#Steve’s students are like: He’d do anything for us so if we make this a part of our grade he’ll actually sit down and learn it

[morganbritton132]

Please tell me that in the comments of that tiktok people are trying to give advice to help steve make another row. or one of the kids who used steve for math class crochets and decides to make a crocheting video in the form of one of steve's videos for class and sends it to eddie. or like, dustin or someone else who can get it to steve

Oh, absolutely! Eddie’s comments are flooded with people giving advice or telling him which tutorials they thought were helpful, or just generally being happy that Steve’s taken on a new hobby.

Eddie passes along all of it and then posts a series of TikToks of Steve getting frustrated that he’s not immediately good at crocheting.

In the first video he posts, Steve is frogging two wonky and misshapen rows while an overly perky YouTube tutorial goes over the basics of crochet. He is muttering to himself, “The internet says this is easier than knitting. The internet says this is easier – How?!”

Eddie, from behind the camera: Do you know how to knit?

Steve: Fuck off, Eddie.

The caption on the video says ‘Thx for the tutorial rec [TikTok username] 😉

The second video Eddie posts is of Steve trying to untangle his yarn while Joan bats at it. He tosses all of it to the side and throws himself back on the couch, declaring with an Eddie-level of overdramatics, “It helps with memory loss because you’ll never forget how frustrated you are trying to learn.”

The third video has Eddie in it. Steve is trying to shove the questionable beginnings of a hat onto Eddie’s head even though it’s clearly too small. He stops and sighs, and running his fingers through Eddie’s hair as he thinks aloud, “What if we cut your hair? *pause* No, that’s insane.”

The fourth video in the series is actually posted by Dustin.

Steve and Eddie are sitting side by side on the couch while Eddie demonstrates how to do a specific stitch. Steve watches him do all this with such an effortless ease even though Eddie hasn’t crocheted in years and then just stands up and declares, “I’m taking a walk. I need to clear my head.”

Eddie and Ozzy look at each other and then Eddie makes a gesture that says, it’s your turn to deal with this. Ozzy huffs at him but gets up and follows Steve out of the house.

All of this cumulates in a TikTok filmed in after school detention of a few students presenting to Mr. Harrington a tutorial they made in their Media Immersion class. They explain why they think that their tutorial is better for him than anything he’ll find on the internet because they’ve tailored it around him and things they’ve noticed from just having him as a teacher.

“And,” One of the students says, “Our grade kinda hinges on you actually learning how to crochet, so you have incentive too.”

[kaytheday]

Life Preserver - Ace and Sodapop Drabble

Soda thought he’d never been more thankful for Ace than during those dreaded days in high school. He was failing nearly every subject and was so sick of being made out to be stupid. Constantly ridiculed by socs, teachers, and even his own brothers. That hurt more than anything. 

But Ace was wicked smart. She could have been an honor student if she tried, but she didn’t try. Instead, she opted for putting in the minimum effort required to pass every class. Floating through life as if she was trying to stay above it all. Soda understood, you had to do that sometimes living on the East side. But how Soda was jealous. He was jealous that Ace's version of not trying was better than his maximum effort. 

Though, through it all, he was grateful for her. There were times she had sat with him after school in the library. Ever so patient as she helped him with English, Soda growing more frustrated as the letters rolled around the page. She told him he was smart, despite everyone’s insistence that he wasn’t. But that was always Ace, wasn’t it? Making you believe in things that seemed so far off and impossible. 

Soda thought he’d never be more grateful for her then as she stuck by during those dark days of high school. 

But then his parents died and Soda seemed to have so many problems in him that not even Ace could fix. He thought things would never get better. But Ace had just held him and helped him through. She would ditch school to come to the DX during his shifts. They entertained each other but Soda had a sneaky feeling that he knew what Ace was doing. She was keeping his mind occupied, keeping him from being swallowed up by that black pit that seemed to follow him as soon as his parents died.

She stayed most nights now on the Curtis couch. Whether or not things were bad at home or she was just trying to be close he didn’t know, but he was grateful nonetheless. 

One Saturday, they were walking to Soda’s 10:00 shift at the DX. Ace had opted to come, Steve was at Evies and Soda knew that she didn’t like to go home to her aunt's house alone. Especially on the weekend. They were both uncharacteristically silent, kicking a rock back and forth as they walked. 

That’s when the question slipped out. 

“Am I doing enough?” Soda doesn’t know what makes him say it. It probably has something to do with the fact that ever since his parents death, he'd been constantly wired up with exhaustion and fear that at any moment his family will be ripped apart. Ace turns to look at him with a confused look that might be amused if it wasn’t so sad. 

“Whatchu mean Soda? You know us greasers do everything we can to get by and you’re no exception.” She spoke with such sureness that marveled him. 

Soda was never the kind of person to feel inadequate. He usually walked with a certain ease and confidence that was hard for anyone else to match. He just wasn't in the habit of looking nervous or beaten down. But he was in the habit of spilling his guts to Ace. 

“It’s just… is there more I can be doing? I just feel like I’m not doing enough.” Ace gave him another pointed look, wringing her hands together. 

“Soda… there’s always more us greasers can be doing. Even the things we do end up doing will never be enough. It’s not enough for the socs, it’s not enough for the teachers or adults, most days, it’s not even enough for us.” She lets out a short laugh, Ace knows the score, more than anyone Soda’s ever met. “But we make do, we try to enjoy our lives. And no matter what, we’ll always have each other and that’s enough for me.” Soda can’t help thinking that if he’d brought this up with anyone else, it would be different. 

Darry would end up giving him a to-do list of things he could be doing. Ponyboy would fill him with meaningless consolations, not really knowing what he means. Steve would laugh it off, assuming it was a joke, filling the next moments with empty talk. 

But Ace… Ace was different because she got it. She had always gotten it. More than anyone he’d known. She always knew what to say. How to set him straight when his head was foggy and he couldn’t see five inches in front of him. 

Ace was the one that helped him with school when he was failing every class. Ace was the one that had kept him from going crazy after his parents died. Ace was the one that had pulled him off guys in rumbles when he was really hurting them and made sure he got home on time and kept him entertained during long shifts that would be sure to leave him trapped in his head. 

While Ace didn’t always fix the problem, she would always throw him a life preserver when he was drowning in a storming ocean. 

And for that, he would forever be grateful.

[hawkinsmethlab]

Dustin is quiet on the ride to his house.

Unusual, but nothing unheard of, especially when he’s thinking hard about something. From what Steve had been able to pick up before he’d dropped off Mike and Lucas, there’s a lot going on in the Dumpsters and Dangers department.

Steve is half-tempted to ask him about it, even though he won’t understand a single word, just to see Dustin get excited about something. Not that he’d ever admit it to the kid’s face, but he’s missed him a bit. Ever since he started up Hellfire it’s been “Eddie this” and “Eddie that.” Give him a break.

But, it’s a bad listening day, and Steve’s really just trying to hear the commercial on the radio over the sharp ringing in his right ear. It’s one that plays a million times a day and he knows it by heart at this point, but that kind of makes it worse. Just means he knows when he’s missing a word or a sound effect.

But it’s fine. He’s handling it. The constant ringing used to make him feel like he was going insane, especially on bad days like this where it’s like a physical presence in his head that leaves him feeling lopsided, like the Upside Down itself is pulling on him. Coming and going in piercing waves that block out any other noise, no matter how loud or how close.

Robin thinks it’s a problem.

“I’m dealing with it,” he’d told her, both of them on her bed with her history textbook in his lap. She had a test on Monday and sure, Steve wasn’t the best student, but he’d helped Nancy study a million times.

“Sure,” Robin said. “Except that you aren’t. You’re avoiding it, and those are two very different things. Do I need to pull out my dictionary and beat you over the head with it?”

“Which one, you have like, seven in here.”

“Maybe we can try them all just to see what sticks.” Then, she’d folded herself over the edge of her bed to rummage around in her bag. “But also, I was just thinking, maybe we could give this a try?”

She handed him a folded up piece of paper, biting her lip. Steve took it, skeptical, and unfolded it to see a poster for the Bloomington community center that read American Sign Language Lessons.

At Steve’s extended silence of like, a second, she continued, “I thought we could do it together. For fun. Really up our trash talk game.”

Steve had just stared at it, dread settling low in his stomach like a sack of rocks. He dropped the poster on the bed. “Thanks, but neither of us are deaf. We don’t need it.”

She’d sighed. “Steve--”

“‘In which battle was Napoleon defeated?’”

“Waterloo, easy, but listen to me. ASL isn’t just for deaf people. Besides, you don’t have to wait until you can’t hear anything at all to start learning. I mean, you could, that’s the whole point of the language, but I don’t think you would handle it very well.”

“Rude.”

“I’m just saying.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe we could even get some of the kids into it. I bet Dustin would--”

“No, Robin.” It came out a bit more harsh than he’d meant it, a little scared and he hated that. He crossed his arms just in case his hands decided to start shaking. “Just. Can we drop it?”

Robin, being Robin and he loved her for it but Jesus, leaned forward on her elbows. Steve raised his legs a little to hide the textbook. He wouldn’t put it past her to use this as some kind of con to cheat. Not that she needed to, she’s a genius.

“Steve,” she said, “you can’t just not tell them forever. Eventually, one of them is going to figure it out, and I don’t know about you, but I’d rather tell somebody something like that on my own terms.”

“I’m not not telling them,” he insisted. “It just hasn’t come up.”

“In five months? Or no, you said Billy is when it got really bad and that was a year ago. There hasn’t been a single moment in all that time where someone hasn’t noticed something different?”

Sure they had. A few different times. But, he’d always been kind of air headed and spacey, even before his concussions so it was easy enough for them to just brush it off as Steve being Steve. “I thought I was here to help you study.”

Robin looked at him like he was one of her crossword puzzles. “I’m just trying to understand why you told me and no one else. That’s all.”

“That’s...different.”

What did she want him to say? That to tell her had been one of the scariest moments of his life, had made him miss the demodog-infested tunnels, had made him feel like he needed a bat in his hands? That saying it, any of it, out loud had left him feeling like he needed to hurl? That the thought of telling anyone else who wasn’t her, as wild as that was for someone he’d met six and a half months ago, left him on the edge of a fucking panic attack?

Yeah, sure, he’d get right on that.

Robin stared at him a little longer before she leaned back, the fight gone. “Fine.” She reached over and grabbed the poster, folded it back up and put it back in her bag. “Just promise me you’ll give it some thought? Even just a little?”

“Scout’s honor.” He held up his hand.

“You were never a scout. And that’s the wrong hand.”

“I went to summer camp that one time!”

“That’s not the boy scouts, Steve!”

It’s been three days since then, and as much as he would like to forget about the whole thing, he’s been kind of agonizing over it. Over what Robin had said, about them figuring it out on their own. Would that be better? Worse?

Either option leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Makes him want to dig Billy up from his grave just to put him back in it. Him and those fucking Russians.

There’s a slap on his arm. “Steve!” Dustin’s glaring at him. “Jesus, finally. You just passed my house.”

Oh. Whoops. “My bad.” He pulls into a random driveway to turn around. “Don’t have to shout, man, car’s only so big.”

“I said your name like six times.”

Steve sighs and wishes for about the millionth time that his tinny-whatever-Owens-had-called-it had a dial so he could turn it down. Or off, really, that’d be great. “Sorry, I guess I’m a little distracted. Some--work thing that Keith’s on my ass about.”

He pulls up in front of Dustin’s house and debates getting out. On any other day he’d be happy to walk him to the door and talk to Mrs. Henderson, but that usually leads to her inviting (or ordering) him to stay for dinner, and while his stomach is more than on board for whatever she’s whipped up, his head has the louder argument.

“Alright, man,” he says and cuts off the radio. “I’ll see you later.”

Dustin doesn’t move. He’s got his backpack on his lap and a loose grip on the door handle, but that’s it. He almost looks...nervous?

He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Dustin nervous before.

“What’s up?” Steve asks. “Your mom pissed at you or something?”

Dustin scoffs. “Please, I’m an angel.”

“Only in her eyes. Come on, what’s bugging you? Something one of the guys said? A kid at school? Some sort of mathematical nerd thing that’s got you stumped?” He gasps. “It’s not Suzie, is it, I swear to god--”

Dustin looks almost scandalized at that. “No. What? No. Nothing like that. I’m just--” He’s suddenly back to nervous. He starts picking at the zipper on his backpack, takes his hand off the door. “I’m just not sure how to--”

After a few more seconds of stuttering silence, Steve rolls his eyes. “Dustin, just spit it out. Whatever it is, you can talk to me. I mean, I can’t promise how helpful talking to me will be, with all the stuff you guys get up to but hey, I can at least try, right?”

Dustin sighs and turns in his seat to face Steve more fully. He seems to steel himself before saying, “Okay. I just want to say, before we move forward, that I’m not mad.”

Oh. Not exactly what he was expecting. “...Okay? I’m not either.”

“And I still think you’re cool or whatever, and we’ll still be friends no matter what.”

Steve nods, completely lost. “Right.”

“Because society can say whatever the fuck it wants!” Dustin is yelling suddenly. “And they can go on and on about the bible and whatever the hell Reagan is talking about, but you’re my friend, dammit! You’re my friend!”

“Whoa, Dustin!” Steve raises his hands, both to calm him down and maybe to protect himself a little. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Dustin takes a deep breath. “I’m talking about how you’re--” He looks around, as if they weren’t alone in the car, then whispers, “About how you’re gay.”

Steve blinks, slowly. There was no way he heard that right. Right? “You think I’m what?”

“I know,” Dustin says. He puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder in what he assumes is supposed to be comforting. “I know that you’re gay and I just want to tell you that it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Steve leans back and stares at him. Dustin leans with him, keeping his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m not gay.”

“You don’t have to hide from me anymore,” he says. “I love you, you’re my friend, one of my best friends, and nothing is gonna change that.”

“Well, that’s great and I appreciate it, but I’m still not gay.”

“Yes.” Dustin nods solemnly. “You are.”

Steve laughs. A short one, like a gunshot, and pinches the bridge of his nose. When Robin had told him about people drawing their own conclusions, she probably hadn’t imagined something like this. God, he can’t ever tell her about this. “Oh my god. Okay. What, uh, what gave me away?”

“Well, really, you shouldn’t feel too bad. I don’t think anyone else has noticed.”

“Hmm.”

“But you’ve just been kind of out of it lately. Distracted more, like right now, driving me home, or when we watch movies. Don’t think I didn’t see you staring at Harrison Ford. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars, dude.”

“Now hold on, that’s not--”

“And then, back at Thanksgiving, when my mom was telling you that story about me and Suzie and you just looked so uncomfortable--”

Because Steve hadn’t had a single clue what she was talking about.

“--plus, I’ve seen the way you look at Eddie so--”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.” Steve scoffs. “How I look at Munson? The Freak.”

“Well, yeah, it’s like you’re being tortured or something.” He shrugs. “It’s kind of romantic, honestly.”

Jesus Christ. “Okay. Wow.” This is worse than every Upside Down encounter combined. “Dustin, I will repeat: I am not gay. There’s an explanation for all of those things, but it doesn’t involve my sexuality in any way. Got it?”

Dustin raises an eyebrow, totally not believing him. Finally, he leans back. Crosses his arms. “Alright then, I’m listening.”

Whenever he did let himself picture how telling one of the kids would go, this hadn’t been what he’d imagined. But really, this has already gone so terribly, so how could it possibly get worse?

(Dustin could look at him like he’s broken, like he doesn’t recognize him, could tell him that he doesn’t trust Steve to watch his back, could start treating him differently or avoiding him, he’s already hanging out with Munson more, why not just abandon him altogether--)

“Alright.” He runs a hand through his hair before settling it on the bottom of the wheel, gripping it so tight his knuckles go sheet white. “So. Yeah, I’ve been distracted and not...listening as well.”

“Because you’ve been thinking about--”

“Nope!” Steve closes his eyes. Deep breaths and quick prayer to not kill a child. “It’s because I literally can’t listen as well as I used to. I--I have hearing loss.”

His second time saying it out loud to another person and it’s met with a similar kind of gut-turning silence. Steve watches Dustin’s face go through several rapid changes before settling on something confused, his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows low.

“Oh.”

Then he looks mad.

“You have what? Dude!” He starts slapping Steve across his arm. “Since when?”

“Since--Jesus, man, stop! Since the mall fire, okay?”

Dustin freezes and Steve does too, the guilt like ice in his chest. He looks at Dustin and knows he’s thinking about the elevator and the bunker and the sizzling of human flesh under a fucked up cattle prod. It had been a tough summer for all of them, but Steve won’t ever be able to forget how Dustin had sat next to him in his car, just like this, trembling when he told Steve about how he was having nightmares. About how he thinks he might have killed that guy, and what did that make him?

A hero, Steve had told him. You saved our lives.

“If I hadn’t--” Dustin starts.

“Cutting you off there, Henderson. This,” Steve waves a hand around his face, “is not your problem. Okay? It has nothing to do with you.”

Dustin looks so small then, so lost, and Steve feels his heart twist. He reaches over and ruffles his hair. “It’ll be okay. I can still hear out of my right ear, so I’ve got that going for me.”

Dustin frowns. “Does anyone else know?”

“Only you and Robin. I just...haven’t found the right time.”

“The right time being when? It’s been months. If we’d known, we could have helped you.”

Just like with Robin, he doesn’t have a good answer. Doesn’t really have any answer, and doesn’t know when he will. “I’ll get around to it. Sometime. But,” he locks eyes with Dustin, “you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone until I’m ready.”

“Steve--”

“Promise me, Dustin.” He stares him down. “I’m dead serious.”

Dustin sighs, but nods. “Alright.”

“On your mom’s life?”

Dustin recoils. “Dude, you’re bringing my mom into this?” Then, “Alright, fine, I swear on my mother’s life. Cross my heart and hope to die and all that shit, I won’t tell a soul.”

“Thanks.” Steve claps him on the shoulder. “Now get out.”

“Does Robin know you’re gay?”

“What?” Robin can never know about this conversation. “Dude, no, I’m not gay!”

“So you are dating Robin.”

“I’m not dating anyone! Definitely not Robin, and I don’t have any kind of crush on Munson or anyone else!”

“But I swear, the way you look at him--”

“I hate his guts, now get out or I’ll hold your hat hostage.”

With a proper amount of grumbling, Dustin manhandles his backpack and steps out. He goes to shut the door, but pauses. “You know, you saved my life too. I’ve got your back no matter what. Okay?”

His eyes sting, so he itches his nose. Clears his throat to make sure it won’t crack when he says, “Yeah, Dustin, I know. You too.”

The next second he’s gone and Steve, alone in his car, is left to think that maybe...ASL lessons might not be so bad.

[steddieasitgoes]

@steddiemas Day 11 Prompt: Pop/Alt Holiday Songs

Tags: Alcohol Consumption, Established Relationship, Santa Con, Karaoke, Steve Harrington Is A Tease

wc: 1596 | Rating: T

Read on ao3 | ao3 collection

Eddie’s had his fair share of wild nights bar hopping in Seattle. Sometimes with Steve, sometimes with the Corroded Coffin boys, sometimes alone desperate to break out of the deep-seated loneness that overtakes him every few years. 

But he’s never experienced anything quite like this. 

After a night of endless hopping, they find themselves at a karaoke bar in the heart of Downtown Boston packed with college students and young adults all dressed in their best Santa suits like them. Miraculously, they find an empty booth in the corner and stake their claim. 

Robin and Nancy collapse into each other, shedding their red coats over the worn edge as they do so. Jonathan and Argyle aren’t far behind, though Argyle stays fully in costume. (“I really think I should grow a beard, my dude,” he slurs for the hundredth time of the night as he shuffles across the cracking vinyl.) Steve goes next, sliding in next to Robin and then Eddie follows, nearly missing the seat entirely as the opening chords of Wham’s “Last Christmas” rips through the small bar from the stage across the room. A pair of best friends laugh their way through the opening words, absolutely massacring the song. 

“Oh god,” Steve groans. “They’re disrespecting Wham!” 

“That’s the point!” Robin giggles, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. “No one is supposed to sing good at karaoke! S’why we’re all here!” 

“We are not singing karaoke!” 

“You better turn that Grinch face of yours around because we absolutely are! Nance and I signed us all up weeks ago.” 

“You devious lesbians,” Eddie laughs before leaning around Steve to place a slobbery kiss on Robin’s head. “I owe you so much for this one.” 

“Buy us drinks and we’ll call it even!” 

It’s a fair deal as far as Eddie’s concerned so he quickly gets himself back on his feet and wades through the hoards of Santas until he gets to the bar. It’s just like any other dive bar he’s been in. Sticky countertops, shelves, and shelves of liquor, charming but overworked bartenders working and flirting their asses off for tips. He knows exactly what it’s like bartending and he doesn’t miss it. 

Though maybe he would have had more fun if the places he worked had events like this. At least he’d have people to make fun of beyond the sad drunks that became his regulars. 

Eddie returns five minutes later with a tray of mixed drinks and shots. If he’s being totally straight with himself, he’s not sure what he ordered. They look pretty though and judging by the puckered face on Robin and Jonathan’s faces, they must be mixed well. Lightweights the both of them. 

Needing the least bit of persuading, Eddie takes the stage first, serenading the crowd in a rock and roll rendition of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” that goes off the rails given he sings it at double the speed. Argyle drags Jonathan up next, the two stumbling their way through “Feliz Navidad” — Argyle carries the Spanish sections while Jonathan squints at the teleprompter during the English bits. It’s a hilarious disaster that has the entire bar cheering them on. 

Nancy and Robin’s rendition of “Last Christmas” gets everyone going and suddenly a complimentary round of drinks ends up on their table as they belt out the final line. A few groups of strangers take the stage next. They’re decent but nowhere as entertaining as any of them. They’re only half watching at this point, too engrossed with their own conversations and carry-over argument over who the best-dressed Santa of the bunch is. 

(“Obviously s’not Eddie,” Nancy giggles. 

“You wound me, Wheeler,” Eddie gasps, clutching a hand over his jet-black fur coat. “Gothic Santa would have killed it in Seattle. You Bostonians don’t understand culture.”)

Another round of drinks materializes on their table and then they’re back in the karaoke rotation again. By the time Steve’s name is being called by the poor bar employee tasked with keeping things running smoothly, he’s the perfect amount of drunk that he doesn’t protest Eddie’s careful tugging. He doesn’t go willingly, but he’s sporting that crooked smile of his that tells Eddie he’s not exactly mad about the events transpiring in front of him. 

“See sweetheart,” Eddie croons, leaning into his space as he passes him the mic. “Just needed a little liquid courage. Now show the world how great of a singer you are.” 

“S’gonna be a disaster.” 

“Oh, definitely,” Eddie smiles, pecking his cheek. “But that’s the point!” 

Eddie doesn’t give Steve time to reach out and instead retreats to the booth. He slides in next to a giddy Robin as they both wait with bated breath for Steve to choose a song. A minute or two of silence passes before Steve looks up from the machine. The old stage lights cast a beautiful shadow over him. Eyes sparkling in the harsh fluorescents. Usually, Steve would be complaining about the godawful lights, but right now he’s winking at Eddie and practically skipping to the center of the stage. 

Another moment of silence passes before the bright cheery guitar of Britney Spears’s My Only Wish (This Year) floods the place. Steve starts rocking his hips to the beat, hand gripping the microphone tight enough that Eddie can see his knuckles turning white. The nerves evaporate from his body the minute he starts singing, though. If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d think Steve has been possessed by the spirit of the Princess of Pop. 

“I signed my letter that I sealed with a kiss,” Steve sings, throwing a hand over his lips before blowing a sloppy kiss in Eddie’s direction. And then he’s moving again, skipping around the stage as his Santa coat glides around behind him. 

By the time the second verse hits, Steve’s shimming out of the coat, putting on a show for the group of girls sitting at the front tables. Eddie wants to scream. Wants to stalk over to the girls and tell them to back the fuck up, but he’s held steady in his seat by Jonathan’s comforting hand and Steve’s unwavering gaze as he locks eyes with him across the hoards of people. 

“I want my baby, baby,” Steve scream sings, already losing the beat as his hips continue to sway. 

“Someone to love me, someone to hold!” Eddie shouts along with him as the rest of the table eggs him on. 

It’s chaos after that. Steve throws his Santa hat into the crowd, Robin’s on the table filming the entire thing on her ancient iPhone. “That’s your man, Munson,” Nancy wheezes, nudging Eddie’s ribs every time Steve turns to shake his ass for the excited crowd. 

Eddie’s absolutely captivated by the performance. When he first met Steve years ago he was uptight and reserved. It didn’t matter how much effort Eddie put into his conversations, it was like trying to pry open a bank vault. But when he finally cracked the code, Steve sparkled in a way Eddie couldn’t even dream about. 

Steve’s better now, more open with himself and who is he. Fully embraces the fun that life has to offer, but Eddie can tell there are moments when he retreats to that small boy who never got the attention he deserved. It’s what makes moments like this so much more amazing. Seeing Steve shine and live his best life, free from judgment is the best gift Eddie’s ever received. And he’s not about to miss a damn minute of it. 

When the bridge drops, Steve prances around the stage like one of Santa’s reindeer. He’s sporting a reindeer headband that someone threw up there and there are a handful of dollar bills crumpled up on the edge of the stage. Somehow it’s gone from a karaoke show to some erotic dance number as Steve shimmies around and tries to keep up with the words. 

Eddie’s never been more in love in his entire life. 

“Santa, that’s my only wish this year,” Steve sings the final line, holding out the note like he’s the Princess of Pop herself instead of some high school teacher. 

A standing ovation follows, but Eddie doesn’t have time to bask in the affection being thrown at his boyfriend because he’s moving through the crowd faster than he’s ever moved in his life. When he gets to the end of the stage, Steve practically dives into his arms. He wraps himself around Eddie, legs around his waist, arms around his neck and smiles that perfect, beautiful smile of his. His cheeks are flushed pink from the performance and the amount of liquor coursing through his veins and his eyes are big and bright. 

“What’d think? S’Santa gonna grant my wish?” Steve asks. 

“Sweetheart,” Eddie coos, ducking his head to get his lips on Steve’s. “You know I’ll be waiting for you under the tree in a big red bow.” 

[cainache]

ballad of a badman ♱ steve harrington (reader is called ace!)

You don't even have it in you to turn on the stereo to fill the time.

You sit and suffer in the silence of your car. It smells like cherries and cigarettes, never your cigarettes. You don’t smoke. Bad for you. He doesn’t care, especially when you tell him how bad it is. He’s here for a fun time, not a long time.

You eyes watch her wildly as she races across the student lot, a single hand tight around her bag strap. She yanks the passenger door open to her mother's car meaner than the town’s meanest storms.

She disappears in a flash, like she hadn’t even been there in the first place.

She hadn’t been an alive thought in your guys minds during the summer, and as the last few weeks hit—she was everywhere. All consuming. It made you want to wail. She was killing you without even touching you.

You sink into the driver seat more, chin touching your chest as you frown. The neckline of your light grey tank top tickles your chin, and suddenly the jean jacket you wear feels too small. Even your jeans feel ugly against your soft skin, too tight and itchy. You could cry.

Guilt is the ugliest thing you've eaten since you were a kid.

Your passenger door is pulled open. You don't look to see who it is. It's obvious. It always is.

That’s why the door is unlocked.

“Hey,” he says as he slides into the passenger seat. His voice is cooled and calm. Always is. He talks with such a carefulness around you it makes you want to yank on his hair and ask him to yell at your for once.

“Hi, Steve.” You say it even softer than his voice could ever go. You’re quiet. He hums and his hands disappears under your hair and cups the back of your neck. He squeezes gently. Like he always does.

He leans over the middle of your car, his lips pressing an all too soft kiss to your temple. As he pulls always his lips brush the edge of your eyebrow. You want to cry and grin like the Cheshire Cat.

He’s so sick. This boy. This teenage god.

You haven’t looked at him, he notices.

He pulls on your glove department, his pack of cigarettes hide in there. He pulls a cigarette from the box and lights it. “You alright?”

You cut right to the point, before you get the chance to light your car on fire with his lighter. “What’s the matter with Nancy?” Steve stiffens automatically at your question. God, he’s so mean.

“Why you askin’? She say something to you? You know you were here first.” The words use to bring you comfort, now they just make you sad.

You finally look over at him. He’s never seen this look on your face before. Like you’ve killed someone and they’ve killed you just the same. “Steve, what are we doing? This is so mean.”

He stares, smoke lingering around his face. You can smell it, it’s so bad.

He doesn’t get why this is bothering you now, it’s been months. It’s been months. And it has been bothering you for months, but you’re always so scared to say anything to him—ever.

You wished he’d open up a damn window.

He doesn’t say anything. You’re not sure he has anything to say. Or maybe he’s trying to think of something to calm you down. To reassure you everything is good, like he always does.

But nothing is ever good when a boy strings along two girls.

“It was just a fight. She doesn’t know anything.” That doesn’t make you feel better and quite frankly, you know he’s lying.

You look away from him, your shoulders cave into yourself even more. “Why’d you have to fall in love with her? Wasn’t what we were doing just enough for you? Steve, nothing ever seems enough for you..”

He almost crushes the cigarette between his teeth. He finally opens the fucking door and flicks it out, stomping it out with his all too white shoes. He looks back at you, leg still out the open door. “You’re serious, right now?”

You eyes glaze over and your head stings. You look over at him, lips parted. His attitude isn’t a shock. “You can’t blame me, Steve. This is awful. It isn’t fair, to anyone, but you.”

His jaw clenches and you can’t remember the last time you two got into a fight. It must’ve been in freshman year. He’s your best friend, you guys don’t fight. Maybe you would more if you spoke your mind when you wanted.

“She’s a junior. We’re seniors. She’ll be an afterthought, soon.” Oh, my god…

You glare at him now. “Is that suppose to make things better? Steve, she likes you.”

His grip is tight on the door. His eyes look lost for the first time in awhile. “You like me.” It’s all he says.

You can’t say anything. You don’t know what to say. Your lips part but nothing comes out so they close and you don’t realize it but tears slip down your cheekbones. He watches them.

“You liking me, is enough. It’s more than enough.” He leans back towards you, his thumb dragging too roughly against your skin as he rids you of tears. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Ace.” He squeezes your chin, a little too roughly. The nickname makes your throat close up. He’s been calling you that forever.

He’s gone and you don’t even know what the point of anything was.

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

destiel!steddie brainrot pt. 2

Here's the second part to this destiel/spn themed au (first part here, which has updated and made a bit longer!!)~!

i'm brainstorming titles for this, may keep going with little snippets from this universe as they come to me and post them to ao3 too :)

tw/cw: mentions of suicide and suicidal ideations below; nothing described/graphic, but mentions of characters wanting to/who have died by completing suicide (has to do with this part's monster of the week and Real Steve's story from the first part!). and said monster of the week originally died by overdose; again, not said directly, just alluded to. please read with caution!

Do two different cases of vengeful spirits make him lucky? Or unlucky?

First it was the damn ‘witnesses’ that Steve told him were part of the demons’ (yes, those demons, but from what he gathered from Steve, were different on the whole from crossroads demons) plan to release Lucifer.

“Ah, Lucifer. Of course.”

“Why do you sound unbelieving?”

“Oh I believe you, I’m just surprised that I’m not surprised by it. Because of course, angels, demons, hell, Lucifer is a given. He’s like THE angel, right?”

“He was the first of my father’s children and the first to fall from heaven if that is what you mean.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m getting at.” Eddie goes to pull his hand through his hair, which gets stuck on his rings and on his hand in general because somehow he forgot that he’d put it up about five minutes earlier.

Now, after dealing with those motherfucking ghosts, helping Wayne put together a pyre for one of his good hunter friends who was killed by her own ‘witness’, they got word of a long string of suicides at a high school in a small Indiana town that had the kids’ parents convinced it was some sort of pact.

“Y’know, I grew up here.” Wayne says as they pass the ‘Now Entering Hawkins’ sign.

“Really?”

“Yep. Good ol’ Hawkins, Indiana. Surprised we haven’t been through here yet, there was always weird shit happening here when I was a kid.”

It’s late morning when Eddie’s van rumbles to a stop outside the motel.

“Boy, we really need to get you a new set of wheels if you’re gonna keep pretending to be a professional at anything.”

“What’s wrong with my baby??”

“Ed, you’re about to put on a suit and pretend to be a professional that works with children, and you’re gonna pull up in an late 70s panel van. What do you think is wrong with your baby?”

“...okay, you’ve got a point. You gotta new set of wheels for me at that junkyard of yours then, old man? I’m not exactly flush with cash.”

Wayne thinks for a moment. “I think I might, got it from a hunting buddy of mine after his brother died.”

Eddie just nods, “Whatever you say, Wayne, now c’mon lets get changed and get to the school.”

This time, they’re pretending to be mental health counselors sent to work with the families of the students who’ve passed. The two of them get through a few interviews each, but it’s one of the students’ little sister that has the first inkling of what they are really dealing with. ‘Best thing about young minds,’ Eddie will tell Wayne later, ‘they are sensitive to, and open to, way more than adults are.’

He and Wayne are in this one together, last one of the siblings at the school, and the snarky redhead calls out her mom’s practiced answer of ‘I never saw anything wrong’, calling her out for never being around and putting the pressure of being the parent to her.

Eddie looks at the young girl, then back to her mother. “Ms. Mayfield, may I have a word with Max here, alone?”

She looks unsure, so he continues “We’ll be right here, you can be on just the other side of the door and watch us the whole time, I promise.”

Ms. Mayfield nods her head shakily, and stands, Wayne accompanies her out, to give her some semblance of security.

“So, Max, Max right?” She just eyeballs him incredulously. “I’m going to just start talking, and you stop me if I’m way off base, ‘kay?” She looks away, but doesn’t say anything to the contrary. 

“I think you know the pattern already, that you know this isn’t just some stupid pact, huh? I think you know who may be a target next; that if this thing, this whatever it is, can wheedle its way under your brother’s skin, that it may get to your…” He looks her over “...friends next. Right? Obviously no one in particular, just your friends, huh?” Her head whips back to him and he leans back in the seat he was given, knowing he’s got her pegged. She’s worried about a crush or a boyfriend, or something. He can tell.

The look she has tells him she’s already putting seemingly impossible pieces together on what he and Wayne are doing here.

“Whatever it is, it’s a bully. It’s going after whoever it thinks it can sink its claws in. Like it’s finding those with the biggest insecurities and driving them to their deaths.”

“You’re very astute, you know that, don't you.”

“Duh.”

“What do you think it is then, Red?”

“My friends have been calling it Vecna.”

Eddie’s brain stalls. “H-how do you know that name?”

“Ah, so you’re a nerd too, huh?”

“Your friends play D&D.” Eddie breathes; Max just smirks at him, but her face falls just as quickly and that just won’t do. “Hey, don’t worry Red, my uncle and I got this covered. We’ll get this bastard taken care of.” And he means every word. Not one shred of this motherfucker is going to lay a finger on this girl’s friends as long as he has anything to do with it.

She looks down at her feet, “Please hurry,” she mumbles “I can’t lose them too.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but she’s up off the little couch lightning fast and heading to the door. He shoots up to follow, “Thank you Ms. Mayfield,” He says when he exits. “She will be just fine. She’s just worried about her friends too.”

“Thank you.” She says, still a bit out of it as her eyes follow Max down the hall.

“Just make sure she knows you’re there for her, and get some more permanent help for the two of you, real help, not just us temp guys.” Wayne smiles at her.

All she does is nod, then moves to follow her daughter.

“What’dja find out, Ed?”

“Super-powered, cartoonishly evil, bully of a ghost named after a D&D villain?”

—-

He and Wayne split up after that, Wayne goes back to the motel to whip up some extra salt rounds for them, and Eddie heads to the Hawkins Library to do some research on deaths in the area.

After some searching, he comes across Jason Carver. Seemingly the small town’s golden boy tragically killed by an overdose. He seems to match the fleeting glimpses that all the witnesses to the students’ deaths were able to give. Cropped blond hair, 6’2” or so, a flash of green that seemed like it could be a Hawkins High varsity jacket.

The dealer that gave him the drugs was found guilty of manslaughter and he got 10 years and a permanent shun from the town. He, Fred, still lived in Hawkins though, in the Forest Hills trailer park.

Eddie calls Wayne at the hotel, “Whatcha find out, Ed?”

“Looks like a good contender for a high school bully ghost, does the name Jason Carver mean anything to you?”

Wayne scoffs, “Sure does, that kid was horrible to me and my buddies back in the day.”

“Not a golden boy?”

“Didn’t say all that. I think I know who we can talk to.” Eddie can hear him shuffling around and the jingle of keys.

“Is it a man named Fred Jameson, lives out at F–”

“Forest Hills, yeah. Be there soon for ya.”

“How’d you– aand he’s gone.” he says into his receiver to only silence.

—

“Of course I knew where you were talking about Eddie, I grew up in this park, Fred was one of my best buds back in the day.”

Wayne pulls into Fred’s drive, behind a well-loved red pickup. The rattle of Eddie’s van must’ve alerted Fred to their arrival, because he met them outside before they could even get all the way out of their seats.

“I thought I recognized that rattle, still haven’t hocked that hunk of junk yet, eh Munson?” Fred folds Wayne into a hug, giving him a couple of pats on the back for good measure.

“Hey, that’s my baby you’re talking about.” Eddie grumbles.

“Damn, that you, Teddy?”

“Teddy? Who in the hell–”

“Yeah, he really looks like Margie, huh?” Wayne crinkles a smile at Eddie’s disgust at Fred's nickname.

“You knew my mom?”

“Of course boy, I knew you both back when you were just a little bean. There were a good few months there, after you were born, that Margie and you were living with Wayne.”

Eddie doesn’t really know what to say to that, but luckily Wayne gets right to it.

“Fred, I hate to do this to ya, but we’re here on business.”

The other man’s face falls sickly and pale in an instant.

“I shoulda known you’d be comin’ ‘round. What do you need to know?”

“It’s about Jason Carver.” Eddie winces at how much worse the man’s expression twists.

“C’mon D, you can’t’ve believed that suicide pact shit.”

“I never believed it. He’s been…” Fred pauses, seeming to look for the right words “He’s been haunting my dreams. Nightmares really, telling me all the things he did to those poor kids. Says it was my fault.”

Wayne and Eddie share a look. “D, it wasn’t yo-”

“Sure it was, Wayne. I should’a just stood up to him and said I ain't had shit.”

“You know what he would’a done to ya if you had.”

“Well now there’s six lives lost, not just one!” Fred snaps. “If I had just stuck with it, told him I couldn’t get it until Reefer Rick was back, I wouldn’t’ve gotten that bad shit, he would still be around, and so would those five other kids!”

“Fred–”

“I gotta get going, Wayne, y’all should too.” He cuts him off “Good t’see ya Teddy.” and with that, he turns and heads back inside his trailer.

The two Munsons are frozen in Fred’s driveway for a moment longer, before they turn back to their van. They drive in silence on their way back to the motel. It’s only when they’re parked in front of their room again that Eddie says something.

“Fred’s next.”

Wayne’s face sets itself further into its frown. “I think you’re right.”

—-

They go out to the graveyard as soon as night falls, finding Carver’s grave easy enough. They run a salt line around the site, and start digging together, but Wayne’s back has him dropping off only about two feet deep.

It’s just after Wayne settles himself onto the handle of his shovel to rest for a bit when they hear something crunching through the dark towards them.

Eddie hops up immediately, Wayne tossing him one of their shotguns. He skirts off between the taller granite and marble stones around him, getting closer to the intruder’s unskilled footsteps.

He peeks around the base of a way-too-large angel statue and whips up his gun. He’s face to face, shotgun to pistol, with a petite woman in a high ponytail.

This woman looks human enough, definitely not ghost-y, probably just wondering why she just caught a couple guys grave-robbing. Better safe than sorry, though, so Eddie tests her.

“Christo.” There’s no extreme reaction to the word, only confusion. “Who are you and what are you doing here?? It’s not safe!”

“I should ask you the same thing! Are you the one causing all these deaths?” her grip on her handgun does not waver.

“Jesus H. Christ, I don’t have time for this.” Eddie says under his breath, dropping his shotgun and walking back to the grave. “Hawkins High has a ghost in it. We’re trying to kill it before it can convince someone else to do it to themselves.” He hops back down into Jason’s grave and tosses his shotgun to the girl who’d followed behind him, gun still raised. Smart. Eddie thinks, then also notices she was able to cross their salt line easily. Human, then.

She catches it easily, blinks once, and says, “Fine, say I believe you. Now how in the hell do you kill a ghost, also how is a ghost causing these deaths?” she un-cocks her revolver and tucks it back in her waistband.

Eddie’s about to answer when the loose hairs around his face are blown into his mouth with an invisible flap of wings “Eddie, I need to speak with you.”

The girl goes pale at the sight of Steve.

“Steve?”

“Yes. Do I know you?” the angel cocks his head at the absolutely bewildered woman.

Eddie has to look between Steve’s confused face and the woman’s heartbroken one a couple times before it clicks.

“Are you kidding me!? You’ve just been using your vessel’s real name? That’s fucked up.” Eddie says around the last few hairs stuck in his mouth.

“It was as good a name as any.”

“Uhm hello? What is happening right now? You’ve been missing for months.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Eddie interrupts, “Eddie, Wayne, you apparently know Steve,” He gestures to the three of them. “Shoot anything that is not us, while I salt and burn this sucker.”

To Eddie's surprise, she steels herself with a roll of her tiny shoulders and cocks the shotgun in her hand, immediately turning her back to him and watching for that damn Jason.

“So, how does a shotgun protect against a ghost?”

“Our own creation, the buckshot is replaced with rocksalt.” Wayne explains, not turning from his vigil.

“Salt repels ghosts?”

“Amongst other things.” Eddie shovels up another pile of dirt. “Steve, my man, I know you needed to talk to me about something, but can you maybe help with this?” Eddie looks at the beautiful man through his bangs, sweaty despite the November chill.

“How would you like me to help, Eddie?” 

Eddie continues shoveling, “Well, there’s another shovel up there, otherwise do you maybe have some special grave-digging angel powers I don’t know about?”

“Angel powers, what are you–” the girl starts as Steve lifts his hand and snaps his fingers.

Eddie’s suddenly standing above a completely cleared out grave, un-sweaty, hair pulled back neatly again from the shambles his bun had been in when he’d started digging, shirt straightened, and his jacket back on. Both shovels are sticking out of the pile of soil nearby.

“Wow..” Eddie breathes.

“Damn, why didn’t you show up sooner? Could’ve saved myself the stress of watching Ed do all that work..” Wayne deadpans to the angel.

“Can it, old man, now help me lift the lid off this thing.” Eddie bites back at his uncle, and jumps back down into the grave. “Stevie, watch her back, make sure Jason doesn’t come barreling in.”

“Her back is fine, Eddie.”

“That’s not what I–you know what, thanks Steve, now watch the opposite side of the grave that she is and make sure Jason doesn’t sneak up on us. Stop him if he does.”

“Oh..” Steve’s voice is quiet at that; he’ll learn eventually.

Eddie helps Wayne climb down and they get to work prying up the coffin lid. 

It’s simple enough work after that, salt, fuel, torch, burn.

Except it never is when you want it to be.

As soon as the first grain of salt hits Jason’s crumbling body, there’s a wail from above them.

“Every time..” Wayne grumbles.

“Everything okay up there?” Eddie calls.

“Yes, we can see him, but he can’t cross the lin–oh shit.” the girl says.

Fuck, he should’ve known this’d happen. Jason has been torturing the poor sensitive souls at his old high school and has thrown things and people. He should’ve known he’d be strong enough to blow a crack through the salt ring.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Damn, why’d he think it’d be okay to leave a random girl that just happened to walk up and what is basically a baby in a yellow sweater to defend against something this strong??

Eddie scrabbles up the inside of the grave out of sheer will, and Wayne tosses one of their pry bars up to him.

“Keep shooting him to keep him back, we just need to stall him while Wayne makes sure he burns!”

Steve and the woman–damn, he really should’ve asked her name–nod at him, and Steve suddenly has some long silver stake looking thing in his hand. 

“Steve! Silver wont work on him, it has to be iron or salt!” Eddie tosses his crowbar to the angel, who catches it easily, turning back to take a swipe at Jason who’d come up from behind him. 

Eddie snatches up Wayne’s salt rifle and takes the third section of the circle, willing the fire to burn faster.

Their new party member seems to be holding her own. She’s found their spare cartridges and makes sure they’re in reach while she keeps aim at the poltergeist’s head.

He only comes at her once, and she fires. That keeps him away long enough for the body in the coffin below to burn enough, banishing him from the mortal plane for good.

Finally, Eddie can relax. They watch as Jason burns down to nothing. “Are you a hunter?” Eddie asks the woman.

“I’m assuming you’re not talking ‘hunter’ in the traditional sense?”

Eddie smirks at her, shakes his head, “You’d be correct.”

“Then no. I have been trying to figure out what’s been happening here for a little while now; I heard there were a couple guys running around asking weird questions so I followed you out here. And NOW I want to know what’s going on with not-Steve.” she directs to Eddie, then turns to said Steve. “Robin is going to be so pissed at you.”

Steve opens his mouth to respond but Eddie cuts in before he even thinks about it “His girlfriend?”

She scoffs, “As if; she’s his best friend.” She looks at Steve with sad eyes, “And Dustin too.”

“Dustin?” Steve cocks his head to the side again. This time it seems like there’s sadness behind his confused look.

“Okay, dinguses, sounds like thi’should be a conversation held over a good meal, not over a fried corpse.” Wayne cuts in. “Name’s Wayne Munson.” He holds out one dirty, time-gnarled hand to the girl.

She smiles and takes it readily, “Nancy Wheeler, sir.”

“None’a that now, Wayne is jus’ fine.”

“Stevie, would you be a dear and fill that back in for us?” Eddie sighs, feeling the adrenaline dropping out of his body, fast.

Steve nods once and snaps his fingers. The hole is refilled and the salt line is gone. The three of them are also cleaned up and straightened out.

“Thanks, Angel, now let's go get some burgers, gotta get our energy back.”

“I do not need to consume anything to replenish my energy.” Steve’s cocks his head.

“I know you don’t, big boy,” Eddie pats him on the shoulder, taking the spare shotgun from Nancy and heading back down to his van.

“I am not much bigger than you in this form, Eddie.” Steve deadpans, as usual, then actual curiosity colors his tone “Have you seen my true form?”

“Can’t say I have, are you much bigger than Steve?” Eddie can feel the double meanings closing in.

“My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler Building.”

Eddie trips over a divot in the soil. Definitely not over his own feet at that implication.

“Oh, definitely a big boy.” He manages to say, turning to smolder at Steve (What? It’s not like the angel knows the nuance of human facial expressions..) but catches Wayne’s disgusted face and Nancy’s fully amused one (hand over mouth to keep from laughing), over Steve’s adorable confused expression.

“Yes, that is what I am inferring. Eddie, are you alright? Your face is flushing.”

Nancy, the jerk that she is, bursts out laughing. 

“Shut it, Jerk!” 

“Don’t you call me a jerk, Bitch!” she calls back easily.

He grins. Damn, having her around is going to be fun.

—--

“Okay, lemme get this straight.” Eddie says around a mouthful of fries. “You used to date Steve, this Robin chick is his best friend–”

“Platonic soulmate, correct.”

“Right, that, and Dustin is his brother.”

“That’s the best description, yes.”

“So what did you think happened to Steve?”

Eddie sees Steve’s mouth open and claps his hand, that’s not full of burger, over the angel’s mouth, who looks at him with as much anger as he’s learned to express in these couple months on earth. It’s not much.

Nancy gives them a weird look, but starts speaking. “Robin just told me that he drove off one night, one of his bad nights. I don’t know the full extent of what makes a good or bad night, but Robin insists he had been getting better….

“There’s not much more after that, Robin knew where to start looking when he goes off on his own like that, and she found his BMW out at the quarry. Of course, she thought the worst, but they searched every inch of the bottom and no Steve. It was like he disappeared into thin air.”

Eddie nods sadly to himself, thinking as comforting of thoughts he could muster upwards to where Steve had said Real Steve had been brought. Damn, this religious shit being real is really throwing him for a loop. “Nancy, I—EW WHAT THE FUCK??!”

He whips his hand back from Steve’s mouth, now slick with spit. He looks at him incredulously, wiping his palm on his thigh, but his face falters at the absolute dopey look on the angel’s face. Stone-cold blank still, as usual, but his tongue is hanging out between his lips.

Fuck, he’s cute. Damn it! No! Bad Eddie! He’s dead! The real him!

“Where in the hell’d you learn that?”

“The angels have watched humans for a long time, one would pick up a couple things.” He shrugs. Like actually shrugs. “I thought this might get you to remove your hand.”

Eddie doesn’t have a response for that.

“Nancy, Steve was–”

“Wait! Hold on, Stevie, you don’t know this is something she wants to hear.” Eddie murmurs.

“She does; She said as much back at the graveyard. Do you not remember?” Steve retorts in a normal volume.

“Steve. These things are difficult for humans. They’re called emotions. At least ask her first.”

He nods once, still seeming to be confused. “Nancy, you want to know what happened to Steve, correct?” Eddie elbows him, and he feels like concrete against his arm. Steve looks at him confused again, but seems to get what he’s trying to get at. “It may be difficult to hear..?”

Eddie nods, and Steve turns back to Nancy. 

She just looks between the two, confused as all hell. “Uhm, yes?”

“Your Steve did not wish to be of this world any longer.”

Eddie throws his hands up in exasperation. Well, there goes being sensitive about it.

Nancy’s eyes are wide. “...Ah.”

“He offered his body as a vessel, and I brought him to my father’s kingdom of heaven.”

“Oh…Steve..”

“He is being well looked after, I promise. If he would like to return when my mission is complete here, he has the option, I swear it.”

Eddie thinks Nancy is going to be more upset at that, but she just smiles sadly, and nods. “I should call Robin.”

Eddie splutters, “No! No, bad idea Nance!” She’s out of the booth and at the door before he can even say her name. “Damnit, remind me to not sit against the wall next time.”

“Okay, Eddie.” Steve nods.

“Dude! Move! I gotta stop her! Or do you want to explain to this person too why you aren’t her best friend.” Eddie shoves against the shoulder closest to him.

Steve blinks at him once and is suddenly outside the booth, leaving Eddie to fall onto the bench where the angel had just been.

He scrambles up (finally) and heads to the door, only to meet Nancy there, already coming back in from calling this Robin character.

“She’ll be here in about three minutes. Tops.” She grins.

“Jerk.” Eddie grumbles and follows her back to their booth.

“Bitch.” she retorts happily.

He slumps back down into his spot in the booth, wracking his brain about what to tell her.

“Eddie, would you like me to go?”

He snaps his head up to the angel “Hell no! She’s coming here to see you, you gotta be here for that!”

Steve blinks once, then his eyes dart to the door.

“Don’t you even think about i–”

“I will return momentarily.” And with another soft brush of wind and feathers, he was gone.

“That absolute mother fu–”

“So, tell me about this hunting thing.” Nancy says, and tosses a fry into her mouth.

Notes:

Edancy sibling vibes?? Jerk?? Bitch??

Jason having Vecna powers = vengeful spirit in spn land

Wayne calls his friend "D" 'cause, y'know, Fred > Freddy > D

In my head, this is modern AU too so maybe Wayne and his friends dealt with upside-down stuff back in the day and maybe possibly Nancy and current day party have seen some shit too (that's why Nancy's basically unbothered about there being a ghost problem in Hawkins now, too)?

Bobin and Dustin (maybe more?) in the next part!

lastly, i haven't watched spn in what must be a decade now, so continuing on may not follow the show, but just the spn vibes.

Part 3 here! | NOW ON AO3

[lowaltitude]

You Know. | Steve Harrington

Know What?, as told from Steve’s POV.

- Stranger Things

- x Reader (Y/N)

- Know What? Reader’s POV

- 2,261 words. Read time: 5-9 minutes

❪ FEM! ❫

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

𖥻 Steve Harrington x FEM!reader, enemies to lovers? one shot. Billy included as a “love interest”

───── ❝ prologue - 1982 ❞ ─────

Sophomore year started with a BANG! That bang being; a basketball into my face. I’d walked into the gym excited for another year of basketball but unfortunately one of the freshman hadn’t practiced over the summer and, when shooting for a goal, ended up bouncing it off the backboard and slapping my face.

“Ouch.” Tommy laughed “You alright Harrington?“

“Fine” I muttered, rubbing my face and deciding I was done with the sport for the day. The locker room was empty, and I managed to get out of there and into the long hallway just in time for the bell to ring and students to file out of their classrooms.

I sighed, looking at the freshman struggling with her locker. She looked about ready to rip the door off it’s hinges and slam into into the ground. Do I offer to help, or do I go to class on time for once? That is the question…

“Do you need some help?” I asked, closing my locker.

The girl turned her head to look at me, and within those 2 and a half seconds, I felt like i’d gotten slapped in the face by emotions that make no sense. I’m not an emotional person, so the goosebumps on my arms and the knot developing in my stomach were a crazy feeling.

She paused for a second before putting her attention back on the lock. “No.”

“Are you sure? Because I can—”

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

“Jeez” I forced a laugh, nobody had ever been so insistent on rejecting my help. Hell. No girl had ever rejected me for any reason before. “What crawled up your ass?” Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, but she could have laughed— Taken it as friendly ribbing and accepted my help.

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

Oh. Did she just call me stupid? She doesn’t know anything about me. I was just trying to help her, I didn’t have to offer her a hand, I could have— should have just walked to my next class. “Well, aren’t we a bloody ray of sunshine.”

“Hey” Tommy greeted, running a hand through his hair. I smiled at my best friend, raising my hand for him to give me a high five and free me from the claws of the younger girl. Instead, Tommy ignored me and leaned on the lockers looking at her. “Ok, I’m here. So tell me, what do you want for your next wish?”

Was he hitting on her? He had a girlfriend. A serious relationship he’d been in since we were like 12 years old! The girl didn’t care, she instead let go of the lock and began to walk away from us. Muttering aloud “What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?”

“Freaks?” I mumbled “I’m not a freak”

“You look it with that mark on your face” Tommy laughed, gesturing to where the ball had hit me. I slapped his hand away from my face and we began ti walk to class together. “She was kinda cute.”

“She was rude.” I scoffed, dragging my feet down the hall.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

Sitting at the dinner table, my dad too busy writing and looking at business reports to even notice I was there and my mum already a few glasses deep in her bottle of wine meant it was practically silent. Apart from the occasional loud sip or utensils scraping on a plate.

I found my mind wander back to the girl at her locker, i’d met an assortment of girls today but she was the only that treated me like I was nothing. I gripped my fork tighter, knitting my eyebrows together.

What was her deal? Was I that easy to hate?

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

All eyes turned towards the unfamiliar car pulling into the parking lot, Hawkins was a small town— Big enough that you didn’t know every single person, but you could easily tell that whoever this was, they weren’t from Indiana.

The driver stepped out, black boot landing on the pavement and all the girls eyes were glued to him. He wasn’t even good looking from what I could see. I turned to Nancy, wondering if my girlfriend was interested in him.

Smiling to myself as I realised her attention was captured by something else and when she began to wave I followed her eye-line, the smile disappearing from my face as I spotted her. Y/N.

She grinned and waved back to Nancy. I’m convinced that ever since Nancy and I started dating last year that she was hellbent on breaking us up. It was never clear why she hated me but I had grown to hate her too.

The new blonde guy stopped, glancing around and not seeing anyone before he said something and walked closer to where Y/N was chaining her bike.

I frowned, ignoring whatever Nancy was saying because I was too busy trying to read their body language. He was relaxed, flirty even. But what about Y/N? I couldn’t see her at all past his large frame. Shutting my car door, I began towards the school with Nancy by my side.

I glanced at Y/N and the boy, he seemed to be enjoying their conversation but I didn’t have enough time to read her face.

“Steve?” Nancy’s voice broke me out of my haze and I turned to her quickly. “See you after class?”

“Uh, yeah. Of course” I smiled and gave her a kiss, leaving her at her locker before walking down to my own. I took my time, moving slowly to see how long it would take Y/N to get here. Wondering if that boy would come with her.

She walked up, no expression on her face and I raised an eyebrow. After rolling her eyes, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Problem, Harrington?”

I hummed, closing my locker and heading to class.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

I silently dug through my locker, Y/N doing the same, until Tommy made his way though the crowd and leaned against the lockers “What’s your costume?”

“Nance and I are Joel and Lana, from Risky Business” We’d worked way too hard and spent too much time on costumes that I don’t think anyone would recognise, but Mrs Wheeler was really excited to take photos of us tonight.

Tommy nodded and turned to look at Y/N “What about you?”

I gawked at my best friend, staring at the back of his head like I was trying to explode it with him mind.

“Excuse me?” Y/N seemed baffled by the question.

“Your costume. What is it?”

I scoffed “Trust me, not even make-up can make her look good” Something had been eating me up inside since i’d watched the new guy— Who’s name i’d since learnt was Billy, practically throwing himself at her.

Y/N simply hummed as she closed her locker. “Weird you think you need a costume, since you’re always pretending to be something you’re not”

Me? She’s the one who pretended to be so nice. Everyone always mentioned to me that she was so wonderful but she was a devious bitch to me. I opened my mouth to make my comeback and tell her where to shove her insults but she stuck out her tongue, put her bad on her shoulder and sauntered away.

I exhaled sharply. “Can you believe her?”

Tommy shrugged, greeting Carol as she came up to us. The pair got lost in their own world, looking like they were fighting to see who could eat the other first. I looked away in disgust, heading down the hall and out the doors.

I turned to pull my car keys from my pocket, intent on waiting for Nancy so I could give her a ride home but out of the corner of my eye I saw them. I stopped. staring at Y/N talking to Billy. He turned to look at me, eyeing me up and down before looking back at her, saying something that made her gag and start to walk away.

He jogged to catch up with her and I gripped my keys, how long were they going to talk? What was he asking her? I’d already heard he’d asked out multiple girls since he arrived.

“Y/N” I shouted, not really knowing why I wanted her to ignore him. She ave me a confused look as she peered past the blonde. “Come over here”

Billy and her parted ways, the smile on her face flattening and her knuckles tightening on the bike handles as she approached me “What?”

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

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

“He’s an asshole”

“And you’re what, better than him?”

All I could do was stand there and blink. I know we didn’t like each other but I was being nice and protecting my girlfriend’s friend. Y/N didn’t need to get hurt by him.

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

I slammed the bathroom door behind me. Bullshit. Why was Nancy acting like this, she knows we didn’t mean to do anything wrong. We didn’t kill Barb, that thing did. And I risked my life fighting it for her. It was all for her.

“Harrington?” Y/N called my name but I chose to ignore her. I walked down the porch steps and heard the door shut behind me again. “Harrington!”

I threw my arms into the air, turning to the girl “What? What?!”

“You never leave a party early, you’re King Steve.” She slowly walked down the steps, hugging herself and making me notice the chill in the wind. “I know youre a douche but I’m still concerned. So what’s wrong?”

I’m a douche? I bet she knew all along that Nancy didn’t care about me. Maybe she convinced Nancy to play along and rip my heart out.

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

“Know what?”

Taking a few steps closer, I stopped a few inches away from her. I could practically smell the infixing scent coming from her Shampoo but I pushed the feeling down because I needed— no. Deserved to be angry. “You know.”

“Jesus, I’m trying to help you but if you cant put this petty feud aside for 15 seconds then I’m going back inside” Y/N shoved my chest, turning around to go back inside but I wasn’t done. I had a fight to pick with her, she was allowed to hate me but convincing a girl to date me just to hurt me was low. I ran around to stop in front of her and block the steps on the porch.

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

“I— She doesn’t love you?”

…

She really didn’t know. Nancy made everyone believe she loved me. Y/N started to breath a little heavier, her expression slowly getting more enraged.

“You’re so good to her, too good to her.” Y/N scrunched her nose as she tried to put her thoughts to words “You fought a man eating monster from another dimension for her! How could she not love you?”

How could she not love you. The words she chose to emphasise told me a lot. It made me start to really think, Y/N said it like it was impossible for people not to love me but she never even tried liking me. I had tried liking her—

For gods sake, i’d even lied to people because I didn’t want them to know I was thinking about her. She was self centred, and rude, and just arrogant. She called me a stupid freak the first time I spoke to her meanwhile all I wanted to do was tell her I thought she was pretty.

Really pretty.

Beautiful even.

Before I could withdraw my mind from its far places, my arms were around her. Not daring to let her go— No even daring to let myself realize that I shouldn’t be doing this— I kissed her. She was stiff for a second but didn’t pull back, a million thoughts and fears rushing through my head in the 3 seconds before she kisses me back.

And I can’t even describe it.

My anxieties and complicated emotions disappear for a moment, a warmth coming from within me as I start to realise we never really hated each other. Or at least, I didn’t.

I could feel the rapid beat of her heart, taste the sweetness of the parties spiked punch still on her mouth. I wanted to wind my hands into her hair but I had to stop myself.

Nancy. This was Nancy’s friend and Nancy was right inside, probably too drunk to realise we might have just broken up.

Breaking away from her I tried to fix my staggered breathing, looking at her blushed face and not knowing what to say. I can’t blame it on the alcohol i’d barely had any.

Silently, I walk away from Y/N. Going down the front lawn and down the street as fast as I can get to my car without a second thought.

I fumble with my keys and as soon as I sit in the drivers seat; Smack my forehead on the steering wheel. Oh, you idiot!

Y/N never gave me a chance before and now she was definitely going to hate me even more.

[blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms]

Library- Eddie Munson

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Characters: Eddie Munson

Warnings: N/A

Request: @dangerouswinneranchor-blog​ - Hello lovely! Can I request a college AU with Steve or Eddie, (either one is fine), where the reader is studying for finals and she's in the library and really stressed, but then he comes in to help her relax. Maybe they get a little spicy in the back room/behind the shelves? You can write it as steamy or fluffy, whatever you'd like. Thank you so much!!

Word Count: 749

Author: Charlotte

Being in college whilst your boyfriend was still stuck in high school wasn’t easy. You had met when you were in high school together, him actually the year above you but when he was meant to graduate, he ended up being held back and then when graduation rolled around for the both of you, you were the only one to walk on the stage. School wasn’t for Eddie but now having to handle the distance of your relationship, he was certain he’d be joining you in Indianapolis this fall. You had initially offered to defer your college admission for the year, but Eddie insisted that he wasn’t going to be holding you back and the two of you would just commute to see one another at every chance you got.

For the most part it was him travelling to see you. You were willing to go back to Hawkins, but he was more than happy to get out of town for a night or a couple of days just to pretend he was finally free. Most of the time you spent weekends together or if you had a free day without classes, you’d head back to Hawkins but even seeing each other just at the weekends became hard. You tried to focus on your classes and pretend you didn’t miss him, but it still sent a pang into your chest whenever you saw anything that reminded you of him.

It was a Thursday evening, and you didn’t want to be just sat in your dorm listening to your roommate’s radio, so headed to the library and begun to study for the practice exams that were coming up in a couple of weeks. You felt as though you were completely behind the rest of your class and these mocks would be the proof you needed to feel completely useless at your choice in degree.  You had been sat in the back corner of the library, hidden from all the other students for a few hours, consumed by writing out notes from textbooks and reading the same passages over and over again.

You were so lost in the books stacked on your desk that you hadn’t noticed someone walking through the stacks towards your workstation until they scooted the work out of the way so they could perch in front of you.

“Surprise,” the man grinned like a mad man.

“Eddie?” You smiled, surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to surprise you. They’re closing the school tomorrow, something to do with a gas leak or something, so I thought we could have a little longer of a weekend. I can hang out at your dorm or on campus whilst you go to class tomorrow.”

You offered him a sweet smile. He was so incredibly sweet, and you couldn’t wait until he could finally get out of Hawkins and let people finally see him for who he was.

“You’re too sweet,” you said softly. “Anyway, how the hell did you find me here?”

“I went by your dorm. Casey told me you’d be here; I still think that she hates me by the way.”

You shook your head at him. “She doesn’t hate you.”

Eddie looked down at the books that he had pushed out of the way to sit down with you.

“You alright?” He asked. “You seemed completely lost in this shit.”

“Just stressed is all. None of this makes sense anymore and I can’t seem to think straight.”

Eddie chuckled, hopping off the desk so that he could lean down to let his breath linger against the shell of your ear.

“I’m sure I can distract you,” he said, a cocky grin in his voice as he leaned in to pepper soft kisses down behind your ear towards your neck.

You playfully hit at his arm that he was using to support himself on the desktop as he leant over you.

“Eddie!” You warned him. “We’re in the library.”

He pulled away for a moment. “It was a trek to find you because of how far away into the shelves you’ve sat. No one would find us.”

As he leaned in, he let his hands wander to your hips, toying at the hem of your t-shirt to let his fingers move against your skin.

“Munson!” You snapped, swatting away his hands. “We’re not fucking in the library.”

Eddie raised his hands in defeat, a smug smile upon his lips. “Spoilsport.”

[bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove]

Soulmate- B.Barnes

Summary: Bucky gets introduced to Sam’s childhood best friend, he finally feels love and looks forward to thee future for the first time in over 80 years.

Pairings: Bucky x Fem!Reader, Sam x Platonic!Reader

Fic Warnings: brief mentions of Bucky’s time in Wakanda, brief mention of the Flag Smashers, brief mention of the blip, fem!reader, use of y/n(IDK if thats a warning but it’s here)

Author’s Notes: This is the first fic I’ve written in ages and this is also my first Bucky fic. I hope this was good and feedback is welcome. When I was writing this I was thinking of the song Soulmate by Mac Miller, I don’t listen to many love songs but this is the only one I thought of.

My full Masterlist

Word Count: 1437

gif not mine

It was safe to say that James Buchanan Barnes didn’t have a very easy life. He got drafted for the war at 25, got taken as a prisoner of war, was forced to take Hydra’s super soldier serum, he was rescued by his lifetime best friend Steve, only to fall off of a train a few years later, lost an arm and taken as an experiment for Hydra. The man had a hard life, he was an asset to Hydra for 80 years and he wasn’t free from Hydra completely until the Wakandans stepped in to help. After the blip, he only had his best friend for a week or so until he was gone again and left to navigate the 21st century by himself.

Bucky was never one to believe that love or even companionship was something he’d obtain. When he met y/n, he felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Sure, she was shy and quiet, typically kept to herself, but she was sweet, kind and caring. She was the most selfless person he had ever met in his life. They had met in a time that Bucky needed somebody the most. After the Flag Smashers debacle, Sam had introduced him to his childhood best friend.

At first, Bucky was wary, he wasn’t quick to trust people, but he was infatuated with this woman. Sam had spoken about her before and so had Steve oddly enough. He can remember Steve speaking fondly about her, how she was like a breath of fresh air from all of this superhero nonsense. 

Bucky and y/n were friends for a good while before anything actually happened, the two of them slightly nervous to make a move on the other. They lived together for a good amount of time, dancing around their feelings for each other. They even got a cat together after Bucky’s new therapist suggested it. His new therapist even suggested that he step away from fighting for a while and to focus on himself, making friends and nurturing his current friendships. Creating a routine and sticking to it.

His routine was a simple one, he wake up every morning at 5:00, made him and y/n breakfast, feed Alpine, go for a jog, come home, take a shower, make lunch, every once in a while he would drop by y/n’s work and eat lunch with her, he’d catch up on some shows and movies that she and Sam recommended, then the rest of his day he’d just do random things around the apartment until she got home then spend the rest of his day with her and Alpine. 

y/n was the one that came up with the idea of having lunch together when she was at work. It was about a month into them living together and Bucky had just gotten his routine down. “Hey B, you know you can visit me and we can have lunch together, whenever you want to. The main office already knows to send you to me if you ever drop by.” And ever since then, Bucky would visit her at least twice a week, always bringing a homemade lunch and a recap of his day.

The last time he visited her, a few of her students were lingering in the room. He lingered in the doorway for a minute until she took notice of him. “Bubs! Come sit! We were just talking about you and Sam,” She had a big grin on her face, her y/c eyes sparkling in the fluorescent lights. 

“Hey beautiful! I didn’t want to interrupt, it seemed like a good conversation was happening in here,” Bucky walked further into the classroom, sitting in the chair next to her, planting a gentle kiss on the crown of her head.

“Mr.Barnes, what was it like being a part of the Avengers?” One of her students asked excitedly.

“I was never an official Avenger, but it was a lot of pressure. I’m happy to be getting a much needed break.”

“I’m happy you’re talking this break, poor bubs, you worked yourself half to death. Sam said you were extra grumpy,” She said in a teasing tone. Bucky rolled his eyes playfully before plopping her lunch in front of her. “You made my favorite! Bubs, that’s so sweet!”

“Only for my best girl. I can see the three of you practically bursting over there. Ask your questions.” The three students bombarded him with questions, all of which he answered to the best of his ability. y/n ate her lunch and listened to how Bucky willingly answered all of her students’ questions. Every once in a while, she would chime in when she could. Then Bucky decided to flip the conversation and started asking the students questions.

“What’s this one making you guys do? Read crappy books and look at stupid things as symbols?” Bucky asked as a joke.

“Hey! That was mean, Buck,” y/n pouted, making him chuckle. He planted a chaste kiss on her pouted lip causing her students to jokingly gag. Bucky turned his attention back to the students to listen to their answers.

“I mean, there really isn’t a set curriculum in our school so the teachers make it. We’re doing fantasy right now so we’re reading The Hobbit. We aren’t going too heavy into symbolism, thank God.” This got Bucky on a long tangent about how it was the best book he read when he was younger. How he used to read it to Steve when he was stuck in bed and how he used to read to his younger siblings all the time. The small group that had gathered only grew when somehow most of y/n’s students found out that Bucky was in the building.

Since her students were so intrigued by Bucky, she set up a little project for the AP Literature and Journalism students. With his okay of course, Bucky was going to come to the school after hours and answer questions that he was comfortable answering for the students. Their project was to write a paper or an article on Bucky. Since more students showed interest, they opened it to the whole school, however only the Journalism and AP Lit students were allowed to ask questions.

The night it was set for, Bucky was nervous, he was about to go up in front of a lot of teenagers and answer questions that were thrown at him. y/n was right next to him, trying to relax him. “Baby, if you want to postpone this or cancel it we can. No problem. Whatever you need I can get it for you,” she offered him. 

“I just need you with me. As much as it pains me to say this, is Sam still in town?” Luckily for him, Sam was still in town and came to the school to be up on the auditorium stage with y/n and Bucky. With the two of them at his side, Bucky was more relaxed, if he needed a little comfort, he had his closest friend on one side and his soulmate on the other.

“Hi everyone! Tonight our AP Literature and Journalism students are interviewing World War Two veteran, Hydra survivor, and my wonderful boyfriend, James Bucky Barnes. I do want to disclose a few things before we start. Bucky is very nervous so I will be beside him as well as an unexpected but welcomed guest. I did warn the students as well as Bucky that any question he is not comfortable answering, he can either pass off to me if I can answer it or he can simply leave the question unanswered. Now please, give a very warm welcome to Bucky Barnes and our wonderful Captain America and my very best friend, Sam Wilson!”

Bucky nearly stayed backstage but when he saw her standing under the stage lights, creating the illusion of a halo on top of her head, her warm smile and soft eyes reserved only for him, his feet decided to move towards her. As he walked towards her, his mind was racing with the thought of growing old with her, having a family and finally being a normal man with a metal arm. Instead of his usual scowl across his face, he had a wide smile that was previously only shown to y/n, but now Sam and at least 100 teenagers. He was finally happy and looking forward to his future with this beautiful woman in front of him, who would always be there for him no matter the time of day or the situation. He felt loved.

[thegettingbyp2]

King of Hawkins

Steve Harrington x reader

I was the kind of student who kept her head down and got on with my studies, maintaining a streak of straight A’s; that was until I started to date the most popular guy at school. It was because of this that everyone at school thought that Steve Harrington’s infatuation with me was all a part of a joke on my behalf. Steve was the King of Hawkins High; the guy that every other guy wanted to be and the guy every girl wanted to date.

It started when Steve would ask me to help him write an English paper or explain our Algebra homework which resulted us in spending hours in each other’s company at the library. I was always slightly on edge around him, his reputation obviously proceeding him however, it actually turned out that he wanted to do well with his studies so he’d pay attention when I’d explain everything to him and it wasn’t long before his grades started to pick up.

‘Just be careful around him, (Y/N), you know what he’s like,’ Jonathan, my best friend, said to me. Jonathan wasn’t a fan of Steve’s in fact, you could say that Jonathan hated Steve which he had his reasons for so I completely understood his warning.

‘I know, you don’t have to worry. Besides, he actually studies when we go to the library and we don’t really talk about anything else. Anyway, how’s the search for Will,’

Before I could finish my sentence, two arms circled my waist and lifted me in the air, spinning me around. When my feet were back on the ground, I turned around to see Steve grinning at me, his sunglasses really adding to his “popular guy” act.

‘Don’t do that,’ I said, shoving his shoulder slightly, making him lean into the lockers behind him.

‘You are a genius,’ he said, completely ignoring my comment, ‘I got an A in English!’

I felt my face split into a grin, happy for him, ‘that’s great! Told you that you could do it.’

‘Come with me to Tommy’s party tonight.’

My grin froze on my face as I took in what he said. I had never been to a high school party, not for not wanting to go, I just didn’t hang out with the type of people who threw parties and now Steve was asking me to go with him to one of the biggest parties at school.

‘What?’

‘Tommy’s throwing a party at his tonight and I want you to come with me. You should let loose a little, have some fun,’ he said, tugging on my ponytail lightly.

The Monday morning after the party saw me and Steve walking into school hand in hand, clearly in a relationship as the rest of the student body stared at us. It turns out that that party was the last time I’d be known as the “good girl” of the school as the infamous “King Steve” found his queen.

A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoyed this! I was thinking of maybe writing some other oneshots that would link to this fic (what happened at the party, the aftermath etc) and was just wondering if that's something anyone would like to see?

[ultimatelytired]

Siblings pt. 2

word count: 28,395

Fandom: Stranger Things Pairing: Robin Buckley + Steve Harrington x Female!Harrington!Reader Pronouns: She/Her Relationship: Romantic/Familial Occupation: University Student Ability: N/A

Keys:

[F/N]: Female Name [L/N]: Last Name [N/N]: Nickname [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color

Warnings: flayed reader, angst, violence, blood, vulgar language, murder, character death

“Siblings” pt.1, pt.3

@eddiemunsonsmiddlefingers​ has a map of hawkins and I’m constantly using that to reference where shit is. it’s awfully helpful.

I wasn’t planning on making a part two to this story but I suddenly got an idea from a line I kept repeating in my head and thought “why the hell not” to the point I might make this a story.

so I was going to write the scene where el saw billy’s happiest memory but chose against it, since we all know what it is, I’m not going to bother and just write [f/n]’s.

might eventually make this a story on my wattpad account because I dove too deep into this.

I rushed the ending, it sucks but I needed to finish this to settle my mind.

that is all.

“You know? I’d probably find that downright hilarious if not for the fact that you’re dating my brother, Billy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Plus, that bitch is weird. There’s actually a word in the dictionary for what she’s doing.”

“And what might that be?”

“Grooming.”

[F/N] and Billy were having one of their late night hangouts at the Hideout, sitting at the bar drinking alcohol, not really shit faced yet but they were slowly getting there. Billy was in the midst of telling [F/N] the reoccurring times Karen Wheeler, mother of Nancy and Mike Wheeler, has been opening flirting with Billy. She remembered the first time Billy had told her about this, of course she was weirded out about it but she laughed that this grown ass married woman was flirting with a guy that was about two decades younger than her, basically the same age as her eldest daughter! She would’ve laughed again when he flirted back with her, just to get her off his ass, but now he and her brother were in a relationship. The four of them would never make their relationship public, never. They’ve simply stuck to being friends on the outside, but when they’re alone, they do all things a couple would do. Sometimes when they’re on a double date, people would always mistake Billy and [F/N] as a couple as well as Steve and Robin, mostly because each duo were always seen together. They took advantage of that, so whenever either Billy or Robin came over to the Harrington household, there was never bad air lingering around. So sometimes it would fuck [F/N] off when middle aged women would flirt with a minor, knowing that he was in a committed relationship with her! The people of Hawkins were so fucked in the head.

“Doesn’t she make you uncomfortable, Billy?” she asked out of concern, reaching forward to place a hand on his knee and squeezing it lightly “I won’t bring this up with Steve, but you know in this town, word travels fast. Besides, I don’t want him getting worried and getting the wrong idea.” Billy softly nods his head.

“I know. That pretty boy would probably lose his shit on me first, then go after that Wheeler.” they both look up in thought, trying to imagine the thought of Steve going apeshit on Nancy’s mother, they were almost tempted to tell him just to see it happen to the point that burst out into laughter “He is your brother, so if he’s anything like you, he’ll probably beat the shit out of her!” she throws her head back with a laugh.

“Hah! As much as I agree with that, he respects women now. He’d probably ask me to drag her out by her hair, to which I will gladly do it!” they laugh again before grabbing their drinks and raising it up “To Steve potentially losing his shit on Wheeler’s mum!” they clink drinks before proceeding to down it, when they finish their drinks Billy raised his empty bottle to the bartender.

“Two more, please!” since the two of them drove to the Hideout, and the fact they had things to do early in the morning, they couldn’t get totally hammered so after a few drinks they later stuck to drinking water to sober themselves up then continued chatting or peacefully listening to the music that the Hideout had or the few indie bands that performed that night. After a couple hours of having fun they finally decided to drag themselves out and back to their cars, however, they were both leaning on each other to help each other walk whilst laughing and giggling to themselves. Billy’s laughter echoed throughout the car park as he watched [F/N] collapse to the ground and nearly face plant into the side of her front bumper but managed to catch herself before she gave herself a bleeding nose and possibly a concussion “Will you be alright, Harrington?” she waves her hand to brush him off.

“Please, you’re just as shit faced as I am.” they start laughing again before settling in their cars, [F/N] rolls down her window to let the wind blow through her car after starting her car before briefly pausing when Billy flashed his lights at her, she raised a brow at him then narrowed her eyes when she saw him smirk at her “The fuck are you looking at me like that Hargrove?” his smirk only widens when he revved the engine of his Camaro.

“How’s about a little race? I wanna give my pretty boy a little smooch before going home.” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Gross, I don’t need to know that.” she hummed in thought before raising her finger “I’ll race yah after seeing Robin, alright? We’re passing her house, and I wanna see her if you’re gonna see my brother.” Billy shrugs his shoulder with a laugh, brushing his hair out of his face. 

“Alright, might wanna tell your girlie that you’re gonna lose after I smoke your ass back to your place.” she scoffed.

“Whatever.” they both laugh and finally pull out of the parking lot. Robin was currently laying on her back, head bobbing softly as she listened to the music coming from her headphones playing through her cassette player. [F/N] graciously made her a mixtape of songs that they both liked, she smiled as she remembered that memory fondly. Because of the wealth the Harrington name held, [F/N] would always buy her expensive gifts after hearing the type of lifestyle she had grown up in. As lovely as each gift was, Robin asked her for something sentimental instead of jewellery like necklaces and earrings and rings (though she does appreciate them and wears them on special occasions), Steve told her that [F/N] had been hauled up in her room ever since then and when she came to pick her up, [F/N] presented her the mixtape. She’s probably listened to the entire playlist on repeats so many times that she can remembered ever song in order, but she just can’t help it, she was so in love. 

*TAP*

*TAP*

“Hmm?” she hums out in confusion, just briefly hearing the sound of tapping when the song faded out. She pulled the headphones off her head and looked around in confusion, she got a little angry when she thought that it was her siblings fucking with her but stopped when the tapping was coming from her window. She pushed herself upright and a big smile appeared on her face when she saw [F/N], who was currently looking down and talking to someone before raising her head to look at Robin once more, wobbling back and forward “[F/N]?” she muttered softly in question before stumbling to her feet and rushing to the window, throwing it open to greet her girlfriend, only to wince at the stench of alcohol and cigarettes coming from her breath.

“Robin~” she cooed out with a shout, only to shush herself when Robin raised a finger to her lips while shaking her head so she in turn covered her mouth with her hands “Sorry, sorry, I just missed you.” Robin rolled her eyes.

“We saw each other a couple hours ago.” she giggled to herself when she saw a flash of confusion come across her face before she nodded her head.

“Oh, you’re right… but I wanted to see you again.” Robin shook her head once more with a soft smile, she then realised that there was quite a distance from the ground and her window so she leaned forward whilst looking down and had to slap a hand over her mouth to quiet herself when she saw that [F/N] perched herself on Billy’s shoulders, to which he was just as equally drunk and could barely stand straight “Oh yeah, and Billy is here as well.” he looks up and gives a grin, saluting Robin, to which she returns to gesture.

“Howdy.”  “Hi?” she chuckles and looks back at [F/N], to which she was grinning ear to ear as she leaned forward, closing the small gap between them and pressing a small peck on her lips “What’s with the kiss, [F/N]? Not that I don’t like it.” the slightly drunk girl smiled at her, winking softly.

“Thought I’d drop by and give you a goodnight kiss, why? Don’t want any?” Robin scoffed before reaching forward, grabbing [F/N] by her cheeks and pulling her into a kiss. Robin couldn’t help but let out a groan when she could taste the alcohol and cigarettes against her tongue, she briefly pulled away but was only brought into another kiss when [F/N] grabbed her by the back of her neck to keep her still. By the time they separate [F/N] was grinning ear to ear, Robin flustered up a little when she saw the left over lipstick from her lips smudge across [F/N]’s neck “I’ll see you in the morning, sweets?” Robin giggled, wrapping a strand of her hair around her finger and twirling it around.

“Mm hmm.” Robin and [F/N] were giggling at each other before [F/N] started falling backwards, she let out a startled yelp and looked down at Billy and saw he lost his footing and couldn’t hold her up anymore and was starting to fall backwards, to which she tried to grab Robin’s windowsill to save herself but it slipped right under her grasp and the two of them fell to the ground with a loud thud. Robin gasped and stuck her head out of the window to see if they were alright, shaking her head slightly with a tired smile on her face when she saw the two of them slightly dazed and groaning.

“Nice one, Billy…” she murmured under her breath, grunting softly when he slapped her leg.

“You’re fat.”

“You’re weak.” he scoffs at her before proceeding throw her legs off of him, they then pull themselves to their feet and start retreating back to their cars, [F/N] sparing Robin one last glance followed by a kiss then finally scurried into her car. Robin sighed dreamily when [F/N] waved her goodbye as she and Billy drove off, she closed her eyes then pushed herself back into her room where she collapsed into her bed, smiling like a dork when all she could think of was how lucky she was to finally have someone that loves her. Speaking of which, [F/N] and Billy were gunning it down the streets, they were going to have to deal with the police and Hopper later but they didn’t give a shit as they sped down the empty streets of Hawkins, laughing wildly. They took a slight detour just so their moment of fun could last a little longer, that’s where they found themselves side by side, the both of them trying their best to get ahead of the other.

“We should’ve made a bet, Harrington!” he shouts at her, she scoffs and looks back at him.

“Oh, yeah? Then how about the first one back to my house has to buy us both gas for our cars for three weeks!” he smirks at that.

“Then I hope your wallet can handle the expenses of gas because you’re on!” he lets out a laugh as he shifts gears while putting more pressure on the gas, she grimaced when she saw him get a head of her and was creating some distance. She knew his Camaro was significantly faster in comparison to her Mustang, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a few tricks up her sleeves to keep up with him. Billy looked into his rear view mirror and saw [F/N] hot on his tail, he licked his lips with a laugh as he turned his attention back to the road ahead of him, he had this in the ba— he lets out a shout when something flew into the windscreen. [F/N] let out a confused noise when she saw Billy swerving around but when she saw that she was still speeding towards him, evidently going to crash into him, she lets out a shout and slammed on the breaks and quickly swerved out of the way before she could hit Billy. She managed to get control of her car as it comes to a halt, she was breathing heavily at what happened before remembering about Billy.

“Oh my god, Billy!” she shouts, jumping out of her car and running over to see if he was alright “Billy! Shit!” she runs over to his car and winced at the state of it, she moves over to the drivers side and opened the door.

“Piece of shit…” she heard him groan out.

“Are you okay, Billy?” he sucked in a breath, pushing himself back into his seat then raised a hand to press against his forehead, wincing when his hand touched his bleeding forehead “Shit, you’re bleeding.” he scoffs at her.

“No shit.” she frowns at him, reaching forward to cup his face and make him look at her. 

“God, I hope you don’t have a concussion.” he smacks her hands off of him then gestures for her to move, she does so but ultimately helps him out of the car.

“Just great, this is just fucking great.” he mutters to himself as he looks at the state of his Camaro, she in turn approached the front of his car and saw the cracked windscreen, she furrowed her brows in confusion and mild disgust when she saw some sort of slime on the windscreen where it was cracked. She reached forward and gently touched it, only to regret it as she shudder at the feeling, she wiped it off against her pants “Fuck, this is going to cost a fucking fortune to repair.” Billy threads his fingers through his hair, at the verge of yanking them out of his scalp but calmed down slightly when [F/N] placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, Hargrove. I’ll help pay for it… with my parents money.” he scoffs, shoving her back softly to sit on the hood of his car.

“I don’t think they’ll appreciate the loss of money in their account.” she scoffs right back at him, sitting down beside him and offering him a cigarette, to which he graciously took and let her light it, enjoying the feeling of the nicotine filling his lungs then letting it all out.

“Please, I’ll be lucky if they notice a couple grand is missing.” the two of them start smoking away, she sniffles a little as she let the cigarette hang loosely by her lips “Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea on our part. We’re drunk, possibly high and extremely tired.” Billy rolls his eyes, taking the cigarette from his lips and held it in between his fingers.

“Yeah, but we’re both competitive and like to win.” she pursed her lips.

“True.” they fist bump each other “Anyways, what hit your car? A bird?” he shrugs his shoulders.

“Not sure, was going way too fast to get a glimpse of what it was.” she looked back at where they were previously then looked around at their surroundings, she suddenly felt a chill run down her back as the abandoned steel works factory loomed over them, she swallows thickly then turned back to Billy and gestured to her car.

“How’s about we get the fuck out of here? This place is giving me the heebie jeebies. I’ll be even more generous as to let you stay at our place while someone looks over your car, I personally know a good mechanic that can get your baby whipped back up into shape in no time.” he looked liked he was considering that option, he then winces when she cupped his face once more and looked at his bleeding forehead “But after we take care of this, I don’t want Stevie getting worried about this.” he nods his head.

“Agreed… we’re not telling him about this, right?”

“Are you crazy? Fuck no.” they both stand up but whipped their heads in the direction they heard something shuffle.

“Who’s there?!” Billy shouts, neither get a reply “I said who’s there?!” [F/N] shook her head, noticing that Billy was getting paranoid. Before she could say anything Billy’s feet were suddenly swept out from under him, he all but dropped to the ground before he was being dragged away. He desperately clawed at the ground to stop himself but there just wasn’t anything to cling onto, this continued as he was dragged through the factory and as he was going to be pulled down into the lower level of the factory he managed to grab a hold of the railing of the stairs. He clung onto it desperately, panic coursing throughout his body when he could feel his grip slowly slipping and when it did he expected to be dragged down the staircase but [F/N] caught him.

“I… got you!” she strains out, her grip on him deathly tight as she tried to pull him back but her feet where being dragged forward. She tries to dig the heels of her feet into the ground to keep herself from moving any further, their sweaty hands weren’t helping their predicament because she did lose her hold on his left hand but she quickly grabbed the railing. All this was for naught when something slithered around her ankle and yanked her, she fell to the ground with a thud with Billy on top of her before they were both dragged down the stairs into basement. The moment the two of them came face to face with this weird goopy looking thing they couldn’t help but scream at the top of their lungs as it roared at them, holding each other right as it loomed over them. The next few moments were silent, just the sound of chains swaying in the soft wind followed by quiet rumbling, this moment was interrupted when both Billy and [F/N] managed to pull themselves out of the basement. [F/N] starts pushing Billy and herself away but they both stumble to the ground, pushing themselves back as they spare a glance back at the entrance to the basement and shudder when they hear a roar come from that thing. Billy pulls himself onto his feet first and grabs [F/N] by the back of her jacket to yank her to her feet, she’s holding onto his arm as they’re scrambling out of the factory and rushing to their respective cars. They don’t waste a second to drive the fuck out of there, Billy driving ahead of [F/N] but he pulls to the side when he saw a phone booth, neither of them turn their cars off as they jump out but Billy makes it into the phone booth to make the call while [F/N] stood outside, breathing heavily as she kept looking back towards the direction they came from.

”911, what’s your emergency?” Billy goes to speak but the words got caught in his throat, I mean, how could it not? What the fuck was he supposed to say? Hey, my friend and I got in a car accident because we were drunk then we found this weird fucking monster, send help right away please! The two of them started to panic when the light in the phone booth started flickering as their surroundings changed ”Is someone there? Hello—” the voice cut off when the light completely turned off, Billy hangs up the phone as he walks out of the phone booth. He hears a noise and starts walking towards it, flinching slightly when he felt something so he glanced down and saw [F/N] just as equally terrified as he was holding onto his arm and hand. He places his free hand on her shoulder then the two of them walked towards the fog where they heard footsteps coming towards them.

“What do you want?” Billy manages to croak out, voice shaky and not sounding like his usual self “Hey, I said what do you want?!” he was desperate for an answer but the two of them started to panic again when they saw a group of people coming towards them. Red lightning struck as the group of people came to a halt, instead two people from the crowd came walking towards them and they both equally froze when their vision cleared up and they were staring right back at themselves.

[time skip: the next day]

Steve stood in front of his full body mirror as he does his hair up, something he always does in the morning though it was usually done for naught because of that stupid little hat he has to wear that was apart of the uniform that was just as stupid. He sets his hairspray on his desk, looking at his iconic hair and touching it up for the nth time of that morning before nodding his head when he was satisfied with how it looked. With everything ready he picked up his keys and tucked them into his pocket then walked out of his bedroom with an extra skip on his step in his step, things were finally looking up for him that he couldn’t not be happy. His sister was home for the summer break, he’s actually enjoying work (kind of), he’s made friends with the girl at said work, his sister is dating said girl while he himself has gotten himself into a relationship that first started off rocky but evidently he fell in love with him. He wasn’t expecting to see his sister as he walked past her room, she was always gone in the morning to go pick up Robin, but he halted at her door when he saw the state she was in.

“[F/N]…?” he muttered softly, pushing open her door that was left open just a bit and his eyes widened when he saw her. She was sitting hunched over at the edge of her bed, elbows planted on her knees as her head rested on her interlocked fingers. She was panting heavily while sweating profusely, she looked downright horrible “Oh my god, [F/N]! Are you okay?” he exclaims as he rushed over to her side, kneeling down to try and get a look at her face and saw her face was pale while her [E/C] eyes were dull from their usual shine.

“Steve…” she weakly breathed out, he moved his hands to gently place a hand on her forehead and quickly withdrew it when he felt a burning sensation under his fingertips.

“You’re burning up, [F/N]!” he shouts then proceeds to push her onto her back so that she was lying on her bed but she shook her head, weakly pushing him back so she could get up.

“No, no… I need to get Robin, I promised to get her.” she weakly hits at his chest, letting out a whine when he grabbed her by her wrists to stop her futile attempts to get him off and gently lays her down on the bed.

“I’ll get her, okay? I think she’ll understand why you couldn’t get her if I tell her that you’re sick, alright? You’ll only worry her if you show up as the mess you are right now, besides, I don’t think you can drive in the state you’re in.” she lets out a groan, slapping her hands onto her face and dragging them down “I’ll open the window so it can help you can cool down, if there isn’t anything in the cabinets I’ll grab some shit from the pharmacy on my way back from work. Don’t do anything that’ll make you feel any worse than you already are.” she chuckles weakly, placing a hand on her chest and looking over at Steve.

“Since when were you the one… to look after me?” he just shook his head, he walks into her bathroom then later came out with a wet cloth to wipe away the sweat on her forehead then placed another wet and cold cloth on her forehead to help cool her down.

“Since my sister was the one that got fucked up in my stead.” she scoffed then hummed when she felt Steve cup her cheek, she leaned into his touch but winced when it got too hot for her liking and jerked away, he sighed sadly and retracted his hand from her “I’ll try and get off early so I can take care of you, alright? Don’t do anything to drastic while I’m gone.” she waves her hand.

“No promises…” she pants out as her hand dropped back down onto her chest, he sighs softly then knelt down to press a kiss to her temple then retreated out of her room to leave for work. Hours go by but not a single thing changed, she only felt worse and worse as she tried to calm her breathing down, tried to stop herself from sweating so much, but the summer heat was just becoming to unbearable. She closed her eyes as she tried breathing through her nose, a horrible mistake on her part when the memory of the night before came flooding back. Her fingers dug into her shirt when the flashing images of those rats scattering along the floor reappeared, being held down by some fucking monster as it forced something into her body. Her eyes snapped opened as she let out a scream, shooting up straight as she continued to pant, she takes the cloth off her head and throws it to the ground as she weakly makes her way to her bathroom. She leans her weight into the sink, her hands gripping onto the sink as her head hung loosely in front of her. She managed to lift her head to stare at her reflection, her vision slowly clearing up so she can get a good look at her reflection but then another flashback from last night appeared before her.

”What do you want…?” she managed to whimper out, her usual personality nowhere to be seen as she leaned closer into Billy’s side, who held onto her tightly but neither one of them could tear their eyes away from their doppelgängers.

”To build.” both doppelgängers said in unison, they even sound like them but their voices were slightly disoriented with a deep, echoing feeling to it. Billy and [F/N] manage to tear their eyes away from them to look at each other, nothing but confusion were seen on their faces ”I want you to build.”

“To build what?” Billy asks.

”What you see.” [F/N] shakes her head.

“I-I… I don’t understand.” they both flinch backwards when that same lightning struck and they were suddenly back on the side of the road, [F/N] all but collapses to her knees as she threads her fingers through her hair, her shoulders trembling at the terror the two of them witnessed. Billy was still standing as he looked around for wherever they could have gone, shaking his head.

“I don’t understand!”

“Ah!” she screamed at her reflection before proceeding to punch it, not bothering to remove her fist when the shattered glass fell into the sink and cut her hand. When her breathing calmed down she pulled her fist and let her trembling hand hang by her side, she took deep breaths through her nose before turning her head to the side “I need to talk to Billy…” she muttered softly then quickly left the bathroom, putting on her shoes and grabbing a jacket that had her keys in her pockets. The drive to the Hawkins community pool felt like a nightmare, her windows were all the way down and her AC was blasting to cool down her overheating body, but what freaked her out was when she was stopped at a red light. She perched her arm on the open window as her finger nervously tapped against the stirring wheel, she hissed in pain when she felt like she was being burn so she glanced down at her hand and furrowed her brows when she saw a burn mark forming on the back of her hand, she immediately pulls her arm back into the car. She pulls up to the pool and quickly hops out of her car, not bothering to lock it up and just simply slams the door shut and rushes into the pool. She spots Billy just as disoriented as she is, she didn’t waste any time to whistle to catch his attention, when his head shot up and looked for her, he managed to spot her waving her hand.

“[F/N]…?” he mumbles in confusion, he pushes himself up when he saw her waving him over, mouthing that they needed to talk. He all but jumps out of his seat and rushes over to her as fast as he could, stumbling with his footing but he managed to reach her in the end, grabbing her by her wrist and dragging her into the changing rooms, the showers specifically “What are you doing here?” she takes a shaky breath, holding her arms and digging her fingers into her jacket.

“Are we not going to talk about last night?” she asked, she inhales sharply as she runs her hands over her face “Have you been seeing things? Hearing things? I feel like I’m losing my mind…” she croaks out, she lets out a yelp when he grabbed her wrist again to look at the burn on her hand.

“What happened here?” her eyes trailed down his arm and noticed a similar looking burn on his elbow, they both started feeling hot again, [F/N] tears her jacket off but that isn’t enough and so Billy shoves her into the shower and turns on the cold water. They both silently soak in the water but start to get distracted when the pain in their burns starts aching, they’re both reaching for their wounds and grimace when they could hear something moving beneath their skin, the moment their hands grazed against the wound a flash of a monster appeared in their heads followed by high pitched screeching. They both fall to the ground, clutching their heads in agonising pain, pressing their heads into the tiled walls to try and lessen the pain but nothing was working, they were yelling in pain but it soon came to a halt when they heard a voice.

“Billy…?” [F/N] couldn’t recognise it, the two of them managed to push themselves back to lean against the wall behind them as they watched the girl kneel down in front of them “Billy. Take me to him.” they both stare at her in confusion.

“What?” they mutter.

“I said are you hurt?” she then looked in between the both of them as they continued to stare at her “What’s going on? I heard screaming. Should I call an ambulance?” she asked out of genuine concern, she then slowly backed away when she noticed the look of pain and confusion disappear and was replaced with one of malice. She lets out a scream when [F/N] shoots towards her, her hand slamming against her mouth to muffle her screams of terror whilst her other hand held both her wrists in an iron grip.

“I’m so sorry about this.” she whispers, she then pulls her up then slammed the back of her head against the ground to knock her unconscious. Both herself and Billy stand up and stare down at the unconscious girl then looked at each other and nodded.

[time skip: starcourt mall, scoops ahoy]

Robin felt a little deflated that entire day, first she wasn’t able to see [F/N] and Steve was the one to pick her up in her stead. She was confused when the younger Harrington pulled up to her house and so she obviously asked where her girlfriend was, the answer she got was a worried looking Steve telling her how awful [F/N] was and that she was very sick to the point she could barely move. Sure, she was worried for her girlfriend and completely understood why she couldn’t come get her, but she just couldn’t understand how she got sick. Last night she looked completely fine, only being a little tipsy but other than that, she was fine. Robin now found herself serving free samples to some little girl that was slowly getting on her last nerve, ready to pop a nerve, but then the sight of [H/C] hair her eyes.

“[F/N]?” she mumbled under her breath, wasn’t she supposed to be lying down in her bed at home? She shook her head and turned towards the window into the back room, throwing it open to get Steve and his little friend Dustin’s attention “Hey, Harrington! Man the counter, will you? I need to go check something out!” she shouts, choosing to ignore his shouts of protest as she abandons the counter and rushes out of the store, pushing past people to check if who she saw was actually her girlfriend. Her face lights up when she heard her familiar laughter so she turned the corner and was going to greet her but froze up at what she saw, there she saw [F/N] talking with some guy as he openly flirted and joked with and she was laughing at it.

“That is the dumbest pick up line I’ve ever heard, you dork.” he scoffs, bumping his shoulder against hers.

“But it made you smile, didn’t it?” she then shoved him back, not being able to hide the big smile on her face.

“Barely.” her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw [F/N] grab the guy by the collar of his jacket and pull him back, the two of them stumbling out of view. Robin grits her teeth and rushes over to where the two disappeared, she rounded the corner but was left flabbergasted when she saw neither of them, they just simply vanished. Maybe she was just seeing things, maybe she was just desperate to see [F/N] that she conjured her up, but why the hell was she shamelessly flirting with some random fucker? The end of the night came sooner than later, from seeing her girlfriend with some guy to helping her brother and some random child with a Russian translation, she was currently sitting in Steve’s passenger seat as he drove them to his house.

“Is she really sick?” Steve let out a dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes.

“Yes! How many times do I have to tell you, Robin? What you saw was definitely not [F/N]. For one, she’d never flirt with a guy. Two, she’d never let a guy flirt with her, because she’d either fight them or throw up.” that option made her chuckle, that sounded like her “My sister isn’t the type of person to cheat, okay? She actually beat that into me, so I highly doubt she would ever do something so frivolous.” Robin sighed, the back of her head hitting the car seat.

“I know… I think I’m just getting paranoid.” she jolts in her seat when Steve placed his hand on her shoulder, she looked at him and saw him giving her a reassuring look.

“Robin, if my sister does anything and says anything hurtful to you, you’ll tell me right?” he inhales through his nose and looks back towards the road “She doesn’t do or say things without meaning it. When she said she was in love with you, she meant it. When she said she wanted to be with me, she meant it. So if she somehow says she doesn’t want to be with you anymore… she’ll say it to you straight and she won’t do it behind your back, she isn’t like that. She isn’t one for hiding her feelings and she isn’t afraid to voice her opinions, rarely have I ever seen her bottle up her emotions. I don’t see any reason why she would ever go behind your back, but if she does anything to you that just doesn’t seem right, tell me. I’ll make sure to talk to her, so don’t worry about anything, alright?” she couldn’t help but get a little teary eyed, Steve smiled softly when Robin tearfully nodded her head.

“Alright, thank you.”

“No problem.” Steve then lets out a laugh when he pulled up to their house, gesturing to the driveway “Look at that, Robin! Her car is here.” Robin shrugs, sure, but it doesn’t cross out the possibility that she still left the house. Entering the Harrington household, Steve flips on the hallway lights and shuffles out of his shoes, letting out a slight grunt when Robin shoved past him to rush up the stairs to get to [F/N]. Steve told her that her condition was horrible, that she was sweating profusely and couldn’t stop her body from trembling, going so far as she couldn’t control her breathing. She needed to see this for herself, she needed to see how sick her girlfriend was to calm her mind of the image of her perfectly healthy girlfriend that she saw at the mall with some gu—

“S-Stevie…? Is that you?” Robin jerked backwards a little shocked after throwing the door open, there in the dark room with the hallway light to illuminate the room, was her girlfriend laying on her back whilst clutching her chest, looking just as terrible as Steve described “Stevie…?” she called out once more, she nearly tripped over her feet when she finally managed to move.

“N-No, [F/N], it’s me.” she saw [F/N] perk up at the sound of her voice and so turned her head towards her, smiling weakly when her eyes set on girlfriend.

“Robin…” she cooed, Robin smiled softly and knelt down, placing a hand on her forehead and let her thumb caress her skin “You’re here… why?” they hear Steve clear his throat, he decides not to turn on the light as he took a spot on the other side of Robin, standing over his sick sister who smiled at him.

“She wanted to see you, asking me after our shift to bring her here to check up on you.” Steve decided it would be for the best to keep Robin’s actual intentions a secret from his sister, it was the better option because that reason made [F/N] smile at the both of them.

“Y’all are saps…” she mumbled out, she then reached for Robin and gently tapped her shoulder “I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up this morning, I feel so awful for leaving you hanging like that.” Robin shook her head, taking her hand into here and squeezing.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m just glad that your brother came and got me, would have sucked if I have to bike instead.” they both giggle at that, Steve smiled at his sister and her girlfriend, not understanding where Robin ever got the misunderstanding of [F/N] ever betraying her in the worst way. He then pulled a face when he realised why and swore in his head to never voice that stupid thought of his, he reached forward and placed his hand on [F/N]’s cheek and she leaned into his subtle touch.

“Your fever seems to have calmed down a little, did you take some tylenol?” she nods softly.

“Mm, I found some in my cabinet.”

“Alright, that’s good.” Steve has Robin help him with taking care of [F/N] to the best of their abilities, staying with her until she was drifting off to sleep, and when she finally did he pulled her out of the room and closed the door behind them “See? What did I tell you? She never left the house, Robin.” she nods her head, holding her arms.

“I know, I know. I just can’t help but feel insecure, you know? She’s totally out of my league, and yet she wants to be in a relationship with me! A nobody, a weirdo that’s apart of band and is employed in an ice cream shop.” Steve scoffs at that, placing his hands on his hips.

“That’s exactly what she likes about you, Robin. She finds it cool that you can play instruments.” she rolled her eyes bashfully, spinning one of her rings around with her thumb.

“Stop it.” Robin takes on last peek at [F/N] before finally leaving with Steve so he can take her home, it didn’t take long for the younger Harrington to return home nor did it take long for him to fall into a deep sleep. The moment silence fell upon the Harrington household [F/N] eyes shot open and she no longer looked sick anymore, she sat up and threw the covers off her body to reveal the clothes she was wearing were never changed. She shuffles out of her bed and walks over to her locked bathroom, pushing the door open to find the same boy Robin saw her with submerged in cold icy water. [F/N] did indeed see Robin in the corner of her eye when she was at the Starcourt Mall, that was the reason why she pulled that boy into empty hallway but she pulled him into an empty room before Robin could see them and proceeded to choke him out with little to no effort. 

She now found herself back at the abandoned steel works factory, exiting her car, she lifted her head to see Billy was there as well. Neither said a word to the other, just silently moving to the trunks of their cars and opening them up, finding their tied up victims unconscious, Billy lifts Heather into his arms while [F/N] throws the guy over her shoulder and the two of them walk side by side back down into the basement where it all started. Settling the two down, they hover over their unconscious bodies that slowly started regaining consciousness. Of course the two of them were unaware of the situation they were, blinking their eyes as they looked around in confusion, their eyes met and they were both confused when they saw their mouths were duck taped shut while their hands and feet were bound. Panic started to arise as they tried to free themselves, Heather letting out whimpers as she tried to shake free while the guy was screaming under the tape, they were both silenced when Billy grabbed Heather by her shoulders while [F/N] grabbed the other guy by his face and held his jaw in a tight hold.

“Don’t be afraid.” they said in an emotionless tone, both victims ceased their muffled cries and movements “It’ll all be over soon. Just stay very still.” they then remove the tape from their mouths before finally pulling away and stepping back, standing together as the same monster that did something to them crawled out of the shadows towards its latest victims, snarling at them as they screamed in terror. 

Billy and [F/N] could do nothing but watch.

[time skip: two days later]

The two of them continued to collect more and more victims for the monster to turn into mindless zombies, sometimes almost getting caught by their respective siblings, but they always managed to play it off. [F/N] remembered bringing a girl home she met in the middle of town, she recognised her as an old classmate friend and said how she wanted to reconnect. The girl was helpless against the mind controlled girl, struggling under her iron grip as she ties her hands up but was interrupted when the front door to the house was opened and in came walking Steve. He enters the kitchen and there he found his now healthy sister by the counter with an innocent smile on her face, waving her hand to greet him on his return home.  “Anything interesting happen today, [F/N]?” she only shrugged her shoulders.

“Same old, same old.” he was satisfied with the answer and ventures upstairs to his room, unaware of the whimpering girl under the counter wanting to cry out for him to save her from his crazy sister but could only whimper silently when [F/N]’s fingers dug into the meat of her face whenever she felt her struggle. She was now hauling her down into the basement of the factory, she hummed softly when she saw Billy and Heather already down there with two victims of their own “You’ve been busy, huh?” she mused, Billy glanced up at her and saw the girl over her shoulder.

“So have you.” 

[F/N] now found herself sane and sitting in her car, inhaling and exhaling softly as she watched the unknowing people walk by her, not knowing that she was picking out her latest few victims to bring to the monster. A pinch of her sanity was clinging to the back of her mind, she was already losing her mind because she could do nothing but watch her body go around kidnapping people and offering them up to this monster to do who knows what. She takes a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair before her eyes settled on a group of girls, she remembered one of them as a girl she hooked up with a few times while they were still in high school, this could be an easy catch because the other girl still had some lingering feelings for her. She rolls her neck, ready to do what she’s been doing for the past few days but her body suddenly fought against it. There were two fights going on in her mind right now, one was sweet talking this one time fling into bringing her and her friends back home to have some fun, possibly get them wasted out of their minds then bring them back to the factory, but the other was against it. This last piece of her sanity was fighting against that, she didn’t want to flirt with this girl, she didn’t want to tell her words that were rightfully reserved for her girlfriend. She lets out a groan, aching pain throbbing in her head as she tried taking control of her mind but ultimately lost when the pain became to unbearable.

“Don’t make this harder for you than it already is…” she muttered to herself, her voice not sounding like her own. Flicking down her sunglasses, she pulls at the collar of her jacket before finally opening the door to her car just as the girls were walking past her car. This obviously caught their attention, they were already checking out the ridiculously nice car but the moment [F/N] stepped out of the car the girl she hooked up with couldn’t help but freeze up when she saw her long time crush. [F/N] pretended to pay them no mind, throwing her car door shut and locked it, walking past the group of girls and as she walked further away, she stopped when the girl called out to her.

“H-Hey, [F/N]!” her friends snickered at how shaky her voice was as she stuttered over her words, she cursed at them but straightened up when [F/N] turned her head over her shoulder to look at the group.

“Yes?” she swallowed thickly, taking a step forward as she clutched onto the straps of her hand bag.

“D-Do you— do you remember me, by any chance?” her face flushed up when she tilted her head down, her sunglasses slipping down the bridge of her nose so she could see past the tinted lenses and at the girl in question “We were in the same chemistry class? We sat together and did a few projects together?” she was really hoping that [F/N] would remember, she took a step forward as she turned around fully, raising her hand to grab the frames of her glasses and pulled them down as she looked her up and down.

“Chemistry…?” she muttered to herself, looking up in thought then smirked down at her “Right, you’re— you’re Veronica, right? Veronica Gibbons?” her face lights up immensely because [F/N] Harrington remembered her, she actually remembered her! She enthusiastically nodded her head, reaching forward to grab her hand.

“Yes! I’m so happy you remember me.” her friends were giggling from behind her, knowing just how big of a crush she had on the female Harrington, also remembering how much she cried when she left Hawkins to study in a different state, but now she’s back as she has a chance to be with her. She then tilted her head when [F/N] pouted softly, taking off her glasses then biting the end of one of the frames.

“Actually, I’m still having a little trouble remembering, think you can help jog my memory up?” the group of girls giggled at the suggestion, Veronica turned back towards them and saw them gushing at her and giving her the thumbs up, gesturing for her to shoot her shot with [F/N].

“S-Sure.” 

Robin felt like she accomplished a mission. You could really do a lot with just twenty bucks, she exits the post office and stuffed the entire layout of the Starcourt Mall into her bag and jogs over to where she parked her bike, only slowing in pace when she heard soft giggling. Turning to see what the laughter was all about, she saw a group of girls gushing about how lucky their friend was, she thought nothing of it until the name “Harrington” left their lips. She then glanced over at the parked Mustang and immediately recognised it as [F/N]’s car, she then noticed that they kept glancing back towards the little alleyway and her insecurities started getting the best of her again. The name “Veronica Gibbons” left their loose lips and more thoughts started circulating in her head, she remembered that girl. She was definitely one of the best looking students during her year at Hawkins High School, she was that iconic popular girl that did cheerleading, was beautiful, smart and was wanted by the entirety of the male population. But there was a rumour that she was into girls, that she was into the particular Harrington that was untouchable, a heartbreaker who’s heart would never beat for anyone but her brother.

She didn’t hesitate to drop her bag on the ground and rush over to the alleyway, turning the corner and her heart stopped when she saw it. Veronica was pushing [F/N] back against the wall, her hands tightly gripping onto [F/N]’s biceps as she pressed her lips against her own. [F/N] didn’t bother reciprocating the loveless kiss, just let the shorter one of the two take the lead as she desperately kissed her. She tried not to think about it, she tried so hard not to think how awful she feels for playing with this girls feelings just because she couldn’t control her own body, she didn’t want to think about how much this was going to hurt Robin, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Veronica pulled away and gave [F/N] a sheepish smile, flushing up when she noticed that her lipstick smeared onto her lips, she turns away to avoid her intense gaze but a gasp left her lips when she noticed a figure at the end of the alleyway.

“[F/N]…?” her heart dropped into her stomach, visible fear in her eyes that were hidden under the tinted lenses of her sunglasses. Robin gritted her teeth when she saw Veronica pushed herself off of [F/N], clearing her throat and fixing herself up, excusing herself from the heartbroken Robin as she tearfully gazed at [F/N], who had yet to acknowledge her existence “[F/N], please… tell me that what I saw didn’t really happen.” [F/N] just let out a sigh, crossing her arms and leaned against the brick wall behind her, finally sparing Robin a glance that just wasn’t kind.

“What’s there to talk about?” Robin’s hand clenched into a tight fist, whoever this person was, it wasn’t her [F/N]. Her loving and sweet [F/N] who’d give her the world, who would fight the world just to see her happy, whoever this imposter was, she hated their guts for what they’ve done with her girlfriend. She marches over to her and stood in front of her, glaring up at her with a tearful gaze and saw that [F/N] had an indifferent expression on her face, like she didn’t care that she just got caught “You seem upset, little birdie.” she cooed out, Robin nearly keened at the nickname, any other time she would turn red, but right now she was filled with anger and anguish.

“Is this just a joke, [F/N]? Are you not going to acknowledge the fact that I just caught you kissing another girl, or the fact that you let that girl kiss you despite already being in a relationship with me?! Is she another relative of yours you and Steve forgot to bring up? If that’s the case, that’s really fucking weird.” Robin turns away, running a hand through her hair than back at her “I thought you loved me, [F/N]. I thought you said you wanted to be with me, but as of lately, I feel like you’ve become an entirely different person. Ever since that night, I haven’t seen a trace of the girl that said she was in love with me. What the fuck has happened to you, [F/N]!” Robin continued to rant and rave at the betrayal and [F/N] just took it, because another war was raging on in her head.

Take her.

Not her.

Bring her.

Ignore her.

Kill her. 

Spare her.

[F/N]’s fingers clawed at the wall behind her, her nails digging into the bricks to the point they were being crushed under her hold. Her teeth were biting down so hard on her lips to the point they were bleeding, she was trying to distract herself from the grotesque thought of bringing one of the few people that she loves to that fucking thing. She was trying so hard the past two days to avoid Steve and Robin, she was trying so hard to limit her time with those two because if she was with them for more than a couple minutes then she would lose all control of her body and she would hurt them. That was the last thing that she wanted, she didn’t want to hurt them, she didn’t want them to die all because she made one stupid decision. She said nothing as Robin continued to question what their relationship has come to after two days of her acting off, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Robin and tell her everything, tell her that everything is going to be okay and that kiss with Veronica whatever meant nothing to her. But she knew the moment her arms were around her, there was no letting go of her, and not for a good reason either. She wanted to do something to keep Robin away, give her a reason to avoid her, to never see her again.

“You’re making me think that everything about our relationship was for nothing!” she shouts, tears now running down her face, oh how she wanted to wipe those tears away but she didn’t want to touch her with the hands that have been the cause of people losing their minds and possibly their lives “Was there absolutely nothing, nothing special about our relationship?” Robin stood their panting in front of [F/N], the girl silently looking down at her.

“… are you done?” she flinched back at the harsh words.

“Wha—”

“Was anything in our relationship special? Wow, you were really deep in that delusional fantasy of yours, huh? Well, let me tell you something, Buckley.” she harshly jabs her finger into Robin’s chest, causing her to stagger backwards as each jab got harsher and harsher at each step she took “Your love for me was nice, it was, but it’s gotten boring. There’s nothing about you that excites me anymore, so yeah, maybe our relationship was for nothing.”

“[F-F/N]…” she lets out a whimper when her back was no pressed against the opposite wall, [F/N] looming over her with a dark look on her face.

“There is no us, not anymore. I don’t need you.” [F/N] makes sure to grab her by the jaw, lifting her up off the ground as she glared down at her “You mean nothing to me.” Robin lets out a whimper when she felt her nails digging into her skin, she spares her a glance through her teary eyes and when she looked into [F/N]’s eyes, there was no warmth but dull and empty eyes staring right back at her. She let out a gasp when [F/N] dropped her, letting her collapse to the ground and grovel at her feet. She turned on her heel and started walking away, ignoring how much she wanted to stop and apologise to Robin, how this isn’t what she wanted but this was the hill she was going to die on if it meant that Robin was safe from her ”And Buckley, don’t even think about telling Stevie about this, not that he’ll even be on your side in the first place. I’m his sister, he loves me, and you? You’re nothing but a coworker he has to put up with.” she didn’t even bother looking back at Robin when she finally left the alleyway, leaving Robin to wallow up with a broken heart as she cried out in anguish.

“[F/N]?” she let out a hum, turning towards Veronica who now sat in her passenger seat while her friends were excitingly sitting in the back “Are you alright?”  “Why wouldn’t I be, sweetheart?” she flushed at the pet name, she points at her face.

“You’re crying…” her eyes widened softly at that, glancing down at her face to see a single tear running down her cheek, she chuckles softly at that and wipes it away with her thumb.

“Just a little dust that got in my eye, nothing to worry about.”

Hours go by and night has enveloped Hawkins, to which [F/N] was currently loading the drunk, unconscious and tied up girls into her car once more. Getting them completely intoxicated took no trouble whatsoever, they were more than happy to get wasted with the more popular Harrington. [F/N] herself was drinking away her sorrows after breaking up with Robin, wanting nothing more then to numb the pain and forget that look of pain and betrayal on Robin’s face, but it’ll forever be burned into the back of her mind. She lets out an exhausted sigh after loading the last of the girls into the backseat, rolling her shoulders after walking back and forward from the house and her car repeatedly. Steve had yet to return from Scoops Ahoy despite how late into the night it was becoming so she was taking his absence as an opportunity to get everything done. Driving to the factory wasn’t as eventful, driving legally to avoid unwanted attention so she doesn’t get pulled over, when she reached the basement she was quite surprised to see the state Billy was in.

“Fuck happened to you?” she questions, quietly offering up the girls to the monster then returned to his side with a rag and some water “You look like you got the shit beaten out of you.” he looked up at her, letting her clean up the blood and sweat “That girl, was it her?” he nods.

“Yeah. It was her.” she nods softly, taking his hand and wiping away the blood on his knuckles “She knows now. She knows about me. She could’ve killed me.” she nods again, she puts the rag down and gently pats his hand.

“Yes, but not us. Not us.” they then glance at the crowd of people they’ve either managed to kidnap altogether or were infected by the rats that were controlled by the monster “There’s no way she’ll know that there are more of us. She could barely handle you, so what makes her think she can handle all of us?”

“You’re right.”  “I know. Our time is nearly upon us, so we needn’t worry until then.”

[the next day, with the party]

The party along with Jonathan and Nancy were all hunkered down in the Wheeler household in the basement, each discussing what had happened the following night and their latest discoveries. The children told the two young adults how the Mind Flayer had returned and that Billy Hargrove was under its control, in return they told the party how an old woman, Mrs Driscoll, was found eating fertiliser and was acting crazy. Nancy then deducted how that since the attack last night along with their sauna test happened at the same time, the possibility of the Mind Flayer flaying more than just Billy.

“Billy was doing something to her, but there was someone else as well.” they all look at El when she spoke up, she looks at Max “There was another girl, but she looked more worried for him.” she closed her eyes to remember seeing Billy, she remembered seeing that girl who looked terrified as she called out for Billy.

“Another girl? What did she look like?” Max urged, maybe if they find this girl she could help them find Billy and maybe even the Mind Flayer.

“Um, she was tall, maybe about Billy’s height. She had [H/C] hair, [E/C] eyes and a few beauty marks on her neck and face.” she closed her eyes to remember any other features that stood out to her “Her eyes, though, her eyes reminded me a lot of Steve’s.” this subtle feature caught Nancy’s attention, her face lighting up in remembrance, this caused the others to look at her when she started snapping her fingers.

“W-Wait— Wait right there.” the others watch as Nancy rushed out of the basement, questioning what she was planning on grabbing, and when she returned she had a handful of polaroids and a few articles “El, is the girl you’re describing… her?” El leans forward to see Nancy was looking through the photos before pushing a certain article towards her, she ignores the headline as her eyes zone in on the picture. They she saw the girl she saw through her vision but this time she had a giant grin on her face, a bit of a crazed expression on her face as she stuck her tongue out while one of her hands was doing the rock on devil horns.

“Y-Yes, yes! That’s who I saw,” Nancy and Jonathan share a look of disbelief “W-Who is she?”  “That’s Steve’s sister! That’s [F/N] Harrington!” this caused the lot of them to lurch forward and look all the pictures of said Harrington “I remember her being back in town, but to think that she and Billy were actually friends.” she muttered under her breath, Max was looking at a picture had in his hands and her eyes widened when she too recognised her face.

“Holy shit.” Max says, now they look at her when they saw her pick up a different photo, this time it was of a polaroid of the girl at a party, sitting on a couch with her legs over the arm rest as she was chugging down an entire bottle of vodka “That’s Billy’s girlfriend.” now Nancy and Jonathan were in even more shock.

“Fucking, what?!” Max nods her head.

“I’ve seen her around the house a couple times, and whenever she’s around he’s a lot more happier. I remember hearing a girls laughter from his room and when I came in to see what it was…” she shudders at the memory, shaking her head “It wasn’t particularly a fun sight.” the certain memory she’s remembering back to was when she, Steve and Robin snuck into Billy’s room through his window with some weed and alcohol they were planning on sharing with each other. None of them had realised Max was home until they heard her calling Billy’s name followed by her footsteps, Robin and Steve were quick to hide away and when [F/N] attempted to jump out the window, she instead tripped over her own feet and landed on top to Billy, that was when Max walked into the room and misunderstood the entire situation. All the residents of the Hargrove/Mayfield household are one hundred percent convinced that the two are in a relationship, this fact was rather beneficial for the both of them.

“I heard rumours going around that Billy was dating [F/N], but I never believed them.” Jonathan admits “But it makes it all the more believable that the two of them were together.”  “Then do you think she’s flayed? Like Billy?” Nancy takes a breath.

“There’s only one way to find out.” they now find themselves driving to the Harrington household, all feeling concerned and anxious. Nancy was the most worried because she’s witnessed firsthand what the older Harrington was capable of, she was already crazy as is and would only tone it down when her younger brother was in the picture. She loved her brother to bits that the moment someone looked at him wrong she didn’t hesitate to beat their asses with a chair, she remembered how she got arrested for nearly beating a kid near death because they threatened to kill her brother. They reap what they sow, no? Pulling up to the house, Jonathan and Nancy recognise the car that’s in the driveway, it was [F/N]’s infamous Mustang that could rival Billy’s Camaro when it came down to public disturbance.

“Is there anything about her that we should be careful about?” Jonathan looks up in thought as they approach the front door.

“Um, if you thought Billy was bad… I’d say she’s worse.” they pale at that, she’s worse than Billy? “But if you get on her good side, she’s actually a pretty decent person, nice even.” Nancy nods her head, agreeing with what he’s saying. The two now stood in front of the two, both equally hesitating to knock because they share an equal fear of the female Harrington, Nancy was the one to take a deep breath and knock on the door. They waited for a while for the door to open, awkwardly looking around to pass the time, they hear stumbling footsteps and a few things getting knocked over before the door was open. Nancy and Jonathan reel backwards when the smell of alcohol hit their faces, there in front of them was the sight of a depressed and intoxicated [F/N] that was leaning against the doorframe to keep herself from falling to the ground while in one of her hands was a bottle of tequila. 

This is not what the party were expecting.

“Who the fff… phuck are you?” [F/N] slurred out, clearly not in the right state of mind and very much drunk.

“Is that you… [F/N]?” Nancy asked, very much unsure that the girl in front of her was the Harrington that she knew. [F/N] was one to get drunk at the oddest times of the day, but it looked like she had been crying, and she does not shed tears for anything or just about anyone. [F/N] giggled drunkenly, swaying softly before lifting the bottle of tequila and taking a long swig from it, letting out a satisfied breath as the alcohol burned her throat.

“Yeah? What’s it to you?” [F/N] was going to ignore the bothersome people who came knocking at her door while she was trying to wallow up in sadness, ready to just outright slam the door in their faces but paused when in her drunken eyes she could just make out who exactly the girl is “W-Who are you?” she stuttered out, Nancy swallows thickly, patting her dress to smooth it out.

“Um, it’s me, Nancy Wheeler?” [F/N]’s blood starts to run cold, sobering up just at the mention of the name “I dated your brother a while ago, and we’ve met a couple times when we weren’t dating?” the silence scared them, maybe it was because [F/N]’s drunken state disappeared as she stared Nancy dead in the eyes and wouldn’t break eye contact no matter how many times Nancy looked away or turned her head away, [F/N] just continued to stare at her. Soon, a soft smile appeared on her face as she chuckled softly, she then leaned down to put the bottle of tequila on the ground then reached forward to grab Nancy by the sides of her head. The others watch in confusion as [F/N] gently caressed her face but it changed when she leaned her head back then slammed her forehead right into the bridge of Nancy’s nose hard enough to break it. She let go of her head and let her fall back onto the ground, not really caring as the girl cried out in pain and clutched onto her nose, she then leans back down to pick up her tequila as the children and Jonathan surround Nancy.

“Oh my god, Nancy!” Mike shouts as he falls to his knees, comforting his sister as she tried to stop her bleeding nose “What is wrong with you?!” he shouts up at [F/N], who once again threw her head back as she downed another swig from her bottle, completely ignoring him.

“I don’t like you, Wheeler.” she sneers out, taking a step forward and glaring down at the girl “I know what my brother did to you and Byers over there back in 83′, as his older sister I apologise, but what you did to him last year? He told me everything, how the girl he wanted to be with said everything between them was bullshit, then went and ran straight into the arms of the guy she told him not to worry about. You should’ve thought twice before showing your face to me, Wheeler, because now you’re on my number one hit list.” she makes the “I’m watching you” gesture with her fingers then turned around to go back into her house, only stopping when Jonathan used his foot to keep the door from closing properly.

“Wait, [F/N]!” she glared at him “We really need to talk to you.” she scoffs, throwing her head back.

“About what?”

“About Billy.” she was in the middle of taking another long swig from her bottle but froze up at the mention of Billy, slowly lowering the bottle to look at the older Byers “We really need to talk about him, and we’d appreciate it if you could tell us everything you know about him that’s happened in the past couple of days.” she stared at the lot of them being letting out a sigh, that’s where they found themselves in [F/N]’s kitchen as her drunken rage turned into a sob fest.

“You know?! I feel like he’s been acting different as of lately, and— and that he’s been distancing himself! I feel like he’s become a completely different person!” she cried from where she was seated, the others all sat across from her as her body moved dramatically “Then he broke up with me, saying how it was for the best! What the fuck does that mean?! Why does breaking up with me the best for us?! I still wanted to be friends, but I couldn’t even have that either! So here I am, drinking myself into a stupor!” she shouts and goes to drink again but let out a whine when nothing came out, pulling it away from her lips and tipping the bottle only for a few droplets to come pouring out. The others all glance at each other and watch as she moved to a wine cabinet to grab a bottle of expensive looking wine.

“She’s totally not flayed, right?” Lucas questioned, Mike shook his head.

“Not a chance.” they all wince when she trips into the wine cabinet, no chance.

“Hey, where can I get some ice?” Jonathan asked, [F/N] looked back towards him before shakily pointing at the fridge.

“Should be some in the freezer, Byers. Help yourself out.” Jonathan nods and goes to get some but Mike was already on his feet to grab it himself, wanting to soothe his sister’s pain, at least Max and El stopped the bleeding. He’s in front of the fridge and about to open the freezer but stopped when he saw a picture hanging on the fridge, taking a closer look, his eyes widened at what he saw. There he saw [F/N], Steve, Billy and that cashier that works with Steve, Robin Buckley if he remembered correctly, standing together with wide smiles and looking happy “Mike, the ice!”

“Oh, right, sorry!” he opens the freezer and grabbed the ice tray, handing it to Jonathan, and closed the freezer door but continued to look at the picture just as [F/N] came over “When did you take this?” she let out a confused noise and leaned forward to see what he was looking at, they all watch as she froze up once again, her hand lifting up from her side to look at the photo. It was during the time when they were at the fair, Steve wanted to take a photo and there was no saying no to Steve. [F/N], Robin, Steve and Billy, in that order, stood together and took a round of different photos and each kept one, right below it with the caption “night of 85′ where it started”. She closed her eyes as a bitter look crossed her face, nothing will be the same ever again and that memory of the four of them happy together will be one of her fondest memories.

“It… doesn’t matter.” she lets out, grabbing the corner of the picture she yanks it off the fridge and tucks it into her pocket “A-Anyways, what’s this about Billy? What’s he done that’s caused you lot to come to me?” El was the one to speak, reaching forward to hold [F/N]’s hand.

“We would like to know if… if you’ve been with him in the past few days, if by chance you’ve been feeling strange.” she stares down at her hand in confusion, she doesn’t pull her hand back though and just simply squeezes it.

“Well, if drinking before five counts as weird, then not particularly, no.” they all sigh at that, she pulls her hand away and crossed her arms, humming to herself whilst looking up in thought “Um, he and that Heather Holloway have been acting weird together. He doesn’t usually hang out with that girl, but the way he talked about her was weird. He even dressed modestly when planning on having dinner with her parents, and that man usually dresses like a complete whore.” they look at her weirdly as she snaps her fingers, she lets out a grunt as she popped the cork off the wine bottle and proceeded to pour herself glass.

“Heather Holloway?” [F/N] nods her head, head falling backwards as she brings the glass to her lips and drinks the wine “Alright, anything else?” she begrudgingly looked off to the side, thinking of anything else that came to mind.

“Uh, he told me he had been planning on visiting this old lady in the hospital? Does that mean anything to you?” she noticed them all visibly flinch, sharing knowing looks with each other “Telling by the looks on your faces, I guess that was helpful?” she questioned, her face scrunched up when Nancy nodded her head in her direction.

“Very!” she bit her tongue and shrunk back when [F/N] glared at her, El grabbed [F/N]’s hand once more and shook it lightly.

“Billy is in trouble, and what you’ve told us has helped our chances on finding him and helping him.” El’s face lifted up when she noticed the way [F/N]’s face softened up at that, she pursed her lips as she averted her eyes from the girl.

“I hope he hasn’t gotten himself into anything too dangerous.” they all hated how that wasn’t the case, with everything they got out of the drunk yet slightly sobering up Harrington, they left just as quickly as they arrived. Will was the last out the door but he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, his hand immediately slaps onto his neck and he turned around to see [F/N] following them out so she can shut the door behind them. She felt his gaze so she looked down at him to see what he wanted, the chill went away when her drunken eyes looked him up and down “What?” he nervously shook his head.

“N-Nothing.” she narrowed her eyes on him but evidently shrugged her shoulders, the moment they were at their car she slammed the door shut, not waiting for them to pull out of the driveway.

“Will, are you alright?” Mike asked, his hand reaching over to gently grab his hand, Will looked up at Mike and gave him a nervous smile as he nodded his head.

“Y-Yeah, I’m good.” [F/N] stood in her empty kitchen, wine glass in her hand as she tapped her finger against the marble countertop. If she played her roll well enough, the group will probably go and investigate the Holloway household then make their way to the hospital to check on poor old Mrs Driscoll, she was now rolling her fingers against the counter.

“Well, why not give them a surprise for snooping in things they shouldn’t go poking their heads in?” she laughs to herself, downing the rest of wine in her glass before proceeding to round a few other flayed people to come help her.

[later at night]

The party arrive at the hospital when the sun was down and it was late into the night, they quickly rush out of the car and towards the hospitals entrance, completely unaware of the Ford Mustang that was parked not to far away from where they were. Per hospital visits, only two people were allowed to visit a patient at a time so Nancy and Jonathan went ahead while the others lingered around the waiting room. The two walk down the hallway to get to Dorris Driscoll’s room in silence, but to be honest, it was a little too quire despite it being a hospital. They hadn’t seen a single nurse or doctor since they arrived at the floor, it was rather unusual but they shrugged it off with that it wasn’t that busy of a night. Entering the room, they were met with the sight of Mrs Driscoll nowhere to be seen while the flowers Nancy brought and placed into a vase were knocked over.

“Where is she?” Jonathan asks as they scan the room, Nancy shakes her head.

“I don’t know.” she answers as she rushes towards the fallen vase, Jonathan following right behind her.

“Are you sure this is the right room?”

“Yeah.” they both then look up when the lights started flicking on and off, footsteps were heard from the hallway until a figure appeared at the door, the two turned around just as the figure spoke.

“She’s gone home.” there they see Tom Holloway, appearance looking disheveled as his hands and end of his button up were covered in blood “We were hoping you might come back.” the two start backing away when Tom enters the room and starts approaching them slowly, Jonathan raises his arm in front of Nancy to keep her behind him as they inched further and further away from Tom.

“Who’s blood is that?” Tom doesn’t answer him as he gets closer to them.

“Tom, whatever you’ve done, it’s not you. He’s making you do this.” now that they were practically within arms length from Tom, Jonathan didn’t take any chances and grabbed the vase, smashing it into the side of Tom’s head. The older man fell into the wall giving Jonathan and Nancy a chance to flee out of the room, they didn’t get far when another flayed appeared down the hall with a wound exactly where Jonathan hit Tom with the vase.

“Owie.” he feigns the pain as he caressed where his temple was bleeding but it healed, black veins bulging out from his temple as he started walking towards them.

“Go, go, go!” Jonathan shouts, pushing Nancy towards the staircase in an attempt to escape the two flayed men. The two of them are racing down the stairs, they aren’t really aware what floor they’re on but they don’t want to take any chances as they’re running down the hall, going further and further they see the dead bodies of the hospital workers, at least they now knew whose blood that was “This way, this way!” he shouts as he pulls Nancy down a part of the hospital that had construction being done, the two men that were chasing them weren’t even running and were just simply walking at a steady pace.

“You haven’t got them yet?” Bruce glanced over to see [F/N] on a chair, body hunched over with her elbows resting on her knees. Beneath her foot was a nurse whimpering, crying silently as [F/N] pressed the heel of her shoe into her head and slowly applied more pressure as the nurse squirmed to get free “How hard is it to grab those two idiots?” she questioned.

“Just playing a little game of cat and mouse, that’s all.” she chuckled cruelly, shaking her head.

“Get them before they cause us more trouble. That girl isn’t here to assist them, so one of you should be enough to handle them both, alright?” he nods his head and rushed off to go find Nancy and Jonathan, not like that would be hard. She finally turned her attention to the crying nurse who looked up at her, eyes pleading with her to let her go “It’s a shame that you weren’t able to see the world he was going to create, but I guess it’s better for you not to stay and find out.” [F/N] then reached over to the axe that was resting against the wall, both her hands and the blade drenched in blood of the various victims that were claimed that night. She now aimlessly walked the hospital halls, whistling a random tune as she felt the flayed Bruce find the two and so she made her way over to where they were, Bruce was chasing after Nancy as she screamed for help while Tom was making his way over to where Jonathan was.

Find them.

Kill them.

Erase them.

Annihilate them.

“They’re working on it.” she murmurs under her breath, getting closer and closer to where Tom was with Jonathan, he was playing with his food. She shook her head, maybe it was wrong to bring those two along with her and she probably should have brought two other peo— she suddenly let out a grunt, her head being thrown back as she stumbled into the wall. She brought a hand to her mouth and saw black blood bleeding from her mouth, she drops the axe when she felt another impact smash her across the face and she finally fell to the ground. She was growling under her breath, panting as she starts pushing herself up but fell back when another smash to the head was delivered to Bruce while Jonathan stabbed Tom in the neck. The shared pain they felt sucked and had [F/N] grovelling on the floor, both hands slapped around her neck as black bleed bled from her face and neck, her veins then started bumping black as they started turning visible “You worthless… imbeciles!” she roared out, the Mind Flayer gifted her and Billy more power since they were the first to turn into his mindless zombies, so their regenerative abilities were superb in comparison to the rest. While Bruce and Tom lay motionless on the floor she picked herself back up, rolling her neck and hearing it crack under the pressure, she leans down to pick the fallen axe up and dragged it behind her to find the two causing them so many problems. 

She was greatly irritated, gripping onto the axe with so much force that the wood started to crack under her hold. Those two had one simple job to do and they failed horrendously to the point that their bodies turned into goop, she heard the sound of panting so she looked over and saw a doctor she thought she had killed, dragging himself along the floor to get to safety. The moment he heard footsteps he thought he was saved so he turned to see his saviour but his face fell at the sight of an enraged [F/N], dragging her axe behind her and leaving a trail of blood behind her. The doctor let out a cry as he tried crawling away again but was stopped when she stomped on his back, she brings the axe above her head and swing it down, landing a clean hit into the back of his skull and killing him. Blood splattered onto her face as she didn’t bother wiping it off, just simply yanked the axe out of his head and continued on with her journey. She was walking down the hall when she saw the goop of what was Tom and Bruce form into the monster, a miniature version of the Mind Flayer.

“Now look what you’ve done with yourself.” she speaks, walking out from the hallway as her body was drenched in a mixture of black and red blood, she then turned her head and a wicked smile spread across her face at the sight of Jonathan “There you are~” she cooed, now standing beside the Mind Flayer as she stared Jonathan down while the monster stared at Nancy.

“[F-F/N]…?” they both stutter out, she giggled to herself, throwing the axe over her shoulder and bounced it lightly.

“The one and only.” she winks at Jonathan then turns towards the monster, lifting the axe up to point at it “You had one job, right? One! And you failed it, immensely. All you had to do was kill them, and you couldn’t even do something so simple to the point you’ve gone and turn yourself into that. Good job, really, good job.” she shook her head in disappointment as the monster lets out a whine, knowing that the original Mind Flayer favours her and Billy over the rest.

“[F/N], w-what have you done?” Nancy whispers out as she looked the older Harrington up and down seeing she was covered in blood that just wasn’t hers as her veins were pumping with black blood “You were flayed? For how long?!” she cries out, she just shrugs.

“Does it matter? You’ll be dead anyways.” she looks back up at the monster and whistles, pointing with her thumb towards Nancy “Get her, I’ll deal with the other one. You won’t have trouble with this, will you?” she chuckles when it lets out a roar and starts charging towards her, she in turn starts marching over to where Jonathan is.

“Shit.”

“Nancy! Run!” she immediately backs into the door to the staircase but let out a panicked cry when sandbags were keeping the door from opening fully, Jonathan starts to panic as well because the monster was quickly closing the distance between the two of them and [F/N] was also getting closer to him. When Nancy manages to break through the door and run away he felt a sense of relief but it didn’t last when [F/N] was on him, he grabs one of the IV poles to defend himself but lets out a grunt when she kicked him in the chest, he evidently falls to the ground because of this.

“I’m really going to enjoy this, I never really liked you anyway, creep.” she lets out a grunt as she tries slamming the axe down on him but he managed to roll away just in time. He’s pushing himself back to get away from [F/N] as she leisurely strides after him, dragging the bloodied axe behind her in an almost taunting way “I don’t even need to do much to influence this body into wanting to kill you, it’s already rather homicidal and her hatred for you and that other girl is pretty deep.” Jonathan manages to push himself onto his feet and starts running away from her but in a way that he was chasing after the monster and Nancy.

“Is this because I beat her brother up and Nancy broke up with him?!” she only shrugs, easily matching his pace as she chased after him.

“Probably, but she was already crazy even before that, I’ve just pushed aside her rationality.” she swings at him again but he ducks out of the way, wincing when the axe made contact with the wall and a crack formed under the impact “Her love for her brother is both her weakness and her strength. She’d do anything for him; anything.” she’s swinging at him left and right, him narrowly dodging out of the way when he’s finally at the hallway where he sees the miniature Mind Flayer at a door that he believes Nancy has locked herself in.

“No, Nancy!” this was his shortcoming when he froze up, watching as the monster lost its physical form to turn back into a state of goop so it could slip under the cracks of the door. He was kicked in the back and fell onto his stomach, he pushes himself onto his back but let out a grunt of pain when she hit him with the butt of the axe, causing him to fall limp onto his back and daze him.

“No more running, little Jonathan. You’re making my job harder than it needs to be, so just sit still,” she starts, raising the axe over her head and smiling crazily down at him “and let me kill you.” she laughs wickedly and finally swings the axe down, having a clean shot to kill Jonathan but the axe is stopped inches away from his face. He gasped, eyes widen in shock as he stared up at the blade while [F/N] in turn was confused, letting out a strained grunt as she tried pushing it down but it wasn’t budging.

“Jonathan!” the two of them whip their heads around and see the party down the hall, El’s hand stretched out a stopping the blade from meeting Jonathan’s face. They all flinch back at the vicious look in [F/N]’s eyes, god, she looked exactly like Billy during the sauna test. El didn’t waste any time as she raised her hand, this motion caused the axe in her hands to move away from Jonathan, and because she was still holding the axe in her hands, El used it to send [F/N] flying back and pin her to the wall with it pressed against her throat, just like Billy.

“Holy shit, she was flayed the whole time!” Lucas shouts as they all rush towards Jonathan to help him up, they all spare [F/N] a glance and saw she was growling at them, letting out a animalistic roar as she pushes against the axe that was keeping her at bay, El in turn was putting more power into keeping [F/N] still “Does that mean she lured us here?!”

“It doesn’t matter now!” Mike shouts, they all shudder when [F/N] starts giggling maniacally “Why the hell are you laughing?!”

“You dumbasses a-are… are exactly where I want you.” Mike shakes his head.

“Really? But aren’t you the one being pinned to the wall right now?” she continues to laugh, her head rolling backwards and resting against the wall behind her. The dark blood pumping through her veins become more visible as she lets out another roar, finally managing to push El’s hold off of her and throw the axe towards them, they all duck out as the way just as she lands on the ground with a heavy thud.

“Jeez, way to go dickwad.” Max sneers at him, [F/N] wipes away the blood dripping down her nose as she leaned down to pick up the fallen axe. She throws her head back, running a hand through her hair as she laughs again, El is panting as she ignores the blood running down her nose.

“What’s so funny?” blood is running down her face and she can’t tell whether it’s hers or not, but she doesn’t care as she looks down at the children, she throws her axe over her shoulders and motions with her eyes to the room behind them.

“Aren’t you forgetting about someone?” at the mention of that they heard a scream, they all turn their heads towards the door and [F/N] laughs once more “I know a fight I can’t win when I see one, so here’s how this is going to go. You lot have two options. Option one, I run away and you lot are given the chance to save Nancy from meeting her inevitable end because you choose to save her instead of chase after me. Or option two, you give up on little Miss Nancy to chase after little ol’ me, this gives you the chance to learn things about where the monster is and what he’s planning on doing, but this also means that Wheeler meets her end. So what’s it gonna be? Are you going to be the hero that saves the damsel in distress, or the hero that sacrifices her to save the world?” she doesn’t wait for them to answer as she’s already running in the opposite direction, El raises her arm to stop her but flinched when she heard Nancy’s cry for help.

“El, leave her! Please, you’ve got to save Nancy! You’ve got to save my sister!” Mike cries out, tears swelling in his eyes when Nancy’s screams got louder, he then desperately tugs on her arm “Please, El! Please!” El’s eyes were still on [F/N]’s retreating figure, growling softly under her breath when she saw the light smirk on her face before she turned the corner and disappeared. [F/N] was pouting softly as she exits the hospital, spinning the axe around her wrists, and was slightly disappointed she couldn’t kill Jonathan or that Nancy. Oh well, there was still plenty of time to get them next ti— she jumped up in surprise when the monster was thrown out of the room and landed right beside her, she looked up from where it fell and saw the lot peering outside the window, she then gives them a two fingered salute before rushing over to her car and driving away as the monster turns itself into goop once more to escape through the sewers.

“… so which one of us is telling Steve?” Lucas murmurs, they all pale at that. Back with [F/N], she finally reaches the factory, letting out a groan as she walks down the stairs to the basement, hand on her neck while rolling her neck as the axe rested on her shoulder.

“You look like hell.” she scoffs at Billy, wiping the blood on her face with the back of her hand.

“I feel like hell. I couldn’t get shit done because the two idiots I brought with me were of no help whatsoever.” the goop that escaped from the hospital the appears, slithering towards the original to merge with it, it grows in size as the two stare up at it.

“It’s time.”

[time skip: the next day]

El sat in front of the TV that was playing nothing but static, a blindfold over her eyes to help her focus on finding where the Mind Flayer could possibly be while the others sat back and watched her overexert herself. She was panting as she tried so hard to keep pushing herself but in the end she couldn’t anymore and ripped the blindfold off her eyes, she now found herself in the kitchen getting a glass of water, gulping it down until the glass was completely empty. The others were discussing what they should do, they could possibly go and find [F/N] but they didn’t want to take the chance on fighting the newly psychopath and she probably wasn’t going to be home, the other option was Billy who definitely was home but him being there was just a trap waiting for them. El set her empty glass on the kitchen counter and let her eyes wander under until they landed on a box of lucky charms, staring at the rainbow, she got bitter flashbacks of her mother but then an idea struck in her head that she went back to the ground.

“It’s too risky.”

“Yeah, and unnecessary. Killing the flayed won’t stop the Mind Flayer. We have to find out where it’s spreading from. We have to find the source.”

“Billy and [F/N] know it.” they all turn to El when she entered the room “They’ve both been there, to the source. She even said that if we went after her and caught her, we could’ve learned where the Mind Flayer was.” Mike shook his head.

“Yeah, but—”

“It’s a trap, I know. We can’t go to Billy or [F/N], but I think there’s another way. A way for me to see where they’ve been.” she’s sat in front of the TV once more with a blindfold over her eyes, concentrating on the static noise coming from the TV. She takes a deep breath and concentrates until she finds herself in the void and in the distance she can see something. As she gets closer she finds herself staring down at Billy and [F/N] sitting beside each other on what she assumes is Billy’s bed, [F/N] had her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder and Billy himself was sitting up straight while staring into nothing. The one thing the two of them were doing was holding each other’s hand, occasionally squeezing, as her other arm was wrapped around her waist as his other hand rested on his knee. El now stood in front of the two, who weren’t completely unaware that she was there, but they both had a feeling that someone was there. El lets out a shaky breath as she reaches down, grabbing both of their free hands “Billy… [F/N]. I want to see. I want to see what happened.” Billy raises his head and [F/N] opens her eyes, El could see the tears in their eyes as they stared up at her, she lets out a gasp when the hands she was holding let go of hers and instead held a tight grip on her forearm. She tries to break free but neither one of them were letting go, their hold on her only tightened as she fought against them but when they did let go of her, she falls back but their memories of everything they’ve done flashed in her head. From [F/N] and Billy killing people, from them kidnapping people, from them hurting people, from the Mind Flayer infecting the two of them, from the very beginning when Billy crashed and [F/N] rushing to come to his aid.

El let out a grunt when she fell onto the concrete sidewalk, she groans as she rubs the back of her head and slowly pushed herself up so her hands were holding her up, she looked around and saw that she was on some random street that she couldn’t recognise but the sun was up and there weren’t many people around, it was practically empty. She finally pulls herself onto her feet and starts walking around, maybe trying to find someone or something she can recognise. She lets out a gasp when she heard laughter so she goes to turn around and see what it was but paused when a young child, a little girl, ran past her laughing to her hearts content. Looking her up and down, she wore a [F/C] sweater and shorts while her hair was tied up with a hair tie that had small little ladybugs on it, the girl laughed again before turning around and waving her hand in the direction El was standing in.

“Stevie, come on! You’re so slow.” El gasps softly and when she turns around she sees the child version of Steve Harrington, he looked to be about ten years of age, pushing a bike where the girl was standing “Didn’t you ask me to teach you how to ride a bike?” Steve pants as he walks past El and towards his older sister.

“You’re not the one pushing the bike [F/N].” he complains, she just rolls her eyes.

“Stop being such a big baby, dingus.” he pouts, El follows them and finds that they’re in some neighbourhood in Hawkins that has smooth terrain for Steve to ride his bike. El smiled softly seeing [F/N] tease Steve while he in turn was crying at her to stop, she did eventually stop when she saw his eyes start getting misty and started pushing his bike. It was quite sweet watching the older Harrington treated her brother rather delicately, he seemed like such a crybaby when he was a kid.

“I-I’m having second thoughts, [F/N].” Steve said to her, his voice barely above a whisper. He was currently on the bike, his hands clutching onto the handles as his feet rested on the pedals, [F/N] stood beside him while holding the back because she knew that he didn’t have the balance to hold himself. She exhaled through her nose, looking him up and down.

“Well, we can always do this another time, not everybody can get it on their first try.” she tries reassuring him but noticed that he still looked upset over the matter, her eyes looked down in thought before she reached over and placed her hand on top of his “Hey, Steve, I’ll be right beside you, alright? I’ll always be with you every step of the way, I promise you that.” Steve sniffles at that, looking down at his sister with teary eyes.

“R-Really?” she nods, a big smile on her face.

“Really, I’ll always be there for you.” seeing her smile made one just as big spread across his lips, he then nods as he looked ahead of them.

“Okay, I can do this.” and as [F/N] promised, she was right beside him to help keep him balanced as he pedalled down the sidewalk, but the moment she noticed that he was doing on his own was when she pulled her arms back and instead ran beside him.

“You’re doing it, Stevie! Look at you go!” she cheered, he took a quick glance at her and saw that he really was doing it on his own, a big smile broke onto his face as he went on. When [F/N] could no longer keep up with him, she stopped running at his pace and let out an exhausted breath as she hunched forward to catch her breath. El approached the young [F/N], looking at her face and there she saw the look of pure love as she watched her brother go, she saw that she completely adored her brother to no ends. El remembered Nancy mentioning how [F/N] would do about anything for her younger brother, it didn’t what it was, it’s just that she would go to great lengths for him. [F/N] gasped and this caused El to stop looking at her and instead back at Steve, who winced when she saw the wheel get caught in something, causing him to fly off the bike “Steve!” she shouts out and immediately rushes to his side, to which he was bawling his eyes out as his knees were bleeding and hands were scrapped.

“It hurts, [F/N]! It hurts so much!” he cries out, [F/N] drops to her knees as she looked him up and down, trying to figure out what to do as he continued sobbing. She then tries to calm him down but it just doesn’t seem to work, nothing she was doing was working and he only seemed to be getting worse, so she starts to cry with Steve. El found it a little funny that the two siblings were crying, Steve because he was hurt and [F/N] because Steve was crying. She never would have imagined that the drunk, depressed and psychotic [F/N] she met the day prior was the same caring little girl she watched before her. When [F/N] did manage to calm down, not enough to stop crying, she picked Steve up and carried him on his back and ran to the closets house, abandoning the bike in favor of someone helping her brother. The person she chose was quite startled to find two crying children at her door step, awkwardly question what was wrong but managed to understand what happened through all the snot and tears [F/N] blubbered out.

[you can skip past this, this is basically her past that I accidentally started to write and I couldn’t fucking stop]

[F/N]’s happiest memory was anything that involved Steve, she was the eldest Harrington child of the Harrington couple. The two of them never wanted a daughter and expected their first child to be a son, but when they got [F/N] instead they didn’t hesitate to have sex again just to conceive another child in hopes of getting a son, and their hopes came true when Steve was born. [F/N] noticed at a young age how her parents favoured Steve over her every time, it didn’t matter what it was, it was always him before her, but she never did care about that, because her parents were just assholes and her baby brother didn’t do anything to deserve the anger she had for their parents to be directed at him. There was just something different between the two of them when they started getting older, they were joined at the hip when they were children but the moment they were in middle school, it was a different story. [F/N] naturally entered middle school before him and she already earned herself a title, the up and rising star of Hawkins Middle School that would surely become the Queen of Hawkins High when she graduates middle school. She was beautiful, a Harrington genetic gift, naturally smart and athletic, very kind and charismatic that she was the person everyone wanted to be with.

So her achievements greatly overshadowed Steve’s to the point that their parents attention moved from him to her, at first she was happy that she got their validation, but noticing how her and Steve were drifting apart and his admiration towards her turned green with envy, she started second guessing all the popularity she gained. It got worse for Steve when he started middle school, he was known as the “other Harrington” that just couldn’t match up to his sister, he was just constantly in her shadow no matter where he went. Constantly being compared to her was like a nightmare to him, he was struggling to finish an English essay? [F/N] would have easily gotten it done in half the time it took him to write a single sentence. He managed to score a three pointer in basketball during P.E? How about winning against Hawkins Middle School’s rivalling team with the most points they’ve seen in years. He didn’t want to be known as the younger brother of [F/N] Harrington, he wanted people to know him as Steve Harrington, but that was never going to happen as long as people knew that he was her brother. [F/N] obviously noticed the treatment her sweet little brother was going through, she tried so hard to talk to him or get people to stop with their bullshit, but that made Steve angrier, he didn’t want her pity.

“Steve, why won’t you talk to me anymore? Please, I just want to make things between us better, like what it used to be when we were children!” she pleads out to him, she flinched back when he slammed his hands down on his desk, whipping his head around to glare at her.

“You want to make things right? Alright, maybe stop being better at everything! Maybe stop being the topic of every conversation people have when they come to talk to me! Maybe just stop being the reason my life is ruined!” he pushes his chair back with his legs as he approaches her “Stop being smart! Stop being pretty! Stop people the centre of attention!” she lets out a grunt when he shoved her back, her stumbling out his room as he reached for the door “Maybe just stop being my sister altogether!” he finished and slammed the door in her face, she continued to stand where he left her as she stared at his door, she let out choked up noises as tears glistened in her eyes before finally sniffling and walking away.  That was definitely the last time the two of them properly spoke with each other and no matter how many times she tried to work things out, how hard she tried to make things better, he just never gave her the time of day to hear her out. Her graduation from middle school to high school was probably her worst day because Steve didn’t even want to be there and only came because their parents would be more disappointed in him if he didn’t come to support his sister, and for him it was probably a great day because it meant that he didn’t have to see his sister the following year at all. If she didn’t do anything soon she was possibly going to lose Steve, so staring at her reflection she stared at herself and couldn’t help but hate she was looking at. She never felt like she was looking at herself, just looking at the person her parents made her out to be without her ever being able to properly find herself. She wanted to change, she wanted to be different from the person she saw in the reflection, and there was just one person that could possibly help her.

“Eddie Munson!” she screamed at the top of lungs at the trailer park, she knew the bastard was home, telling how the lights in his trailer were on. Eddie “the Freak” Munson was her polar opposite in middle school and a boy who was in the same year as she was. She remembered first seeing him during their middle school’s talent show with how him and his band “Corroded Coffin” performed heavy metal, it was very loud and a little disorganised, but it was pretty good in her opinion. She met Eddie on a few occasions but each time weren’t really pleasant, mostly because he spoke to her as if she didn’t know how the world worked since she was a privileged little girl that got everything she wanted. She didn’t know what hurt more, the fact that he isn’t entirely wrong or that it was him that woke her up. Eddie opened the door to the trailer and was surprised to see [F/N] standing there, so with his usual cocky attitude, he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

“Well what do we have here? What can this jester do for her majesty, [F/N] “the Queen” Harrington?” he cooed, [F/N] didn’t bother to say anything and just went straight to the point.

“I need your help.”

“And what can little ol’ me do for you?”

“I need you to make me look like you.” now he was a little thrown off at the request, the one and only girl that everybody loves and has everything at the palm of her hand, was asking for his help in making her… look like him? She noticed that he was confused so she raised her hand, she goes to speak but a chill ran up her spine when a burst of wind blew through her body “Can I come in? I’m fucking freezing.” her swearing was even more startling, [F/N] was prim and proper and wasn’t know for using such vulgar language, and yet here she was.

“O-Oh, yeah, of course.” and that’s where Eddie found himself holding a box of tissues for [F/N] as she told him everything that happened during her year in middle school, bawling her eyes out as she told him that her worst fear was possibly coming true “So, let me get this straight… you want me, to make you look like me so that your parents and possibly others start viewing in a different way and that people will start liking your brother?” she sniffles, nodding her head.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.” he sucks in a breath, running a hand through his growing hair after growing through his buzz cut.

“I don’t know if I find that endearing that you came to me for help or insulting that you came to me for help.” she gave him an apologetic look “But I see where you’re coming from, female Harrington. You don’t want people to see you in a positive light and if they hate you enough they’ll draw their attention towards the better Harrington.” she nods her head.

“That’s exactly what I want.” he lets out a startled yelp when she grabbed his hand, holding it in between her own and gave him a desperate look “I’ll do anything to drift the attention away from me and give it to him, I won’t care how people view me as long as they stop making my brother feel even worse than he already feels. I want to be there beside him instead of on the sidelines.” he inhales sharply, this really wasn’t what he was expecting to happen on a Saturday night.

“Well… alright.” she lights up, a big smile on her face “But I want no complaining from you, alright? The moment you start doubting anything I do, I’m gonna give up on you,” she nods her head at the terns he set.

“Of course, totally!” she stands up, still holding his hand, and shakes it rather vigorously “If this works, I owe you big time, Munson.”

And being a man of his word, on the first day of her high school year, the soft and kind [F/N] was nowhere to be seen. Instead Hawkins High was met with the new and improved Harrington that wore leather or denim and had several piercings that were definitely not done by a professional, she even wore dark make up instead of the light or natural one. To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement, everyone was in disbelief when she pulled up to school in such attire but it was the fact that she was with Eddie Munson of all people! They were laughing about and talking as if they have been best friends since they were children, even his group of friends were in on the deal of making her less popular so she wasn’t seen without being with Eddie and his group of freaks. Her entire personality was a total flip as well, from the well spoken and polite young lady turned to a rude and vulgar woman who’s attitude was the worst that people couldn’t stand being with her. The teachers couldn’t believe what they were seeing either, she was once a straight A student but now she was barely passing with D+ and C-’s.

She learnt everything from Eddie, and she was always grateful for him because she actually felt free. Being with him and his group of friends was so relaxing because she didn’t have to worry about how she looked and how she acted anymore, she could actually properly be herself. Listening to heavy metal and screaming at the top of her lungs, smoking weed and laying on the floor of his trailer, letting him ramble on and on about some fantasy game called D&D, she didn’t care, it felt nice to actually have real friends instead of those people leeching off of her. But that didn’t matter, well it did, but what really mattered was the fact that it was working. People didn’t want to be associated with the former Queen who now hung around with the freaks and because she was barely pulling her weight in school and was constantly failing, her parents were absolutely livid with her.

“What has gotten into you, [F/N]? You were never like this leading up to this year! It’s all because you’ve been hanging around that Munson boy! He’s not a good influence on you!” she just rolled his eyes as her mother shouts all sorts of nonsense at her, both her mother and father have cornered her and sat her down to have a proper talk with her.

“Not only that, but you’re failing every single one of your classes! You’re barely getting marks above F’s, and at this rate, you’re not even going to pass at the end of your senior year! You’re sullying the Harrington name, [F/N]! I thought we raised you better than this.” she scoffs this time, leaning back into the sofa as she crossed her arms.

“Well I’m sorry for not being mummy and daddy’s perfect little princess anymore, but if you’re not going to accept the me I am today, then why the fuck should I pull my weight anymore? Besides, you still have your perfect little golden child Stevie to take my place if I ever go too far.” she snickers to herself when they continued to yell at her, telling her to that this rebellious act of hers better come to an end or she will face consequences, to which she just laughed in their faces before shoving past them and out the front door where Eddie was waiting for her with his shitty van.

“Dude, we could hear the shouting all the way from out here!” Gareth exclaims, throwing open the back doors for her to jump in, to which she laughed as she took Jeff’s hand as he helped her in “They sounded really angry, you alright?” she just shrugged.

“Honestly I could give less of a shit at what they’re saying, but it’s definitely working, I can just feel them ready to disown me and label me as the family disappointment, I’m just waiting for it now.” Eddie laughs from the drivers seat, glancing back at her.

“You’re crazy.” she winks with a click of her tongue.

“I have you to thank.” they all laugh as he drives to the Quarry.

Steve was completely baffled when people started treating him differently. For some reason he was now known as the better Harrington, the one that didn’t stray from the path of righteousness, or whatever the hell that meant, but it felt good that every topic wasn’t about his sister anymore. Well, when his sister was brought up, it was to tell him how awful it was to now be related to the psycho apart of Eddie Munson’s group of friends. When Steve first saw [F/N]’s transformation and change of behaviour, he didn’t believe it until he saw the way she now argued with everything their parents said. She never used to fight back against them, she would usually just nod and agree with anything they said, but not anymore. Now their parents were looking at him again, telling him they expected great things from him, how he was the new light of the Harrington family and that he was better than his good for nothing sister. As for [F/N], she was happy to see that her brother was finally getting that popularity he deserved and it didn’t matter that she had hell to pay for such a cost, all that mattered to her was that Steve wasn’t bitter having to go to school anymore.

She didn’t care that people insulted her.

She didn’t care that her parents hated her.

If Steve was happy, that’s all that mattered.

Sitting on the hood of her car, [F/N] had blood running down her nose and a bruise forming on the side of her cheek, knuckles torn and bloodied as her clothes were a little disheveled. The bruise on her cheek was given to her during an altercation with her father once again, this time he couldn’t stand her attitude and backhanded her clean across the face hard enough to give her a nose bleed. She didn’t see an ounce of regret on his face and not even her mother did anything to stop anything from escalating, she couldn’t take staying in that house any longer and just left without another word. Her knuckles bleeding were from her brutally punching a brick wall until she physically couldn’t close her knuckles anymore and just tired herself out until she sat on the hood of her car while smoking a cigarette to calm herself down.

“… fuck.” she muttered under her breath, she was totally going to Eddie’s trailer to get high and drunk to the point she couldn’t remember who the fuck she was. When she finally decided she was done, she hopped off the hood of her car and snuffed out her cigarette, getting to ready to jump into her car but paused when she heard her name.

“[F/N]!” she was confused when she saw Steve rushing over to her, she was confused as to why he was there.

“Steve?” she called out, she really didn’t want to deal with him right now be decided to stick it out to see what he had to say “What do you want? Don’t you have basketball practice going on right now?” he scoffed, shaking his head as he looked her up and down, wincing when he saw her bloodied knuckles.

“I don’t give a shit about that.” he reaches for her hand but flinched back when pulled her hand back.

“Why are you here? Don’t you have better things to do than deal with me?” he swallows the saliva in his throat, not liking the tired look in his sisters eyes.

“I-I’m here because I’m worried about you, I just— I don’t understand why you’re acting like this, [F/N]. You’re nothing like the way you were in middle school, what happened to her? Why did you suddenly change? Why are you so different now, [F/N]? I just don’t understand.” he shakes his head as he remembered back to the year prior when his sister first changed, the once quiet house was now filled with arguing and shouting matches between her and their parents to the point that Steve couldn’t handle it “Why are you like this, [F/N]! You had everything and then suddenly you threw it all away because of what? What?! Why did you do it?! What was it?!” Steve didn’t understand why he was yelling at his sister, he usually wouldn’t raise his voice like this and especially not when his sister was bleeding because of their father, but he just needed to quell his curiosity as to why his sister would do such a thi—

“I did it for you, Steve!” she shouts, he was taken aback, what? “I threw away everything for you! The popularity! The attention! Mum and dad’s respect, everything! I gave up everything because I saw how my popularity was affecting you! I couldn’t stand the thought that my brother was feeling the way he was in middle school all because people couldn’t see past me whenever they were with you. I hated the fact that we aren’t as close as we were when we were children, so I thought, if I act differently to what people are used to, then maybe people will start liking Steve Harrington instead of his older sister. And look at that, it worked! It actually worked, because people fucking hate me now and they adore you! You’re the Harrington that isn’t a fuck up!” [F/N] hadn’t realised she started crying until she felt the tears running down her face instead of blood, she pulls back and quickly wiped away the tears, grunting out in pain when she clenched her fists.

“B-But… why? Why would you do that?” Steve stuttered out, not believing she would do something like that, she just rolled her eyes before throwing her arms open at him.

“You said it yourself, Steve! I asked what I had to do to make things right, and you listed everything off! I had to stop being better at everything, I had to stop being the topic of every conversation, I had to stop being smart, I had to stop being pretty, I had to stop being the centre of attention! I did everything! I did everything you asked! Now all that’s left is to stop being your sister!” god, the fact that she remembered everything while he didn’t had Steve start tearing up, she had to tear her eyes away from him to stop her urges to comfort him, she takes a breath and jabs her finger into his chest “I gave you what you wanted, so I hope you’re satisfied with what you’re given. I’m only waiting for mum and dad to fulfil you’re last request and maybe then you’re ruined life will be magically fixed.”

“[F-F/N], I’m sorry— I didn’t—” she raised her hands, rubbing her sleeve under her nose.

“Save it.” she sniffles as she turns her back “Go home, Steve. I’ll stay out of your life as long as you want. Wouldn’t want to ruin the perfect life you’ve accumulated since I’ve fallen from my grace.” with that she leaves Steve standing all alone, feeling even more worse when she finally saw those tears run down his face.

That… that was her worst memory that she regrets.

She regrets shouting at him.

She regrets making him cry.

She regrets that she hurt him and left him alone.

[yeah, that’s all I’ll write for her backstory. I definitely had more to write, but it’s gotten too long and I want to get back to the main plot]

El tears off the blindfold, panting heavily after finally leaving the memories of Billy and [F/N] when she found the location of where the Mind Flayer was located. She looks around to see no one in sight, she was all alone in the cabin despite hearing their voices not to long ago.

“Mike?” she calls out but got no answer, she repeatedly called out his name again but was left unanswered until another voice spoke up.

“He can’t hear you.” turning her head, she gasps when she sees Billy emerge from out of one of the rooms “You shouldn’t have looked for me. Because now I see you. We can all see you. You… let us in. And now… you are going to have to let us stay.” as the Mind Flayer speaks through Billy, he’s slowly approaching El as she backs away from him in tears, she’s gasps when someone was right behind her.

“Don’t you see?” looking over her shoulder she saw that it was [F/N] with that same psychotic grin on her face, leaning over the couch El backed herself into but quickly pushed herself off to get away from her “We’ve been building it… for you. All this time, we’ve been building it. All that work, all that pain… all of it, for you.” the two of them now stood together, eyes misty as they held each other’s hand.

“And now it’s time. Time to end it. We are going to end you. And when you are gone, we are going to end your friends. And then we are going to end… everyone.” they speak in unison and before they could do anything, El screams at the top of her lungs as she throws her hand out towards them, sending them flying back to where they came from, and so the two of them woke up exactly where El found them in Billy’s room. [F/N] had a sad look on her face as she lifted herself off of Billy’s shoulder, neither one of them said a word as they sat in silence and squeezed each other’s hand.

“This sucks.”

[starcourt mall]

It all happened so fast. One moment they’re being attacked at Hopper’s cabin, next thing they know they’re hiding out at the Starcourt Mall because Billy had somehow managed to find them and was waiting out for them in his busted up Camaro. [F/N] was nowhere in sight and they didn’t know what terrified them the most, the fact that she was just lurking around waiting for them or that Billy was ready to run them over without a second thought. Hiding in the mall didn’t go as well as they thought, because the next thing they knew was that the Mind Flayer was right on top of them and broke through the skylight, landing right where they were and was now in search for El. The group consisting of Nancy, Johnathan, Lucas and Will somehow managed to escape and were hurriedly trying to replace their stolen ignition cable, their hearts beginning to race at the sound of Billy’s engine revving.

“Shit!”

“Get the car started, go!” Nancy cocks her gun as Jonathan jumps into the drivers seat to start the car, Nancy raises the gun and aims it towards Billy. She doesn’t back down when he starts driving towards her, she narrows her eyes as she starts firing at him, the others are panicking as she’s shooting at his already shattered windscreen that’s doing little to no damage as he continues to get closer and closer to her. The moment her gun ran out of ammunition was when she started to panic, she looks between the gun and Billy before ducking down and curling up against the car despite knowing that was going to do little to nothing to suppress the pain of getting smashed against the car but was surprised when Steve, in a different car, rammed right into the side of Billy’s Camaro. Both he and Robin grunt out in pain at the impact but were both pretty much okay, Robin looked up at Steve and saw that he had a panicked look on his face due to the fact that his boyfriend almost killed his ex and in order to stop him from doing that he crashed a car into him.

“Steve, are you alright?” she asks him, he’s panting as he continued to stare at Billy’s unconscious body laying limp in his car.

“Ask me tomorrow.” their gaze then goes upwards when they heard snarling, Robin gasps in shock to see the disgusting fleshy monster dubbed as the Mind Flayer on top of the Starcourt Mall, they whip their heads around when they heard the honk of the other car pull up beside them.

“Get in!” the Mind Flayer was quick to give chase but paused when a new pair of headlights flashed on, it decided she could take care of them. Johnathan thinks they’re in the clear, the Mind Flayer isn’t in sight as they’re driving away but he wasn’t taking any chances as he continued to high tail it away from the mall. He spares a glance back at Will and saw he was gently caressing the back of his neck, he was close, and he just wasn’t showing himself.  “What the hell was that thing back there?!” Robin shouts, pointing out the car in the direction they just fled.

“I’m guessing that was the Mind Flayer, and that was the body made of the flesh of various dead people?” Steve sums up as he looks at the other four, to which they all nod their heads to confirm what he said “Great, I can’t wait to get back home and explain to my sister why I was gone and why my face is beaten up. Hopefully she doesn’t go on a murder spree upon seeing my face.” the four of them wincing didn’t go unnoticed, even Robin flinched hearing the mention of his sister.

“Um… about that, actually…” Lucas starts, rubbing the back of his neck “Your sister, uh— she’s kind of um, like…” Lucas peeks back at Steve and felt a chill run down his spine, Steve was wearing an expression that he normally never wore. His expression was a mixture of concern and slight anger, concern for the safety and well-being on his older sister and anger that something has happened to his sister while he was trapped in an elevator then tortured by Russians.

“What’s wrong with my sister?” Nancy licks her lips, not really sure where to begin on the matter of his older sister.

“Steve, your sister…” she sighs, running a hand through her hair “Your sister, kind of…” Steve was getting more irritated over the fact that they weren’t telling him, he grits his teeth as he glared at them.

“What’s wrong with my sister?!” he shouts this time in hopes it’ll get them to spit it out, Will lets out a shuddered breath when he felt a tingle in his neck, he glances backwards and saw a flash of someone’s high beams hit them. They all turn around to see what it was and the roar of a car engine slowly gaining on them made their hearts drop into their stomachs when they recognised the car, Steve and Robin look out through the back window and their eyes widened when they saw the familiar license plate “[F/N]…?” he manages to mutter out then let out a grunt when the car rear ended them.

“Shit! Jonathan!” he curses under his breath as he changes gear to create some distance between them and her but their car was nothing in comparison to her mustang because she caught up to them easily, each time she made sure to rear end them. When she noticed nothing was happening she pulled back a little just so she was now driving beside them, they all turn to look at her but Steve and Robin were the most shocked because they haven’t seen her like this. Deranged looking, eyes bloodshot and teary as her body was sweating uncontrollably while her veins were pumping black ooze throughout her entire body.

“You wanna know what’s wrong with her?!” Lucas shouts, letting out a scream when [F/N] drives the side of her car into theirs “She’s been flayed by the Mind Flayer and this entire week she’s been kidnapping people and offering them to the Mind Flayer, and not too long ago she killed a bunch of people at the hospital and nearly killed Nancy and Jonathan! There, now you know!” Will smacks Lucas for the way he said it, gesturing to Steve and saw how the boy looked confused and scared. What confused them was that Robin shared the same expression, Lucas said that she was under that things control for about a week, so does that mean…

“Wait, you’re telling me that the whole reason she’s been acting different— that she’s acting like that, is because that monster we saw before brainwashed her?!” Will nods his head, she slumps back in the back as she recalls how [F/N] was acting when she broke up with her. She knew that there was something wrong with her but she just couldn’t pin just what was wrong, her eyes had lost their usual shine and she was avoiding eye contact with her, refusing to. It felt like she was talking to someone entirely different, and all that was true, that person from before was not her girlfriend but an imposter in her body. Robin looks at Steve and saw his eyes never left [F/N], she had a crazy smile on her face as she stared Jonathan down “Steve…” she mumbles.

“What did it do to you, [F/N]?” he’s only ever seen that look on her face maybe once or twice, and that was when she was getting some sick pleasure out of beating the shit out of a few high school kids that picked on him, she was crazy like that, but she made sure not to make that face again whenever he was present because it was a little unsettling “That’s… that’s not my sister, that’s not [F/N]. Is this— is this also happening to Billy?” they nod.

“They were together when it happened.” that just made things worse, it must have happened just after they left Robin’s. Was that why [F/N] was sick that morning? Oh my god, it was happening right under their noses and neither of them noticed. Jonathan steadies the car again when [F/N] rams hers into them again but let out a confused noise when she suddenly stopped, he glances over at her and saw she was looking ahead of them. He watched in confusion when she drove ahead of them then turned around but stopped in the middle of the road, Jonathan slams on the breaks to stop them from going any further and there the two of them are staring each other down.

“Jonathan…” Nancy mutters, not a single one of them breaking eye contact with [F/N], Jonathan takes a breath as he grips the stirring wheel, swallowing thickly every time he hears [F/N] rev her engines as her car jerks forward. [F/N] was no longer in control, no matter how hard she was trying to fight the Mind Flayer for control it was no use and she was locked inside her own body as she watched it move on its on accord. A dark grin was adorn on her face, watching closely to what Jonathan was going to do next. Was he going to back up and continue this game of cat and mouse? Was he going to play a game of chicken instead? Both options sounded fun to her, but she decided it was going to be her to choose for him because she pushes the handbrake down and slams on the gas and exhilarates forward “Jonathan!”

“I know!” he fumbles with the gear but switches it to drive and starts driving towards her as well, he had a plan in his head to swerve out of the way just at the nick of them, but he failed to inform the others as he kept getting closer and closer. Steve looked between Jonathan and sister and he couldn’t calm down, he could only think of how bad the collision will have on [F/N]. He was always like this, worrying for his sister than for his own well-being, just like her worrying for Steve rather than herself. Like brother like sister. Neither one of them were slowing down to the point [F/N] was laughing hysterically, changing gears to go fast enough to kill them and quite possibly herself. Well, if she hurt herself it didn’t matter, the Mind Flayer can heal her body no matter how severely injured her body gets.

“Jonathan, what are you doing?!” Will shouts at his brother.

“Relax, I know what I’m doi—” he was cut off when Steve pulls himself out from the back, reaching past Will and Lucas for the handbrake “Steve— what are you doing?!”

“I’m sorry, Jonathan! But you’d honestly do the same.” he pulls the brake up and the car instantly starts to drift, Jonathan tries to regain control while Nancy smacks Steve’s hands off the handbrake but they were too late when [F/N]’s mustang hit the side of their car, luckily. They spin off the road while [F/N] came to a stop in the middle of the road, she didn’t expect that outcome but she was happy that it was in her favor, she guesses Steve doesn’t want to hurt her either. Such a loving little brother.

“I didn’t think things were gonna be this easy, honestly. Even Billy’s having a hard time.” she snickers softly and looks in the rear view mirror, pouting softly when she noticed a small cut on her forehead that was bleeding a little. With a shrug, she swipes her thumb over it and grins when it healed up instantly. Kicking her door open, she steps out then leaned in to grab the axe sitting in her passenger seat and doesn’t bother turning her car off as she starts approaching the other car, throwing the axe over her shoulder and continuously bounced it while whistling a song. Jonathan lets out a groan, clutching his forehead after his head took the force of the airbags that deployed, he really was going to kill Steve later for this, but he couldn’t help but understand what Steve was going through. Not too long ago it was his brother that was under the Mind Flayer’s control and now it’s Steve’s sister that didn’t even know this shit was going on in the first place, oh the irony. He whips his head around when he heard Nancy let out a scream, they all look over to see that it was [F/N] “Yoohoo~ open the door.”

“Fuck no!” Nancy promptly locks the door to emphasise her point but [F/N] just rolled her eyes, pulling her fist back then punching through the door then proceeded the tear it off. Nancy doesn’t hesitate to push herself away from [F/N] just as she leans into the car, her eyes scanning through the many occupants inside but she let out a sigh when she didn’t see the one they were after.

“She’s not here.” she muttered under her breath, probably informing the Mind Flayer that El was still at the mall and not with the others that fled. She was going to leave it at that, the Mind Flayer was calling her back, but those feelings for what Nancy fucking Wheeler did to her brother started to resurface, and that’s where she found herself grabbing Wheeler by her hair and dragging her out of the car.

“Nancy!”

“Nancy, no!” Nancy cries out in pain from the roots of her hair being violently tugged on, the pain gets worse when [F/N] slams the side of her face onto the hood of the car and holds her there.

“[F/N], please… don’t do this. You don’t want to do this.” [F/N] lets out a hum, looking up in thought before nodding her head.

“No, no, that’s where you’re wrong. You have absolutely no idea how much I want to do this; how much I really want to kill you with my own hands.” Nancy starts to tremble, tears swelling up in her eyes when [F/N] raises her free hand that was holding the axe, seeing the dried blood splatter all over the blade and some on the shaft “I’ll pay your little brother a visit after I’m done with you, I’m sure he’ll be happy seeing your decapitated head mounted on a stick.” before she could bring the axe down she’s being pulled back by Jonathan and Steve, Nancy falls to the ground as Robin goes around and tries to pry the axe out of her hands.

“[F/N], please… stop this! This isn’t like you to go this far!” Steve pleads. Steve knew his sister was strong, but right now was just plain ridiculous, it was taking both himself and Jonathan putting their entire weight to keep her from moving but even that wasn’t enough. She lets out an animalistic growl as she lets go off the axe and letting Robin stumble backwards, she throws Steve off next and hunches forward to lift Jonathan off the ground as she grabs his arms that were wrapped around her neck and proceeds to throw him over her, this also causes him to tear her jacket off but she could care less about it. She sets her sights on Robin and doesn’t hesitate to punch her across the face, Steve goes to stand up to reprimand [F/N] again but let out a grunt when she kicked him down and grabbed the axe that she managed to catch. His breath gets caught in his throat as he watched [F/N] swing the axe over her shoulder and it comes down as quickly as it was raised, he wants to raise his arms to shield his face but what can that do? With tears in his eyes, he looks up at his sister with pleading eyes and there— there he saw a flash of color return to her eyes, a flash of regret and confusion when they met his. He saw a glimpse of his sister inside those eyes that were fighting back against the Mind Flayer, but he knew she couldn’t hold it for long but he was grateful for the time given because she redirected the blade aiming for his face into the side of the car. He flinches at the impact, watching as the car rocked back and forth before finally settling down. His sister is now panting above him, staring down at him with a slightly less hostile expression, but he knew she wasn’t herself yet, her eyes were still in a dazed state while her veins were still black “[F/N]…” he whimpers out, all he wants is his sister back.

“S-Stevie…?” she croaks out, he gasps at her voice whispering out to him but soon her face twists in pain. She pulls away, pressing the heels of her hands into her forehead to fight against the aching pain the Mind Flayer was inflicting on her, fighting for dominance within her head and it managed to win because now she was fleeing the scene and back to her car. She did hesitate to leave, her eyes glancing back at the others that were slowly picking themselves off the floor, but she shook her head before driving back to the Starcourt mall.  “Welp, that hurt,..” Robin groaned out, holding her cheek as some blood pulled up in her mouth “I can’t believe she hit me.”

“She… she didn’t mean it.” Steve muttered, hand over his chest. 

“But I don’t understand.” Robin says rather bitterly “Why didn’t she kill you? She was clearly going to do it, but she stopped at the last second.” Jonathan let out a groan as he pushed himself onto his feet, his hand clutching tightly onto the jacket he tore off her body before he was thrown off.

“Back at the hospital, the Mind Flayer said… it said that Steve was both her weakness and her strength. She got more violent with Nancy and I because of what happened in 83, but once she saw Steve it settled, even if it was for a brief moment.” Steve continued to lay on the ground, his hand instinctively reached up to caress his cheek as memory flashed in his mind. He was remembering back to a time where [F/N] punched him across the face because he was basically screaming at her to punch him, he didn’t expect her to actual do it because she swore that she’d never hurt him, but she did.

“W-Why— why’d you hit me?” he whimpered out, tears being to swell in his eyes as he cradled his swelling check, to which she just sighed while rolling her eyes and placing her hands on her hips.

“You told me to, and besides, you were acting like a shit so you definitely deserved it.” his lip trembled and a small sob escaped his lips, she rolls her eyes again and smacks him in the shoulder “I hope you know that this goes for show that I’ll practically do anything for you, Stevie. But this will be the first and only time I’ll hurt you like this, mmkay? You’ve been acting a little entitled these past few weeks and you needed a little wake up call. Your arrogance will be your undoing one of these days, so don’t let it go to your head. I won’t be around to wake you up next time.” he sniffles, raising his hands to wipe away the falling tears.

“I promise, as long as you promise not to hit me like that again.” she chuckles softly, wiping away his tears.

“I promise. From today, I’ll never hurt you like that ever again, not even if you deserve it.” she starts to laugh when she ruffled his hair and he cried out in horror, screaming at her that she ruined his hair, she just continued to laugh as she ran away from him whilst he screamed bloody murder.

“[F/N]…” he starts tearing up but held them back when a hand was offered to him, he saw that it was Robin wearing [F/N]’s discarded jacket.

“Get up, Harrington. We’re gonna save your sister, and when we do, I’m gonna give her a proper ass whoppin!” driving back to the Starcourt mall they sat in silence, Jonathan breaking all the road laws as he sped down road in the car that was hanging onto its life by a thread. Steve raised his eyes from where he sat and saw Robin digging her face into the fabric of [F/N]’s jacket, he noticed that she was thinking about something because she had a look on her face that was debating whether or not she should speak or not “… she broke up with me.” this caused his body to straighten up, even the others in the car peeked back to listen in on the conversation, rude.

“What do you mean she broke up with you? W-Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she let out a sigh, blinking back the tears that were slowly swelling up in her eyes.

“I guess it was because of that Mind Flayer, or whatever the fuck that thing is. I think she was in the middle of choosing that things latest meal, because I caught her in an alleyway letting a girl kiss her. It was when I went to go look for the blueprints.” Steve gasps softly at that, so that’s why she looked so dejected when she came back “I couldn’t recognise her, she stared at me with these cold, dead eyes and the way she spoke to me… I felt so scared being there. I wish I knew, I wish I knew she was going through that and then maybe I could’ve helped her. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so angry at her that she broke up with me, left me in that alleyway all alone— and for what? To protect me? So she wouldn’t have to hurt me ever more than she did by breaking my heart? She even threatened me if I told you, saying you wouldn’t believe me because I’m nothing but your coworker while she’s your sister.” she sniffles to herself, wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes, she spared Steve a look but flinched a little. He now wore a very livid expression, Robin became a really close friend to Steve after he and his sister got together and they became closed after their encounter with the Russian soldiers under the mall, so hearing how his flayed sister threatened and broke up with her pissed him off.

“If you don’t kick her ass, I’ll kick it for you. But first, we’ve got to find her and Billy and free them from the control of the Mind Flayer. Whether you forgive her or not, that’s up to you, but she’s still my sister.”  “What about Billy?”  “I hope he can forgive me for totalling his camaro.” they stare at each other and laugh weakly, Robin now rested her forward on his shoulder and let her hands dip into the pockets but she hummed in confusion when she felt something. Pulling it out, her breath hitched when she pulled out the photo of the four of them at the fair. Steve felt her body tremble so he looked down and he himself flinched at the photo, seeing that photo almost felt like yesterday. Steve wished he could go back to the time where the other three were clueless about the Upside Down; clueless about the true horrors of Hawkins and that he was the only one who knew the truth. Where his sister was madly in love with his friend, where his boyfriend was in the safety of his arms, where none of this was happening on the first place and that the four of them were having their weekly sleepover at the Harrington household.

Man, what a distant memory.

[starcourt mall]

[F/N] arrives right on time, finding Billy pushing himself off of El just as the Mind Flayer descends from the skylight. El was regaining her consciousness as the blur of the monster slowly registered in her mind, [F/N] wordlessly stands beside Billy and reached over to take his hand into hers. He doesn’t spare her a glance and neither does she, and though they were still under the influence of the monster in front of them, the two of them squeezed each others hand to let each other know that they were still in there. The Mind Flayer is paying the two of them no mind, slowly approaching the small child to devour her, rid the last obstacle in its way, when something blew up in its face. Billy and [F/N] cry out in pain at the blow, sharing the pain with the Mind Flayer, blow after blow Billy and [F/N] grovel to their knees in pain as the Mind Flayer roared at the intruders. [F/N] peeked through his hands and saw the lot she nearly killed had followed quickly after her, how she never noticed them was beyond her, but she was going to finish what she started.

Deal with them.

Finish the job.

Make no mistakes.

“Shut up…” she growled out, managing to push herself onto her feet and towards the escalator to where their unwanted guests were, leaving Billy to watch over El. Of course none of them were expecting to see [F/N] on them, they were all to preoccupied laying waste to the Mind Flayer to notice that she was there. Lucas was the first to suffer at her mercy, the others heard his cry for help and immediately turned to see where he was, watching in shock when they saw [F/N] turn him around and strike him across the face that he fell to the ground after spitting out blood from his mouth,

“Lucas!” next was Will, who was unfortunate to be within arms length because she did not hesitate to raise the axe and hit him with the butt if the axe and knock him unconscious “Will!” Jonathan screams out and was ready to drop everything to help his brother but was stopped when Nancy grabbed his arm, pulling him back and shaking her head.

“No, no! Jonathan, I understand what you’re going through, but no! She will kill your the moment you’re within her grasp, she’s not letting us go this time.” he shakes his head.

“I don’t care! I need to get Will!” he cries out and rips his arm free from Nancy’s hold but stopped when he saw Steve and Robin already rushing over to stop [F/N] from going any further with the children, Nancy grabs his arm again and tugs at it to get his attention.

“Steve and Robin will deal with her, we’ll keep the Mind Flayer distracted, alright? Steve won’t let anything happen to your brother.” speaking of which, the Mind Flayer’s anger was beginning to mix in with her own, anger for the previous host that managed to slip through its grasp. Placing her foot on Will’s chest, she raises the axe up to slam it down but was once again stopped when it was smacked out of her hands, she growls at the perpetrator and saw that it was Robin, who had her hands out in front of her to keep some distance between her and [F/N].

“[F/N], baby, please… it’s me, it’s Robin.” she pleads, she flinches and takes a step back when [F/N] pushed herself off of Will but kicked his unconscious body away to approach Robin “Whatever this thing has done to you; has made you do, I want you to know that this isn’t your fault, none of it is. You’re just as innocent as the next person is, and I want you to know that I… I forgive you. Everything you said in the alleyway, I know you didn’t mean any of it. I want you to know that I still love you, through everything that’s happened, I love you.” Robin felt hopeful when she saw [F/N]’s hardened gaze soften, maybe she was caught up in her delusions of freeing her mind that she reached for her hand, that was her mistake because her hand quickly grabbed a hold of Robin to keep her from moving and with her other hand sucker punched her straight in the gut so hard that she spat out saliva. She didn’t let when Robin gasped out of breath, collapsing to her knees as she hunched over and clutched her stomach.

“I care not for your words, they mean nothing to me. Didn’t I already tell you that?” Robin lets out a sob at her cold words, wishing nothing more than to feel the warmth she once had only for her, but she could only cry out in pain when [F/N] twisted her arm “You’ve lost your chance of staying away, so I hope you’re prepared for the consequences.”

“Hey!” turning her head, she was taken aback when Steve came rushing over and slammed the bottom of a fire extinguisher into her face. She let out a gasp at the sudden blow, letting Robin go as her head was thrown back after the impact, she then raised her hand to cradle her throbbing nose as Steve’s arm dropped due to the weight of the extinguisher “You need to stop this madness, [F/N], I beg of you. I need you back, I need my big sister back!” he takes a step back when she growled at him but her face screwed up in pain once more, a mixture from getting hit with a fire extinguisher, the fireworks the Mind Flayer was getting hit with, but also [F/N] fighting for dominance over her mind once more.

He’s lying to you.

He doesn’t need you.

You don’t need him.

“Please, let’s just go home. With Robin and Billy, we’ll go home and watch movies like we used to. Talk about how much we hate our parents, how much we hate Hawkins and how we’ll leave as soon as Robin and Billy graduate. We’ll be together, like we always have. Just you, and me.” [F/N) groans out in pain, shaking her head as she slapped her hands against her forehead to quell all the madness that was going on “Just come back to me, my big sister.” Steve takes a step forward, reaching for her but gasped when she punched him in the face.

“Shut up!” she screamed at him, she struggled to stay standing whilst clutching her throbbing head.

Destroy him.

Annihilate him.

Murder him.

Kill him.

Steve couldn’t remember what happened next, first he was struggling to keep himself standing, the next thing he knew he was barely clinging to consciousness as he laid on his back while he suffered continuous blows to his face. [F/N] was currently on top of him, screaming at the top of her lungs as she punched him left and right, holding nothing back as she delivered blow after blow. At this right she was definitely going to kill him, but she just couldn’t stop herself, this time not pulling her punches and putting all her strength into each one. She saw him weakly reach out to her but she merely smacked his hand away then grab him by the collars of his shirt to pull him forward, reeling her head back to slam her forehead into the bridge of his nose. Blood gurgled in his throat and he was questioning why he was still conscious, wishing nothing more then for this continuous chain of pain to end, but he knew his sister was in a lot more pain. Weakly opening his eyes, he saw the pain in her eyes as she unwillingly hurt her sweet little brother that used to cry at the drop of a hat, so he reached for her once more when she held him up by his shirt as her other hand was pulled back.

“We… we were kids.” she furrowed her brows in confusion, what nonsense was he spouting out now? “We were k-kids and you were tea— teaching me to ride my bike. I wouldn’t stop crying, and you were making f-fun of me. You promised you’d be with me every… every step of the way. You never broke that promise, [F/N]; never. Even when you were gone, you made sure to write letters. Even when I s-said I hated you, you were still there.” his trembling hand managed to reach her face, gently cupping her cheek and caressing it with his thumb, her face softened and she leaned into the touch, a single tear running down her cheek “I love you, [F/N]…” his hand finally dropped to his side just as [F/N] took a deep breath, closing her eyes to reminiscent on every good memory she had of Steve, slowly but surely the black veins disappeared and the voice that screamed in her head grew silent. She blinked her eyes a few times in confusion, leaning backwards and looking around to see where exactly she was before finally looking down, and there her eyes widened in horror.

“Steve… Steve!” she screams at the top of her lungs, the tears swelling in her eyes falling freely down her cheeks. She hurriedly jumps off of him and lifts his weakened body into her lap, cradling his body into her arms while rocking back and forward “No, no, no, no, no! I didn’t mean to hurt you, I-I’m so sorry! I tried— I tried so hard to keep myself away from you, to stop myself from hurting you, but I’ve gone and broken my promise to you! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!” she kept apologising over and over, but she just felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t look at herself anymore, she couldn’t even look at her hands knowing that she was beating her brother that she swore she’d never hurt anymore. It hurt even more knowing that she hurt the love of her life, breaking her heart to keep her safe but then she hurt her when she was trying to save her from the monster that plagued her mind.

“[F/N]…” she gasped, looking down at her brother and saw that he was reaching for her again, she doesn’t hesitate to take his hand into hers and caress it, nuzzling the side of her face into it “You’re back…?” she chuckles weakly, nodding her head as she smiled weakly at him.

“Yes… yes, it’s me. It’s your big sister, who loves you very much.” he smiles at her but it breaks her heart seeing him looking up at her, face beaten and bleeding as his eyes were barely able to open “Will you ever forgive me?” he chuckles, closing his eyes and feeling his body relax under hers.

“What a foolish question, I’ll always f-forgive you…” she hunches over his body, her own trembling as her tears fell onto his body. A sob leaves her lips but her attention was torn off his body when she heard a loud roar, recognising it, she turned her head towards it and it widened at the sight of the Mind Flayer, her gaze soon hardened in rage at the mere sight of it. This fucking piece of shit was the cause of it all, for her and Billy hurting people, kidnapping people, killing people… her breaking up with Robin, and her hurting both Robin and Steve. She’ll never forgive it, she’ll never forget what it’s done to her and Billy, all because they were foolish enough to not go home and stayed out longer. Steve let out a confused noise when his head was lifted off of her lap, he watched as she picked up the fallen axe and at first he was worried she was back under the control of the Mind Flayer, but her gaze was trained on the Mind Flayer instead of anyone else “[F-F/N]…?” she breaks out into a running start then proceeds to step onto the railing and over it, raising the axe over her head then swings it down on the Mind Flayer.

“[F/N]?!” Billy, who was also free from the Mind Flayer’s control, shouts in surprise. Billy was holding one of the tentacles back that was aiming to kill El, pushing it back with everything he head, when [F/N] jumped off from the upper levels screaming and swinging the axe into the Mind Flayer’s body.

“You fucking piece of shit!” she yells, ripping the blade out of its gooey flesh then swung it down again “You made me hurt my brother! You made me break up with my girlfriend! You made me hurt so many people, and all for what?! Because you couldn’t make your own body?! You rat sack son of a bitch!” [F/N] knew what she was doing was stupid, that what she was doing was going to get her killed, but she really couldn’t care at all. She wanted to pay for what she’s done, why should she get off scot free? She wanted punishment, retribution for her actions “The only ending you’ll get is with your death!” she knew her actions would lead to her downfall, that what she was doing was meaningless, because the Mind Flayer easily threw her off and she landed on the ground with a thud. The next thing she knew was that one of the many tentacles surrounding the monster pierced her body, she slowly looked down and coughed up blood seeing the many teeth sink into her chest.

“Billy!” she hears a scream, turning her head, she sees that Billy has been met with the same fate. Pain runs throughout her body when several more of that things tentacles pierce through her body until it finally let her go, her body collapsing for she had no more strength left to keep her up. This was it, she was going to die alone knowing that she hurt her brother and her girlfriend— her ex? She didn’t know, all she knew was that she was going to die without making it up to the two people she loved the most, especially now that she was leaving her little brother alone. She coughs up more blood as she turns her head, noticing that Billy was still kicking so with what little strength she still had, she pushed herself onto her stomach and started dragging herself over to where he was laying. Finally reaching him, she pushes herself up then collapsed onto him, he looked down at her and saw she was crying.

“I won’t let you… die alone.” she muttered weakly, reaching her hand to rest on his cheek “I won’t leave you alone.” in turn for this final act of gentle affection, he raises his own hand to take her hand into his and the two of them stare into each other’s eyes.

“Why didn’t you leave me…?” he asked her, questioning what sanity she had for going back and saving him. She wouldn’t have had to suffer everything if she just abandoned him, he was used to it anyways, but she just gave him the best smile she could muster.

“Because… I wanted to see yours and Stevie’s wedding.” he stared at her but it did manage to crack a smile onto his face, and that was enough for the both of them.

“You’re stupid.”

“Maybe I am.” Steve was being helped down to the lower levels by Nancy and Jonathan, Robin following closely behind as the immense pain in her stomach still hadn’t settled, and Steve couldn’t properly walk on his own after the continuous blows he took to the face and head. They finally made it to the ground level and Steve looks over to see where Max was, crying in El’s arms, he looks where she was collapsed and his heart immediately dropped into his stomach at what he saw.

“No… no, no, no!” he cries out, Robin follows his gaze and herself saw both Billy and [F/N]’s motionless bodies that continued to bleed out “[F/N]! Billy! Please, god, no!” Steve thrashed in Nancy and Jonathan’s hood until they finally let him go, he fell to his knees but he scrambled to his feet and rushed over to their bodies. His hands trembled over their bodies, the tears in his eyes falling onto them “Please, no. Not like this, please. You can’t leave me, you can’t leave me alone…! You promised to be by my side, you promised!” his trembling hands reached to cup their faces and his face fell when they felt cold under his touch, god, this was really happening. Robin fell to her knees by his side, shaking her head at the sight of [F/N]’s lifeless body, she couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She doesn’t hesitate to throw her arms around Steve’s body, squeezing him tightly and the two of them cried together knowing that they both lost somebody they loved.

But at least the two that did die, died in each other’s arms smiling.

[harryspet]

please don’t bite | p.parker, s.rogers, b.barnes

[Warnings] peter parker x reader, dark!steve x reader, hints of dark!natasha/dark!bucky x reader, vampire!steve/bucky/natasha, vampire au, vampire blood addiction, withdrawals, kidnapping, dubcon, intoxicated sex, oral sex (female recieveing)

A/N: hello, it’s been forever! I was in the middle of writing this when @cherienymphe announced her  “Cherienymphe’s 5K Twilight Renaissance Writing Challenge” so I decided to join in! She’s one of my favorite dark writers so please check her out if you haven’t. 

In which addiction leads you into a den of vampires. 

taglist: @lovelynerdytraveler @buckysbunny @hollandsdream @micki-smiles @buckybarnesplumwhore @arts-ismything @saharzek @what-is-your-wish @brattypeony @hermayone @buckysugar @mischiefmanaged011 @visintaes  @watercoolerpaint @disaster-rose @slutforsebstan

main masterlist

word count: 3.7k

You piled all the dollar bills you had in your pocket on the table, “There. We can just use this.” You plopped down beside your boyfriend on the couch, fully feeling the headache you’ve had for the past two weeks. It was like your brain was pounding against your skull and sending painful waves through your body. 

“This is twenty bucks and a … grocery store coupon for … shampoo,” After counting it, Peter flicked the money back onto the coffee table, leaning back with you. You tossed your legs over his lap and he wrapped his arm behind you, “So we have fifty bucks between us … great.”

“That’s enough, right?” You asked, barely able to hear yourself think through your headache. 

“It’s like two-hundred just for a small vial,” A shiver ran through your body and Peter pulled you closer. Not only did the heat not work in the shoebox you two called an apartment, you were starting to get random chills and it was another rough winter in New York. 

“Fuck,” You cursed, “Fuck, fuck-”

Peter shushed you, “We’ll be okay,” Peter said, trying to be strong for the both of you though his body was punishing him even more than yours was, “I got a gig by the pier, and by the end of the week, we should have enough.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as you clutched his chest, “That’s too long. We’ll die before then.”

“We’ll be okay,” Peter insisted though he didn’t quite believe himself. 

Vampire blood was one cruel mistress. It was hard to remember your lives before you took your first sips of the addictive potion. You both had everything going for you, highschool sweethearts that became successful college students but that was all gone now. You can’t hold a job or go to school when you’re on vampire blood. The highs last hours and, when you have enough of it, weeks can go by without you noticing. 

“What was it like? Drinking from the vein?” You asked him, the taste of the blood was faint on your lips as you tried to remember the exact taste. 

Peter’s head tilted back as he stared up at the cracks in the ceiling, “Like Heaven on earth. Like eternal life …. like nothing any normal human would ever feel. So good … jesus.”

Sometimes Peter wished he never introduced you to the taste but he’d forget all about it when you were high together. The sex was unbelievable, vampire blood being a strong aphrodisiac, and your love felt even stronger, “I want to try it,” You thought out loud, “If I’m gonna die soon, I-I wanna try it.”

“You’re not gonna die. Our brains are just totally miswired right now,” Peter groaned, turning his face towards yours. He kissed your forehead and, for a moment, it eased the pain. You tilted your head up to kiss the sides of his mouth. He tilted his head to the side and you kissed deeply. He pulled away suddenly and his eyes gazed into yours, “What would you do?”

“W-What?”

“What would you do to taste it from the vein?” You swallowed and your throat ached. 

You nodded your head, “Anything. Oh god, anything, Peter.”

You’d sensed he’d had an idea and a weak grin began to pull at your lips. That quickly fell as Peter pulled away from you. You expected him to be excited but he was completely solemn, “I have an idea,” He said, “You can say no … but if you don’t say no, you have to promise that things will be how they used to be afterwards.”

“How they used to be,” You couldn’t even think that far back. You couldn’t imagine a single date, single birthday card or New Year’s Eve kiss while you were in so much pain, “Sure, Pete. We just need a taste a-and that’ll clear our minds and things we’ll go back to how they used to be.”

+

As if things couldn’t get any worse, your stomach growled. You’d gotten dressed up, put on light makeup, and styled your hair for whoever Peter had taken you to meet. You didn’t quite care anymore because your headache continued to cripple you over the past few days. 

You pulled your jacket tighter as you waited on the steps of the gentrified brownstone. Peter pressed the doorbell nervously, watching as you shiver in your small, black dress. Peter dressed in his finest slacks and button down but was very aware that he probably wouldn’t be the center of attention tonight. He reached out to grab your hand which you happily took. 

“Why is he making us meet him so late?” You whispered, shivering. 

“He’s a vampire,” Peter shrugged, “They’re like nocturnal, I guess.”

Peter had reached out to ring the doorbell again when the door suddenly opened. A red headed woman opened the door, her hair cut short and a sultry smile on her face. You could tell instantly by the shine in her skin and darkness in her eyes that she was not like you. 

“Peter,” She greeted, smirking, “You look … hungry.”

“And cold,” He added, sensing your uncomfortableness as she took him in like he was her prey. 

“Right, come on in,” Peter led you inside the expensive home and out of the cold winter. You pressed yourself closer to him, not only because you were still shivering but because you’d never been alone with a vampire, “Steve will be here any moment.”

The woman led you down a corridor and you passed modern art sculptures and other expensive decorations you didn’t quite understand, “Steve?” You perked up at the mention of someone else. 

“That’s, uh, who we’re meeting,” Peter said quickly.

“Unfortunately, I’m booked tonight. A sweet young thing I met a few weeks ago. British accent, total dreamboat, but Steve will take great care of you two,” She led the two of you into a dining room where wine and horderves were laid out, gesturing for the two of you to take a seat, “Let me take your jackets.”

You looked at Peter and he nodded, “It’s okay,” Hesitantly, you slid off one of your sleeves and you felt her eyes begin to burn into the skin of your neck. Your arms weak, you lifted it out to her and she graciously accepted it. Peter did the same, taking a seat and waiting for you to do the same. Your eyes were still on the mysterious woman until Peter grabbed your hand. 

“I hope to see you both soon,” She smiled again, leaving the room, “Keep your eyes on this one, Pete.” 

You turned to him, your eyebrows raised, “How do you know her?”

“That’s her,” Peter said, grabbing the bottle of wine, “I told you about the first time I tried it from the vein. I think she has a thing for young guys. Or young anything.”

As he poured himself a glass, you reached out for a cracker and tried not to eat too fast as you pushed them into your mouth, “Why’d she look at me like that?” You asked, covering your mouth. 

“You’re a virgin,” You almost snorted, “I mean, your veins are. You’ve never been fed off of.”

“Oh,” You swallowed, taking his glass from him as you washed down your food, “I don’t wanna be. That’ll hurt, right?”

“Don’t worry, that’s not what we’re here for.”

Feeling some of your energy return, you stood up from the dining table, deciding to look closer at all the artifacts, “Y/N, what are you doing?” Peter asked, his fingers rubbing his temples, “Sit down, please.”

“Why do they have food if vampires don’t eat?” You asked out loud, annoying him further. There seemed to be a million framed pictures on the wall and you studied them as you passed along. They seemed to transform from black and white to fully in color, polaroid to digital. 

“For their human prey, probably.”

“Prey?” A deep voice spoke up, surrounding the room, bringing Peter out of his chair and your head turning quickly, “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“Mr. Rogers,” Peter rushed out, and you wondered how he could muster up so much energy to be nice, “I didn’t mean …”

“No worries, I try to be polite but I am a blood sucking demon after all,” The blonde-bearded man smiled. He was so muscular, you’d pictured someone skinny and frail. “Won’t you introduce me to your …”

“Girlfriend,” Peter said a bit sadly. He wasn’t sad that you were his but that this was the saddest excuse for a date night, “This is Y/N.”

You raised a hand to wave but he crossed the room to take your hand. He kissed your knuckles, smiling charmingly as he looked into your eyes. Blue eyes, you weren’t expecting those either. Despite the porcelain skin he looked quite human. His suit was black, and his white shirt was pressed nicely beneath it, like he’d just returned from an important event. You smiled back weakly, “Pleasure to meet you, doll.”

“It’s … nice to meet you too.”

You felt Peter’s eyes on you as your hand fell back down to your side, “You two look like you’ve seen better days,” You moved closer to Peter because, despite his kind smile, you didn’t fully trust him. 

Peter rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “Is it that obvious?” The nice clothes couldn’t hide the fact that they hadn’t had any vampire blood in almost three weeks. It was amazing that they were still standing. 

“I think I can help you both out,” Steve assured you two, “If you had enough of the horderves, you can follow me upstairs.” He turned and Peter grabbed your hand as you all left the room. 

“What exactly do we have to do … you know, for the blood?” Looking up at Peter, you worried that he was nervous for reasons that he was not telling you. Steve led you to the stairs and, as you climbed, you couldn’t help but look at all the photos that lined each wall. The upstairs wasn’t lit, making it feel like you were stepping into a story with a not-so-happy ending. 

“Peter didn’t tell you?” Steve asked, not bothering to turn around. He led you down the hall to what you assumed was the master bedroom. 

“Not everything,” Peter said quickly. 

You expected some kind of evil den but the room was quite normal. High ceilings, brown upholstered bed, a view of the neighborhood, and a fireplace. You and Peter stood awkwardly, looking around, as Steve made his way over to the fireplace. He leaned down to turn a dial and moments later, it sprouted with fire. 

“Peter,” You nudged him, your brows furrowed. He didn’t say anything which worried you more. Steve stood up, taking off his jacket which made your heart begin to race. Some of the fear disappeared quickly as he rolled up his white sleeves … exposing lower arms. 

Now, your mouth was watering, “There’s no need to worry, doll. I already promised Peter that no harm will come to the two of you. But you do understand that this is a trade? I give you my blood and you give me what I want.”

Peter opened his mouth to say something but you interrupted, “And what do you want?”

“I want to watch,” He stated, looking the two of you over, “I consider myself somewhat of a voyeur, I like to watch when people are intimate.” You looked back and forth from him to Peter. 

“Y/N, we don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Peter spoke quietly, worry in his eyes. 

“Of course not,” Steve smiled, already a bit aroused by your shocked expression. He reached into his pocket to pull out a pocket knife, its handle having an old and intricate design, “But I think it’ll be very enjoyable on your side of things. The blood will certainly take the edge off and I won’t overstep my boundaries, I promise.”

“And we’re supposed to trust a vampire … ,” Steve stepped closer, pressing the knife to his skin. 

“We don’t have another option,” Peter said, his eyes focused on Steve’s vein. Peter let go of your hand, the addiction taking over as he moved closer to Steve. Steve cut into his arm, the crimson running down it but not a drop touched the floor before Peter pressed his lips to the wound. 

When Peter pulled away, his head tilted all the way back, as the sweet serum traveled down his throat. You were still staring in shock, the scent reaching your nose, and drawing you further in. It took everything in you to keep your feet planted and your fingernails dug into your palm as you watched. 

Peter smiled, blood on his lips and mouth, “Y/N,” He drawled, “Please, taste it …” He walked towards you, his hands outstretched. The blood on his lips, you could smell it, and you wanted to taste it so bad that it was hurting you. When he leaned into your lips, you didn’t stop him. His tongue entered your mouth and you felt the high he was feeling. 

Your vision began to blur a little as your head tilted back. Peter’s hands were holding you steady as the biggest smile spread across your lips. It was like tasting heaven, something beyond reality and you wanted to never let that supernatural feeling go. 

You felt a foreign hand against your back but you felt like welcoming any touch under the influence of the drug. As Peter pulled his lips away from you, your eyes opened to Steve’s as he was offering you his wrist. With the taste already on the tongue, you gladly accepted more, Peter’s hands roaming over your body as you drank. 

You weren’t sure how you made it to the bed, it felt like you had floated. Peter was right, he was so right, were all the words you could think. You heard those words, felt Peter’s hands, and watched as Steve’s lips turned into a mischievous smile. 

Steve stepped away, the cut on his arm already healing, as he made himself comfortable in a lounging chair by the fireplace. He had to give it to the kid, he seemed to know your body much better than he expected for a guy his age. Either that, or you couldn’t tell what was what at the moment and it was all just pleasure in your glazed over eyes. 

Your head tilted to the side so Steve could analyze every detail of your face. Your dress was pulled down at the top and the bottom rolled up past your stomach. Peter held your legs firmly, biting and kissing your thighs as he made himself comfortable between your legs. 

“God, I fucking love you,” Steve smiled at Peter’s words. Your back arched up as he finally pushed your panties aside, tasting your warm center, “You smell so good. You taste so good.”

You cried out his name, biting down on your bottom lip, and Steve imagined you accidentally drawing blood.  You wouldn't have noticed, there was already blood dripping down your chin. Steve liked how loud you were, he didn’t like the girls that held everything in, and he liked even more how Peter took your mewlings as encouragement to lap at you faster. 

“Fuck,” You cursed, gripping the sheets tightly. Steve felt his pants begin to tighten though he promised himself he would wait, “Fuck, fuck!” You finally came and Peter crawled up your body in order to kiss you on your lips. 

He fumbled with his belt and Steve felt his desperation to be inside you. He was still slow with you when he finally entered you, much more patient than Steve imagined he would be. He kept things slow so you could adjust. He made love to you, kissing your neck, “Is that good?”

You nodded eagerly, “Y-Yeah! Like that …. I love that, Petey. Feels so good … feels so good.”

It was more than ecstasy. The blood mixed with the love of your life, you thought you might cry knowing that no other feeling could compare. 

+

Steve watched the young lovebirds through several rounds and several different positions, your stamina never seeming to run out. Like any other drug, the high relieved the side effects but it didn’t last forever. Eventually, you and Peter floated to sleep. 

You slept through the entire morning and you thought you’d wake in Peter’s arms. You could face any shame and guilt if you were with him but, when your heavy eyes finally opened, you were alone. Your palm against your head, you sat up in the bed, a little bit of sun creeping through the curtains. Looking down, you were completely naked most likely from last night's escapades. 

You felt dirty, for more than one reason. “Peter,” You whispered, stepping out of the bed to look for your dress. Covering your chest, you kneeled down to check beneath the bed, “Peter.”

You breathed heavily, trying to push down your anxiousness as you struggled to find your clothes. When the door of the room opened, you panicked, grabbing ahold of the comforter and pulling it against your body. 

It wasn’t Peter or Steve but a dark haired man, abnormally muscular for a vampire just like Steve. He tilted his head as he looked at you, “Where’s Peter?” You asked immediately. 

“Who?” He raised an eyebrow, shutting the door, “Ohhh, Peter. Right. The boyfriend.”

“Where’s Peter and who are you?” You continued, your eyes wide with fear. Bucky ran his hand over his beard before folding his arms over each other. 

“I’m Steve’s … friend,” You began to recognize him from all the photos, “There’s a few of us who share this house, you know. And I heard you all last night, I asked Steve if I could join the fun but sitting on the sidelines is a bit boring to me.” 

You didn’t care, “If you’re not gonna tell me where Peter is-”

He rolled his eyes, “He’s with Natasha I think. He woke up still craving. Are you craving something too, dollface?”

“Nothing from you,” You shook your head though the idea of his bleeding wrist did pop into your brain, “I-I need to see him.”

“Be my guest. Are you going naked?” You scowled at him, “Go clean up first, please. There should be something for you to wear in the bathroom.”

The two of you stared awkwardly until Bucky realized you weren’t going to move until he left the room, “Fine,” He raised his hands in defeat, “They always get shy in the morning.” He mumbled to himself as the door shut. You quickly hurried to the bathroom, shutting and locking it. 

Why the hell was Peter with Natasha? She’d look at him like she wanted to devour him, in a completely non-vampire kind of way. And he’d left you all alone for that man to find you. Sure, you’d done things last night you weren’t proud of but he’d promised that things would go back to normal after. 

You freshened up in the sink, throwing on a night blue, silk nightgown. You had to scrub the dry blood off of your lips and your inner thighs and you were forced to relive the night. Everything was perfect but as soon as you thought about who watched and probably got off to it, you only felt guilty. You felt even more guilty that you were craving more blood. 

The room was empty when you stepped back into it. Tip toeing over to the bedroom door, you made sure to check to see if the coast was clear before stepping out into the hallway. You thought you could find Peter, snap him out of whatever trance he was in, and take the two of you home even if you had to carry him out on your back. 

“Natasha warned me to keep an eye on you,” He appeared in front of you so suddenly that a small shriek left your lips. You backed up quickly only to run into another tall figure. 

“Bucky, you’re going to hurt her,” Steve warned, his deep voice sending chills down your spine. 

Bucky smirked, “No blood, no foul.”

“You say that now.”

You stepped away from both of them, your back pressing against the nearest wall, “Would you like breakfast, doll?” Steve asked, catching you off guard. 

“You should get something on your stomach, doll,” Bucky seemed to mimic Steve’s concerned nature which caused Steve to press his lips into a frustrated, thin line. 

“Where. Is. Peter? I want to go home.”

“He’s-”

Bucky interrupted him, “You can’t go home.”

“Buck-”

“There’s no use in sugarcoating it,” Bucky stepped closer, resting his arm above you, “We need new blood bags and it’s not like you guys have much to go back to.” 

“We’re not blood bags-”

“We’re all blood bags,” Bucky chuckled, “You guys need us too. Anyways, it’s not a request. Steve is just nicer than me but we’re all going to take what we want.”

You slipped away from him, your feet pushing you even though you knew you were faster. The only reason Bucky didn’t chase after you was because of Steve, “Peter!” You called out, running down the hall, “Peter!” You frantically opened each door you walked past until you got to the end of the hallway. 

When you stormed in, you found him shirtless, sprawled on a bed. Natasha, in a robe, was in front of a vanity, brushing through her red hair. You hurried over to the bed, grabbing a hold of his shoulders, “Peter, we have to get out of here.”

He smiled, softly grabbing ahold of your arm, “My love, you’re so beautiful, you know that?” He was so high that you weren’t even sure if he was really seeing you. 

Tears pricked your eyes, “You promised, Peter. You promised.”

He shushed you, “It’s okay, just give me a few … hours. We’ll be … okay.”

You felt hands on your waist that you didn’t fight. She brushed a piece of hair from your face, touching your cheek with her freezing hand, “I knew you’d like her, Buck. They're both so perfect,” Natasha guided you away from the bed and towards the door where the other two vampires were standing, “So who gets the first bite?”

“Steve’s had his fun. She’s mine tonight.” 

+

hope you enjoyed that fun little one-shot!

[dothwrites]

13 and 20

13. and 20.--Detective AU and Teacher AU

---

Castiel represses a sigh as he stands up straight. His spine pops as he subtly stretches out the kinks in his aching body.

He'd thought that he was a reasonably fit man, but bending over and scrubbing at filthy floors and tables every day is playing hell with his lower back.

The bell rings, and Castiel curses under his breath as he moves back against the wall. Less than thirty seconds later, all of the doors near him burst open and a flood of teenagers courses into the hallway.

Castiel's had a lot of unpleasant assignments in his life, but going undercover at Carver Edlund High School is among the worst. He thought that he'd seen some of the worst that humanity had to offer: murderers who cared nothing for the pain of their victims, kidnappers who plunged families into turmoil for years, robbers who were willing to kill just in order to get a few quick bucks. But upon seeing the horror show of the cafeteria after a group of freshmen finished lunch, Castiel has to start reevaluating his list of atrocities.

The tardy bell rings, and Castiel sighs as he steps out in the hall. He rolls his eyes at the debris that the students have left behind and grabs his push broom to start clearing it away.

Going undercover at Carver Edlund wasn't Castiel's first choice of assignments, but with several students ending up in the hospital due to drug overdoses, something drastic had to be done. Castiel's job is simple: gather as much intelligence as he can about where the drugs are coming from. If possible, he's to find the dealer and shut the whole production down.

In theory, it's a good assignment. Success here would mean a potential commendation, maybe a promotion if the operation is big enough. But the reality of the situation is much different. Castiel's been masquerading as a member of the maintenance team for a little over a week, and he's no closer to finding the source of the drugs than he was when he started.

His captain had ultimately decided to send him in as a member of the janitorial staff for access reasons: as a janitor, he has keys to every door. Not even lockers are safe from him. There's no place in the school off-limits to him. Unfortunately, it also means that his opportunities for questioning potential suspects are limited: no high school student wants to have long conversations with the janitor. He's reduced to sweeping around gaggles of kids, hoping that they'll just so happen to let something slip.

His plan hasn't worked. So far, he's learned about the latest TikTok challenge, who's rumored to have slept with who, and who on the football team is getting suspended, but drugs? Either these kids are savvier than he gives them credit for, or they don't know anything.

"Oh, sorry, 'scue me... Oh. Hi, Steve."

It takes Castiel just a second too long to respond to the name. Part of that is because he's still not used to answering to his cover name, and part of that is because he's still not sure how to act around Dean Smith.

He braces himself before he turns around, but that still doesn't prepare him for the sight of Dean Smith leaning against the wall. Looking at him is like looking into the sun, if the sun was in a dingy hallway with flickering florescent lights and questionable stains on the floor. Even with those inauspicious surroundings, however, Dean Smith, with his sandy hair, vibrant eyes, freckles, and bright, crooked grin, stands out.

"Hello, Dean." Castiel allows the hint of a smile to cross his face. He'd called Dean 'Mr. Smith' exactly once before Dean had put a stop to it.

"Oh, no," he said, grimacing in distaste, "I get enough of that from the kids. Just Dean, man." Castiel hadn't argued, and the slightly stuffy Mr. Smith became Dean.

"Another beautiful day cleaning up the debris of the world?" Dean gestures towards the small pile of dirt and dust that Castiel has managed to collect.

"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it," Castiel answers.

No doubt his superiors would be screaming if they could see him right now. Zachariah, his Captain, would sneer, You're there to catch drug dealers, Novak, not to play nice with pretty boy teachers, but Zachariah isn't here right now. Plus, it's not like Castiel's making any headway on the drug dealers, so he might as well indulge his crush with a guy who's miles out of his league.

Dean is the kind of good-looking that gets noticed by modeling companies in the line at the cafe. Castiel has found himself wondering, more than once, what a guy like him is doing substitute teaching. It's obvious that Dean is smart, and he doesn't doubt that he could have a job doing whatever he wanted. Still, Dean's being a substitute teacher works out well for him, so he doesn't complain. Not if it means that he can be just a little closer to him.

Maybe if Castiel wasn't undercover and wearing an unflattering jumpsuit with the name 'Steve' stitched across the front pocket. Maybe if he were dressed in his customary suit and had a badge and gun to flash around. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

"Don't talk to me about dirty jobs," Dean says, his voice entirely too low and insinuating for the circumstances. Heat blooms underneath Castiel's collar.

"Well, I'm not sure what else to talk to you about," he confesses. He resents the broom handle in his hands.

Dean shrugs. His smile is still carefree, but there's something else in his eyes when he says, "What about any books that you've read lately? TV shows that you've watched?" His eyes flash to Castiel's, and his tongue flirts with his lower lip as he asks, "Restaurants that you'd like to go to?"

Castiel's heart stutters. For a second, it sounded like... But that can't be right. Dean can't be inviting him out. Guys like Castiel don't go out with guys like Dean. That's just the way the world works. Maybe if he was Detective Castiel Novak, but now when he's Janitor Steve.

He takes a second too long to answer. By the time that he's managed to figure out that Dean is serious, Dean's expression has shuttered. He flashes a painfully fake smile at Castiel. "Hey, man, don't worry about it. I'll catch you later, okay?"

He's turning to go, and fear grabs at Castiel. He knows that if he lets Dean walk away, then everything will change between them. No more jokes, no more stolen conversations in the hallways. They'll become nothing more than vague, uneasy colleagues, at least until Castiel's assignment ends and he disappears forever from Dean's life.

The indignity of his assignment and the frustration of his ineptitude rises in Castiel, and bursts out of him in a quick call. "Dean!"

Dean turns around. Hope flickers in his eyes before he hides it. "Yeah?" he asks. The carefully blank tone in his voice is like a knife twisting in Castiel's chest.

"I like Italian food," Castiel answers. He offers a hesitant smile towards Dean, hoping against hope that Dean will accept his overture.

After a second, Dean's smile spreads slowly across his face, as bright as the sunrise. "Yeah," he says, nodding slowly, "yeah, I think we could do that."

---

Dean's heart dances in his chest as he walks away from Steve.

He did it. After weeks of ogling and tentatively flirting, he finally asked out the hot janitor.

Steve is a lot more than a pair of pretty blue eyes and a five o'clock shadow that makes Dean's lip yearn for stubble burn, though. (Though Steve does fill out a jumpsuit better than anyone Dean's ever seen. One day, he was lifting a desk onto the dolly so that it could be moved, and Dean thought his eyes were about to pop out of his skull. Between the thick thighs attempting to pop the seams on his pants, and the biceps rippling, Dean hadn't known where to look.) Steve has a wicked sense of humor, an innate sense of kindness, and he's caught every single one of Dean's literary references (the pop culture ones, not so much. Seriously, who's never seen Indiana Jones?). There's more to Steve than meets the eye, and Dean's itching to peel back the dozens of layers.

He ignores the tiny voice in the back of his head (which sounds like an alarming mix of Sam and Bobby) saying Don't get too involved. This is a temporary thing. Dean frowns and tries to tell the voice to shut the fuck up.

He's only here for as long as it takes him to figure out who's bringing drugs into the school. At the first viable lead, he'll be yanked out, and Dean Smith, substitute teacher, will die, to be replaced by Agent Dean Winchester of the DEA.

Because of the environment, there are multiple law enforcement agencies working on this case. There's state police, the DEA, and maybe even a few FBI agents sniffing around. It's naive to believe that there aren't other agents working in the school, but he hasn't come across any yet that he knows of. He's not entirely sure; he lets Bobby deal with all of the inter-agency bullshit. He has his mission and his cover, and Bobby, as his handler, can navigate every other pitfall.

Beyond small talk and leading conversations, Dean hasn't tried to get close with anyone. Every smiling face could conceal an undercover agent or a dealer. With suspicion everywhere, it's best not to succumb to temptation.

Which makes his attraction to Steve all the more intriguing.

Just thinking of the other man sets off a series of fireworks in the pit of Dean's belly.

This is probably a terrible idea, doomed to failure, but Dean is going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Whistling, he goes back to the classroom and prepares for his next class.

[mikkomacko]

DAD BUCKY!!!! I need some dad Bucky please!!!!!

Bucky never imagined that being a dad would include showing him off like a museum exhibit, yet here he is, standing in the back corner of the classroom, fiddling with the leather gloves over his fingers and trying to focus on the comforting circles y/n is rubbing into his back. The rest of the parents are sat in the little desk chairs that they're children typically sit in but Bucky figured that was a disaster waiting to happen. A 260 pound super soldier squished into a chair for a five year old? Not gonna happen.

His little girl is sat on the classroom rug with the rest of the students, not-so-patiently waiting for show and tell to start because it's her turn to go first and she's brought her favorite thing in the whole world. Him.

Just when he's about to start panicking again, his little one is called up to the front. She's beaming, dark hair in two braids on her shoulders and bright blue eyes glowing. The puffy skirt patterned with the Avengers logo and a shirt that reads "My daddy's a hero! (No really, he is)" has him freezing, taking a second to just breath. He's here for her, for his baby that loves him and is proud of him. His baby that was so darn excited to bring him into class today. And he'd do anything for her, no questions asked.

"Hi, I'm Bee Barnes!" She introduces, smiling at her fellow classmates with the same dimples similar to the ones that indent his cheeks. "Today for show and tell, I brought my daddy. He's an Avenger and he's really really strong."

With a peck to his cheek and an encouraging smile, y/n sends Bucky off to go stand with his daughter. It must be a sight to see, this big leather clad super soldier smiling bashfully as his little girl in her pastel outfit clings to his thigh.

Unsure what to say, he pursues his lips and waves. Bee reaches for the sleeve of his left arm, tugging at the leather impatiently.

"My daddy knows Captain America, both of them, and he's got a really strong metal arm that he uses to swing my around when we play airplanes!"

Hopping, Bee reaches to help him remove his jacket. Laughing, Bucky shushes her and removes the fabric, leaving him in his black tee-shirt. His vibranium arm glints in the light, whirring and shifting softly as he tugs off the leather gloves as well. The children around him hum in amazement, wide eyes taking in the metal.

"His real name is Bucky but when he's an Avenger we call him White Wolf. His work friend named him that. He's got a lot of work friends..."

Bee rambles on about the rest of the team, talking about Steve and Sam and how they always got her good Christmas presents. Over the heard of the crowded room Bucky's eyes find his wife's, smiling freely when he sees how utterly proud she looks. And the smile stays when Bee wiggles into his arms, making Bucky hold her on his hip as he answers questions about missions and how his arm works.

He doesn't exactly like to have this much attention on him and his arm but he can ignore the anxiety of it for his girls. Anything for his girls.

[chrisbitchtree]

April Prompt Challenge Day 8 - Window

Full list of prompts here

***

Billy was in way over his head. Spending his earnings from his part time job at the garage on a brand-new PC for school had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he had the thing, and barely had any idea how to use it. They’d had a computer back home, but it was a Macintosh, and Neil being Neil, Billy had barely been able to touch it anyway.

Thankfully that afternoon, as he’d been walking out of the public library, where he liked to study because it was quieter than the campus library and his own dorm room, where his roommate had a constant stream of friends over, he’d noticed a flyer for a tutorial on how to use Windows, almost buried beneath advertisements for an ultimate frisbee league and a poster advertising that the library now offered VHS rentals. Billy quickly grabbed a pen and paper from his bag and wrote down the time, the next evening at 7pm.

***

The next evening, he headed back to the library, a little late because of course he hadn’t gotten out of his last class on time. He was expecting to see a bunch of people his age. What he didn’t expect was a bunch of seniors, and at the front of the room, the most beautiful boy he’d ever seen, brown hair flopping in his eyes, and a Hootie and the Blowfish t-shirt tucked haphazardly into khakis, topped with an open blue short sleeve button down. His big brown doe eyes were made even larger by the thick rimmed glasses he was wearing. Billy didn’t usually go for nerds who listened to soft rock, but he found he couldn’t keep his eyes off the guy.

Everyone was paired up, and Billy realized as he went to take a seat that there wasn’t one. Everyone had a partner but him. “Hey, looks like we have a late arrival. Hi late arrival, I’m Steve. I’ll be your teacher today. Your name is?” The beautiful boy gave him a blinding smile. Billy’s heart was beating so fast, it was all he could focus on. He could barely spit out his own name. “I’m, uhhhh, Billy, my name is Billy.” Steve’s smile grew impossibly wider. “Well, Billy. It looks like you’re the odd man out. How about you come sit up here with me?”

Oh great, now this guy was going to see up close and personal that Billy couldn’t even use a computer. He could feel his face heating up as he made his way over to the chair Steve had grabbed for him. He sat down, trying to act natural as Steve walked everyone through turning on the computers. Billy could barely even form a coherent thought next to Steve, how was he going to remember this all?

To make matters worse, most of the old people were catching on faster than he was. They’d all shown Steve that they could navigate their way through the basic functions, and Billy could barely remember how Steve had said to shut the thing off. He could feel himself getting overheated, and he was shaking from a combination of nerves and frustration. He started feeling dizzy and knew he had to get out of there. It was too much. He grabbed his bag and started walking out of the room, only to be stopped by Steve’s hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” he said, softly. “Leaving already? We’re just getting to the good stuff! Don’t you want to learn how to use Paint?” Billy could feel his cheeks heating up, from a combination of Steve’s hand, which was still on his shoulder, and embarrassment at what he was about to admit to this hot stranger. “I can barely remember how you said to do the basics. How am I going to learn how to do anything else?” He blew a stray curl out of his eyes, sighing.

Steve gave him a sympathetic smile. “Everyone learns at their own pace, Billy. You don’t need to feel embarrassed. But here, I only do this for my favorite students.” He grabbed a pen from his pocket and wrote a phone number on the back of Billy’s hand. “Call me. We can do a one-on-one lesson at my apartment.” He then had the audacity to wink, as if Billy wasn’t already weak in the knees.

***

Summoning up all the courage that he had, Billy called Steve the next night. They made plans for Billy to go over to Steve’s in an hour. Now he was ringing Steve’s buzzer, and he could feel his palms sweating. He wiped them on his jeans before heading in when Steve buzzed him up. Steve greeted him and showed him around the small space before they settled in at Steve’s computer.

To his credit, Steve did spend time actually showing Billy how to navigate Windows. They spent a full 30 minutes going through the basics before Steve turned to Billy, tucking a curl behind his ear before pressing his lips to Billy’s in a tentative kiss. Billy cupped his hand behind Steve’s head, deepening the kiss. They made their way to the couch, Billy bumping into the coffee table as they made their way over. He barely registered the pain, focused as he was on Steve and how nice the other boy’s soft lips felt against his.

The spent three times as long exploring each other’s mouths as they did exploring Windows, Steve’s radio playing horrible alt rock in the background. So what if Billy still didn’t know how to use Windows? There was plenty of time to learn, and Steve seemed to be an eager teacher. And if he got a boner every time he heard Glycerine by Bush for the next few months? That was his business and his business alone.

[achillieus]

we’re fools. (bucky barnes x reader)

summary: for all bucky barnes knows, he hates clichés. and this thing between you two, happens to be the biggest one.

(enemies to lovers trope or i watched the society on netflix recently and based this entirely on harry bingham and cassandra pressman)

pairing: college au!bucky x reader

warnings: alcohol, angst, too much tension, bucky and reader are stupid and in  denial, sexual tension all around the place

tagging: @tonystankschild​

(other parts)  (masterlist)

part 2/3:

And then it’s the last week of February and you have an assignment together, you and Bucky, the boy with black hair and a mind that you’re certain is not as clever as he insists it is. You know this cannot possibly end well. You feel it when he sits beside you and his knee brushes past your leg. You feel it when you take a breath and smell his aftershave. Sandalwood and vanilla. It makes you want to lick your lips. Please, get a grip. You try to get away, even propose to write the whole thing alone so you wouldn’t have to spend any time around him. In your mind, you call it self defense. But Bucky’s boastful and you can see him pumping the muscles in his neck, trying to intimidate you.

“My dorm, tomorrow at 7,” he says “Don’t be late.”

-

(your late night instagram search history)

(00:38 AM) #literaturememes

(01:15 AM) @buckybrns

(01:30 AM) #newgirl

(01:50 AM) @buckybrns

(02:10 AM) @buckybrns

You find it annoying; how he’s present even when he’s not around.

-

The thing about Bucky Barnes is that everyone, boys and girls, adore him alike. He’s charming, he’s crafty, he’s brilliant. He’s everything they want him to be and even more. It nearly condones his megalomania.

The thing about Bucky Barnes is that he’s aware he has an audience. Always plans his moves, knows how to play his character perfectly. He wears dark designer jeans and plain Henley shirts, buttons open, fabric tight around his biceps. Sometimes even a black leather jacket and a tag necklace. Girls are intrigued by the bad-boy, straight A student contrast, while the boys are envious enough keep him close and invite him to all of their parties. Bucky gives them whatever they need.

The thing about Bucky Barnes is that he’s utterly lonely. He has never said so, but it’s the truest thing about him. He has Sam. But for how long? Bucky’s used to people going away. It has been imprinted on him. His best friend, Steve, left with his girlfriend in an exchange program last month and Natasha, the one girl he ever came close to loving, just started dating Clint Barton. Clint fucking Barton. What a downgrade.

And then there’s you, sitting at the end of his bed, playing with the ring in your finger, reading some neatly written lecture notes. Usually, Bucky would think about 129 cheeky comments he could make to a girl in his room. But not to you. Are you sure, Bucky? He has grown accustomed to disliking you. It’s the one constant he has left and he’s not planning on losing it.

He leans down and takes the place next to you, a bottle of beer dangling loosely in his hand.

He offers and you decline.

“We need to concentrate on the project.”  

“You’re the biggest killjoy.” Bucky says with a hint of a smirk.

“I’m studying, Bucky.” He can see your left hand holding that dark green pen in a tight grip and your eyes trying to focus everywhere but on his face. He can see your hair glistening in the warm afternoon light that comes from his window. He can see the soft red blush on your cheeks and the beauty mark on your neck. What a tricky thing it is to see. And to feel. And to want.

Is that what dislike tastes like, Bucky?

-

He talks a lot, that’s the first thing you notice. He says all sorts of things, most of them having nothing to do with your project. You’re certain it’s because he’s feeling as uncomfortable and agitated as you. But still, it’s annoying as hell.

“Listen,” you say and turn to his side “I’m not going to fail this class just because you have the attention span of a two year old.”

A laugh escapes his lips and you watch, completely in awe, the way little wrinkles form around his eyes and his nose scrunches. Right now, he looks tender and warm. No, he doesn’t.

“I think we’re both pretty smart,” Bucky says nonchalant and wets his lower lip with his tongue, before he adds, “We’ve got this, so relax doll.”

There are rules, things that are solid, de facto.

Example 1: Bucky never praises you. At least not out loud.

Example 1: Not valid anymore.

Example 2: Bucky uses the word “doll” approximately ten times a day. To other girls. The girls he likes. Not to you.

That’s actually wrong, he called you doll the first time you met. That doesn’t count. He didn’t know you then.

Example 2: Not valid anymore.

It feels foreign. Pleasant and beguiling, but foreign.

“You always call girls “doll”. What is this?” You ask and he looks up. “Is it like your thing, your flirt move?”

Bucky meets your gaze, his forehead creased, and holds it for some seconds before he laughs again. Is this amusing him?

“No, I’m serious.” You bite your lip. “You even did it to me when we first met.”

“I did?”

Of course he doesn’t remember, what did you expect?

“Yeah, when you helped me find the admission office.”

“And you remember that, an entire year later?” He raises his eyebrows, looking entertained and partly interested.

Your mind empties and for some time you feel out of place, embarrassed. But you’re quick to recollect yourself. You can’t let him get you.

“It was my first day as a college student, I remember all of it.”

Liar. You don’t even remember who you sat next to.

Bucky smirks a little too long for your liking and then he leans in, his body bending in a way that makes you forget to breath. He’s so close and you only see blue, a rare kind of blue between the depths of the ocean and the brightest shade of the sky at noon. This would be so much easier if he wasn’t that handsome. Handsome and indomitable. What an awful combination.

“Interesting.” He whispers and lies back, touching the wall.

You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear and clear your throat.

“I should go, it’s obvious we’re not making any progress.” You pick your books and stand up. “Sometimes I wonder how you get all those perfect grades, you clearly-” You merely finish your sentence before he grabs your arm and swiftly, he has you pressed against his wooden bookcase. You don’t have time to blink.

What’s happening? He was sitting down a second ago.

“That day,” he says while his thumb draws circles on your wrist. “You were wearing a denim dress and some Saturn shaped earrings. And you were holding a cherry juice box.”

It’s utterly terrifying how your emotions toss and turn the moment you realize what he’s talking about and the fragile muscles of your heart ache because Bucky cares. Bucky remembers.

“It wasn’t my first day of college, but I remember.”

You want to throw up. Or kiss him. You’re not sure. You know you hate Bucky. Do you? You’ve taught yourself to. And it was never supposed to change. It shouldn’t have to.  

You part your lips to say something, anything, but he shakes his head and steps back.

“You should go.”

And you do. And you’ll never tell him, but you’ll always regret not kissing him then. You’re sure now.

-

your inbox, the next morning

(10:25 AM) from buckybrns@gmail.com

              I’m sending you our assignment. You only need to add a few things and it’s done. If anything else comes up, it’s better we work on our own.

-

For Bucky, it all came crashing down the moment he first saw you. It was all over the moment his eyes met yours. A gourmand perfume lingered in the air around you that day and it stained his pores. And it’s been with him since then. Clinging onto his flesh.

It’s partly obsessive and partly romantic and Bucky tries to keep it locked inside. He thinks he can make it go away easily, the way he flicks a crumb off his expensive cashmere scarf. He thinks if he doesn’t talk about it, it’ll be less true. That’s not how things work, Bucky.

Yeah, he’s starting to notice.

And he’s trying so hard to hate you. The problem is, he doesn’t think he can.

(his late night instagram search history)

(00:45 AM) #tomfordperfumes

(01:30 AM) @y/n

(01:50 AM) #funnycats

(02:15 AM) @y/n

(03:45 AM) @y/n

-

You make it your mission to avoid him and it’s going well until the fifth of March. You spot him at Sam Wilson’s party. You should have known he’d be here, they’re friends. There’s a thick cloud of cigarette smoke all around, but still, you can perfectly see him. He’s standing alone, his skin changing colors under the neon lights, a plastic cup in his hand, eyes crystal blue and swollen and fixated on you.

The room is small and everything feels known but unfamiliar at the same time; the atmosphere, his gaze, the lump on your throat.

They’re suffocating you, the looks you give each other.

-

“Buck, what do you want?” Sam asks, holding both vodka and gin and he observes the way Bucky merely turns his head to look at him.

What do you want Bucky?

Not to play a role anymore. For Steve to be back. Maybe, Natasha. No, he hasn’t thought about her in a month. Perhaps a Pulitzer Prize. Definitely a new pair of sunglasses. But there is one more answer he has behind his teeth.

Y/N, he almost says. Always.

“Vodka.”

-

He leaves before midnight and you can’t remember where the urge came from, yet you’re following him. You know he has noticed. But he just keeps walking until he reaches the door of his dorm and presses his back against it. He sees you and you see him and his eyes cut your heart open.

“Your place is on the other side of the building.”

“I know,” you mumble, “I just never got to say good job on the assignment and I wanted to.” You are unable to meet his eyes. You sound pitiful and you want to hit a wall; with your head.

Why the hell did you follow him here?

Because sometimes you do stupid things.

Bucky mockingly opens his mouth, as if shocked. It almost makes you groan.

“Did Miss high and mighty just comment something nice about me?”

“Why do you have to contradict everything I say?”

He shakes his head and you can feel your heart beat loud and irregular and it’s not because you’re mad. It’s because he’s coming closer, almost chest to chest now. And it’s because you can swear, he just glanced at your lips.

“Someone has to, you can’t act like you know everything all the time.”  

“I don’t do that, you don’t know a thing about me Bucky.”

“Oh, but I do. You’re Y/N, you like plaid skirts and Homer and dark green pens. You expect everyone to be perfect. You expect yourself to be perfect. And you always want to do the right thing.”

His pupils are dilated. Yours must be too. Bucky Barnes is dangerous and fatal. He makes your blood coil and your mouth dry. And there’s a tension, almost pain, almost agony, deep in your lungs and it burns. And you don’t know who leaned in first, probably you because Bucky isn’t that brave yet, but suddenly your hands are everywhere. Your fingers blending in his hair, his digging in the skin on the back of your neck. He’s bringing you closer and it’s a mess and all you can hear is the beating of your heart; a rapid vibration between your ears. It’s pure and raw and it doesn’t hurt anymore.

He tastes like ambrosia and a year-old despair and you think you can go on forever. You eventually break apart because you both need to breath and for a second you worry because he looks like he’s ready to cry, but instead he smiles, softly touching your cheek.

“Did I do the right thing?” You whisper.

...

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