#car removal hoppers crossing | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

heartburriedinvenice · 16 days ago

Text

the end is undeniably near (and i keep running towards it) - steve h.

(steve harrington x hopper!reader)

a part of my phoebe challenge 🎞🪐💌🕯

based on the song "i know the end" by phoebe bridgers

in which you always wanted to escape hawkins, indiana, until you didn't anymore.

in which the billboard said "the end is near"

content warning post season 3 (SO SPOILERS), mild cursing (maybe), ANGST like the whole time, unhealthy coping, and hawkins being hawkins, reader is an implied theater kid (im sorry not sorry)

a / n i disappeared on y’all, I’m sorry!! you know life is getting weird when i randomly return to tumblr. just dipping my toes back in the water of all this so i apologize if i am a little rusty. this is just a piece of a hopper!reader show rewrite that has been in the works for a while so if anyone likes it enough, lmk, I’d be be happy to start posting the whole thing,starting from season 1! any feedback would be awesome (and also requests cause I need inspo back). okay enjoy some angst!

No one ever got out of Hawkins, Indiana. Like the town was somehow enclosed within some heavy-duty bubble, only a few people ever got the nerves to squeeze through. Until you did, until you did the one thing you believed was impossible. You packed your bags, loaded up your car, and left hell. And you did it without a goodbye because the only way to do the impossible was without one. And deep down you knew you were a coward, even after fighting monsters and otherworldly creatures, you were a coward. You could not face what was left behind or allow yourself to acknowledge it.

And it ate away at you in a way you could have never imagined. Too busy pretending like it never crossed your mind, like Hawkins never existed in the first place. Still, it chipped at you piece by piece until the guilt of escaping Hawkins, Indiana finally caught up with you. Until one day that guilt would sneak up and trip you, sending you tumbling all the way back down a hill to only land right back at the gates of Hawkins, at its green sign, Welcome to Hawkins! That warm welcome, the warmest welcome, with its murders and second dimensions and its people. Those people. Those people who worked their way so deep into your heart before you could even realize it. So deep that leaving felt like removing deeply grown roots from a garden, so impossible, so hard to tell where they even stopped growing. You weren’t sure entirely when they grew so deep, you don’t really remember at all how they got there. When you let them? Why did you let them? After everything, you should have known better. You shouldn’t have let them.

You were fifteen when you knew you could never live in Hawkins, Indiana your whole life. It never felt real, artificial, fake. Mass-produced nuclear families and white picket fence houses and stale dead-end jobs.

And then Steve Harrington needed an extra art credit and found his way as the lead in Hawkins High’s production of Romeo and Juliet. When rehearsing turned into giving Steve girl advice and driving with him to drop off flowers. When running lines became swinging a bat of nails and finding an alien in a fridge. When the day before the play performance had turned into icing Steve's bruises on your couch as you ran lines back and forth because neither of you could sleep. When a whole group of middle schoolers sat in the front row and your dad sat center with a bouquet of flowers. They were your family. Your strange and messy family all pretending to be interested in the gibberish mess of Shakespeare on stage. Them watching with stifled laughs as Steve stumbled through lines, as the balcony scene turned into him and you having a staring contest trying to figure out whose lines were next. And though your director would have your heads later, the two of you sat giggling during intermission and had to hold the laughter again when your director asked why you didn’t have time to be memorized to perfection. Because you had all the time in the world, didn’t you?.

Unbelievable as it was, you began to question what you at fifteen had promised you would do. Because you had found more than stale every day Hawkins. You had found their odd-balls who taught you to play Dungeons and Dragons in their basement, who reminded you so much of your sister. And you had found Steve Harrington, a pretty boy with a heart of gold, who risked his life for his Juliet that night at the mall. Who held you tight when it all got too much.

When you moved back to Hawkins, Indiana, after Sara, after your parents split, you were sure life would never be the same again. You needed a fresh start, to completely reconfigure your life and pretend none of what had happened had happened. That you never had a sister, that your dad hadn’t completely changed, burrowing himself under alcohol and late shifts. That your mom wasn’t actively trying to forget and build another life over the one that had been left abandoned in that New York apartment. You were so sure you would have to move on, cut it all out the minute you graduated from high school. You were sure you had to escape on your rickety old bike right out of town.

Then things happened and somehow you found yourself again, found your father again as you sat together for your first Christmas dinner in years. Celebrating the return of the young Will Byers and the return of something else, something more, something familiar and warm. It wasn’t perfect, far from it, but it was yours. You saw your father again for the first time in years that night, Christmas Eve, sitting on the porch as light snow fell and hit your heads, bundled in warm jackets, pretending the coffee you made was not mediocre at best. The police chief and his daughter, a messy duo. And that was perfect to you.

And then things happened again and again and again and finally everything just shattered.

And you left. You did what you had always hoped to do. But you didn’t feel the pride you had thought you would feel when you dreamed it at fifteen. You weren’t heading towards a new life, you were sitting in a stuffy apartment in the city. You were stuck again at what felt like the beginning. Unable to go with the Byers, you immediately made other plans, back at the apartment you had spent so many nights trying to forget.

And it ate away at you in a way you could have never imagined or wanted to imagine. Too busy pretending like it never crossed your mind, like Hawkins never existed in the first place. Still, it chipped at you piece by piece until the guilt of escaping Hawkins, Indiana finally caught up with you. Until one day that guilt would sneak up and trip you, sending you tumbling all the way back down a hill to only land right back at the gates of Hawkins, at its green sign, Welcome to Hawkins! That warm welcome, the warmest welcome, with its murders and second dimensions and its people. Those people. Those people who worked their way so deep into your heart before you could even realize it. So deep that leaving felt like removing deeply grown roots from a garden, so impossible, so hard to tell where they even stopped growing. You weren’t sure entirely when they grew so deep, you don’t really remember at all how they got there. When you let them? Why did you let them? After everything, you should have known better. You shouldn’t have let them.

And then Steve Harrington needed an extra art credit and found his way as the lead in Hawkins High’s production of Romeo and Juliet. When rehearsing turned into giving Steve girl advice and driving with him to drop off flowers. When running lines became swinging a bat of nails and finding an alien in a fridge. Or jumping into a hole in the ground and lighting up never-ending tunnels of vines straight from those horror movies you used to watch with your sister. When the day before the play performance had turned into icing Steve's bruises on your couch as you ran lines back and forth because neither of you could sleep. When a whole group of middle schoolers sat in the front row and your dad sat center with a crumble bouquet of flowers. They were your family. Your strange and messy family all pretending to be interested in the gibberish mess of Shakespeare on stage. Them watching with stifled laughs as Steve stumbled through lines, as the balcony scene turned into him and you having a staring contest trying to figure out whose lines were next. And though your director would have your heads later, the two of you sat giggling during intermission and had to hold the laughter again when your director asked why you didn’t have time to be memorized to perfection. Because you had all the time in the world, didn’t you?.

Unbelievable as it was, you began to question what you at fifteen had promised you would do. Because you had found more than stale every day Hawkins, you had found their odd-balls who taught you to play Dungeons and Dragons in their basement who reminded you so much of your sister. And you had found Steve Harrington, a pretty boy with a heart of gold, who risked his life for his Juliet that night at the mall, pulling you up when you twisted your ankle running up a flight of stairs and getting you out to paramedics when it was over. Icing your ankle and holding you when it all got too much. When you watched everyone exit the mall but the only real family you felt like you had left. When the police told you your fathers body couldn’t be found, buried under ash and grime in the mall fire. That he was the hero, that he saved your lives sacrificing himself.

When you moved back to Hawkins, Indiana, after Sara, after your parents split, you were sure life would never be the same again. You needed a fresh start, to completely reconfigure your life and pretend none of what had happened had happened. That you never had a sister, that your dad hadn’t completely changed, burrowing himself under alcohol and late shifts. That your mom wasn’t actively trying to forget and build another life over the past one that had been left abandoned in that New York apartment, calling only for holidays and those important life events she was so sad she had to miss. You were so sure you would have to move on, cut it all out the minute you graduated from high school. You were sure you had to escape on your rickety old bike right out of town.

Then things happened and somehow you found yourself again, found your father again as you sat together for their first Christmas dinner in years. Celebrating the return of the young Will Byers and the return of something else, something more, something familiar and warm. It wasn’t perfect, far from it, but it was steps in a direction. You saw your father again for the first time in years that night, Christmas Eve, sitting on the porch as light snow fell and hit your heads, bundled in warm jackets, pretending the coffee you made was not mediocre at best. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something for the two of you. The police chief and his daughter, a messy duo. And that was perfect to you.

And then things happened again and again and again and finally everything just shattered.

Spring of 1986, the New York apartment was driving you insane. You felt like you might start running up the walls if you didn’t get out soon. At least that would be ten times more interesting than sitting and watching your Step-Dad watch golf—a sport you didn't understand. Seeing how bored you were, he tried to explain it, but you didn't process a single word he was saying.

You didn’t want to have something with him, you didn’t want a thing you bonded over and you especially didn’t want that thing to be golf.

You debated moving, you debated being drastic and dying your hair to make your mom upset but what good would that do other than feed the part in yourself that no longer cared, no longer wanted to care. Everything you cared about had slipped from your grasp, had disappeared, no matter how tightly you clutched it was gone.

Fuck.

You stared at the wallpaper, one you knew your mom had probably gushed over at the store and chosen. And you glanced at the patterned carpet, and the family picture you were not in. And even though they all reassured you that you were family, deep down you knew you had uprooted their whole routine. You especially saw it in your moms eyes when she looked at you a little too long, a constant reminder of what she had lost all those years ago.

You listened to the busy city traffic below the apartment and the sound of wailing sirens you had completely become ignorant of after you lived in Hawkins so long. You glanced at the kitchen, the sink with no dishes and a fridge actually filled with food that wasn’t leftover take-out, mediocre pasta you had cooked, or boxes of Eggos. And you looked at the man beside you, silent, watching golf. It was all so different.

Every day it remained that way, your mom got home from work late, your stepfather came home before you got back from school, and then Liam, your step brother would come home.

He made it all a little more bearable. The littlest but only because he reminded you of home. He reminded you of Dungeons and Dragons in Mike Wheeler's basement, and your found sister, and the party that always had you on your toes. But even you could not warm up to the boy because he would never be them. And it was unfair. It was cruel of you to make comparisons between Hawkins and New York, to allow that to shut out the only family you now had. But it was one habit you could not seem to break no matter how hard you tried.

Hawkins, Indiana was quiet, it was small. Hawkins, Indiana was both a breath of fresh air and a tightening grip that had you gasping, clawing for a second to breathe. New York was loud, so loud that the sounds of sirens and blaring car horns became only white noise in your head. It was big, not big in the welcoming and warming way. Not big in the feeling of catching sight of a friend in a crowded room. It was big in the way you could not point out a single person at school that you had seen more than once. It was big in a way similar to that of being alone in the middle of a large party. It was so big that being alone in a quiet, dark, empty room would feel the same as walking amidst the large crowds on the street.

And New York didn’t have Steve Harrington. New York didn’t have crazy kids and weird aliens, New York didn’t have Robin Buckley or Nancy Wheeler or Jonathan Byers, New York didn’t have comforting hugs from Joyce, and New York didn’t have your dad and it never would again. The thought of it was enough to make you sick, nausea filling every inch of your body, barely able to swallow down the fact. But you would swallow it down like you always did, like you did everything else.

Your mom would always tell you you could talk to her if you needed to, that no matter how long you were a part she still cared about you. But you still remember the look on her face when you had turned up at the apartment after all those years. Finally back together face to face, the only words she was able to muster was, “you grew up”.

You kept busy filling the days with nothing. On a good day Liam would show you some project he did in class that day, him seemingly the most unbothered by your move-in. And your stepdad, Bill, would ask you how school was to which you would reply fine. It was fine, it would always be just fine.

And you would stare at the phone on the wall in the kitchen. Dialing and hanging up and dialing and hanging up, hearing him pick up and then slamming the phone down, falling back into the chair at the kitchen table. Sometimes he would call back, you knew he caught on, you would just listen as the phone rang, head in your hands. You couldn’t face it, it was all too much and answering that call, hearing that voice would only throw it all back at you at once. It would knock you down and hold you there as you tried to gain control of the emotions you had locked up so tight once again. You felt sick to your stomach once again and the feeling spread, it spread all throughout your body, all the way to your fingertips and toes. For the first time in your life, you begged your body to just throw up, hoping the feelings would go along with it, until the pit in your stomach was completely washed away.

It was this sinking feeling every time you heard the phone ring and as much as you wanted to convince yourself otherwise, you weren’t sure if you would ever pick up. Maybe you would just forget about it all. But it was hard when your mind was plagued with images of creatures you could only describe as otherworldly and when every time you looked at yourself in the mirror before a shower your eyes would draw focus to the deep cut scars that littered your body. You would never truly escape Hawkins, Indiana, it was impossible, and it would follow you around until you finally gave up and went back. But you refused to allow it to have that control, until you picked up the phone…by accident.

It was late, a Saturday evening of all things. Your mother was working late that weekend, your step dad was asleep on the couch, and your step brother had abandoned his books on the table and gone to bed. And the phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing, over and over in repeated increments. One call, two minutes passed, another call, three minutes had passed, and a third call with three minutes passing and on and on and on-

“Will you turn the damn thing off!” Yelled the man on the couch, whose deep sleeping was even disturbed by your past trying to creep back in.

And it worried you, as you apologized and turned back to the phone, head aching from the noise. It worried you because every time before, the phone would ring one, maybe two times before the line went silent. But tonight, you had lost track of just how many times you had slammed the phone down to stop the ringing.

You looked up at the phone again, quiet for much too long, longer than before and RING. RING. RING.

The grunt of your step father filled the empty room and without a second thought, not wanting another lecture from your mom about not getting along with him, you reached for the phone line. Slowly placing it against your ear, you instantly pulled it back as a voice blasted through, louder than the ringing of the phone itself. “Goddammit! please pick up the phone-”

“Hey,” was all you said, it was faint and quiet in contrast, laced with guilt that had piled up from months of avoidance and pretending Hawkins didn’t exist. But it was loud enough to stop the yelling as murmurs and whispers filled the background of wherever your caller was calling from.

Your Steve Harrington, your Romeo who deserved answers. After everything you had been through he deserved something from you that you had failed to deliver.

“Oh thank god, you don’t know how happy I am to hear your voice,” and what you expected to be anger was anything but, rather the clearest sound of overwhelming relief. Relief that all came crashing down the minute he spoke his next words. “You need to get back here, like... like-“

The sound of struggling came from their end of the phone and your heart rate sped up in a panic, only realizing how tightly you were holding the phone to your ear.

Dustin’s voice quickly came through the line, a complaining Steve evident in the back, “like right now, like ASAP, like as soon as possible.”

Dustin’s voice, his tone did nothing to loosen your grip on the phone, nothing to ease your panic and you almost slammed the phone down again. Back home, back in the familiar, back to memories of people that haunted your every thought. You wondered if they had called the Byers, your sister, you wondered if she was there too.

“We can pay your bus ticket, but I can’t really explain like this and we just, we need your help,” Dustin practically cried. “We all need you. We can’t let anyone get hurt again.”

That was all you needed. Hawkins had a pull on you, a force you tried to ignore but eventually pulled you back anyways. Steve was back on the line soon after, you already scribbling a note to your mom, phone pressed against your ear by your shoulder. And when you heard his voice again your breath caught in your throat…it seemed to always do that with him.

“Steve, I-”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“No, but, Steve I really, just…I don’t know where to start,” you tried to explain, losing any of the words you had planned to say while lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling.

“You don’t have to,” he simply said. But you knew you would, you had too many words to speak. “Just show up, just be here. We need you, even if you don’t believe me. It’s getting crazy again.”

Hawkins would never not be.

“I will be,” you reassured, really reassured. “I will be, I promise.”

And if everyone in Hawkins knew something, you never broke a promise, never. You got close sometimes, sometimes it seemed like you would, but you always met your end of the bargain. You said you would be back in Hawkins, Indiana and you would be. Setting the phone down back on it's holder with a quiet click, you jumped from your chair in the kitchen, as the wood chair quietly screeched against the floor. Open and close, open and close, the drawers in the kitchen were opening and closing until you found a tape role, cutting away a piece. Grabbing your note off the counter, you secured the piece to it and stuck it against the fridge where it would be noticed by your mom.

She would know what it meant, you knew she knew all along, that New York hadn’t been your home in a long time. That Hawkins had grown into something much deeper than you could have ever anticipated. And even then, in that kitchen, in that busy city…you knew, the end was near

#stranger things #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steveharrington #stranger things 4 #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #steve harrington x reader angst #angst fic #could become a series...#steve harrington angst

75 notes · View notes

mx-pastelwriting · 2 years ago

Note

jim hopper dad best friends part 2 please, your writing is amazing 🫶🏻🫶🏻

I got you! Thank you so much that means a lot!!

Jim Hopper x GN!Reader

Summary: Request up top!

Warning: Morning Cuddles, Shopping, Public Touching, Fluff

Part 1

Now, waking up to find Jim back home from his night shift passed out in his uniform on his side of the bed, you smiled and tucked him in. It woke him, and seeing his confused face, you cooed him back to sleep, but his arms came around you, making it the time of day when he would show some of how much he loved you away from the judgmental eyes of the public.

Relishing in the fuzzy morning warmth while his snores sang softly in the air, you moved your hand, running your fingers through his hair, earning a hum of approval. You ask, "Are you purring?" Your tease makes him groan, the vibrations tickling you.

Shifting his head on your chest to look up at you with half-opened eyes and a serious face, making you laugh even more, he asked, "What time did you get home?" He looks at you, confused, and then around the room. Watching as he sits up and looks down to see himself still in his uniform, "I don't remember." His hoarse voice sounded as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Lay back down," You say, padding the bed, but he doesn't listen. Standing up, he removes his clothes, not caring where they end up, then opens the blankets back up, cuddling himself back up in you.

Hearing his snores for the next ten minutes straight, you start to wiggle out of his death grip. Making your way to the kitchen, you take the Eggos out of the freezer and start on Jim's coffee and your drink.

After feeding and getting El ready, you send her off with Mike. Making your way back into the house, you don't hear Jim's snores anymore. Coming into view of the kitchen, you see him with a shirtless coffee cup in hand, looking through the fridge. Clearing your throat, causing him to hit his head, he turns to you, still chewing on something, "What ya doing there?" Your question makes him look at the fridge, then back at you.

"Nothing," He says with the fridge still open. "I made Eggos Jim," You say, but seeing the counter empty, he had eaten through them. Making you laugh. "Well, good thing you're up; we need to go shopping," You say, grabbing the car keys. "Put a shirt on, come on." You hear him groan before shutting the fridge.

Jim stopped the truck, taking his hand off your thigh and then making it out of the first, being surprised as he was quick to open your door. "Thank you," You say shyly, loving his little action. Making your way into the store, waiting as Jim got a cart, following you around, passing people who smiled and said their mornings to their town sheriff.

Picking things from the aisles and then crossing them out on the list, you made it to the freezers. When you opened a door, the cold air nipped at your nose. Looking for the right package, you jump at the feeling of a warm hand on your back, turning your head to see Jim reaching for something.

Heat rushed to your face as his hand moved to your waist, pulling you closer as he grabbed what he wanted. "Sorry, I had to grab these," He said, holding up a new flavor of Eggos.

Surprised, as he was always cautious with anything that he did with you in public, you move back to the basket and feel his hand meet your back again. "What is with you today?" You ask gently, of course, not wanting it to stop, but it was out of character for him. A smile grew on his face. "Must have been the Eggos," He said before pushing on. A bit stunned and flushed.

Making it to the check-out and loading your groceries onto the conveyor belt as people lined up behind you, Working with Jim quickly bending over and grabbing from the basket but stopping when Jim pushes up against you, his hand slowly touching your side while grabbing in the basket.

Saying nothing, you both finish up, and Jim pays, but his hand keeps its grip on you, even stroking your back softly. Putting the cart back and grabbing the bags, you help Jim put the bags in the truck. Upon finishing, Jim quickly opens your door again.

Jim turns the truck, letting it rumble, then puts his warm hand on your thigh, then feels his other on your chin, moving your face to meet his eyes. He says nothing as he cups your face, kissing your lips.

Rough lips against yours with his hands now running up your body, "Jim," You whisper as his kisses trailed down your neck, making you melt. "Please, there are people here." Your hands tugged at him. "Good." He growled between kisses. Convincing him would take much, much more.

Hello, I hope you enjoyed if there is and grammar mistakes or misspellings sorry about that feel free to let me know in the comments, have a great day/afternoon/night!

#jim hopper x reader #jim hopper

77 notes · View notes

adashulaz · 10 months ago

Text

The first chapter of one of my fics because I'm having writers block

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53912008/chapters/136460626 - the link for the fic

She looked over the book. The page where the ladybug and black cat miraculous combine. She looked at the small creature floating before her. “This combination can grant me a wish?” She rested a hand against the page. The small creature only nodded. “Any wish you want.” The small creature was curled up slightly. She only offered a small smile.

“No need to be scared, my wish won't harm anyone.” She closed the book. “Now tell me more about your powers.” The small creature only nodded.

__________________________

The Guardian was sitting before the miracle box. The markings were glowing. He knew what that meant. A miraculous was being used for evil purposes. He put a hand on the glowing marks. The butterfly miraculous was in the hands of someone full of negative energy. He removed his hand and opened the box. Small drawers opened on the side while the top had small sections for different jewels. Two sections were empty, the peacock and butterfly miraculi were both missing.

He looked over every single one of the jewels. His eyes landed on a pair of earrings and a ring. He stared at the jewels for a moment. They were the strongest miraculous in the box. Together they could make a wish that could change the course of the world. The small god-like creatures that were bonded to these jewels were there since the creation of the entire universe, their siblings joining soon after.

If those jewels were put into the wrong hands then everyone would be in danger. Still they could be the only hope of fighting against the villain. The butterfly miraculous could create heroes or villains based on a person's emotions and the holder's motives. So he grabbed them before standing. He closed the box and walked to the door of his shop. Hopefully the battle will be quick and easy.

When he left the shop, two of the small drawers in the miracle box started to glow. A deep red and a light gray. Then the two miraculi left their drawers and left the shop. Flying through the air, finding their new holders. If Tikki and Plagg can have new holders then so can they.

__________________________

It was the start of the new school year. The school was merging with another school. He couldn't remember the name of it as he ate breakfast. Once he was done, he went back to his room to get dressed into proper clothes and got ready for the day. He looked at the clock and froze for a moment. He had ten minutes before classes would start. He grabbed his bag and rushed back downstairs.

He couldn't see his parents anywhere, he assumed they must be in the restaurant. He rushed down the steps to the restaurant. He saw his parents in the kitchen. “Bye mom.” He quickly kissed her cheek. “Bye dad.” He did the same thing to his father. Then he rushed out of the door.

He only slowed down when he reached the curb. The sidewalk meter was red so he watched as the cars drove by. That's when he saw an elderly man crossing the street, he stared in confusion for a moment before he saw a car coming. The old man was going to get hit. He glanced around for a moment, no one else seemed to notice what was going on. He looked back at the old man and the car.

He bit his bottom lip before rushing to the old man and dragging him to the curb. The car drove by without any issues and the sidewalk meter turned to green. “Are you ok?” He looked at the old man in concern. The old man only gave a gentle smile. “I am alright young man, I guess my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be.” The old man gave a soft chuckle.

Hopper only smiled at that. “I guess well bye, I have to get to school.” Hopper rushed off to the school which luckily was close by. The old man only watched him, a smile on his face. He found the perfect ladybug miraculous holder.

__________________________

Holt walked up the steps to the school, his brother told him that he'd cover for him. Which didn't last long because he could hear a car pull up. He looked at the car, his mothers assistant exited the car. “Holt, please come back. Your mother never gave you permission to go here.” The man's voice was full of concern. Holt only frowned at those words.

He rolled his eyes and turned around, his back to the assistant. That's when he saw an old man on the ground, reaching for his cane. Holt stared at the old man. If he helps the man then he loses his chance to go school. If he doesn't help the man then he'll feel like a shitty person. He looked at the doors of the school before turning around and rushing to the man. He grabbed the cane and helped the man up before giving him the cane. “Here you go sir.” Holt patted the man's shoulder. The man only gave a small smile. “Thank you young man.”

Holt only nodded before turning around. His mother's assistant stood near the stairs. He walked towards the man and got into the car with him. The old man watched as the car left, a smile on his face. He found the perfect cat miraculous holder.

__________________________

Raven sat in the school library. Her school was now merged with their rival school. She didn't understand why but she was assuming it was to help with the budget. She only sighed as she looked over the book in front of her. She kept losing focus whenever she tried reading. She closed the book and leaned back in the chair. That's when she heard something hit the leg of her chair. She looked down and saw a small choker.

“Raven! Where are you!” Maddie's voice echoed throughout the library. She stared at the choker for a moment before grabbing it and shoving it into her bag. She can also put in the lost and found later. She got up from her seat and walked to the entrance of the library. “I'm right here.” She gave her friend a smile. Maddie only grinned and grabbed her wrist, dragging her out of the library.

__________________________

Jackson was laying in his bed. He had a pair of headphones with his eyes closed. He had a massive headache so Holt gave him a pair of headphones to block out all of the noises in their house. Including the small creature Holt now had, sadly he doubted anything would cover the smell of the cheese the creature ate. So Jackson pulled his blanket over himself. It helped dull the smell. He got himself comfortable and relaxed.

That's when he felt something hit the back of his head. He groaned, he was close to falling asleep. He stuck an arm out from under the blanket and grabbed the object. That's when confusion hit him, it was a necklace. He doesn't wear necklaces and Holt doesn't share his jewelry. Jackson pulled the necklace under the blanket with him and stared at it for a moment. Without his glasses he couldn't make out much besides the fact that the string was pink and the jewel was gray.

He decided to shove it under his pillow and got comfortable once more. He could ask Holt about when he wakes up from his nap. Maybe it's an apology for forcing him to deal with two annoying things at once.

#monster high #ever after high #raven queen #hopper croakington ii #holt hyde #jackson jekyll #crossover #jackven #hopping fire #my fic #fanfic

8 notes · View notes

cash-for-old-cars · 3 hours ago

Photo

Cash for Cars Hoppers Crossing Do you want cash for car in Hoppers Crossing, but you will only consider someone if they offer free quotes? Well good news, because we provide free quotes! There are no expensive car evaluations at Cash for Old Car, and there is no expensive fine print. Our cash for car services guarantee a smile on your face, particularly when you find out just how much money we are willing to give you for your car.. Always there for you We are leaders in car removal in Hoppers Crossing, because this efficient service is also free. As a result, our phones are always ringing, and our trucks are always on the road. Our experienced professionals are always out picking up vehicles, and our happy customers are always receiving instant cash in their hands. This means that we are always reliable, and that we are always there for you when you need us, so give us a call today on https://www.cash-for-old-car.com.au/cash-for-cars-hoppers-crossing/

#cashforoldcar #cashforscrapcar #cashforcars #cashforcarsmelbourne #cashforoldcars

0 notes

anycashforcars · 3 days ago

Photo

Cash For Cars Hoppers Crossing are specialized in buying and recycling all domestic and commercial vehicles. With a car wrecking yard in Hoppers Crossing and Melbourne, we are just a phone call away from removing your car in Hoppers Crossing. Our company dismantles cars after purchasing them directly from car sellers who are situated in Hoppers Crossing. https://www.anycashforcars.com.au/cash-for-cars-hoppers-crossing-vic-3029/

0 notes

metro-car-wreckers · 7 days ago

Photo

Metro Car Wreckers Hoppers Crossing Car Wrecking Yard in Hoppers Crossing Cash for Cars and Car Removals Metro Car Removals Hoppers Crossing Pays Up To $8999 Cash for Unwanted Cars and Trucks Are you looking for a car part in Hoppers Crossing at a very competitive price? Or are you thinking of selling your car to the wreckers and you live in Hoppers Crossing Area? Then Metro car wreckers Hoppers Crossing would be your one stop shop for car wrecking and cash for cars service in Hoppers Crossing and Hoppers Crossing North and Hoppers Crossing East. Hoppers Crossing is a well know suburb and many Car Wreckers are running their business from Hoppers Crossing. Therefore Finding a reliable car wrecker in Hoppers Crossing is not easy job but we at Metro car wreckers Hoppers Crossing make it very simple and https://www.metrocarwreckers.com.au/metro-car-wreckers-hoppers-crossing/

#metrocarwreckers #Carwreckers #Carwreckersmelbourne #Cashforcars #CarRemovals #CarRemovalsMelbourne #CarRemoval #CarRemovalMelbourne #Cashforcarsmelbourne #Car4cash

0 notes

cardismantlers · 1 month ago

Photo

Car Removals Hoppers Crossing 3029 #Hoppers Crossing #3029 #Victoria #Australia https://www.cardismantlers.com.au/hoppers-crossing/

#Hoppers #3029 #Victoria #Australia

0 notes

wongmsrailgallery · 2 months ago

Text

Monday 25 November 2024 - SSR locomotives BRM001 leads C509 lead an ARTC ballast train through Albion bound for work on the western standard gauge. Plus 37 more new photos in the ARTC ballast trains, ABC Tours, Calder Park Drive level crossing removal, Calder Park Sidings, SCT Logistics - Melbourne/Brisbane services, Road coaches, Dee Decker Tours, Metro Trains Melbourne trackwork, Metro Trains Melbourne - Northern group, NDFF/ADFF ballast hoppers, Ballast plows, V/Line around Melbourne, Failing rail infrastructure of Melbourne, EV120 track and overhead inspection vehicle and High Capacity Metro Train empty car transfers albums https://railgallery.wongm.com/page/archive/2024-11-25/

#IFTTT #WongmsRailGallery

0 notes

cash-for-scrap-cars · 7 months ago

Photo

Cash for Scrap Cars Hoppers Crossing Cash for Scrap Cars Hoppers CrossingGet free scrap car removal in Hoppers Crossing today with our on spot cash for scrap cars Hoppers Crossing serviceOur cash for scrap cars Hoppers Crossing service If you've an old damaged unwanted scrap car, van, ute or truck in Hoppers Crossing then get our cash for scrap cars Hoppers Crossing service today and get cash for your scrap car. Through this quick and flexible same day service, you can sell your scrap vehicle very easily regardless condition and location of your car in Hoppers Crossing. What you need to do? Just communicate with us by calling to our cash for scrap cars Hoppers Crossing expert on 03 8658 1784 and share all details of your scrap vehicle. What we required from you? We just need the following Scrap car make, model, age Scrap car location Scrap car overall condition After https://www.cash-for-scrap-cars.com.au/cash-for-scrap-cars-hoppers-crossing/

#cashforscrapcars #cashforscrapcar #cashforcars #cashforcarsmelbourne #scrapcarremoval #scrapcarremovals

0 notes

amirycashforcars · 2 months ago

Text

Rev Up the Road: Car Removal in Hoppers Crossing

Do you have an unwanted Hoppers Crossing car? An automobile removal service can quickly and efficiently remove garbage and damaged or unwanted cars. Properly throwing away old automobiles frees up space and helps you and the environment. This blog will explain how to remove your automobile and why it's advantageous for car owners.

Freeing Up Space and Reducing Clutter

One of the first perks you'll notice is that taking out a car gives you more space. After you get rid of an old, useless car, your driveway or garage will have more space. This space could be used for new vehicles, storage, or a cleaner, more organised yard. Car removal hoppers crossing clutter makes your house seem cleaner and more practical.

Posted cars are unsightly and block roads or spaces that may be better used. Getting rid of cars brings out the best in your home. Whether you need to create space for a new project or park another car, losing the automobile is a simple method to improve your space.

Car Care for the Environment

Ignoring outdated automobile disposal can harm the environment. Oil, petrol, and antifreeze from vehicles and trucks pollute the environment. Responsible automobile removal ensures thorough scrapping and safe disposal or reuse of parts. Most firms reduce waste and use eco-friendly methods.

Moving junk in Car Removal Tarneit that cares about the earth will recycle metal, plastic, rubber, and glass. You may employ these resources to produce new items, reducing raw material usage and environmental impact. Hiring a professional to remove your automobile solves an issue on your property and improves the environment.

Quick and Convenient Process

Most people must realize how quickly and efficiently selling an old car is. Professional Car Removal Tarneit services try to make the process as simple as possible. They will come right to you after you call and schedule a time to pick up your things. You save time and effort by having the automobile checked out and gone in a few hours.

Convenience is a primary reason people choose automobile removal services. A professional agency handles everything from legal paperwork to towing the automobile. The procedure usually takes one Day to use your space immediately.

Getting Value from an Old Vehicle

Car removal hoppers crossing is inoperable, it can still be valuable. Many Hoppers Crossing vehicle removal firms give cash for automobiles in any condition. Use a car you'd generally park to make some extra cash. Scrap metal, pieces, and materials salvaged or reused give the automobile worth.

Additionally, some moving companies pay cash for cars. Selling an unwanted automobile might make you Money and free up space. This extra Money may help many people buy new automobile or household items, making the procedure even more helpful.

Conclusion

Hoppers Crossing make it easy and quick to eliminate old cars that aren't being used. It removes clutter and waste and ensures that your vehicle is thrown away in an eco-friendly way. Fast and straightforward services make selling your automobile easier than ever. Everything works out in the end, and you may even make some Money. Remove your car if it's taking up space. This choice is simple and will benefit both you and the planet. Amiry car removal service is best for car removal.

#Car removal hoppers crossing #Car Removal Tarneit

0 notes

mx-jinxous · 2 years ago

Note

@steddieas-shegoes, after the long wait, the little ficlet sequel for your enjoyment :)

————————————————

Steve never got to clean the blood out. He barely remembered the trip home or the day that followed. He just knew he was sweaty and in pain, then he blinked and was surrounded by sterile white walls. His eyes were heavy, fighting to keep them open as a repetitive beeping tried to lull him back under. Alertness returned piece by piece, gripping something in his hand with all the strength he could muster.

“Hey, Dingus. You with me?” Robin’s teasing voice was gentler than usual, it was strange for her.

“Robbie? W-Where - is this the hospital?” He grumbled, looking around.

“You are a real dingus, you know that. I’d smack you if it wasn’t going to hurt you.” She crossed her arms with a huff, glaring down at Steve.

“What happened?” Trying to turn was an instant regret. The wounds on his side stretched, exploding with fresh pain. Robin tried to maneuver him back to his resting position as gently as she could, regardless of his body ached.

“You didn’t get medical attention and got a bad infection. Like super bad, almost dead bad. The doctors managed to clean the wounds but there was a lot of dead tissue they had to remove. Not to mention the new wounds from the car accident.”

“Car accident?” Steve huffed.

“You crashed your car into a tree on the way home Steve. Luckily the car following you was an ambulance out looking for survivors. By the time they got you in here and treated, the doctor said you were near septic. It was a lot of work to clean it and-and-.” She broke, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back the tears.

Guilt ate at Steve, his indirect actions caused this. It was another low, another person was disappointed. Robin was the only one that understood, he could explain how he got into this situation., and why he was self-destructive.

However, he didn’t. Instead, he stared up at the ceiling trying to hold back his tears. He only proved his recklessness - what if Dustin, hell any of the kids, were in the car? “Where is everyone? What time is it?” He grumbled, refusing to look at the girl.

“The doc’s refusing access to nonfamily, so it made sense to say I was your sister. Well, half-sister for namesake. No one objected and since your parents are M.I.A., they let me in. The kids are split between Max’s and Eddie’s rooms… also it’s afternoon, two days later.”

A moment of silence passed while the words set in, still, he was only concerned with the other two in similar circumstances. “How are they? Is Max-.”

“They’re all okay, but if Dustin keeps being his bossy, know-it-all self, and our sibling act, he may join you in the hospital.” She scoffed through her tears. “Claudia rushed here when they called, but even as her emergency contact they refused to let her in since she wasn’t next of kin. They’re concerned about all the current and previous injuries in your X-rays since there is no record of them. They’ve been trying to get ahold of your parents, but.”

“Fuck ‘em. I’ve not heard or seen them since we started working at Family Video. Berated me about my life choices.” He hissed, regretting the attempt to adjust his position.

“Tried explaining that to the doctor, but they kept trying to call. They refuse to release you without a legal adult to oversee your recovery, as the Sinclairs and Claudia tried to offer. They want a stable home since the earthquake. A blood relative, which is a load of bull in my opinion.” She was rambling. It brought a smile to his lips to see her so free. “Wayne’s been trying to get updates, tried to play the uncle card, but without parental confirmation or proof-.”

“He’s got Eddie to worry about, he’s worse off than me. At this point, we should blackmail the government to pay for physical therapy for him and Max. How is she doing? Hopper and Joyce wouldn’t tell me.”

Robin sighed with a sad smile playing on her lips. “Oh, Dingus. Even on death's steps, all you care about is others. She’s in a coma, multiple breaks, but she’s hanging on. Lucas hasn’t left her side.” A silence fell over them, awkward silence as they tried to find words. “I should let the doctors know you're awake. I can send Hopper and Joyce-.”

“No!” Steve growled, eyes focused on the white tiled ceiling.

“B-but they’re worried Steve.” She gaped. “When they saw you on that stretcher-.”

“I said no. After everything I’ve done and given, it wasn’t enough for them, that the party needed more. I’m a disappointment to them, just like my parents. Regardless of what they say, they will always see me like that. Let the doctors know anyone else is allowed in my room, but they’re barred.”

Robin stood, soaking in the words, eyes getting wider by the second. “What happened?”

“Nothin’ Robs.” He huffed. She didn’t fight him, just reaching over to grip his hand.

“I’ll go tell the doc, see if we can get that visitor restriction lifted.” With a final squeeze, she left him to his thoughts and pain. He was envious of Eddie and his morphine-idled state, he’d honestly kill for a drip.

A knock on the door brought him out of his head, turning to his visitor. He expected one of the kids, a parent possibly, instead he was greeted by Wayne Munson leaning against the door frame. He seemed uneased as he peered over the hallway. “Hey son, heard about the crash. You doin’ alright?” Steve waved at the man, who only hesitated for a moment before joining the younger.

“As good as I can be. Guess I was too worried about the others, I let my bites get infected.” He chuckled while Wayne took the chair beside him.

“Do that a lot, kid? Puttin’ others before yourself.” He shrugged. “Eda may have been talking in his state… my boy told me about what Hopper and Joyce were sayin’. I have some words on that, but I want you to know that you have a home with Eddie and me.”

“Mr. Munson, that's too much.” Wayne held a hand up to stop the younger man.

“You saved my boy, there will never be enough I can repay you for bringing him back to me,” Steve said nothing, only nodding as Robin returned with the doctor. She looked less than pleased to see the older man.

“I had a strict no-visitor policy, family only.” With a grunt, Wayne pushed himself, ready to be kicked out. What he didn’t expect was Steve reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“Wait! He’s my uncle. He was just worried about me.” That seemed to stop the doctor in her tracks. It was an easy lie, he’d already admitted to being Eddie’s cousin, already believable. “Please let him stay, just for a little. I want to know about my cousin.”

She sighed but nodded. Wayne sat back down as she opened the folder in her hands and she walked to Steve’s other side. “Mr. Harrington, I must say you are both the luckiest and unluckiest twenty-year-old I have ever met. A body full of infection crashed into a guardrail and still kicking. Seems like you find this kind of path according to your prior injuries not recorded in your history.”

“Yeah, dumb high schooler stuff. A lot of sports injuries.”

“All of them?” The doctor raised her brow at him.

“Yep. Basketball can be rough.” He smirked. “So… how is my cousin? Still stable?”

“Yes, more out of it than anything, but we may be able to move you into the same room. Make it easier for your uncle and sister to visit.”

“T-That’d be great. Does that mean I’m cleared for visitors?”

“Yes, but still restricted contact. Do not let any of those kids jump on you. As for right now, I need to do a workup and then give you something for the pain. We need to collect some more information before that since you came in unconscious. Your sister filled in some gaps, but we need some answers from you.”

“Okay doc, but then I can see the kids?”

“Yes, yes. I’ll bring them in after we get the morphine drip set up. First questions. Do you have someone at home that can monitor you 24/7? We want you moving, but not straining. I can’t legally release you into your sister's care, she’s a minor.”

Wayne sat up, clearing his throat. “He and Eddie are staying with me. The plant’s been shut down because of the earthquakes and we are currently moving into a new home. I’ll be able to watch them both.”

“We’ll take a look, but I see no problem putting cousins together.” The doctor said, before going on a rant about his diagnosis and treatment.

And that’s how Steve found himself under the Munson’s new roof. The government payout was enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment, which Wayne happily gave up his room against Steve’s protest. Instead, he used the couch and some of the payoff to help take care of them while they were jobless.

In the month that Steve lived with the two he and Eddie bonded. What started as gripping over music choices, turned to cuddling on the couch while watching movies once Wayne returned to work. The kids came by every day, so never a dull day. Even when he was finally healed enough to go home, he refused to. It didn’t take long for the Munson’s home to become his home, truthfully he hadn’t been back to Loch Nora since the spring break from hell, and he couldn’t give a damn.

This had been the happiest he’d been since this whole upside business started, maybe even before. Spending time with Wayne had been the closest thing to a father figure he had since Hopper, even if that was some sort of delusion on his part. It came off as desperate, taking the man who showed him an ounce of kindness as the first father figure person he had. Wayne spent time on similar interests, watching sports, and talking about dessert recipes that they tested on Eddie. He also wasn’t judgemental when he came home early and found the boys tangled together in bed. It had been embarrassing and neither of them could look Wayne in the eyes for a week, but they didn’t have to hide their relationship in front of the older man.

The month was peaceful, with no word from his parents and no interactions with Joyce and Hopper, or at least it had been. As the summer heat was creeping up, Steve looked into other jobs after Keith refused to bring him back after his unplanned leave. Robin had left shortly after, only staying a couple of weeks until they found new jobs. They figured getting hired at the pool would give them enough time to get actual jobs lined up. Robin was taking a gap year before college to save up, regardless of the government payout, that way she can move out without questions from her parents. Their new boss was pretty chill, letting Steve and Robin host a party after hours for friends and family as a way to kick off the summer. As a formality, they invited the parents, but the only one that took them up on that was Wayne. He was spending what time he could with Eddie after everything and Steve would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous. After everything, his parents never came home and never stayed when they were home. He came to know the fact that he was unloved by his parents, it didn’t hurt as bad as before, but after a month neither Hopper nor Joyce checked up on him.

They were banned from his and Eddie’s hospital room, but they were both hard-headed people that did what they wanted regardless of rules. Yet neither of them tried to fight the ban, they never came to visit at Eddie’s. What did it say about him if even his sudo parents rejected him, how long does he have before Wayne and the other parents see what his parental figures saw? He just savored the time he had with them, he just hopes they won’t pull the kids away from him.

He shook the thoughts from his head as an arm wrapped around his waist, resting against the prominent scar. He instead rested his head on Eddie’s shoulder, relaxing at the moment as the kids splashed around in the giant pool. It was the most peaceful he felt in a long time.

So of course it was ruined by Joyce and Hopper walking in with their kids. El and Will went straight to the pool, while Jonathan went to Nancy. Their eyes fell on Steve like a hawk to prey, causing him to tense in Eddie’s arm. It didn’t take much to put two and two together, putting himself between Steve and the couple. They didn’t seem to take the hint and made their way towards the boys.

“Eddie, you’re looking better than the last we saw you.” Joyce had a tense smile as she looked between both boys, Hopper just staring.

“Yeah. Turns out having people around that care about your health more than your worth does wonders.” He scoffed, arm tightening around Steve.

“Speaking of health, how are you doing Steve?” The younger boy refused to look at them, keeping his eyes on his flip-flops. “Once you were released we came to see if you needed any help at home, but you weren’t there. We were worried after the argument, and after the accident-.”

“Don’t-!” He growled, still refusing to look them in the eyes. “Don’t pretend like you care. You can’t pretend that we are close after all you guys said in front of me, in front of the kids. What parents do that when they claim they’re worried about them? Degrading the one person that did all they could, gave all they could for a group of wayward kids. I never stopped to think when I went back in for Nancy and Jonathan. I stayed around when it came back, but that was never enough for you. I took beatings for those kids and you have the gall to say I wasn’t enough.”

“Steve, we know you worked the best you could and we truly appreciate it. But you know this world shouldn’t involve the kids, to begin with.”

“We expected that when you became the babysitter, that you’d keep the kids out of the upside-down business.” Hopper grumbled, arms crossed. “Kids shouldn’t have been pulled into this, and what upset us is that you didn’t keep them out. They’re just kids.”

“I was a kid!” Steve’s scream attracted the other guest's attention, drawing eyes to the confrontation. “I was a kid when this shit started. I took the hits, and was the buffer between them and danger. There wasn’t anyone waiting to take care of me, so sorry I became the adult that your kids trusted more than you. Do you know what the worst thing is? You never cared. I thought of you as my parental figure, but I was just free childcare.”

“Steve, that’s not it. You are like our son, and it's no excuse we forgot that in all this we forgot.” Joyce tried, but Steve just waved her off.

“Even after all this time, you don’t understand. I am just the babysitter.” Steve swiped his arm across his eyes, Eddie pulling him closer.

“I think you lot should go. We can bring your kids back later.” Wayne stepped between the four, blocking Steve. The young man didn’t know what he expected, yelling, maybe some arguing that had insults flying between multiple parties. He was used to that type of pain, but it hurt more when they just walked out of the pool party without another word. He couldn’t fight the tears and it was humiliating that those kids he protected had to see him break down.

A pair of arms wrapped around him, long curls blocking the sun. Eddie shielded him, protecting him from everything. He felt cared for and loved. Even if he didn’t forgive Hopper and Joyce, at least he’s got his found family.

Request: Hop & Joyce don't really like or trust Steve & he knows it. He can tell by their behavior towards him. Post spring break from Hell, Steve tears into them both after they insinuate that it's his fault for the kids being hurt. Steve YELLING at them in front of the party bc he is injured more grievously than the kids & he once again protected them, to the detriment of himself.

Joyce & Hop are forced to acknowledge that their behavior was cruel. And they have to apologize but Steve doesn't accept their apology straight away.

I am usually such a sucker for Hopper adopting Steve and treating him as his own that this was really difficult. Like, maybe top 5 most difficult things I have ever written. It's kind of short, but I wanted more of the focus to be on people standing up for Steve and Steve standing up for himself than the actual angsty part. My darling, I hope it lives up to expectations! -Mickala ❤️

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

“I guess I just don’t understand how Max ended up like this if Steve was supposed to be protecting them all.”

Joyce’s words echoed in Steve’s head.

She was whispering to Hopper in the waiting room, but it was surprisingly quiet, and easy to hear just about anything.

The kids were asleep on the couches, waiting for any news on Max or Eddie, but the nurses told them it could be hours. Hours were a long time to wait when someone was bleeding out and the other someone had multiple broken bones and was unconscious.

Steve felt untethered, his connection to the earth cut the moment he saw what happened to Eddie, pushed into a dangerous orbit when he saw what happened to Max.

“He’s never really let me down like this. Did you hear Dustin say he thinks he was distracted by Eddie?” Hopper asked quietly.

“What did he mean by that?” Joyce paused. “Oh. Do you think so?” Steve couldn’t see their faces, couldn’t see the way they were having a silent conversation within a conversation. “It wouldn’t be the first time Steve let his romantic feelings get in the way of their safety.”

And that really wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair because he always put these kids who weren’t even his first whenever he could. It wasn’t fair because it wasn’t his job to be perfect. It wasn’t fair because they were the adults who should have been here to help and they weren’t.

He could feel tears building up, his vision getting just blurry enough that he knew he needed to walk away or he would start actually crying, and he couldn’t let anyone see that.

Especially not Joyce and Hopper.

Apparently, they already thought so little of him, he couldn’t possibly show them that he was struggling now.

“I think we’ll have to have a talk with the kids about trusted adults. They seem to rely on him for a lot and maybe if we just explain to them that Steve can’t handle it-”

“Excuse me, Mr. Hopper?” A nurse, thankfully, interrupted them.

Steve turned to see a young nurse, probably barely older than him, standing in the entranceway to the waiting room.

Hopper walked over to her, actually whispering this time, as if what was being said right now was a secret, but not the way he felt about Steve.

He glanced over at Steve, then nodded to the nurse. He called Joyce over to them, whispered something, then they both looked at Steve.

He hated what was happening. He was used to being a disappointment to adults, but in a silent way. His parents weren’t really ever around long enough to show their disappointment for long. Seeing it now, on the faces of people he respected and wanted to impress, hurt.

Hopper started walking over to him, his face serious.

“They have Max stable. She may not wake up from the coma, but they’re hoping she makes a turn for the better soon. Eddie woke up a few minutes ago while they were trying to stitch him up and he kept yelling for you. He isn’t quite stable yet. He passed back out as they were trying to put him on oxygen.”

“But they’re both alive?”

“For now.”

“Can I see Max?”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea right now. They’re trying to reach her mom, but the phone lines keep going down. I’m standing in as the adult responsible until she can be contacted.”

“So now you want to be the adult responsible? Not any other time when we needed you?” Erica said from behind them.

She’d been asleep with Lucas and El only a minute ago.

“Erica, it’s fine. I’ll just wait with you guys.”

“No, Steve, it’s not fine.” Erica put her hands on her hips, scowled up at Hopper and Joyce, who had just joined them. “Steve looks out for us every day. Even when the world isn’t trying to end. He drives us to school or from school or to the arcade, he pays for our food at the diner all the time, probably spends all his paychecks on us. And where are the parents? They don’t even know where we are most of the time.”

“But-” Joyce started to interrupt until Erica held up her hand.

“You left your kids to fly to Russia when you knew something weird was going on. You could have died, and then what? You know who would have stepped in? Steve. Because that’s what he does for us. Do you know one of his worst concussions was because he was protecting Lucas and Max from Billy? You know he drove Max everywhere she needed to go all year because she didn’t wanna be around anyone else? How about the fact that without him, we wouldn’t have even been able to get Eddie back here? But sure, blame him for this. It totally makes sense to point the finger at the one person who has protected us over and over again.”

Steve was crying.

The other kids were starting to wake up from her voice getting louder as she spoke, and it didn’t take long for them to realize what was happening.

El and Dustin surrounded Steve, cuddling into his sides to comfort him. He needed it, and he was always willing to accept love from the kids. They so rarely gave it, not because they didn’t love him, but because they were at that age where they didn’t want to.

These kids were his in almost every way that mattered, and he was just grateful that they weren’t hesitating when he needed them most.

“You kids could have died. Steve should have never allowed most of this to happen. He’s the adult, and he let you all go into this without even considering you could die.”

“You think we were just gonna sit around and wait for the adults to handle it? When have we ever done that?” Dustin asked incredulously.

“It’s what you should have done. Steve knows that.”

“Mr. Harrington?” A different nurse was standing in the doorway now, older, definitely less nervous.

“Yes?” Steve responded, wiping his tears away quickly.

“Mr. Munson is in a recovery room. He’s woken up a few times for a minute and each time he’s asked for you. Are you family?”

He was pretty certain hospital policy meant only family could go back, especially during natural disasters, so he lied.

“Yes, he’s my cousin. I can’t reach anyone else yet.”

The nurse smiled, though she probably didn’t quite believe him.

“Right this way, then.”

Dustin tugged on his arm.

“Can I come with you?”

“Sorry,” Steve shook his head. “Not yet. Let me check on him, and I’ll come right back out for you.”

“See? This is what I meant about letting his feelings get in the way! What if we weren’t here? Would you just leave the kids to sit out here alone?”

This time, El spoke up.

“Steve is always putting us first. He can put himself first sometimes. That is allowed.”

Steve wanted to hug her again, but the nurse looked like she was going to walk away, and if he didn’t follow her, he wouldn’t see Eddie.

“Go see him, we’ll be here,” Lucas said from next to Erica.

He nodded at them all, giving them a smile before he followed the nurse without looking back at Hopper or Joyce.

Eddie was asleep when they entered the room, so the nurse whispered to him at the door.

“He’s on a lot of morphine, and he’s still receiving a blood transfusion. He may wake up off and on, but he probably won’t make much sense until they lower the dose. Just be here for him,” she smiled before leaving the room.

Steve turned to Eddie and couldn’t hold back more tears.

He’d let him down. He’d let all of them down.

He was supposed to be the hero, despite the jokes about it all, they all knew he was.

But not this time.

Eddie almost died. Max almost died.

He could feel the bat bite on his stomach burning and itching, like it was already getting infected, but he ignored it.

He could wait.

He sat down on the side of the bed, slowly so he wouldn’t wake Eddie up.

But Eddie’s eyes fluttered open once, then twice, then a third time before they managed to stay open enough to see Steve.

“Stevie?” His voice rasped out, a small smile hidden under his oxygen mask. “You’re here.”

“I’m here, Eds.”

He had to be strong, but his brain was so focused on everything he’d done wrong and if he’d just been faster or got out of the vines quicker, Eddie probably wouldn’t be here and Max would be awake and-

“Stop.”

“Hm? Stop what?”

“Bein’ mean.”

Steve’s brows furrowed. He hadn’t even said anything else, had he? Was he so exhausted that he was actually talking without realizing it now?

“I’m not even saying anything.”

Maybe it was Eddie hearing things. He knew morphine was pretty intense.

“To yourself.”

“What?”

“Bein’ mean to yourself. In your head.”

“I-”

“‘S okay. Me too sometimes. Just gotta stop.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at the way Eddie’s eyes kept drooping closed as he spoke. He would probably fall back asleep any second.

“I’ll be nice. You get some sleep.”

“You rest?”

“Not yet. Maybe later.”

Steve couldn’t really rest until he knew everyone was home, safe, and sleeping off some of the worst of their injuries.

“Yes yet.”

Steve snorted. Eddie was so high. He knew it was better than whatever pain he would feel when they eased him off of everything, but hopefully he wouldn’t remember all this.

“Sleep,” Eddie said, his hand managing to find Steve’s and tugging weakly on it.

“I can’t sleep here, Eds. This is your bed.”

“Our bed.”

Steve’s cheeks were hot, he knew if he touched them, they’d feel like fire. Eddie just had that way of completely rendering Steve speechless. He’d done it so many times over the last couple of days, Steve lost count.

“I’ll stay right here until your uncle gets here, okay?”

“And after?”

It probably wasn’t smart. It would look weird for him to stay in general, but he also had to get the kids home, try to patch himself up at home, maybe shower before he did some rounds and made sure everyone was taken care of.

“I have to take care of the kids.”

“But they have parents.”

“Yeah, well.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Hopper walked in, face as serious as Steve had ever seen it.

“I was able to contact your uncle, Eddie. You can go now, Steve.”

But Eddie gripped his hand harder, frowning at Hopper. He seemed more awake all of a sudden, but with the way his eyes kept trying to close, Steve could see it was a challenge.

“I want him here.”

“Eds, it’s fine. He’s not too happy with me right now, so-”

“What? Why? You helped save the world.”

Eddie was looking between Steve and Hopper like an answer would suddenly make itself known, but Hopper was just staring at Eddie, and Steve was just staring at his feet.

He didn’t want to get Eddie involved in this. He just wanted to pretend it never happened, maybe try to look Hopper in the eye again someday, and apologize to Joyce for not keeping the kids as safe as he could have.

But Eddie apparently took the “no running” thing very seriously now.

“Steve? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just. I kinda let them down, didn’t keep everyone safe.”

Steve shrugged it off, but he knew he wasn’t very convincing, or really even shrugging it off. He still felt the ache of disappointing people in his chest.

“Hold the fuck up. You’re serious?”

Eddie sounded as outraged as someone high on morphine could. His voice was barely distorted by the oxygen mask on his face, and his eyes were nearly at their normal size.

Steve couldn’t look at either of them.

“Steve is trusted by all these parents to keep their kids out of danger, and he brought them headfirst into it. It just made Joyce and I wonder how often they were doing stupid things,” Hopper explained, though he didn’t even sound convinced he believed his own words.

Joyce was walking in just as Eddie was about to speak.

“Steve, I think you should bring Dustin home. Claudia is going to get worried.”

He didn’t need to look up to know that Eddie was glaring at Joyce and Hopper.

“Let me get this straight. Steve provides free rides, and babysitting services, and meals, and fun for your kids damn near every day. He protects them during this shit every time it happens, literally puts his body on the line to keep them alive. Tried to somehow keep them as safe as possible when it seemed like the world was ending this time, did keep them alive, and you’re still finding reasons to blame him?”

They both had the decency to at least look like they regretted it.

But they still didn’t say anything.

“Fuck this. I’m not gonna pretend to know everything about your little Upside Down Club, but I’m in it now. None of us wanna be here, but we are. Steve’s been doing his best for years, since he was a kid, and all you can do is complain that your sweet angels aren’t completely unscathed? This is a team effort, you know that. They volunteered. Steve would have had to lock them in a prison cell for them not to help.”

Steve looked up at Eddie, watched as he started to lose the fire that had overtaken him temporarily, his eyes dulling as the morphine dripped into his veins and flushed through his system.

“Best damn babysitter…” Eddie mumbled as his eyes fell closed.

Steve watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he suddenly woke up again. When he didn’t, he stood up slowly, didn’t want to risk him feeling the bed move, and made his way to the door.

But something hurt in his chest, something he knew wouldn’t go away unless he said something.

He turned to see Hopper and Joyce staring at each other, having a silent conversation.

“I’m used to disappointing people. I’ve been disappointing my parents my whole life. Disappointed friends, Nancy, bosses. But I have never let those kids down. I do my best with them. I try to be there for them the way I wish someone had been there for me. I make sure they’re kids because life handed them a shitty card or whatever and they deserve to still be kids. You can be mad at me if you want, but I know I did my best. They know I did my best.”

He didn’t wait for a response, didn’t want to hear them say anything else about how wrong his decisions were.

But Joyce stopped him from leaving the room, hand on his arm.

“Steve, wait. Honey, I’m sorry. I think…I think we got caught up in the moment and just needed someone to blame.”

“You do the best you can. We know you do a lot for them.”

It was nice to hear, but he couldn’t get over the uncomfortable itch in the back of his head that he deserved more than that.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I can accept the apology right now.” And then the anger really set in. It came over him so fast, he could feel his hands shaking. “A lot of things are out of our control. We all wanna blame someone for this stuff, but it just boils down to the same people over and over. Max is in a coma because of Henry Creel, not me. Eddie is in the hospital because of demon bats, not me. Eleven and Will are connected to the Upside Down because of the government, not me. I’m just trying to be whatever they need, and that’s better than I can say for either of you at this point.” Steve left this time, Joyce dropping her hand from his arm halfway through his loud speech.

Okay, he was yelling.

But Eddie slept through it, and it felt good to get all of that out.

He made his way to the waiting room, hoping everyone would still be there so he could check in.

Everything felt too fresh, too much like Vecna could show back up and take any of them at any moment.

But the waiting room was empty, not even Dustin remained.

Steve did his best not to panic. Their parents had all been contacted, so they most likely had just been picked up and brought home.

“They’ve all been picked up, sugar,” an older nurse said from the front desk.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“They left you a note, though.”

He recognized her as the woman who had been here the whole night, handling phone calls and people walking in like she’d been doing this for decades. Maybe she had been.

He walked over and grabbed it from her, giving her a small smile in thanks.

He walked outside before he opened it, not sure why he was suddenly nervous.

But as he read, he felt tears in his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

Steve- Go home and sleep. We’ll be okay for a day while you rest. You don’t ever do that. We don’t agree with Joyce and Hopper, and we hope you know you’re the best damn babysitter ever. Love, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, El, Will, Mike, and Max (if she could)

He folded up the note, put it in his pocket, and walked to his car.

He ignored the blood in the backseat, rolled his windows down to ignore the stench of iron.

Knew he would be spending most of his day tomorrow trying to clean the stains out, but figured it would be a good mindless task.

He thought about Eddie, about how quick he was to defend him. About how he’d gripped his hand like it was a lifeline.

It felt that way to Steve.

He hadn’t let Eddie down. He’d saved Eddie.

If he didn’t do anything else right, he’d done that, and nothing Joyce or Hopper said could take that away.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #joyce byers #jim hopper #angst

1K notes · View notes