#steve harrington x cordelia silva

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞; 𝐬𝐡

𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; Cordelia and Steve have an encounter with a redheaded menace while babysitting.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings

“You’ve opened this gate before, right?” Joyce pointed down at the letters spelled out on the table, looking to the girl. 

“Yes,” Eleven said. 

“Do you think that if we got you back there, that you could close it?” 

The answer of Eleven looking off into space, and her brief nod, was enough to make Cordelia feel some remote sensation of happiness. Standing against the wall, Steve next to her, she made eye contact with him. A gleam in his eyes made her understand that this could be the solution to their problem. 

From what had been explained to Cordelia, the gate determined everything. If she could close it, the rest of the monsters would die. And she’d go back to the junkyard, undisturbed. Alone. That place was where it seemed she best fit in. During the off season, when she wasn’t running or playing volleyball. When she didn’t have anyone wanting to know where she was, what she was doing. When she wanted to light the matches and watch them burn. 

She looked up to see Steve staring at her. He had an expression she couldn’t read upon his face, and Cordelia turned away. Something in the midst of trying to understand her. She nestled into the corduroy of her jacket, flexing her right leg — her bad leg — to see how it felt. 

“Its not like it was before,” Hopper was saying to the group, crowded around the kitchen table. “It’s grown. A lot. And I mean, that’s considering that we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demo-dogs,” Dustin interrupted. 

Sighing, Hopper looked at Dustin, “I'm sorry, what?”

“I said, uh,” Dustin spoke, “demo-dogs. Like demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass—”

“How is this important right now?” Hopper questioned, annoyance in his voice. 

“It’s not, I’m sorry.” Dustin said. 

Glancing up, Eleven spoke, “I can do it.”

Hopper shook his head, “You're not hearing me.”

“I’m hearing you, I can do it.” Eleven reiterated. 

“Even if El can, there is still another problem,” Mike added. “If the brain dies, the body dies.” 

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max pointed out.

“It is,” Mike said, “but if we’re really right about this. I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayers army..”

“Will’s a part of that army,” Lucas told the group.

“Closing the gate will kill him, then.” Cordelia said, startling Nancy who stood in front of her. 

“Yes,” Mike responded. 

Cordelia watched Joyce. Her face was a mix of emotions. She couldn’t imagine having to lose a son in this way. Joyce moved into the bedroom, where Will lay.

“He likes it cold,” Joyce mumbled. 

“What?” Said Hopper.

“It's what Will kept saying to me,” Joyce’s face had realization all over it, “he likes it cold.”

She walked to the window and pulled it shut. “We keep giving it what it wants.” 

“If this is a virus, and Will’s the host, then…” Nancy said, trailing off.

“Then we need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan finished. 

Nancy continued, “so if he likes it cold.” 

“We need to burn it out of him,” Joyce said.

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time.” Mike put in, voice loud. 

“Yeah,” Dustin agreed. “Somewhere far away.”

Outside, Cordelia stood again with Steve and Nancy. They removed pieces of trash from a large pile that Hopper had created when he’d cleared out the shed. In her hands lay a saw, large and rusted. She slammed it down in another pile. This would break under pressure — not a good weapon.

Steve held up a radiator and tossed it to the side, “you should go with him.” 

Nancy stared up at Steve, misunderstanding painting her face, “what?”

“With Jonathon,” Steve said.

“No,” she said, and Cordelia could see her cheeks flush against the pale beam of her flashlight. “I’m not just going to leave Mike.”

“No one’s leaving anyone,” Steve told her, getting up to stand side by side with Nancy across the trash pile. “I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend… but turns out I’m actually a pretty damn good babysitter.” 

Cordelia watched as Nancy absorbed the words. If Cordelia Silva was good at one thing, it was observing. Nancy looked up at Steve with big eyes, glassy eyes, as he held out a radiator to her. 

“Steve.” She said. Cordelia made the decision to leave, walking back to the house. This was not her business. She didn’t want to know about Steve and Nancy. She didn’t need to. She didn’t care. 

“It’s okay, Nance.” Steve told her, watching Cordelia move away and back into the Byer’s home. “It’s okay.”

Nancy waited for the porch door to slam shut. “So Cordelia.” She said, changing the subject. 

Steve stopped moving the trash around. “Yes?” “What’s with Cordelia, why is she here?” Nancy asked, kneeling to the ground. 

“She was in the junkyard and helped fight off the demo-dogs.” Steve told Nancy, who nodded, still staring at Steve. 

“No,” he shook his head, understanding her eyes. “No, we just met. She’s beautiful, yes, but I don’t know her at all.” He reiterated.

“So there is nothing happening? I saw you two leave the bathroom, Steve. The look that you gave her.” 

“The demo-dog got her leg, I was bandaging her up. Nothing is going on. We met four fucking hours ago!” Steve thrust his hands in the air. It wasn’t possible to like someone after four hours together. Even if they had been life or death ones. 

“Okay, Steve.” Nancy said, her voice making her words an obvious lie. “It just looked like you’d known her for a thousand years.”

He didn’t say anything to that, instead rummaging through the pile again. 

Cordelia stood on the front porch ten minutes later, watching as Jonathon, Nancy, Will, Hopper, Eleven and Joyce sped away in two different vehicles. Max was in front of her, and Cordelia could hear Mike sniffling. 

She straightened her jacket and turned to open the door as Steve waited for the kids to enter the Byer’s house. The air was cold and the November night was clear, stars straying through the sky above them. In St. Paul, there were too many lights and Cordelia couldn’t see the stars. Here there were so many above her that Cordelia thought it was overwhelming. 

In the kitchen, Dustin emptied the fridge’s contents out on the ground. The items lay around haphazardly, and Cordelia grabbed a glass of water as Steve shoved the dead creature in the fridge. 

She turned around as Steve rubbed the top of Dustin’s hat, panting slightly. “That was too gooey to be good.” He said.

In the living room, Cordelia heard Lucas speak, “Mike, would you just stop already!” 

“You weren’t in there, okay, Lucas.” Mike responded, tone thin and angry. “That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs.” 

“Demo-dogs!” Dustin shouted from his spot in the kitchen, and Cordelia followed the projection of his voice into the living room. 

Ignoring Dustin, Lucas continued, “the chief will take care of her.”

Max rolled her blue eyes, “like she needs protection.” 

Walking in, Steve opened his arms to the group, “listen dude, a coach calls a play in the game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?” 

“Steve’s correct.” Cordelia added. “We are not the starting team.”

“Okay first of all,” Mike said, “this isn’t some stupid sports game.”

“You watch professional volleyball and see who's saying that.” Cordelia spoke under her breath. 

“Yes,” Steve turned to Cordelia, stammering slightly, “right… So my point is…” Steve paused, looking for the words. “Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there is nothing we can do.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Dustin said. “I mean, these demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.” Cordeila gave Steve a pouty look, joking, “I thought me and Stevie scared them away.” Steve stared at her large brown eyes and his heart did something he did not want it to do. 

“No,” Dustin shook his head, curls flopping, “no they were called away.”

“So, if we get their attention…” Lucas said. 

“Maybe we can draw them from the lab.” Max added, a look dawning on her freckled face. 

 “And clear a path to the gate,” Mike finished. 

“Yeah, and then we all die.” Steve stated, hands crossed over his chest. 

“That’s one point of view,” Dustin noted. 

Cordelia smirked slightly, the right side of her mouth lifting upward, “yes, the most positive one.” 

“No, that’s not a point of view, man, that’s a fact.” Steve said. 

Pushing through Cordelia and Steve, Mike gasped, “I got it!” 

He led the group to the fridge, pointing at a drawing near the bottom. Scribbled out in large, unruly lines was an image of a tunnel. 

“This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel, so…” Mike got up again, moving with quick steps back into the living room. 

“Here, right here, this is like a hub,” he motioned his hands at a group of the same style of drawing, the tunnels depicted again. “So you got all the tunnels feeding in here.” The boy kneeled down, and with some pain Cordelia followed suit. “So maybe if we light this on fire…”

“Oh yeah?” Steve asked rhetorically, pointing down, “that’s a no.”

“The mind flayer would call away his army,” Dustin ignored Steve, who stood in the background, eyes wide. 

“They’d all come to stop us,” Lucas realized, excitement riddling his voice. 

“Then we circle back to the exit,” Mike said.

“Hey!” Steve told the group, “guys!” 

“By the time they realize we’re gone,” Mike continues, eyes big and round.

Max nodded, understanding, “El would be at the gate.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Steve yelled, “this is not happening!” He clapped his hands to prove his point. 

“But—” One of the kids argued. 

“No,no,no,no. No buts. We promised,” he motioned back and forth between him and Cordelia, his hands exaggerated, “we’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what we plan on doing. We’re staying here on the bench, and we’re waiting on the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?” Steve reiterated sternly. Mike immediately voiced his anger, “this isn’t some stupid sports game!” 

“I said, does everybody understand that?” Steve motioned to the kids, one by one, driving the point in by waving his hands, “I need a yes.”

Outside, interrupting their conversation, a vehicle revved. Cordelia sprang up, feeling her pocket for the gear shift, which was heavy, pulling the material off of her strong shoulders. 

Before Steve or Cordelia could stop the kids, Max and Lucas were at the window, peering outside to the driveway. “It’s my brother,” Max said, and Cordelia immediately looked to Steve. 

“He can’t know I’m here,” Max’s voice was quickly turning frantic, “he’ll kill me. He’ll kill us.” There was no jolly tone in her voice, only deep and serious truth. 

Dragging his gaze away from Cordelia’s eyes, Steve looked worried. The car outside revved loudly two times, and before Billy could do it again, Cordelia and Steve made a beeline toward the door. Their steps in sync. 

The tires squeaked outside, and Cordelia could tell he’d turned the car off through the window of the door, the headlights disappearing and painting darkness around them in their absence. 

Steve stepped outside of the door, opening it wide so Cordelia could join him under the porch. 

And there Billy was, a cigarette lit in his mouth. Though Cordelia often pretended to smoke, there was something so ugly about someone actually doing it. Actually tainting their lungs. But she supposed Billy was just as tainted already, no need for the cigarette. His voice was dreamy and rough, addressing the two teenagers on the porch, standing side by side. “Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington? And Cordelia Silva. What a surprise!”

Steve stared directly at Billy, not missing a beat, “yeah it’s us, don’t cream your pants.” 

Cordelia bit down on her tongue to hide the laugh that almost escaped. Steve Harrington, the boy not so good with comebacks, had one for the papers.

Billy’s car door slammed shut and he pulled off his jean jacket, exposing a red shirt halfway unbuttoned. The cigarette was loose in his mouth as Billy smirked, watching with ugly eyes as Steve stepped off the porch, nearing Billy.

“What are you doing here, amigo?” Billy asked, the smile still on his face. He walked toward Steve. 

“I could ask you the same thing… amigo.” 

“Looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here,” Billy said. 

“Huh, that’s weird.” Cordelia responded loudly, still standing on the porch. 

“Yeah. We don’t know her.” Steve added, watching as Billy shook his head. 

Billy waved his hands up, “small, redhead, bit of a bitch.” 

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Cordelia told him, moving down the porch steps. She could see the anger growing slowly in Billy’s pupils. 

“Sorry.” Said Steve. 

Sighing dramatically, Billy shook his head, “you know, I don’t know, this… this whole situation, you know Harrington. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.” 

“Oh yeah?” Steve responded, “why’s that?” Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, Billy explained, “my thirteen year old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you and Silva in a stranger's house, and you both lie to me about it.” 

Chuckling, Steve looked away, exasperated, “man, were you dropped too much as a child or what?” Billy ran his tongue along his teeth, smoke billowing from his mouth. “I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said.”

“We don’t know your stepsister.” Cordelia insisted. “She’s not here.”

“Most you’ve ever said in your life, Silva,” Billy said, then looked to Steve. “It’s always the quiet ones, ain’t it.” He ran his eyes over her body, pausing to stare at her chest and then down at her leg, where the bloodied jeans were dark against the night.

“What’s going on here, Silva? Got a little too feisty, huh?” Billy pointed with his cigarette to the bottom of her pants, to the blood. He pushed Steve’s shoulder playfully, “good job, Harrington.”

She glared at him roughly, “your sister isn’t here, buddy.” “It’s about time you left,” Steve added, stepping back slightly after Billy touched him.

“Then who’s that,” the redheads eyes made their way to the window, where Cordelia saw Max peering out of the broken glass, along with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. 

“Ah, shit, listen,” Steve said, turning back to Billy, and as soon as he did, the redhead pushed Steve to the ground roughly. Corelia balled her fists up, ready to attack if Billy did anything more.

“I told you to plant your feet,” leaning over Steve, Cordelia watched ash from Billy’s cigarette land in Steve’s hair. Then, Billy kicked Steve right in the stomach, leaving him groaning on the ground. He stepped over Steve and made a break for the door. 

Cordelia spun on him, racing to block the doorway. She was quick, that was something about her. “Not so fast, Hargove.” She told him, and he eyed her up and down. 

“You know, Harrington didn’t choose a bad one,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. 

Before he could say anything else, she slapped his face, her skin hitting his cheeks loudly. He looked dazed for a moment before rage boiled on his face and he shoved her back against the door, tossing her to the side. 

Cordelia heard the door open and opened her eyes to see Steve getting up. Once he saw her against the porch, hunched over, he sprinted to Cordelia. 

“Are you okay?” He asked quickly, hearing yelling coming from the house. 

“Are you?” She asked, and before he could stop himself he was holding a hand out for her, pulling her up. 

“Yes,” he told her. She was stronger then he’d assumed, and he saw an odd burn mark against the side of her thumb, like someone had melted the skin on her fingers like wax. 

She nodded, and heard a shout coming from inside, and she rushed in front of him, pulling the door open and letting Steve enter. 

She moved to the kitchen, where she could see Lucas being cornered by Billy, who was red with anger. “You are so dead, Sinclair. So dead!” 

“No,” Cordelia said, pulling her fists out of her pockets. “You are.” Her fist contacted the side of his face as he turned, and she could tell Steve was beside her. She could feel his flesh under her knuckles as she beat upon his face, and then nose. Billy bent over with the force of one of Cordelia’s punches, laughing hysterically. 

She felt a hand brush her shoulder, and Steve had pushed her back, standing like a shield in front of Cordelia. 

“Looks like you’ve got some fire in you after all!” He shouted, a playful tone on his face. “I bet that’s what Steve likes the most about you.” He gave them a shit-eating grin. 

Steve’s voice was dark and husky, “get out.” He pushed Billy away with two fingers. 

Before she knew it, Billy’s arms were flying through the air at Steve. She pulled him down and he ducked, missing the punch. The two tripped over themselves and further into the kitchen, punches landing on Billy, who was driven against the countertop. Then, the redhead pulled a plate from the sink and dropped it onto Steve’s head, laughing as the ceramic shattered against his skull.. 

He followed Steve from the kitchen and the kids moved too, into the living room. Billy grabbed Steve’s shoulders and held him up, “no one tells me what to do!” He grunted loudly. Then, with one swift movement of his head, Steve’s own was hit and he landed down on the ground, sliding against the drawings of the tunnels and against the couch. Cordelia gave the kids a look signaling to stay where they were, and silently she approached Billy’s back. Rage boiled inside her. 

Punches fell like hail from Billy’s palms as he beat upon Steve, who lay on the floor, unconscious. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth, and Cordelia didn’t have time to think about what she was doing.

She reached and forcefully pulled Billy’s shoulders back, causing the redhead to lose his balance. He reached and tried to punch the air as he was flung onto his back. Cordelia quickly sat on his stomach, her strong legs pinning him down. He had to be double her weight, but the surprise gave her an extra couple of seconds. She held her hands against his neck, leaning down so that her elbows pushed his arms to the floor. She could almost taste his breath on her tongue, their faces were so close together. Her fingers tightened on his throat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max approach. Just as the redhead came into view, there was something jabbing out of Billy’s neck. He looked dazed, and Max pulled Cordelia upright. 

Billy stood slowly and stared at Cordelia, then Max. He reached into his neck, pulling a green tipped syringe out of his flesh. The needle was small, and delicate, and fearing he’d use it as a weapon, Cordelia held her arms out in front of the younger girl.

“The hell is this.” He said, glancing up and down at the syringe and then his sister. He moved several paces forward. “You little shit, what did you do?”

Then, he landed backwards, falling onto the carpeted floorboards with a loud thud. Out cold. 

“Shit,” Mike said. 

Max’s mouth was open as Billy started to laugh, and then Cordelia saw Steve. He was passed out on the ground, his eyes closed and face starting to swell. She moved gracefully over Billy’s body and kneeled next to Steve. 

“Steve?” She asked, watching his chest rise and fall. “Goddamn it.” She whispered, closing her eyes. She was alone now.

“Stay away from my friends, Billy!” Max growled at her brother several feet away, as Cordelia felt for Steve’s pulse, checking for irregularities. 

Cordelia turned around and rose as the hellish-bat hit the ground in between Billy’s legs, all the doing of Max. She pulled it out, the floorboards splintering. “Say you understand! Say it! Say it!” She screamed at her stepbrother. 

He lolled his head to the side, “I understand.”

“What?” Max asked. “I understand,” Billy mumbled again, this time slightly clearer and louder then the last. 

Max dropped the bat and retreated back to where Lucas stood. Looking down at Billy, Cordelia took in a breath when she saw the keys imprinted in his jeans pocket. She leaned down, and shook them in her fingers.

“I’m done with this,” Cordelia said, meaning the creatures and the fighting.“Let’s get the hell out of here and finish those bastards off.” 

taglist; @preciousbabypeter @earthtostory 

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧; 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; it's always snowing when the romance begins...

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings

There was something about Hawkins in the winter that Cordelia liked. The snow falling in small, fluffy waves, the way the sun peeked out from behind buildings to warm up the concrete, the way the rusted metal at the junkyard froze over, a thick layer of frost coating the mirrors and the windshield. 

Cordelia sat in the front seat of her car, a 1972 Aston Martin. It was a deep red, and dust clouded its sides. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, humming to one of her favorite John Lennon tracks that played softly on the radio.

“Does my hair look terrible?” Max, who was sitting next to her in the passenger seat, asked. She was looking beautiful, with a pretty dress on and shoes that Cordelia had lent her. 

“It looks perfect.”

“My mom made it so tight that it would be hard to mess up, I guess.” Max shrugged, and Cordelia smiled at the young girl. They were sitting outside in the parking lot of Hawkins Middle School. It was dark outside, the night air frigid cold, fogging up the windows of her car. Cordelia reached over and turned up the heat. She was always cold these days. 

“Well, you’d better go, Max. Lucas is here,” she nodded toward the entrance of the building, where the boy was pulling open the doors of the Middle School. For the last month and a half, Cordelia had been driving Max to and from school and shuttling her around Hawkins. Ever since that night where she'd threatened Billy, Max had been avoiding her older brother at all costs — and Cordelia was happy to help. She connected with Max on this level that neither of them really understood. 

“Hey, Cordelia?” Max asked, her hand laying on the door handle, “thanks for everything.” 

“Hey, Max?” Cordelia responded, “always.”

Max reached over the console and gave Cordelia a side hug before exiting the car. As she walked into the school, she recognized another vehicle that had pulled in. 

Steve’s BMW. Maroon like her own car. And there he was inside of it, his red sweater and his fluffy hair. Cordelia could make out Dustin next to him in the front seat, and a smile started to form on her face. Every weekend Steve had been meeting her in the junkard, Saturday, Sunday. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. They’d sit in the Greyhound and talk, mostly about sports. Turns out Steve Harrington was the biggest fan of volleyball that she’d ever met. Now, she watched as he patted Dustin on the head. 

She’d known it for a while that she’d liked him. When he’d hugged her in the tunnel and he was so warm and comforting and there, that was when it had first started. But Steve had just gotten broken up with by Nancy, and she assumed there was no way he’d feel any romantic attraction to her. 

She started her car as Dustin left Steve’s, and pulled up so that their driver's side windows were facing each other. 

As Steve saw Cordelia, his face brightened. She was wearing a light green sweater, the material thick, with flowers embroidered on the sleeve cuffs. Gray wide leg jeans adorned her legs, and her hair was clipped back in her signature style. 

“Hey, Cory,” he said, flashing her a smile. She turned her ignition off and let her hand fall out of her rolled down window. 

“Hey, Harrington.” She responded. 

They paused, both of them searching for words, “those dipshits better have a good night.” She told him, and he laughed.

“Yes, they better. You drove Max?”

“Yeah,” she said, then added, “I’m not letting her get in a car with Billy.” 

 “Smart move. I don’t want to know what he’s done.” Steve shook his head before continuing, “do you want to go to the junkyard?” 

She glanced down at the watch on her wrist, “yes. Can I drop my car off at my house?” Her heart beat.

He nodded, opening his arms. “I'll follow you, Madame.” 

Soon enough, Cordelia was sitting in the front of Steve’s BMW, her head leaning against the leather seats. 

She’d been in his car enough times that she missed the smell when she wasn’t inside of it. Bergamot, eucalyptus. Her favorite scents. His too. 

“Did you have school dances in St. Paul?” Steve asked, turning down the heat as the car warmed up. He kept his eyes on the road, but every once in a while would glance to the passenger seat to see what Cordelia was doing. To see her face. 

She breathed out a laugh, nodding, “many. I never attended.”

“Really? I always went.” 

“Cause you knew you’d be the talk of the night,” she reached over and ruffled his hair, and he gave her a grin. 

“Why’d you never go?” he pulled onto the long dirt road that made its way to the junkyard.

“My mom would have made a big deal of it, you know? Protective, jealous.” She paused before saying, “look at her now. I never see her.”

Steve reached over and set his fingers against her arm. He was so warm, and Cordelia shivered from the feel of it. 

“It’s not a big deal,” she shrugged it off, returning to her quiet self.

After they’d made their way down the long, ambling dirt road, they arrived at the junkyard. Steve turned off the ignition and Cordelia rubbed her hands together, channeling their warmth. “This might have been a stupid idea,” Steve observed the snow falling from the heavens. 

“That’s exactly why we’re here.” She gave him her signature grin — where the right side of her mouth lifted up so he could spot her sharp canine teeth, and her eyes gleamed. 

She threw herself out of the car and started to sprint to the Greyhound. Entering it, she sat down on the leather seats. Steve and her had arranged the place to suit them — the benches pushed against the walls facing one another, and a new rug had been transported from Cordelia’s basement. It was homey enough. 

Soon enough, breathing loudly, Steve crashed through the front door of the Greyhound and sat down on the leather seat next to her. He was wearing a ring on his left pointer finger, and it was silver. She touched him and pulled the hand closer, inspecting the silver adornment. A small moon was carved on the brim of it, and a diamond shaped like a dog tooth crested the top. 

“Nice,” she whispered to him, as if talking would disturb the peace around them.

“Thanks. I’ve had it since I was really little, I honestly forgot who gave it to me. Dustin, that little shit, went through my room and found it.” 

“I’m glad he did,” Cordelia noted, still holding Steve’s hand in her fingertips. 

His eyes washed over her skin, taking in the moles and freckles showcased on her wrist, and the dimple against the side of her mouth. He trailed his sight back down to the burn mark adorning her pointer finger and thumb. 

“Cory,” he started, pausing before continuing. “What happened here?” He held his fingers to the burn, not touching it. 

He’d seen the signs of sadness, of pain. The way that Cordelia never went home for more then four or five hours, the way that she ignored people and lived in her own world. The way that she didn’t talk about herself, the way she flinched when people raised their voices. 

She shook her head, pulling her hand away from his, though he held tight to her, “it's just a burn, Steve.” She didn’t meet his gaze. 

“Cory…” 

“I… I don’t know how to explain this… When we left Minnesota, there was something in the air. This feeling of pain, of hurt I guess. I bought a container of matches and was lighting a cigarette when it burned me…” 

He examined her face, and she looked like she was physically hurt at that moment. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, “I just started burning myself… The pain on my fingers just brought me away from the pain in… in here. I used to run to make the thoughts go away… but I don’t now.” she pointed with her free hand to her chest. 

He gave her a look filled with hurt, though she still didn’t open her eyes. When she finally did, and saw his face, Cordelia shook her head, “Steve I haven’t done it in a long time. I’ve been working on healing my leg, which, by the way, is going just fine thank you very much.” Her joke didn’t make him laugh, as they normally did. 

“Cory, promise me one thing,” he said, and she leaned back against the leather seat, her head propped up against the side of the bus. “Promise me that if you are ever hurting like that again you’ll tell me.” Cordelia nodded, and yet Steve still shook his head, “please say it, Cory.” 

She looked up at the ceiling of the greyhound, watching the snow fall through the hatch and onto the ground of the bus. “I promise, Steve.”

He gave her a tight grin, still holding her hand. “Why’d you stop running? You beat everyone in the tunnels and you didn’t even try.” 

She closed her eyes again, picturing States the year prior. States before the world fell away at her feet. 

Gazing at her, Steve wanted to pull the negative thoughts from her beautiful mind. 

Cordelia frowned, “it reminds me of him…” She whispered, and for the first time in a while she didn’t want to pick up the match at that sign of pain in her chest. She wanted to pull Steve in. 

Steve knew she was talking about her father from the tone of voice. He knew she didn’t share much about herself with anyone at school — even the volleyball girls she played with on the Hawkins team didn’t have a clue about what Cordelia’s home life was like. That fact that she was talking to Steve about it was a sign that she really trusted him. 

Wanting to change the subject, Cordelia did just that, “what happened with Nancy, Steve?”

He rubbed his face and sighed, grinning slightly, “she told me she didn’t love me. I thought that might be a good place to end it…” 

“Steve…” she said, her eyes watching his face deeply. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh god, don’t be.” He said. “She’s not the one for me.” It took effort to say that, Cordelia knew. 

“Who is? Who’s the one for Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington?” She teased, ruffling his scalp and the luscious locks resting on it. 

He stared at her, his eyes dazed and low and set against hers. It was such an intense, dreamy gaze, so dizzying against her face. He reached to the baby hairs against the side of her right cheekbone, tucking it into place behind her ears. 

Steve’s face was so close to her own now that she could feel his warm breath against her lips, so hot on the cold December night. 

“Let me kiss you, Cordelia…” He rasped, and she smiled, leaning in as an answer.

His lips were soft and warm against her own. She could feel his body heat sinking into her flesh as he cupped the side of her face, his palms against her hair. She let out a noise as his left hand fell down her body, sliding against her waist to hoist her onto him. 

Their lips left one anothers only to take short, necessary breaths, and then they were attached again. Soon enough, she made the move to his neck, kissing deeply against his flesh, the red sweater rubbing on her left cheek. Steve let out a moan, his grip tightening on her waist as she nipped on his neck, her canine teeth sharp against his skin.

“You would be a good vampire,” he whispered in her ear, and she let out a chuckle, breathing in the scent on his sweater. 

She pulled her head back up to his lips, sinking into the softness of them. Steve’s right hand was again on her hair, cupping her face, and his left was cozy around her waist. 

“Steve,” she breathed against his lips, and he groaned in response, pulling her back in for another kiss. 

“Steve is this a good idea?” She repeated, her face so next to his that when he gazed at her, Cordelia’s eyes blurred into one brown orb.

“I fell in love with you when you held open your arms and defended the kids from the demo-dogs. Right here in this bus. I know it sounds insane,” he said, “we’ve only known each other, well not even two months… but I’ve never felt something like this for a person.”

She nodded, still straddling him, and smiled, “I just don’t want you to leave, Steve… I don’t want this to be a hookup and then you aren’t in it for the long run.”

“I’m in for all the miles, Cory.” Steve told her, and he met his forehead to her own, their noses touching. “The first time I saw you, I’d just come into a volleyball game this past fall. You were in the front row, you know, and the other team had the serve. You stayed in front left, and then got the ball set to you and you just nailed the other team. It was such a beautiful hit… I’ve never seen so much power from someone. I didn’t expect it from you — the mysterious girl who’d moved and hadn’t said a word to anyone.” 

She grinned, “you were probably looking at my ass.”

“What do you mean, what ass?” He teased, and she laughed, then gasped when he felt his hands on the flesh they’d been talking about. 

“No I wasn’t looking at your very nice ass, Cory. I was like entranced or some shit by you. By your fucking power.”

She leaned into him again, this time the kiss was rough, greedy. 

Cordelia felt something cold attach to her thumb, the one with the burn mark decorating the flesh. She saw Steve’s ring surrounding her finger, the diamond sparkling against the soft darkness of the Greyhound. 

“Goodness gracious, Steve Harrington. You are going to be the death of me.” 

the next season of Cordelia's story will be out soon, called Six Feet Under. This will be accessible under my main stranger things story masterlist, linked at the top of this fic!

thanks for all the support - Calpurnia

taglist; @preciousbabypeter @earthtostory

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫; 𝐬𝐡

𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

series summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; Cordelia catches a ride to the Byer's house, where plans are being made. Steve and Cordelia share a moment in the bathroom.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, depression, self harm, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia's questionable writings

That was when the yelling started. Steve’s voice, Nancy’s, especially Dustin’s were loud against her ear drums. 

Cordelia moved quickly through the group, their eyes on her back as she looked at the lab. “The power’s back.” She informed them, turning around again. 

She and Jonathon had the same idea together. If the power was back, the gate would work, and they could all get into the lab. She sprinted as well as she could with a hurt leg and slammed down on the open button in the entrance booth. 

Jonathon appeared behind her, watching as she pressed the button repeatedly. 

“Here, let me try.” Dustin, that know it all, was telling her. She felt hands on her shoulders. 

“Hang on, different people pressing it isn’t going to make it work.” She told the younger boy, but he still shoved her out of the way. 

“Let me try, Cordelia!” Dustin’s voice echoed in the small, rectangular booth. 

“Son of a bitch, you know what-” Dustin yelled at the button, and Cordelia rolled her eyes. Steve watched her move outside the booth and closer to the gate. She wrapped her hands on the cold metal, tucking the gear shift haphazardly into the pocket of her jacket. Just as she made the move to climb it, Cordelia heard a ding and the gate started to slide open. Pulling herself back quickly, she joined the group again, Dustin’s voice a constant reminder that she did not open the gate herself, and that he did. 

“Guys?” Max was saying as headlights appeared on the road in front of her. 

“Look out!” Steve’s touch was on her shoulder again as he pulled her out of the road. There were two cars, and the horn was loud and disturbing as the first car drove by. The second was the sheriff. 

The window rolled down, and the man in the driver's seat motioned to Steve. “Let’s go.”

“Come on, hurry! Get in, get in.” Steve’s voice was quick and nervous. He joined the officer in the front and Cordelia piled with the kids in the back, propping up her leg against the opposite side of the truck bed. 

It was a short ride to this house. Cordelia had no clue where she was, but she thought that if the sheriff was there maybe it wasn’t illegal, and that was a start. The kids climbed out of the truck and Steve held the door open for her, watching as she maneuvered lightly on the injured leg. 

Inside the house, the officer was talking on the phone. The kid who was named Will lay on the couch, sleeping or unconscious, Cordelia did not know which. She leaned against the arch of the wall between the kitchen and the living room, her head against the wood frame. 

“I don’t know how many people are left alive!” Hopper exclaimed. Cordelia’s deep brown eyes followed Steve as he walked by her, gaze landing on the girl before staring back at the drawings covering the walls. Then he moved to the kitchen, searching through the drawers. 

“I am the police! I’m Chief Jim Hopper!” The officer yelled again. Cordelia closed her eyes. She was tired. She wanted to light a cigarette and pretend to have a smoke. She wanted to go back to the junkyard and light matches and watch them burn. 

Steve rifled through the kitchen cabinets, coming up finally with a white box, a red cross on the top. 

He walked back to Cordelia, who blinked slowly. “For your leg,” he told her. “Here, follow me.” He held out his hand to Cordelia, who took it, pulling herself off the wall. She let go and followed him through the house, to the bathroom. 

“Sit down on the counter.” He directed, closing the door. She leaned her back against the mirror and pulled her bad right leg onto the toilet. 

To her left, Steve ran a washcloth through steaming water in the sink, then turned and sat down on the side of the tub. 

“Can I roll it up, please?” Steve asked, motioning to her jeans. Cordelia nodded, and winced slightly as he pulled the thick denim up her legs. Her legs were thin enough that the fabric collected below her knee. 

“Holy shit,” he said, gazing at the wound. It was deep, but not enough to where she would need stitches. Just long and full of brown, dried blood. Several marks from each of the claws adorned the longest wound. “I can’t believe you were walking on this all that time.” 

“I was so pumped on adrenaline that it didn’t hurt for a while.” She told him as he folded the washcloth, pouring alcohol onto the cotton. “And focused on not being a carcass on the ground.”

He smiled and moved his shoulders, peering at her face. “This is going to hurt,” he warned. She nodded, closing her eyes. 

She could feel the warmth of the cloth before the pain washed over her. Steve sure had drenched the fabric in alcohol. She ground her teeth against each other, squeezing the underside of the countertop as he efficiently cleaned her wound. It took several minutes, and he had to grab another washcloth that he’d prepared alongside the other, but eventually the burning subsided and the towels were in the bathtub. 

“Good job, I would be screaming if I were you,” Steve joked, and was rewarded with a smile. Her hands were still rigid against the countertop, and he patted them lightly, trying to show comfort. 

She opened her eyes at his touch, and glanced down at the wound. It was ugly, and would leave a deep scar. A small trickle of blood was falling down the sliced skin from where Steve had disturbed the scabbing. 

“Shit,” he grabbed a chunk of toilet paper and pressed it against the injury. Cordelia sucked in a deep breath, her head hitting the mirror behind her. 

“I’m sorry this hurts,” Steve apologized, repositioning the toilet paper to soak up more blood. 

“I’ve had worse,” she told him, her sharp canine teeth dramatic from his position below her. 

“When? I doubt you get attacked by interdimensional creatures every weekend.” Steve wanted to distract her. 

“I got sliced down the ribcage by a track spike once,” she laughed, and Steve smiled slightly. “This kid just dragged the shoe across my stomach. It was deep. I got so many stitches.” 

Steve had never heard Cordelia talk that much, which was a shame. He thought she had a beautiful voice, rough and hoarse and sexy. 

“That’s physcopathic.” He observed, pulling the paper off of her wound and grabbing the first aid kit. He applied a cool coat of antibiotic on her wound before grabbing the wrappings. “You are all crazy from Minnesota.” 

She chuckled, and then she pulled a deep accent out of her voice — a Minnesota one. “Yeppers, you're sure right there!” 

He laughed deeply, and began to wrap her wound. 

“Why’d you move here?” He asked her, pulling the wide fabric around her leg. “If you got hit by a track spike you must have been from the big leagues.” 

Her happy gaze drifted away in the blink of an eye. “My mom is from here.” Steve wondered what happened to her father, but didn’t press. It wasn’t something that he needed to know. 

He finished binding her and then slowly pulled her jeans back down. The blood was so thick on the denim that it crinkled against his fingers. “I don’t want to know what diseases were on that creature. You should probably go to the hospital for this later, I’m not the best doctor.” 

“You did a great job,” she complemented. “You seem like you’re an expert.” 

“I’ve gotten in my share of bad situations.” Steve responded, getting up from the tub. 

Cordelia pushed herself up as well, standing there in front of him. There was only an inch or two of separation between their chests, and even less between their faces as they stood in the small bathroom. 

“You are nothing like I expected, Cordelia Silva.” She gave a small smile and tucked a few baby hairs behind her ears. 

As he opened the door, she lifted her hands and set them on his shoulders. They were so warm and strong compared to her chilled hands. “Thanks again, Steve.” 

He nodded and gave her a grin, “anytime.”

As they exited the bathroom the sound of the kids talking was loud against their ears. Tunnels, viruses, all things that Cordelia did not really want to learn about if she didn’t have to. She walked better than before, and Steve leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as she made her way back to the arched doorway, resting her body on the wall. 

“The tunnels, the monsters, the Upside Down, everything.” Mike was saying quickly.

“Whoa, slow down, slow down,” Steve’s hands moved as he spoke, motioning up and down in the air. 

“Okay, so, the shadow monsters inside everything,” Mike explained, voice calmer. “And if the vines feel something like pain, so does Will.” 

Lucas piped up, “and so does Dart.” 

Mike agreed, “yeah, it's like what Mr Clarke taught us — the hive mind.” 

“Hive mind?” Steve shook his head, confused. 

“A collective consciousness. It’s a super organism.” Dustin said. 

Mike picked up a piece of paper from the table, pointing at it wildly. Cordelia could make out the drawing from her position by the door, watching with deep brown eyes. “And this is the thing that controls everything. It's the brain.” 

“Like the mind flayer,” Dustin said, sharing a knowing look with Mike. 

“What?” Max and Steve wondered at the same time, and Cordelia shared a puzzled look with the auburn haired girl. 

Lucas snapped his fingers. Suddenly the boys went racing off, leaving just Max, Steve, and Cordelia in the kitchen. They returned a few minutes later, a large book in their hands. They slammed it down on the table, and opened it directly to an information page. 

“The mind flayer,” Dustin spoke quietly, as if entranced by the creature on the page. 

“What the hell is that?” Hopper asked, moving behind the kids. Cordelia shifted slightly to regain her view of the table. 

“It’s a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't even know its true home.” Blank looks came from the rest of the crowd prompting Dustin to continue. “Okay it enslaves races from other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly developed psionic powers.”

Cordelia watched as Hopper shook his head, “Oh my God. None of this is real. It’s a kids game,” he said. 

“No,” Dustin responded, defensive, “it's a manual. And it's not for kids. And unless you know something that we don’t, this is the best metaphor—”

“Analogy,” Lucas interrupted. 

“Analogy? That's what you are worried about?” Dustin’s voice was exasperated. “Fine, an analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is.”

“Okay, so this mind flamer thing,” Nancy spoke up. Cordelia hadn’t even noticed her walk in. 

“Flayer. Mind flayer,” Dustin corrected. 

Sighing, Nancy kept on, “what does it want?” “To conquer us basically. It believes it's the master race.” Dustin explained. 

“Like the Germans?” Steve said, confident in his words. 

Cordelia shook her head, smirking. 

“Uh, the Nazis?” Dustin said. 

Pausing for a moment, Steve nodded. “Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The Nazis.”

“Uh…” Dustin searched for his words. “Yeah, if the Nazis were from another dimension, totally. It views other races, like us, as inferior to itself.” 

“It wants to spread,” Mike added, “take over other dimensions.” 

“We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it.” Lucas told them. 

“That’s great, that’s great. That’s really great. Jesus!” Steve turned, walking away. He watched Cordelia from the corner of his eye, her eyes closed. He wondered how overwhelming this must all be for her. 

Nancy continued, not wasting time. “Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it…” 

“We kill everything it controls,” Cordelia spoke, eyes still shut. 

Silence paused as the group took her in. Nancy hadn’t noticed her presence. “Yes,” Dustin said quickly. “We win.” 

“Theoretically,” Lucas said. 

“Great. So how do you kill this thing. Shoot it with fireballs or something?” Giggling, Dustin corrected him, “no, no, no fire— no fireballs. Uh, you summon an undead army, uh, because… because zombies you know, they don’t have brains, and the mind flayer, it… it likes brains.” 

“Well, I’ll go and round up a crew of them.” Cordelia joked, motioning out the door. 

“It's just a game, it's a game.” Dustin said, unconfident. 

Hopper rolled his head back, unhappy. “What the hell are we doing here?” Dustin shot right back, “I thought we were waiting for your military backup.”

“We are!” Hopper shouted. 

“Even if they come, how are they going to stop this?” Mike yelled. “You can’t just shoot this with guns!”

“You don’t know that! We don’t know anything!” Hopper told the boy.

“We know it's already killed everybody in that lab.” “And we know the monsters are going to molt again.” Lucas added. 

“And we know it's only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town.” 

From behind her, a voice startled Cordelia. “They’re right.” The woman said. Joyce, if she was correct. Will and Jonathon’s mother.

“We have to kill it.” She stood blankly, her scrubs dirty. Hopper made his way towards her. “I want to kill it.” Emotion clouded her voice. 

“Me too.” Hopper agreed. 

“I-” Joyce said.

“Me too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don’t exactly know what we’re dealing with here.” Hopper said. 

Mike piped up from behind the two, “no, but he does.” The Wheeler boy strolled through the living room to his friend who lay unmoving on the sofa. “If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, its Will. He’s connected to it. He’ll know its weakness.” “I thought we couldn’t trust him anymore,” Max added. “That he’s a spy for the mind flayer now.” 

“Yes.” Mike said, pausing. Realization dawned on Cordelia. “But he can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is.” 

Outside, in the shed, Cordelia stood with Nancy and Steve. A roll of tape was flying through the air from her left hand to the right, waiting for the boy to ask for it. He leaned against the wall, smoothing out a tarp across the boarded wood. 

Cordelia could sense something in the air between Nancy and Steve, and stood back slightly. It wasn’t her business. 

Nancy was watching Cordelia out of the corner of her eye, examining her leg and the blood on her jeans.. “Hey,” her voice caught both of them by surprise. “What you both did, um, helping the kids… That was.. Really cool.” 

“Yeah,'' Steve looked away, and Cordelia gave Nancy a small smile. “The little shits are real trouble, you know?” Nancy nodded, and Cordelia hummed in agreement. 

“Believe me, I know.” 

She handed Steve a few pieces of tape, ripping them easily. 

Soon enough, the space was transformed into an unrecognizable room. There was no way that Will could know where he was. There was no way that monster could know where he was. 

Cordelia leaned onto her wall next to Nancy, watching Steve as he practiced his bat swings. 

“And he hits a home run!” Cordelia said, leaving Steve to smile and Nancy to roll her eyes, a smirk on her face. 

Suddenly, the lights started to blink. On and off, so fast that it wasn’t just a spur of bad electricity. Steve stopped batting immediately , following Cordelia and Nancy as they stood under the light. Cordelia kept walking to the window, gazing out into the backyard and to the shed, where she could hear screaming coming from. The boy Will was awake. The monster was awake too.

Rushing inside, Hopper grabbed a pen and paper and sat down at the table, writing as Dustin chattered. 

“What happened?”

Everyone crowded around the police chief, “I think he’s talking, just not with words.” 

Cordelia understood. “Morse code,” she said, and the police chief nodded, finishing writing. 

Cordelia stared at the symbols, putting the letters to the dots and dashes. “H-E-R-E.” She said. 

“Will’s still in there. He’s talking to us.” 

Over the next hour, Cordelia translated each of the morse code letters that Will sent the group. She sat at the kitchen table, the kids crowded around her, watching as she wrote out the letters. 

C-L-O-S-E  G-A-T-E. 

Steve to the right, Nancy to her left, the crew read the words out loud. 

Then suddenly, the phone rang loudly. “Shit,” Dustin said, getting up and answering it before slamming it back down on the wall. The phone paused for a moment before it started to ring again, and next to Steve, Cordelia clutched the gear shift in her left hand, on alert. 

Nancy pulled the phone off of the wall, while Max asked the question circulating through all their minds. “Do you think he heard that?”

“It’s just a phone. It could be anywhere. Right?” Steve said. 

Then, a loud growl sounded in the distance. “That’s not good.” Dustin said, pointing out the obvious. 

Hopper appeared behind them, two guns in both his hands. “Hey! Hey, get away from the windows.” He yelled at the kids, who were leaned over the sofa, watching the world outside. 

“Do you know how to use this?” Hopper asked Jonathon, holding the gun out in front of him. 

“What?” Jonathon said, confused. 

“Can you use this!” Hopper’s voice was filled with agitation. 

Stepping forward, Nancy spoke, “I can.” She said. 

Cordelia let herself smile. Nancy Wheeler, Mrs Perfect, could use a gun. Hopper threw it to her, and Nancy caught it. 

With the gear shift in her hand, and Steve to her left, Cordelia let out a breath.

The screeching noise continued, loud and almost overwhelming. 

“What are they doing?” Nancy whispered, gun pointed at the window. Outside, the bushes moved in the way that Cordelia knew was not the wind. The creatures were outside. Then came a terrible snarl, so loud that she couldn’t hear her own thoughts. 

The monsters screamed and growled. And then suddenly it stopped, the noises stopped. And seconds later a creature came flying through the glass window, landing in a heap on the ground. 

The group slowly maneuvered closer to the creature, all the weapons pointed at the lifeless body. 

“Holy shit,” Dustin said. 

“Is it dead?” Wondered Max seconds later. 

Hopper moved the creature with the toe of his boot, and it flopped the way he pushed it. The animal was dead. 

Then, a knock sounded at the door, and the lock turned in its place. The second lock fell down, and then the door opened. And a girl was standing there, blood trickling down her face. Cordelia felt Steve rustle behind her. The girl, she smiled, and that’s when Cordelia knew. 

This was the girl she’d heard about only hours ago. This was the girl who could move things with her mind. 

This was Eleven.

taglist; @preciousbabypeter

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱; 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; in the tunnels, Cordelia and Steve feel each others warmth, and attempt to kill the monster that has ruined their night.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings

Cordelia shook her head as Max attempted to open the driver's side door of Billy’s car. “No,” she said simply, weighing out her options. Cordelia wasn’t a bad driver, she’d just not had the fondest memories driving. Back in St Paul her and her father would go out for long car rides around the city to various parks, always stopping to get a snack on the way. Then, her mother had ruined that for her. 

She hadn’t driven a car since her father had abandoned her and fled to San Diego. She hadn’t even thought about driving one, except for maybe the old Cadilaac in the junkyard. Now, she realized if she wanted to go back to those leather seats, she’d have to drive this vehicle. 

Max scowled and entered the backseat as Dustin motioned back for Cordelia to come into the house. Following his orders, she helped move Steve from his resting place on the floor and into the backseat of Billy’s car. 

As the rest of the crew piled into the car, Cordelia put the keys into the ignition, and as the last door slammed shut, she sped down the driveway. Lucas gave her directions, pointing out which roads to take as they made their way to the tunnels. 

The gasoline they’d brought sloshed in the backseat as Cordelia stepped on the gas, her hands clenched against the dark leather of Billy’s steering wheel. “Nancy?” She heard Steve mumble behind her and she let out a breath. He was awake. She glanced back in the rear view mirror as Mike gave Steve a bewildered look. 

Steve groaned and moved his right hand towards his face, yawning.

 “No, don’t touch it.” Dustin told him, grabbing Steve’s arm and pulling it down and away from the red swelling all over the flesh of Steve’s face. He turned and stared at Dustin, who smiled at Steve, “hey buddy. Shhh. It’s okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass but you put up a fight. Cordelia saved your fucking guts.”

Steve seemed to brighten at the use of her name, and then he looked around, first at Lucas who gave Cordelia a direction to turn, and then at her.

“It’s okay. Just relax, she’s driven before.”

Cordelia gave a push on the gas and Steve immediately started to shout, “stop the car! Slow down! Stop the car!” 

“I told you he’d freak out,” Mike said, rolling his dark eyes.

“He wanted to leave you behind,” Dustin said, gesturing to Mike. 

“Stop the car!” Steve yelled again, and Cordelia let out a breath as she made the turn Lucas had told her to, reaching a hand back so Steve could grab it. It was him and her with these rambunctious kids — they had to stick together. Even if he was going mad under all those layers of bruised skin. 

His fingertips were warm against her wrist and were still laying on her flesh when she parked the car where Lucas directed. 

Soon enough, the kids were rummaging around the trunk of Billy’s car, handing out items. Cordelia grabbed a bandana and a pair of goggles from the bags before she saw Steve fall out of the car, groaning. 

“What is happening?” He said as she rushed to him, her long legs making the distance easy. She knelt down with some pain and held out her hand, pulling him upright. He rested in between the open door and the side of the car. 

“You look pretty.” He told her, words still slicked together. 

“You do not,” she told him, turning around as Dustin made his way past them. 

“Okay what is happening?” Steve asked, suddenly energetic. “What is happening? I told them that we weren’t doing this! There is no chance we are going into the hole, all right! This ends now!” He sped to Dustin with surprising agility and yanked a bag from the boy's hands. 

Cordelia made her tone clear, “we need to burn the tunnels, okay? There is a possibility that we can end this sooner rather than later.”

He stared at her lips as she said those words. Still, he argued, “no. There is no way, Cory.” 

She raised her eyebrow at the new nickname but didn’t say anything as Dustin said calmly,“Steve! You're upset, I get it. But the bottom line is a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance.” 

“We are the first leg of the 4x4, we get this done so our teammates can succeed. We put them in a better place,” Cordelia added, and Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Now, I know you promised Nance that you’d keep us safe, so, keep us safe.” Dustin handed Steve a jumble of items. Looking up as though wondering why he was doing this, Steve turned and followed as the rest of the crew made their way into the tunnels. 

The dust particles drifted through the air, ash against their eyes. Steve landed just after Cordelia did, and she winced slightly on her bad leg. It was chilly in the tunnels and she suddenly wished someone warm was holding her. 

No. Cordelia did not wish that. Cordelia did not wish people to love her. She simply lived and then saw what came along. She did wish that Steve Harrington was holding her, and why she could not place. 

She thought back to the hallways at Hawkins high, the crowded classrooms and the unaware teachers. She thought about the trip she’d made to the counselors office. The tile, and the whispers. She was the mystery. 

“Shit,” Steve said, goggle-covered eyes soaking up the slimy tunnels. 

 Mike, down the tunnel slightly, held out a map, “yeah, I’m pretty sure it's this way.”

Cordelia and Steve shared a knowing look, and then she rolled her eyes. 

“If you are pretty sure, then…” She said, sarcastic. 

“I’m 100% sure. Just follow me and you’ll know,” he said dramatically. 

“Woah, woah, woah. I don’t think so,” Steve said, tripping over a root and righting himself. “If any of you little shits die down here, me and Cory are getting the blame. Got it dipshit? From here on out, we’re leading the way. Come on, let’s go.” He waved his hands in the air and the kids filed next to and behind him. Cordelia made her way to the middle of the group. 

“Hey, a little hustle!” Steve yelled down the tunnels. 

“Yes, or fifty pushups!” Cordelia chimed in. 

It didn’t seem like they’d been walking long to Cordelia, who’s leg didn’t hurt as they made their way through the carved dirt. Dustin was slowing down and by the time they made it to a resting point, he slipped very far behind. She stopped and waited for him, entering a cavern.

“God,” Lucas said in awe, glancing upward at the dust particles in the air. 

“What is this place?” Max wondered, and Steve ignored her, pressing onward. 

“Guys, come on. Keep moving,” Steve directed them, and the group trekked onward. Finally spotting what the kids had been talking about, Cordelia looked upright. It was a slimy hole in the earth directly overhead, red and pulsing and grotesque. 

“What the hell?” Dustin said in front of her, and just as the words came from his mouth the hole seemed to breathe in, tentacles withdrawing inside of itself. And then it howled out, directly at Dustin, spraying some substance directly onto the teenager. 

The boy started to scream, making Cordelia’s blood race as she ran towards the kid. 

“Shit!” He screamed, and then rolled around the ground, Cordelia held her hands out in front of her, trying to calm him as he shouted, “help! Help! Help!” 

He grabbed the big item he was lugging and launched into Cordelia’s arms. She held his face in her hands and heard the rustling of Steve and the others coming back down the tunnel. 

“No! Shit!” He was screaming, and Cordelia spoke over him. 

“Dustin, breathe. Breathe.” She spoke, her voice soothing though still possessing its roughness. 

The boy listened to her, his lungs expanding and falling. “Breathe,” she repeated, pulling his goggles from his face. He was cradled into her. Cordelia felt another palm on her shoulder, not Dustin’s, but Steve’s. 

He was gripping her left shoulder with enough force to let her know he was there, but not enough to be painful. It was a simple spot to rest his hands, and it warmed her.

“What happened?” He said, voice quick and scared. He was worried, Cordelia could imagine how both Steve and her looked — bandanas covering their mouths and noses, goggles over their eyes. But now only Dustin mattered — and his safety. 

“Are you okay?” She asked, and he nodded. 

“I’m fine.” He told her, clearly not embarrassed after his screaming seconds prior. “I just got some of that fucking juice in my mouth.” He coughed loudly, spitting into the ground, though still being held by Cordelia. 

“Very funny man.” Steve deadpanned, squeezing Cordelia’s shoulder before letting go. 

A few moments later the group stood in the cavern. The connection between the tunnels and their connection to finishing this god-awful night. The cave was large, and Steve stopped near the side, looking up from the map. 

“All right Wheeler,” he shown his flashlight around the cave. “I think we found your hub.” 

“Let’s drench it.” Mike said. 

Grabbing the bottle of gasoline, Cordelia frowned at the room around them. Lifting the red container up like a six pack of beer, she told the group “time to get the party started!”

Cordelia believed the gasoline was so driven into her lungs that at this point she’d die not by the tunnels, but by how they were going to burn them.

After the group finished spraying, washing, and dumping the entire cavern with bottles upon bottles of gasoline, they stood in the middle. Cordelia wanted to get a picture of this place so that when this was all over and it was burnt to a crisp she’d have some idea of what she’d survived. What her and Steve and the kids survived. 

“Alright, are you guys ready?” Steve asked, and replies of yes came from each of the kids. 

Cordelia turned to Steve as he pulled a lighter from his pocket. “No,” she said, and could tell he was puzzled even underneath the goggle and the bandana. “Don’t waste that lighter, I got a match.”

She rummaged in her pocket for the box of matches, and pulling them out she retrieved a single match from the container. Against her thumb was the mesh of burnt skin, and she vowed she wouldn’t do it again. She wouldn’t burn herself. She couldn’t. Now matches didn’t mean getting rid of the pain, matches meant burning these shithole tunnels to the ground. 

Steve watched her as she gazed at the match. He wondered what was happening inside of her head, and that was when he saw the burnt skin. The scared flesh on her thumb, easily spotted against the pale beam of his flashlight. He wondered what had happened. He wanted her to tell him what had happened. 

Trying to lighten the mood, and get her out of his mind, Steve said, “I am in such deep shit.” 

  Then, as he said it, she slicked the match against the box, lighting it with one quick, practiced motion. The stick was ablaze, and then as soon as it touched the earth, the ground itself was. 

As the fire spread throughout the room, Steve motioned for the rest of the crew to move, “go,go, go!” He yelled frantically. As soon as Cordelia made it out of the room, Steve followed suit, and they raced along the tunnels toward where they’d come from. 

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Steve was shouting, and that’s when Cordelia felt it — not the pain in her leg, but the feeling of running. 

Her strides lengthened and she imagined she was running at the State Championship like she had for two years previously in St Paul. The roar of the crowd, the feeling of flying. The feeling of finishing second. The anger and the pride. All of that fell into her steps, fell deep into the earth as her feet touched it. 

Before she knew it, she was far in front of the group, making her way through the tunnels by memory, and when she’d landed at the entrance tunnel, she was alone, the rope hanging limply. She stopped, then turned back, circling around through the tunnel to make sure that the kids and Steve were safe. She knew the rest of the group were close when she heard Dustin yell, “oh my god, oh my god!” 

Then, she watched as Mike tripped, falling into the earth, a vine tangling around his ankle. Cordelia acted without thinking. She threw herself onto the ground and grabbed the gear shift from her pocket, slicing up and down the vines. 

“Help! Help!” Mike was screaming, and Cordelia shushed him.

“I am helping you!” She whispered, as though scared the fire would know where she was. 

Steve rounded back and stood bewildered in the tunnel, watching Cordelia cut through the thick vine. “Go!” She told him, “go! Get them out of here. I’ve got Mike. I know the way.”

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself, Cory. Stand back.” He told her, and the bat suddenly exited his backpack. Cordelia moved herself backward, her hands resting on Mike’s shoulders, comforting, as she squatted on the ground. For a girl who didn’t appreciate touch, she sure was doing a lot of it today. 

The bat screamed through the air and to the tentacle around Mike’s ankles as Steve hacked away at the vine. He was strong, and made easy work as Mike flinched away from the nailed weapon. 

The vine was cut in half quickly and Mike rose in an instant, hugging Cordelia before the rest of his friends started to ask him questions, “are you okay? What the hell?”

“We gotta go now!” Steve told them, and right as they turned to start running, a creature screeched in front of them. Directly where they needed to go.

Dustin spoke first as Cordelia held out her gear shift in her left hand, Steve next to her with his bat against his palms. “Dart?”

The demo-dog seemed to understand Dustin’s words, and closed its mouth. As Dustin took a step towards the creature, words of worry and fear pushed out of the group's mouths. “Get back, Dustin! Don’t move! If you take another step you are dead, Henderson!”

“Trust me, please.” Dustin told them in response, and Cordelia lifted her fingers to Steve’s side, as if telling him to trust the boy.

The demo-dog — Dart — moved towards Dustin as he did the same, kneeling down to the earth. “Hey. It’s me, it’s me. It’s just your friend, it’s Dustin. It’s Dustin, all right? You remember me?” The animal let out a sort of purr of understanding as Dustin removed his goggles. “Will you let us pass?” 

It snarled, opening its mouth, teeth exposed. Cordelia’s hand slipped down his body until it found Steve’s own. 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the storm cellar. It was a pretty douchey thing to do.” Dustin apologized, and Dart stopped seething. Reaching into his backpack, Dustin asked the creature. “You hungry, yeah?”

“He’s insane!” Lucas whispered. 

Steve’s hand bristled under her own, and that was when Cordelia realized she’d been holding it. She removed her fingers from their intertwined place between his own. 

“Don’t,” Mike said.

“Shut up!” Steve whispered. 

“I’ve got your favorite. See, nougat.” He held up the candy bar, right in front of Dart’s face.

Dart grunted and took several steps forward as Dustin unwrapped the treat. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, all right?” Dustin held the candy out for the creature, who purred. Dustin set the bar on the ground, and as Dart came to eat it, the boy waved his hands in the air, motioning for the group to pass by the demo-dog. 

They did as directed, sneaking past Dart and Dustin, though Cordelia stopped and waited for the boy. Dustin stood as Dart slurped and chomped on the chocolate. “Goodbye, buddy.” He told Dart. 

They continued their way out of the tunnels, running but not as fast as before. Cordelia slowed her pace down to stay with the group. Then, they could hear roars behind them. Large, terrifying. A pack of those demo-dogs. 

“What was that?” Max asked, and Mike answered quickly. 

“They are coming!” He said.

“Sprint,” Cordelia yelled, pushing Dustin to give him a running start. 

The kids shouted in front of her as Cordelia took up the rear of the group.  

“Go, go, go. Let’s go, come on!” Steve was shouting as they neared the rope. He hoisted Max off the ground. She did the rest, climbing up and into the world above. 

Next, Lucas was thrown off the earth by Steve. Like Max, he pulled himself up the rope. “Come on, come on!” Steve said, turning to Dustin. Just as he did, the monsters were there. Their shadows raced along the side of the tunnel. Cordelia, in a split second, pushed Dustin behind her and hoisted him up the ladder as Steve, bristling for the dogs to come by.

Just as Dustin reached the top of the rope, leaving Steve and Cordelia in the tunnel, the demo-dogs were right in front of them. They growled, loud, ferocious, and Cordelia pulled the gear shift out of her pocket. 

Right as she prepared herself for pain, like she’d done so many times with the match in her fingers, they creatures raced by. Demo-dogs surrounded them as instead of attacking Steve and Cordelia, they simply continued running down the tunnel. 

There was a moment of silence after the last of the monsters had rounded the corner of the tunnel behind them, and then Cordelia felt arms around her ribs as Steve pulled her in for a tight hug. Her head rested on his shoulder and she breathed in a faint scent of bergamot. 

Sinking into his warmth, she wanted to kiss him. To feel the puffy extent of his lips under her own. After what felt like years, holding each other in that dark, cold tunnel, Cordelia pulled away, pointing towards the world above. 

“Let’s get out of this shithole,” she whispered. 

He nodded, and then motioned towards the rope. She nodded, taking a deep breath. He grabbed her waist and pushed her off the ground, her legs connecting around the rope as her leg exploded in pain. This side to side movement always caused the most terrible feeling. Before she knew it, she’d pulled herself up the last stretch and onto the solid ground above the tunnels. Collapsing, she let her hands drag to her bandaged leg, letting herself feel the warmth of the wound on her cold fingertips. 

Steve was out a second later, and he crawled upright. Cordelia moved her hands away from her wound and got to her feet. 

Just as Max started the laugh, the headlights brightened in Billy’s car. So blinding that Cordelia shielded her eyes. Then, just as quickly, the light went back to it’s normal luminescence. 

As if nothing had ever occurred.

taglist; @preciousbabypeter @earthtostory 

[calpurniatypes]

day 3; who's who at hawkin's high

Cordelia Silva aka the one who doesn't turn back

stranger things oc challenge

though I am not taking part in all the days of this challenge ( and I am like a week late ) I thought it would still be fun to make Cordelia's high school yearbook photo!

this is not my template!

[calpurniatypes]

𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞; 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐨𝐜

six feet under summary; just as she's settling into Hawkins, a new terror threatens to take Cordelia's friends, and her lover away...

chapter summary; it's summer in Hawkins, and since it's Hawkins, danger is always on the horizon.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things story masterlist ; calpurnia's overall writings

The sweat dripped down her face in large, sloppy drops, the visor on her forehead not doing anything to stop the constant river down Cordelia’s face. She’d traced the route on a map, Steve and her deciding the miles and where she’d meet him afterwards. She’d ran thirteen already, her pace quicker than comfortable but the smile still pasted onto her sculpted face. 

Her headphones switched to another track, this time Call Me by Blondie, which was one of her favorite songs. It had a good beat, and was easy to match footsteps to. 

“Call me, call me,” she breathed out, her normally rough voice extremely hoarse as she turned the last corner of her run, coming up behind the mall. She passed through the backdoor with a sweet smile to one of the workers of Macy’s. Her beauty got her away with murder, even if that beauty was currently doused in a thick layer of salt and dirt. 

She pulled off her headphones and navigated the back tunnels until she found the door to Scoops Ahoy. She knocked four times and waited for a moment before Robin, Steve’s oddball coworker, pulled the door open. Robin rolled her eyes and took in Cordelia’s sweaty form, her running shorts and tank top. 

She smiled, thanking Robin lightly before stepping into the back room of Scoops Ahoy, the ice cream shop in the mall that her boyfriend worked at. 

She opened up the folding wood panels that acted like a window, and glimpsed the back of Steve’s Scoops uniform, the shorts and the sailors' hat. It was starting to get busy in the ice cream shop, and Cordelia leaned out of the window, tapping against Steve’s warm back. 

He turned around, a glare on his face, his mouth arched to say, ‘Robin’, but when he found Cordelia leaning out of the window, her small cleavage pushed up against her tank top and her visor sweated through, he turned and grinned. 

As she was saying his name, he pulled her in for a kiss, his tongue inside of her mouth. 

“Get a room, you two.” Robin said from behind Cordelia in the back room, and suddenly conscious that her ass was sticking up, the long legged girl slipped back until her feet hit the ground. 

“Happily, Robin. You’re manning the front,” Steve said as he shoved the doors open and joined Cordelia and her in the back room, taking his girlfriend's hand and pulling them out the doors and into the empty hallway. 

Robin was complaining as the door slammed shut and Cordelia was pushed against the walls of the hallway, the tile cool on her back. Steve’s lips were on hers again, and Cordelia smiled against them. 

“I’m extremely sweaty, Steve. You're going to be like a salt shaker after kissing me,” Cordelia pulled away, gesturing to the grimmy, dried sweat along her defined cheekbones and temples. 

“Darlin, if that's the worst thing that happens today…” His tongue was inside of her mouth again, and she moaned as his hands fell down to her thighs, then to the warmth in between them.

“Steve, we can’t do this out here,” she whispered, and he laughed. 

“Why not? We’ve done it before,” he reminded her, and Cordelia’s face was rushed with blood. 

“That was at like 2 in the morning, let me remind you. And if we do that now my legs are so tired I won’t be able to hold myself up.” 

“Yes, I was going to ask. How was the run? Was the route better?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and she took the sailors hat off of his head, spinning it in her fingers. 

“I enjoyed how we chose the route, and I enjoyed the route itself.” She set the hat on top of her head, pulling her visor off. She recounted how Steve had very vividly described each of her coming home scenes, from baths to ice to cold ice cream. And lots of praise. 

He’d been excited to see her start to run again. She was incredible at it, her strides long and her form perfect. He saw her running as a sign she was happier and more comfortable then she had been in ages. 

Suddenly, to their left, the door to Scoops was pulled open and Robin entered the hallway, seeing Steve and Cordelia pressed together, some odd look on her face, “this is not a room, dingus.” The girl noted, “and your children are here, again.” 

Cordelia and Steve’s eyes fell upon each other before they turned into Scoops, face to face with Mike, who was ringing the bell over and over and over, as well as Max, Will, and Lucas. 

“Good look, Cordelia,” Max noted the sailors cap, sweated through clothes, and muddy legs. 

“Always picture perfect,” she responded. 

Steve came out behind her, and glared at the group, “again, seriously.” Mike rang the bell once more to prove the point. 

The kids shuffled by them in the doorway to the hall, Steve holding the metal door open, his other hand on Cordelia’s shoulder. “Come on, come on. I swear, if anybody hears about this—” 

“We’re all dead,” the group chorused back. Max turned and gestured to Cordelia, waving her forward. 

“Come on, you haven’t seen a movie with us in ages!” She shouted down the hallway, still moving to catch up with the boys. 

“Duty calls,” Cordelia whispered to Steve, who kissed her sloppily goodbye and watched as she jogged down the hallway. 

In the movie theater, Cordelia sat next to Mike and Will, hands crossed over her lap as the film began to play. 

And just like that, the projector stopped and the lights turned out in the theater. The boo’s and groans of the rest of the crowd were loud and Cordelia felt her anxiety start. As soon as that heat in her chest began, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, the feeling falling away as she controlled that beating in her veins. 

The movie reel sputtered and the film was on again. Cordelia opened her eyes and smiled. She hadn’t freaked out. She’d made progress in managing her emotions. The ring on her finger was cold as she clasped her hands together in her lap again, and she felt the burn mark on her thumb. She hadn’t lit a match to do that in months. The running had helped, her job, her friendships and Steve. 

Steve.

The crowd cheered around her and she turned to Will and Mike. Her joy fell when she saw Mike leaning over to Will, asking, “you okay?”

Too quickly, so quick it was not the truth, Will nodded. “Yeah.”

Cordelia and Mike shared a glance. 

She’d learned that Will and his brother, Jonathan, were two kind people that tragedy kept tripping upon. That feeling of protectiveness that Steve adored soared in Cordelia, so strong that she felt herself stop breathing. 

She was not going to let anything happen to the ones she loved. She was not going to let them leave. Leave this earth, or leave her. Nothing could hurt them, as long as she was breathing…

an ominous beginning, my loves - Calpurnia

taglist; @preciousbabypeter @earthtostory 

[calpurniatypes]

𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞; 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐨𝐜

six feet under summary; just as she's settling into Hawkins, a new terror threatens to take Cordelia's friends, and her lover away...

chapter summary; transition and translation. or at least, the hopes of transition and translation.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, abuse, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

previous chapter ; stranger things story masterlist ; calpurnia's overall writings

Cordelia knotted the laces of her Reeboks’s, pulling them hard, preparing herself for the pilgrimage home. Steve had left half an hour ago for Scoops Ahoy, and Cordelia desperately hoped her mother was out of the house as well. 

The phone rang and Cordelia answered it, hearing Dustin’s voice immediately on the line. “Cordelia?” 

“Hey, Dustin.” Cordelia responded, sitting on the barstools in Steve’s kitchen.

“Can you give me a ride to the mall today, please? My bikes at the shop and mom’s got some sewing stuff—” 

Before Dustin could ramble on, she agreed. “I’ll be at your house in probably thirty minutes.”

“Thanks, Cordelia. I have some shit to tell you.”

Saying goodbye, and rolling her eyes, Cordelia grabbed her keys and made her way towards her Aston Martin. 

The only thing Cordelia got from Mage was her cheekbones and stubbornness. Otherwise, the two Silva women were astronomically different. That was obvious to Cordelia when she pulled open the door of her home. Cordelia was a tidy person, but her mother was so tedious that she could see her reflection in the polished wooden floorboards. 

That was one of the things Mage and Cordelia’s father argued about the most — the fact that her mother had to do more than her fair share in household chores. Shaking off the memories, Cordelia slid her way into the house, up the stairs, and into her room. 

Passing by her Blondie poster, she shut the door, locking it tight. Going straight to her closet, she grabbed a large duffle bag and started to shove her clothes into it. Just summer things, not sweaters. She’d have to return home at some point. 

After throwing all of her shoes into the duffle, she zipped it shut and threw it onto the bed, deciding at the last moment to grab the quilt her grandmother had made her father, which he’d given to Cordelia. 

Next, Cordelia conquered the entertainment. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Anne Sexton, Seamus Heaney. She’d grabbed another bag and put all of her books inside of it. Zipping it up, she moved onto the vinyls, cd’s, and cassettes. The Kinks, George Harrison, The Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, of course Blondie, and The Beatles. 

Just as she was grabbing her medals, from track and volleyball respectively, the door knob twisted and Cordelia was met with her mother. 

Mage was smaller then Cordelia in stature, standing at around 5’6. Her hair was many shades darker than Cordelia’s light brown coloring, and thicker in texture. 

“What the fuck is happening here?” She motioned towards the bags, all of them piled on Cordelia’s bed. “Please knock next time,” Cordelia said quietly. She wished Steve were here at this moment. He’d met Mage three or four times, when her mother insisted that he come over for dinner. She didn’t believe anyone could love her daughter, and needed to see Steve in the flesh.

 “Delia,” she said more slowly, stepping a few feet towards her daughter. “What is happening here?”

“I’m just grabbing a few things,” she responded, hooking the duffle bag of her clothes over her shoulder. 

“And where are you planning on going?” Mage asked, her voice rising.

Cordelia stared at her mother. She couldn’t tell her she was staying at Steve’s — then Mage would attack Cordelia for moving in with a boyfriend so early in life.

“I’m staying with a friend,” she told her mom, grabbing another one of the bags in her hands and stepping a foot closer to the door. 

“Of course. First your father, then you. Gotta leave good old Mage behind, right? Go and move on!” Her voice was quickly at a shout, and Cordelia flinched slightly. She always flinched when people shouted. 

“Please move, I have someone to meet.” Cordelia said, nodding towards the door. She kept her rough voice monotone. She didn’t need her mother to attack her for anything else. 

“Fuck you, Cordelia. Fuck you. You are abandoning me too? You are fucking fat and sick and so much like your father!” Cordelia tried to block out what her mother was saying about her, tried to block out everything. Grabbing her bags, she trudged down the stairs. She felt so weighed down, first by her mothers accusations, and second by the shit she was carrying. 

As she reached her car, Mage still was hounding on Cordelia. Her words spitted out so loudly that Cordelia swore that everyone in Hawkins could hear. “You are the reason your father left, Cordelia. You are ugly and weak and you are the reason we are alone. I wish that you were six feet under.”

Cordelia unlocked the car and shoved her things in the front. As she turned back to get into the driver's seat, her calm charade finally cracked. 

“I am not the reason dad left us. You are the reason dad is gone.” She slid into the Aston Martin, turning the ignition and driving away.

Dustin’s house was closeby, and it only took her a few minutes to drive to his place. He was standing outside, wearing his Camp Nowhere Hat and a charming scowl.

“Been forty minutes, Cordelia. I can attest to say we agreed for thirty minutes. Now, I know you are good at math, or at least I hope you are for someone in AP Caculus, so I am wondering what the fuck went wrong!” 

Cordelia rubbed her eyes as he buckled his seatbelt, leaning against the steering wheel. 

“What’s up?” He asked, and with her eyes closed, she leaned back against the leather seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Wearing a flowery orange summer dress and her Reebok's, her outfit was nothing like the emotions on her face.

Normally, she didn’t let anything show. At school, her face was carved into an unemotional, blank slate. She didn’t let anything radiat out.  At home, she didn’t smile, she didn’t frown. The only time she showed her emotions on her skin was when she was with the kids or Steve. And even that took time. 

“Just my mother.” She whispered, and Dustin looked around, as though checking to see if Mage was lurking in the backseat. 

He reached out and touched her arm, not used to seeing Cordelia like this. “What happened?”

“She was upset. I was getting my stuff,” she pulled out of Dustin’s driveway, faking a smile to wave at his mother, Claudia, who stood in the window. “What did you want to tell me?”

Soon enough, Dustin and Cordelia were inside Scoops Ahoy. Giving Cordelia her signature ‘are you serious’ face, she moved her gaze to Dustin. 

“Hi!” he grinned, glancing around the shop. 

“Hi,” Robin repeated back, leaning over the countertop. 

Dustin pointed at himself, “I’m Dustin.” 

“I’m Robin,” she responded. 

“Pleasure to meet you. Uh, is — is he here?” 

“Is who here?” Robin said, monotone.

Just as the words slipped from her mouth, Steve burst out of the back room, smiling like a madman. “Henderson!” He waved his hands in the air, dancing to the opposite side of the counter, standing in front of Dustin. He chimed the whole while, “Henderson! He’s back, he’s back!” 

“I’m back!” Dustin matched the loudness in Steve’s voice, pointing at the Scoops Ahoy logo. Cordelia leaned against the counter, her and Robin sharing a sarcastic look. 

“Your back!” 

“You got the job!” Dustin said. 

“I got the job!” Steve imitated a trumpet, buzzing along. 

Then, as though doing a synchronized dance, the two boys performed an intricate handshake, not lacking a lightsaber sequence and an imitation of blood. 

As they finished, leaning over the countertop, Robin motioned to Steve and Cordelia, “how many children are you friends with?”

The smile dropped from Steve’s face. 

A few minutes and a banana split later, Dustin, Cordelia and Steve sat crowded in a booth at Scoops Ahoy. 

“No, no, no way.” Steve said, “she’s hotter than Phoebe Cates? No.”

Rolling her eyes, Cordelia stole a scoop of ice cream Dustin’s treat as he nodded his head. “Brilliant too. And she doesn’t care that my real pearls are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth.”

Cordelia and Steve met each other's gaze, and quickly she snapped her fingers to his mouth. “Let’s try it out, shall we?” Steve moved away from her hands quickly. 

Laughing, they continued with their conversation. “Well, that’s great. Proud of you man. That’s ro — that’s kinda romantic. That’s like… wow.” Steve said. 

Pretending to cry, Cordelia felt Dustin’s shoulder. “Man, you’ve just blossomed.” 

Ignoring Cordelia, Dustin waved at the banana split. “So you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?” 

“In theory,” Cordelia snuck another bite. 

“Yes, Cory’s right. But not for me.” Steve continued. 

She raised her eyebrows before Steve kept talking, “I gotta keep in shape for the lady.” He rested his arm across Cordelia’s shoulder. 

“Cordelia, how’s that working out for you?” Robin yelled from across Scoops, and Cordelia chuckled. 

Before she could respond, Dustin spoke again,“Robin seems cool.”

As Cordelia shrugged, Steve said, “she’s not.” 

“So, uh, where are the other knuckleheads.” Steve changed the subject. “Cory told me that they didn’t believe Susie was real.”

Eyeing Cordelia, Dustin nodded, “yep, and you guys just abandoned me last night. Just like you kept me waiting this morning. You looked super unhappy both times.” 

Cordelia leaned back, resting her head against Steve’s arm. 

Steve looked to Cordelia like she was the only person in the room, staring her face up and down, as though checking for swelling or blood, “what happened? Why’d you keep him waiting.”

Cordelia closed her eyes, wanting to shrug the encounter with her mother off. But then she stopped herself. It made her feel better to talk to Steve, and he felt better knowing she was being honest with him. “I’ll tell you later.” 

Steve nodded briskly at Cordelia, and then gave Dustin a quizzical look, “no?”

“Yeah, my first day back, huh, Cordelia.” 

“Come on Dustin, Max and Lucas wanted a ride home, I just gave it to them.” Cordelia lied, trying to defend herself. 

Still going, Dustin continued, “sure, sure. It’s not like you facilitated the ride.”

As she opened her mouth to speak, Steve did just that, “it’s over, guys. Can’t change the past, am I right?”

“Well,” Dustin side eyed Cordelia, “you know what you missed out on.”

“What did she miss out on?” Steve said, confused. 

“You don’t get to share in my glory,” Dustin ignored Steve. 

Scoffing, Cordelia shut her eyes, “I’m more worried about your safety, Mr Glory.”

“Guys, okay, what did she, and apparently I, miss out on?” Steve raised his voice slightly.

Scooting slightly closer to the couple, Dustin held his hands out to elaborate, “so, last night, I was trying to come in contact with Susie.” He glanced around as Steve mumbled something about him being a go getter. “I intercepted a secret Russian communication.” Dustin’s voice was so low that Cordelia could barely even hear him.

“What?” Steve asked, making eye contact with Cordelia, who tapped Dustin on the shoulder, prompting him to say it again.

Dustin glanced around again, then whispered, not at all louder, “I intercepted a secret Russian communication.”

Again, Steve responded, saying, “just speak louder.”

“I intercepted a secret Russian communication!” Dustin’s voice turned heads from all across Scoops. 

Quickly, trying to cover for them, Steve responded, “Jeez, shh. Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought you said.”

Cordelia blinked slowly at him, raising her eyebrows, and he pulled her in for a kiss, smiling against her lips. “But, uh, what does that mean?”

“It means, Steve and Cordelia, that we could be heroes. True American heroes.” Dustin said, hope filtering through his voice. 

“Huh.” Steve smiled goonishly, glancing to Cordelia, whose face was blank. “Come on, Cordelia. True American heroes.”

“Steve, we can’t get into this Russian thing. Look what happened last year, we almost died like nine times! And Russians, to me at least, are a lot fucking scarier then weird demo-hounds.”

“Demo-dogs!” Dustin corrected loudly, and then responded to what Cordelia had said, “and I’d put myself in some danger to save the rest of the world.” 

Glancing at Steve, who was suddenly looking skeptical, Dustin continued, “just think, Steve. You’ll be famous — posters, books, movies. And Cordelia, you could get sponsorships for whatever running or volleyball shit that you do. And you can get out of Hawkins. Just imagine, you two.”

“Posters?” Steve said, dazed, contemplating what the curly haired kid had said. 

“Many posters,” Dustin answered, nodding. 

“What’s the catch?” Steve and Cordelia asked in unison. 

Dustin shook his head, “no catch. I just need your help.”

“With what?” Steve raised his shoulders.

Unzipping his backpack, Dustin pulled out a Russian to English dictionary, holding the orange cover in the air. “Translation.”

The idea that she could leave her mother made the idea sound appealing to her ears, and soon enough, Cordelia, Dustin and Steve were sitting around the table in the back of Scoops Ahoy, the translation book open in front of them, the recorder on the table. 

Cordelia listened to the recording, recognizing the music in the background but from what she didn’t know. They’d written the Russian alphabet on a whiteboard, and it hung on the wall, reminding them of how much progress they’d made. 

Stopping the recording, Dustin spoke up, “so, what do you think?”

“It sounded familiar,” Steve said.

“Yeah,” Cordelia nodded, getting up to lean against the wall of the room.

“What?” Dustin exclaimed. “The music at the end,” Steve started. 

“I feel like I’ve heard it before.” Cordelia finished. 

“Why are you two listening to the music?” “Because we don’t understand Russian!” Cordelia responded to Dustin.

“Stop listening to the music, you two! Listen to the Russian, we are trying to translate the Russian!” Dustin yelled loudly, not caring about who listened. 

“Alright,” Robin burst through the door, interrupting Dustin’s screaming session. “Babysitting’s over, Steve. You need to get in there.” She turned and saw the board where they’d written the Russian alphabet, and looked back to the group. “Hey, my board! That was important data, shitbirds!” 

Without missing a beat, Dustin chimed in, “I guarantee what we are doing is way more important than your data.” 

“Yeah,” Robin walked slowly over the table. “And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways.” 

Dustin and Steve faced each other, “how does she know about the Russians, Steve? How does she know about the Russians, Cordelia?”

Cordelia shrugged, watching Steve, who responded, “I don’t know,” mouthful of banana showing as he spoke. 

The boys argued for a few moments before Robin said, “hello, I can hear you. Actually, I can hear everything. You both are extremely loud, and I’m not including Cordelia in this because I actually have only heard you talk about a single time.” Robin made eye contact with Cordelia, who closed her eyes and shook her head.

It was one of things that Cordelia was most known for — being quiet. She didn’t talk because why would you talk if someone could hold it against you? 

Robin continued, “you think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you’re trying to translate but you haven’t figured out a word because you didn’t realize Russians use an entirely different alphabet. Sound about right?” 

The boys were silent for a moment, and then Robin lunged at the tape. Steve pulled it away just in time so that she couldn’t grab it. “Woah, what do you think you are doing?” He asked.

“I wanna hear it!” Robin exclaimed, gesturing to the tape.

Both Steve and Dustin spoke at the same time, “why?”

Robin shrugged her shoulders, “because maybe I can help.” Cordelia looked blankly at the boys. “I am fluent in four languages you know.”

“Russian?” Dustin questioned.

Robin said something in a language Cordelia recognized as pig-latin. Her father had once spoken to her like that, when they were running together training for the track season. 

Making an o shape with his mouth, Steve exclaimed, “oh oh ho oh!” 

Dustin smiled, “holy shit.”

“That’s pig latin, guys,” Cordelia said, and the boys gave each other a confused look before Robin continued. 

“But I can speak Spanish and French and Italian and I’ve been in band for twelve years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me.”

Steve made a small noise of unease, and Robin continued, “come on. It’s your turn to sling ice cream and my turn to translate. I don’t even want credit, I’m just bored.” 

In the background, the bell dinged at the counter, and Robin reached forward for the tape. Slowly, Steve handed it to her, and Cordelia smiled slightly. This could be the thing to get her away from her mother. 

Soon, she hoped, she’d be free. Her and Steve would be free. 

taglist;@preciousbabypeter@earthtostory

[calpurniatypes]

𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨; 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐨𝐜

six feet under summary; just as she's settling into Hawkins, a new terror threatens to take Cordelia's friends, and her lover away...

chapter summary; hawkin's is hot, awfully hot. the kids bicker, and cordelia takes a swim

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things story masterlist ; calpurnia's overall writings

Cordelia flipped the CLOSED sign at Otis’s Athletics. It was a small store, and Cordelia had worked there most of the summer. At first, she and Steve had both applied to work at Scoops, thinking it would be a fun way to spend time together. But Robin had taken Cordelia’s spot, so she’d gotten a job at the only athletic store in Hawkins. Their small town wasn’t really known for anything other than mediocrity, but it paid. 

She vacuumed the floor and wiped down the desk before saying goodbye to her coworker, a flaxen haired boy named Jason. He was a basketball player, and he seemed to put effort into the sport, which Cordelia could respect. He was just as tall as her, and often while she rang people up he’d be helping direct customers around the shop. 

“Tons of people today, right?” Jason said, opening his arms to show the empty town outside the window. From the exact moment when the mall opened, they’d been losing customers. 

“It was overwhelming,” she responded, pushing the door open slightly. “Well, night Jason.” 

“Goodnight, Cordelia!” He yelled as she nodded, leaving Otis’s Athletics and making her way to her 1972 Aston Martin. It was too hot out, and as she drove out of town, she fanned herself in the mirror, slipping on a 1984 Minnesota Track and Field State Championships ball cap, the light blue color matching the hem of her soft cobalt halter top. 

Cordelia parked her car where Dustin had told her to when he’d called her that afternoon. Hopping over a fence, Cordelia jogged easily to meet up with the rest of the crew, their brightly colored clothing a beacon against the green hillside. 

Coming up to them, Cordelia heard their conversation, and Dustin said, “they have electricity and cars and stuff, but since I’m not Morman they would never approve.” 

She slowed down and joined the group, “that’s some Shakespearen shit right there.” She says, and at the sound of her voice, Dustin wheeled around and dropped his bags, enveloping her in a hug. 

The bear grasp went on for a moment too long, and Lucas took his opportunity, “see you’ve still got the crush on her, Dustin.” 

She shook her head at Lucas as Dustin whipped out of Cordelia’s arms, brushing the front of his shirt off. “Shut up, Lucas!” 

As they hiked further up the large, sloping green hill, the group chatted about Dustin’s new girlfriend and the possibilities of Cerebro. Not the type of person normally interested in wires, long range, and radios, Cordelia observed the kids around her. 

Max, though she would rather die before she told Lucas, was head over heels in love with him. She watched as they gave each other looks and giggled to themselves. Dustin was normal, odd Dustin. His time at Camp Nowhere had changed him, and Cordelia was happy he’d found a girlfriend. Mostly so he’d stop pining for her. 

Will was the one that Cordelia feared for the most. His experiences, being possessed by the Mind Flayer, and his kidnapping the year prior had really seemed to effect him. Nancy had told her that he had always been a quiet, reserved kid, but now it was quite obvious. 

As she turned to watch Mike and El, the two stopped walking as the group trudged on ahead. They were holding each other's hands as Mike said, “hey guys?”

The group wheeled around to stare at them. 

“This is fun and all…” Mike motioned to the watch on his wrist. 

El continued easily, “I have to go home.”

“We’re almost there!” Dustin pointed to the top of the hill. 

“Sorry, man,” Mike deadpanned, “curfew. Come on.” He latched arms with El.

As the two turned to walk back down the hill, El said, “good luck!” 

“Use protection!” Cordelia shouted down the hill, earning her a glare from Mike.

“Curfew at four?” Dustin wasn’t asking a question. 

“They’re lying,” Lucas rolled his eyes. 

“It’s been like this all summer,” Will said, more annoyed than Cordelia had ever seen him. 

Shrugging, Max said, “it’s romantic.”

“It’s gross,” Will argued. 

“It’s bullshit,” Dustin’s voice was cynical, “I just got home…” Cordelia patted Dustin’s shoulder, “well, it’s their loss, right? Onwards and upwards!”

The kids nodded, and they began to truck their way up the hill. 

Soon enough, they were at the top of the green mound, Cordelia’s hands filled with most of the items Dustin said were ‘cramping his fingers’. 

After Lucas slurped down the rest of their water and they’d set up the Cerebro, Cordelia settled down on the dirt. 

“Are you ready to meet my love?” Dustin lay down on the soft grasses, holding the receptor to his mouth. “Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over?” He asked, smiling freakishly. His response was a sharp radio static, loud and inhuman. 

Dustin held his finger into the air, “one sec. She’d probably… She’s still here.” He spoke again, “Suzie, this is Dustin, do you copy? Over.” Again he was met with hissing static. Cordelia slowly rose, stretching her long limbs, she watched as the kids stood around Dustin, impatient. 

“I’m sure she's there, it’s just…” Dustin trailed off, obviously not sure of anything. 

“Yeah,” Lucas said.

“You know, maybe she’s, like, busy or—” “Yeah,” Lucas repeated.

“It’s probably dinner time in Salt Lake City, right? That’s where she’s from?” Cordelia stepped in to cover for the curly haired boy, and Dustin smiled weakly at her. 

The kids nodded their agreement and mumbled “mhmms” in response. 

The moon was out around an hour later, and Cordelia rose again. She’d been reading a small poetry book she’d shoved into the back pocket of her jean shorts, listening partially to Dustin’s frequent calls to Suzie. 

Max’s voice was new against what had become a constant backdrop of Dustin’s and the radio static, “Dustin! Come on. She’s not there!” “She’s there, all right? She’ll pick up.” He countered, the radio still in his hands. 

Hitting the ground with his hand, Will agreed with Max,“maybe Cerebro doesn’t work.”

“Or maybe Suzie doesn’t exist,” Lucas’ hands were in the air, making his point clear.

“She exists!” Dustin’s voice cracked noticeably. 

Cordelia stayed out of their bickering, feeling uneasy in the situation. In her old house, in Minnesota, bickering usually led to things much worse. The girl stood, crossing her hands over her chest, her fingers picking lightly at the burn scar on her thumb.  

Meanwhile, Lucas went on, “she’s a genius, and she’s hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect. Other than, like, Cordelia.” 

Cordelia turned away. She wasn’t getting roped into this. She understood it was a compliment, but their words were still heated. 

Sitting up, Max turned to Lucas, “is that so?” 

He followed her movements, “I mean… you’re perfect,” he covered. “I mean, like, perfect in yo— your own way. In your special — in your own special way.”

She chuckled and smiled, “relax, I was teasing. I’m obviously perfect and Dustin’s obviously lying.”

Cordelia wanted to leave and turned to the kids. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.” 

Will shook his head, explaining how he’d stay with Dustin, meanwhile Max and Lucas trudged down the hill to her car, Cordelia in front of them.

“I still don���t understand how they allow you to drive this thing over here,” Lucas pointed out how the steering wheel was in the right front, not the left as usual in American cars. 

Cordelia shrugged, not in the mood for talking, though she rarely ever was, “it’s my dad’s, he brought it with him from England after he worked there.” 

She unlocked the car, Max and Lucas sitting in the backseat and Cordelia in the front. 

“You get all weird when we fight, you know that?” It took Cordelia a second to recognize that the words coming from Max’s mouth were directed at her. 

Shrugging, Cordelia turned onto Lucas’s street. “I don’t.”

“Yes,” Max nodded, “yes you do.” “True.” Lucas agreed, “you get this weird distant look in your eyes.” 

Cordelia pulled up in front of Lucas’s house, “get inside.” She told him, and Cordelia watched through the rear view mirror as him and Max shared an odd look. 

Max jumped up into the front seat as Cordelia pulled back onto the road. “Why do you get all distant and weird… We weren’t even really fighting.” 

Cordelia pressed her mouth together, her fingers tight on the steering wheel. “It just reminds me of some stuff, you know. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I get it…” Max rested a hand on Cordelia’s bare shoulder. “Sometimes talking helps, though. I talk some stuff through with Lucas. Maybe you can with Steve.”

Cordelia nodded as she pulled into Max’s driveway. It was clear that her and Steve were together, though they hadn’t told anyone about their relationship. They figured that the news would get out sometime, and it wasn’t anyone's business but their own. 

As Max climbed out of the car, wishing her good night and not to get too frisky, Cordelia saw Billy’s face in the window of the front door. He glared, staring daggers into Cordelia’s face. Then his eyes drifted down to the cleavage showing in her halter top, the tan skin of her collarbone. 

Before he could look any more, Cordelia sped out of the driveway, towards Steve’s house…

She knocked on Steve’s front door, listening as someone came down the large stairway and turned the knob. He opened the door, dressed in a cotton short sleeve and a pair of jeans. 

“Hello..” He said slyly, pulling in inside by her fingertips and into his arms, a quick kiss pecked to her lips. He smelled her scent, eucalyptus and vanilla. 

Her voice, always so hoarse, answered back, “hey, pretty boy.” 

“I’m so happy you came, I just learned that, as always, my parents will be out of town this week.” He said, his tone overjoyed. 

“I’m sorry, Steve.” She held his hands, standing several inches back from his chest. 

“Oh, don’t be. It’s better when they aren’t around, you know. Easier for me to kiss you like this—” he pulled in, his lips against hers, deep and loving. 

She did know. Steve had talked a bit about his parents, and their constant abandonment of him. She related to him in that way. 

He pulled away from her, turning toward the pool, “you know, it’s awful hot out today…” 

She frowned, staring at him, and then motioned to her clothes. “I don’t have a swimsuit…”

Giving her his signature smile, he pulled her up the stairs and into his room, where he immediately walked to the closet and grabbed a pair of his boxers and a large cotton tee shirt. Soon after they finished changing, they were both cannonballing into the pool, Cordelia splashing into the water, and then Steve after her. 

The pool had been cleaned earlier that week, and Cordelia looked down to see her toes wiggle deep beneath her. The vegetation was so high around Steve’s house in the summertime that no onlookers could see Cordelia’s chest pressed tight against the soaked cotton. She hadn’t worn a bra because of her halter top earlier. 

Steve was underneath her, holding her up on his shoulders like they would if they were playing chicken. 

“You are so fucking light,” he said, and she laughed, leaning over his head to kiss him upside down. 

“Or maybe you're just super strong.” She accentuated the words to tease him. Throwing her off of his shoulders, she splashed onto her back, bubbling down down down, the air trickling from her lungs. 

When she felt the bottom of the pool under her fingers, she sprung back up and flew out of the water, launching into Steve’s arms. 

He held the back of her shoulders and kissed her, hard. 

“Oh god,” she whispered against his lips, both of them together in the teal waters of his pool, the lush vegetation green around them. “I’ve never been so happy in my life, Steve.” 

“Oh god,” he whispered back, repeating her, “Cory, you make me so happy.”

Later, floating on her back, Steve out of the pool grabbing them two beers, Cordelia thought about what Max had said earlier. “Maybe you can with Steve…” 

When Steve returned, Cordelia pulled herself out of the water, sitting on the lounge chair next to Steve’s. The summer night was so hot and humid that it felt like she was still in the pool. The cotton shirt clung to her chest, her tight stomach, the way her skin only just covered her ribcage, her nipples hard against the cooling fabric. 

Thanking Steve for the drink, she took a sip of the alcohol, letting it sink into her middle. 

“Is something up, Cory?” He asked, and she took another gulp of the beer. 

“No.” She said, quickly, and then corrected herself, “I mean, yes, I guess.” 

“What’s up, buttercup?” Steve watched her. 

“Steve,” she whispered, as though scared of her own words. “Do I ever act weird when people are fighting?”

He stared at her for a moment, taking in her words. “I mean, you look kind of distant, I guess. Like when we were in the cafeteria that one time and Eddie Munson started yelling at Jason, you just looked glassy.”

“So Max and Lucas were right,” she came to terms with the statement. 

“What do you mean?”

“They just… they just said that I always act…odd… when people are shouting.” 

“You do, I don’t think it’s a big deal though. Hey?” He put his fingers on her arm, “hey, hey, Cory. Why do you act weird?”

“My mom and dad fought a lot before dad left for California. They just shouted every day, until my mom couldn’t talk. She always told me that I shouldn’t hate the fighting because the world wasn’t civil.” “That’s bullshit, Cory. Your mom is a manipulative person, and you know that better than I do. I don’t want you to be over at your house anymore,” he told her, and Cordelia nodded. 

She knew just as well as him why he didn’t want her over there. Her house was dark, so cold. Her mother lived in her own angry world, moving around the house like a child with a temper tantrum, her glare constant. 

Cordelia moved to Steve’s lounge chair and lay against him, his chest warm against her back. She felt at peace. She felt calm. 

“Thank you for everything, Steve.” 

“I’m happy you can talk to me about this shit. I’m here for you. Always.” 

She leaned over and kissed him, her mouth against his own, and melted into his touch. God, she was lucky to have him.

taglist; @preciousbabypeter @earthtostory 

[calpurniatypes]

cordelia silva's songs

[calpurniatypes]

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐨𝐜

series summary; new to Hawkins, Cordelia Silva is thrown into a world of alternate dimensions, monsters, and love...

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, self harm, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

cordelia silva's yearbook page

cordelia silva's playlist

𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭;

joe keery as steve harrington 

young bridget hall as cordelia silva

alexa chung as mage silva 

rest of the cast as themselves 

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬 [𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐];

hounds and cigarettes summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

chapter six

chapter seven

𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 [𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟑];

six feet under summary; just as she's settling into Hawkins, a new terror threatens to take Cordelia's friends and her lover away...

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four...typing up

chapter five...soon

chapter six...soon

if you would like to be added to the taglist, just leave me a note either by commenting on this post or messaging me!

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞; 𝐬𝐡

𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; now, after learning what the creatures in the junkyard were, Cordelia decides if she wants her rusty oasis back, she'll have to tag along on the journey

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings

The blood on her jeans was weighing down the denim as she walked. It was a slow, rusty stroll along the rails, and she was doing it directly alongside Steve Harrington.

“So you believe it? I didn’t until now.” The auburn-haired girl said, whom Cordelia learned was named Max. Billy’s sister, though she did not want to waste time thinking about him. 

The long-legged girl shrugged. “I don’t think what I saw back there was something from this world.” She felt the long dragging pain in her leg again and thought back to the demo-dogs, and their vicious growls. The fact that they had no eyes. That wasn’t something from here and now. 

She focused her gaze on the ground in front of her, listening to the boys talk as they walked along to her right. Steve was opposite her, and the teenagers were all sandwiched between them. 

“You’re positive that was Dart?” The boy in the camo said. Lucas. Cordelia was terrible at names. 

“Yes. He had that same exact yellow pattern on his butt.” Dustin told Lucus. His center of gravity was slightly off, Cordelia noted. He had more weight on his left foot than his right. She wondered how well he could run because of that. 

Max had a puzzled look on her face. “He was tiny two days ago.” 

“Well, he’s molted three times already,” Dustin explained. 

“Malted?” Steve had a confused tone to his voice. Cordelia smirked.

“Molted,” Dustin said again. “Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms.”

“When’s he going to molt again?” Max asked. 

“It's gotta be soon,” the boy responded. “And when he does, he’ll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends.”

Steve moved his flashlight through the forest, the beam floating through green leaves. “Yeah, and he’s going to eat a lot more than just cats.” 

Lucas stopped suddenly, his hand against Dustin’s shoulder. Cordelia felt that pain again in her leg, and she tripped slightly, moving down the embankment of the railway. Catching herself, she winced slightly as she returned to her stable position on the rail track. Steve watched, glancing down at her leg. The blood was still there, and he could see a new splotch against the burnt brown of the dried red liquid. She shouldn’t be walking with that. But she hadn’t said anything either. Steve did not understand how to act around Cordelia, which was something he never felt with girls. “Wait, a cat?” Lucas looked deeply at Dustin, as if not understanding what Steve had just said. “Dart ate a cat?”

“No, what, no.” Dustin responded a little too quickly to be telling the truth. 

“What are you talking about. He ate Mews.” Steve said, not understanding that Dustin didn’t want Lucas to know. 

“Mews, who’s Mews?” Max asked, staring up at Steve. 

“It’s Dustin’s cat.” Steve said blankly. 

“Steve!” Dustin yelled, embarrassed. Cordelia smirked again. This was something from a film.

“I knew it! You kept him!” Lucas shouted at Dustin, hitting him with his arm. 

“No!” Dustin told his friend. “No. No.. I… no…I… He missed me, he wanted to come home.” 

“You think that creature has feelings?” Cordelia asked, and the group turned and stared at her. She hadn’t talked a bit to the whole group since leaving the junkyard. At least if she wasn’t prompted.

“He loves me…” Dustin said shakily. “And I didn’t know he was a demogorgon, okay!”

“Oh, so now you admit it?” Lucas stared at Dustin, anger lacing his voice. 

“Guys, who cares, we have to go.” Max told the two fighting boys.

“I care!” Lucas said quickly, hands in the air. “You put the whole party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!”

“So did you!” Dustin seethed, his voice loud. Cordelia stepped back. She was not a fan of yelling. 

“”What?” Lucas asked, confused. Steve rolled his eyes, which caught on Cordelia, who was watching the two boys. She took another step back. 

“You told a stranger the truth! Two strangers, in fact.” Dustin obviously pointed to Max and Cordelia. Shining his flashlight in the auburn-haired girl's eyes. Max pulled away, and then Dustin did the same to Cordelia, who slapped the flashlight out of Dustin’s hands. It landed on the ground of the railway. 

Steve chuckled and Max stared at Cordelia, whose arms were crossed across her ribcage.

“A stranger!” Max was aghast, turning to Dustin and away from Cordelia. 

“You wanted to tell her too!” Lucas shouted back at his friend, who bent over and picked up the flashlight.

“But I didn’t, Lucas, okay!” Dustin yelled back. “I didn’t tell her!”

Cordelia watched as Steve looked off to their right, watching the forest. She did the same, and then she heard it. 

The boys yelling drowned out as she followed Steve as he turned, shining his flashlight through the wood. She was next to him now, eyes scanning the thick growth of the floor. 

“Guys,” Steve walked further. The kids kept talking behind them. “Guys!” Steve turned around quickly, startling Cordelia. 

The screeching noise continued, loud and buzzing like a ringing in her ears. With his bat behind his shoulder and her gear shift in her left hand, Steve and Cordelia seemed to have the same idea at the same time. They marched into the woods, step in step. Meeting eye contact, Steve shook his head lightly. 

Cordelia could hear the crunching of the kids following, and Max’s words brushed the air, “no, no, no. Hey guys, why are you headed towards the sound! Hello?”

They hustled quickly through the forest, pace fast. Flashlights covered every inch of the ground and Cordelia watched her step. The pain in her leg was becoming worse. She knew she’d have to clean it up when she got back to her house. 

Soon, the group reached an overlook of Hawkins. Down below her, fog drifted across the hillside and settled into the hollow of the town. 

“The lab.” Lucas’s binoculars were settled on the large cluster of buildings in the distance. “They were going back home.” 

As they walked down the hillside, Steve and Cordelia settled into the same step. She was limping slightly, Steve could tell. Her strides were long and he wondered if the rumors at school were correct. Was she a great runner? A state champion volleyball player? 

“I appreciate what you did back there.” Steve told her, voice low. The kids walked several meters ahead, chatting amongst themselves. 

“What?” She said, her eyes trained to the ground in front of her.

“You held yourself in front of the kids. You protected them. Thanks for doing that.” 

“It was instinct,” she told Steve, her words easy against the air. 

“Why were you out there in the junkyard?” Steve questioned, gaze still locked on the girl. She was beautiful, that was for sure. Dirty blonde hair and sculpted features, kind brown eyes. She was majestic, almost.

“I hang out there sometimes. Bad timing tonight I guess,” she joked, and he smiled slightly. Glancing down at his watch, he read the time, 11:39pm. What was she doing out there that late? It was weird that he himself wanted to know. 

They approached the lab building. Cordelia was contemplating leaving — this was none of her business and her leg was hurt. But she realized if she was ever going to get her junkyard back she’d need to join the group and kill the creatures. 

As they finally rounded the last corner and into the entrance of the lab, Cordelia locked eyes with none other than Nancy Wheeler, as well as a boy she did not know. “Steve?” Nancy and the boy said in unison. 

“Nancy?” Steve responded.

“Jonathon?” Dustin said, and the two groups rushed together. 

Nancy questioned loudly, worry in her tone,“what are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Steve shot back quickly. 

“Who is that with you?” Nancy motioned to Cordelia, who was staring down the eldest Wheeler child. Tucking a few baby hairs behind her ears, Cordelia waited for a proper introduction. 

“That’s Cordelia,” Steve said, but was interrupted by Dustin. 

“What are you doing here.” The boy spoke. 

“We’re looking for Mike and Will.” Nancy told Dustin, still giving Cordelia an odd look. Cordelia connected the dots that Will and Mike were Jonathon and Nancy’s siblings.

“They aren’t in there, are they?” A worried tone infiltrated Dustin’s voice. 

“We’re not sure.” Nancy glanced at the boy next to her.

“Why?” Jonathan asked, the bags under his eyes dark and defined.  

In the distance, very loudly, the monsters shrieked. Out of some instinct, Cordelia tightened her grip on the gear shift, moving slightly closer to Steve. The loud growling and screaming continued, and the group could finally place where it was coming from. 

The lab.

Hope you all enjoyed! I love this character and this story, and I have much more coming soon! - Calpurnia

taglist;@preciousbabypeter

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞; 𝐬𝐡

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; in the junkyard, Cordelia meets two strange creatures. one she will come to love, and one that might take everything she loves away.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings 

She lit the match on the side of the box, pulling the wood toward her. For fall, she reckoned, the weather was warm enough. She lay on the roof of the old cadillac, closing her eyes. 

The junkyard was where she’d been hiding for four months, since she’d moved to Hawkin’s. It wasn’t an impressive place to relocate to from St. Paul, where there was something to do around every corner. 

The match in her hands was light and felt like a toothpick. Her father had often stacked toothpicks on top of one another for Cordelia in a castle at restaurants. This match was held by hands that hadn’t touched another person in months. Cordelia liked it that way.

She grabbed the box of cigarettes from the back pocket of her jeans, the denim thick under her hands. Pulling out a white cigarette, the tip orange, she held it against her lips and sucked in. The match fizzled in her hands, and she felt the burning sensation along the pads of her fingers. Right as the pain became intolerable, she dropped the match onto the ground. She didn’t like the cigarettes, she just wanted to burn the matches. 

As she lit another match, a noise startled her. “I said medium-well!” It was a boy who she didn’t know. But someone else in the junkyard. She kept herself pressed against the side of the cadillac, her eyes open and staring at the sunlight. She needed to buy herself a new pair of sunglasses. 

She slunk off the car, keeping her long legs pressed against her body as she let her back rest against the cadillac. What were people doing in her junkyard? No one ever came here. That was the best part of it. 

It was then that she made eye contact with an auburn haired girl, who was walking briskly down a hill. The boy she was with didn’t seem to spot Cordelia, which was fine with her. Cordelia pulled the cigarette from her mouth and shoved it back in the box. 

Auburn-haired girl shook her head, leading both the boy and her out of Cordelia’s view. She breathed out. Cordelia wasn’t fearful of getting caught in the junkyard, she was fearful of someone else telling her to leave it. Of someone else taking it from her. Of sharing it. There was a difference in her mind. 

That roar was not a bear. Cordelia knew bears! For fucks sake, she was from St. Paul. But this was not an animal that she had encountered before. Her hands were laying on the drivers wheel of the old cadillac, the door closed. The night air was soft yet biting against her cheeks, and she could feel the sun on them from earlier in the day. She straightened her spine, feeling the warmth of her corduroy jacket. Her father had stitched it up for her, the material a mix of denim from all types of clothing and soft white and blue corduroy. 

She could hear yelling now, and the sound of that along with the not-bear-creature caused her breathing to increase. She closed her eyes. Maybe the noise was something that she had made up. Her therapist had once told her that the mind could create noises that weren’t really there. 

Then, a crunch from behind the cadillac. A crunch again. And then the smell of something reeking, rotting, and fleshy. What was happening? She couldn’t be asleep, could she? 

A bolt of pain rolled into Cordelia’s mind, and she noticed that she’d nipped her finger on the peeling leather of the wheel. Blood dripped onto the seat between her legs. 

She glanced backward, and the smell increased. That was when she saw the creature. And it was not a fucking bear. It pointed its mouth directly at her, as if it were a snake tasting the air for it’s snack. It was slimy, gooey, and like a body that had been left out for far too long. 

She felt around the cold, dark Cadillac and only found one possible weapon, the gear shift. Yanking it from the car, she held it out like a knife in front of her. 

She heard the yelling again and watched as the creature’s claws tore through the metal of the cadillac’s side. That was when Cordelia knew she’d have better chances with whoever was out there than with this not-bear-creature. 

Pulling the door open with a creak that seemed to surprise the not-bear-creature, Cordelia started to sprint. She’d heard the voices from somewhere near the old bus. Noticing the newly bordered up windows and rooftop deck, she assumed that was where the people were. She hoped they were there. 

God, at this moment she really wished she was not a distance runner. She wished she was a sprinter with strong stocky legs, instead of her long ones that were built for the 800, for the mile. But the not-bear-creature did not seem very into running the 800 at this moment. He seemed up for the 100. 

Right as she entered the last clearing, a growl sounded to her right, and another of the creatures leaped toward her, the teeth viscous. She muttered swear words under her breath, turning to the bus again. What was she going to do if there was no one in there and she made up all the shouting? 

She let her eyes wander to her left, where a boy stood, a baseball bat in his hand. He was creeping in somewhat her direction. She could hopefully get answers later — now she just had to run. Had to stay alive. 

“Let me in! Please!” She screamed, and the boy made eye contact with her. Deep brown eyes, sort of like the last trail of sunlight in the sky. She could sense the not-bear-creature was behind her, probably fifteen or twenty meters. Cordelia lifted her arm and pointed towards the bus, where now she could make out several figures behind the door. “Please let me in!” The boy looked away and she cursed under her breath. 

As she made the last few steps, the animal caught the end of her jeans, it’s claws against her skin as she tripped and landed in the mud. Cordelia thrashed along the ground, the soil wet against her neck. Holding up the gear shift, she stabbed the animal, the metal sinking into it with a noise that made her breathing hitch. The flesh was slimy as the metal dove into the creature. 

It seemed to be startled by the gear shift now it’s its flank, and its mouth slammed shut. As it recollected itself, she pushed herself from the ground, her breathing heavy and misty. Cordelia’s final move was yanking the gear shift out of the creature's side, a mix of flesh and goo coming off in slimy chunks. What the fuck was this animal? What was it? Was she in some alternate dimension? 

Cordelia found herself running again. She was unstable for a few seconds, her body moving faster than her legs, but within a few seconds she was sprinting again towards the bus. She heard something slam to the right of her and she wondered if it was the boy being eaten by the not-bear-creatures that were doubling every time she looked backward.  

“Steve hurry! Steve hurry, run!” The silhouettes inside of the bus were screaming. 

She heard footsteps approaching, and the growl of one of the animals directly behind her. The silhouettes were screeching, their voices growing louder. She saw the boy dive into the bus, and seconds later, she leaped up the few stairs and into the old Greyhound as well. Directly onto a body, laying on the ground...

[calpurniatypes]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬; 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨; 𝐬𝐡

a steve harrington story

summary; when she’s thrown into a fight with a terrible monster that threatens her new town, Cordelia Silva must run like hell to make it out alive... and maybe find her heart in the mix.

chapter summary; in the greyhound, Cordelia bares her weapon against the creatures with the unlikeliest of partners... and his army of young teenagers.

warnings; this story may be unsuitable for some audiences. Sexual content, anxiety, depression, abandonment, violence, blood, death, and cigarettes.

stranger things series masterlist ; calpurnia’s questionable writings

The body was warm against her front as she lay in the grimy entryway of the bus. Her fall into the Greyhound had been padded by a muscular person, who was holding her waist with one hand and her shoulder with the other. 

“Shit! Shit!” One of the other people in the bus was screaming. This was all it took to pull Cordelia out of her haze and shove herself upright, standing in the Greyhound. The person she’d landed on was still laying on the floor, and now his gaze had turned to Cordelia. 

What the fuck? She had time to think before the scratching and growling from outside disturbed her. Steve Harrington? 

A boy younger than Cordelia snapped in front of Steve’s eyes and on a dime he pulled himself up and grabbed more metal to barricade the door. Cordelia pushed past another boy and started to help him, rusty metal cool against her fingertips. 

“Are they rabid or something?” A girl was saying. God, what the fuck was Steve Harrington doing with a pack of middle schoolers? 

As Steve propped the door, Cordelia shoved the kids behind her. She didn’t know the kids, but she couldn’t let them die. She had to figure out what the hell they were doing in her junkyard. And what these creatures were. 

“They can’t get in! They can’t!” The boy in the camo headband and green jacket was yelling. 

The monster growled loudly, and Steve pushed his feet against the door, propping it closed. The two boys, the girl, and Steve all shrieked at the same time. Cordelia felt her arm getting touched by a warm hand, and she realized she’d held her arms up to protect and fence in the kids behind her. Using herself as a shield. 

The bus rattled and Cordelia fell to the floor of the Greyhound, the children toppling down behind her. 

Just as she regained balance, one of the creatures broke through the metal, sending Steve flying backward. Unlike Cordelia, he landed upright, bat in hand, and was beating against the creature by the time she took another breath. 

Were those nails on the bat? Cordelia didn’t want to know what hellish version of baseball was played with that. 

She turned behind her, to the kids. Fear blossomed in their young faces, and they watched her with wide eyes. “Get to the back of the bus!” She told them, voice rough. 

“Shit!” The boy in the hat screeched, and with one quick, prancing move, all the kids were corralled at the end of the Greyhound, far away from the door and the monsters. 

Steve stopped beating the animal with his not-for-kids baseball bat, instead of looking at Cordelia, who was using her arms to guard the kids. She gripped the gear shift in her left hand, and the hem of her jeans was torn, red staining the denim. The creature screeched again, and he went back to beating it roughly. 

The same boy in the hat now was holding up a walkie-talkie to his mouth, his voice frantic. He sat against a torn seat, his knuckles white against the metal of the machine. “Is anyone there? Mike, Will? God! Anyone!”

A banging noise echoed throughout the bus, and Cordelia turned her head upwards just in time to see an imprint on the metal wall of the bus. A body, fully formed against the Greyhound. A sculpture in the rusted steel. 

“Shit!” The boy said again. The auburn-haired girl screamed, and Cordelia shoved the kids in the middle of the bus. Away from the newly sculpted wall. Steve was still by the door, his bat bloody. 

The boy in the hat was still yelling loudly into the walkie-talkie, “we’re at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!” 

Something clattered loudly, a noise that was so different from the banging and screaming and heavy breathing that silence sounded throughout the bus. Cordelia felt her heartbeat in her ears.

Steve grunted, laying on the ground. The clattering continued, and now they could trace its location. The roof of the Greyhound. Footprints appeared in the metal overhead like the hard steel was simply sand. The creature was walking over them.

That was when Cordelia saw it. The monster; slimy, gooey, sticky. Sort of like a bud for a mouth, no eyes. It growled menacingly. Disturbing the silence that followed, the auburn-haired girl let out a glass-shattering scream. 

“Get out of the way!” Suddenly, that warm touch was on her arm again. That same touch that she’d fallen into. This touch pushed her and the kids to the side, putting Steve himself at the bottom of the ladder. Steve’s touch. 

“Get out of the way! You want some? Come get this!” As Steve kept shouting at the animal, Cordelia moved next to him, their bodies side by side. She armed herself again with the gearshift. 

The animal let out the most chilling growl yet, so deep it almost sounded like a car revving up. Steve lifted his bat up, and both he and Cordelia’s weapons pointed at the creature. Steve’s bat in his right hand, her gear shift in her left. Its teeth bared, mouth open, it roared, sending a foul-smelling wave of air onto Steve and Cordelia’s faces. 

Then just as quickly as the creature appeared, it left. Bounding off the top of the Greyhound, a growl sounded in the distance as what seemed like a group of monsters shrieked into the air. 

Silence wafted through the Greyhound in the creature's absence. Cordelia glanced down to see the camo boy holding the auburn-haired girl's hand. 

A flash of pain shifted through her and she wobbled on her feet. The creature must have scratched her when he’d caught her jeans. She steadied herself on the ladder. 

After several seconds, no words had come out into the stale air of the Greyhound. Steve glanced at Cordelia, whose light brown hair was clipped back with pins by her ears. Several strands of baby hairs floated upwards, and her slender, strong fingers tucked them behind her ears. 

He had questions too, of course he did. What was she doing here? He knew her in the way that he knew most people — she was new, a loner, beautiful, and extremely mysterious. He knew her name, and that she was a junior at Hawkins. Cordelia Silva. 

Steve moved away from the kids and Cordelia. Questions, all unanswered floated around his mind as he slowly opened the door of the Greyhound. 

She had questions too, of course she did. What was he doing here? She knew him in the way of words thrown around hallways — he’d left his old group of ‘friends’, dated Nancy Wheeler, got his heart broken, was being outshined on the basketball court by Billy Hargrove, and was extremely handsome. (That last part was according to everyone else, obviously.) She knew his name, and that he was a senior at Hawkins. Steve Harrington. 

She watched through deep brown eyes as he moved down the stairs of the bus, the door squeaking menacingly as he continued outside. “Jeez,” she heard him say after a large bang sounded. The kids watched as she flinched. 

“Stay here,” Cordelia told the three teenagers behind her before she moved in large strides down the aisle and stairs. Her Reebok shoes crunched on the ground. Steve stood to her left, and they listened as the low growling slinked away, through the fog of the junkyard. 

Cordelia climbed the stairs, motioning to the teenagers to come outside. Steve turned around as she and the kids appeared in the entryway of the Greyhound. 

“What happened?” Camo boy asked.

“Don’t know,” the auburn-haired girl responded. 

“Steve scared em’ off?” The boy in the hat wondered aloud. 

“No,” Steve said immediately. Cordelia could feel how warm he was, standing several inches away in the foggy junkyard. “No way.” He slung his hellish bat over his shoulder. “They’re going somewhere.” 

Cordelia heard the wind speed up in the trees far away, and then calm returned to the junkyard. Facing Steve, she finally asked one of her many questions, “Care to explain what the hell that was?”

taglist; @preciousbabypeter