#but yeah guys unfortunate we can't keep them and have four cats | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

Text

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Dragonsploosh

Summary:

A stranger arrives at Phantomhive Manor claiming he needs the assistance of a Demon that is rumoured to reside there. Unfortunately all he finds are some servants, eager for gossip. What will they do when the Young Master and Mr.Sebastian arrive home to find such tall tales being spun? And how will they react when it seems like they might not be such tall tales after all.....

Work Text:

It was a cooks job to chop up these onions and then sauté them to put in tonight's stew, but the damn things needed to be so small it would take me ages to get through the lot. There had to be a shortcut for this sort of thing. I found some twine in a side drawer, laid four of my knives parallel to each other, and tied them together feeling smug. I was a genius. When I felt they were secure I picked them up by the handle of one of the middle ones and brought the lot crashing down over the three large onions on the chopping board.

Big mistake. The twine didn't hold quite as well as I had hoped, and the knives flew apart as well as the onions flinging themselves from the counter top and I almost severed my big toe in the process.

Mey-Rin came scurrying in as I looked about at my mess wondering what had gone wrong. More twine next time? More knives?

"Bard, you've made a right pigsty in here yes you have!" She said, not sounding at all upset. "You are lucky Mr. Sebastian and the Master aren't here or you'd be given a seeing to all right!"

Yeah that was true, the last time I'd tried to cook fairy cakes with my blow torch to speed things up a bit I'd had all my explosives confiscated and had to wash all the pans by myself for three days. There was no need for anyone to find out about this little experiment.

"It's not my fault these knives as so flimsy! They just can't take a man's strength!" Okay the knives were solid steel but maybe that just made it more impressive. At any rate, she helped me clear all the onion parts from the floor while I hid the evidence of the knives and twine. Her glasses slipped down her nose every time she leaned forward too far and she had to keep on pushing them up. It was kind of cute.

Anyway, we were making small talk about what we thought the Young Master and Mr. Sebastian were going to bring back from town when Snake came bursting through the door. His usual calm and aloof demeanour had shifted a bit and he looked quite animated for a change.

"'There's a man at the door' says Oscar" he informed us.

"What? I didn't hear anything!" said Mey-Rin standing up and wiping her onion hands in a dishcloth.

"He's approaching from the-" Snake began but was drowned out by the obvious booming of the door knocker, echoing from the front of the Manor. "Says Emily" we heard him finish as the knocks trailed off.

"Well whoever could that be? The Young Master isn't expecting anyone" said Mey-Rin as we all headed for the door. Snake trailed slightly behind.

"Hey aren't you supposed to be a footman?" I asked him. Surely he could have answered it, but it didn't matter anyway because I could hear Finny's excitable voice coming from outside and the doors were flinging open just as we reached the reception area.

He must have been trimming the grass, he left a slight trail as he walked through leading a rather strange looking young man with dishevelled clothes that obviously belonged to someone of a lower class background. His brown hair was neat but his eyes were wild and they flashed around the room quickly before he entered.

Finny seemed to think there was safety in numbers and headed towards us where we lingered in the doorway leading to the servants quarters and the kitchens. "This is George Seymour" he said, looking a bit unsure but his voice sounding just as cheerful as always. "He's insisted to meet with the Young Master. But he's not here right now....." He informed us unnecessarily.

This guy was just stood in the middle of the room looking really out of place opposite the grand staircase, and it seemed I'd have to take charge since no one else was doing anything. I moved a bit closer to him and introduced myself, explaining that the Master was seeing to a few errands in town.

"I have to see 'im! I'll wait here all day if I have to" The guy, Seymour, said a little rudely. He hadn't even made an appointment and he was acting like I was turning him away for no good reason.

I looked to the others for a little support, which was pointless. They just looked as if they were watching some play.

"Look, you can come back tomorrow maybe but I don't even know if he'll see you then. I can try and see if he'll schedule you in, but he's pretty busy..." I trailed off lamely, hoping this guy would get the hint and leave. Why had Finny actually let him in?

I was taken by surprise when George sank to his knees, utter despair on his face, and started shaking like he was about to cry or something. "You don't understand, I need to see 'im!' His voice shook and I could feel the desperation coming from him. "'E's the only one that can save 'er!"

Now this was getting weird. Another look at my colleagues revealed them to be enraptured in this little show and Mey-Rin nodded at me encouragingly, whatever that meant.

"Errr Sir.... Please get up off the floor" I managed weakly, feeling a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. He really had started openly sobbing at my feet now.

A few awkward moments of me not knowing where to put myself and the drama wasn't enough, apparently, because Mey-Rin came marching over looking all eager and knelt down right next to him.

"Did you say someone needs rescuing?" She asked him a little too brightly. That girl does have a fondness for dramatics.

George sniffled and nodded, looking at her gratefully. "My sister. She was taken a few weeks ago and I've been trying to find 'er. She were stolen away by a demon".

Mey-Rin looked more excited by the second and the others were creeping closer to hear the story better. "A demon? Really?" Finny asked. Those idiots believed everything they heard, not a trace of doubt on their faces, just plain eagerness.

"Saw 'im meself! Like a dark shadow with red glowing eyes, I came running when I heard 'er scream to see it snatchin' 'er away. Would have gone after them too but he took 'er right through the mirror".

"Mirror?" Okay that was me this time. It was a pretty unique story I had to admit.

"Oh, yeah" He told me. "Big old mirror in this guest house we was staying in up in York. Was on our way up North to visit our Mams sister and this place were pleasant enough. 'Ad this lovely big mirror behind the bar there. Anyway as I say, I ran out my own room as soon as I 'ear 'er scream and she's in the room opposite but, before I can get in, this shadow comes out into the hallway carryin' 'er somehow as it went down the stairs. I goes after them, shouting like anything when it goes straight for that mirror and disappears. Nothing left at all. I know it do sounds crazy but I can't've imagined it. Had the whole Inn looking for 'er the next day. Nothing. No way to get through that mirror either, I tried. So I've had to try elsewhere, asking all sorts for the right information what can 'elp 'er. Had to sell off a lot of me belongings to get this far. Got a few wanting to waste me time too, thinking I'm having them for a laugh. But a few days ago I got somewhere. Someone what knew stuff. Real reliable like, I'd swear on it. And this bloke, 'e told me that this is where I'll find someone what can 'elp. Phantomhive Manor."

There was an awed silence, the tale sounding eerie indeed. Finny was the one to break it.

"And you think the Young Master can help you fight a Demon?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"All as I know is this guy, 'e knew things, and 'e said the only way to fight a Demon is with a stronger Demon. A Greater Demon, 'e called it. And that I'd find what I needed 'ere.

Whoa. Mey-Rin looked beside herself with excitement. "You're saying the Young Master is a Demon??" she asked him enthusiastically.

Snake looked deep in thought, as he had through all this, and Finny was looking a little scared at the front door. Again, it looked like I would be the one to take control over this situation.

"That's quite a wild accusation, you know. You don't want to be going around saying stuff like that to everyone".

"No, no" he waved his arms quickly "I'd never tell anyone, and I'm sure your Master is a respectable........ man. I'm not 'ere to judge anyone, just to get help for me sister. I'll do anything, I swear!" He had that desperate look again. He seemed quite genuine and it didn't look like we'd be getting rid of him any time soon.

"We'll get some tea while you wait, then. But you might want to watch your words when they get back. The master has quite the temper".

The guy stood up from the floor looking all grateful but with a wariness in his eyes. He was probably picturing some terrifying Demon. Just wait till he saw the little 14 year old Lord.

George Seymour was seated in a fairly large, lesser used sitting room on the first floor sipping some green tea that Tanaka had helpfully made when Mr. Sebastian and the Young Master returned from their shopping trip. We were all gathered near to the front window waiting anxiously, and witnessed Sebastian carrying a ridiculous amount of boxes while the Young Lord looked to be complaining animatedly about something or other, a scowl on his face. We hurried to open the doors for them and something must have seemed amiss because he trailed off and gave us an enquiring expression as he strode past.

"Well?" He asked us. Mr Sebastian was setting the packages aside and also looked curious.

"There's a gentleman here to see you, Sir, goes by the name George Seymour. Needs your help with something important, he does" Mey-Rin babbled at him.

The Young Master sighed and raised a hand to his face. "And you let him in? He has no appointment for an audience with me and I'm quite busy. Please give him my apologies" He said brusquely, moving towards to stairs to retreat into his study no doubt.

"But he needs your help to fight a Demon!" Finny said at his back, and Mey-Rin nodded enthusiastically. I might have also seemed a little eager - it's not every day we get to fight the supernatural. I mean, some days sure. But not every day.

The Young Master stopped in his tracks at that, but didn't look around.

"He did seem pretty desperate" I said, as if that excused our behaviour at hosting an uninvited guest. Curiously, I saw him turn to look at Sebastian who had also stopped a few steps behind him. I couldn't see their faces but they were obviously having a moment, one of those unspoken communications they seemed to have sometimes.

"Take me to him" commanded the Young Lord, eventually turning around. This really was getting interesting, and I wondered what that look meant. I felt quite impatient to see where this was going while we lead them to where Seymour waited nervously.

When we entered, he sat rigidly in his chair with his hands screwed up in his lap. He hesitated a little too long before standing and giving a polite bow, proclaiming himself to be George Seymour in desperate need of the Earls help. Amusingly, he directed this whole thing at Sebastian instead of Ciel.

Sebastian wasted no time in making the proper introductions, embarrassing Seymour greatly, and offering to fix them a light lunch. The Young Lord was furious, and ordered an especially tall chair to sit on which Sebastian fetched immediately before disappearing off to the kitchen. I hoped the onion smell had died down a bit in there. Sitting on his tall chair, Ciel listed impassively as Seymour recounted his tale once more, being a bit more careful around the part where he had to say that a Demon resided here. The indication was still there though. He had just finished his story when Sebastian returned with a tiered plate full of sandwiches and scones, shooting us a glare as we loitered around trying to look busy. No way was I missing this.

"So you were given specific information that I, Ciel Phantomhive, am not in fact human?" he asked with a smirk. "Quite a jest, don't you think?"

"Not precisely worded that way, but it was a reliable source and I paid a great deal of money for it! They swore it was the truth that a Demon lived here and he was strong enough to get Martha back from the mirror!"

"Can you even hear yourself, Mr. Seymour? I'm sorry for the loss of your sister, truly I am, but tales of Demons and mirror worlds aren't going to bring her back".

"No I saw it, it's not a tale! And you don't understand, this guy that told me to look here, he was...."

"He was what, precisely? A jester?"

"Not human".

The revered way he'd said that, even I couldn't doubt him. Whether true or not, he really believed in what he was saying.

"In what way, Mr. Seymour" asked the Young Master quietly. He was looking over at us now, Mey-Rin with a duster in her hand doing barely anything, Finny the gardener pretending to clean some windows and me and Snake plumping cushions repeatedly on the sofa by the door. We were going to get asked to leave before we could hear anything good, I knew it. I wondered if Sebastian would be kicked out too - he was on hand to serve tea so probably not. Maybe we could ask him about it later, though he wasn't much of a gossip unfortunately.

"'E had these eyes" said Seymour quietly "the same as I'd seen from what took Martha. Bright red like you wouldn't believe with black slits like a cat. I'd recognise those Demon eyes anywhere" he shuddered.

"If this was a Demon as you claim then why could he not be the one to help your sister? Why direct you here?"

"'Cause apparently only a Greater Demon can open the portal an' have any chance of retrieving a person back out. And the only domesticated Greater Demon in England resides here. That was what the.... the guy said, at least". He looked around the room a little deflated, apparently not finding the Greater Demon he had been hoping for. I saw Sebastian mouth the words 'domesticated' at Ciel, which seemed a little peculiar to me.

Mey-Rin was looking around wildly as if she expected the Demon to just pop up from behind the curtains. She seemed disappointed when there was nothing out of the ordinary and abandoned her dusting altogether to give me a puzzled shrug. I shrugged back, when I heard the sound of a cup smash and spun around to see Seymour cowering in his chair, cup shattered at his feet with Sebastian smiling politely next to him. It seemed he had gone to refill Seymour's cup when the man had baulked, shrinking as far away from our butler as he could.

That was when the Young Master turned his attention to us. "Get out" was all he said, in this quiet voice and the atmosphere had grown so thick we were torn between needing to stay, find out what was happening and run from the room before we could get caught up in it all. Under the firm gaze of Ciel we were forced to choose the latter, with Mey-Rin giving a polite "yes Master" before we left as composed as we could.

We didn't go far though. No sooner had we shut the door behind us than we spun round fighting for space to press our ears to the door. We did this surprisingly quietly, with Snake winning the most room since no one wanted to get too close to his snakes. Dimly, we still managed to hear the voices through the wood of the door and I was grateful we had chosen this room, echoey as it was.

"What are you?" We heard Seymour ask in an timid but awestruck voice. Was he talking to Sebastian? He must be, as Sebastian's unmistakable voice replied with his usual pronouncement. He was simply one hell of a butler.

"No, you can't be, I saw it!" said Seymour, sounding a little more confident now. "Please, you 'aff to help 'er! I knew it! You're 'ere!"

"Whether I am here or not makes no matter. I am a butler, am I not?" replied Sebastian a little cryptically.

"Well yes. I mean, no-"

Ciel joined the conversation once more, his voice authoritative. "Mr. Seymour I should not have to repeat it but you can clearly see that this is my butler. Perhaps you can use your imagination and understand why it might bother me to have an uninvited guest telling tall tales to my staff and accusing a butler of Phantomhive of being something other than human. Would you not agree that is troublesome?"

Seymour seemed to have lost the ability to speak. There was the sound of some spluttering before Sebastian's strong voice filtered over it "I should be interested to hear the name of whoever recommended the name of Phantomhive to you. My masters reputation is at stake, you see, and that will not do at all".

"I never told anyone, I swear" Seymour gasped, sounding much more frightened now. Whatever was going on in there?

"The name please, Mr Seymour" intoned Ciel.

A long, tense pause ensued before, and I strained to listen as I heard Seymour say quietly "'E made me promise not to tell, said 'e'd know if I did".

"That's the least of your problems, I assure you" said Ciel dangerously.

I heard a few footsteps and the scrape of a chair before Sebastian's voice seemed to fill the room and my own head, somehow different than normal and..... unnerving. "Come now" he said. "Don't you require my assistance? I'll give you whatever you need if you simply tell me that name....."

Something was whispered in there, I looked at the others but their expressions told me that they hadn't heard it either. Suddenly I jumped as there came the bang of something heavy hitting the floor followed by a ringing jangle as if something metal were rolling around. Another quieter thud. Then silence.

I heard the sound of my own heart thudding in my ears louder than anything else. It was so loud I felt that everyone must be able to hear it. I backed away from the door quietly, feeling like the wood itself had gone cold. Something just felt wrong, a feeling in my gut that the others seemed to share. Despite the sun still shining outside, everything had gotten much darker and all colour seemed leeched from the hallway we stood in. Finny was the first to run, throwing himself down the corridor much too loudly and then we were all following, racing down towards the kitchens. I heard the door of the sitting room open just as we rounded the corner but I didn't look back.

We caught our breath leaning over the island in the middle of the kitchen. Mey-Rin went to the sink after some minutes to pour a glass of water and ended up smashing it all over the floor, right over a few chunks of onion that she'd missed picking up earlier. We all jumped at the sound, even Snake looking unnerved. We worked together to clean it up in silence, and I saw that I wasn't the only one with shaking hands.

When we were done I offered to pour the water, which I managed without further disaster, and we sat around sipping, listening to the sounds of the house around us. Nobody said a thing, but since arriving in the kitchen there had been an eerie groaning and creaking to the Manor that usually only occurred on cold, windy nights. It was a sunny and clear late afternoon right now.

We noticed just how loud it had been when everything suddenly fell silent. I listened intently, making eye contact with the others and moving just that little bit closer when the kitchen door banged open, making us jump a second time.

Sebastian stood there, though I had not heard his footsteps. He looked completely unruffled with a polite smile on his face which did nothing to comfort the sense of foreboding that had been creeping over me.

"Ah, there you all are" he said business- like "I have some changes in schedule this afternoon, though I see you weren't following it all too closely anyway". He was reprimanding us for not doing chores? "Firstly, Snake I'd like you to prepare for a short drive into town. I believe you know the directions to the local guesthouse, they will be expecting you. Mey-Rin if I could trouble you for one of your shawls and a topcoat I'd be most grateful and I assure you they will be replaced as soon as possible. Finny and Bardroy if you could see the carriage ready, I believe some different horses will need harnessing after our previous trip. That is all for now".

He left the room before we could even get out a "yes, sir" and we curiously rose to perform our duties, if a little reluctantly.

Finny and I saw to the horses, as instructed, and cleared several sweet wrappers out if the carriage itself. Snake joined us wearing his outdoor clothing and checked the reigns, ready for his excursion. I turned when I heard the Manor doors open again behind us, and saw a most unusual sight. Seymour was supporting a thin young woman with mousey brown hair and a nightdress, Mey-Rins shawl and coat wrapped around her to afford a little more decency. As she drew closer I could see a vacant look in her eyes, though she did appear able to bear most of her own weight. Sebastian assisted them in to the carriage before placing a suitcase in with them that I distinctly recognised as one of the Young Masters. It must have been heavy, as it made a loud 'thunk' when set down.

"Thank you so much, you don't know what this-" Seymour started to say in a quiet, shaky voice, but was cut off by Sebastian who leant his face in through the carriage window to whisper something that made Seymour grow pale. I tried to edge a little closer to hear what was being said but Sebastian drew back and went to speak to Snake. Finny had come to stand with me and we watched the carriage leave in silence when Sebastian gave the go ahead. When it had travelled down towards the gate a ways he turned and instructed us to continue on with our schedule, brushing past us and in through the doors. There was plenty to do, apparently.

You would expect everything to change after that, but it didn't really. Sure we were a bit shook up by the whole thing, and I did believe for a second that something evil had emerged and slaughtered a helpless stranger feet away from us. But that obviously wasn't what happened and I felt like an idiot for letting myself get all superstitious. A few noises and a scary story were enough to rattle me after all my years spent in the Military and the things I'd already done for the Earl of Phantomhive, who'd have thought it. Something had gone on in that room though, that was undeniable. That girl showing up was enough to prove that. But who was I to judge - I knew that we could be a science experiment, sniper, a circus freak and even a Demon and together, we would always be the good guys. This was Sebastian and he saved people, just like he'd saved us. No one else would ever understand what we stood for but in my heart I knew this family would always do the right thing and protect those who needed it. No matter what.

Even when the paper showed me a headline a few days later of George Seymour's body being found in the Thames. Suicide, it said, after being so distraught at the loss of his sister a few weeks earlier. It was reported that he'd become insane in the weeks after her disappearance, and had eventually leapt off of Blackfriars Bridge. There was no mention of the young woman I'd seen him leave the Manor with.

I don't know if the others read it or not. Best not to dwell too hard on these things. If I learnt anything in the army it was to focus on the positives and be thankful for what you have.

And we were a family.

#black butler fanfiction

0 notes

fanwarriorfictions · 5 years

Text

One-

A Stranger Things 2 Fanfic

Chapter Six: The Spy

"Where am I," Phina groans as she slowly wakes up.

A woman in nurses clothes next to her turns to Phina, "you're awake?"

"Where am I," Phina asks again, her eyes traveling along the semi-familiar room, "where am I?"

"You're in Hawkin's lab, miss," the nurse says, "you hit your head pretty hard down there, Hopper said you've been out for almost an entire day."

Phina's heart stops dead in her chest, "what did you just say?"

"You've been out for a day," the woman says.

Phina shakes her head painfully, "before that, where did you say I was?"

"Hawkins Lab," the nurse says slowly.

Memories flash through Phina's mind, experiments, pain, doctors, "I need to get out of here."

She pushes herself up, throwing her legs off the bed. Pain washes through her, trying to keep her down, but the fear of this place keeps her going.

"Miss, please lay back down," the woman says, "I'll go get the doctor."

Phina doesn't listen to her, she just rips the catheter out of her arm and stumbles to her feet. The nurse rushes to keep her sitting but something trips her, a vine that retracts back into the ground as fast as it had come.

"I need to get out of here," Phina repeats.

She stumbles towards the doors, closing it behind her and shoves a waiting chair beneath it so the nurse couldn't stop her. Phina was vaguely aware that her clothes had been changed and that she had been washed of the slime that had covered her from the tunnels. She remembered what happened now. The vines had thrown her into the wall, her head, it had hit the wall hard.

She reaches up to touch her forehead to find it covered in a bandage. Her head pounds behind the wound. The nurse said she had been out for almost a day, how hard had she hit that wall?

Phina uses the wall to balance her as she walks through the building, fighting the painful memories away. In the distance, she hears yelling and movement, she goes the opposite direction. There had to be an exit somewhere nearby. Phina stumbles around a corner and laughs, an exit sign hung over a doorway down this hallway. She fastens her pace, yearning to get out of this place, to escape the memories. One memory surfaces, the last time she was in the place, hobbling to an exit as she tried to escape her tormentors, she was only five then.

Phina groans as she stumbles through the woods, she had no idea where she was, and with the injury to her head, she could barely even feel the trees around her. Not to mention, she was freezing, the clothes they had put her in was just a thin, black, cotton t-shirt and a pair of blue cotton shorts, and no shoes or socks.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, desperately trying to salvage any warmth she could. Her eyes were starting to close every so often, exhaustion setting in on her. If she was near anything, she didn't know.

"Who's there," a familiar voice shouts at her as she steps on a twig, snapping it in half.

She trips forward on a branch as they shine a light on her, "oh, my god, Phina?"

Two people rush towards her and warm hands grab her shoulders, helping her to her knees. Weakly, she opens her eyes.

"Steve," she whispers, her voice cracking.

He frantically searches her face, "oh, my god, Phina are you ok?"

Her eyes fall closed again and she fights to open them, "Dustin?"

Steve tries to help her stand but she falls into his chest, he wraps his arms around her, "oh! It's ok, I got you. I got you."

Dustin watches her worriedly, "Steve? Is she ok?"

"I'm fine, Dusty," Phina mumbles, her teeth chattering.

"We need to get you home," Steve says.

Phina frantically shakes her head, "no, no, no, my parents can't see me like this. There are way too many questions that I won't be able to answer."

"She can stay here," Dustin says.

Phina's head feels heavy on her shoulders as she shakes it, "your mom."

Steve sighs, "my parents are out of town, you can stay at my house, but I want answers."

"Ok," Phina mumbles, her head laying on Steve's chest.

The warmth radiating of Steve is so inviting to Phina who is shivering out of control. Steve looks down at her and sighs.

"Can you walk," he asks.

"Yeah," she says, trying to stand on her own, falling back into his arms in less than a second.

"Ok," Steve says, reaching down to put his arm under her knees.

He picks her up, cradling her to his chest, he looks at Dustin, "you go inside, we can deal with your problems tomorrow."

Dustin nods, watching Phina, "promise me she'll be ok."

Steve looks down at her, her face tucked into his shoulder as she tries to take in as much warmth from him as she possibly could, "I'll take care of her, I promise."

Again, Phina woke up and she wasn't quite sure where she was, or what had happened. She was in a bedroom, not her own, but definitely a guy's considering the amount of clothing strewn across the floor. This room was familiar, like the last one she woke up in.

Her memories were blurry, all hidden behind a haze that she couldn't shake off. She remembered being cold after she had left Hawkins Lab, walking through the forest. Then she remembers falling, being held by warm arms, and a low voice.

The door to the room opens and Steve Harrington steps through it. He looks like he's trying to sneak in, he probably thinks she's still asleep. When he quietly shuts the door behind him he looks at the bed, at Phina. His eyes widen in shock.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I, uh, didn't mean to wake you."

Phina shakes her head slowly, "no, no, you're fine, I was already awake."

He sighs, walking further into the room, "good, I was hoping that you would be so I didn't have to wake you."

Phina awkwardly rubs the back of her neck, "this may seem like a weird question but, how did I get here?"

Steve raises his brows, "you don't remember."

She shakes her head, wincing a little as she does, "my mind's a bit hazy, I remember waking up in Hawkins Lab and then escaping and being cold after that is a blur."

Steve chuckles, "yeah well, when Dustin and I found you, you were pretty gone. You mumbled some stuff about not wanting your parents to see you and that you couldn't answer their questions and stuff like that."

Phina sighs, "yeah, that seems familiar."

Steve moves away from the door to lean on his dresser, "I had some questions of my own last night but you fell asleep as soon as I put you in the car."

Phina remembers warm arms holding her, her face goes warm when she realizes that it was Steve who had held her, "sorry about that."

Steve shakes his head, "it's fine. What I care about is why there is a huge cut on your head and why you were stumbling around the forest in the middle of the night."

Phina tucks her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, "I was with Hopper, he found this tunnel underneath a pumpkin farm, it was like a version of the upside down. We went in to investigate. There was this thing on the ceiling and it released some sort of toxin, Hopper passed out but I wasn't affected by it. Whatever these vine things in the tunnel are, they attacked me, all I remember was getting thrown into the wall and everything going black."

Steve watched her closely, he hadn't ever been to the upside down but he remembered when she had been taken there. He remembered the feeling of pure panic when he realized she was gone. When she came back to school the next week her entire leg had been covered in thick bandages and Nancy had told him that thing they had fought had done that to her. Steve also remembers the anger he felt, at that thing, at the fact that he hadn't protected her. He could see the scars on her right leg, the four jagged lines of raised skin that came out from beneath her short and all the way down to her calf.

"When I woke up," Phina continues on, "I was in Hawkins Lab and a nurse told me I had been out for almost a day. I... I couldn't stay there."

Steve hears the strain in her voice, "I had to get out."

She hugs her knees, her nails digging into her skin, Steve pushes off the dresser, "hey."

He sits down on the bed in front of her, gently prying her hands away. Her nails had left small red lines on her knees. They hadn't pierced the skin but it was close.

"You're alright, Phina," Steve whispers, "you're alright."

She nods slowly, "sorry I... I have a lot of bad memories of that place, a lot of them."

"It's ok," he says, "I understand."

She breathes through her nose, "after I got out, I got cold and tired, I remembering falling and then being held and that's it."

"That's when Dustin and I found you," he smiles, "you scared the crap out of us, shuffling through the woods like you were about to come and kill us."

She chuckles, "you and Dustin? Why were you two together?"

Steve shakes his head, "Dustin got himself into a bit of trouble. Apparently, he found this little lizard thing in his garbage and decided to keep it as a pet. Then it started to rapidly grow and it ate his cat."

"Mews?" Phina's lip sticks out in a pout. "I loved that cat."

"Yeah," Steve chuckles, glancing down at her pouting lips, "he locked it in the basement and found me as a last resort to help him. When I went into the basement, I found a bunch of gooey shed skin and a hole dug through the wall."

Phina sighs, "sounds like an upside-down thing."

Steve nods his head, "and the problem is, this thing escaped and is who the hell knows where eating cats and possibly toddlers."

Phina smacks his arm, "why would you say toddlers?"

He laughs, "that's not the point, the point is that this thing is out there and unfortunately, you, Dustin, and I are the ones that have to go look for it."

"Why do I have to," Phina asks.

Steve smiles, "well, unless you want to tell your parents what happened to your head now, Dustin and I are willing to let you help us."

"Let me," Phina scoffs, "like you two could do this on your own."

-1834 words-

To make up for Phina being unconscious for almost all of the last chapter here is some OC stuff, and some Steve and Phina stuff ;) Hope Y'all liked this chapter and are ready for the next one!

-Morgan

#steve harrington #steve harrington x oc #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #strangerthingsfanfic #strangerthings #slow burn #one #romance

3 notes · View notes