#Pat X Joyce

[ruinshit]

𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖍

[bambisworlds]

the freak and the new girl (1)

part two, part three

eddie munson is the freak of hawkins high. y/n is the new girl. like eleven, she was taken in by hopper after getting rescued from the lab. y/n has been in bad relationship after bad relationship since attending public school and was starting to give up on finding a healthy, loving relationship until eddie munson changed everything (1,622 word count)

content warnings, mdni 18+

f!reader, hopper!reader, bisexual!reader, telekinetic!reader, no physical reader description, reader grew up in the lab like eleven, reader can sing, slow burn, friends to lovers, fluff fluff fluff, jason carver and billy hargrove are readers exes, reader has a female ex named amelie, this follows the season 2 plot but the party are freshmen instead cause it makes things easier, eleven is in public school for the season 2 plot, let me know if i forgot anything x

There’s always been some unspoken understanding between Eddie Munson and I. Whenever my ex-boyfriend Jason Carver got into it with Eddie, I came to Eddie’s defense. Sure, it was a soft comment about Jason backing off, but it was something. Eddie would nod his head in acknowledgment or say something like “Thanks sweetheart”. It was mainly to get to Jason but also to show his genuine thanks to me. 

Jason was an ass, I was not. Eddie knew this. That’s why he spent many an hour wondering why the fuck I was dating Jason. The simple answer was Jason was the first boy to show an interest in me at Hawkins High and I was lonely. I was desperate for attention. I didn’t know that Jason was a bad boyfriend per se. I didn’t know what a good boyfriend should behave like. The only other relationship I had was when I was at the lab. That relationship consisted of stolen glances, hidden touches, and love notes slipped under doors. When we were around other people we acted as if we were strangers.

I’d never been in a so-called public relationship like this. The conclusion I came to is that no matter what kind of relationship you’re in your boyfriend ignores you. That’s just how it is. When I was in my, I guess you could call my relationship, with Amelie it was the same thing. Treat me like a lover behind closed doors then like a stranger in public.

With Billy though… that was when I started to get the idea this wasn’t what a relationship should be like. Billy wasn’t ever nice, not even behind closed doors. I wasn’t even sure if he liked me or just the idea of me. He liked to rub it to the other popular kids, especially Jason, that he could date the new girl too.

The first time I experienced what a good boyfriend could be like was with Eddie Munson. The moment was fleeting in the hall in between classes but it shocked me down to my core.

Eddie was walking past me when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop, “Woah… you like Motley Crew? You?” he asked me in disbelief, motioning to the Motley Crew t-shirt I was wearing.

“Yeah?” I answered, feeling unsure.

“Jesus, why the hell are you dating Carver? You’re like my dream girl.” he joked before patting my arm and starting back down the hallway like nothing happened. 

Jason and Billy never complimented me.

Eddie told me that I was his dream girl in 1983. Now it’s nearing 1985 and I still think about it. I’m not sure why it took me so long to see Eddie as someone I could date. I think it was all of Hopper’s complaining about Eddie’s parents. He called them low-life wastes of space. I kinda assumed Eddie would be the same way. I was so unbelievably wrong.

I sat alone next to the concession stand in the arcade sipping a Coke. My seat was away from everyone else but I still had a clear view of my sister, Eleven, Mike, her boyfriend, Will, Lucas, and Dustin. They were all circled around a machine, yelling and laughing at the same time.

Will’s mom, Joyce, gave me the task of keeping a close eye on Will. His PTSD had been flaring up while we got closer to the anniversary of his disappearance. I’m all too familiar with PTSD so I took this task seriously, but I didn’t want to be the overbearing older sister to Eleven.

“Y/n?” A voice spoke up from beside me. I stopped sipping on my drink, the straw still sitting between my lips.

“Hey, Eddie.” I greeted with a soft smile. He wore his typical leather jacket and D&D jean vest. It made his back look hot. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked with a smile, plopping on the bench across from me at the table.

“Babysitting.” I motioned to where Eleven and her pals were standing.

“And you’re just gonna sit there instead of playing games?” he teases.

“I don’t know how to play any.” I shrug. Eddie’s mouth dropped open dramatically and I laughed. “What? I don’t think Jane does either, to be honest.” I say, using El’s legal name instead of her chosen name.

“Get up, get up.” he motions at me as he stands up. I do as he says, “C’mon I’ll show you.” he insists as I throw my half-drunk coke in a trash bin. He walks with some pep in his step as he leads me over to a machine, “Ever play this one?” he motions to the machine in front of us and I shake my head, “You’ve never played Galaga?” he gapes, “Jesus you’ve never lived!” he gasps and I laugh again. No one could ever make me laugh this easily. He ushered me to stand closer to him so he could explain how to play it. I could smell cigarette smoke, the smell clinging to his hair that would probably stick to mine. 

After a good 5 minutes of instruction, he coached me through my first try, cheering me on and giving me advice in my ear. We stood at that machine together for 30 minutes, our laughter radiating around us until a timid voice spoke up behind me.

“Y/n? It’s 8:45. We should probably head home.” Will says and I finally separate myself from the Galaga machine. “Hey, Eddie.” Will greeted his fellow Hellfire Club member.

“Byers.” Eddie nodded his head in greeting, “Well, this was fun Hopper. We should do it again sometime.” Eddie smiles and I nod.

“It was. Now when I beat Dustin’s ass I’ll have you to thank.” I tell Eddie goodnight, leading Will and Eleven out to my car.

“Since when are you and Eddie friends?” Mike asks me, sitting beside El in the backseat as I drive to his house.

“Since today I guess.” I shrug, “We’re not not friends. We say hi and stuff to each other in the hall.” 

“Well, Eddie’s cool. A lot cooler than the jerks you used to hang out with.” Will says, alluding to Jason and the nauseating popular kids that he would hang out with, therefore I hung out with.

“Yeah.” I agree softly. After dropping Will off and listening while Joyce thanked me profusely, I headed to Hop’s cabin.

“Is Eddie your boyfriend?” El asks, looking out the car window as we drive.

“No.” I chuckle, “Although that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

“Eddie’s nice,” El notes as we pull into the driveway. I twirled my keys in my hand and unlocked the door from the inside out with my mind. 

“We’re home,” I announce, Hopper coming out of the bathroom, clearly fresh out of the shower.

“Have fun?” he asks and I nod.

“Y/n was with a boy,” El tells him as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

“Another one? Give your old man a break.” he sighs dramatically, sitting down in the recliner.

“I wasn’t with him. He was there and so was I so he showed me how to play one of the games.” I insist, heading towards my room.

“Who was he?” Hopper asks, stopping me in my tracks.

“Eddie Munson,” I answered nervously.

“Munson? That kid’s a dipshit.” Hop answers without missing a beat.

“Dad, have you even met him?” I ask. Silence. “Exactly,” I argued, heading into my room.

The next day at school, for the first time ever, Eddie sat beside me in class. 

“Hey Y/n.” he greeted, plopping down beside me. That same day he invited me to sit with him and the Hellfire Club at lunch. I hesitated but with El's encouragement, I did.

At some point, the group got to the topic of Will’s drawing abilities and for some reason, he threw me under the bus, “Y/n can sing.” 

Eddie’s head whipped towards me so quickly I was scared his neck would break, “You sing?”

“Kind of.”

“She is really good.” El insists, nodding at me encouragingly.

“Don’t you write music and stuff?” Mike asks from beside El, “I’ve seen your guitar and sheet music in the dining room like a billion times.”

“You play the guitar?” Eddie’s eyes widened even more if that was possible.

“Yeah,” I confirm with a soft smile.

Eddie grabs his chest dramatically, “God you really are my dream girl.” he sighs. 

The time he said that to me in the hall last school year came to mind. I smiled.

“Show him your songs.” El encourages, motioning to the journal next to my food tray.

“Are you telling me that journal right there that you’re always writing in is filled with songs that came out of that pretty little head?” Eddie asks me and I nod. “Can I read some? Pretty please.” he sticks his bottom lip out and gives me puppy dog eyes.

“If I let you, you have to promise to not read any others. They’re personal.” I tell him, giving him the most ‘no bullshit’ face I could muster.

“Okay, okay,” he mutters, holding his hands up in defense. I bite my lip nervously, flipping through the pages.

“That one.” Eleven stops my flipping, pointing at one of the pages. I let out a breath and handed it to Eddie.

“Dark…” he notes as he continues to read. I tap my leg nervously, “I love it.” he smiles widely before closing the journal and handing it back to me.

“Thanks.” I smile. 

“Anytime you wanna show off your writing skills to someone I’m here,” he says with a wink and I unwillingly blush.

if you have any fic requests including the people on my masterlist please comment them below or on my masterlist!! (check here: about my blog  to see what things i'm not comfortable with in regards to requests <3)

[sheisjoeschateau]

"Oh, so we DO love Steve..." | PART II

ALRIGHT, SECOND PART IS OUT. NOT WAITING. hope u like :)

⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ SERIES MASTERLIST ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Steve Harrington x Bauman!fem!reader || enemies to lovers trope.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORK TO BE COPIED AND/OR REPOSTED ON HERE OR ANY OTHER PLATFORM, OR PUT INTO ANY AI PROGRAMS. THIS IS AN 18+ BLOG, MDNI.

An original fanfiction series, written by Misha St. James.

This isn't your first time meeting Steve Harrington.

You know him. And he knows you. Well, maybe. Who knows. You both run in completely different circles in high school.

While there's some very obvious tension amongst the love triangle (Nancy-Steve-Jonathan) you take a second to look over at the group of kids behind King Steve. There's a curly-haired kid wearing a cap, another kid sporting a bandana, and a redheaded girl. They give you sort of awkward waves, which you return with a tight-lipped grin.

"Sorry," Jonathan's suddenly saying. "Uh, you guys, this is umm -"

"Bauman," you interject. "Just...call me Bauman."

Steve is now looking at you, realizing. Recognizing. "Hey," he says. "Wait, aren't you in Click's class?"

You press your lips into a thin line, trying not to be totally off-put by him. And in truth, you weren't really. Steve had seemed less... douchey, since he started dating Nancy. You were grateful for that. No matter how doomed their relationship was, it seemed to help him get rid of his trash friends. God, Tommy H. and Carol and that Nicole girl were just toxic.

"Yeah," you said, reaching out a hand. "Nice to officially meet you."

Steve shook your hand, a bit sheepish. And still distracted with the fact that his girlfriend had shown up with Byers. Why was she with Byers? You felt yourself internally cringing, seeing how oblivious yet aware he was. It actually made you feel bad.

"I'm Dustin!"

You suddenly looked in the direction of a toothy-grinned kid smiling at you, and you couldn't help but grin back. "Hey, Dustin."

Lucas and Max introduced themselves, too. But then, you all heard sound coming from off in the distance. The lab.

So yeah, things took a pretty sharp turn from there. It's all kind of a blur, if you're being honest. Everyone began talking over each other, eventually gathering info as to exactly who you are and why you were here (at least the general just of it). They learned about Murray Bauman, and Steve's face just became more perplexed, the more that Nancy and Jonathan revealed what they had learned...together.

...yikes.

But the kids were also asking you a million questions, very curious about you. Max found you funny, finding you to have more cool-girl energy than Nancy, who just seemed too polished for her to know how to communicate with her.

Eventually, Nancy noticed the power back on at the lab and you all took off in that direction. Steve was arguing a lot with the kid named Dustin. Very brotherly. Low-key motherly. The toll gate wouldn't open, then suddenly it did open, and then next thing you know a car is racing towards you from the lab and it's got Jim Hopper at the steering wheel? He's throwing the door open, demanding all of you to get in.

As you all drive, you end up near the front of the car, squished between Steve and Dustin.

"Bauman."

You look over at Jim, surprised. But he's looking at you in the rearview with all-knowing eyes. "You're Murray's niece."

You nod. "Yeah. Jim Hopper, right?"

Jim reaches back to pat your knee, eyes on the road and still shaken up from whatever the hell they just escaped. "M'sorry, kid. Your uncle's been getting shit from me. I know he sent you. M'really sorry. I'll make it right with him after all this, alright? Promise."

You just nod, knowing there's really no time for any of that right now. Since you got in the car, you haven't even had time to notice how there is a woman (clearly Joyce Byers) in pure distress, along with another kid in tow and the limp body of another child that she's holding. Jonathan is reaching for him, riddled with worry. Is that Will?

Once you all make it back to the Byers residence, it's tense. Really fucking tense. Jonathan is knelt in front of the couch, voicing his regrets out loud as he stares at his brother's limp form. Nancy stands behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. You're on the opposite side of the room, leaned against the wall.

Which is why you notice that behind Hopper, who's yelling into the wall phone, Steve. He looks...devastated. Hurt. Heartbroken.

...fuck, he looks heartbroken.

He walks past you, pinching his nose and sniffing once. He looks like he's really fighting off some emotion, escaping to another room. It makes you think about everything that went down at your uncle's bunker, and how maybe it was funny there...but it isn't here. Not now, seeing that this guy actually has some intense feeling for Nancy Wheeler. Intense love for her. Real love.

...but Nancy doesn't feel that same intense love for him.

...oh god, that's messy.

But all hell is breaking loose before you can linger on that for much longer. Suddenly, you're all devising a plan. It has something to do with dungeons and dragons, and Will being possessed, and getting him in a room that whatever monster is inside of him won't recognize. The you're all deciphering Morse Code, and it's a whirlwind from there.

And then you're all holding weapons, bracing fore an attack...when some young girl walks in. Who you come to learn is the infamous Eleven. Her hair grew back, and she looks ready to join a punk band.

Pretty bitchin' look, you gotta admit.

The kids introduce her to you, and she gives you a shy smile. Then you're all splitting up into groups, and you catch a brief exchange between Nancy and Steve. He's saying something to her about going with Jonathan, and it makes you tense for Nancy. You can't even imagine how she must feel, knowing that he sees it.

And honestly, the way that Steve talks is...so not King Steve. It's uncharacteristically mature. Secure, and assuring. Not that of the teen heartthrob and bad boy you've been going to school with. And when Nancy does go off with Jonathan, you see Harrington's heart shatter into a million pieces with just the look in his eyes.

You feel bad. You suddenly feel really bad.

But also, he had to have seen this coming. Right? Jonathan Byers was a good, decent guy, who'd been there for Nancy all throughout the hell of last year. Steve had come around, finally. But by then, the trauma bond between Byers and Wheeler was irreversible. There's no changing that.

But damn, unrequited love sucks.

You knew was rejection felt like, and you wouldn't wish it on anyone. Not even your worst enemy.

Out of guilt, you make some conversation with Steve. Given it's just the two of you with the kids left at the house, needing to wait things out, you both easily make conversation. It's a bit awkward at first, but oddly it finds flow pretty easily. Steve's still got his charm, although it's a little more grounded than before. It isn't forced, or laced with popular-kid attitude. That's refreshing.

As you both end up listening to the kids like the only two parental figures around, then end up having to fight off that psycho new kid at school named Billy Hargrove (who's actually Max's stepbrother?!) and patch up Steve's very beaten and battered face which somehow still looks pretty, annnnd wind up in a tunnel full of creatures (demo dogs? is that what Dustin called them?), then somehow survive all of that shit... you and Steve become pretty bonded, pretty quickly.

And when the worst of it is seemingly over, you end up helping Eleven get ready for the Snowball -- dropping her off with Hopper. He's grateful for your help, and after making amends with your uncle you two have gotten to know each other well, too. He likes you, appreciating your mature sense of self.

Joyce adores you already, being the kind-natured and loving mama-bear that she is.

And El? Well, she loves you. You're like a cool older sister figure of sorts.

You and Steve run into each other when dropping off the kiddos at the Snowball, making conversation about how crazy everything was. You talk about other things, too. Just mundane things, bouncing off each other well. But when Steve notices Nancy inside, he gets that sad puppy-dog look in his eyes again. Then, Jonathan's coming out of the dance with a camera. He clearly was the designated photographer for the night.

And he clearly has captured Nancy Wheeler's heart.

One night, after Jonathan and Nancy have started going steady and you're all on summer break, you're all over at the Henderson's house watching the kids. The adults are there, too, since Mrs. Henderson is out working overnight. Murray is pouring up drinks for the adults and teens, much to Joyce's disapproval. But he just goes about his business, clinking glasses. Hopper honestly looks like he could really use a fucking drink. Or 5.

You, Steve, Nancy and Jonathan all toast, happily. Chatting. Laughing. Making light of things.

...but that ends up being pretty short-lived.

Before you know it, you're in the kitchen helping clean up while Joyce gets the kids in bed and Hopper is on the couch slurring with your uncle. Steve had offered to help you, but Dustin insisted that he come see something in his room before they all went to bed. Nancy has left with Mike and Max, while Lucas is staying the night.

Welp. Jonathan walks in, drunk, telling you thank you.

It's sloppy, and it would be funny except for the fact that he is talking so fucking loud. He's just thanking you, and then Murray, over and over -- "...for meddling with'm love life because now, I'm dating th'most beautifurrrl girl in Hawkins. N'if'it weren't for y'two...I'd still'b pining o'r h-her."

...annnnd then he’s blabbering on about how you let him and Nancy take the bed. “Well’lmost… ha, w-we ended urp…takin’th…couch. Whischhh…you tol’us you’w’d…toHaLLy tAkE’stead.” Then he’s snickering, drunkenly. “Cuz’you toooootally wanted us to doooo itttt. Schhhhhhayin that — m’not the safe one. That’m — I’m the one’th Nannnncy l-loves. Not…S-Steve…”

You just chuckle nervously, giving him a pat on the shoulder. And you just keep washing the dishes when he gives you a tight hug from behind, stumbling a bit and making you almost drop and break one of Mrs. Henderson's very cute plates.

Right on cue, Steve rounds the corner, having heard it.

All of it.

And now that Steve has gotten wind of the fact you played a huge role — along with Murray — on why Nancy left him, he is totally pissed.

In fact, he’s livid. 

"Steve," you try, but he just holds up a hand, staring daggers at you.

"Save it, Bauman," he grits. "Save. It."

It causes him to have the utmost disdain towards you, border lining hate. It just festers over time, getting worse.

Something about that makes your stomach flip inside out with a horrible, upset feeling. Your guts feel knotted up, and if the reality of things weren't so bleak, you would laugh at the fact that losing Steve Harrington's friendship (let alone trust) would upset you one day, let alone even happen. You feel bad. You really do. But God, as time goes on... his entire attitude about it is insufferable. He isn't letting up any time soon. Not when you both meet up with the kids (because regardless of the strain between you two, you're both the parents now). It feels like two divorced parents, meeting up to share custody of the chitlins.

The only relationship to which Steve is committed, is the one that he shares with Miss Hatred. And you're her bitch.

...guess there's still some King Steve in him after all.

You knew King Steve. He was an ass. So you know what? Suck it, Harrington. Karma’s a bitch.

As time passes, you begin firing back at him - tired of trying to explain yourself, apologize or play nice. Steve wants to fucking play? Alright then. Game on, Harrington.

There's a whole upside down universe threatening to take over still? All good. Let's still brawl, Harrington.

The kids keep bringing you both around each other, and you're also working at a place inside of the same damn mall as Steve is for the summer? AWESOME.

LET'S GET READY TO FUCKIN RUMBLE.

So yeah, you’re totally involved in the whole mall ordeal with the Russians, bonding you to Steve and Robin, along with Dustin and Erica.

But despite that, Steve still resents you. So there is still rivalry between the two of you.  Hot and bothered. 

That said, despite his pure disdain towards you...it doesn't change the fact that you actually do begin to see him for the much better human that he is becoming. King Steve has fallen. No doubt. You see that. The way that he loves and cares the kids, especially Dustin. And the way that Steve reacts whenever Robin comes out to you both? He's an angel. Hell, he even fought the soldiers off of you whenever they decided to make you their torture-chamber play-thing. He definitely got mad at them for that one, but he also got mad at you for not going with Dustin and Erica before all of that went down. You both nearly strangled each other when attempting to hold the door shut, yelling at each other to run. Robin had finally joined you both, but still - neither of you budged.

Steve was a good guy. A nice guy, even. Just not to you, unless the moment called for him to be. Which was fine.

…but he’s still annoying. And apparently, he can hold a fucking grudge like no other. He’s a world class champ at that, come to find out. Gold star.

You're onboarded to help Hopper, Murray and Joyce with shutting the gate. It's a no-brainer. Steve looks a little miffed, seeing how the adults trust you like one of them rather than him. Even the way that Jonathan is so cool around you, and Nancy seems shy around you, it just...irks him.

When you manage to help Joyce close the gate, you witness the death of Hopper. And it kills you, along with your uncle. You ache for Joyce, unable to fathom how you'll have to bring it up to El.

But hey, you all manage to destroy the Mind Flayer. And when Billy is killed in the process, you tend to Max like a true older sister. She and Eleven have both come to look up to you as such, and Steve won't deny the fact that you're a saint with these kids. A real fucking saint. And if he's being honest...he's relieved to have a co-parenting partner.

But that is the extent of his gratitude towards you, which is strictly circumstantial. You make things convenient sometimes.

Hopper dying hits all of you hard. And you do everything that you can to help your uncle not drink himself to death. It's the only reason that you don't regularly visit the Wheelers in California. Your uncle is a wreck. Hopper was the only man who truly felt like a friend to your very lonely (by choice) Uncle Murray.

Steve does single you out to ask how you're doing, knowing that witnessing Hopper's death was tragic. But you just tell him that the real concern is your uncle and Joyce, insisting that you will get by. Steve seems hesitant at first, knowing that you're not fine. He might hate you, but he still cares about a party member who got put through hell.

"I'm alive, Steve. So I need to carry on. For everyone's sakes. I'll be alright."

As time goes on...

You and Steve give Robin very conflicting love advice, when it comes to her crush on Vikki.

"VIKKI LIKES BOOBIES."

"Christ, Steve," you're groaning in the backseat. "Stop being such a damn teenage boy."

"I'm almost 20, Bauman," he scowls at you in the rearview mirror.

You make a face, exaggerating feigned apology. "'Scuuuuuse me."

Man, he could not hate you more. Steve is sure of that. You are the worst. Why are you here. You are just the worst. Every time he looks at you, all he sees is Murray Bauman but as a much hotter 19-year-old girl with way more better comebacks and select timing.

AND NO, THAT IS NOT A COMPLIMENT.

!!!!!!!!

Next thing you know, Chrissy Cunningham has been found dead in a trailer that belongs to Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson. Who, according to Dustin, is not only still in high school — he’s also friends with them? Yikes. But Dustin swears that he’s not a murderer.

You choose to believe Dustin. Much to Steve’s chagrin. In his mind, any chance that you get to disagree with him, you will gladly fucking take it. He is really committed to you being his enemy.

And you know what? Fine. You can play. You've been playing.

Eventually, Nancy comes back into the picture.

And honestly? Watching her be all into Steve again? As if she isn't in a relationship with Jonathan still? That pisses you off.

Not because you’re jealous. No, no. Not that.

…yeah no, it’s not that.

Nah, it’s the way this girl just cannot for the life of her figure out what she is feeling. Dear lord, woman. Pick.

Eventually, you comment on this. But not until Eddie Munson is suddenly roped into y’all’s crew and you both strangely hit it off. You share the same taste in music. You both compare concert history, listing off you're favorites and randomly bursting into song. Very scream-o, metal music. Eddie thinks you're the shit, and you make him laugh a lot. He also makes you laugh a lot.

Steve hates that.  He really, really hates that.

But not because he is jealous. No, no. It’s not that.

…yeah, it’s definitely not that.

Nah, it’s the way you make friends with someone he isn't a fan of just to spite him. You know he doesn’t like Eddie. You know he feels replaced by Dustin for him. You’re doing this shit on purpose. He knows it. He just knows it.

Regardless, you both stand by each other throughout the whole Vecna ordeal. And Max?  She loves you. Trusts you. A lot. You also tell her not to give Steve so much shit. So he’ll give you that.

But that’s all he’s gonna give you. And even that has its limits.

Whenever you all find out that Max is cursed, the first person that Steve finds himself looking at is you. Because you're the co-parent. You've gotta help him know what to do. You feel the exact same way.

You both witness her possession in he graveyard. You both help calm the kids down, and each other. Whenever Max writes letters to each of you, she looks at both you and Steve for a long time. A really long time. It's very uncomfortable.

...then she's finally handing you both a letter, and the look she shoots you both afterwards in really unsettling. Like she knows something.

But what the hell is there to know? That you both can't stand each other? NEWSFLASH: EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT. So joke's on them.

...not Max though. She's in trouble. So she's allowed to know whatever the hell...that she...knows...?

You and Steve both profusely disagree with everyone about the idea of Max becoming the bait. In fact, it's the first time that you both are defending each other to everyone else. Whenever Max argues Steve, you tell her to listen.

"Steve has every right to be worried right now. We all do, Max."

She sighs, knowing that you're right.

And whenever Dustin tries to get quippy with you about stuff, Steve shuts him down real fast.

"Hey. Not cool. Bauman's in the right, check yourself."

Dustin also sighs, knowing that he's right.

Because you both know these kids better than anyone. You helped Mike ease up on Hopper, becoming that one older-sister figure he can actually go to and be normal around. Hell, he even hugs you. Mike never hugs anyone, except El. And Lucas? You and Steve are at every single one of his games, like proud parents. Will calls you whenever he wants to paint, knowing that you enjoy art. You've spent many nights painting with him, and even Steve will join with the other kids. They mostly just finger paint and bicker, but it's still lovely in its own sort of way. And then there's Dustin. The golden child, who both of you wanna hug and strangle at the same time. He is forever putting the two of you in close proximity, secretly loving the tension between the two of you. He figures that it's just because you both wanna be the favorite parent, and Dustin is too fixated on why Steve hasn't started dating Robin to even remotely suspect that you two could be an item.

There's a plan in motion now. It's in full swing, all groups peeling off. There's a new species added to the fucked up realm (the newly coined named for them is demo-bats) and you've somehow saved Steve's ass for the 3rd time. This guy seriously cannot catch a break.

But now, Eddie’s suddenly encouraging Steve to go after Nancy again. And damn, that bugs you.  It really motherfuckin’ gets under your skin. Because Eddie doesn’t know the full story about what went down between them. Not even close.

You can't help yourself. You tell Steve this, once Eddie walks up ahead. But of course, Steve is rebuking everything that you are saying.

And then he's telling you that Nancy is different, and -- “actually, things are better.” 

But you scoff at that, incredulously. And you're telling him to "wake up and realize that 1) she’s still with lover-boy Byers, and 2) you shouldn’t pine after someone who chose someone else over you."

You mean to say it kindly. Honestly, you try to.

But Steve doesn’t think so.  And he’s faster. He’s also cruel.

“Maybe that’s why you broke us up, huh?" Steve is firing back at you with all that he's got now. "Because you’re used to that. Being the second choice. Weren’t you Clark’s best friend? Didn’t he drag you along until he ended up picking Becky? Yeah. Thought I didn’t know that, right? Or how you hung out with some of the basketball guys and never once got asked out by any of them? God, it’s so obvious. Also, it’s pathetic. You clearly hate seeing anyone happy. So hey, guess what? You got your wish: successfully ruining someone else’s happiness. Bingo! Congratulations, you won.”

It hurts. It really does. It fucking hurts.

Still, you do try to reason with him. It’s a little harsh, you’ll admit it. You’re not exactly speaking to him sweetly. But you try.

“All my personal love life issues aside —" you start, bringing your voice down and speaking as level as possible. "...which honestly, I’ve never even had something worth labeling as love — Steve, YOU still deserve to —”

“To suffer,” he cuts you off. “Yeah. I know. And the fact you’ve not had love? That just further proves my point. You admit it and yet you’re still out to get me. Because you’re fucking miserable.”

Alright, you’ve had it.

“I’m miserable?” you ask, ready to fire back. “Steve. You’re the one letting your ex-girlfriend — who didn’t even properly dump you — toy with your brain again into actually thinking she’s gonna pick you this time. She doesn’t deserve that. And you certainly don’t deserve —”

“You deserve nothing.” Steve is seething. Then hissing at you, “You’re bullshit, Bauman. You and your whack job Uncle. You’re both bullshit.”

So you stop. You let it go.

You let Steve Harrington hate you and suffer his own misfortunes. And you pretend that what he said didn’t just shatter your soul into a million tiny pieces.  You nod at him, swallowing hard.

“My uncle is twice the man you’ll ever be. King Steve.”  

It’s a pathetic last attempt. And your voice feels small, tight. But standing up for your uncle is better than yourself at this point. You walk off, away from him.

And Steve doesn’t tell you to stop. He doesn’t tell you not to walk away. He lets you.

So he doesn’t see you cry alone inside of the upside down version of the Wheelers’ bathroom.  He doesn’t see your heart break in two, and he doesn’t see you bite back the sobs sinking your teeth into your palms.

[worldofheroes]

Escape

tom cruise x fem!reader

summary: you never thought your dog would be your wingman.

warnings: 18+, age gap, language, kissing, praise, protected sex

wc: 1.5k

a/n: based on a request by @joyce-stdt ! Sorry it took so long, hope the wait was worth it! ❤️❤️

“Jack!” you call out after your normally well-behaved dog. Something spooked him and he slipped out of his collar.

He starts to barrel towards the next person coming down the trail.

“Jack, here!”

The person down the trail somehow grabs Jack and holds on to his own dog.

“I am so sorry,” you say as you jog up to him.

“It’s no problem,” he smiles.

You slip Jack’s collar back on. “Thank you.”

“Seriously, no problem.”

“Thanks again, and have a good day,” you say, quickly leaving the awkward situation that you just made.

The next day, you run into the same man and dog.

“Hi there,” the man smiles.

You look over and realize it’s the same man from yesterday… and that the man is Tom Cruise. Living in LA for so long has made you indifferent to celebrity sightings and sometimes, well, they just go right over your head.

“Hi,” you smile back. “Thanks again for corralling this guy yesterday, I don’t know what happened.”

“Hey, no problem, it happens,” Tom smiles. “I’m Tom.”

You laugh awkwardly. “I realize that now.”

“Yeah, yesterday you seemed a little flustered,” Tom chuckles.

“I’m y/n,” you continue. “And this is Jack, but I guess my yelling yesterday told you that.”

“Nice to meet you, y/n,” Tom says, crouching down to pet Jack. “And nice to meet you, buddy.”

“Who you got with you?”

“Oh, this is Champ,” he tells you, giving Champ a pat on the head. “An old guy like me.”

“Oh, come on,” you smile, finally getting comfortable.

“Well, much older than you.”

“You sure don’t look it,” you tease him.

“Thank you very much, miss,” Tom teases back.

“Listen, I need to get going,” you say.

“I understand,” Tom says. He pauses a moment before he pulls out his phone and hands it to you. “I’d like to get your number… maybe our dogs could play together sometime…”

“Sure,” you agree, taking his phone and quickly entering your number.

“Great,” he says. “I’ll see you around.

“Sounds good,” you smile as you walk away from him.

The next day, the two of you run into each other again.

“Hi Tom,” you smile. “Hey Champ.”

“Hi y/n,” Tom smiles back. “And of course, hi Jack.”

“Third day in a row,” you say.

Tom chuckles. “I guess it’s a sign or something,” he trails off.

“What?”

“Listen, y/n, I’d really like to get to know you and talk more than we do with these brief encounters… I was wondering if you’d be interested in dinner at my place, tonight,” Tom says.

It takes you a moment to process what is happening. Is he really asking you out?

“Only if Jack can come too,” you tease, trying to keep it light.

Tom smiles. “Of course, Champ would love that.”

“What time?”

“How does 7 sound?”

“We can do 7.”

“Great, I’ll text you the address.”

“Sounds good, Tom,” you smile as the two of you part ways once again.

That night, you’re trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach as you get ready.

You keep it casual with jeans and a simple blouse.

You grab Jack’s leash and head to the address Tom texted you.

When you get there, you’re greeted by a huge gate. You press the call button.

“How can I help you?” a gruff voice says from the other end.

“I was invited here by Tom, my name is y/n y/l/n.”

“Yes, he has been expecting you.”

The gate buzzes and then opens for you and Jack. You make your way up the driveway to the big front door.

The door opens and Champ runs out to greet you and Jack.

“Hi, y/n,” Tom smiles. “Dinner just finished, come on in.”

You and Tom enjoy a nice dinner and have a couple glasses of wine each. After dinner, the two of you move to the couch and chat, unaware that both of you are moving closer to the other.

That is, until you’re inches apart.

“Tom,” you breathe.

“I have never met someone so genuine,” he says softly, gently raising a hand to stroke your cheek.

There’s a slight pause, and Tom closes the gap between you, his lips gently pressing against yours.

“Sorry,” Tom says, moving away.

“No,” you say, grabbing his arm. “That… was nice.”

Tom smiles. “I was afraid I was being too forward.”

“Not at all,” you reassure him with a smile.

This time, you lean in and kiss him. Tom gently pulls you onto his lap.

He gently guides the kiss deeper, and you happily oblige to his wishes. A small sigh escapes you as he caresses the back of your head.

“Why don’t we move this somewhere else,” Tom suggests, gently kissing the corner of your mouth.

You nod. He helps you off his lap and leads you to the bedroom.

Tom backs you to the bed, and you fall onto the plush mattress. He crawls over you and peppers your skin with open mouth kisses.

“Do you trust me?” Tom asks against your skin.

“Yes,” you whisper.

Tom hums happily and breaks from you to take his shirt off. You follow suit and take your own shirt off, tossing it to the floor with Tom’s.

“So beautiful,” Tom whispers as he leans in to kiss your body. He gently places a hand on your waist.

“Tom,” you sigh, arching your back.

“Good girl,” he praises as his hands start to move down your body to work at the button on your jeans.

Your grabby hands try to reach for anything, but Tom’s just out of reach. When his eyes meet yours, there’s a playful glint in them.

“I have an idea,” he says, abruptly moving away from you and the bed.

“What?” you ask.

He undoes his belt, pulling it from the belt loops.

You raise a brow at his move.

“If you get uncomfortable at all, please tell me,” he says as he crawls over your body.

“Okay,” you say with a nod, removing your bra in hopes it reads as confidence and not neediness.

Tom smiles and leans down to kiss you as he ties your hands up with his belt. He attaches it somehow to the headboard, and now you’re his to do as he pleases.

“Fuck, you’re so hot like this,” Tom mutters as he leans in to kiss your collarbone, slowly making his way to a breast.

He takes your nipple into his mouth, sucking at it as his other hand massages the other breast, tweaking at the nipple.

“Oh,” you gasp, trying not to squirm.

Tom smiles against your skin. “I’m gonna make you feel so good, darling.”

“Please do,” you sigh.

Tom chuckles softly as he works on getting your jeans off.

He takes a swipe at your clothed, aching center with his fingers, making you buck. A pleased smile crosses Tom’s face.

“You make this too easy,” he chuckles as he pulls his own jeans and briefs down.

“I can’t help it,” you reply.

Tom grabs your panties and pulls them off in a swift movement. He crawls back over you, capturing your lips with his once again as he searches for a condom in the nightstand drawer.

He breaks contact only to open the condom and roll it down his shaft.

“I need to touch you,” you whine.

“You’ll get your chance,” he says as he lines himself up.

Tom gently pushes in, the stretch delicious. You whine as he helps you accommodate his size.

His brows knit together as he watches himself go deeper into you, soon all the way to the hilt.

“Fuck,” you continue to whine, squirming on the mattress.

“That’s a good girl,” Tom mutters, gently moving.

“Oh my god, this is torture,” you say, bucking your hips.

Tom chuckles. “You want more, pretty girl?”

You nod quickly, wanting more.

He leans down to kiss you passionately as he picks up his pace, leaving you gasping.

Your hands grip the belt around them, knuckles turning white as Tom slams into you. His moans in your ear turning you on further, making you go wild for him.

“Oh, please, I’m gonna cum,” you cry out.

“I know you are, baby,” Tom says into your ear, nibbling on it. “Let it happen.”

You soon reach your climax, vision going blurry as you let go, Tom right behind you. He slips your hands out of the belt and you throw them around his torso, gripping tightly.

Tom whispers praises in your ear as the two of you come down from your highs.

“Good girl,” he praises, removing himself from you and discarding the condom.

He lays back down on the bed, pulling you onto his chest, damp with sweat. You lazily pepper his skin with kisses.

“I usually don’t do this on a first date,” Tom chuckles.

You giggle. “I usually don’t either, but I’m so glad I did.”

“Me too,” Tom smiles.

[munsster]

hi pookieee

i just found your blog and legit spent like two hours reading your stuff- IT'S SO GOODDDDD OML

so, if requests are open, and if they're not! totally fine, but if they are... can i maybe possibly request a jonathan byers oneshot? 😍maybe domestic vibes, some will and joyce, sort of where reader is just part of the daily, like it's not a 'oH jOnAtHaN hAs a GiRl OvEr' type of thing, the byers are just so used to her being around-

OKEY BYEEE, DRINK WATER, EAT SNACKS, KEEP SPARKLING ✨

fall into place

A/N: HI POOKIE! im obsessed w ur energy and i would do anything for u, this sounds so cute hope u like it 😋

Pairing: Jonathan Byers x Fem!Reader

Summary: Jonathan comes home to find you fully adopted into the Byers’ daily routine. When did that happen? 1.3k words.

Warnings: fluff, domesticity, cringe 80s references, mike being annoying, KISSING, pet names (baby, heartthrob)

The front door slamming shut rattles the frame of the house, but nobody seems to care over the ruckus. Jonathan drops his messenger bag by the bench in the foyer, shucking his shoes and skirting to the kitchen. Joyce flips through a fashion catalog by the phone with her thumb nail perched between her lips.

"She's in El's room," Joyce says while Jonathan swipes an unopened juice pouch off the counter and tucks a pack of toaster strudel under his arm. There's an uproar in the other room from the usual teenage suspects. He's about to make his way upstairs when his mom chuckles.

"Oh, hi, mom, how was your day?" Joyce teases, "Thanks for asking, Jonathan. It was lovely, I bought you those juice pouches and toaster pastries you like. How was yours?" She cocks a brow, and he peeks back into the kitchen.

"Love you, mom."

"Love you, too. Oh, also it's fend night. There are some leftovers and dinners in the freezer. Your brother was craving frozen pizza."

"Sounds good!" he shouts, already halfway up the stairs and down the hall. The cassette deck on El's desk sings something tinny and youthful and he's pretty sure she has it cranked to full volume. You're perched at the foot of her bed with your fingers looping the fluffy strands of her hair into a criss-cross plait. You look over and smile, leaning into the kiss he plants on your cheek.

"Hi," you coo.

"Hi, baby," he says with a lazy smile across his face. "My room?"

"In a sec."

El tuts, "she's braiding my hair." You chuckle, tying off the end of her braid with a sparkly, blue elastic you nabbed from the bottom of the bathroom drawer. He tips the straw of his juice to your lips, and you hum and pat the top of El's head just before hopping to your feet and fleeing the room with Jonathan's hand in yours.

"Thank you!" she calls, but you both know you'd do it for her anytime.

He falls back onto his springy mattress, and you straddle his hips, pry the decadent box from his grasp, and triumphantly fish out a strudel.

"I didn't know Mike was visiting this week," you mumble through a mouthful of pastry.

"Yeah, their spring breaks lined up." Jonathan chugs the rest of his fruit cocktail, crushing the pouch and setting it on his bedside table alongside the discarded pastry box. Then he recoils, nose scrunching: "You met mike?"

You nod, nibbling the strudel in half and pressing bite-sized piece to his mouth, swiping away the stray crumbs that sprinkle his shirt. "It's cinnamon," you whisper. He hums.

"Was he weird?" he worries.

"Only a little," you tease, sweeping his hair off his forehead and leaning down to press a damp kiss to the open space.

"He's a punk."

You shrug. "Only a little."

You split the last piece of pastry between you, making sure you get an even amount of filling and frosting before clinking the edges and popping them into your mouths.

"What were you and El listening to?" he asks.

"Make it big. You know Wham. 'I don't want your freeeeedom!'" you mock, squeaking out the iconic high note, "Mike got it for her."

"Sounded... contemporary," he chuckles, setting his palms into the curve of your hips, hooking his thumbs in the loops of your jeans.

"Yeah, I think she has a thing for George Michael. We've been listening to it on repeat." Your stretch your arms over your head with a yawn.

"He is pretty cute," Jonathan teases.

"Yeah, well," you say with all the casualty of a partly cloudy Wednesday afternoon, "Not as cute as you."

He scoffs, sitting up with you still balanced in his lap. “Shut up,” he huffs.

“No!” You grin and lean in close, mumbling, “heartthrob,” in a kiss to his lips. When you pull back he stares softly into your eyes.

“How long have you been here?”

“My shift ended at two so,” you say, “since then. Why? You tryin’ to send me home, Byers?”

“No,” he whispers, he wouldn’t dream of it, “No, I like that you’re here when I get home.”

You chuckle and drape your arm over his shoulder. “That’s very domestic of you.”

“God, I know”—he rolls his eyes, pressing his palms flat to your back and smiling coyly—“Wait ‘til uou hear how glad I am that everyone likes you so much. And that you like them, too. Even when they’re fucking crazy.”

You peck the corner of his mouth gently, willing a smile to creep across his face.

“I fit right in, don’t I?” you tease. But he doesn’t laugh, enamored by everything you say and do. His fingertips just graze your cheek and his eyes flick down to your mouth.

He sighs. “Like our missing puzzle piece.”

“Yeah,” you reason, “like the piece that gets knocked onto the floor to collect dust for ten years until someone's sweeping and randomly unwedges it from the floorboards only to realize it's from the puzzle they gave away last week.”

“No, more like,” he chuckles, “like the one stuck to the underside of the lid that you only find once youre putting the deconstructed puzzle away.”

You giggle, tilting your head back. Then you sigh, whipping your head back to stare into his eyes, foreheads pressed together.

“Maybe we’re all missing puzzle pieces,” he suggests. It’s whispered. Like it’s a secret and you two are the only ones who will ever know the truth.

You nod. “Oh, we definitely are. Five billion lonely little puzzle pieces waiting for our lost portrait.” Your fingers twirl a lock of his hair, and he holds back a splitting grin. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation sober.”

He cackles, holding your lower back as he leans slightly. “Wait,” he says, “you’re sober?” You smack his chest, chuckling when he hollers, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding, you're the only person worth getting high with anymore since Argyle's in Utah.”

You pout facetiously, sticking out your lower lip with your brows knitting. “Jonny! So romantic!”

“Yeah, yeah, natural as riding a bike,” he teases. You smile and lean in to kiss him, and he meets your lips sweetly. You pull away and peck the corner of his mouth then his cheek before your doe eyes flick up to his. Your mouth opens to say something, but Mike bursts into the room.

“Ew, gross, at least close the door if you’re going to suck face!”

You turn over your shoulder with a scowl. “You close the door, we’re obviously busy.”

“I don’t even know you!” Mike scoffs.

You hop up and jump to the door wildly, about to slam it just as you squint and say, “Then you’ve got a lot to learn, sonny.”

But before you can close it, Will peeks into the conversation and offers, “C’mon, let’s be diplomatic, people! Mom says come eat and watch Nightmare on Elm Street.”

“Mister Kreugs again?” you say, “Yes, please!” You high-five Will, and he shuffles down the stairs. Mike and El follow. You turn back to see Jonathan lounging back on his bed, eyes closed and just barely smiling to himself.

“Coming, heartthrob?”

“Yeah,” he says, blinking awake, head lulling to gaze at you, “don’t wait up.”

But you run back anyway, grabbing his hand and tugging him to his feet.

“Too bad,” you whisper, giving him a consolation kiss. You get him to the bottom of the stairs before he pulls you back against him right on the last step. He kisses you sweetly and with a smile.

Will shouts from the living room, “Okay, I’m usually pretty tolerant, but please no making out during horror night!”

You chuckle, still holding Jonathan’s hand with his arm lazily around your waist. “Okay, fine. Only because you asked nicely.”

You look back to find Jonathan already staring at you. It still makes you nervous or excited or something. He’s holding you so close, and you can’t help but kiss him one last time.

stranger things masterlist

[cowgurrrl]

If We Make It Through December

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

Author's note: June write something that doesn't have religious imagery in it challenge

Summary: “I am yours. If I died in this moment, I am yours.” - James Joyce aka the first installment of the winter trilogy [1.9k]

Warnings: tlou winter, reader yells at Ellie, (probably) incorrect wound care (I'm a writer, not a doctor), discussions of Tess, bad coping mechanisms, intrusive thoughts, bargaining with god??, I think that's it

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." Ellie mutters as you check Joel's pulse. He's finally conscious again, which is good, but he either can't speak or won't. When Ellie applies pressure to the hole in his stomach, he grips her arm hard. Good to see he's got some strength left, you think as she winces but doesn't push him off. You look between the blood staining his shirt and his pale face as a million thoughts run through your head. "Is he gonna be okay?" Ellie asks, and her and Joel's eyes land on you. You take a shaky breath and look around the room for anything to help. Fabric, alcohol, even an extra pillow or mattress to elevate his feet to slow the bleeding, but find nothing. 

"He's losing a lot of blood." You say, pulling Ellie's hands away from the bloody rag and replacing them with your own. Joel croaks your name, but you ignore him. "I need to stitch him up before he can lose any more. Check the bathrooms, kitchen, whatever. Bring me whatever you can find that looks like it could help."

"What if I can't find anything?" She asks. Joel repeats your name, his voice breaking over the sound when you put more pressure on his stomach. He groans in pain, and his fists ball up next to him, but you don't move. Neither does Ellie. "Is he gonna die?" 

"I don't know, Ellie!" You yell harshly. She stumbles back at your sudden volume change but doesn't say anything. "Go!" You point up the stairs as you yell, and she scrambles out of the basement to raid the house for whatever she can find. When you turn back to Joel, he's staring at you with hazy eyes. You linger on them for a second before returning to his wound. 

"You need to leave." He mumbles, and you shake your head. 

"Shut the fuck up, Joel. I'm trying to think."

"Go North. Go back to Tommy. He'll take care of ya."

"Stop. I'm not having this conversation with you right now." You say, and he grabs your sleeve and hauls you to him with all the strength he has left. 

"You take her and the gun, and you go. D'you hear me? Leave me here." He struggles, and his breathing gets shallower as he tries to maintain some semblance of control over the situation. You set your jaw as you stare at him.

"You are my partner," you say through gritted teeth. "You are my partner, and I'm not leaving you to die because I've already lost two partners. Two," you rip your hand away from him to put two fingers up. "And I'm not letting you be the third because you wanna pull this martyrdom bullshit. So, just shut the fuck up and let me work, or I will kill you myself, do you understand?" You both know you wouldn't, but he does as he's told and stays quiet as you internally panic. 

You're too far from Jackson to get him there, and there's no way he'd survive that long in the cold. Any sign of civilization is miles in the opposite direction, and even then, you're responsible for the deaths of those hunters. All it took was one afternoon and a pack of fucking monkeys to get a bounty on your heads. He's bleeding too quickly, and the heat of it makes your head swim.

"I got something!" Ellie shouts as she runs down the stairs. "This is what I could find," she breathes hard as she hands you a sewing needle and thread. The black thread is old and fraying, and the needle has touched God knows what in the past twenty years. You pat down Joel's jacket pockets but find them devoid of the old lighter you watched him light fires with just a few days ago. It must've fallen out at the university. 

"Fuck," you mutter. There's no way to sterilize the needle, but if you don't do something soon, he's going to die. You sigh and shake your head. Beggers can't be choosers. "Do you know how to do stitches?" You ask Ellie, making Joel's eyes widen. She blinks at you like she's not sure if you're talking to her before shaking her head. "Okay, then I need you to pay attention because I'm probably not gonna get another chance to show you." 

You grab Joel's half-empty flask from his chest pocket, his place for all the things he tries to hide from you, and pour the alcohol over the stab. He yells in pain, and the veins in his neck bulge as he looks away from you and the threatening needle. Then, in one quick motion, you start a suture. The thread surprisingly holds, and you can encourage his skin back together. You mumble an encouragement to yourself and Ellie watches with bated breath as you weave in and out of the bloody mess with a precision that shocks even you. You use up what you can and manage to stitch the jagged cut together. The gushing of blood stops, and his breathing evens out. He's safe. Alive. Unconscious, but he's alive. 

You let out a sigh of relief and tie off your sutures, quietly explaining the process to an attentive Ellie. "Were you able to find a first aid kit or bandages or anything?" You ask, and she shakes her head.

"Just some old towels." She says, pulling one from a stack you didn't see before and handing it to you. The floral print is faded and seen far better days, but it's the best you can do. Carefully, you replace the bloody cloth with the old tea towel in place of a bandage. You check his pulse and count his breaths before your body can even register the blood and sweat covering your clothes and skin. 

"He's okay for now. We need to change the towel every couple of hours and watch out for any signs of his body rejecting the stitches. I might be able to find something to replace them with, but I don't know."

"Why would he reject the stitches?" She asks.

"Sewing thread and a needle from twenty years ago aren't exactly standard practice for stitches. Nothing about this was sterile, but I just needed the bleeding to stop."

"Have you done this before?"

"What? Stitches?" You ask, and she nods as you wipe your face with the back of your hand. "Yeah. They used to give me a run for my money, trying to keep them from dying from all their bumps and bruises. Luckily enough, we had a connection at the hospital in Boston. Kept floating me supplies to keep 'em out of the emergency room."

"Joel or Tess?" She clarifies, and her name feels like ice being poured down your back. You clear your throat and busy yourself with placing a blanket over Joel so she can't see the shine in your eyes. When will it get easier to talk about her? 

"Both. Tess never liked doctors, but she'd let me help her sometimes. Even then, it was like trying to put lipstick on a pig. Wouldn't sit still," you say. "I'm gonna go wash up. Stay here with him." You pull yourself to your feet and walk up the stairs without a second look at Joel or Ellie. 

You take a scoop of freshly fallen snow from the pile in the kitchen and find a bathroom just off the hallway leading to the dining room. You melt the snow between your palms to get a little water to scrub Joel's blood from your hands. It's everywhere. Under your fingernails, up your arms, even on your face, you realize when you look into the splintered mirror above the sink. 

You want to go back to the campus, track down whatever hunters might be left, and break their jaws. You want them to hurt the way he's hurting. You want to trade ten of them for Joel. Their faces play on a loop in your mind as the dusty sink stains red. Over and over again, you get snow and scrub at your hands until your fingers are raw. You've learned that harsh hand washing after failing to protect someone is a habit from pre-med. Adam used to grab your hands before you could rip your palms open. Joel would turn off the water and wordlessly pull you away. But now Adam's dead, Joel is barely breathing, and you're alone. 

You're alone. You're alone. You're alone. Why didn't you do anything to stop them? Why didn't you take the shiv instead of Joel? How could you be so stupid? This is the other shoe. This is the price of caring about him. This is the price you pay every single fucking time. Is Ellie next? Tommy? You're alone. You're alone. You'll always be alone.

The repetition is silenced only when you suddenly drive your fist into the already broken mirror. You rip down whatever is left on the bathroom walls before kicking the door open. Your vision blurs as you kick and punch and rip anything you can get close enough to. Debris flies past your head, but you don't flinch. You're tired of flinching. You're alone. Another hit and the wall rattles with force. They always die. Your knuckles sting. You're going to have to bury them both. You grab an old pillow and shove it in your face before screaming as much as you can. 

You don't stop until your voice gives out and your hands shake. The room is a mess around you— holes in walls, glass on the floor, and a knocked-over bookshelf. You flex your hand around the pillow, and pain shoots through your arm. Not broken, you decide after a quick poke around. But definitely fucked up. You sigh and look around for the first time since dragging Joel through the abandoned home. 

From the living room floor, the house looks so much bigger. Pictures of a once-known family smile down at you menacingly with their security and perfect, alive children. The books scattered around you range from financial self-help to Goodnight Moon and tell the story of a college-educated couple with enough money to be stupid with it. For a split second, you wonder what happened to them before deciding to reign that thought before it gets too far. Ellie needs you. You need to get back downstairs and pretend like everything's okay. You can't afford to waste any more time up here.

You shakily pull yourself up and turn to walk down to the basement when a wooden cross nailed to the wall stops you in your tracks. It's old like everything else in the house, but you can tell this was here even before Cordyceps. It could've been a family heirloom or a wedding present. It was loved. The people who hung it were loved, but you don't feel any love when you look at it. You walk to the wall until it's directly in front of you, and your aching fingers twitch to rip it down. You take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling, not exactly sure what you're doing or why. 

"Don't you take him," you whisper. "Don't you fucking take him from me, do you understand? It's not his turn." You feel stupid talking to God or the ceiling or whatever, but you can't stop. "You either kill me first, or you leave him alone because I'm not doing this without him. After everything you've put me through, you owe me a fucking favor or two. It's not his time. Back off." After one last glare at the cross, you leave the destroyed living room with the feeling of eyes watching your every step. 

I'm serious, you think. Not him. Not now. Not while I'm alive, you selfish piece of shit.

TAGLIST: @abbyhaslongshorts @kiwiharrykiwi @sumsworldz @myloveistoolittle @anavatazes @marantha

[jamdoughnutmagician]

A Slice Of Life (Waitress AU) Part 2

Doctor!Steve Harrington x Waitress!Reader

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Warnings: Steve is a sweet guy in this, and Billy continues to be a horrible husband. Brief mentions/descriptions of sex.

Word Count:2,158

*dividers by @saradika-graphics

Masterlist // Steve Harrington Masterlist

Quickly you rush into work, the time on your watch already ticking into your shift. You’re running late.

You push through the diner doors, and sure enough Hopper is there to greet you, with a stern expression set on his features. His moustache sitting over his lips pressed into a thin line.

“You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.”

“Cut me some slack, Hop, the bus was late.” you huff as you try your best to straighten yourself out.

“Why don’t that husband of yours buy you a car or something?”

“Because he doesn't want me going anywhere.” you scoff, pushing past him to the back room to get changed into your waitressing uniform.

As you step out of the room, Nancy is there to catch your eye.

“How did you get on at the doctors this morning?” 

“Well, I’m definitely pregnant, if that’s what you’re asking.” you laugh to yourself. “It was a new doctor. A man. He’s taken over since Doctor Bloom retired.”

“Ooh a man? Was he cute?” she joked, nudging you with her elbow.

Nancy watched as the heat bloomed on your face, your eyes not meeting hers.

“Oh, okay so he was definitely cute.” she gathers from your embarrassed expression. “Is he single?”

“Nance!” you gently slap at her arm, you’d been friends with Nancy for too long for her not to know when you liked someone. “Okay, he was kinda cute, I guess. Didn’t see any ring on his finger either.” 

“Hey, could you do me a huge favour?” 

“Sure, what’s up Nance?”

“Can you serve Joyce today? She’s in her usual seat by the window. I don’t know if I have the energy to face her this early in the morning.”

“Sounds like someone's got a guilty conscience? You poke at your friend.

“Just because you know I’m sleeping with her son, does not give you the right to hold it over me. She smiles, narrowing her eyes at you. “Joyce. Table 7. Please.” she begs.

“Alright, alright. I got it. No need to get your panties in a bunch.”

“Darling, you’re an absolute angel.” she says with a pat on your shoulder as she whizzes off to tend to the other guests sitting at their tables.

Coffee pot in hand you make your way over to Joyce’s table where she’s sat by herself, reading over a glossy magazine.

“Good morning, Joyce.” you smile brightly, filling up her coffee mug. “What can I get for you today?”

“This is my pie diner, you know?” she starts her usual morning ramble. “Jim likes to think he runs things here, but this is my place. I own it. It’s my name on the deeds, and it’s my name above the door.”

“I know Joyce,” you nod as you listen to her, suddenly feeling un-easy sick feeling settling in the pit of your stomach. You suppress it as best you can for now, to take her order. “So, what’ll it be today huh?”

There it was again, that nauseous feeling creeping up your throat, the kind that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That couldn’t be morning sickness already, could it?

“I’ll have a slice of the “Midnight Mulberry” pie please, and a glass of water with ice when you get the chance, Hon.”

Midnight Mulberry. A dark chocolate pie shell filled with sharp black mulberries and blackberries, the sharpness offset by the dollop of fresh cream served on top of the chocolate lattice work on the top of the pie.  

“Alright, got it, one slice of Midnight Mulberry coming right up.” you say jotting down her order on your notepad quickly before turning on your heels to rush off to the bathroom.

“Wait a moment, before you skedaddle off, let me read you my horoscope.” she says, her eyes looking back to the magazine in her hands. 

“Libra, smooth sailing today as Mars enters your inner circle, whatever the hell that means. The ones you love will listen carefully to you today, just make sure you’re careful with what you say.” she finishes as she puts her magazine down “do you want to hear your horoscope, darling?”

“You know what, I’m a Libra too, the same as you. If you’ll excuse me I feel like I’m going to be sick.” your words rush out as you hot-foot it to the bathroom stalls in the back of the diner.

After you had emptied the contents of your stomach into the toilet bowl, and washed your mouth out with water from the tap, you head back out onto the diner floor to collect Joyce’s order and bring it to her table.

“Here you go, one slice of Midnight Mulberry and a glass of water.” you smile, placing her pie down in front of her.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” she asks all-too-knowingly.

You shush her, not wanting anyone else around to hear her.

“I remember when I was pregnant with Jonathan, I could barely keep any food down for the first few months, nearly every smell made me sick, it was awful.” she sips from her glass of her water. “When are you due?”

“Shh, Joyce, I can’t have Hopper hearing you or I’ll lose my job. I’m trying to save enough money so I can get away from my husband, but you’ve got to promise me that you won’t say anything about this baby, okay?”

“What baby?” she smiles at you with a wink. 

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Sitting next to Robin in her small, run-down car as she gives you a lift home, because apparently Billy had been too busy at work to pick you up, although the background chatter from the bar he would frequent after work told you otherwise. However, any thoughts of your husband are elsewhere, as you mindlessly watch as the hazy sunset breezes past your window.

“Billy has no idea that you're pregnant, does he?” Robin says softly, breaking the comfortable silence. 

“No, he doesn’t. And I'm never going to tell him. I’m just going to run away.”

“How much money have you got saved up?”

“Not much, about $1,000, and I can save up a bit more before the big pie bake-off.”

“And how much is the prize money?” she asks, her fingers gently tapping a rhythm on the steering wheel.

“$25,000.” you reply with a grin curving across your lips.

“Wow. So what pie were you thinking of baking?”

“I’m not sure yet. I was thinking of baking one of my more unusual pies. Y’know, the kind where you don’t think the ingredients are going to work together, but then they do.”

“You know what you could do with that prize money though,” Robin says, her eyes briefly flicking over to you.

“What’s that Rob?”

“You could open up your own pie shop.”

“C’mon Rob, that’s crazy talk.” you scoff with a playful laugh at your friend’s suggestion.

“No, I’m serious, you totally could. "The Pie Palace’’ I can just see the sign in my mind!” she laughs, her freckled cheeks round and rosy.

The morning comes and you find yourself sitting on the bench a block away from your house, waiting for the bus to take you to work. Closing your eyes, you allow yourself to think about the life growing inside of you, and what your life might look like with a baby in the picture.

Baby’s screaming its head off in the middle of the night pie.

New York style cheesecake base, brandy-brushed filled with pecans warmly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.

“Hello.” comes a voice from beside you. “Mind if I sit?” 

It’s your Doctor, Doctor Harrington.

“Sure, go ahead.” you gesture to the empty space on the bench beside you.

He sits down in comfortable silence next to you.

“So what’s a doctor doing catching the bus, huh? Thought you’d have some big fancy car or something” 

He chuckles, a gentle rumbling laugh that illuminates his face with a bright smile.

“Oh no, I do have a big fancy car,” he jokes with that charming smile. “..it’s just having a few problems at the moment. Friend of mine who runs an auto shop downtown is looking after it for me.”

“So, do you live far from the Doctor’s Practice?” you ask, the flow of conversation between you 

“Uh, no, not too far. I live over on Ashmore Road.” 

“Oh, it’s nice over there.”

“Yeah it’s nice. Lotta trees, which is good, uh, y’know, if you like trees. I mean who doesn’t like trees?” he stumbles over his words with an adorably nervous cadence.

“Trees are good.” you smile back, nodding to him.

“So, you’re a waitress then?” he asks, as he gestures at your blue and white waitress's dress.

“I am. I work in a little diner just off I70, Byer’s Pie Diner.”

“I’ve never been there. Is it..is it good?”

“Yes, it’s very good. We make all the pies there fresh. Breakfast pies, dinner pies, twenty-seven different varieties of pie, and a new house special that I create every day.” you smile. “I was actually just inventing a new one in my head when you walked up.”

“So, that peach and raspberry pie that you brought me, you made it?” He asks, sitting up a bit straighter and turning his body towards you.

“Indeed I did. Peaches In Paradise Pie.” 

“That was quite possibly the best pie that I have ever tasted in my life.” he says, his bright smile somehow feeling even more brighter than before. “I mean, that pie was like, life-changingly good, that’s how good it was. You could win contests with stuff like that, I’m serious.”

You delight in his praises, smiling to yourself at the kind words of this man.

“Well thank you very much.”

There’s a beat of silence that falls between you both before Steve speaks again.

“Y’know, when I was a kid, I used to go to this diner all the time after school, I had this insane crush on this waitress that worked there, her name was Margaret but everyone called her Peggy. She’d always wear her little uniform, and she was just so damn adorable, ” he admits shyly. “Of course I was just a dumb kid and didn’t realise that she would never see me in the same way that I saw her, but I don’t know, when I saw you sitting here, you just reminded me of her.”

“Wow, that is quite the thing to say.”

“Sorry, I guess in a round-about way I was just trying to pay you a compliment.” he blushes. 

“No, it was a nice thing to hear, thank you. No-one ever really notices me in that way.”

“Well, I suppose someone must’ve noticed you in that way, or you wouldn’t be in the condition you’re in.” he says, his head vaguely nodding towards your stomach.

“Ah, yes, you mean my husband.” you nod, you’re brought back to reality, suddenly all too aware that you’re a married woman flirting with a handsome man. If Billy only knew what you were doing, his hand would be stinging your skin in an instant. 

The bus rolls up to the bus stop.

“Here’s my bus. It was nice talking to you, Doctor Harrington.”

“If there’s ever anything you need, anything at all, don’t hesitate to call, and please, call me Steve.” he smiles as he waves you off as you get on the bus.

“Please, Honey, you know I can make you feel real good.” Billy pleads as he mouths at your neck, trailing sloppy kisses into the crook of your neck that only served to make your skin crawl. “It’s been at least a month since I last felt you, and you know a man like me has needs.”

“Billy please, I don’t feel even the littlest bit sexy right now.”

“Honey, you have never been more sexy to me.” his raspy voice gravelled out. “I mean, call me crazy, but your tits are looking a lot bigger than before. Not that I’m complainin’ about that, of course.” he chuckles, his wandering hands grazing over your chest, feeling up the swell of your breast. 

You fight against the shudder that wants to run down your spine.

“You’re probably just imagining things Billy.”

“Honey, please, you’re killing me here, I gotta be with you.”

 You lay back in the bed, totally out of it as Billy holds himself above you, chasing his own high, sloppily rolling his hips into you whilst he huffs out groaning moans, before flopping down in bed next to you.

“That was so good, Honey.” he groaned once before turning his back to you and falling asleep without a single thought about your pleasure, but that was your husband. Uncaring and selfish. 

Lying back, your eyes cast up to the ceiling, you think about how different your life might have been if you’d never met Billy Hargrove. 

@penguinsandpotterheads @paybacksawitch @mrsjellymunson @seatnights @ali-r3n @potatobeanpies

[whoisshel]

The Gate Pt.1

pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader x Steve Harrington

word count: 3311

tw: swearing, no Eddie but he is mentioned this time

previous part

“Eleven.” Mike sighed in relief, seeing the girl everyone else thought was gone for good standing right in front of them. 

“Mike.” Eleven gasped as they both took a couple of steps forward and fell into a hug.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, just holding each other and crying happy tears so that they could be together again.

“I never gave up on you,” Mike said, pulling back from the hug. “I called you every night. Every night for-”

“353 days.” Eleven finished the sentence. “I heard.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her,” Hopper answered, walking to Eleven as Mike stepped away confused at what Hopper was talking about. “The hell is this? Where have you been?”

“Where have you been?” Eleven asked back, as Hopper pulled her into a caring hug.

“You’ve been hiding her.” Mike realized what Hopper meant, he jumped at Hopper hitting him on the back. “You’ve been hiding her this whole time!”

Hopper quickly turned around to face the younger boy and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, “Hey! Let’s talk. Alone.”

Hopper took Mike into a bedroom away from everyone. The rest stood by as Eleven walked up to her old friends, happy to be with them again. As Max tried to introduce herself to Eleven, the short-haired girl wanted nothing to do with her and walked over to you.

“Hey, kid.” You smiled, patting Eleven on the head like you did a year ago, “I’m diggin’ the style.”

“Thank you,” Eleven replied, slowly with a shy smile.

“I’m glad you’re back.” You said, softly trying to hold in your tears. Eleven just nodded with the same smile before walking over to Joyce.

“So, that’s the girl with the superpowers,” Steve said once Joyce and Eleven had walked away to the room Will was in.

“Yup.” You replied, plainly. She wasn’t trying to be rude or anything, you were just in your head too much at the moment and still trying not to cry.

“I thought she had a shaved head.”

You turned to look at Steve in complete disbelief at the words that just came out of his mouth, “It’s been a year, Steve, hair grows.”

“I know, but, never mind.” Steve shook his head, not having anywhere to go with that sentence.

Joyce and Eleven walked back in and over to the table in the kitchen. Everyone walked over to them, hearing that they were talking about the gate.

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

Eleven turned to look at Joyce, taking in the hopeful expression on her face. Eleven then turned back to face forward knowing what she had to do to save them and to save Will.

—----------------

They all stood around the kitchen as they figured out their next move. Joyce explained her idea, but Hopper was a bit apprehensive about it. 

“It’s not like it was before, it’s grown.” Hopper sighed, “A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demo-dogs.” Dustin interrupted Hopper to correct him.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass-”

Hopper cut Dustin off, annoyed by his interruption to explain something irrelevant, “How is this important right now?”

“It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“I can do it,” Eleven said, determined.

“You’re not hearing me.” Hopper practically pleaded, not wanting to have the young girl be put into a dangerous situation.

“I’m hearing you. I can do it.” “Even if El can, there’s still another problem.” Mike interjected, “If the brain dies, the body dies.”

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max said, confused at what he was getting at.

“It is, but if we’re really right about this, I mean if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer’s army…”

“Will’s part of that army.” Lucas finished Mike's explanation.

“Closing the gate will kill him.”

Everyone looked at each other with worry, they had a plan but they didn’t know how to execute the plan without killing Will.

They all walked into Jonathan’s room where Will was lying, still unconscious.

“He likes it cold,” Joyce muttered out loud, but mainly to herself.

“What?” Hopper asked, wondering what she was talking about.

“It’s what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold.” Joyce walked over to the window and closed it. “We keep giving it what it wants.”

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

Jonathan finished what she was saying, “Then we need to make the host uninhabitable.”

“So if he likes it cold…” Nancy once again started coming up with a plan.

“We need to burn it out of him,” Joyce said with so much anguish thinking about the pain her son is going through already and how much pain they’ll have to put him through to get the mind flayer out of him.

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn’t know this time,” Mike recommended so that this time the mind flayer can’t stop them.

“Yeah, somewhere far away,” Dustin added to Mike’s idea.

Hopper said that he knew a place, so he picked up Will as he explained to Jonathan and Joyce where they were going. While Joyce and Jonathan were going to try and get the mind flayer out of Will, Hopper and Eleven were going to try and close the gate. Which left everyone else to stay at the Byers to wait until everything was complete.

Nancy and Steve were outside looking at the pile of stuff from the shed to find the heater. You were asked to go too, but Steve asked you to stay behind so he could talk to Nancy alone. When he came back in, Steve looked a bit downcast but he had a smile on his face to try and act like he was. You saw right through and went up to him to check on him.

When you walked up to him, you put a hand on his arm, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, um,” Steve nodded as he continued to look at the ground, “I told her to go with him.”

“With Jonathan?”

Steve nodded again, this time he looked at you with a more genuine smile but there was still some sadness in his eyes, “Yeah, but it’s all good she needed to go with him.”

You just nodded, you didn’t want to push him anymore, you already knew what he meant by that.

Steve and you walked outside with the kids to stand on the porch and watch as everyone else left in their separate cars. They all looked back at each other with slight fear at the unknown of how this could go

—----------------

Back inside the house, Dustin was throwing everything out of the fridge to try and make room for the Demo-dog Steve was holding wrapped in a blanket. While you were cleaning up the mess Dustin was making so Joyce didn’t come home to a pile of her food on the ground.

“All right, it should fit now,” Dustin said, once he cleared out the fridge.

“Is this really necessary?” Steve asks, not liking the kid's idea to shove a monster into a fridge.

From your crouched position on the ground, you looked up at the two annoyed, “No, this is ridiculous, Dustin.” 

“Yes, it is, okay?” Dustin insisted, not listening to the older girl's opinion. “This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can’t just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It’s not a dog.”

“All right, all right, all right.” Steve stopped Dustin from continuing his rant. He walked over to the fridge and before he put the thing in the fridge he turned to Dustin, “But you’re explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?”

Steve then tried to shove the Demo-dog into the fridge, but was struggling, “Help me out?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

You stood up to get out of their way, chuckling as you did so, loving the struggle these two idiots were putting themselves through.

“Get the door, man, the door.”

“All right, I got the door.”

The two slammed the fridge door shut before the creature could fall back out. As soon as it was shut, they both sighed in relief and Steve gave a pat to Dustin’s head. Hearing the girl behind them continue to chuckle, they both turned to face you with irritation all over their faces.

“Oh, like you could have done better.” Steve sarcastically said.

“Yeah, I could have, because I wouldn’t have tried to shove a monster from another dimension, that has tried to kill us, into a fridge.”

Steve put his hands on his waist and nodded, “That’s fair.”

“What about the scientific discovery?” Dustin whined, looking up at Steve, thinking they were on the same page.

“I just wanted you to shut up.” Steve sighed, walking away to grab a towel to clean his hands of the slime that came from the Demo-dog.

Dustin and you turned to the living room where they could hear Lucas and Mike arguing.

 “That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs.” Mike reminded Lucas since he had been the only one of the group that had seen what happened in the lab.

“Demo-dogs!” Dustin yelled as he walked into the living room followed by you.

Not listening to their curly-haired friend's correction, Lucas continued to try and calm Mike, “The chief will take care of her.”

“Like she needs protection,” Max muttered from the ground, where she and Lucas were sweeping up broken glass.

“Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?” Steve walked in to try and convince Mike that staying at the house was what they were supposed to do, but his analogy didn’t work.

“Okay, first of all, this isn’t some stupid sports game.” Mike fumed, “And second, we’re not even in the game. We’re on the bench.”

“So my point is-” Steve paused, not knowing what else to say, “Right, yeah, we’re on the bench, so, uh, there’s nothing we can do.”

“All right, so you’re done talking,” You put a hand in front of Steve’s chest to get him to stop before bringing it back down and putting your attention to Mike, “Let me try and put this in words you might prefer. The Dungeon Master has given everyone their part in defeating the mind flayer, and since you don’t have superpowers or are possessed by the mind flayer, you are not a protector of one of them. Your job is to sit back and wait not to cause any more problems, okay?”

“That’s not entirely true,” Dustin interjected.

“Well, I don’t completely understand the game-”

“No, I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bud, they were called away.”

“So, if we get their attention…” Lucas started, seeing what Dustin was getting at.

Max continued Lucas’ idea, “Maybe we can draw them away from the lab.”

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

“Yeah, and then we all die!” Steve tried to stop the kids from going any further with this idea.

“That’s one point of view.” Dustin disagreed with Steve.

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

“I got it.” Mike gasped, running into the kitchen and everyone followed. He went over to one of the drawings of the map Will created and pointed to a spot, “This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel.”

Mike walked over to the spot in front of the hallway where a pile of drawn-on papers was on the ground, “Here, right here. This is like a hub. So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire-”

“Oh, yeah? That’s a no.” Steve sassed, hating this idea even more.

The kids continued with their back and forth as if they all shared one brain.

“The mind flayer would call away his army-”

“They’d all come to stop us-”

You tried to intervene, “No, guys, now way!”

“Would circle back to the exit. By the time they realize we’re gone-”

“El would be at the gate.”

“Hey. Hey! Hey!” Steve clapped his hands, finally getting the kids to stop and look at the teens behind them. “This is not happening.”

“But-” Mike tried to object.

 “No, no, no, no, no.” You cut him off before he could go any further, “There will be no arguing. Steve and I promised that we’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what we plan on doing. We’re staying here and we’re waiting for the others to finish their side quests to defeat the monster. Does everyone understand?”

“This isn’t a D&D game!” Mike argued back.

Steve took the towel off his shoulder, and pointed it at Mike, “She said, does everybody understand that?”

“I need a yes.” You ordered one more time, but before the kids could respond a loud revving of an engine was heard outside.

Max ran over to the window and sat on the couch to look outside, “It’s my brother. He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me. He’ll kill us.”

Steve and you went outside to wait on the porch for Billy to pull up to the Byers’ house, so they could send him back on his way. 

Billy got out of his car with a cigarette in his mouth, taking a puff he took it out of his mouth smirking, “Am I dreaming, or is that you Harrington? And I see you have the Virgin Mary with you.”

“Yeah, it’s us. Don’t cream your pants.” Steve replied in a monotone voice.

“We know that’ll be hard for you since you seem like the premature ejaculation type of guy,” You commented in a bit of a more smart-ass tone.

As Billy took his leather jacket off and put it in his car, Steve stepped off the porch and walked over to him, while you stayed with your arms crossed.

“What are you doing here, amigo?” Billy asked

“I could ask you the same thing. Amigo.”

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

“Huh, that’s weird, I don’t know her.” Steve fibbed to try and get Billy to leave.

“Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”

“We don’t know her, so leave!” You shouted from your spot.

“You know, I don’t know, this…” Billy sighed dramatically, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, “This whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Oh, yeah, why’s that?”

Billy took another puff and shrugged his shoulders, “My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day and then I find her with you two in a stranger’s house. And you both lie to me about it.”

“Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?” Steve gave a light chuckle, “I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”

“Then who is that?” Billy pointed over Steve’s shoulder with his cigarette.

Steve and you turned to look at the window where the kids were peeking out of. You looked at them all with wide eyes, mouthing, ‘What the hell’ as they quickly ducked down.

“Oh, shit. Listen-” Billy pushed Steve to the ground before he could finish his sentence.

“I told you to plant your feet,” Billy said, before kicking Steve in the stomach.

You stomped up to Billy and gave him a shove, “What the hell, Hargrove?”

Billy just shouldered you to the ground like she was nothing and continued his walk into the house. You were too in shock to comprehend what was happening and before you knew it you landed on your butt. You caught herself with your hands before you could end up landing on your back. 

You quickly stood up and walked over to Steve to check on him. He was still lying on his side, holding his stomach in pain. You lightly pushed him by his shoulder to get a better look at him and see if there was any other damage.

“Are you okay?” Steve could still only nod as he tried to catch his breath again. “Okay, you’ve got to get up, we need to help the kids. Come on.”

You grabbed Steve by the elbows to pull him up from the ground. Once they were both standing, they charged towards the house where they could hear the kids freaking out. When they walked into the house, they could see Mike, Dustin, and Max watching Billy yell at Lucas.

Steve quietly walked up behind Billy while you stood in front of the kids to block them, as Billy continued to shout at Lucas, “You are so dead, Sinclair! You’re dead.”

“No, you are.” Steve shoved Billy back before landing a hard punch to Billy’s face knocking him over slightly. This gave Lucas enough time to run back over to the rest of them, hugging them all.

Billy stood back up cackling with his nose now bleeding, “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about.”

“Get out” Steve growled, pushing Billy back with his two fingers, trying to make space between them after Billy got extremely close.

Billy swung at Steve, but Steve was able to duck in time before coming back up and punching Billy in the face again. Billy fell back onto the table and then turned back laughing again like a maniac.

“Yes! Kick his ass, Steve” Dustin cheered on from behind you.

“Get him!” Mike shouted along with Dustin.

Steve got two more punches into Billy’s face, when Billy grabbed a plate and smashed it on Steve’s head, making Steve stumble back a few steps. Billy stomped forward and punched Steve in the face hard. You pushed the kids back as the boys walked into the living room to continue their fight.

Billy grabbed a hold of Steve's jacket bringing him close to his face, “ No one tells me what to do.”

Billy head-butted Steve, causing Steve to end up on the ground. Billy crouched over to Steve and landed continuous hits to his face. 

You had enough of this lunatic's behavior and advanced towards him landing a harsh kick to his ear. Billy fell off of Steve, holding his ringing ear, he looked up at the girl that just kicked him and let out a loud growl-like scream. Billy stood up and made his way towards you, but before he could get too close you kicked him in the balls.

Billy recovered quickly and practically threw himself at the girl before you could do any more damage. He grabbed you by the throat, pushing you against the wall and lifting you off the ground a few inches. As you gasped for air, you frantically clawed at Billy’s face leaving a couple of scratch marks. You swung your legs around trying to kick, but couldn’t seem to hit anything major. 

Your vision started to go black and your ears began to ring when suddenly you felt yourself fall to the ground. Landing on your hands and knees, you tried to catch your breath reaching a hand towards your throat that no longer had Billy’s harsh grip but still felt tight. You could hear something happening in the room, but couldn’t fully make out the words and your vision was too spotty to see anything.

“Eddie.” You croaked out before falling to the ground and passing out.

[myownwholewildworld]

wherever you go (a joel miller’s ff) - chapter 8 snippet

chapter 7 | masterlist | chapter 9 coming 30th aug

pairing: outbreak!2003!joel x f!reader. (it's actually 2004 now)

out on: 23rd august, ~7-8pm BST (unless i get anxious and decide to post it sooner lol)

a/n: i ain't saying nothing 👀 i'm just leaving this here before running to the hills. please join me in thanking joyce bc she's the real mvp. this next chapter is... a rollercoaster, i think. tysm for reading <3 okay bye!

snippet warnings: just cutesy fluff. established relationship (my babies 😭). reader is female, no other description given. reader is mid-late 20s, joel is 37. no use of y/n.  joel’s and reader’s pov.

tags aka the drama wagon (let me know if you want to be added/removed from the list pls!): @yesjazzywazzylove-blog @pedrospurplerain @missladym1981

@fancyyoouu @smolbeanzzz @guelyury @bishtrouille

You patted his hand with a chuckle, unconsciously leaning towards him, your shoulders touching. You always gravitated towards Joel, you just couldn’t control it. Your eyes met and you giggled ― his smirk widened. “Guilty”, you whispered, his hand enveloping yours under the table. You had forgotten Joyce was sat across you until she cleared her throat. “So, you two lovebirds are a couple yet, or what?”, her not-so-innocent question caught you completely off guard. Shit, shit, you thought, almost choking on your food. You had not talked to Joel about what you two really were. You loved him wholeheartedly, but you didn’t need to put a label to your relationship. At least not yet. You didn’t want to pressure him ― you knew Joel would come around when he was ready. “Uh, well, we…”, you stammered, your heart racing so fast you thought you were going to throw it up in your bowl. Joel’s hand gripped yours tighter. “Yeah, we are”, he replied, matter-of-factly. Your soul literally left your body. You scrutinised his face in awe ― your lips dissevered, sparkly eyes, speechless. A wave of relief washed over you. He did love you; you just knew it in your heart. The immense love you suddenly felt almost throttled you. If your brain was a functioning organ, you would have hugged and reciprocated him ― but your mind was still short-circuiting.

[cherubcameron]

Murray’s Matching Service

Steve Harrington x reader

I saw someone on here use a nickname instead of using y/n and I like that a lot better. If you know who did do that, please comment so I can give credit. Or if that was you! Also the name came from a stranger things video about Murray lmaoo.

Robin was trying to sniffle her laughter but she couldn’t help it. Steve glanced at her with an annoyed expression on his face. He really didn’t like where this was going. Murray was rubbing his chin and nodding his head. Hopper had an amused smile on his face.

“You don’t like her.” Steve gave him a questionable look. “You’re in love with her.”

“I-.”

“Let the master work!” Murray scream yelled, Steve rose his eyebrows and stood silent. Robin burst into laughter. “I saw it, the way you look at her. Like she hung the stars on the sky herself. It’s it’s crazy kid, this is kind of a full circle moment for me.”

Steve looked over at Joyce, hoping she’ll find a way to make this stop. But even Joyce had a smile on her face. Steve looked at Murray again, she wasn’t going to save him on this.

“So there’s a way for you to get them together?” Robin asked, her hands on the counter. She was invested in this, surprisingly so.

“If I can get these two together.” Murray said pointing at hopper and Joyce. “And Jonathan and Nancy. Sorry about that kid.” Murray said, patting Steve on the back.

“Uh none taken?”

“Then I can get anyone together. Especially those two, they just need a push in the right direction.” Murray said, Steve was beginning to regret ever saying anything in the first place.

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

You were busy with a uni assignment when you heard the walkie go off. Dustin voice booming from the voice box.

“This is a code red! I repeat a code red! Nyxie! Do you copy!” You instantly grabbed the walkie. Hoping against hope this wasn’t anything to do with the upside down.

“Yes, I copy. What’s wrong?” You said, your heart was beating out of your chest.

“Meet us at the cabin, the cabin okay?!”

You quickly grabbed a few of your upside down kit, which included Steve’s hair spray you stole from him, a lighter, a gun and some first aid kit. For Steve, he was always getting hurt. Then you ran out to your car.

You squinted as you looked out into the cabin. Your gut feeling was telling you something suspicious was happening. You sighed and grabbed the bag you had, rushing to the door. You knocked rapidly against the wooden door. Hopper opened it instantly, a big grin on his face.

“Hey! Nyxie! What brings- I mean we have uh- there’s a red code. I mean a code red.” He said, you raise your eyebrows at him.

“Please don’t tell me it’s a false alarm. I literally brought this.” You said, gesturing towards the bag you had with you. Hopper shook his head.

“It’s definitely a code red. Come in.”

Once inside, you saw everyone sitting around in his cabin. Steve nowhere in sight. You looked around, confused.

“You’re here!” Dustin says, a big grin on his face. It slowly drops seeing the grave look on your face.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Please don’t tell me Steve got hurt.” You said, your anxiety was building block by block. You were scared, he wasn’t present. What if Vecna got him?

“Hey, hey, nothing like that. We just needed you to Uh talk.” Hopper said, trying to cool down your nerves. Your brows furrowed for the thousand time you’ve been there.

“Talk?” You asked.

“Talk. Come on Mike, let’s go.” El said, getting up from her spot from the floor. Everyone around the room began to disburse.

“Hey! Where is everyone going?”

The lights went out for a second, fear filled your heart like a water tank at full blast. Then before you knew it, Steve Harrington was right in front of you. You took a step back and closed your eyes. Letting out a shaky breath. He was fine, he was fine. Everyone was fine.

“Hey, can you look at me please?” He asked, his eyes were looking at you as if you hung every star on every planet. Or maybe that’s what you hoped he was looking at you as.

“Dustin said it was a code red. I didn’t see you with them. I thought you got hurt. What’s going on?”

“I asked them for help. For us to talk.”

“About?”

“You know from the moment I met you. I knew that you were going to change my life as I knew it. You’re probably thinking that’s insane. Steve. We barely knew each other. How could you have possibly known that.”

You noticed he was walking closer and closer to you. You held your breath, your heart was beating out of your chest.

“I knew that because I knew how I felt about you. I knew I was developing a crush on you. But now it’s grown so big, I think- I think-.”

Before he could say anything else, you met him half way. Up on your tippy toes and grabbed his face. A smile was plastered on both your faces. Your lips met and you were kissing him. The bag long forgotten. You were kissing the boy you fell in love with. Who had fallen for you too. It didn’t feel real.

“Yes! See! Never ever doubt my ability to get two people together.” Murray said, coming out of hiding. As did the rest of the party. You laughed and turned to look at Steve.

“Yeah I know, he was my best bet.” He said, his voice annoyed. You laughed again as you wrapped your arms around his waist. His arm wrapped around your waist.

“Finally!” Dustin said. “You finally got a girlfriend!”

[romanestuffsposts]

Hey! Can you write one where little reader tries to convince stucky to get a puppy?

I love your page!

Hi there love! Thank you for the request. I hope you like how I turned it 💜

Thank you so much ❤️

****

Warnings : litte reader is a vicius manipulative one in this one, paci, stuffie, mention of punishment, soft punishment, tease, pouty little reader, vicious daddies, cuddle, fluff, pet name

Pairing : Daddies!Stucky x Daddy!Bucky x Papa!Steve x Little!Reader

Summary : Even the most adorable puppy eyes can’t get you a puppy ? Let’s see about that…

****

"Daddyyyyy" You sing as you jump on his laps. He chuckles and wraps his arms around you "what is it, little one ?" You look up at him "do you like Bucksie ?" you ask biting your lips.

Ah, Bucksie. He chuckles "of course I like Bucksie, Beautiful" This cause a huge smile on your face. Bucksie is a stuffie your daddies got you for christmas last year. It's a white puppy and you take it everywhere you go. You can't sleep if it's not in your arms, you don't like tv marathon in the evening if it's not beside you or with one of your daddies and you’re sick in the car if it's not in your hands to distracted you.

It's your bestfriend

"why are you asking me that ?" he asks tilting his head as he stares at your beautiful features "He good puppy Daddy, isn't he ?" you ask looking up at him with your big dreamy eyes. Your Daddy smiles and nods "he is the best, always so good and he always calm you down so why I wouldn't like it ?" his fingers are running down your hair and his eyes are still running around your face features

"Can I have anothew one ?" You ask shyly, your fingers fidgeting with each others, you nervously wait for his answer. His deep laugh vibrates the inside of your body because of yours still resting on him "I don't see why I would say no" he smiles when he hears your gasp. You turn your head to his "weally ?"

He nods once again with his loving smile "Yes, really" he says pocking his nose against yours making you giggle.

You bite your lips as your smile appears on your face "can i go tell Papa ?" you ask kicking your legs from joyce. The little energy you have in your body is about to run out.

"Go," he says "but don't run" he adds and you nod "pwomise, daddy" You kiss his cheek before getting up and start walking as fast as you can to your Papa's office.

You stop when you're infront of the door. You're about to open it but remember that you can't without knocking. So your little fists dance around the door annoncing at your Papa that it's no one else but you

You hear a muffle 'come in' so you open the door and enter quietly to not disturb him.

He already knew it was you, every time you are excited and have to ask something or when you're just in a happy mood, your hands knock all over the door. He looks up from his folds and smiles when he sees you infront of the door, waiting for him to tell you to come to him

"there's my beautiful baby" He smiles looking at you. You smile and wave at him but still remaind at your post "come here, sweetness. Come tell Papa what's got you in a good mood" he says patting his laps. You make your way to him and climb on his laps with his help. Your chest is infront of his and his hands are on your back to support you. You smile when his gaze is on you

"Papaaa" you sing just like with your daddy. He smiles and nods "Yess, sweets. I'm listening" he rest his back on the seat and make himself comfortable, knowing you won't go to the point immediatly

"do you like Bucksie ?" you ask peering up at him. He smiles thinking about that stuffie of yours "of course i like him, baby" His hands are caressing up and down your back giving you a massage sensation.

Another thing you love about your daddies is that whenever you're in their arms or beside them, they rub a part of your body, your belly to calm you down, your legs, your feet, your hand, your back or your arms. Everywhere they can put their hands on, they do

"can I have another one ?" you whisper and he frowns "don't you think Bucksie will be jealous if you have another friend like him ?" one of his hand is still on your back while the other is wondering on your belly.

"But told me he wanted anothew one like him. He wants a fwiend, Papa" You say pouting. Your Papa lifts your shirt so his fingers are wondering around your skin and he sighs "well, I guess you were good this week so we can go look for a new stuffie puppy this afternoon"

Your eyes widen from happiness and you gasp "weally ?" Your Papa chuckles and wiggles a finger in your belly button making you laugh "yes, really" he smiles seeing you fighting his finger "but you have to be good until there" he says stopping his teasing so your attention is back on him

You nod "I pwomise, Papa"

----------------------------------------------------------------

You walk down the street between your daddies, Your hands holding your daddies's and your smile on your face. You look around the street, smiling even more when you see people with their dogs.

You still can't believe your plan worked. In your head it's all good now, you'll have your puppy but in your daddies head, it's another thing.

You stop walking when there's a puppy store on the street. You let go of your daddies hands making them turning around to look at where you're going. You walk to the window and smile at all the little puppy who are playing or sleeping. You quickly find the one who look like Bucksie and you jump on your feet, pointing him "is him!" you squeal turning around

Your daddies look at each other, Bucky frowns at his husband while Steve arches an eyebrow "what are you talking about ?"

You look back at the sleeping white puppy "is this one Bucksie want" you say with a smile on your face. Your daddies walks beside you and look inside the store. Steve turns to you "But sweetness. This is a real puppy. Bucksie wants a stuffie and we agreed with a stuffie. You can't have a real puppy" he says and you're happy face change into a angry one

"But Daddy said i could" You cross your arms. Your Daddy's head snaps down at you while Steve looks up at his husband, ready to jumps on him "what ?!"

Bucky shakes his head "I never said that. I said I was okay with a new stuffie, just like your Papa just said." He looks up at Steve "You know I would never have told her yes for a puppy before talking with you" Steve sighs and nods "i know, Buck"

They look down at you "We're going to the playstore, not in this one" Steve says giving you his hand to go back into your walk "But Papa said yes too" you mumble pouting

Steve sighs and kneels infront of you "we never said yes for a puppy. You manipulated us and unfortunaly for you it didn't work. So either you apologize and we go to the store for a new stuffie but you get ride of that pouty face or we can go home without a new stuffie and a punishment" he says and your eyes are watering "what do we do ?"

You turn your back at him and he sighs standing up "alright, I guess I know the answer"

-------------------------------------------------------

It's been three days now. Three days that you're dying for a puppy. When you came home that day you were send to a time out in your bedroom and you have to go to sleep earlier without cartoons for a week.

You were suppose to sleep right now but you can't. All you can think about is the puppy you want. All you can think about is the games you want to play with him. You want a new friend and you sure will do everything to have him

You get up from bed, your paci correctly put in your mouth and your Bucksie warmth up in your arms. You make your way to your daddies's bedroom, praying for them to not be mad at you for being awake this late. You carefully open their bedroom door and step inside. The dark of their room make your muscle tremble a little but you know your Bucksie is here to protect you as much as your daddies do

You walk to Bucky's side of the bed and shake his hand. You watch as his eyes open before blinking a few times. He lifts his head a little with sleepy eyes "Baby ?" his sleepy voice rings around the room "what are you doing here ? Why don't you sleep ?"

"Can't seep" you whisper "want daddies" you add and your Daddy smiles at you. He shifts a litte and opens the sheets for you to come in. You climb with his help in the bed and you lay down between your warm dadides. Your scooping closer to your Daddy, your head against his chest with your Bucksie between you both "why can't you sleep ?" he asks not whispering, knowing that your Papa is now awake and watch you both

"Bucksie was talting too much" you say looking down at your stuffie. Your Daddy hums, sliding his fingers down your arms "what was he saying ?"

"He was talting about a new puppy" you say "he is sad he can't have one"

Your Daddy looks beind you at Steve who is shaking his head with a knowing grin "what did you told him ?" Bucky asks looking back at you "Told him you said no" you say playing with Bucksie's ears "So now he mad at you"

Bucky chuckles "Oh, yeah ?" he looks behind him at Steve who nods. His eyes are back on you "well you can tell Bucksie that if you're good for another month, if you do your housework without complaining, if you clean your playroom after playing inside and if you don't whine about going to bed. Bucksie can have a puppy" he says watching your face

A whole month ? Doing all of that ? That's a lot. That's way too much for you and you know that. You daddies knows that as well.

"and if you have one. You will have to come every time when it's time to take him for a walk, even if you're playing. He won't go upstairs and you'll have to feed him. And it's important things you can't forget, either way we won't be able to keep it. Do you understand ?" Your Papa says from behind running his fingers up and down your back

That's a lot of responsable things. But you're a big girl, you'll be able to do all of that. You'll prove them you can do it, that you can be responsable

Like you said, you're going to do everything to have a puppy.

[alwaysmoncheri]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘

pairings ❧ steve harrington x reader

summary ❧ a party at steve’s house leads to the disappearance of nancy’s friend, barb

warnings ❧ female!reader, cheesy & sappy steve, shit writing, mentions of smoking & drinking, mentions of blood, mentions of sex

word count ❧ 2.1k

additional notes ❧ none ´･ᴗ･`

"When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become...?" Barb reads off our chemistry note cards as I walk with between the two girls.

"Unoccupied space," Nancy and I say at the same time. We glance at each other and smile, confident for our test.

"A molecule that can—"

Barb is interrupted when Steve snatches the note cards out of her hands and starts reading them. Tommy H. and Carol move up from behind Barb and I.

"Hey!" Nancy scolds Steve who seems to be enjoying himself.

"I don't know," Steve says, "I think you've studied enough, Nance."

"Steve—" I say giving him a look which he ignores.

"I'm telling you, you know, you guys got this." Steve says, "Don't worry."

"Now onto more important matters," He continues and I roll my eyes, "My dad has left town on a conference and my moms gone with him 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him."

"Good call." Tommy jumps in with a smirk.

"So, are you in?" Steve asks Nancy hopefully.

"In, for what?" Nancy asks.

"No parents, big house." Carol says.

"A party, Nance," I lean over to whisper to her, "It's a party."

"A party?" Nancy says, still unsure.

"Ding, ding, ding." Carol replies and Tommy chuckles.

"It's Tuesday...?" Nancy says.

"It's Tuesday." Tommy mocks Nancy, him and Carol laugh at her comment.

"C'mon, it'll be low key, it'll just be us." Steve says trying to convince Nancy to join, "What do you say? Are you in or are you out?"

"Um—" Nancy starts.

"Oh god. Look." Carol says disgusted.

We all turn and see Jonathan Byers hanging up a poster for his missing brother. My eyes soften at the sight, I feel for him and his mom. I can't imagine what they're going through.

"Oh, god. That's depressing." Steve comments. I shoot his a glare, and he looks over at me with a "what" look.

"Should we say something?" Nancy asks, clearly feeling for him too.

"I don't think he speaks." Carol says rudely.

"How much you wanna bet he killed him?" Tommy says.

"Dude, shut up." Steve says and hits Tommy on the arm.

I send a grateful look in Steve's direction and he gives me a warm smile on return. Then I turn to walk over to Jonathan, Steve's gaze following closely behind.

"Hey, Jonathan." I say with a sad smile.

"Oh, hey (Y/n)." He says glancing back at my group of friends, where Nancy waves with a sympathetic look.

"Any sign of him yet?" I say glancing at the poster he just put up.

"No, not yet." Jonathan replies, following my gaze.

"How are you and Joyce doing?" I ask, picking at my cuticles nervously.

"We're doing." He replies sadly.

"Don't worry, they'll find him," I say, rubbing his arm in reassurance, "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

"Thanks (Y/n)," Jonathan replies with a small smile.

"Of course, I'll see you later?" I ask as I start to walk back to my friends, who are still staring at us.

"Yeah." He says quietly.

Attention, faulty and students. At 8:00 pm tonight, there will be an assembly on the football field in support of Will Byers and his family.

All are encouraged to attend. Volunteer sign-ups for search parties are still available in the office.

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Exhausted after a long day at school, I return home to find Dustin breathlessly running towards me, "Mike kept the girl," He blurts out before slamming my bedroom door shut.

"What do you mean, Mike kept the girl?" I ask confused and pat the spot next to me on my bed.

"Eleven, El for short, said she knew where Will was," Dustin continues, sitting next to me, "That she'd seen him.

"And," Dustin whispers excitedly, "She has super powers."

"She moves things with her mind."

"Holy shit!" I say shocked at the boys' discovery.

Dustin clasps his hands over my mouth.

"Shhhhh!"

In a hushed whisper, I exclaim, "Holy shit," Once again when Dustin lowers his hands back to his lap.

"Yeah, I know," Dustin says, "Can you come with us over to Mike's house?" He asks with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Sorry, bud, I can't," I say, patting his back sadly, "I'm going over to Steve's house tonight.

"Oh..." He replies, "That's okay, we'll take care of it." Dustin stands, exiting my room.

"Have fun at Steve's."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

"One! Two!" Tommy yells, swinging Carol back and fourth in his arms over the dimly lit pool, "Three!"

"Stop it, Tommy, no! Don't!" Carol screams, clinging onto the boy for dear life.

He laughs putting her back down.

"You're such as asshole Tommy." Carol mumbles into his arms.

I roll my eyes at their antics.

I'm sitting in a lawn chair watching everything unfold. This isn't really what I had in mind for the night, but what else did I except. I can't help but think about my brother, his friends and the girl.

I break away from my thoughts when I notice Steve cut a hole in the bottom of his beer can and chug it. I roll my eyes again, knowing he's just trying to show off to Nancy. Steve then plops himself down and grabs the cigarette that was tucked behind his ear, sticking it in his mouth.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Nancy asks with a wide grin.

"You're not?" Steve asks, nonchalantly.

"You are a cliché, you do realize that?" Nancy says with that same grin plastered over her face.

"You are a cliché," Steve counters, lighting his cigarette, "What with your.... your grades and your band practice."

Nancy laughs.

"I'm so not in band."

"Okay party girl," Steve says, "Why don't you just show us how it's done, then?" He passes her the knife before turning to me.

"Hey." He says.

"Hi." I say back.

"You okay?" Steve asks concerned, "You seem kind of... distant."

"I'm okay, Steve," He gives me a look, "I promise."

What a lie.

"If you say so, Henderson." Steve replies after a second, patting my thigh a couple times before returning his attention to Nancy.

His hand was warm. So warm.

"You gotta make a little hole right in—" Steve begins, pointing at the bottom of the can.

"I got it." Nancy replies with a smile and Steve puts his hands up.

"Yeah, she's smart, you douche!" Tommy calls over to Steve.

When Nancy starts chugging the can, I look away and can't bring myself to watch any further. Frustrated, I lean over and snatch the cigarette out of Steve's hand. Taking a few puffs, I glance back at Steve, whose face is filled with confusion and worry as he stares at me.

We're not kids anymore, Steve.

That's what I want to say. But I don't. I just shrug and gesture toward Nancy, who stands victoriously, having downed the entire can.

"Barb, you wanna try?" Nancy asks her neglected friend.

"What? No." Barb says shortly as Nancy goes to grab a can.

"No, I don't want to," Barb says again, "Thanks."

"Come on." Nancy presses.

"Yeah..."  Steve pipes up, "C'mon, yeah."

"Nance, I don't want to." Barb says uncomfortable.

"It's fun, just give it a—" Nancy urges.

"Nance..." I say, giving her a look.

"Just... just give it a shot." Nancy says handing Barb a can and the knife.

Barb is clearly uncomfortable with the activity she has been pressured into, but she goes ahead anyways. I shoot her a sympathetic look and she nervously grabs the knife. When it slips, blood immediately gushes out of the cut on her hand. She clutches it, now in obvious pain.

"Gnarly." Tommy laughs.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asks worried.

"Yeah." Barb responds.

"Barb, you're bleeding." I pipe up from my chair on the other side on Steve.

"I'm fine," Barb says frustrated. She then asks Steve, "Where's your bathroom?"

"Oh, it's—" Steve starts before I cut him off.

"Down past the kitchen to the left, here I can show you." I stand and make my way towards Barb.

"No." Barb says putting her uninjured hand up, "I'll be fine." With that, she walks into the house.

I trudge back to my spot but I don't sit on the chair. Instead, I turn, roll my pants up and sit with my feet in the pool. With Steve's cigarette still in hand, I sit back and take a drag.

The atmosphere is calm and quiet until Tommy suddenly shoves Carol into the pool with a smirk on his face. Carol let's out a shriek, the water engulfing her body, while the water slashes across to me.

"Oh my god!" Carol yells, "What the hell, Tommy!?"

Tommy erupts in laughter before diving smoothly into the pool. Steve follows shortly after, pushing Nancy in, who just screams with a smile. As their antics fill the air, I break out into a laugh, setting my cigarette down before peeling off my shirt and leaving myself in my white bra. Then, I look back at Steve before leaping into the pool alongside him, our laughter echoing in the night.

Steve and Tommy play around, shoving each other under the water. Tommy then resurfaces to grab Carol and they start to make out by the edge of the pool. Steve promptly steals Nancy's shoe, who makes an effort to get it back. I jump onto Steve's back, unintentionally knocking us both underwater. When we're under the surface we share a moment of eye contact. Before I break it and snatch Nancy's shoe. Victoriously I hand it back to her.

Eventually we exit the pool and Steve quickly hands each of us a towel before entering his house.

"I'm freezing." Carol says with a shudder.

"Hmm... well I hear his mom's room has a fireplace." Tommy replies suggestively his towel hanging around his neck.

"Oh yeah?" Carol asks before following Tommy up the stairs with a giggle.

"Okay, well, you know, you are cleaning the sheets." Steve says rolling his eyes, "You alright?" Steve asks Nancy who keeps shivering.

"Yeah." She responds with a small smile.

"Yeah? Come on, let's get you some dry clothes." Steve says walking towards the stairs with Nancy.

"Hey, Henderson?" He turns back to me, "You need anything?" Steve asks, his hand placed on Nancy's back as he leads her up the stairs.

"No, I'm just gonna head home," I say quietly, "Thanks for tonight, Steve."

"Yeah, okay." Steve says softly as Nancy turns around the corner leaving us alone, "You sure? There's always the guest bedroom... you're always free to stay, I could, I mean—" Steve rants before I cut him off.

"It's okay, Steve." I smile sadly at him, "Have your night with Nance. I'll see you tomorrow."

Steve seems indecisive as he turns, debating between Nancy and me. However, he ultimately decides on Nancy and disappears up the rest of the stairs.

Left standing, I gaze up the stairs, for longer than I should've. My eyes begin to water as I imagine what Steve might be doing to Nancy in his room. The very same room I spend countless nights in with the purest of intentions. I picture his hands on her body, caressing her in all the right places, touching her in all the right ways. Tears flow down my cheeks and I turn to leave the house. Before I do, I notice Barb heading in my direction. I hastily wipe away my tears, attempting to conceal the fact that I was crying.

"Hey, Barb." I sniffle slightly, "You headed out?"

"Uh, no," She says giving me a sad look, "I think I'm gonna wait for Nancy."

"Oh." I say weakly, glancing up the stairs once more, "I think it might be a while"

"That's okay, I'll wait." Barb says determined to wait for her friend.

"Well, I'll catch you later, Barb." I say, opening the door and leaving Steve's house.

"Bye, (Y/n)."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Once I make it home, I shut the door to my bedroom behind me. I slide down with my back against the door and sob into my knees. Eventually I stumble over to my bed, continuing to cry until I manage to fall asleep.

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alwaysmoncheri © ─ all rights reserved. please do not repost/translate/copy any of my work.

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER FORTY ONE → THE BABYSITTERS CLUB

summary: steve harrington x oc

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 4.0k || masterlist

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

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The Byers household became the default meeting place for when the world threatened to end. It was where the party and company had regrouped to discuss the dark secrets of the universe and how they planned to stop them using board game logic and middle school book smarts. But, for once, Sunshine found herself inside the home for a reason completely unrelated to the Upside Down or the end of the world. 

The party had taken over the living room with a large banner that they all sat around, and a mess of Will’s art supplies. They worked on a ‘Welcome Home’ sign for their missing party member, who was due to return home the following day. Their loud voices and fits of laughter were a welcomed noise inside the home to everyone. 

Seated in the kitchen, Sunshine joined Nancy, Jonathan, and Joyce around the table with glasses of lemonade and cookies. The conversation she had with her parents the night before still rang in her ears. She was caught between feeling guilty for having to lie to them and knowing that lying was all she could do. It was a complicated line she was forced to walk, but it was something all of them had to do. Everyone besides Will and Jonathan had to lie to their parents about everything they had witnessed and been a part of in their small town. Despite that, everyone tried to resume their lives as normal, whatever that meant. 

“Hopper told you he got everything squared away for you and the kids to start school in the fall,” Joyce said. “Are you excited?” 

Hopper asked her if attending high school was something she wanted to do. The idea was daunting but also exciting. High school was another chance for her to experience the normalcy of life, even if it was only for one year. Everyone had helped her catch up with schooling, teaching her a wide range of things she missed out on inside the Lab. She wasn’t caught up, not completely, but Hopper and Dr. Owens managed to pull some strings and get her enrolled with a promise she’d graduate with a diploma that would set her up for whatever the future held.  

“Yeah, but I’m a little nervous,” she replied honestly. It was nice to have Joyce and Hopper in her life; they were the only adults in her life to who she didn’t have to lie to. 

Beside her, Nancy beamed and patted Sunshine’s hand that rested on the table. “Don’t be! You’ll have John and I with you.” 

She was also incredibly grateful that she wasn’t heading into high school all alone. Not only would she be in the same grade as Nancy and Jonathan, but also Robin and Tamera who she found nice company in. Along with all of them, the party would be starting as freshmen in the fall, including El, Luke, and Leia. If anything, Sunshine was heading into Hawkins High already knowing half of the student body. 

“Have you thought about your classes yet? Or what clubs you want to join?” Nancy asked, eagerly. “John and I are going to run the school paper. It’s not exactly a club people are fighting to join, so you’ll already have a spot on it if you want. Oh! And there’s drama club, art club, or-” Her rambling was cut off by a hand on her shoulder by Jonathan. 

He chuckled softly and said, “I think you’re stressing her out.” He must’ve noticed the wide-eyed look on Sunshine’s face as Nancy spoke. She hadn’t thought much about what actually occurred in school besides learning. Clubs and making new friends, it was a lot to take in for someone who had never experienced anything like that before. 

“Sorry,” Nancy sighed. “I’m just excited for you. It’s a big deal, starting high school, especially for only one year. Then, you know, you’ll graduate and get out of here, if you want. You can get a fresh start.” That was what Nancy wanted, a fresh start, but Sunshine didn’t know what she wanted. She had already been given one when she was reunited with her parents and reintroduced to Hawkins. 

However, the town itself made it hard to forget. A truly fresh start would mean Sunshine leaving, but she didn’t know if she was ready for that. Hawkins was a collection of her nightmares, but it was also where her friends and family were. The group of people whom she had stumbled into due to the luckiest twist of fate was so kind to her in ways she could never fully repay. They all looked out for her and her siblings. They gave them a home and showed them that not everyone in the world was a monster. Sunshine didn’t know if she could ever bear to part with them, but she also knew she didn’t want to stay in Hawkins forever. 

“If that’s something you want to do, leave here,” Joyce added. 

Sunshine toyed with the sun pendant of her necklace and sighed. “I think it’d like to leave here, eventually. After everything, I don’t think I can stay here forever, but I don’t know. I guess I’ve never really had a chance to think about the future before now.” 

Joyce nodded with a sad understanding. She reached out and gently squeezed Sunshine’s arm in a comforting gesture. “You have the rest of your life to think about the future, sweetheart. For now, just take each day at a time.”

That had been her philosophy since she escaped; one day at a time. But it became easy to get swept up in everything that accompanied freedom when it was all in front of her. Sunshine had gone from having every second of her life controlled to being able to live as her own person, not an extension of Dr. Brenner or anyone else in the Lab. There wasn’t a way to simply ease back into life, especially when that process continued to be interrupted by Demogorgons and impending doom looming over her head. As much as she wanted to embrace the normalcy of her new life, she was stuck feeling like she’d never truly escape the Upside Down, the visions Luke had pinned to his wall, and the persistent guilt of keeping secrets from the two people who deserved the truth more than anyone. 

“Hey guys!” Leia poked her head into the kitchen. “We’re all finished! Come check it out.” 

The kids all stood around the banner and observed their work, while Sunshine and the rest of the group from the kitchen joined them in the living room. Even with the storm of thoughts inside her head, she found herself smiling at the party’s art project. The banner was colorful and had a personal touch from each kid. 

“Dustin’s going to love it,” Sunshine said. 

Mike looked pointedly at all of the kids, with his hand clasped in El’s. The smile on his face made him look younger than he had the fall before when he was all pre-teen angst and heartbreak. He resumed his role as leader of the party. “Remember, even if Dustin radios tomorrow, we don’t answer. We can’t ruin the surprise.” 

“We’ll meet at Mike’s in the morning, right?” Lucas asked, earning a nod from the freckled-faced kid. 

As they solidified their plans for Dustin’s return from summer camp, the sound of crunching gravel sounded from outside. Hopper’s truck pulled into the driveway, ready to collect his children for the evening. The party started cleaning up their mess and packed their belongings. 

Hopper joined them inside, greeting the three teens and the party before he and Joyce retreated into the kitchen. The police chief was still in uniform, but he wore an easy-going expression. It was nice to see everyone so relaxed, and so happy. 

Sunshine sat on the couch and helped put all of Will’s markers back neatly inside their box, but most of her attention was on Joyce and Hopper as they spoke softly at the kitchen table over glasses of lemonade. Nancy plopped down beside her, also watching the two interact. She leaned close to Sunshine and whispered, “Jonathan said they used to be close in high school. I don’t think they ever dated, but I can totally see it happening now.” 

That surprised Sunshine. “Ms. Byers and Hopper? Really?” 

Nancy nodded. “Come on, look at them!” 

The two looked content and happy to be in each other's company without some dire situation at hand. Sunshine wanted to believe that was their new normal. The memory of what they’d been through would fade in each other’s company and they’d live the rest of their lives in comfortable stability. 

“How can you tell?” Sunshine asked Nancy. “How do you know anything is going on between them?” 

“I don’t know, you just can. In some people, it’s easy to see. It’s all in how they look at each other with a certain admiration. And it’s also how they listen to each other, like, really listen and not just pretend to. It’s all in their eyes.” 

Sunshine hung on Nancy’s words for a moment, before she followed Nancy’s line of sight that fell past Joyce and Hopper and onto where Jonathan washed dishes at the sink. “Like how you and Jonathan look at each other?” 

A blush crept across Nancy’s cheeks as she ducked her head slightly. “I’d like to think so.” 

She thought of the way Ivy and Three once looked at each other. There was something always unspoken but strong between them. They were only kids, but something was there. It was love, but it was more than that; it was something that Sunshine couldn’t put into words. It was something that happened between people who endured the same awful, terrible things together. The thing that bound them together was stronger than simple admiration or attraction, it was a shared experience that left you knowing you’d never be alone with that grief. Nancy and Jonathan had it carved into the palms of their hands in healed, wavy white scars. Joyce and Hopper had it in the etched worry lines on their worn faces. 

Sunshine’s gaze fell onto the healed-over scars that covered her tattooed wrist, and she was brought back to that night at the Byers last fall when her nail marks were carefully wrapped in gauze by Steve before she returned the favor hours later. He still had a few scars from two fights; one sat on his cheekbone and another through the edge of his eyebrow. 

It was all of the little things set into their skin that served as not only a reminder but also as a bond between them. Nancy had once said something about shared trauma and how that connected all of them to each other in ways of friendship and relationships. 

“Are you guys all ready to go?” Hopper called out to his three superpowered kids. Goodbyes were exchanged before the Hopper-Clan clamored out the front door and piled into the truck. Everyone else finished cleaning up. 

Once the living room was back in order, Max bumped Sunshine’s shoulder with her own, grabbing her attention. “We need a favor from our favorite babysitter.” The remaining members of the party surrounded her, each with a fake innocent look on all of their faces.

Sunshine eyed the group before she stopped on Mike and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think I may be too much of a stick in the mud to help you guys with any favors, right Mike?” 

A groan sounded from Lucas who then slapped Mike’s arm. “Dude, seriously?” 

“You’re not a stick in the mud, Mike’s just an idiot,” Max said. 

“Hey!” Mike objected, but his motivation to argue left as all of his friends glared at him. He slumped his shoulders in defeat and said, “Come on, I didn’t even mean it. You’re cool, I guess.” That time Will lightly hit Mike’s arm. “Fine! Fine. You are cool and I’m sorry.” 

Sunshine smiled, satisfied with the apology. She knew she’d give in either way, but she didn’t want to seem like such a pushover. “What kind of favor are we talking about?”

Lucas explained that they wanted to sneak into the movies and the only way to do that was through the service hallways that only employees had access to. The only person they knew well enough to allow them in was Steve, but he, apparently, was still mad at them for the last time they snuck into the movies and nearly got him fired. 

“What does that have to do with me?” Sunshine asked. 

“If you ask him for us, he’ll say yes,” Max explained, which Sunshine didn’t quite believe. But it was hard to say no to the pleading eyes of the party. 

“Fine,” she agreed. “But I’m not promising anything.” 

…

“Dingus! Your children are here!” Robin called out from the front counter as she opened the window that looked into the backroom. Steve let out a low groan and took the last bite of his sandwich. 

Across the table, Tamera raised her brows and paused reading her book, which was how she chose to spend her breaks. “Your children? Is there something you’re not telling me, Harrington?” 

“Ha ha,” he mocked. 

As he exited the backroom, a set of kids approached the counter, along with reinforcement. “Really, Sunshine? They roped you into their little schemes now?” 

Max scoffed. “It’s not a scheme. We’re simply saving our money.” 

“You’re going to get me fired,” Steve shot back. “Are you going to use all the money you saved to pay for the gas I use driving you shitheads around?”

“Dramatic much?” Max said, crossing her arms. 

Mike dinged the bell on the counter again, which made Robin’s face contort with a look that told Steve she was seconds away from throwing the bell at the kid. Along with his dinging, Mike said, “So, are you going to let us back there or not?” Beside him, Sunshine cleared her throat and looked at the kid with her eyebrows raised expectantly “Ugh fine. “Please.” 

It looked like it actually pained Mike to be nice to Steve. He wanted to laugh, but he refrained. Mike was nothing but overgrown limbs that he was still figuring out how to lug around, but he was nearly Steve’s height and had a girlfriend who could break limbs with a nod of her head. So, Steve sighed in defeat and wordlessly opened the back door before he ushered the kids into the service hallway. 

Their hushed whispers disappeared with them around a corner and Steve closed the door with a silent prayer that no one caught them or that they didn’t rat him out and get him fired. He hated his job, but he needed it or else his dad was going to hurt a lot more than Steve’s wrist. 

Sunshine had followed him into the back room and stole his seat at the table with Tamera, who had watched the whole interaction with curiosity. 

“I cannot believe you agreed to help them. I’m hurt,” Steve said to Sunshine, placing his hand over his heart as he faked wincing in pain. Tamera closed her book and rolled her eyes before she left to join Robin at the front. 

Sunshine shrugged. “They asked me for a favor, and you know how they get when they want something.” He knew exactly how persistent those kids were. It was hard to say no to them, no matter how annoying they could be. A part of it was guilt, Steve thought. He knew everything that happened was very far out of his control, but he still felt bad for the kids. They had lost a lot, especially Will and the three superpowered siblings. So, Steve felt like it was the least he could do to drive them to and from the arcade and let them sneak into the movie theater. 

“Yeah, I get it,” he said standing at the edge of the table. He tried to lean against it casually, but as he reached down to brace himself with his hand, a sharp pain shot up his arm, starting at his wrist. He pissed out in pain before he could bite his tongue. 

“What’s wrong?” Sunshine’s whole demeanor changed. She sat up straight in her chair and her golden eyes pooled with concern, but Steve tried to play it off. 

His wrist had hurt for the past day and a half, but it seemed to be lessening just slightly, until then. “Nothing. I just hurt my wrist yesterday.” It wasn’t a lie technically. He wasn’t the one who hurt his wrist, but she didn’t need to know that. Sunshine tended to worry about everyone, and he didn’t think he deserved her worry when she had other people, like her siblings to worry about. The bruises on his wrist weren’t bad compared to the only injuries he’d sustained from his two years of monster fighting and years of lectures from his dad.

Sunshine outstretched her hand across the table toward him. “Let me see.” He hesitated but ultimately gave in to her intense gaze. There was a certain look she got when someone close to her got hurt. He saw the same look on her face when Max wiped out on her skateboard and got a bloody nose. He saw it when El was recovering from closing the Gate. And he vividly remembered seeing it when she stood in front of him in the Byers bathroom after his fight with Billy Hargrove. 

With careful hands, Sunshine grasped his wrist and examined it with furrowed brows. The skin around his wrist was a slight twinge of green and blue, but he tried to cover it up the best he could with makeup he found stashed in his mom’s bathroom drawer. 

“How did you hurt it?” 

“I fell and tried to catch myself.” There had only been a handful of times that his dad had done something bad enough to leave a bruise or visible mark, but it used to be easy to lie his way out of questions about it. He used gym class or basketball as excuses, but all he had was his job at Scoops and it wasn’t exactly the most physical job so he was limited on what he could say and get away with. Yet, he tried to curb her worry. “It’s not a big deal. It’ll heal up in a few days and I’ll be good as new.” 

Sunshine shifted her gaze onto his face and stared at him for a moment. It made him feel exposed, like maybe she was reading his mind. Steve was pretty sure that was not a part of her superpower skill set, but he wasn’t positive. 

“You’re lying,” she said, simply. He was caught off guard and fumbled his response. 

“N-No. No, I’m not.” It was as if she saw straight through him, picking up the way he lied through his teeth. 

She sighed, “Steve.” 

He was desperate to shove the conversation in a different direction, anything to get the focus off of him. “Is that another one of your superpowers? Can you read people’s minds? Because let me tell you, that would change a lot of things.” Sunshine remained unwavering, not allowing him to switch gears. Steve swallowed thickly and held his hands in his lap, rubbing his thumb over the bruise on his opposite wrist. “Look, it doesn’t matter. I’m all good, promise.” 

“Was it Billy? Did he do something? Max said he’s been leaving her and party alone, but if he’s back to messing with you I’ll-”

Steve cut her off with a quick shake of his head. “No. It wasn’t Billy.” She seemed to relax slightly at that. Billy had, luckily, left all of them alone. Most importantly, he had left Max and Lucas alone. There was a lingering worry after that night that he would still try to hurt any one of the kids, and that thought made Steve feel ill; though, he was almost certain that even if the thought crossed Billy’s mind, Sunshine would make Billy regret it. 

“But it was someone, wasn’t it?” Sunshine pressed. She leaned her chest against the table, closer to him still with her hand outstretched, despite him having pulled his hand away. “Someone did that. Who? You can trust me.” Her voice softened at the end, which only pained Steve more. 

He trusted her more than he trusted himself most of the time. “I do, it’s just not a big deal and you don’t need to worry about me.” 

“Someone hurt you. I'm going to worry."

“It’s a little bruise. That’s it.” His wrist ached, but the wound went a lot deeper than that. He didn’t want to unpack his issues with his asshole of a dad with Sunshine. Plus, it didn’t seem fair. She had gone through hell and dealt with more assholes than Steve could imagine inside the Lab. He didn’t feel right complaining about his dad when it was nothing even close to what she’d been through.

A frown settled on her lips and his stomach twisted when she quietly said his name, again. He felt himself giving in, the words on the tip of his tongue. Sunshine was one of the few people in his life that he felt terrible lying to. Not even when he dated Nancy did he give in to her constant questions about his parents and their cold and distant ways. Steve would brush her off and Nancy wouldn’t press the issue further. But there was something about Sunshine that made Steve feel vulnerable. 

“My dad and I got into a little disagreement yesterday. He can get, uh, excited when he argues, and he grabbed my wrist a little too hard. But, like I said, it really doesn’t even hurt.” 

The look that settled across Sunshine’s face was hard to pinpoint exactly. It was something between confusion and anger. 

“Your dad hurt you?” 

Steve shook his head. “No. Not really.” 

“Your wrist is bruised. Your dad did that to you?”

“Sometimes dads like mine get angry. It happens.” It did, in his experience at least. He didn’t get dealt the best cards when it came to fathers, but he didn’t get the worst, either. 

“No. People who love you don’t hurt you.” 

“It’s complicated-”

“It’s not,” she cut in. Her narrowed gaze softened as she upturned her palm, holding her hand out to him as her way of offering comfort. The tattoo on her wrist peaked out from under the set of bracelets she wore, and he felt his stomach turn as she said, “Trust me. I know.” He grasped her hand and gave it a light squeeze. 

It wasn’t fair, he thought. She shouldn’t know what that was like. Their situations weren’t comparable. Steve still didn’t understand the full scope of Sunshine’s life at the Lab, but he knew a spat with his dad was nothing compared to what she went through. Yet, she acted as if it was, holding his hand tightly and rubbing her thumb across the top of his hand. 

“My dad can be an asshole sometimes, but he does love me.” Love was just a complicated thing in the Harrington household; it wasn’t something any of them were great at. “He’s just not the best at showing it. But I promise, it’s not a big deal. And if it was, you’d be the first to know, okay?” 

Sunshine didn’t look convinced. “Okay,” she said, quietly. “But if something happens again, just…just tell me.” 

“I will. Promise.” 

With their hands clasped together on the tabletop, Steve with his bruised wrist and Sunshine with her tattooed one, they sat in their feelings, unsure of what to make of them. The knots that had grown in his chest since his conversation with his dad didn’t feel like they were choking him anymore. And with his hand in Sunshine’s, his wrist ached a little less.

Tagged. @sattlersquarry , @leptitlu , @drunkengodsofslaughter

[buckysxgal]

Reunited?

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader Summary: Y/N went with the Byer's clan to California for college and comes back to Hawkins with the Cali crew after everything goes down. Will they reunite with their boyfriend Eddie? Word Count: 2.3k Warning: Vomiting

Also I haven't written in a while so hope this is good!

I was sitting in the back of the Surfer’s Pizza van staring out the window as we got closer and closer to Hawkins. It had been a hell of a few days and not knowing if Max is OK has been driving me crazy. El will not talk about it, she has barely talked much in the past 48 hours, understandably.  

It had been a while since I’d been back in Hawkins, a year in fact. I had left to go with Joyce and the rest of the Byers clan to California since I had been living with them. I had to leave behind my boyfriend, and we’ve been trying hard to stay connected with each other, but it’s been hard with me starting College and him trying to graduate high school. I missed Eddie and last I heard from El, there was someone named Eddie involved in everything going on back in Hawkins.  

My eyes focused on a sign in the distance, I perked up a bit recognizing it as the ‘Welcome to Hawkins’ sign. I started fiddling with the necklace around my neck, a wave of nerves coming over me at the thought of seeing everybody. Anxiety coursed through me as I wondered if all my friends had made it out alive.  

“We going to the Wheelers?” I asked no one in particular. The first words being said for hours startled everyone. Jonathan, who was behind the wheel, nodded in reply.  

“We’ll be there within the next 30 minutes.” I nodded and continued staring out the window as the town of Hawkins passed me by. There were holes in the ground everywhere, people flooded outside of the school with a sign about helping those affected by the earthquake. I let out a shaky breath as I looked over the crowd of people hoping to see a face I recognized. 

We pulled up outside of the Wheeler’s residence and I took note of everyone that was around. Steve and Robin were helping Nancy pack Steve's car with boxes. Dustin was speaking to Mrs. Wheeler beside Steve’s car. No sign of Lucas, Max or Erica and worst of all. No sign of Eddie, yet.  

“Cheer up dude.” Argyle spoke up from the passenger seat. “Your boyfriend might be somewhere else.” I hadn’t noticed that the younger ones had already stepped out of the car. 

“Yeah besides, what would he be doing at Nance’s house anyways?” Jonathan piped up. They had good points. It would be odd of him to be there considering the crew that was there, him not being particularly close to Steve or Robin. They both left the car while I contemplated what they said. I took a deep breath and left the car. I passed by the few reunions happening and made my way over to Robin and Steve, wrapping them up in a group hug. 

“I’m glad you guys are OK.” I whispered. Robin, not being much for physical attention, awkwardly patted my back while Steve tightened his grip on me. 

“I know you guys might not know this, but” I trailed off, pulling back from the hug. “do you guys happen to know if Eddie is alright?” Steve and Robin shared a look, a melancholy expression taking over their faces as they shook their heads.  

“We haven’t seen him since everything went down.” Robin muttered. “Sorry.”  

“It’s alright, didn’t expect you guys to just... thought I’d check.” I mumbled. 

I felt a hand land on my back. I turned my head to see Nancy looking at me, the way Nancy always does when she’s trying to figure someone out. I gave her a small smile and pulled her into a side hug.  

“You OK?” she asked lowly. I nodded against her shoulder. As I pulled away from that hug, I heard El talk about Max. I looked over as Dustin explained that she was in the hospital. I walked over to Dustin and ruffled his hair in greeting. Dustin looked over to me and it seemed like his shoulder’s got heavier. He focused his eyes back on Will and El as I saw tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes. My mind wandered back to Eddie as they continued to talk about Max’s condition. A sinking feeling present in my gut, no one could or would tell me of Eddie’s condition, but the looks on their faces say that they know something. 

“Are you coming man?” Argyle said as he waved his hand in front of my face. I blinked and looked around to see everyone piling into different cars. Steve, Robin and Dustin are all piling into Steve’s car while the rest are piling into the van. 

I made my way over to the van and climbed in, taking my seat between Will and Argyle. Nancy in the front with Jonathan and Mike and El occupying the seats in the middle.  

“Where are we going?” I asked Will. 

“We’re going to see Max.” I nodded and settled further into my seat.  

The elevator ride was quiet, almost suffocatingly quiet. No one knew what to say and everyone was going through different emotions. The only one that wasn’t majorly affected was Argyle, mainly because he didn’t know Max, though he wasn’t his normal cheery self either. We exited the elevator and looked for the room number the receptionist told us.  

I followed in the room behind El, Mike and Will and peeked around the three teens. My throat constricted as I saw Max on the hospital bed. She looked... so weak. Lucas let go of Eleven and spotted me. I gave him a weak smile and wrapped him in a hug. 

“I’m sorry sweetie.” I said as I tightened my hug. I looked around him and saw Erica sitting in a chair in the corner of the room being quiet, which was very unlike her. I let go of Lucas and went to sit on the arm of the chair she was on. She leaned against my side as I put my hand on her shoulder. I looked over at the side table, there was a newspaper on it with Eddie’s face peeking out from a folded page. I squinted my eyes, trying to make out what the article was.  

I stood up and walked over to the newspaper and gasped. 

CULT LEADER KILLS CHEERLEADER 

Eddie’s school photo looked up at me. I felt sick. There’s no way Eddie would’ve done this. I numbly walked across the room and out of the door, ignoring my friends questions as I left. 

“Hey amiga.” Argyle said from his place on the floor as I walked out of the room. I ignored him and walked straight to the trash can heaving into it.  

“Oh shit” I heard Argyle scrambling up off the floor to rush over to me and began rubbing circles on my back. I heard multiple footsteps running towards me. I could hear Argyle talking and another voice answering him. His hand came off my back and was replaced with a smaller one. I finished heaving and sat back into the chest of the person behind me. 

“It’s going to be OK.” Nancy muttered running her hand over my forehead. Jonathan came into my field of sight looking very concerned and holding out a water bottle. I grabbed the bottle as he grabbed the newspaper that was still clutched in my hands and looked at the article on the front page. His eyebrows shot up and he read through it. I took a heavy swig of the water and shifted to look at Nancy. 

“Did he...” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence. She gave me a small smile and shook her head. 

“No.” she said firmly. “Eddie did not do this.” I breathed out a sigh of relief, I already knew he wasn’t capable of something like this but hearing someone else, someone who doesn’t know him like I do, also say what I am thinking took a huge weight off my shoulder. I looked up from the floor and saw the kids looking at me from the door of Max’s room, concern etched on their faces. 

“I’m OK guys. I’m just going to go sit in the van.” I moved to stand, Nancy and Jonathan helping me up. 

“Come on dude, I’ll come sit with you.” I nodded and followed Argyle out of the hospital. 

“We’ll be out soon.” Nancy called from behind us. 

Me and Argyle sat in the car in relative silence. The radio was being played at a low volume as the rest of the crew piled in the car. El took a seat beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder with Mike settling in on the other side of her. 

I grabbed hold of her hand as we settled back into our seats in the van after visiting Max. I gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping she’d look over at me. I knew this whole thing with Max was really tearing her up. She continued staring forward, but she gave my hand a squeeze back.  

We were on our way to Hopper’s old cabin, a safe spot for us to hide El. Again, I wondered where Eddie was. I hoped he was OK but the apology and sympathetic look that I received from Lucas makes me think he might not be. After seeing the article in the newspaper about Eddie, and how he was being accused of murder. I had little hope that I’d get to see Eddie again. I began to chew on my nails, a habit I picked up on since the beginning of this shit show, and let my eyes shift out of focus. 

The old cabin came into view, a lot quicker than I expected it to. Nancy shifted in her seat and turned around to face us. 

“There’s someone else that will be staying with Eleven here” She explained to us. I looked in her eyes and she quickly shifted them away. Strange. I quirked an eyebrow up at Will who was sitting across from me. He shrugged his shoulders at me and got ready to exit the van. I narrowed my eyes at the scene ahead of us. Man, that cabin is in rough shape.  

“I get that we gotta hide Supergirl, and all but this isn’t exactly a Fortress of Solitude, man.” Argyle exclaimed. “It’s more like a Fortress of Grodiness.” Nancy huffed. 

“Come on guys seriously,” she walked around the counter. “I’ve seen Mike’s room look worse than this.” 

“Ah, brutal, dude.” Argyle said looking over at Mike who looked like he had just finished sucking on a lemon. I let out a small laugh and turned back towards Nancy who was now opening the doors of the pantry.  

“And, voila, cleaning supplies.” Nancy said as she plopped a container down onto the kitchen counter filled with various supplies. We all chose an area and set to fixing this place up. Mike and Will were cleaning up the living area, Nancy and Jonathan were boarding up the broken windows, Eleven had taken a bag and trudged her way over to one of the rooms and God knew where Argyle managed to sneak away to.  

I set a bucket of water on the floor beside the wall and got started on wiping down the walls. A year of uninhibitedness and holes in the roof sure did a number on this place. I could hear rumbling as it sounded like more cars showed up. I popped my head up to look out the window and saw Steve’s car pull up with an unmarked black car that suspiciously looked like it belonged to the government. I caught Jonathan’s eyes and narrowed them. He shook his head in confusion and turned to Nancy. 

I stood up and followed Mike and Will outside. Steve, Robin and Dustin got out of the car. Dustin remained at the car door talking to someone in the car, but Steve and Robin made their way towards us. In the black car out stepped Joyce and Hopper, I let out a sigh of relief seeing the former police chief alive and well after what happened last year. I watched Joyce hug her sons as Hopper passed by me clapping me on the shoulder. 

“Don’t worry kid, we’ll figure something out.” I looked at him strangely and he pointed towards Steve’s car and then turned to walk inside the cabin, presumably to go see El. A sense of confusion washed over me as I looked over to Steve’s car. Steve had appeared beside me and nudged me. I looked over at him in disbelief; he nodded his head towards the car. 

“Someone you should see.” I whipped my head back to the car as I saw Eddie step out. Eddie was alive, he was OK. Eddie hadn’t noticed me yet, talking animatedly with Dustin. I could feel a smile on my face as I said his name. His eyes met mine and he grinned. 

“Hey sweetheart.” I let out a choked sob as I flew down the driveway and into his arms, almost knocking us down onto the ground. I could feel him chuckling as he held onto me tight. 

“I am never letting you out of my sight again you hear me, Edward Munson.” I said making my point by stabbing my pointer finger in his chest. Eddie was looking down at me with a dopey smile on his face. His hand came up to rest on the side of my neck which stopped my ranting.  

“I love you sweetheart.” He whispered before leaning down and placing his lips on mine. I kissed back softly before pulling away, pressing my forehead to his. 

“I’m serious Eddie. Never.” He nodded and wrapped me back up in a hug. 

“Promise.” He whispered against my neck. 

This work is not to be copied onto any other blog or site without my permission. Everything I write is cross posted onto my Archive of our Own account under the same username. 

[pearlypairings]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEARLY!!! 🎉🎊🎂 the world is a better place because you’re in it.

Birthday prompt:

For the pairing - Jonathan and Chrissy 😜

Scene - baking a surprise birthday cake… but the two of them together, baking it for Joyce (instead of one surprising the other)

Dialogue - "put the icing DOWN."

jonathan x chrissy || fluff, comfort, group hugs || 704 words

A/N: losty! you're always so creative, thinking out of the box and it gave me one of my favorite photocheer hcs now🥰 hope you like this one! JOYCE BYERS, our beloved<3

yesterday's prompt

Chrissy’s face had three different colors of icing smeared from her cheeks up to her ears like a clown who couldn’t decide on a blush color and went with all of them. She’d been crouched at eye-level with the cake, three piping bags, and four icing spatulas for far too long. A bead of sweat threatened to blend the white, blue and purple icings together. Enough was enough, she was becoming obsessed. “Babe, babe.” Jonathan patted her shoulder gently. “Put the icing DOWN.” “One more minute, one-more-minute. I’m almost done with these peaks on the edge—they have to be perfect.” She pushed aside her frizzy bangs with her forearm, lowering the piping tip back to the top of the cake to finish the third decorative row. He helped her get those pesky hairs out of her vision, making sure to tuck the longer pieces behind her ears and smiling at how cute her forehead looked when she was focusing. Ever since she’d come up with the idea of surprising his mom with homemade birthday cake, Chrissy hadn’t stopped planning. Besides listing out ingredients and supplies to gather, there were at least half a dozen sketches she designed for the decorative top of the round cake. “She’s gonna love it no matter what, because we made it. No need to get stressed out over icing, that’s all. She wouldn’t want you losing your mind over something we’re all gonna be chewing up tonight.” Chrissy set down her tools finally and whirled around to look at him, exasperated. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip while she stretched, straightening her spine from the hunched position she worked under.  “No, I know your mom is so good. Good to you, good to Will…” she trailed off to look at the sink full of bowls and utensils stacked high. “And she’s been so good to me, even though I’m not even family.” Jonathan sighed quietly, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss the sugar-coated, tired knuckles with a certain tenderness. “So that’s what this is about? You think you need to give her something perfect to deserve her affection?” “Well, I don’t know, no—maybe, ugh. I don’t know. I just want her to know I appreciate her and love her too.” Chrissy moved toward him, shaking her head and chewing the inside of her cheek like gum. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?” “Maybe,” he said, taking her hand to pull her in close and wrap his arms over her shoulders and down her back. “Or, maybe, part of you still worries that you have to earn things in our family. But the best thing about the Byers is that once you’re in, you’re in. There’s no escaping us once we care about you, we’re like.... a bottomless pit of endless concern and questions and surprise gifts of your favorite gum from the checkout counter. No strings—or perfectly detailed icing—attached.” “God, how did I get so lucky?” Her chin pressed hard against his chest as she embraced him. He didn’t even care that her flour-ey, sugary apron would wreak havoc all over his Smiths' shirt. He could stay like this forever if she wanted. “How did we get so lucky?” His mom walked into the kitchen from her shift, hearing Chrissy’s last question and answering the same exact way Jonathan would have responded. She shrugged off her dark maroon coat, dropping the bag she brought back and forth to work, and hurried over to squeeze them both, planting loud kisses on the tops of their heads. A sudden grasp nearly pinched his shoulder right off when his mom peeked at the counter from around their group hug. “Don’t even tell me that beautiful cake is for me!” Her voice poured out fast and soaked in joy. “You guys are too cute, baking together and making something so sweet for this grateful, old mom.” “Oh, we have candles for when Will gets home later,” Chrissy gushed, slipping her fingers between Jonathan’s. “And extra sprinkles if you wanted more of those and—” And Jonathan couldn’t hear the rest. He just kept thinking about how amazing the two women in his life were. He was the only lucky one here.

[rekiilysm]

ETHEREAL: Ch10

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・

⇨ 「pairing— steve harrington x fem!henderson!reader」

⇨ 「a/n— SEASON TWO BABY!!! ok i am so so so sorry for the break in updates but it’s been stressful with school and stuff but it’s almost summer! there’s not much happening this chapter but it’ll come soon!」

⇨ 「warnings— the usual cursing but that’s about it」

⇨ 「word count— 2.2k」

CHAPTER TEN: MADMAX

   It was dark outside, and the only noise in the Henderson residence was the sound of the TV and Dustin cursing to himself while trying to find change for the arcade. Y/n was in her room doing homework on her bed, books and papers scattered everywhere. Her little brother then ran into her room quickly, "I need change." He said before pulling out one of her piggy banks. Her eyebrow rose up while looking at her brother.

   He then started to pour out all the change on the carpet floor, making the Henderson girl's eyes widen as she quickly got up and stumbled over to her brother. "What the hell are you doing?!" She exclaimed, but Dustin didn't stop. She sighed, "You could've just asked.."

   After he got all the change out of the piggy bank, he set it down before crouching down on the floor. "Sorry, Y/n/n. Me and the guys are going to the arcade. Wanna come?" He asked, not even taking his eyes off the change on the carpet.

   She scoffed, "Of course I do, dummy!" He smiled, getting back onto his feet and standing in front of her.

   "We can share," he said, holding up the quarters. She nodded before her little brother bolted out of her room to radio their best friends. Y/n looked over to her books on her bed, remembering her homework that she should be doing...but a little fun wouldn't hurt, right?

———

   A little bit later, the two Hendersons pulled up to the arcade in the girl's car. Once she parked, the younger sibling was quick to get out and run over to the other boys. Y/n smiled to herself before getting out of her car, making sure to lock it behind her.

   While walking up to the group of boys, a honking noise filled their ears, making their heads snap towards the direction of the honk. It was Will and Joyce. "Hey!" Lucas exclaimed and waved to the boy in the car still. After a minute, the Byers boy eventually got out of the car and walked over to his friends.

The five made their way to different games, stopping at one of their favorites: Dragon's Lair. "To slay the dragon, use the magic sword!" The sexy princess told the players, making the boys swoon.

"Oh, Jesus! I'm in uncharted territory here, guys," he told them as they crowed around him. He pressed the button continuously, moving the stick around while his best friends and sister yelled at him.

"Down! Down! Down!" They all exclaimed.

Dustin kept his eyes glued to the screen, "I'm going! I'm going!" The knight on the screen then ran around the place while the princess in distress was, well, distressing. The four continued to yell at him, but then the dragon came onto the screen, making the curly haired boy shut them up. "Okay. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" He exclaimed, making them all stop as he pressed the button multiple times, only to get blasted with fire, loosing the game. "No! No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit! Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!" He slammed his fist against the game, making his older sister put a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay there, tough guy, calm down," she gave him a pat on the shoulder before Lucas nodded along with her.

"You're not nimble enough. But you'll get there one day. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine!" Lucas smiled cheekily, making Dustin sigh.

"Whatever. I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug. And we got Y/n on top of PacMan, so the Hendersons still stay on top," Dustin looked over to his older sister, who gave him a smirk.

Before she could say anything, the party's favorite person in the world stood close to them. Keith. "You sure about that?" He asked, making the five look in his direction. Y/n rolled her eyes at the boy who had been trying to get a date with her since freshman year.

"Sure about what?" Dustin asked, but Keith just stayed silent, continuing to shove Cheetos into his mouth.

Y/n raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean, Keith?" The boy her age looked at her but still stayed silent.

Dustin scoffed before quickly making his way over to his favorite game. "You're kidding me. No, no, no." He pushed through multiple people, making the party struggle to follow him. "Move! Move! No!" He eventually made it to the game, but when he got to it, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

DIG DUG

BEST 5

SCORE NAME

1st 751300 MADMAX

2nd 650990 DUSTIN

"751,300 points!" Will exclaimed in shock.

Mike's mouth fell open, "That's impossible."

"How could someone get a score that high?" Y/n asked, shocked as to how someone could manage to get a score that high. I mean, she was shocked that Dustin got the score he did, but damn! That's a lot of points...

"Who's Mad Max?" Dustin walked up to Keith.

He smirked, his face still full of Cheetos, "Better than you."

"Is it you?" Will asked.

Keith scoffed, "You know I despise Dig Dug."

Y/n raised her eyebrow as Lucas questions the guy, "Then who is it?"

Dustin stepped forward, "Yeah, spill it, Keith."

The said guy continued to stuff his face with his cheesy snack, "You want information, then I need something in return." He smirked as he looked over to Y/n. Her eyes widened, along with the boys' as well. Her nose scrunched up in disgust.

Dustin's eyes widened, and it was almost like there was steam coming out of his ears. "No, no, no. No way. You're not getting a date with her. Not my sister. No, gross."

Y/n nodded along with her brother. "Yeah, no. I'm not going on a date with you, Keith."

The boys, other than her brother, gave her a pleading look. "Y/n, come on! Please just let him take you out on a date." Lucas asked as she shook her head.

"No, gross!" she exclaimed. Usually she wasn't so mean to people in front of their face, but it was Keith, so she didn't care.

"But it's for a good cause!" Lucas tried to talk her into it.

Dustin shook his head, "No, don't go out with him. Know what? He's gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to our whole family!" He said, not taking his eyes off of Keith. Y/n snickered, but coughed it off to cover it up.

Keith looked at the younger Henderson with an offended look on his face, "Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, you prepubescent wastoid."

"Oh, I'm a wastoid? She wouldn't go on a date with you. Would you, Y/n?" he asked his older sister, who shook her head.

"Absolutely not," she said as her brother continued.

"You make, like, what? $2.50 an hour?" Dustin mocked. But while the two were going back and forth, the party didn't realize that Will had walked off.

"Nice perm," Keith mocked back.

Dustin scoffed, "Gonna make fun of my hair?" He asked the guy in front of him who rolled his eyes. The two continued to argue and bicker, but Mike and Y/n noticed that Will was gone.

Y/n looked down at Mike, "Go find Will. I'll stay here and try to split these two up." He nodded at her words before heading out the door to bring Will back inside. The girl sighed before attempting to pull her little brother away from the guy in front of him.

Once she finally got the two away from each other, she ushered the boys to go back to Dig Dug to get their spot back. Eventually, Will and Mike walked through the doors and gave her a smile before going over to her brother's favorite game. As Y/n turned to go over to them, Keith stopped her. She turned to him, and before he could say anything, she spoke up. "No." And then she walked back to her brother and her best friends. She was going to have fun with them, not worry about having to go on a date with Keith—she thanks Dustin greatly for that.

———

The next day, the two Henderson siblings pulled up to the high school parking lot. Y/n parked the car before turning to her brother. "Check up on Will for me, 'kay?" she asked, making him nod.

"Will do," he held up a finger gun, clicking his tongue before grabbing his backpack out of the backseat. Y/n did the same and got out of the car. "I'm surprised we got here on time today," he smirked, making the older sibling roll her eyes. She walked over to her brother, taking off his hat and ruffling his hair to get on his nerves.

"Watch it, curly," she warned playfully before grabbing his head, pressing an annoying kiss on his forehead.

He pushed her off of him, "Stop, Y/n." He whined, making the girl smirk as she plopped his hat back on his head.

"What? Am I embarrassing you?" she laughed as he fixed his hat.

"Yes, now please, I'm gonna be late," he said, making her groan.

"All right, fine. Love you," she gave him a smile, which he gave her one back.

"Love you too, you ass," he smirked at her, making her playfully roll her eyes at his words. He gave her solute before walking in the opposite direction towards the middle school. The Henderson girl shook her head, a smile still on her face. As he disappeared from her sight, her smile fell, her head doing the same. Oh school, how fun.

She walked on the grass to the school, her headphones over her ears. She had the copy of the mixtape she made for Steve playing in her Walkman. The chorus of "Somebody's Watching Me" by Michael Jackson played in her ears as she walked by Steve's car. What she didn't notice though, was that somebody was in fact watching her—it was Steve. Nancy was talking to him about his paper, but when the Henderson girl came into his sight, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

———

After a couple of classes, Y/n was at her locker getting some books for her next class. As she closed it, Jonathan and Nancy walked up to her. "Jonathan, just come. I mean, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone," Nancy told him, going to her locker next to the Henderson girl. The said girl raised her eyebrow before Steve Harrington came up behind Nancy, picking her up and twirling her around. She shrieked, but Steve only chuckled. Y/n made eye contact with Jonathan, both of them standing there awkwardly. Nancy and Steve began to kiss, which was the two freaks' cue to leave. Nancy pushed the Harrington boy off her with a smile before getting some books out of her locker. She looked in the direction where Jonathan and Y/n went, watching sadly as the boy walked away. But little did she know, Steve was watching them too, but his eyes were on Y/n.

Back with Y/n and Jonathan, they walked to their next class together. Even though they were in different grades, they still had some classes together. "So," Y/n's eyes caught a glimpse at the bright orange flyer in her best friend's hands. "Are you going to go to Tina's party?" she asked, making him look at her. "If you wanna, go ahead. I can handle the boys, and I'll keep an eye out on Will. Go have some fun."

He shook his head, "No, it's okay. She's gonna be busy with Steve anyway." The girl frowned at Jonathan's sad face. "And besides, it wouldn't be fun without my favorite Henderson." He lightly shoved the girl's arm with his elbow, making her smirk.

"Okay, one: obviously. And two: I'm telling Dustin you said that," she said with a smile, making his eyes widen. "Kidding. I won't tell him... well unless I need to one-up him." She laughed, making him crack a smile as well. She loved seeing her best friend smile. He has been through so much with Will, and he deserves to be at peace and be happy.

The two finally made it to their class, hoping the day would be over soon.

———

It was now night time and Y/n was sitting in her room reading a book. She had dropped Dustin off at the arcade earlier, so he was still out. He asked her if she wanted to come with, but as much as she wanted to, her homework said otherwise. So now—luckily she finished her homework—she was reading a book for her English class. It was an interesting book; it was romance, which is kind of odd to make a senior English class read.

It's called "A Rose in Winter," which is about a lady—Erienne—who had fallen for a man she shouldn't be with, but she was also in love with the man she was supposed to be with. The story goes on her journey of conflict in her mind, which was very intriguing for Y/n. The story was a lot like the situation she was in, not that she realized. But she wasn't Erienne in this situation...someone else was.

———

tags:

@milkiane @novacrystalli @stepasidefilth @maggiecc @star-flecked-soul @whore-for-eddie @obsessed-with-a-fictional-man @dallysnecklace @yuuki4646 @jinxed-jk @mvaldez7821 @seriously-ok-not @okjaeminn @lycaonpictusphotography @m-rae23 @untitledarea @gracella0709 @fanficfanatic204

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