a couch to sit on while the party raged around you. Vickie and Robin were secluded in a corner, away from all the dumb drunk idiots. You sipped your beer, not really feeling up to partying much longer, when two guys sat on either side. Immediately you tense up and looked for a safety net. You could see Robin, that was good.

“What do you think is better? A guy who plays sports or a guy who has a nice car?”

The one leaned in, a little too close, and asked. He smelled of vodka. The other put his arm around you over the couch.

“Well…my boyfriend drives a Camaro and plays basketball so…I won’t accept anything less than both.”

“I could beat your boyfriends ass in basketball.”

“And I could beat his car on the road.”

You smirked.

“But it would take two of you to beat one of him.”

God you were uncomfortable. You wished Billy was there, and you wished you wouldn’t have to lie about him being your boyfriend. The one who was trying to prove he had a nice car touched your thigh and you stood up quickly.

“Goodbye boys.”

“Wait! Hold on hot stuff. What’s your name at least?”

You shuddered. Hot stuff. Gross.

“Sixx. My friends call me Sixx.”

It was a fake name that was always the sign of a red flag. Everyone had their own, you picked Sixx because of Nikki Sixx.

You walked towards the emptier part of the house where Vickie and Robin were in conversation. You slipped into the conversation with ease and both girls could tell you were uncomfortable. Without even mentioning it, the two of them covered you and that helped lot.

What you didn’t realize is the other one reached in your pocket and took your keys when the loud one touched your leg. Billy’s number was on your keys.

Ring…ring….ring…..ri-

“Whoever this is you better have a good fucking reason for calling me right now.”

“Your girlfriend is gonna get her ass beat on the front lawn and there is nothing you can do about it. Sixx is our whore now. You little bitch.”

They hung up, high fived each other and went back to the party. The one stuck your keys in his pocket. They were going to see you again.

——————————————————

12:13am

Steve was MIA which you were kind of proud of, while you Vickie and Robin were starting to have a really good time. The commotion at the door grabbed everyone’s attention though.

“Where is she???”

That voice sounded really familiar. You tried to peak over the crowd but it wasn’t hard to spot him. Billy stormed through the party, sweat dripping down his chest, the golden hair placed perfectly around his face.

“Billy?”

You called out and his head snapped in your direction. The audible signs and groans of disappointment from all the other girls at the party were drowned out when he wrapped you tightly in his body.

“Well hello to you too?”

You muffled into his chest. His hug was desperate, not too far off from the one he gave you after you saved his ass at the mall. After about a minute and a half he finally let you go, worry ghosted over his face but it was being relieved as he looked you up and down.

“You’re okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Billy closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’ll tell you in a later. Where is everyone?”

The party just continued as if Billy’s dramatic entrance didn’t happen. A few people came around and said hi to him but he just ignored them as the two of you talked.

“Robin and Vickie are right over there and…”

You hesitated as you felt Billy hug you from behind as you pointed to Robin and Vickie. He was being very touchy. Not that it bothered you but it was a little out of character for him.

“…and Steve is missing in action it I’m sure he’s getting his own.”

Billy

You were answering his question but he couldn’t focus much. The way the leather pants hugged your curves, and your shirt didn’t even show cleavage but he couldn’t stop thinking about your tits under it. Billy had wanted you for a long time, but you were more than just another fuck. He wanted to do it the right way with you. Tonight didn’t help, you smell like alcohol and roses and your outfit looked so good on you.

“No action for you tonight?”

Billy asked in response to you making the comment about Steve. The blonde didn’t want to overtly cock block you..just secretly.

“Oh no haha. I just came for the drinks. The music sucks too.”

He watched you wrap your lips around the red solo cup rim. God you were so fucking beautiful. But someone had threatened you. He had to find out who.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I’m gonna find someone really quick. Be back before you can finish that beer babe.”

Billy winked at you and walked off. He loved the shade of red you got when he used pet names on you. Now he was going through the crowds, looking for anyone who was specifically avoiding him. Billy made the dramatic entrance for two reasons.

1. So you knew he was there, and you’d find him immediately. He had to make sure you weren’t harmed.

2. The fuckers who called him would see who they were messing with.

Billy scoped the whole floor, couldn’t find anything. He tracked downstairs where there was a pool game going on and two guys immediately turned around and tried to avoid him.

“Bingo.”

Billy made a b-line to them. His intention was to just talk to them; but when he saw your keys hanging from one of their pockets, his vision went dark.

You

“FIGHT!”

Someone came running up the stairs and you immediately knew it was Billy who got in the fight. How you knew, you didn’t know but you left Robin and Vickie and sprinted downstairs to see Billy beating the shit out of the two guys who were being extremely creepy with you earlier.

“Billy!”

He knocked out the one with a punch and grabbed the other in his hand.

“We’re these guys hitting on you earlier?”

“Billy it’s not worth it.”

“WERE THEY HITTING ON YOU. YES. OR. NO.”

“Yes! But I told them to fuck off!”

Billy hit the other one hard, knocking him against the pool table.

“You threaten me or my girlfriend again; you’re dead.”

You noticed something in his bloody hand. He walked over to you and firmly grabbed your arm; taking you upstairs. It was your keys. The Creeps must have grabbed them.

“Billy slow down!”

You had a lot of questions. What did he mean threaten again, how did he have your keys, did he know those boys? The girlfriend comment didn’t mean much. You figured he just said that to prove a point.

“Billy you’re hurting me!”

You whimpered as his and gripped your bicep hard enough to bruise. Immediately he let you go, remorse swimming in his anger filled eyes. You took his hand in yours and softly spoke.

“Let’s get out of here. Vickie can take my car home. She stopped drinking hours ago. You can take me home. Okay?”

Billy grunted in agreement, you gently took your keys and found Robin, Billy still latched to your free hand. She took your keys and handed them to Vickie, thanking the girls you headed out. He opened his passenger door for you.

“Billy?” You got in. He walked around and started the car. Billy took off in a true speedster fashion. After about 5 minutes he spoke.

“I got a phone call, some douche called you a whore. Said your name was Sixx. They threatened to kick your ass on the front lawn. I found your keys in one of their pockets. It’s how I knew it was them.”

“Mmmm. I see. Well, thanks for coming to my rescue. Sorry to ruin your night.”

“Shut up. You never ruin my night, I love seeing pretty women who need a big strong man to save them.”

He chuckled but you wiggled nervously in the seat.

“Why do you tease me like that so much? It’s not fair.”

Maybe it was the alcohol…definitely the alcohol, but you spoke up about how much he flirted. Billy pulled into your drive and Killed the engine.

“Oh I’m not teasing you. I think you’re gorgeous. I just know what you think about my reputation with women. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to flirt with you and try to win you over Anyways.”

“Why haven’t you said anything before?”

“Come on Y/N. Think about it…’Hey babe. Can I talk to you about my emotions and feelings and shit?’ Like I would ever do that.”

“But you can with me.”

“I know…it’s just…hard.”

“I understand.”

You gently placed your hand on top of his white knuckles that were gripping the steering wheel. He relaxed and you leaned in to kiss his cheek.

“Thanks for the ride hom-mmm!”

Billy’s hands were on either side of your face pulling you in for a deep kiss. He’d caught you mid sentence and began exploring your mouth with his tongue. Slowly his hands went from your cheeks to your waist as he pulled you to straddle him in the drivers seat. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you indulged the kiss. A soft moan escaped your mouth when Billy squeezed your ass. It made you both pause.

“Billy…I- I don’t want to rush-“

“No you’re right. I want to do this the right way. As much as I’d love to carry you inside and throw you on your bed, I want to prove to you I’m different now.”

His hips bucked into as he talked about throwing you on the bed and you gasped. A smile rippled through his face as yours became more red.

Placing a soft kiss on his lips you opened the door and got off of him.

“Call me tomorrow?”

“Nah. I’m gonna pick you up tomorrow. So I’ll see you then.”

You smiled biting your lip.

“Okay then. See you tomorrow.”

Billy smiled, winked and drove off.

————————————————

The end! I noticed I’m a sucker for mutual pining and friends to lovers stories 😂😂😂

Hope y’all liked it!! I’m slowly working through my requests! I have a lot of Billy so if y’all can ask for some Steve or Eddie I’d appreciate it ❤️❤️❤️

Like, comment, reblog!! Thank you! As always, kind constructive criticism is welcome!

[jokenotfunny]

we’re going to summer camp bitches!

a/n: not a new chapter unfortunately 😭 but i found that when i have writer’s block, if i write other little things something will come to me

so this is y/n’s involvement throughout the seasons to get to know her relationships and her personality ☺️

pre-series :

- you were friends with steve since you were 4 and he was 5

- your parents were good friends with his, hence why you two grew up together and why you’re in a lot of each other’s family pictures

- your parents along with his were away often, albeit not as neglectful as his are

- your father is a tour coordinator while your mother is a rock promoter so they constantly leave

- started babysitting the boys when you were 11 and they were 7

- your mom played bridge with dustin’s and was in the same book club as mrs. wheeler, and her and joyce knew each other prior as well.

- from there they referred you to the other moms

season 1 :

- you were the boys’ babysitter (obv)

- you protect them with your life honestly

- played dnd with them constantly

- you have no favorites (it’s will tbh 🫤 he’s the least difficult)

- was very upset when will went missing

- helped the boys look for him, and was with them when they found el.

- best friends with steve, but wasn’t really hanging around him when he was in his “king steve” era (because he was a prick 😭 and you didn’t like that)

- tore him a new one when you found out what his “friends” did to/ said about nancy and how he just allowed it

- were with the kids at the school, while everyone else was getting will.

- heartbroken when you thought that el died.

- shocked when you found out steve was involved

- you started hanging out with steve again

(not much for season 1 honestly)

season 2 :

- were with will 100000x more than before

- the boys told you about the new girl “mad” max mayfield

- but you already knew her since you worked at the arcade

(yeah you come from money, but you liked making your own)

- which meant you knew about billy hargrove

- and boy did you dislike him

- tried to get at you a few times , but was quickly shut down

- were going to go trick or treating with the boys, but they insisted that they go alone so you and jonathan went tina’s party where steve and nancy were, instead.

- not wanting to be apart of the dick measuring competition between steve and billy, you found your classmate eddie munson and just hung around with him for majority of the party.

- and by hung around i mean you basically just made out and shotgunned with him the entire time

- imagine seeing alf without his head and a sexy indiana jones making out at a party 🫤( sounds like a dream i would have tbh)

- was confused when you saw nancy leave the party with jonathan, but were quickly filled in by a heartbroken steve, who was ready to just go home.

- so you said your goodbyes to eddie and left with steve

- tried to give him comforting advice as he drove you two home, (being that you literally live next door to each other) but him being too deep in his thoughts so you just went back to your house.

- cue you walking into your room, only to hear dustin’s screeching “code red” and for you to come over as quickly as possible

- you drove over, thinking someone was dying, but when dustin opened the door, dragging you to his room, as you yelled out a quick hello to claudia, you realized it wasn’t that serious.

“dustin what’s up its like 10 pm and we have school tomorrow.”

“this won’t take long, but i need to show you this.”

- you weren’t as impressed as he thought you’d be.

“why doesn’t it have eyes!” you nearly screamed, as you jumped away from it.

“i don’t know, but his name is dartangan. short for dart!

“okay! well… i’m going back home now! don’tget eaten by that thing please!”

- things escalated heavily from there tbh

- next thing you know, you’re at the hospital with will, mike, joyce, hopper, and bob.

- however you left before things could go to shit to give the others an update on will’s well-being.

- so imagine your surprise when you found your best friend steve, driving around with dustin, lucas, and max.

- you were proud of him and made fun of hum for taking your spot as babysitter

- sad when bob died, he was a good guy

- shocked that el was alive, but happy nonetheless.

- you know your way around a gun pretty well so you went with hopper and el back to the lab, so el could close the gate.

- not before demanding that the kids not give steve a hard time and telling steve to keep protecting them with his life

- when you finally got back to them after it was over, they told you everything that happened and you were not happy in the slightest

- next time you saw billy at school, you made it hell for him

- burnt cigarette butts on the hood of his car

- parked next to him and purposely slammed your door into his

- pretty much just hurting his car really

- volunteered at the snoball dance with nancy

- took pictures of all the cute little moments with everyone (just like sev because those deserved to be documented 🥹)

season 3 :

- once starcourt opened you worked at the scoops ahoy with steve and robin

- you already knew robin from school and honestly loved her

- steve didn’t understand why

- liked to sit on the sidelines as robin and steve had their back and forths, but did join in at times causing steve to call you a traitor

- he was just mad because you made the scoops uniform look good

- the few times the hellfire club came in (pre- dustin, lucas, and mike of course) you always insisted that you’d be the one to serve them.

- cue you bringing the ice cream to their table.

- robin : “i think she’s really got it bad for munson.”

- steve : “no way, i know her and she’d never go for- her shorts weren’t that short a second ago right????

- moving on ☺️ (mind your business steve..)

- were apart of the scoops troop

- you did not want erica involved, but majority rules 🫤

- the boys came running to you after mike lied to el.

- “you need how much??? for a fucking bear?? you’re on your own.”

- you slipped a few dollars to will, but they didn’t need to know that.

- when robin and steve were caught by the russians, you freaked out

- was pissed when you found them drugged and beaten

- when everyone met back up at starcourt, you stayed there as steve, dustin, robin, and erica went to dustin’s cerebro

- was shocked when you heard all the people who were flayed and even more so when billy sacrificed himself

- after starcourt burned down, you comforted el and max.

- was sad that the byers + el were moving but understood

- visited them throughout the year

- argyle 🤝 you

pre-season 4 :

- the kids are in highschool now !

- you, robin, and nancy are in your senior year

- you were in the same social circle as steve was, just without the douchiness

- you were a social floater pretty much

- so now the boys are in hellfire club!

- so you came over and decided to be embarrassing

- “aww i knew you guys would find something!”

- just hugging them, messing with mike’s hair, and pinching their cheeks as they tell you to leave them alone

- you leave after telling eddie to take care of them

- now he’s curious though

“there’s no way you just got publically doted on by y/n y/l/n. how do you even know her??”

“she’s our babysitter!” - dustin

“ex-babysitter! she’s our friend.” mike corrected

“ehh she’s still pretty much our babysitter man.” lucas mumbled to mike.

- except one day they decided to be nosey

- because one night after hellfire you were there to pick them up.

- but as they got into the car, you got out and started talking to eddie

- they didn’t think anything of it until you two started getting flirty.

- i’m talking : you two animatedly conversating, eddie’s hands somehow sneaking around your waist, and you two whispering and giggling at each other.

- the icing on the cake was when you just casually kissed him goodbye like????

- so now they have to ask

- “eddie how exactly do you know, y/n?”

- “we’re classmates and friends.”

- “dustin’s my classmate but you don’t see me kissing him.. are you two dating?”

- “well we’re uh.. we sometimes- hmm.”

- now eddie has to ask

- cue him at your locker with you

- “hey i have a question..”

- “what’s up?”

- “when you go to parties.. what do you do??”

- he pussied out because he was going to originally ask “what are we, exactly?”

-“well.. i get there, usually with steve, talk to people i know, make out with you, drink with you, smoke with you, and that’s pretty much it until i have to leave.. why?” you explained.

- “okay, well..at the ones i don’t deal to, what do you do???”

- “okay… i go, again usually with steve, talk to people i know, drink a little, dance with some friends, then i leave! again, why?” you said, now suspicious

- oh! he didn’t expect that answer.

- “no reason…”

- “is it because of the kids asking if we were dating? because they asked me too and i didn’t know how to respond either..”

- you : 🌚 eddie : 🌝

- you’ve now found yourselves heatedly making out in your room??? was school even over girl ? imma need you to stand up 🫤

- “wait. soo does this mean we’re together??” - eddie panted as you tried to get his shirt off.

- “depends, do you plan on doing this with anyone else?”

- “never.”

- “then absolutely”

[musicalchaos07]

An INCREDIBLY late WIP Wednesday

Jonathan shouldn't follow Nancy, it's wrong, weird and he’s pretty sure it’s criminal. He keeps trying to justify it, that he's just going to be helpful in case she runs into any trouble. But he knows that if she catches him, he’ll be in the wrong here. Then again, that would require him to catch her because as it turns out Nancy is very fast. He only left the school about five minutes after she did and he almost lost her already. Admittedly, it’s difficult in the rain but the bigger part of that is his own fault for not suiting up. But he figures it’s better for him to get caught by in her plain clothes than for Spiderman to get caught. Nancy nearly slips off the curb in the rain and he holds himself back from rushing to help her. To her credit, her near fall doesn’t affect her determination in the slightest she continues along her walk like nothing’s happened. It’s admirable, she’s admirable and he’s already in too deep. The signal changes just as he reaches the curb and he mumbles out a curse under his breath. He feels a sudden buzz from his pocket and takes his phone out to check who it is. He doesn’t recognize the number so he declines. But then they call again, and again and again. The fifth time he finally caves and swipes up. 

“What?” he spits into the phone.

“Jeez Byers can’t even say hello" Steve nags

“Steve?” he guesses, shifting his phone 

“The one and only" he quips

“Sorry” he mumbles 

“You owe me big time” Steve taunts 

“For what?” he demands back

“The girl Natalie or whatever” Steve clarifies

“Nancy” he corrects, just as she crosses another street. 

“Yea that’s what I said so anyways I’m thinking as payback you come to this boring charity thing I have to go to tomorrow.” Steve informs

“Since when do you go to charity events?” he scoffs

“Hey I went to all of your birthday parties growing up" Steve jokes 

“I really don’t have time for this" he snarks back

“Hey c’mon I’m kidding look you can bring Naomi" he offers 

“Nancy" he corrects again, astounded and a little angry that Steve can’t be bothered to remember her name. 

“Whatever you can bring her and we’ll hang out” he resolves. 

He wonders if this is just some sort of punishment for canceling the Hamptons Spring Break plans this morning. He hadn’t even called he just sent a halfhearted text that he has to work. Then Steve, confusing as ever, told him it was cool and asked him for Argyle’s number. Which he gladly gave, it must be part of some grand plan to get buddy-buddy with his roommate in order to convince him to go. As if their growing distance can be lessened by sharing a couple of joints in Montauk. 

“Why do you want me to go so bad?” he asks, thinking of the last time he actually saw Steve on Halloween. 

“Fel thinks it’ll be good for my image” Steve explains casually, as though he shed any light on the situation. 

“Fel?” Jonathan asks again

“Yea my publicist” he scoffs, like Jonathan’s question was stupid.

“You have a publicist?” he chuckles back in shock. 

“A lot of things can change in six months" Steve says clearing his throat. 

Jonathan wonders if Steve intended on making him feel even worse for everything’s that happened. Or if it’s just a consequence of his own actions. He lets the words linger, before making a decision. But he should know by now that patience is not a virtue Steve has. 

“Look man” Steve starts remorsefully, twisting the knife of guilt in Jonathan’s stomach further.

“I’ll think about it” Jonathan interrupts, he’s the one who should be apologizing not Steve. 

“Great I’ll send your tux in the morning” She exclaims, shifting his mood suddenly 

“My tux! Wait! Steve?”

Jonathan pulls the phone away from his ear but Steve has already hung up. He straightens back up trying to find Nancy’s pink Umbrella in the crowd. He spots her at the intersection looking at her own phone with an incredulous expression that makes him smile fondly. He’s so lost in his infatuation that he accidentally catches up to her at the cross walk waiting for the light. He stalls just a few inches behind her, panicking. As the traffic light turns red a car hits the brakes but swerves on the slippery street onto the sidewalk. And Nancy would’ve gotten hit if he hadn’t perceived the scene seconds before. Instead he’s safely pulled her back from the accident and has his hand gripped around her arm. In the swift rescue she lost grip on her umbrella and it’s now pathetically lying in the gutter, he tries not to think about how she would’ve been there too if he hadn’t followed her. His memory betrays him all the same with a flash of her bent body on Halloween and he shudders. 

“Asshole” she shouts at the driver as they backup onto the street. 

He should let go of her sweater and run off but with his own heart still racing he can’t bring himself to do it. Nancy spins around forcing him to let go prematurely. He didn’t think a person’s eyes could go that wide but she’s surprising as ever. 

“Were you following me?!?” she demands loudly

Shit. 

[katcheerrof]

Begged and borrowed time. (An Eddie Munson fanfiction) Eddie x fem!reader.

Oh, Hi. So, Stranger things s4 finale destroyed me, so I turn to the only thing that makes me feel safe — my writing. I was listening to Ivy by Taylor Swift and this idea came to my mind so I started writing. It’s been decades since i wrote something about a fictional character in english so i’m sorry for any mistakes or anything. Feedback is much appreciated. I don’t think there’s any triggers but don’t hesitate on send me a message in case there is, please! 

I hope you guys liked it.

___________________________________________

Steve’s words echoes in your mind. “Be my girlfriend”, he asks, in front of your friends. If he asked you this, like, two years ago you would’ve said yes in a heartbeat. Hell, you would’ve been walking on air. But, truth is… you two grow apart after the whole Nancy/Jonathan/Steve situation. And, a year ago you’ve met Eddie. The adorable metalhead nerd who introduced you to D&D. The one you’re in love with for at least half a year, even though Dustin swears it’s been longer than that. You search for Nancy with your eyes. Then Robin. Dustin. Will. They know. Of course they know. But the rest of the party don’t. You hear Mike and Lucas shout:

“Finally!”

You feel something heavy in your jacket pocket. Dustin gave you a note Eddie wrote for you early that day. He’s hiding in Hopper’s cabin until you manage to clean his name.

“Hello. Earth to y/n”  Steve waves his hand in front of you, breaking into a nervous laugh.

“I…” you seek comfort in your friends’ eyes but the only one you need at the moment’s not there. “I talk to you later” you jump from your seat, packing your things in a hurry. You need to see Eddie.

The road to the cabin is excruciating cause you can’t stop overthinking everything. I mean, Eddie would never look at you the same way. It hurts but it’s better to have him in your life just as a best friend than not having him at all. You've come to terms with this since you’ve discovered your crush. And you knew you couldn’t risk that by telling him how you felt. Being without him would’ve destroyed you. You think about Steve and you heart sinks. You don’t want to hurt him. You don’t know what to do.

You arrive at the cabin. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, then reach for the note in your pocket and open up to read it.

“Hey, sweetheart. How’s my favorite girl doing? Listen, I know you came by like, just yesterday, but I’m going insane alone here. I need you here. For real, I think I’m losing my mind by the minute. Dustin said you guys were going to have breakfast together with the gang, so while you’re at it, would you be a doll and bring me my tapes? Is that too much to ask? I mean, I know it’s not exactly near your place. Or Will’s place. I don’t know. Anyway, I’m rambling now. I miss you. See you in a few.”

Your heart melt. You’re so in love with this dork. My God, he’s everything you’ve ever asked for.

“Fuck…” you say, realizing you forgot his tapes. Then you’re standing in front of the door, knocking, your hands sweating. It’s been only a couple of hours but you already miss him deeply. “It’s me…” you whisper and in a second you see the door opening up, an tattooed arm emerge from behind the door and pull you in into his arms.

“Thank God you’re here” you sense real relief in his voice, and can’t help but open up a tiny smile. Your safeplace. You struggle to let go of his embrace, but don’t want it to feel awkward so you start to back away and he reluctantly lets you go. “So, tell me everything about the breakfast. I miss hang out with you guys. I only see you, Will and Dustin these days”

“I know. It’s just that… we’re trying so hard to find this guys to finally let you go. Will said Hopper don’t leave the precinct for days now. Nancy’s been following a lead as well, I just hope it’s not another dead end” you let go a long, shaky breath, lips quivering. Close your eyes. “I’m sorry… it’s been a living hell without you by my side everyday”

“Hey, hey…” Eddie rush to you, pulls your face into his hands, kissing a tear you didn’t even realized had escaped your eye. “I know, princess. I feel the same way, but I know sooner than later I’ll be there beside you, teasing you in Ms. O’Donnell’s class while I should be studying just so I can have an excuse to have you as my private teacher”

You can’t help but laugh between your tears.

“I fucking hate you, Munson” you playfully poke his shoulders, feeling a lot better.

“Nahh, don’t try and deny it, princess. You love me. I know it.” his smile… you swear it can light up an entire town. “But c’mon, tell me what happened”

“Well…” you don’t even know how to tell him about Steve, so you decided to start from the basics. You lean in the back of the couch, your hands in your jacket pocket, touching Eddie’s note. “We just revised our plans for Monday morning and discussed what we know about the case so far.” Eddie smiled. You shrugs. “And… Steve asked me to be his girlfriend” you said, in a whisper. For a split second, you saw Eddie’s face drops.

“He what?”

[whereyabeenloca]

This lovely prompt was given to me by @idontcarewhatmyusernameis9 thank you so much! (So sorry this was probably not as funny as you had imagined, but I hope you still like it) If anyone has any other prompt requests, feel free to send me an ask or DM me!

Nancy finishes packing her bag with shaking hands, trying to bury away the anxieties that have been steadily building for over a week now. They’ve all been taking turns branching out from Hopper’s cabin, which they’ve apparently deemed as current home base for the apocalypse, taking turns in pairs. Just the absolute necessities and maybe one or two sentimental things, there wouldn’t be much room for anything else. Mike and Jonathan hadn’t wanted to leave Eleven and Will, who were both sort of on the edge of passing out at any moment as the looming black cloud grew thicker than smoke, so Nancy promised her brother she’d grab some of his things, and Steve had insisted he’d be joining her. She didn’t put up a fight about it, frankly she was too tired to argue, and he was good company, happy to just sit in comfortable silence with her in her station wagon while they drove out to the Wheeler house. And honestly, she was grateful for the company- his company, really. He had grown up so much in the past sixteen months, polished that heart of gold she’d always known he had and stopped fighting her battles for her, and instead with her.

Her parents and Holly were already gone, thank god. She had called earlier and swallowed the lump in her throat as she begged her mom to get them to leave town, lying and telling her that her and Mike were right behind them. Would she ever even see her mom and little sister again? Could she even trust her dad to keep them safe, with how passive and spineless he’d always been? Nancy shoved that aside, trying very hard not to think about the vision Vecna had given her, and resumed on getting her things in order. Guns packed carefully, clothes folded, she glances around her childhood bedroom, and presses her mouth together. What was worth the most to her of everything she’d called hers over the years? How could she put a value on eighteen years of memories?

“I can hear you thinking from downstairs.” Nancy practically jumps, laying her hand over her heart as she turns around to see Steve leaning against the doorway to her bedroom with his arms crossed over his chest. His smile has a twinge of sadness to it, those big brown eyes frankly heartbreaking as he takes her in. “Are you okay?” He asks, and that’s it. Nancy feels the tears welling up in her eyes and she presses the heel of her palm to them, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I know they’re just things and things can be replaced, but.. How do I even decide what the most important things are in here, in my house? For me, for my family, I don’t even-“ She cuts herself off before she gets too worked up, twisting her mouth to the side as she sits on the edge of her bed.

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be alright, Nance. Do you want to just take a second and you can think about it? I’ll help you write a pros and cons list even, if you wanted,” Steve murmurs as he steps inside fully. He hesitates for just a moment before taking a seat beside her, reaching over to intertwine their fingers. Steve gives her a squeeze once, twice, and she does it back, letting her thumb trace over his own slowly. It’s muscle memory to do it, following the familiar pattern of his finger like she did when they were dating, she does it like it’s a reflex. He’s here, he’s not going anywhere, they can take it step by step, day by day, together. And her eyes flash up to his, both of them just staring at each other. She’s been repeating what he told her in the woods like a mantra in her head, unable to shake it off. A dream of a future together, where they were partners in more than just the end of the world but a life together, that he was willing to bare his heart in the most raw and vulnerable way because he needed her to know. There’s a thousand possibilities in his gaze, a hundred different futures, both of them playing a mental what-if game on their relationship. The future they might have had together before it got ripped away, what might happen if she just throws caution to the wind and leans forward, closes the few inches of distance of their mouths-

And then they hear the front door creak open.

The tension between them is forced to fizzle away, and Steve jumps up, looking around and grabbing the lamp on her bedside to yank the cord from the wall. He raises it up while Nancy grabs her revolver from the shoebox she stores it in, clicking off the safety and following right behind him. They lock eyes and nod, Steve creeping around the corner while she points the barrel to the floor, finger ready on the trigger. He turns down the stairs and raises the lamp-

“Jesus! Steve, holy shit, relax. It’s just me, Rambo, put the fucking lamp down,” Robin huffs, startled and amused. He rolls his eyes and Nancy breathes out a sigh of relief as she clicks the safety back on. “I just hitched a ride with Lucas’s parents and since you two are neighbors, I was wondering if you could drive me to my house so I could get my stuff.” Nancy clears her throat, nodding a little too sharply, and shares another look between Steve before going upstairs to finish packing. Shaking off the buzz in her veins and blaming it on the adrenaline of preparing for a Demogorgon fight, most definitely having nothing to do with the fact that she had almost just kissed him sitting on her bed.