#no he would rather beat a demodog

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

The joke had started the second day the two started working together. Robin had been in the back room doodling random things all over the white board. Anything from a small lion to a huge rat. She didn’t know anything about Steve Harrington besides he was some preppy jock. Though secretly she had wished for this day of seeing one of those kids with tons of their parents money working at a minimum wage job after she had gotten a really good job herself. So that she could have something over their stupid heads. Though that wasn’t the case with Steve Harrington.

A strange one he is. Everything she had expected had gone down the drain the second she had to listen to a forty five minute conversation with Steve talking on the phone to some kid named Dustin. From what she had gathered Steve enjoyed baby sitting, which was a … shocker. The air was still very much awkward between the two but she had already made it her number one mission to figure out what the hell the other used in his hair. Though as she moves to the front where Steve was currently talking with some blonde she can’t help but raise a eyebrow a little bit.

Leaning up against the counter she watches the boy in front of her do everything right. Watched the girl tuck her hair behind her hair and Robin was jealous. Somehow the other was able to pull the moves on anyone and catch their attention in ways she couldn’t even fathom. It goes like this for a hot minute, and she wasn’t going to lie. She was day dreaming about being Steve Harrington. Being able to actually flirt with any woman she wanted. Freely able to drool over a pair or boobs when ever she wanted without the fear of being run out of town with pitch forks following her.

Then something happens, she doesn’t know what but Steve Harrington blows it. He blows it big as she notices the girls face change into something that she’s never seen targeted towards Steve in her days of high school. Boredom. Thing is Steve was talking about himself. He had sat there and listened to the other in front of him respectfully and then proceeded to only say a few things about himself. Sure you would think the guy would be conceited but no. Everything he said was the basic stuff, in anything he was leaving things out.

“Oh I um- I actually should get going Steven,” the woman says softly interrupting Steve who’s eyes were starting to light up as he talked about maybe hanging out sometime. That light is stomped on and any sparks were made sure to go with it. No risk of any wild fire starting any time soon. Robins face scrunches up a little as she watches Steve stumble over his words letting the other go. Smiling letting her leave before groaning and face planting his face on the counter.

Robin doesn’t know much about relationships but she did know how to read people. Steve Harrington wasn’t just some fling. He was somebody who stuck around and made sure his presence was liked by whoever wanted him. So in that moment she decides to make him her best friend. Not only that, but she was going to help him find some girl that would make him smile brighter then the god damn moon. Moving over she hops over the window and grabs the bored. Righting a You Rule one side and You Suck on the other. She puts it up in the window for the other to see and she makes sure the marker squeaks as she makes a big tally in the right side.

Steve groans face going even more red as he flips her off. Moving and scooping a scoop of ice cream and sets it in a small bowl so he could eat his feelings out. “Man, you really need to get a better type in woman.” Robins voice rasps out a little as she moves sitting on the counter looking at Steve who looks at the other confused.

“What do you mean? I totally blew it!” He was already beating himself up for even mentioning his work hours. He sulks a little more as he takes a bigger bite of his ice cream hoping that maybe he could die from brain freeze. “God I hope I die from brain freeze.” He grumbles looking down at the already melting scoop.

Robin snorts amused as she crosses her arms and gives the other a minute. “Dingus I don’t think you can die from brain freeze, and secondly you were fine. I don’t think she actually expected you to tell her a little bit about yourself, or comment on anything. It seems like she just wanted some dumb jock who would agree with anything she said.” She hums gently as she moves forward starting to wipe down the counter. Ignoring the way the other tenses up a little bit before relaxing.

“You don’t think I’m some dumb jock?” The boy sounds surprised and it sounds like all of the air is taken away from him as he speaks. She looks up at him with a soft smile. Shaking her head with a teasing smile.

“Well I used to think you were, now your just some dumb minimum wage working adult. Anyone who says different is bullshitting you” She pokes back hearing him laugh a little. “But no seriously. Steve this isn’t high-school, you don’t have to flirt with every person that has a decent rack on them. You can just talk right?” She laughs as Steve shakes his head amused flipping her off before he’s moving into the back area. There was just something so alluring about the boy. She may be the most awkward Lesbian ever but she definitely knew she wanted to help find someone for Steve Harrington who wouldn’t crush the others puppy dog heart.

The next few days when Steve flirts with someone and they reject him more tally’s start to add up and Robin would go on rants about how that person wasn’t good enough for him.

“Steve she doesn’t even like ice cream! What monster doesn’t like ice cream? Did she say she was lactose intolerant no! So I will not tolerate ice cream slander in this store. I am a proud sales man god damn it!”

“Dingus- I’m pretty sure she has a boyfriend on the basketball team. If she’s willing to cheat on him then she’s willing to cheat on you!”

“Steve Harrington, you better throw that number away right now. That’s still going on the you suck side. You are pathetic. Absolutely pathetic, she barely even listened to a word you said! You want someone who’s willing to put just as much effort into the relationship as you and she couldn’t be bothered to listen to you. Red flag.”

It goes like this for weeks and Steve just starts to glance over at her when he starts to flirt with a girl. Now he doesn’t flirt with every single one but he does with those who he was kind of interested in. But he wasn’t completely there. None of them rose that spark in him that he wanted and desperately craved. Now if he thinks about flirting with someone he looks at Robin with a curious look wondering if she knew the girl. If not he would try and part way through he would hear the expo marker going squeak and aggressive clunks in the other room.

The two were growing close, close enough to where Steve had gotten to talk with the other more openly. Even if that meant them accidentally eating a weed brownie a coworker left behind and sitting in the stalls of the bathroom laughing their asses off. And somehow the conversations gone serious and they are having one of the first real conversations Steve’s ever had in his life time.

“Steve I am so fucking jealous, I wish I could flirt and touch all of those girls like you do. I want to be in love for the first time, I just want one girl in the crowd that follows you to you know. Look at me?” And oh god Steve thinks he hears the other sniffling. He isn’t prepared for this in the slightest and what the other has said hasn’t processed. He moves over to the other at a comfortable distance. Gently touching her scraped knee.

“Wait why would you want one of them to look at you? You said they were all bitches?” He frowns confused beyond believe. Robin laughs a little bit snot going down her nose before she pulls toilet paper and blows her nose into the few squares.

“You’re right, you attract assholes steve. But I’m- im a lesbian.” Steve couldve sworn he heard the others heart beat all the way over here. He pauses as he scrunches his nose up in thought.

“Ok so if you were Marty and able to would you fuck his mom?”

“Like from back to the future?”

“Yeah?”

“Well- I would fuck your mom first for even coming up with this idea but most likely.” Robin sniffles gently. Rubbing her eyes.

It’s like all the right gears go into the right places because their friendship is like no other. They keep going with the board as a joke of course but they are more in sync then anyone else in the mall.

One day Robins ranting about some new record store taking over one of her favorite stores. Steve’s looking amused as he sits listening to her as if she was reciting the Bible itself. “Come on Robbie, you can find something there if you tried.” He smiles brightly as Robin huffs shaking her head before they both hear the bell going off. Robin grins excitedly forgetting about what she was talking about as Steve groans rock paper scissoring. Steve loses like always and moves himself out front.

He moves and flips his scoop around in his hand before he’s putting in warm water so that it could be ready. He moves looking over at the customer for the first time and he can’t help but freeze. A curly haired boy was fighting with quarters in his hand as he tries to make sure he has the right amount. Robin must know somethings up as she peaks her head through the little window. Looking at the boy and back at steve. She sticks her thumbs up shooing him. And just like that he’s bright red as he relizes she expects him to flirt with this guy. Shaking his head no Robins whisper yelling at him.

“Steven I swear to god all that’s holy I’ll make sure that god himself doesn’t-“

“Am I interrupting something?” The voice is smooth and oh fuck Stevie is totally going to put his charm on. The guy sounded nervous as hell and Steve snaps his head to look at him afraid that he was going to fuck this up.

“No- my coworker is trying to get me fired.” He smiles softly. Looking down seeing the other was now counting Pennie’s. Pennies that slip between the others fingers and fall to the ground. Steve looks confused as he watches the other stumble around more. Cursing under his breath as Steve can’t help but look at Robin who’s glaring at him.

Steve sees the guys struggling to keep count as his hands shook a little. Steve chuckles as he moves his hand forward slightly brushing his hands on the others before he picks up the change off the counter and drops it in the others hand. “Here- just keep the money. I’ll get you what you want, I don’t feel like having to ask Robin to help me count, embarrassing enough I need help doing other things.” He chuckles. Seeing the others face going red.

Steve glances down at the shirt the other was wearing and he brightens up when he actually recognizes the name. “Oh that’s Blacksabbeth right? With um what’s his name- I’m horrible with names. The guy who bit that bats head off.”

“Ozzy?” The guy is squeaking a bit. Steve doesn’t even think he even has to try and flirt with the other. Steve snaps his fingers as he nods his head getting excited just for remembering something.

“Yeah! Though total dick move. I hope that poor bat wasn’t alive. Poor guy didn’t do anything.” Steve shakes his head as he moves pulling the scoop from the water. “No offense but I’m pretty sure saving animals is more metal then killing them.” Steve rambles out as he looks back up at the other who was looking at him like he had three heads.

“I didn’t expect your majesty to know such things?”

“Dude, I got curious. The shithead I’m babysitting has a DM who’s obsessed with metal and he wanted me to help him find some random stuff to help him impress.” Steve chuckles.

“Wait as in DnD?” Steve nods his head watching the other blush more.

“May that little gremlin be Dustin?” The other asks curiously. Steve furrows his eyebrows before realization hits him.

“Oh shit your the Eddie guy he’s been talking my ear off about!” Steve says excitedly. Eddie nods his head as he looks a little pale but Steve doesn’t mention anything. Assuming the other was - actually he doesn’t know what. He just didn’t want to be rude. He snaps his fingers as he moves over to grab a cone. “I just got done listening to Dustin forcing me to remember your ice cream just in case you came by with him. Apparently he really thinks I’m dumb enough to fuck up an order.” He chuckles as Eddie goes heart eyes. Having to lean himself on the counter so he didn’t faint. His chains hit the counter a bit as he realizes the other is actually making what he wanted. And it was spot on.

“You can’t remember Ozzys name but you can remember some strangers I’ve cream order that hasn’t even actually ordered it yet.” Eddie sounds shocked.

“Well I kind of wanted to Woo the guy my little bro as been talking about constantly. I don’t have the best rep, considering I was a asshole in highschool. The last thing I wanted was to have some strange rivalry with someone who I’m probably going to end up seeing a lot when I have to drop Dustin off. Carrying god knows how many books in with him.” Steve rambles out finishing the bowl with a handful of gummy worms. He pauses for a second and Eddie’s about to ask for more but before he can Steve is plopping half a bag on the damn dish.

Eddie was in love. He couldn’t even. He nearly falls on his face right then and there. He hears the window opening and Steve looks over at Robin. Realizing he has to check to see if it was going to be worth flirting with the boy in front of him. Robin puts a finger up to steve telling him to give her a second.

“So Eddie what’s your feelings about Tim Curry in makeup. And not the clown either?” She asks. Eddie somehow trips in his spot and nearly falls on his ass.

“Um- I uh i um- well you see- I um Tim in- you know?” Eddies face is bright red and Steve can’t help but bite his lip trusting Robin all the way. Robin nods her head pausing before looking at Steve. “Well Stevie after three months of failing miserably, you’ve finally gotten a you rule!” She giggles the marker going down giving the left side a tally.

Bonus: Robin has already started talking to Eddie about the shovel while he’s eating the worms. Oh not because of Steve but because the store he’s working at took over the one good place where she could find a book.

This isn’t edited and I might have messed up somewhere if I did I’m sorry 💀

The reason Steve got not bitches in ST3 and 4 is because Robin saw the line of girls trying to get with Steve for purely aesthetic or shady reasons and said none of them were good enough.

Then one day Eddie comes into Scoops and stammers his way through ordering an ice cream cone and Robin decided there and then “that one”

It’s the only reason that makes sense

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 89

Part 1 Part 88

Listening to only one side of the conversation would drive Eddie insane if he wasn’t already. It’s worse because he’s not sure if Steve is even answering back. If he even can. Supergirl’s just vague enough that he can’t tell if she’s just trying to reassure a silent, suffocating Steve.

What if he’s still there, just choking? But, no. That was the Upside-Down. Now that the thing is here in Steve, is he still there at all? Or is he trapped in the small corner of his mind that he has left?

Still, Eddie chokes out a wet laugh when El’s lips tick up as she says, “Eddie calls me Supergirl.” She’ll always be his Supergirl. Even if she can’t help this time. 

She looks so young, even with the eyeliner smudged all around her eyes and the slicked back hair. In her black trench coat she’s badass and metal and so goddamn small Eddie wants to throw up about it.  

She’ll always be Supergirl. It hangs over her brows as a weight she carries, a weight they keep adding onto with every plea for help. 

All that drifts away when she asks, “how do we help?” That’s not a question you ask someone who can’t answer. The wait  between words stretches beyond credulity for Eddie. Everyone’s looking at Steve like he’ll open his mouth and speak. 

It’s El’s voice that cuts in. Eddie gasps with it. “Make you warm?”

His neck hurts with the speed he turns his head to meet Will’s gaze. “He likes it cold,” Will whispers. “That’s what he said.” 

Eddie opens his mouth, ready to speak before he thinks, but then El says, “I will save you,” voice floaty, like she’s waking up from a dream. “Stay here while we come.”

El’s removing the half-assed blindfold from her eyes when Eddie looks back toward her, smiling softly as she says, “he recognized me.”

Eddie, knee walks toward her, desperate and wanting. He can feel a bit of glass stuck in his knee, but he doesn’t stop. Can’t. “Stay where?” he demands, hands out like he wants to shake El before he curls them into stupid, futile fists. “Is he okay?”

“He is where he is last time,” El says before raising her hand and tapping the top of Steve’s head gently, running her fingers through his hair as she says, “but in here.”

It takes Eddie a second to connect “last time” to anything tangible. As usual, Will beats him.

“He’s in his closet?”

El nods. “Yes, with clothes.” She runs her fingers through Steve’s hair one final time before dropping her hand and standing. “He said to make him warm.”

“And that’ll fix him?” It’s Perkins who answers, clearly done with being left in the dark. Eddie can’t blame her. 

El stands, staring at Steve the whole time. It takes her too long to answer. “No, he will come back.” 

“Who’s he?” Perkins demands. Everyone else already knows. It’s written in the silence. In the way the van’s so silent that no one is even breathing. “Hello?”

“Gotta break the connection. Close the gate,” Wayne says. He’s gruff and quiet, looking down at El like he’d rather be anywhere else than asking a little girl for a little salvation. “Can you do it?”

El meets his eyes. Eddie wants to hug her, or strangle her, or stuff them all into his trunk and flee the state and hope that’s enough to save them. But then El nods, walking out of the van with too much purpose for anyone to stop her. She turns back around, looking at all of them stuffed into the too-small van. 

“I will close the gate,” she says, looking from face to face to face before asking, “where is Hop?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Mama Byers says, following her out of the van so she can engulf her in a hug El doesn’t return. “He was in the lab.”

El flinches back at the word “lab,” flinches back further when Lucas explains, halting and nervous about the Demodogs that had overrun it. Then something steals over her, resolves into a determination that shines. 

“I am going,” she says, ignoring Mama Byers beseeching hands as she turns and starts walking away, like she’s going to hike all the way there on foot. Frodo Baggins without even a Samwise Gamgee. 

Everyone flutters out of the van. Eddie stays by Steve and Will’s side,watching it all unfold. 

It’s Mike that gets her to stop because of course it is. “We’ll go with you!”

El turns around, hope shining in her eyes. Wayne cuts through it like a scalpel through vocal chords.

“No,” he says, quiet, but harsh enough to make El stumble back. Eddie can’t see his face, but his hands are raised placatingly in that same spooked horse stance he’d used a lot when Eddie first moved in with him, and then later, when Steve did, too. “None of ya kids are going with ‘er.”

All the kids protest except Max, who’s frowning between everyone, unsure of who’s side to stand on. 

“She can’t go alone!” Dustin says, putting his hands on his hips in a perfect imitation of Steve every time he’s on kid wrangling duty and fed up.

Wayne copies the stance, much more effectively at his stature, and replies, “I’m going with ‘er.” When Dustin opens his mouth to further complain, he turns away toward Barbara and asks, “don’t s’pose I can borrow your car?”

Barbara throws the keys toward him without a noise of complaint. Wayne walks toward El, looping his arm around her shoulders and leading her toward the car. “C’mon, kid,” he says, squeezing her into his side. “Gotta stop by the trailer for a couple a’ guns.”

El nods, looks back at them, meeting Eddie’s eyes to say, “keep him warm.”

Like the words break a spell on him, Eddie bolts from the van, tugging his connection on Steve to make sure he stays during their separation. Wayne almost loses his footing when Eddie barrels into his back, arms clutching at his chest tight enough to hurt.

“Stay safe, old man.”

Wayne huffs, reaching back to ruffle Eddie’s greasy hair. Eddie tucks his nose into Wayne’s neck, holds onto him for a second longer before letting go. 

Wayne doesn’t turn around, but he stands still just for a second, like he can still feel the warmth of Eddie’s arms. He sounds choked up when he says, “you too, son,” before walking away without turning back.

Eddie watches as the pair get in the car and drive away, feeling oddly bereft.

He’s got all these people now, who love him and he loves back. But Uncle Wayne was the first, always. 

He better come back. 

Part 90

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[ladykailitha]

Never Hold Back Your Step Part 4

One month later...

Sorry about that guys. Hopefully now that Batshit Soulmates and Not All That Glitters is Gold is coming to end next week, you'll get more of this story.

In this we have the relay race, Steve getting weird vibes from his teammates, and finally putting his foot down with Nancy.

Again Nancy will get worse before she gets better.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

****

Steve kept catching Ezra looking at him at the strangest times. It made something between his shoulder blades itch. Like it had back in the junkyard with the demodogs. Just that feeling of...not evil. But danger. He just couldn’t shake the feeling.

He stood behind the jump box and shook his arms loose. He hopped up and down on the balls of his feet trying to stay warmed up. All along the line the other competitors were doing the same.

He got into position and pulled his goggles down. Then the shot went off and they all dived in.

Steve was going up against his teammates for the individual events and knew that for this first one, he had it in the bag. Butterfly was his specialty. So he focused on beating them and not worry about the other competitors.

He knew his form was good, his strokes powerful. His breaths perfectly timed.

Before he knew it he was touching the end plate and getting out of the water.

He saw a couple other boys getting out of the water after him, but it was clear he had beaten them.

His coaches were cheering almost as loudly as the crowd was and Steve felt a sense of accomplishment, one that wasn’t tied to other worldly dimensions and protecting nosy ass teenagers from monsters. He smiled up at the stands and waved.

He took off his goggles and waited for the judges to read the results. A boy from Chicago was second and third place was from Minnesota. But Steve was the undisputed winner.

His teammates mobbed him, jumping on him and cheering.

He watched as his teammates won medals in their heats too. Then they called it for the boys for the day.

Steve hit the showers ready to get that oil slick feel of the chlorine off his skin. Grateful that the cap protected his hair.

He scrubbed his skin with the soap and again he could feel someone watching him, but this time when he looked up, he couldn’t tell who it was as there were so many people around.

It made his skin crawl. It was like sharing the shower room with Tommy and Billy all over again. An experience Steve would rather not repeat. But it wasn’t as though he could go to the coaches with anything, either. There was always going to be boys staring at you in the showers. It didn’t necessarily mean they were gay either. Hatred. Envy. Even curiosity.

He quickly got dressed and hurried out to his waiting friends.

Jeff put his arm around Steve’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

Steve looked behind him, but didn’t see anything. He nodded. “Just jumpy being so far away from home, I guess.”

Eddie frowned.

Wayne clapped his hands together. “All right, Jeff and I are going site-seeing this afternoon. You boys behave yourselves.”

“Never!” Eddie cackled.

Jeff gave him a high five. “The only way to be.”

Steve and Eddie watched as they walked away talking about all the places they were going to see.

“This about your comic, baby?” Eddie whispered.

Steve shook his head. “I’ll tell you all about it when we get to your hotel room.”

Once they were up in Eddie’s room, Steve flopped on the bed dramatically.

“I would give up sports all together if I didn’t think my dad would kill me if I tried.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean, gorgeous?” He got up onto the bed next to Steve.

“Ever since I fell from popularity or lost my crown or whatever,” Steve grumbled, “it’s been really hostile in the locker rooms.”

Eddie laid down next to him. “Even with the swim guys?”

“Before this trip I wouldn’t have thought so,” Steve murmured. “But I’ve caught Ezra staring at me more than once and it’s making my skin crawl. And I’ve been feeling it when he’s not around, too. I don’t know, it might be in my head.”

Eddie pulled him close. “I doubt it’s in your head, Steve. I know you better than that. You wouldn’t be feeling it if there wasn’t something to it.”

Steve let out a sigh. “I guess.”

Eddie pressed his lips to the column of his throat. “I know just how to distract you.”

Steve hummed. “I was hoping you might.”

****

Steve stood in line for the final event. The 4x100 m/yd medley or relay swim. They were all bouncing on their toes, trying to shake off their nerves.

Steve was up third with the butterfly and Ezra was last with free style, with Nike and Lyle starting for back and breaststroke respectively.

Lyle was their weakest link, and being second, it could really hurt them if Steve couldn’t pick up time. Ezra was by far and away their best and fastest swimmer. His front crawl was incredible to watch.

Nick got up on the podium and readied himself for the starting shot. Steve nodded in approval. Nick’s stance was good.

BANG!

And they were off. Nick slicing through the water like a knife. He spun around and began the backstroke. He had an instinct that couldn’t be taught and that’s why he was the best at his part of the relay.

He touched the plate below the podium and Lyle was off, showcasing exactly why he was on the team. His broadstroke was good, but not great. What he was great at was getting off the starting podium at the precise moment Nick touched it.

Steve got up and focused on Lyle coming back down the length of the pool. Lyle was doing well, keeping up with the other teams and not losing any ground that Nick bought them.

He leapt in and all the roar of the crowd, the splashing of the other teams’ members, even the sound of his heart beat went away. It was just him and the water. No distractions, no worries, no fears, just the way the water flowed around him.

Each movement was flawless, breathtaking. Then he was touching the pad and Ezra was splashing into the water above him. He pulled himself out of the water and the world came rushing back in.

He was handled a towel and he began scrubbing his face so he could watch Ezra finish their heat. It really wasn’t even contest. Ezra turned before the other teams were even half way. Ezra would have to get a cramp and drown in order for them to catch up.

Something he obviously didn’t do. He tapped the panel and pulled himself out of the water. He looked up at the time clock with a frown. They had won. Of course they had, but even Steve could tell that hadn’t beaten the record.

Even though Steve and Ezra were co-captains, they had flipped a coin in the locker room to see who would be on the podium if they medalled. Ezra had won.

Steve smiled at his teammate. They had kicked ass.

They all hurried to get showered and changed so that they could celebrate with the people that had come to see them compete and their coaches.

Then they got the news. Nationals were going to be held in California that year in two weeks. They only had two weeks to raise the money to go all the way out to California and Steve felt in the pit of his stomach that Nancy was going to bring it up again. But he pushed it as far to the back of his mind as he could.

Now was the time celebrate.

All throughout dinner and as they got ready for bed Steve still felt like Ezra was watching him. It seemed less hostile then from when they were in the showers, but it still sent a chill down Steve spine as he tried to keep the conversation light with the other boy.

The next morning they all packed up, ready to go back to Hawkins.

It had been a fun trip, the weirdness with Ezra aside. Steve had a few medals to take home with him. A couple of golds, three silver, and a bronze. And they were going to Nationals. It had been one hell of a trip.

****

Of course, Nancy had made a fuss about them going to Nationals. She had ranted about it in the school newspaper again.

Even Tommy H stopped to ask him if Nancy had it out for him in particular after the article came out.

It was the first nice thing that Tommy had said in literal months. And the thing was, Steve didn’t know.

In fact Steve was speaking more to Jonathan at the moment than he was Nancy. A fact that hadn’t escaped him.

So he finally cornered her about it at her locker after school a couple of days after the article came out.

“Seriously, Nancy,” he growled. “What the hell is your problem with me?”

She straightened up. “My problem, Steve, is that you played with my heart for almost two years and I’m suddenly supposed to be okay that you’re dating a man?”

Steve looked around to make sure no one was around to hear that. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to an empty class room.

“Are you trying to get me beaten up?” he hissed. “First this campaign of yours against the swim team and now outing me in the middle of the fucking school, Jesus Christ!”

“Does Eddie know he’s dating a coward?”

Steve straightened up and squared his shoulders. “You’re jealous.”

She folded her arms and leaned back on one foot. “What? No I’m not.”

“You are!” he laughed. “This make so much more sense!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Steve leaned down into her space. “Oh but I do. You see, Nancy. Despite everything I did love you, but you never loved me. You’ve always been waiting for something better, for someone better and you moved on the instant you found it.”

“That’s not true!” Nancy hissed.

“You didn’t even wait until we had officially broken up to sleep with him for fuck’s sake!” Steve hissed back. “And now that I’ve found someone who loves me for who I am, you can’t deal with it. Because you want to remain as your second option. Well, I’m not some college you can fall back to when your first choice falls through. I’m a human being who just wanted you to love him.”

She stomped her foot angrily. “You don’t get to say that. You’re gay, Steve don’t give me this bullshit about loving me. Because you can’t.”

“I did love you, Nance,” Steve insisted. “Maybe I wasn’t sexually attracted to you, but we both got off and you know we did. Love isn’t just about romance and sex. There are other kinds. But I won’t let you continue to hurt me because you’re jealous.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she huffed.

“I’ll tell the journalism teacher that you have a vendetta against me and to talk you off writing sports,” he said with a shrug.

Nancy scoffed. “He wouldn’t do that.”

Steve tilted his head. “You’ll find I still be pretty persuasive when I want to be. And who is he going to believe? Co-captain of the swim team or little Miss Priss?”

Her jaw dropped.

“That’s what I thought.”

And he walked away.

****

Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

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[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter Six: Don't Trust The Voices

Gates Of Hell Masterlist

Word Count: 3824

Warnings: swearing, gun use, mentions of death, descriptions of gore, horror elements, this is a very creepy one guys

[A/N: dropping this chapter unannounced then disappearing k bye.]

Don't Trust The Voices

Plan A: Find Hopper at the cabin.

Plan B: Grab the car without being mauled to death.

Steady breaths were silent against the wind, two beating hearts staring into the high school parking lot, trying not to make a sound.

One heart no longer beating, laying on the ground with no purpose left but to be a supernatural creature’s dinner.

“How are we meant to get through all of that?” You whisper, tearing your eyes away from the man beneath a hungry demodog.

Steve didn’t have an answer. The plan you and he had come up with was simple; get the car. The threat of danger had diminished any thought of expanding that. From now on, it was pure improvisation.

“We need a distraction.” He replies, just as quiet. You were closer to him than usual, a faint scent of perfume on your neck prominent to his senses. “A pretty god damn big one.”

The abandoned cars in front of your school were in a sea of demodogs, the creatures circling the building like soldiers guarding the front gate. Steve was glad he had gotten you out of there when he did; one demodog had turned to one hundred in the past 24 hours.

A sudden thought strikes his mind, frowning. “Hundreds of demodogs.”

“Huh?” You look to him, careful not to shift too much against the fallen tree trunk you currently hid behind.

“I think there’s a gate in there.” Steve shares, exchanging your fearful glance. “Why else would there be this many of them?”

“Maybe they’re protecting something.” You suggest, wincing as your eyes drifted across another body in the slaughter. “Aren’t these gates pretty noticeable? I don’t ever remember seeing one in there.”

You scrunch your brows, thinking back to the previous day. There had to be something you had missed, something important. But, as you try to relive that memory, all you see are the same images burned into your brain; a caved in head, a hallway of blood, her soulless eyes…

“I don’t know.” Steve sighs and you blink back into reality, “Whatever’s going on, it’s not good. And it’s looking impossible to get down there without being ripped apart.”

Scanning the area, you find yourself staring at the different cars. Steve’s BMW was separated from the flock of vehicles, resting further behind. Then, with a little jolt of an idea, you knew what you had to do.

“A big distraction, you say?”

Steve turns to look at you, hearing the smile in your voice, and does a double take. You had grabbed your shotgun, resting it against the trunk and manoeuvring it to aim, biting your bottom lip.

“What the hell are you doing?” He whispers harshly at you, eyes flickering between you and the hoard of monsters, “You can’t shoot all of them. First shot rings out and they find us immediately and then we’re being mauled-”

“I’m not shooting them.” You pull away from the gun, nudging your head. “See those other cars?”

“Yeah?”

“Do we think the owners are coming back for them?” You ask and he looks at you suspiciously, squinting his eyes.

“No?”

It was a good guess, considering as some of those ‘owners’ were permanently seared into Steve’s brain, covered in blood from a massacre he was too late to see.

Rather than reply, you give a curt nod before returning to the shotgun, closing one eye. He keeps his mouth shut, silently praying that you were a secret genius and not a spontaneous idiot who was about to get you both killed.

You take a deep breath, finding your target. Here goes nothing, you think as you pull the trigger, the gun biting back into your shoulder as your first bullet is released from the barrel.

Demodogs turn to the sound and Steve’s breath hitches.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He panics, but you’re not reacting. Instead, you’re smiling. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Silently, you hold up three of your fingers. You close each one as if it’s a countdown and Steve can’t believe you’re doing this right now.

“Boom.” You whisper out as you close the last finger into your palm.

Steve almost jumps out of his skin as a huge blast rips through the air, head whipping to the noise.

All the cars that had been parked together were in flames, screeches from the creatures nearest to the explosion. You had successfully shot a bullet into a gas tank. And, within a matter of seconds, the demodogs were dispersing from the area, frightened off by a girl and her shotgun.

A girl who was now grinning, standing from the hiding place.

“Okay, let’s go.” You say, hopping over the trunk before Steve can even react. “Come on.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Steve mutters, standing on shaky legs as he tries to keep up with you.

That was the first time he realised you were a lot more dangerous than you looked, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Your footsteps were fast against the concrete, eyes set on your getaway car. You weren’t sure how long it would take before the demodogs returned, but you weren’t about to make assumptions. Steve had caught up with you quickly, running in time with your steps with his baseball bat gripped tightly in his hands.

He hated being out in the open like this. His eyes were constantly darting around, trying to ignore the large fire you had caused as you run past, the heat blaring onto him. He made a mental note to never underestimate you again.

“See anything?” You ask breathlessly as you both reach the car, searching the environment around you. It was all quiet. A little too quiet for your liking.

“Not yet.” Steve replied, gritting his teeth as he ran over to the driver side. His hands shake as he tries to open his car door.

“Hurry up!” You hiss, feeling more and more exposed the longer it took.

“I’m trying!” He snapped, successfully slotting the key into its slot. “Okay, I gotta slide in and unlock yours.”

You give him a quick nod and he throws open his door, sliding in and shutting it behind him. He readies the keys in the ignition so he can pull away as soon as you’re in. Reaching across the passenger side, he pulls the handle and the familiar click opens the door.

“Okay, let’s go.” He says, returning to his seat and gripping the wheel. Steve looks over, but you’re not sat next to him. “Y/n?”

As he peered through the window, he realised you were no longer stood there. Or anywhere.

“Y/n?!” He tries again, climbing out of the car as his heart thumped harder in his chest.

Hand resting on the roof, he searches around, gulping back the bile of fear. You were just there. You would’ve made a noise if a demodog had got you. No, you would have shot it first.

Running to the passenger side, his breath hitches in his throat as he stares at the ground.

Steve scoops the shotgun into his arms, frantically looking around for some kind of sign. But it was useless. You had disappeared.

“Y/n!” He tries one last time, hoping that you’d come running to him with a rational explanation. No such luck.

A screech blares in the distance, familiar shapes returning from the shadows. He couldn’t stay here. But there was this gnawing feeling in his gut knowing he’d have to drive away from all of this. Alone.

“Shit.” He breathes, running back to the driver’s side and slipping back in.

The engine welcomed him back as he turns the key, watching as the demodogs latch their sights to the new sound. He didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t. There was no way he could just go when anything could have happened to you-

Something starts banging on the window and he jumps in his seat, whipping his head to the passenger side. He lets out the biggest sigh of relief.

“Jesus Christ.” He puffs out, reaching over and opening the door. Within a second, you’re sliding into the seat and slamming the door shut. “Where the hell were you?”

“Drive!” You point above the dashboard to the arriving demodogs and he nods vigorously.

“Okay, shit, hold on.”

Steve grabs hold of the gear shift and reverses out of the spot, turning the wheel to angle it onto the road before slamming his foot down and tearing away from the high school.

A few demodogs try to chase, but Steve is driving faster than he ever has before, leaving nothing to chance in this game of life and death. When he’s sure he’s gained enough distance, he returns to the speed limit. It wouldn’t do much, but it would make the car a little quieter on the road.

“Okay.” Steve sighs, slumping back as he passes the Arcade, a jolt of sadness hitting him hard. He prayed that Dustin was with Hopper, safe. “Wanna explain what happened back there?”

You had been quiet ever since getting in the car after your strange but short-lived disappearance. Usually, Steve would take your silence as a blessing. But the reality of it felt concerning.

“I thought I saw something.” You simply reply, staring straight ahead.

“Saw something?” He repeats and you nod, still not looking him in the eye. “So you just went to investigate? Without your shotgun, why- who the hell would leave their weapon behind?”

“I didn’t think I needed it.” You shrug, but Steve felt exasperated.

“What?!”

“I thought I saw a girl.” You explain, still avoiding his eyes. “I didn’t want to make any unnecessary noise so I placed it on the ground just in case she needed help. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

Steve frowns. Of all the explanations, never would he have guessed that it would end with an apology. He rather expected an argument. This was different.

“There was no girl?” He queried and this time you looked at him with a thin smile.

“Not alive.” You wince slightly, turning back.

The moment of eye contact felt different this time also, that glint of fire you usually held now diminished. Maybe you were just recovering from what you had seen. But that didn’t make Steve any less hesitant about your story.

“This girl…” He continues, turning onto the next street and barely resisting his indicators. “Would I know her?”

“Don’t think so.” You shake your head, eyes still glued to the road.

“Right.” He nods slowly, thinking he might know what was happening. “Did, uh… did you know her? Or, maybe, thought you knew her?”

“Mhm.” You sound, looking uncomfortably still in the passenger seat. Steve lets out a sigh. It was time for him to ask that burning question.

“So, remember our deal?” He asks, glancing back over and you snap your head to him, wide eyed. You quickly nod and he swallows his guilt. “Okay. Question time. Who… who, uh- who was the girl? Was she… was she the one in that photograph?”

“Photograph?” You blink and Steve bites his lip.

“Yeah. The one you took back at the cabin. It was you and Hopper, and a little girl, I don’t know. She had pigtails, blue eyes-”

“Oh.” You hesitantly laugh, waving your hand in a way that looked mechanical. “Yeah. Just, like, a cousin. Haven’t seen her in years.”

“Huh.” He frowns, squinting his eyes. “I thought… nevermind. So that girl you saw-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Steve.” You say, a persistence in your voice that told him you weren’t answering any more questions.

“Right, sorry.” He squeezes his lips shut. Everything felt uneasy in the car. Not exactly awkward, but definitely not normal. It was like you had been spooked by something. You hadn’t even snapped at him, really.

A wave of dread floods his body as he grips the wheel tighter. There was an ache in his stomach, a twist of his guts, that always alerted him when something was wrong.

“So?” He prompted after a while of silence and you glance at him quizzically. Steve frowns. “Our deal?”

“Oh, right.” You say hesitantly, nodding slowly. “Um… I won’t do it again?”

Another wave of dread hits and he sets his jaw. Something was very wrong. “Good. Good.”

You seemed satisfied by his answer as you returned your stare to the barren road, hands resting between your lower thighs. Steve notices a pothole in the road coming up, eyeing it with suspicion. He’d ridden this street many times, always avoiding it. But he had a gnawing thought in the back of his mind that made him turn the wheel ever so slightly to the left.

Once the wheel is caught for a mere second, the car jolts and you lose your balance, reaching your arms out to balance yourself against the dashboard.

“Oops, sorry.” Steve comments, looking over. His blood ran cold.

You had returned to your previous position as quickly as you had lost it, staring out onto the road without a comment. But you weren’t as fast as you thought.

Steve isn’t sure what to do, but he knows he can’t go further. He eyes the bat as his feet, gulping.

Because the bony hands covered in black veins that had gripped onto that dashboard didn’t belong to you.

“Hey, Y/n?” Steve calls out and you shift your eyes to his. “Can I ask you just one more question?”

“Okay.” You say, emotionless.

“When we get there…” He begins, turning left. “What are we gonna tell your dad?”

“About what?” You question, still looking out of the window like everything was fine. Like you hadn’t noticed Steve had turned onto the road towards Merril’s farm. Away from the lab.

“Us.” He continues, “You know… dating?”

“Oh, yeah.” You smile, nodding. “I guess we just tell him that. Sound good?”

“Perfect.” He grits his teeth.

Steve grips the wheel until his knuckles were white. Then, he slams his foot down on the brakes until he’s almost thrown forward at the abrupt stop.

“You’re not Y/n.” He whispers out, turning to the passenger seat. And this time, he wasn’t staring at you.

The cold veined hands had spread out across the dashboard once again, nails scratching an ear-splitting melody. The rest of the body was covered in black ash, a bony figure lurched over in the seat. Long black hair was clinging to the skin, a long stretch of heavy breathing fogging the windscreen.

Steve slowly reaches for the door handle, other hand already gripped on the bat. As soon as that familiar click sounded in the car, he regretted it.

The creature snaps to him, hollowed-out eyes meeting his. Then, the jaw unhinges displaying rows and rows of unnatural teeth.

“Where are you going, Steve?” The voice sounds from the gaping mouth. Your voice.

It screamed, a long and agonising scream that had him covering his ears to stop the noise. He groaned, bursts of pain thumping in his head. He had to get out of here.

Just as it lunged for him, Steve pushes back on the door and rolls out, slamming the door back shut by kicking it from the ground before it could escape. It screamed and thumped against the window as Steve scrambles onto his feet.

He’s searching the ground, fully aware of the bat he left behind in there. His foot brushes against something as he steps back and he’s spinning around, letting out a gasp.

The car door bursts open, the creature lunging out of it and finding him, crawling towards him on all fours.

Steve readies the shotgun, trying to remember those hunting lessons he had when he was 12. But it wasn’t the same. He didn’t have his father shouting at him this time, telling him what to do. And it wasn’t a deer in front of him, it was a monster.

So, instead, he remembers you. How you held it. How you shot it. He slowly raises the shotgun to aim and cocks it, trying to steady his shaking hands.

Once the creature realises what was in his hands, it slowly stands up, raising its arms in silent surrender.

Then Steve watches as it transforms, the black veins retreating and the hair shaping clothes. In front of his very eyes he saw it turn into you, looking at him in shock and hurt.

“Please, Steve.” You say, shaking your head as tears run down your cheeks. “Don’t shoot. You don’t want to shoot me. Please.”

Steve swallows his fear, aiming to what he hoped would be its heart. He couldn’t bear to look at you- it. Not when it was the image of someone he knows he could never hurt.

“Steve, please.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulls the trigger.

Steve stumbles back with the throbbing pain in his shoulder, breathing heavily. He reluctantly opens his eyes and feels numb. It wasn’t right. None of this was right.

It was you led on the floor, but the shotgun wound to the chest was leaking out black blood. So, once again, he watches it shape shift, returning to its original visual and lifting a weight from Steve’s aching heart.

Rubbing his shoulder, Steve wastes no time in running back to the car, climbing in and locking the doors. He tries to control his breathing, resting his head against the wheel.

He thought the worst of the apocalypse would be the Demogorgons. Or the people that walked around like zombies. But this? This was worse. This was terrifying.

The only thing even more terrifying was the thought that you could be dead.

“No.” He whispers to himself, sitting back up and taking a shaky breath.

Steve refused to believe it would end like this. He swore never to underestimate you, and that’s exactly the promise he’s gonna keep.

Turning the ignition, he checks his mirror, the body still led there in a pool of its black blood. He was going back for you. The real you.

He prayed he wasn’t too late.

“See anything?” You ask breathlessly as you both reach the car, searching the environment around you. It was all quiet. A little too quiet for your liking.

“Not yet.” Steve replied, gritting his teeth as he ran over to the driver side. His hands shake as he tries to open his car door.

“Hurry up!” You hiss, feeling more and more exposed the longer it took.

“I’m trying!” He snapped, successfully slotting the key into its slot. “Okay, I gotta slide in and unlock yours.”

You give him a quick nod and he throws open his door, sliding in and shutting it behind him. You’re shuffling your feet, eyes darting around for any sign of movement. The air felt colder than usual, lining goosebumps along your spine. It was like something was breathing down your neck.

“y/n?”

You snap your head to the noise, peering into the forest. It sounded familiar…

“y/n?!”

You feel your shoulders slump, mouth parting in surprise. Hopper. It was definitely his voice, calling out to you. Had he been searching for you? How did he find you? Why couldn’t you see him-

“put the shotgun down.”

There should have been a warning sign in the back of your mind, red flashing lights to alert you of danger. But you do as the voice of your father tells you, placing it by your feet. It was only when the weapon was no longer a weight in your hands that you snap back into reality, noticing Steve’s shadow in the window beside you reaching over.

Suddenly a cold hand wrapped around your face and you’re being pulled back into the trees without a sound, hearing the distant click of a car door opening.

You thrash about as much as you can once you realise what’s happening, catching your foot on an exposed root in the ground. It pulls you away from whatever had grabbed you and you’re rolling in the dirt and leaves.

Groaning, you push yourself off the ground, searching through the trees for your attacker. You needed to get back to the car immediately.

“Y/n?!”

Steve’s voice calls out and you look over to see him climbing back out of the car, a scared expression on his face.

“S-”

You begin to shout for him, but the same cold hand is muffling your voice, pulling you further away to throw you against a tree, shocking a blinding pain into the back of your head.

Blinking against blurry vision, you can just make out the silhouette in front of you, crawling over. You try to move.

“Shh.” It hushed. You could feel its bony fingers digging into your skin as it cups your chin, the other hand resting atop your head. It felt like it was studying you, rotten breath invading your space the closer it examined.

It suddenly retreated, standing up and looking off into the distance. By then, you were just starting to focus your eyes, noticing the dark features on its face. As it rolled its head back to you, you found yourself staring into hollowed-out eyes, nothing but an endless darkness.

Then, piece by piece, it started to change. Sneakers donned their feet as pieces of its long, straggly hair shaped them, pulling together an outfit on its ashen body. It wasn’t until it wove together a familiar hoodie that you realised what was happening. It was becoming you.

Slowly, you shift your hands to rest behind your body, searching the space between you and the tree for something sharp. As you did, the creature completed its transformation. All but the hands.

“What are you?” You ask, not expecting any kind of answer. But now you were staring at yourself, an unsettling sight.

“What are you?” It mimicked your voice perfectly and your eyes widen. It was ready to replace you.

It lunged forward and wrapped its hands around your throat, squeezing tightly. Before you could react, you’re slammed against the tree trunk once again and thrown to the ground, barely bracing yourself on your hands.

You expected it to kill you. And you suppose it would have done if it weren’t for the sound of an engine echoing from the parking lot. You manage to crane your head against the dirt, catching a glimpse of Steve’s car.

Your view was obstructed by your sneakers, crunches of leaves becoming distance noises as the creature walked to him in its new body. You tried to yell out, to warn him. But you felt dizzy. And you felt tired.

The last thing you remember seeing is the car driving away, demodogs occupying its deserted space.

Then your eyes flutter shut, and you’re left laying there in the dirt, helpless.

Plan A: Find Hopper at the cabin.

Plan B: Grab the car without being mauled to death.

Plan C: Find Y/n.

Chapter Seven: Surviving Is Fantasy ->

taglist: @manyfandomsfanvergent . @sheisjoeschateau . @kthomps914 . @curled-hair-red-lips . @nix-rose . @palmtreesx3 . @kryztalglear . @sattlersquarry . @hey-barnes-stole-a-jeep . @sadslasher13 . @80saestheticismyfav .

[hendersister]

twilight zone (2/3)

summary: when you and steve get trapped in the upside down, you work together to survive.

pairing: steve harrington x henderson!sister reader

title 🎵: twilight zone by golden earring

<- part 1 | part 3 ->

You and Steve are stuck in the Upside Down. You both got here by going through a gate at the bottom of Lover’s Lake. Unfortunately, the gate is now being guarded by demobats and now you two need to find another gate to get back home. You believe there might be a gate at Eddie’s trailer, where Chrissy died. The trailer park is about 15 miles across town, so you and Steve decided to make a quick pit stop at your house in order to pick up supplies for the journey ahead.

You’re walking through the woods to get to your house. It’s a bit longer, but you believe it's safer. And you’re less likely to be seen by any other creatures from the Upside Down…. 

“So, is this how you imagined spending spring break?” Steve jokes.

“Not exactly,” you laugh, “I knew I’d spend it with you, I just thought it would be somewhere in our own dimension.”

Steve chuckles.

“Well, there’s nobody else I’d rather go to another dimension with than you,” your boyfriend tells you.

You smile and nod in agreement.

“Same. We help each other survive,” you say quietly.

You take Steve’s hand, nuzzling up to him. Nothing like the end of the world to bring you and Steve closer together. You’re both enjoying this cute little moment when- 

Suddenly you see a creature in the distance. Your eyes widen. Oh fuck! You’ve seen demodogs before, but this creature appears to be much larger. It’s a fully grown demogorgon.

You drop Steve’s hand in shock.

“St...Steve,” you stutter, barely above a whisper.

You nervously nod in the direction of the demogorgon. Steve turns his head to see what you’re seeing and his stomach immediately sinks.

“Shit…” Steve curses.

Although you’ve never dealt with a demogorgon before, Steve has. It was a tough fight. Steve jumped in to help out Nancy and Jonathan, but in the end it took all 3 of them to take down the demogorgon. 

The demogorgon is slowly coming closer but it doesn’t see you.

Steve really wishes that he had his bat with him. He could’ve used it to protect the two of you. He knows that he can’t take on a demogorgon without any weapons. Instead of fighting, your boyfriend is going to do whatever he can to keep you safe. 

“C’mon.”

Steve takes your hand and leads you over to a nearby tree. It’s big enough for you both to hide behind. You can hear the sound of the demogorgon’s footsteps approaching.

thump

You shut your eyes. You’re so terrified that your body is shaking. If that demogorgon finds you and Steve then it’s game over, man. 

No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! 

Your heart starts beating rapidly.  This might be the closest you’ve come to having a full on panic attack. Steve can tell how freaked out you are, so he protectively wraps his arms around you and pulls you close.

Thump

The footsteps are growing louder, which means the demogorgon is close.

“Hey, relax! It’s gonna be okay,” Steve whispers, trying his best to calm you down.

“I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die….” you breathe. You can feel your eyes welling up with tears.

"You're not going to die. I promise," Steve tells you.

THUMP

The demogorgon’s footsteps are so loud. It sounds like the creature is on the other side of the tree that you and Steve are hiding behind.

You put your hand over your mouth to muffle any screams and crying. Steve holds his breath and you. He is the only reason you aren’t crying hysterically right now. You and Steve are clutching onto each other for dear life as the demogorgon walks by the tree. 

It’s so tense and quiet right now, you can cut the tension with a knife. And then-

The demogorgon’s footsteps start growing more distant. It sounds like the creature has left. 

Steve finally exhales. He cautiously checks the other side of the tree. He doesn’t see anything.

“It’s gone.”

“Are you sure?” you ask anxiously.

Steve nods.

“Yeah. It left,” Steve reassures you.

You sigh in relief. Steve lets go of you. You can feel your heart beating at a normal pace again. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asks with concern.

You nod before pulling your boyfriend into a big hug.

“Thank you for helping me through that panic attack. The demogorgon would’ve got me if you weren’t here. You saved my life, Steve. I love you so much! Thank you,” you say sincerely.

Steve wraps his arms around you. He rests his forehead on yours.

“I love you too,” he says softly, and then, “It’s just like you said earlier… we help each other survive, right?”

Your heart melts.

“Yeah. We help each other survive,” you smile.

[pelorsdyke]

ronancetober - day six: fantasy

Robin doesn’t hear Nancy approach so much as she feels her, knows the way her presence settles the earth around her.

The ranger peers at her from across the fire, sparks reflecting off Nancy’s hair. Robin melts a little. The rest of the party is long since asleep, Steve and Jonathan having settled down early in their tent and the rest of them petering off over the next few hours. Now, it’s just Robin and the stars— and Nancy, of course. It’s almost peaceful.

Sometimes, Robin is glad her friend can read her as well as she can. Rather than speaking up, attempting to comfort Robin or reassure her, Nancy simply allows her to revel in the silence, her presence a steady reminder besides Robin.

There had been a moment— just a second, maybe two— today when Robin had been certain Steve was going to die. She’d been out of spell slots, and though that’s not exactly something she could’ve predicted, she’s still been badgering herself about it since they set up camp. Steve doesn’t blame her, she knows, but there’s little to no chance of him ever doing that, so it’s little comfort. Jonathan, luckily, had been just a few yards away, close enough to dash Steve’s way mid-combat while Nancy had the dragon distracted and cast lay on hands.

She can still picture the giant gash across Steve’s forehead, bleeding while she just stares, useless. Great, she thinks, a sorcerer who can’t even fucking cast.

(She’d burnt it saving Jonathan’s ass earlier in the battle, and that’s good, she’s glad, but it still doesn’t lessen the feeling that she should’ve done more. Done better.)

Robin must look especially lost in her self-hatred, because after another beat of quiet, Nancy leans over.

“Did I ever tell you,” she begins softly, with that meaningful tone that draws people in regardless of what she’s saying, “about the time when Mike and I were adventuring, back before…” She gestures widely, all-encompassing.

Robin shakes her head mutely.

“Well,” Nancy says, “we were out with Lucas and Dustin, so it must’ve been back when Jonathan was still at home with his mum.” Robin traces the history backwards in her mind’s eye. Jonathan, still at home with Joyce, despite how lucky any fucking adventuring party would be to have him. Will, lost to the demogorgon, the Byers desperately trying to find him. Robin knows Nancy had helped out her brother’s party while Will was gone, knows that it had been the reason she and Jonathan had decided to join a group of their own. But she’s not sure where the story’s going, if she’s honest.

“There was a demodog,” Nancy continues, “and we hadn’t rested before handling it, because we were stupid kids.” She scoffs, the sound heavy with judgment. “And…” Nancy hesitates, the words getting stuck in her throat for a moment. “And Dustin got really fucked up.”

Robin startles, a little. She doesn’t know the younger party that well, but she knows them well enough— knows Nancy’s always harbored a soft spot for Dustin— and she knows with immediate, sinking clarity what Nancy’s trying to tell her.

“Gods,” Robin murmurs, and she reaches out to lay a palm on Nancy’s thigh, warm and soft. Nancy hums in appreciation but continues anyway.

“He was pretty close to dead, Robs. And I’m— I don’t have…” Nancy pauses. Recovers. “I had cure wounds, but I was running low on slots. We’d just handled something else and without the rest… I don’t know. It was terrifying.”

Robin thinks about it, about tiny little Dustin, smaller even than he is now that Will’s back with the party and Jonathan’s joined theirs, weak and bruised, blood smeared on his face. It doesn’t make her fuckup today better, but it does remind her that she and Nancy can share the load. That their being able to comfort each other, familiar with each other’s trauma in a way you can only become when it mirrors your own, has only made them stronger.

Still, she says what she knows Nancy has been avoiding saying to her since Jonathan saved Steve’s life.

“I’m sorry, Nance.” She squeezes, once, twice. Nancy drops her own hand on top of Robin’s and laces their fingers together. “It wasn’t your fault. You did what you could.”

Nancy levels her with a look that reads I can smell your bullshit, but doesn’t engage. “I just wanted you to know I get it,” she says instead, smiling sardonically. “I get it better than I wish I did. We’re all… we’re all here to help each other up, Robin. That’s what a party is for.”

Robin finds herself smiling too, just a little.

“You’re right. I know you’re right. Just, can we… do you mind sharing, tonight? I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Nancy nods, immediate and resolute.

“Of course,” she says, gentle again. “Every night, if you need.”

[spring-picnics]

𝐢'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. {𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞}

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

“Another successful campaign.” Eddie’s voice booms across the room as you, Dustin, Mike and Lucas all share around high fives.

Once the night finishes, the gang filter into Steve’s car. You don’t know how you’ve managed to make it to the passenger seat, but you pray that nothing will go wrong. Your relationship with Steve has been so fragile lately. Somehow, in the course of a few weeks, your whole dynamic has shifted.

Steve had been… distant. The late night calls and daily check-ins have dwindled into messages from Dustin and Robin that Steve didn’t have time to give. It’s a shitty excuse and you both know it, but at this point, you would rather not bring it up; confrontation is not your strong suit.

One by one, each kid gets dropped off, and the loud background noise that has been anchoring you, is silenced. Finally, the only two people left are you and Steve.

“We need to talk.”

Your heart is definitely slipping beats, but this is your Steve. The same Steve that buys you ice-cream when you cry, who watches your mini fashion shows, who fought a demogorgon for you.

“I’m sorry Steve, but we can’t fix this unless you tell me what’s wrong.” How was fighting a horde of demodogs easier than this?

Steve’s foot is shaking and you can tell that something is off.

“I… it’s not your fault, you didn’t do anything.” The words can barely come out. They keep mixing up in his head, but he knows that he has to do this.

“Steve you won’t even look at me.” Your whisper acts as a final straw. And when he finally turns around to face you, you’re breathless.

His eyes are glistening and wet in the moonlight. His lips are red and slightly bloody. His face is warm and flushed, and you don’t know how to feel.

“I need you not to say anything or.. or do anything for the next few minutes. To just let me finish,” Steve breathes out.

You nod and completely tune in. First you look at him with reassurance, and then you leave your hands out for him to hold, hoping that you could somehow comfort him.

Steve reaches for you and then continues. “Do you remember what I told you about Nancy and the six nuggets.” He looks up to you giving him a gentle nod.

“I used to think that my dream was to have a family with Nance, but I, I realised it’s you.” Your reassuring look is replaced with confusion as Steve fumbles on. “I mean, sure Nancy was there, but you were too. All along, you were playing with the little Harringtons and driving with me out front and changing the radio channel to whatever you wanted, and I can’t believe that it took me this long to figure it out, but I’m,” he sighs heavily before looking right at you, “I’m in love with you.”

And the confession hits you like a ton of bricks. Steve Harrington, your Steve Harrington has been hiding from you, not because he was mad or didn’t want you, but because he is in love with you. And now, your Steve Harrington is about to cry with the weight of your rejection on his shoulders, because you haven’t said anything for several minutes. His eyes are threatening to spill tears and he can’t stop rambling when you finally kiss him.

When you eventually stop to take a breath, Steve looks up at you with wonderment. You can see the whole night sky in his brown eyes while stares at you and then places his hand behind your neck, so he can go back in for more.

Finally, after the realisation that you need to go home, you question Steve: “So, will you pick me up this Friday at 7?”

As you get out of the car, Steve gently whispers, “for a date?”

You smile at him and lean back in for one last embrace.

“For a date.”

@spring-picnics

[stevesbipanic]

I see you your Eddie dying needlessly at Jason Carver’s hand and raise you a Steve jumped in front of the bullet and dies in his place

Cue Eddie’s insane guilt spiral

Just when I thought it couldn't get more cruel.

Steve had been through a lot in his life.

He remembers the first time his dad grabbed his wrist a little too tightly. When his dad stopped once Steve became big enough to hit back. That was around the same time his parents stopped coming back.

He'd lost so many fights, some of them he deserved. He and Jonathan were both wrong, but at least the hit to the skull rattled something loose that made Steve want to change. The black eye was worth it.

Steve would take the beating from Billy again as long as all his kids were kept safe behind him. He'd face a hundred demodogs to keep them safe no matter how bloody and tired he was.

Steve would go through the torture all over again to make sure Robin didn't have to be taken away by the Russians. He'd rather be beaten blue and drugged than see her hurt.

He'd take almost drowning and being ripped apart by demobats so Nancy didn't have to feel the way Barb did when she died.

He'd take all the beatings, all the blood, all the pain to keep the kids safe. To keep any of his family safe.

So really it's no wonder Steve had pushed Eddie away from him when he saw that glint of silver in the corner of his eye. Eddie had become part of his family. As a tearful Eddie above him, who Steve thinks is trying to tell him something, slowly became blurry and dark, Steve knew he'd do it all again, so that the bullet never hit Eddie.

[dragonflylady77]

Why fight a guy (when you can kiss him instead)

Chapter 2: I can't let you leave like this

This chapter is for @/Nam_suki420111 on Twitter who provided some very important lines at the end. <3

Ch1 Ch3 Ch4 - the fic on Ao3

“Where are you going?” Steve asks when he sees Billy head off towards his car.

They had smashed the monsters and saved the world then all ended up at the diner for a post-victory feast, happy to be alive.

Everyone seemed to tolerate—if not begrudgingly accept—that Billy was part of the group now, filling him in about the Upside Down and the events of the previous year, though no one mentioned what had prompted him to join the group. There were looks which Steve did his best to ignore.

Hopper took Max home, after she had a stressful-looking hushed conversation with Billy in a corner of the diner. Steve is curious but doesn't want to pry.

They’re the only two people left in the carpark now.

“Billy?” Steve calls again and this time, Billy stops.

He doesn’t turn around though so Steve covers the distance separating them, noticing the tension in the other teen’s shoulders.

The tremor is so small he’d have missed it if he hadn’t been staring at Billy’s back. He wants to put a hand on Billy’s shoulder but refrains. Despite the kiss earlier and what Billy said after, he’s not sure how well received the gesture would be.

“I’m tired, Harrington. What do you want?” Billy’s head drops and when Steve comes around him, he’s rubbing his face with both hands. It does something inside Steve’s chest.

“You’re not going home, that much is clear, or you’d have taken Max yourself. So where are you gonna go?”

Billy shrugs, his eyes focusing on a point behind Steve. “What’s it to you? I’ll just park somewhere and sleep in my car. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Steve reaches out and puts a hand on Billy’s arm. “That’s not safe. There might still be some Demodogs around.”

Billy snorts. “Safer than my house, princess.”

Steve lets his arm drop and frowns, his exhausted brain trying to piece together little bits of information to form a rather unsavoury picture. “Come to my house then.”

“I doubt your parents would be happy with the likes of me hanging out with the likes of you.”

“Fuck my parents. They’re never home anyway. I haven’t seen them since the summer, they hate the cold.” Steve swallows his bitterness. He’s become used to it but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

“No parents? Shit, that must be nice.”

“It gets lonely,” Steve tells him truthfully, feeling his cheeks heating up because of the pointed look Billy throws his way.

“Yeah, that’s really not my problem. See ya.” Billy steps around Steve and continues towards his car.

Steve chases after him, his hand slamming the door of the Camaro shut when Billy tries to open it. “No. Billy, I can’t let you leave like this.” He manages not to blink when Billy stares him down, and he’s grateful to the car behind him for holding him up. He’s so fucking tired.

“Let me leave? Who the fuck do you think you are, pretty boy?” Billy grits out.

Steve winces at the anger in Billy’s voice and he gets flustered, trying to find a way to defuse the situation, grasping at straws. He spots Billy’s hands tighten into fists and braces himself, but Billy’s hands don’t leave his sides. Steve takes courage from that.

“Someone who cares if you get eaten!”

Billy laughs and Steve bristles, his confidence taking a hit. He doesn’t move from his spot between Billy and the car though.

“I’m sorry, you care? About me? Right. Whatever. You know what? It’s late, I’m beat after all this monster hunting and world saving and warding off the evil glares of your gaggle of teenagers. So how about I promise to park somewhere safe and to lock all the doors? Will that get you off my back?”

“Billy…”

“Steve.”

“Can’t you just… follow me to my house?” Steve isn’t sure why it’s suddenly so important that Billy come home with him.

“Why would I do that?”

“It’ll be warmer than your car. And I have alcohol.”

“Go on.”

Steve takes a breath and his next words rush out. “And I really think we should talk about what happened earlier. You-you kissed me.”

“You kissed me first, princess!”

Steve sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Yeah.” His face gets softer. “Yeah, I did.”

“Gotta say, Harrington, as far as distracting tactics go, you might want to be careful who you use it with though. Other people might not be as understanding and punch you anyway.”

Steve scoffs, then shakes his head, muttering under his breath. “Wasn’t trying to distract you.”

“Okay, Steve, I’ll bite, what were you trying to do?”

“Could we… could we not have that conversation in the middle of a carpark?”

Billy stares at him for so long Steve starts to worry he’d fallen asleep standing up with his eyes open. Finally, Billy blinks slowly, his eyes narrowing on Steve, like he’d made up his mind about something and he offers Steve a brief nod.

“Fine. Lead the way.”

[e-m-christina]

PAROXYSM - Billy Hargrove

CHAPTER ONE : The Cassette Tape

Summary: It's the summer of '85 and Y/n Hopper has a new job at the newly opened Star-Court Mall. When Dustin's radio picks up a Russian transmission, she leads a small group comprised of herself, Dustin, sassy Erica and an unwilling Billy Hargrove to uncover the secrets hiding within Hawkins.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Warnings/Tags: Enemies to lovers, cursing

Requested by @hargrove-stan I hope you enjoy!

Important A/N: Steve and Billy switch places in this story - Billy works at Scoops Ahoy and Steve works at the pool. Billy knows about the Upsidedown, The Lab, Eleven etc.

Find future chapters on my MASTERLIST

“Damn machine,” Y/n muttered, kicking the ice-cream mixer. In the month that she had been working at Scoops Ahoy, the ice-cream mixer refused to work for her. Every morning she had to beat it until it chugged to life.

“Would you hurry up with that?” A curly blond head poked through the window in the wall. “I have a queue forming here.”

“This shitty heap of junk isn’t working again,” Y/n said, giving the machine one last kick.

“Well make it work! There are like ten people waiting out here and I’m out of ice cream.” Billy said, glancing over his shoulder at the apparent line.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Y/n said, bashing the side of the machine with her fist.

“Jesus Christ,” Billy sighed, disappearing from the window before bursting through the kitchen door. “I’ll get this to work. You go deal with the customers.”

“I can do it myself!” Y/n protested but Billy shoved her out the way. She watched with a scowl as he inspected the mixer and with one slap of his hand, the machine buzzed to life and began to mix the sweet liquid cream.

“You’ve gotta be joking,” Y/n crossed her arms. “If you let me kick it one more time, it would’ve worked for me too.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Doll.” Billy shoved his ice-cream scooper into her hand. “Your turn to deal with the customers.”

Y/n groaned and turned on her heel. Working with Billy was unbearable - all he ever did was complain, flirt and intentionally provoke her.

“Hey, Hargrove, there is no queue!” Y/n shouted, coming to a halt in the empty shop.

“I know, I just wanted you out there so I could have my break,” Billy yelled back.

“Asshole,” Y/n muttered, chucking the scoop on the counter with a clang.

“I heard that!”

Just when Y/n was going to march right back into the kitchen, someone coughed behind her.

“Welcome to Scoops Ahoy, what can I-” Y/n paused when her eyes landed on a familiar mop of curly brown hair. “Henderson!”

“The one and only!” Dustin laughed.

“You’re back!” Y/n hopped over the counter with a grin.

"Yeah, I am! And you got the job!"

“I did get the job.” Y/n laughed, waving her hands in a frenzy as she attempted to perform the secret handshake.

"You always get it wrong," Dustin rolled his eyes, making Y/n laugh.

“How many children are you friends with?” A voice broke through their celebration. Billy was leaning on the counter beside Y/n, with a cocked brow.

“Unfortunately, Billy works here too.”

--

“You have a girlfriend? That’s amazing!” Y/n said, taking a seat beside Dustin in one of the booths.

“And you want to know the best part? She doesn’t care that my pearly whites are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth anyway.”

“Wow, um...that’s great!” Y/n said, though she would have rathered not knowing the extra information about Suzie's preference in kissing. “Proud of you man!”

“Mhm,” Dustin shovelled a spoonful of banana-split sundae into his mouth. “Do you really get to eat as much of this as you want?”

“Yeah, though it’s not a great idea for me. Gotta keep in shape for the admirers.” Y/n chuckled with a wink.

“Yeah? And how is that working out for you?” Billy smirked from the counter.

“Ignore him.” Y/n sighed.

“I remember he helped us kill those demodogs last year. He seems cool.”

“He’s not.” Y/n shook her head. “So, where are the other knuckleheads?”

“They ditched me yesterday,” Dustin said with a locked jaw.

“What? For real?" Y/n couldn't believe her ears - she thought he was good friends with the group.

“First day back as well, can you believe that shit?”

“Damn, I'm sorry about that. You can always hang with me though!" Y/n awkwardly patted Dustin's shoulder.

"I wouldn't, she's really annoying." Y/n's head whipped around again.

"Stop eavesdropping, Hargrove!" She hissed, but Billy only shook his head and disappeared into the kitchen with an irksome grin.

“They are gonna regret it big time though when they don’t get to share in my glory.” Dustin stabbed the ice scream violently with his spoon.

“Glory?" Y/n asked. "What glory?”

“So last night I was trying to get in contact with Suzie, and err..”

"Continue?" Y/n said, raising an eyebrow as she watched Dustin swivel around in his seat, looking for a potential eavesdropper, before mumbling something into his hand.

"I didn't catch that," Y/n said.

"I said," Dustin mumbled something inaudible into his hand again. 'What the hell was wrong with that boy?' Y/n thought.

“Just speak louder,”

“I intercepted a secret Russian communication!” Dustin burst out and Y/n jumped back.

“Oh jeez...yeah that is what I thought you said,” Y/n said, trying to act casual because multiple people had directed their attention to Dustin's outburst. She waited a few moments for the information process before frowning. “Wait, what does that mean?”

“It means Y/n, that we could be heroes. True American heroes.” Dustin said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Huh, American heroes?” Y/n shuffled closer. She still had no clue what the boy was talking about but she just went with it. That was something she learned over the last two years - don't question the kids and just go with it. They probably know more.

“Just think, you could have all the men and women you want and more.” Dustin waved his hands, gazing into the distance.

“I like the sound of that," Y/n chuckled. "What’s the catch?”

“None, I just need your help.”

“With what?” Y/n asked, watching as Dustin unzipped his school bag and pulled out a tattered red book.

“Translation.”

---

Y/n chomped down on a banana as she paced the kitchen. She and Dustin had been replaying the recording of the transmission for over an hour, yet they had come to no conclusions.

“So, what do you think?” Dustin asked for the millionth time.

“It sounded familiar,” Y/n said with closed eyes as she rubbed her temples.

“Yeah, because it's been on repeat for an hour!"

“No, no," Y/n shook her head. "The music. The music in the background at the end is familiar.”

“Why are you listening to the music, Y/n!” Dustin said exasperatedly. “Listen to the Russian, we are translating the Russian!”

“I’m trying to listen to the Russian but the music playing in the-”

“Alright, babysitting time is over. You need to get out there” Billy swung the kitchen door open with a bang. "I can't deal with that brat, Erica. She keeps asking for tasters."

“We are doing something very important here,” Dustin said, shoving the translation book under the table to hide it from Billy's view.

“Tell me, Toothless, how do you know these Russians are up to no good?” Billy asked, whipping out a cigarette.

“How does he know about the Russians? Did you tell him about the Russians?” Dustin whispered, glancing at Y/n.

“No, did you?” Y/n whispered back.

“I’m standing right here," Billy puffed on the cigarette with an annoyed expression. “I'm not deaf, I overheard your conversation and that fucking annoying cassette tape. Obviously, you don't know that Russian has a different alphabet, so you and Toothless can't translate it."

“How the hell do you know that?” Y/n asked, completely shocked - that was possibly the most intelligent thing she had ever heard leave Billy's lips.

“Had to take Russian classes back in California. Now let me listen.” Billy took a seat opposite Dustin.

“Why would we let you listen?” Dustin asked, clutching the cassette tape close to his chest.

“Because I might be able to help?”

“Why would you want to help us?” Y/n asked, folding her arms.

“I am bored as shit here and I have nothing better to do." Billy groaned, leaning back in his seat. "Unless you'd be willing to entertain me, Y/n?"

Y/n rolled her eyes with a disgusted look, but opted to ignore his last comment.

“Can we trust him?” Dustin asked, completely oblivious to Billy's insinuation.

“Are you forgetting that I saved both your asses from those demon pigs last year? Of course you can trust me.” Billy said, waving his hands.

“Demodogs, not demon pigs." Dustin corrected.

“Whatever, Toothless, my point still stands."

“He might be the only one who can help,” Y/n bit her lip. She didn't like the idea of Billy joining them, but he was probably the only one that knew any Russian out of everyone they knew. Besides, he had proved he could be helpful before right?

---

Y/n was in the middle of piling colourful sprinkles on a customer's order when the window to the kitchen slid open.

“Psst, we got the first sentence.” Billy whispered.

“Oh seriously?” Y/n placed the tub of sprinkles down before rushing over to the window.

“The week is long,” Billy drawled out in what Y/n guessed was a terrible Russian accent.

“Well, that’s thrilling.” Y/n said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s progress. How does it feel that I am more helpful than you, Doll?”

“Oh shove off Hargrove, and stop calling me that-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Billy slid the window shut with a smirk.

---

“The week is long, the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west.” Y/n muttered to herself, locking the parlour door. “That just can’t be right, it makes no sense.”

“Honestly, I think it is great news.” Dustin grinned, rocking back on his feet as Billy and Y/n pulled down the security door.

“How is that great news? It is total nonsense. I'm not sure why I even tried to help." Billy muttered, dropping a burnt-out cigarette butt on the marble tiles.

"It must be a super-secret spy code,” Dustin said, as they slowly began their journey to the exit. Most of the shops had closed and lay in darkness, so their only light source came from the occasional neon sign or from the security lights.

“Sounds like bullshit," Billy said, pulling off his work hat.

“He might be right.” Y/n said, gazing into the huge mall windows.

“What? You're buying into this too?" Billy asked. "It's probably some messed-up channel that Toothless hacked into."

"After last year, I’d believe anything," Y/n said with a shrug. "Besides, if hypothetically that we have discovered an evil Russian channel, they aren't going to say 'send the nuke at noon.' They'd speak in spy-code, just like Dustin said."

"S'pose you're right there." Billy mumbled. "But you still sound fucking insane."

Y/n didn't reply. Something caught her attention and she stopped walking, pausing in front of a single horse carousel.

“Y/n, what are you doing?” Dustin asked as she began scrabbling around in the pockets of her sailor work clothes.

“Quarter, I need a quarter!" Y/n said. If she was right about this...

“Are you sure you are tall enough for that ride, Doll?” Billy mocked.

“Shove off, Hargrove," Y/n said, snatching a quarter from Dustin's hand before shoving it into the coin slot. Slowly but surely the horse began to move.

“You need help getting up on it?" Billy asked, making Dustin laugh.

“Shh! Would you two just shut up and listen?” Y/n hissed, pointing to the carousel. After a few moments, Dustin's face lit up.

“Holy shit, the music,” Dustin exclaimed, scrambling to pull out his cassette tape.

“I don’t understand.” Billy said with a raised brow.

“Of course you don’t.” Y/n muttered and Dustin hit play on the recording.

“It is the same music at the end of the tape! Y/n was right, this is why it sounds familiar!” Dustin said.

“Maybe they have horses like that in Russia?" Billy asked, still not entirely convinced.

“Indiana Flyer? I don’t think so.” Y/n shook her head. “The secret code didn’t come from Russia... it came from here.”

---

Thanks for reading! Comment if you want to be tagged in the next parts. Requests are open!

[chamomileteainabuttercup]

Putting together ideas for what Pokémon some of my favourite Stranger Things characters would have as partners, were they characters in the Pokémon world (as opposed to what they would have on their team if playing the video game)

(Incidentally I am still not over that episode of the Sun and Moon anime where Ash gets sent into a parallel dimension, an alternate Alola that’s all dark and post-apocalyptic because of the Ultra Beast Guzzlord and there’s this moment when he finds the ruins of his own school and I was like HOLY SHIT HE’S IN THE UPSIDE DOWN)

(I don’t think most people in the Pokémon world have competitive teams in their pockets at all times or really large catch-em-all collections; Ash Ketchum is an outlier and should not be counted. I’ll just give them each as many as I think makes sense.)

Steve - favourite character first obvs. Steve used to have a very conventional selection of Pokémon popular in competition, including a Charizard. These were mostly confiscated and sent away by his father when he failed to get into college either academically or on an athletic scholarship; clearly he was wasting his time with those things. He managed to hold onto Charizard because he’d left it in his car, but gave it to Dustin after that. For a while he didn’t have any, until the Vanillish that was the store mascot at Scoops Ahoy latched onto him. He was initially embarrassed and annoyed but now if you have a problem with his silly ice cream Pokémon you have a problem with Steve.

Since then he’s started catching a little bit again, just figuring out what actually appeals to him rather than what’s supposed to be cool. Steve pretty canonically likes teddy bears, so now he’s that guy with a Teddiursa, a Cubchoo and a Pancham and he’s given them all Everstones because he wants them to stay cute (he will not admit this). The cuteness of his team can lead people to underestimate him until he breaks out a huge fuck-off Crobat (because bat, also it can only evolve to that form through the power of friendship).

Steve is probably going to end up becoming the leader of that first Pokémon gym on a journey, the one that’s easy to beat to give the kids confidence. Brock energy.

Dustin - okay well I just finished saying that about most people not catching ‘em all. Dustin is very seriously trying to catch ‘em all. He treasures Charizard because it’s an objectively cool Pokémon and Steve gave it to him, but his main partner Pokémon is Dart, a Guzzlil, which I just invented as the pre-evolved form of Guzzlord (I mean, the pollywog to demodog to Demogorgon sequence is pretty much the worst. Pokémon evolution. ever). He swears it can be trained and won’t be dangerous! It’s barely an Ultra Beast at all, just an Ultra Baby. Fortunately his mother’s Meowth knows Fury Swipes.

Robin - I associate Robin with sound and hearing, both as a musician and with her interest in languages, so I’ll give her Kricketot and Noibat, plus a Fletchling because it's the Pokémon that looks most like a robin to me and that would be cute. Robin has mostly treated her Pokémon as companion pets and doesn't typically battle but will step up to help when needed.

Eddie - it would be simple and obvious to give Eddie steel types because duh, metal, but I think I want him to have an odd assortment of Pokémon that he's sort of collected lost-lamb style over the years. He has a Trubbish that he loves because someone should love Trubbish, a Gengar which appeals strongly to his sense of mischief, and is super excited that he recently managed to trade for a Galarian Zigzagoon to raise into an Obstagoon (Eddie is a huge fan of Piers of Spikemuth). His one actual steel type is a Perrserker which feels pretty perrfect for him, but his overall favourite is an Amped Form Toxtricity (with a Quirky nature). The preponderance of poison may or may not reflect the whole drug dealer thing.

Eleven - El and Mewtwo escaped from the lab together. 

Nancy - Nancy doesn’t have Pokémon.  Nancy has guns.

[gravegroves]

ace nancy 👀?? from your wips?

I'm gonna preffice this by warning that Billy knows about Asexuality but isn't all that good at explaining it or the nuanced spectrum of being Ace. Also it's the 80's, so please read the following with that in mind. (Clarification comes later in the fic)

So this fic is about Billy being pressganged by Mr Clark into joining the debate team for the State Championships for extra credit. Nancy would rather have a Demodog chomp her left leg off than team up with Billy Hargrove, but things have a way of working out.

A few excerpts:

"Be honest Wheeler, did Harrington make you come even once?"

Nancy blushes.

"Oh, holy shit, he really didn't, did he?" 

"I didn't say that--" Nancy insists, loudly.

Billy laughs, "Oh, you didn't have to, Princess. Your face says it all."

"Shut up, Hargrove, just…" Nancy huffs in frustration and goes back to picking at the label a little more aggressively, "Just don't."

"Hey, I'm not judging you, that's all on Harrington. What a dick."

"He's not really. Not anymore. It's just," Her nail finally catches and she rips another strip of wet, sticky label off the bottle and flings it into the grass, "He was my first, you know? I didn't know what to do or how to - to move, and then it was over and I just remember thinking, is that all it is? And then I thought, maybe I'm just not good at it yet, maybe I just need to try again."

She sniffs, reaches up to wipe her face and Billy realises with a sickening lurch in his stomach that Wheeler is crying. He stares at her, frozen solid with uncertainty about what to do.

"And then I thought maybe there's something wrong with him, you know?" Her voice turns bitter. "Like, why couldn't he make it good for me? It's not like I hadn't heard about the other girls talking about Steve before we got together. None of them had any complaints." 

"But then I got together with Jonathan and I thought this feeling, this is what I was missing. But-- it didn't fix anything! It didn't fix me."

Billy flounders a little, but ultimately goes with the first thing that pops into his head. "There isn't anything wrong with you, Wheeler."

Nancy cackles a little, sways on the spot, the drink clearly loosening her tongue as well as her body. "Yeah? You gonna show me what I've been missing out on, huh? You wanna take me for a ride in your Camaro, Billy?"

Billy gags a little at the thought, luckily Nancy is too preoccupied by taking another swig from her bottle to notice.

"Oh yeah, that'd end really fucking well."

*****

"You literally did an hour long presentation on Nicola Tesla last semester and spent a quarter of it talking about why he never got married. Don't tell anyone I said this, but you're not exactly stupid. Don't fail me now, Wheeler."

Nancy blinks, looks likes she's thinking real fucking hard. Maybe Billy spoke too soon.

"You ever heard of the term asexual?"

"I think so?" She says, slowly, sounding out the words with deliberate care and turning it into a question. A valley grows between her brows in concentration. "The farmers at the spring festival talked about-- about culling a rooster because it wouldn't, like, mount the hens naturally. I'm sure that's the term he used. 

"Jesus Christ." Billy sucks deeply on his cigarette. "It means you don't wanna fuck." Billy frowns, waves his hand dismissively. "Like, you can like it just fine, but you don't think about it like most people do. Something like that."

Nancy straightens of her slouch to lean back and stare at him, jerking a little when she overbalances and steadies herself by grabbing the crook of Billy's elbow. "That doesn't sound normal."

He shrugs a little, takes one last pull from the cigarette before flicking the butt at the ground.  "What the fuck is normal, huh?" He grinds the butt into the gravel and turns to look at her, "Let's get you back on your pea, princess. I think you've had enough for one night."

He holds out a hand.

Nancy takes it.

*****

Billy jerks out of doze when someone drops into the seat next to him. He already knows who it's gonna be before he turns to look.

"Morning Wheeler, you get lost on the way to your seat?"

Billy looks around pointedly, his little nook in the back of the bus cut off from the rest of the group by a good five or six rows of empty seats. Far enough to get the point across that Billy isn't there by choice or planning to socialise with any of these nerds.

"No." She says simply.

"You sure? Seems like an awful lot of empty seats for you to be getting all friendly. How's the head?"

Nancy ignores him. Stares at the back of the seat in front of her like it gave her a less than a perfect grade. She purses her lips in that awful way that reminds Billy of a cat's asshole, but she doesn't run off in a huff like he expects.

"You're right." She says, still not looking at him. He watches a muscle tick in her jaw as she grinds her teeth.

He grins.

"You about to have a heart to heart with me, Wheeler? Gotta know whether or not to turn the volume up on these things." He gestures to the headphones pushed partially off his left ear.

She turns her head and regards him cooly for a beat, before a hand shoots out and bats the thing off his head with a quick swipe.

"Watch it!" Billy scrambles to catch them by the cord before they fall to the floor.

Nancy smiles sweetly, "Don't be a dick, Hargrove."

He rolls his eyes.

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"Whore."

She shoots him a pitying look. "Oh Billy, we both know Christie Otto paid you twenty bucks to let her suck your toes."

Billy guffaws, taken completely by surprise and loving it.

Nancy stares, disbelieving.

"You actually did it?"

Billy grins.

Her face does a complicated thing before settling on a confused expression. "But why?"

"Twenty bucks is a hell of a lot of dough for us mere peasants, Princess."

Billy screws his face up, tries not to squirm uncomfortably in his seat at the memory,  "Maybe I should have warned her that I'm ticklish. Almost kicked her face in, like, three times."

Nancy coughs. Covers her mouth as she laughs into her hands, like she doesn't want him to see that he made her laugh.

"Not that this isn't nice and all--"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you got somewhere to be, Hargrove?" She snaps, deadpan, but Billy can tell she's nervous from the way she wrings her hands and hides them up her sleeves.

"I just wanted to say thank you--"

"Don't mention it, Wheeler." He says, hastily. Actually he'd prefer it if they never spoke about it ever again.

She glares at the interruption, but presses on. "-- thank you and I wanted to know if I could talk to you. More. About it."

And now it's Billy's turn to stare. Nancy meets his eyes with a determined gaze. Whatever shit Tommy and the rest of the school likes to say about Nancy Wheeler, she's got stones, he'll give her that.

"Alright."

*****

The topic is announced.

Gay marriage.

Berkeley for. Hawkins against.

They win by a landslide.

Of course they do.

The team from Berkeley registers a formal complaint with the panel the second the win is announced. Mr Scott and his Berkeley counterpart are waved up to approach the judges table. Billy wants desperately to leave, but he's forced to sit and watch the Berkeley debate coach protest the unfair conditions his team had been placed under.

"No one in their right mind would chose to side with us on such a topic. No matter how well my kids argue their case."

"I'm afraid I disagree." Mr. Clarke argues. "We debate politically and morally charged topics all the time, Mr. Davenport. The judges judge how well you present your side, not their own personal beliefs.

Billy snorts. Feels unclean after having to stand on that stage and tell the world how unfit people like him are to love. To form families. To be allowed to simply be.

Even if it's all hypothetical, Billy knows those words came damn easily out of his team mates mouths, just as the words of support clearly left a sour after-taste in their opponents.

Nancy turns to look at him.

Fuck it.

Billy gets up and stalks out of the hall. Fuck it all to shit.

[aloneinthehellfire]

Senior Prom

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: 20th April 1985 was the scariest night of Steve Harrington’s life. He may have battled with demodogs and abusive step-brothers, but the Senior Prom would really put his nerves to the test; he was about to confess his feelings to a girl he had taken for granted for too long.

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: swearing, fluff fluffity fluff

[A/N: i created something that wasn't angsty!!!! yay me! also i literally came up with this after watching a show where they had prom and i was like yeah, fuck it, steve x reader moments]

set between ST2 and ST3

SENIOR PROM

Steve had been looking forward to graduation for years.

He always wanted to prove himself, make himself proud rather than be awarded by the praise of his parents. So he made a name of himself. ‘King Steve’, they called him. It was fitting too, considering his running for Prom King. But people always told him high school wouldn’t last forever, that it wasn’t all about popularity. And by ‘people’, he meant you.

You were the girl next door, literally. The fact that your family was living next to the Harrington household proved to be one of the greatest successes of Steve’s life. He practically grew up with you, both of you constantly sneaking into the other’s bedrooms whenever you had to tell eachother something. You kept him grounded, reminding him that superficial things won’t bring him happiness in the end. Even when Steve fell into the wrong group of friends, you stuck by him.

Even now, as Steve struggles to perfect his bow tie, he knows you are just a window away from helping him.

With a sigh, he shoves the fabric into his pocket, locking his bedroom door and snapping the window open. He can see the faint glow of your bedside lamp lighting the room, practically already smelling the perfume you couldn’t resist. Perfume he couldn’t resist.

You had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, and Steve only just recently realised how grateful he was to have you. And that those feelings of friendship were something much more than he could ever admit to himself.

Senior year had proven to be his worst. His grades dropped, his girlfriend left him for another guy. And yet, it was somehow his best. He may not have gotten into colleges of his dreams, but he certainly found the girl of them. All he needed was a giant knock to the head to see that she had been stood in front of him the entire time.

You were fiddling with your earrings when you hear the faint tap of glass, quickly setting down your mother’s sparkles she insisted you borrow for tonight.

Picking up the bottom of your dress, you move towards the window with an amused frown and let go of the fabric to pull away the curtains, revealing a grinning Steve Harrington looking back at you.

Your heart skipped a beat as you unlock the window and slide it open for him, stepping back as he climbed through effortlessly. You had no reason to feel this giddy about it; he’s been climbing through your window for years. But every time he has, you couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach just to see him. That’s what happens when you’ve been in love with your best friend for all those years now.

“Harrington.” You smile, crossing your arms as he brushes down his suit. He looked great in it, like he always did.

“So,” Steve says, fishing the bow tie out of his pocket as he turned around, “It turns out these things are evil…”

His voice trails as soon as he sees you. Your hair was twisted back except for the few curled strands that hung beside your delicate features. The emerald green dress shaped your body perfectly, dropping all the way down to the floor. It was a simple design, but you made it look so elegant. And the gold necklace that hung from your neck brought it all together; a locket that an 11 year old Steve gifted you all that time ago.

“Steve?” You wave your hands around and he finally snaps out of his trance, clearing his throat.

“Sorry, what?”

You let out a small laugh, dimpling your cheeks, and walk over to him to gently take the bow tie out of his hands. “I’m guessing you need help with this?”

“Y-yeah. Yeah.” Steve nods and he straightens himself, allowing you to slip the fabric around his neck and tie it much better than he ever could.

“You know, you should really learn how to tie one of these things.” You comment with a raised eyebrow, eyes flickering from the bow to his face.

“What if I just prefer knowing you’re there to save me?” He offers and he swears he notices just the faintest tint of blush on your skin.

Patting his chest, you look up with a grin. “All done.”

“Thanks.” He chuckles, looking down at you. Considering how close you were, he was sure he could feel the warmth of your breath, the rise and fall of your chest against his. He had to admit, he liked having you this close.

But, to his dismay, you clear your throat and move back over to your vanity mirror, picking up the earrings you left behind.

Whilst it was true that you were in love with the boy, you had made a promise to yourself years ago. Nancy Wheeler was one of your closest friends. You remembered the sick feeling you had in your stomach when Nancy shared her interest in Steve, but you had said nothing. You watched as Steve grew closer with her. You watched when they made things official, constantly hanging around eachother as much as they could. You even watched when they broke up at the Byers house. And through out all of it, you knew you’d only ever be a friend to him.

You had to protect your heart. And you did that by by being a good friend; to him, and to Nancy.

“Hey, you never told me who you’re bringing.” You say, putting your earrings in and watching him through the mirror.

You saw him shift uncomfortably before shaking his head. “Huh?”

“Who you’re bringing?” You repeat, and when you have no answer, you turn around and lean against the table, tilting your head. “Your date to prom?”

“Oh, that.” He frowns, nodding. “Yeah… about that-”

“You don’t have a date?” You widen your eyes and he whips his head to you, scrunching his face. “Steve!”

“I know, I know.” He dismisses, pacing the room. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“Steve Harrington didn’t think about his prom date?” You say doubtfully, crossing your arms. “Steve, you’ve been planning this night since we were freshmen.”

He stops his movements, closing his eyes and nodding. “Yeah, well, it all kinda fell apart when we started chasing monsters from another dimension.”

Steve sighs, sitting on the edge of your bed. He would never forget the day he found out about the Upside Down. You had dragged him to the Byers household to apologise to Jonathan after their fight, telling him that it was the first step to being a better boyfriend to Nancy. And you were right, as usual. But he had never expected to fight a Demogorgon that night, let alone watch you set the creature on fire.

He hated that you were dragged into this, too. The fight with Billy, the demodogs and the tunnels. All of that could have just been his burden to handle if he had made you stay home that night.

“Hey, it’s fine.” You try, crouching in front of him and taking his hands into yours. When your eyes finally find his, you smile. “No one’s gonna give a shit if you have a date or not.”

Steve simply squints his eyes at you in disbelief and you grimace.

“Yeah, okay, maybe they will but they’re just assholes.” You say and he laughs at your comment, “This is one dance. And then we never have to see any of them ever again.”

“In Hawkins?” Steve raises an eyebrow and you nod slowly.

“Okay, yeah- Look, I’m trying to be comforting here, take it or leave it.” You laugh and he surrenders.

“You’re right, thank you.” He smiles and you hum happily, standing back up. He watches as you made the final adjustments to your look in the mirror, “What about you? Is Dan Shelter still picking you up?”

You make a face at his reflection, earning a grin. “Stop saying his name like that. And, uh…”

You slowly turn around, avoiding his eyes and he frowns.

“Y/n?” He tries and you take a breath.

“No.” You simply say, turning back around and rooting for lip gloss in your top drawer.

“No?” Steve repeats, frowning. “What does that mean?”

“It means…” You begin, swiping the gloss on your bottom lip, “He found some sophmore to take instead.”

“Are you serious?” Steve couldn’t believe it. Dan Shelter had been constantly nagging him for your number, much to Steve’s dislike. That guy should be lucky to even breathe the same air as you.

“Uh oh, I know that look.” You smile, staring at the boy with furrowed brows, almost a murderous glint in his eye. He was always a little protective of you, something you always loved. “I’m a big girl, Steve. I’m fine.”

“He’s an asshole.” Steve comments and you smile at that. “Like a huge asshole. Like if there was a contest for best prom date, he’d lose cause he’s an asshole.”

“Okay, I get it.” You giggle, turning back around and stuffing your lip gloss into the purse you were taking. “So… neither of us have dates, then.”

“This is true.” He nods and you let out a groan, flopping on the bed beside him as he laughs.

“We’re so pathetic.” You mumble into the sheets and he lays back to meet your eyes.

“I thought no one was gonna give a shit.” He mocks your earlier words and you bat him away.

“Don’t use my words against me, it’s cruel.” You chuckle, sitting back up and Steve frowns at you before sorting out the curled strands clung to your glossed lips.

“I have an idea.” He shares as he pulls away the last strand and you patiently wait for him to continue. “We go together.”

You blink at him. “Go where?”

“Um… prom?” He says like it’s the most obvious thing ever and your heart almost stops. You search his eyes for any kind of hint that he was joking. He had to be joking.

You let out an awkward laugh, standing back up and shaking your head. “Yeah, right. Us? Prom? Okay.”

Steve watches as you continue to laugh, fanning yourself. The way you were avoiding his eyes confused him. Surely it wasn’t that bad of an idea?

“What’s wrong with that?”

You look back at him, meeting his eyes. This boy was deadly serious and you couldn’t believe it.

“As friends?” You question and you swear you saw his face drop just a little.

Steve wanted nothing more than to take you to prom as his date. After everything you’ve been through together, he just wanted to spend one evening with you without chasing shadows and running for your life. And he wanted to tell you how he felt.

But the longer you stared at him, the harder it became to just blurt those words out.

“Y-yeah.” Steve says as casually as he can, “Yeah, as-”

He stops himself, shaking his head. He couldn’t pretend anymore.

“Actually, no.” Steve stands up, looking at you as your eyes widen in surprise.

“You… you don’t want to go to prom with me?” You ask, confused.

“What? Yeah. Wait, no, I-” Steve sighed in frustration, taking a breath. This was definitely harder than he thought. “I definitely want to go to prom with you.”

You slowly nod along to his outburst, watching as he steps closer to you. You couldn’t ignore how fast your heart was beating in your chest right now.

“I want to go to prom with you.” He continues, another step and he’s barely a breath away, gulping down his nerves. “But not as friends.”

And just like that, it felt like you were dreaming. You’d imagined prom night a million times over, and you had always assumed it would end with you holding Nancy’s purse while she danced with the boy you loved. And yet, you were wrong. You were so wrong.

“Steve-” You start but he shakes his head, grabbing your hands.

“No, I- hear me out.” He says and you shut your mouth. Steve takes a deep breath, before letting it all out. “I wasted so much time caring about what those assholes at school thought of me when I really should have been caring about what you thought. You have been my best friend for years, and I- I always took you for granted. I always wanted to be with someone that loved me for me, that didn’t expect me to be perfect. Someone… someone that just cared. And I kept searching for that person when I should have just opened my stupid eyes because you were right there the whole time.”

“What are you saying?” You ask, eyes never wavering from his. Steve could feel your grip on his hands tighten.

“I’m saying…” Steve begins with a smile, chest lighter. “I am utterly and ridiculously in love with you. And I never realised that until I finally opened my eyes.”

There’s a smile playing on your lips before you finally speak, leaning close. “Took you long enough, Harrington.”

You close the distance, catching his lips in the sweetest kiss he’s ever experienced. Every part of him felt light as he cups your face and pulls you impossibly closer. All those years finally added up to this moment, him holding you without any intent on letting go.

When you both finally pull away, you’re breathless, mind fluttering with a million questions but always settling on one; Did that really just happen?

Resting his forehead on yours, you couldn’t help the giddy smile on your face, your hands finding his once again and threading your fingers through his.

“That happened.” You comment and Steve laughs, nodding.

“Yep.”

As you stare down, your eyes drift to the watch clasped around his wrist. You think nothing of it as you stare at the clock hand until realisation hits and you pull away from him.

“We’re gonna be late!” You exclaim, running across the room to grab your heels and hastily put them on.

Steve chuckles in amusement, shoving his hands into his pockets, just watching. You were cute when you were flustered.

When you finally managed to secure the last strap, you turn around to see Steve holding out your coat for you and you smile, letting him drape it over your shoulders.

“Yes.” You say suddenly and Steve raises an eyebrow, walking with you through your house.

“I’m sorry?” He blinks, confused.

“To your prom-posal.” You smirk, taking his arm as he grins down at you, reaching for the door.

“Well, thank god or this was about to get really awkward.”

You both laugh as Steve leads you to his car, knowing that senior prom night was going down in history as the best night of your lives.

[stevesnailbat]

realizations | steve harrington

REQUESTS USED:

hi love!! could you write a fluffy steve harrington x reader that takes place during season 2? like maybe she stays behind with the kids and steve when the others go to get the mindflayer out of will and seeing steve protect the kids just makes the reader realize she’s in love w/ him. i’ll leave the rest of the plot up to you, don’t feel any pressure to write it if you’re too busy or not inspired! thanks! 🦋💕

hi! could you write steve x fem!reader where she is waiting for him come back from his date and realizes how much she likes him? pls and thank u

warnings: none really?

word count: 2.0K

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Nothing felt okay, but it wasn’t like she could change what was happening. The world felt like it was falling apart as she sped through Hawkins in the dead of night with four kids packed into Billy Hargrove’s Camaro with a very unconscious Steve Harrington in the backseat. Pure chaos had ensued a few hours before, but there had been no time for her to process what was happening until this moment. Her eyes flickered to the rearview mirror occasionally, checking on Dustin as he tended to Steve’s battered face as a sinking feeling settled in her stomach.

What was it that she was feeling? She couldn’t decipher her emotions in the moment, couldn’t understand what the nauseousness she felt every time she looked at Steve actually meant. But there was no time for that, so she distracted herself by staring at the road in front of her.

A few groans came from the backseat and Dustin began to whisper something that she couldn’t decipher from the front seat, but she knew that Steve was waking up. She looked to Lucas, who sat in the passenger seat, to seek some kind of ease, but was only met with the same worried expression that she held. As expected, the boy in the backseat began to panic soon after, voice filled with terror as realization hit him.

She couldn’t focus on what was happening in the backseat as Lucas began to shout nonsense directions her way, telling her to turn into a field instead of onto a road. Still, she did what he said, because she was sure he knew more about the situation than she did. There was a collective scream that echoed through the car as she pulled the sharp left, followed by whines of pain as she brought the car to a halting stop.

Soon enough, they were all piling out of the car and grabbing their things from the trunk of the car. She looked over to Steve, seeing the utterly confused and upset look on his face as she put a bandana over her mouth for protection.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Steve demanded, watching as Mike walked towards the hole that seemed to lead straight to hell. “What are you, deaf? Hello? We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear.”

She looked to Steve once more, noticing each of the kids purposefully ignoring his protests as he grew angrier. There wasn’t much she knew about the situation, but she knew that Steve was only trying to protect them from the demodogs that they had ran into earlier in the day.

“Hey, there’s no chance we’re going into that hole, all right? This ends right now!” he exclaimed once more, only getting a reaction out of Dustin.

“Steve, you’re upset, I get it. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance.” Dustin explained as Steve narrowed his eyes at the boy. “Now, I know you promised Nance that you would keep us safe. So, keep us safe.”

Begrudgingly, Steve followed them into the hole after pulling a bandana and goggles on. She watched as he dropped into the hole, following close behind him. She nearly tripped as she dropped down, but Steve caught her before she could fall to the vine-covered ground.

“Be careful, alright?” he said to her as he steadied her on her feet, voice muffled by the bandana around his face. “We don’t need you all beat up too, right?”

“Yeah, sorry.” she laughed bitterly, heart fluttering slightly as she could tell he was smiling under all of the protection.

They looked at each other for a fleeting moment, fear and wonder apparent in the air without saying a word. The kids were talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying over the sound of her own heartbeat. Sure, Steve had looked at her for longer than a second before, they were best friends for fucks sake. But, there was something hidden in the look that she couldn’t quite understand yet, and she knew she didn’t have the time to comprehend it. Before either of them could say anything to the other, Steve snapped his attention to the kids in front of them who were already navigating through the tunnel.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don’t think so.” he called out, starting towards the front of the group as Mike questioned him. “Any of you little shits die down here, I’m getting the blame. Got it, dipshit? From here on out, I’m leading the way. Come on, let’s go.”

Minutes felt like hours as they trudged through the tunnels, a feeling of dread taking over while watching the kids struggle. The only thing she could seem to think of to distract herself was Steve and how he was leading them to this hub with damn near no fear, like he’d rather himself get hurt than any of the others. After a few minor complications, they reached what they were looking for, the hub. They drenched the area with gasoline, and Steve pulled his lighter from his pocket, flicking the top of it open. His eyes flickered to hers for a moment, full of fear as the flame started in his hands.

“I am in such deep shit.” he scoffed to her, throwing the lighter towards the gas-covered vines.

Steve pushed her and the kids in the other direction, trying to make it to the exit as quickly as possible. The rest of the time in the tunnels went by in an instant, her heart racing at a thousand miles a minute. When they got back to the hole, she nearly fell on top of Steve as she came up, but he caught her again.

“What’d I tell you about being careful?” Steve teased, an exhausted smile on his lips as he pulled his bandana off.

That day came and went slowly, but it was finally over, and that’s all she could ask for. Steve did everything in his power to protect her and the kids that day and she couldn’t get it out of her mind.

Weeks passed and things seemed to be getting back to normal. Her and Steve were back to being just best friends, not partners in fighting other-worldly monsters. They were back to telling each other everything, like the old times. But, something was different. Steve was still coping with losing Nancy during the whole mess, so he was a little more distant than before. She didn’t mind, though. She needed her own time do cope with the fact that life as she knew it had been changed forever. And, she needed her own time to deal with whatever she had felt that night when she saw Steve unconscious in the backseat of the Camaro.

“I think things are finally looking up again.” Steve said confidently to her over the phone one day.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” she asked with genuine curiosity, laughing to herself at Steve’s sudden optimism.

“I got a date for today, with Stacey Adams.” he said matter-of-factly, she could tell he was smiling through the phone, but her heart sunk as he spoke.

“Well that sounds—fun.” she said while cringing, trying to sound happy for him as she spoke. “We’re still having movie night tonight though, right? We always have movie nights on Sunday’s.”

“Of course! I planned it for during the day so I could still come over tonight.” he replied. “But, I gotta go get ready, alright? I’ll see you tonight at 7!”

Before she could respond, the line went dead with a dial tone. She let her hand fall slack, nearly dropping the phone as she did. Putting the phone up, she felt that sinking feeling settle into her stomach once more. The dull ache grew stronger as she moved to lie down on her back and stare at the ceiling.

It wasn’t until she heard Steve say that he was going out with someone else that she realized what she had been so worried about on that night when she saw her unconscious best friend in the backseat. She finally understood that she wanted to be something more than just a best friend to Steve Harrington, she wanted to be his. The sinking feeling in her stomach was heartache and love mixed together, for someone who had never shown any signs of either towards her.

The next five hours were spent by trying to fully comprehend her feelings and how she could tell him—or not tell him—about what was happening. She went back and forth between putting their friendship on the line by confessing everything to him and keeping it all bottled up for the rest of their lives.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rapid knock on the front door that she recognized immediately, it was Steve. She put on a fake smile as she rushed to the front door, taking deep breaths to compose herself as she opened it. The look on Steve’s face was confusing to her, it wasn’t overly excited or overly upset.

“Hey, how was your date?” she blurted out, almost unable to stop her nosy thoughts as she let him in.

“It was okay.” he shrugged, shuffling into the living room with an unamused expression. “She was boring, all she wanted to do was gossip and I honestly couldn’t care less about any of the shit she was talking about.”

“Sounds like you’re never going to ask her out again, right?” she teased, hope creeping up in her as she spoke.

“Yeah, probably not.” he chuckled, plopping down on the couch. “I just—I don’t know what to expect from girls now, I guess? I have too high of standards, maybe.”

“Your standards are high after dating a girl who dumped you for the guy she told you not to worry about?” she implored, eyes narrowed as Steve rolled his eyes at her.

“No, not because of Nancy.” he sighed, voice wavering as he spoke, as if he was nervous about something.

“Then why do you think they’re so high?” she asked while searching through the TV stand cabinets for a movie, faced away from Steve to save herself from more heartbreak and unable to see him staring at her.

“Because the best person for me has been right in front of me forever, but I didn’t know how to tell her.” he said quickly, making her heart and the movie in her hands drop. “It took me going on a date with Stacey to realize that I’ve been right next to the right girl for me this whole time."

“Steve—“ she started, but couldn’t bring herself to finish as she processed what he had said.

“Yeah?” he said, almost regretting what he had said as she refused to look back at him. “Y’know, actually? Just—Just forget I said that, it was stupid.”

“No, it wasn’t stupid, Steve.” she said softly, finally daring to lock eyes with him; the look on his face was serious but more nervous than she had ever seen.

“You don’t think so?” he asked hopefully, watching as she walked towards the couch carefully.

“As long as you were talking about me, then yes. I don’t think it’s stupid.” she laughed, sitting down next to him. “I think I feel the same. Seeing you with those kids, putting your life on the line them so selflessly and seeing you protect us made me realize what I had been missing out on this whole time.”

“Well, in that case. I can finally do what I’ve been waiting to do all day.” he mumbled, inching his face dangerously close to hers.

There was only a small gap between them as she looked up at him, a smile on his lips as he looked at her lovingly. His lips were soft and the kiss was gentle, nothing like what she expected their first kiss to be like. It was almost calming, how sweet the kiss was. That sinking feeling that had settled in her stomach weeks before was finally all the way gone, she felt like she didn’t have anything to worry about anymore. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her best friend, but it was okay. Everything felt alright now.

tags: @sourapplebaby @harringtown @charmed-asylum @lemonypink @daddystevee @jxnehxpper @a-magey @igotmadskills @heart-eye-harrington @queenofthehairharrington

[ghostspideys-moved]

All For The Best

Chapter Five

A/N: So, tumblr is being a little bit of a bitch, but I finally managed to get this chapter posted.

Word Count: 2.7k

Pairings: Steve Harrington x OC, Nancy Wheeler x Jonathan Byers x OC

Summary: Getting trapped in a Russian elevator is about as fun as it sounds, and River doesn't quite know what to make of it.

With so much happening in the short time River had been back in Hawkins, she hadn’t really taken much time to worry about her basic needs. A habit she fell into more often than she’d like to admit. She felt it was safe to assume the rest of her friends had done much better than her. 

Naturally, she offered to get everyone food while they talked out their plan, if they even had one. She figured it might be a good opportunity for her to think and have a moment to herself. Deciding it would be quicker, she headed over to Burger King, knowing it was pretty close to Scoops Ahoy, and brought back enough food for everyone. 

The four of them sat in the break room, eating and putting together whatever intel Dustin had after his own personal stakeout earlier today. Supposedly, he’d spotted a keycard, which would be a good way to get in. Except trying to take something like that was a suicide mission.

“That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun,” Dustin explained as he paced. “Whatever’s in this room, whatever’s in those boxes, they really don’t want anybody finding it.”

River sighed. “So, we’re back to square one basically.”

“But there’s gotta be a way in,” Robin insisted.

“Well, you know, I could just take him out.” For a brief moment, River thought Steve was joking. The serious look on his face said otherwise.

“Take who out?” Robin asked. She was glad she was not the only one concerned with his plan.

“The Russian guard.”

River scoffed and shook her head. “Yeah, if you wanna get yourself killed.”

“What? It’s not that hard. I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard,” Steve insisted. “It’s easy.”

“Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?” 

“Yes, Dustin, I did. That’s why I would be sneaking.”

“Well please, tell me this, and be honest. Have you ever actually won a fight?”

River easily recalled how terrible of a beating Steve took after his fight with Billy, not that she’d been much help herself. But after that, there was no way he could take an armed Russian guard all by himself.

“Okay, that was one time.”

“Twice. Jonathan, year prior.”

“Listen, that doesn’t count.”

“Why wouldn’t it? Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you.”

“Sorry, Steve, but Dustin has a point,” River agreed. “You got the shit beat out of you too many times.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you don’t have a winning streak, and adding a gun into the mix is probably just going to get you killed.”

“Wait. why can’t you do it?” Dustin asked.

River’s eyes widened. “Wait, why me?”

“You’ve got powers and shit. Can’t you use them to take the keycard?”

Steve shook his head. He was not having that idea. “Okay, woah. Not happening.” 

“Why?”

“Because, Dustin. It’s just a bad idea.”

“It’s better than your plan.”

“What? So, risking River’s life instead of mine is better?”

“No, but she could do it without anyone knowing.”

“That’s way too risky, and I’m not letting her get hurt-”

It was very hard for River to get a word in edgewise, but before she could really question that last part, Robin was taking off, grabbing whatever was in the tip jar.

“Hey, Robin. What are you doing?” Steve was up the moment he noticed her leaving.

“I need cash,” Robin said, as if it was obvious.

“Well, half of that’s mine. Where are you going?”

“To find us a way into that room. A safe way.”

River sighed in relief. It was a good thing someone in this group had the brains. Robin left them to look over the shop in the meantime. Hopefully she’d come back with a much better plan.

Steve sighed and tried to keep up with the workload by himself in the meantime. River and Dustin kept him company, especially once things slowed down enough for him to get bored. 

“Where do you think Robin went?” he asked. 

River shrugged, leaning against the back counter. “Where she said she was going. To find us a way in,” she said. “Better than either of us getting ourselves killed.”

She couldn’t help thinking back to what he’d said earlier before cutting himself off. From what she could tell, he was thinking about it just as much as her. He even seemed a bit antsy, busying himself to distract himself.

“Did you mean what you said?” she asked. 

Steve didn’t look up from the spot of the counter he was cleaning meticulously for no reason at all. “Which part?”

“The part about not wanting me to get hurt.” River knew he was just trying to avoid it, and she couldn’t really tell why. But clearly it was bugging him just as much, and she felt it needed to be addressed. 

“Well, yeah. Of course I did.” Steve finally set down the rag and turned to her. “You’re my friend, and after you almost died trying to save me last year? The last thing I want is for you to needlessly injure yourself more than you have already, if not worse.”

He sounded so sincere, as he always did. It was hard to ignore the fact that her heart skipped a beat at his words, but she tried not to think about it. For as good as that was doing her so far, she felt it was probably for the best.

“Well, someone had to keep you from becoming Demodog food,” she joked, lightly nudging him. 

Steve laughed. Somehow, River never quite noticed just how nice his laugh was. Even if he never ended up reciprocating her feelings, making him laugh felt like a worthy mission on its own. Especially while they waited for Robin’s return. The rest of their time was spent messing around as much as possible without making a mess or getting Steve in trouble. Somewhere along the line, Dustin joined in. She noticed the way he would give them weird looks every now and then, though she waved it off. As long as she wasn’t being obvious.

Robin didn’t take nearly as long as River had anticipated. What they hadn’t expected was for her to bring a friend along. Dustin, of course, had some complaints. 

“The whole town is going to know by the end of the week,” he mumbled. 

River was just glad to have another familiar face to keep her company in this chaos. If they were going to bring anyone into the loop, Annie Hardwick was probably the best person for it. They’d messed around in class together enough times to be considered friends, she supposed. 

“Well, she helped me get this, so she can help all she wants.” Robin waved a roll of paper in his face before she laid it out on the table. A map. “This is Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints.”

Dustin looked genuinely impressed. “Not bad.” Maybe he would change his mind about Annie yet.

Robin grinned and pointed out a spot on the map. “This is us. Scoops.” She pointed to where the storage unit should be. “And this is where we want to go.”

“I mean, I don’t really see a way in,” Steve pointed out.

River couldn’t make out any visible entrances either, unfortunately. “Yeah, it looks like the only way in is past the guard,” she agreed. “There’s no way in.”

“There’s not, if you’re talking exclusively about doors.” Robin peeled away the map and revealed one that looked similar, though it looked like it was marking the vents.

“Air ducts,” River and Dustin said simultaneously. They were so lucky Robin was actually thinking all of this through more than them. 

“Exactly. Turns out this secret room needs air just like any old room.” Robin continued, grabbing a marker. “And these air ducts,” she said, drawing a path to Scoops Ahoy, “lead all the way here.”

She circled the store, and they turned to vent high up on the wall. Steve was quick to grab a ladder, and River handed him a screwdriver as he climbed up. Even as he was taking it apart, she had a feeling it might be too small to crawl through, even for Dustin.

Steve moved the flashlight around the entrance and shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t know, man. I don’t know if you can fit in here,” he said. “It’s, like, super tight.”

Just as she feared. 

“I’ll fit,” Dustin insisted. “Trust me. No collar bones, remember?”

River raised an eyebrow.

Robin seemed just as confused. “Uh, excuse me?” 

“Oh, he’s, uh, got some disease.” Steve climbed down and let Dustin take a shot at squeezing in the air duct. “Chry...Chrydo, um…something. He’s missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo.”

“You mean Gumby.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s Gumbo.”

River wasn’t really sure where this act of his was coming from, but she knew better. In the short time they’d spent studying together, he’d proven pretty quickly that he was by no means an idiot.

“Steve, just shut up and push me!”

“Okay!”

Steve sighed and climbed back up the ladder where half of Dustin’s body stuck out.

“So, these are your friends?” Annie asked.

River shrugged. “Yeah, unfortunately.” Though, she wouldn’t change any of this for the world. 

In the background, Steve was trying his best to push Dustin in as much as possible, to no avail. 

“Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass.”

“What?”

“Touch my butt! I don’t care!”

Annie laughed at the two of them. “Quite the bunch,” she teased.

“Yeah, sorry you had to meet them this way,” River snorted.

So far, it looked like Steve and Dustin weren’t having any success, which meant they’d have to come up with a plan B. She might have offered to try it herself, seeing as she was the smallest one, unfortunately, except she was claustrophobic and would rather she didn’t have to try. Thankfully, Robin seemed to have another plan. 

Convincing Erica to help was going about as well as River would have expected. Which was to say, not very well at all. She could already tell Steve was annoyed, and she couldn’t blame him. Erica sent back practically everything he brought her.

Robin was trying her best to talk Erica into helping them, which wasn’t going any better. Because, yeah, Erica wasn’t wrong. Their plan was pretty half-baked. 

Dustin’s attempt didn’t go over much better.

“Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism.”

An odd statement, River realized, from someone who had been mooching off the free sample system this whole time. She couldn’t help thinking about it as Erica went on.

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but this is the opposite of capitalism,” River pointed out, gesturing at all the ice cream laid out on the table for her.

“Look, it seems to me that my ability to fit in that little vent is very, very valuable to you all,” Erica said. “So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many.”

River sighed and shared a defeated look with the rest of her friends. “And I’m talking free ice cream. For life.”

It seemed like a miracle that they even managed to get Erica in on this. Robin had a walkie-talkie out to talk to Erica while they kept watch. 

They were so much closer to getting into that secret room, and the idea made her both nervous and excited all at once. There were so many ways all of this could go terribly wrong.

Steve seemed to sense her nerves and turned to her while Robin and Erica went back and forth.

“You okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

River offered a smile and nodded. “Just fine.”

“You know, you don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

Sure, this was probably going to be really dangerous, but she couldn’t imagine leaving them on their own. She’d feel terrible, and to say she wasn’t curious herself would be a lie.

“No, I want to,” she assured him. “You guys might need my help, anyways.”

It would probably be pretty beneficial to have a non-evil Russian with them, she figured. Steve hesitated for a moment before nodding. She’d been worried he might think it was far too dangerous and risky for her given his reaction the last time she tried to save him. 

River turned the moment Erica walked through the doors, the five of them sharing a shocked look. She laughed and shared a high five with Annie. 

They didn’t waste any time in rushing down to meet Erica. As she’d confirmed, the room was full of the boxes they’d seen the night before. Steve quickly cut one open as they gathered around to take a look. He revealed a metal container of sorts, which he opened with some slight apprehension. 

“Maybe you guys should stand back.”

Normally, she might argue, but there was no telling what was in that container. Dustin, however, was less willing to obey orders this time around.

“No.”

“Just step back, okay?”

“No.”

“Step back, seriously.”

“No! If you die, I die.”

Steve gave up trying to stop him and pulled out something...strange looking. River wasn’t even totally sure what she was looking at, but it was green and looked like it was some sort of liquid. Whatever it was, it didn’t look good.

“What is that?” Robin asked.

River shook her head, and before any of them could come up with a guess, the room jerked unexpectedly.

“Was that just me, or did the room move?” Dustin asked, looking around.

“No, it definitely moved” River agreed.

Erica glanced between them. “Booby traps.”

Robin quickly grabbed the weird goo, River and Annie rushing around to help her take what they needed. Dustin was struggling to open the door, and Steve wasn’t having any more success. 

“Just open the door!” the girls exclaimed as they finished packing up.

None of the buttons were doing anything, and suddenly the room moved again. River scrambled to hold onto something as they suddenly plummeted with the rest of the room. The room was a goddamn elevator.

There was so much screaming around her, and River was definitely contributing to the chaos herself. The elevator was dropping alarmingly fast, and no amount of button mashing was doing them any good. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped, and River lost her footing. She fell back, landing on her hands. Steve fell close to her, a box landing on him. She groaned and shook off her pain before she went to move the box off of him with Dustin’s help.

“Is everyone okay?” Robin asked, rubbing her head where she hit it.

Steve got up, clearly agitated. “Yeah, I’m great now that I know that Russians can’t design elevators!” he exclaimed.

“Gee, thanks. I’m right here,” River huffed.

Steve pushed past her and Dustin before pressing all of the buttons frantically.

“I think we’ve clearly established that those buttons don’t work,” Robin said.

“They’re buttons, they have to do something!”

“Yeah, if we had a keycard.”

“A What?”

“It’s an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don’t have a keycard, it won’t operate, meaning-”

“We’re stuck in here.”

River sighed and slid down against the wall. “Great. Who knows how long we’ll be in here.”

“Just so you nerds are aware, I’m supposed to be spending the night at Tina’s,” Erica said. “And Tina always covers for me. But if I’m not home for Uncle Jack’s part tomorrow, and my mom finds out you guys are responsible, she’s gonna hunt you down one by one and slit your throat.”

River rolled her eyes and rested her head in her hands. That wasn’t happening any time soon.

Steve seemed just as fed up as the rest of them were. “I don’t care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack’s party! You’re mom’s not gonna be able to find us if we’re dead in a Russian elevator.”

He let that sink in. 

Dustin pointed up to the roof of the elevator. “Hey. What if we climbed out?”

//

Taglist: @charmedtenderness @nxncywheeler​ @musicalytrashpanda​

[stealthy-like-a-ninja]

A Silent Vow

Where Steve reflects on what has happened and what’s to come.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!reader

Steve laid back down beside you and let out a sigh. Although he was ridiculously tired, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

The lamp on your bedside table flickered a few times beside him, indicating its need for a new light bulb sooner rather than later, while Sting’s soothing voice played quietly from the record player that sat on top of your dresser. He lost count of how many times he’d gotten up to restart your vinyl copy of Synchronicity by that point but didn’t really care as he mindlessly tapped along to the rhythm and stared at the ceiling.

He was pretty sure that he was the only one awake in the house, seeing how late it was. Ms. Henderson had gone to bed fairly early that night while you and he were cuddled up on the couch watching Grease with Dustin. It was your turn to pick the movie so neither he or Dustin really had a choice in the matter, but your little brother still made sure to express his annoyance in not being able to watch A New Hope again as he flopped into the lazy-boy recliner and grumpily stuffed his mouth full of popcorn.

Once the movie concluded, Steve was reluctant about not waking you from the peaceful slumber you had dozed off into so that the two of you could go up to bed. Dustin, on the other hand, was less considerate and wasted no time in throwing a pillow at your head so that you’d get up.

“We’re helping the Byers’ and El move tomorrow, and I don’t want to listen to you complain about how sore you are because you slept on the couch all night,” your little brother grumbled as he climbed out of the chair. Steve was about to scold him for being a dickhead, but didn’t get the chance to before Dustin muttered a quick goodnight to the two of you and made his way upstairs to his bedroom because she was tired; even though you all knew he was really just calling his girlfriend, Suzie.

You and Steve, however, followed suit and made the trek up to your bedroom as well, deciding to call it a night with just how exhausted the two of you were.

It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep with how drainingly busy you had been. It was your last year at Hawkins High School along with Nancy, and you had been up to your ears in homework and extracurriculars. However, even with all the time you spent studying and doing other things, you never let Steve or any of your friends fall under the radar. You helped him create a new resume that he was to use to apply to jobs with Robin the following day, drove Dustin and the rest of the party to and from school almost every day, and insisted that you’d help with whatever the Byers’ would need as they prepped for their departure from Hawkins in the upcoming weeks.

Although you tried to hide it, Steve (and everyone else) was able to see right through your facade of not being too upset over the Byers’ and Eleven moving away. Jonathan was one of your oldest friends, Will and Eleven were two more little siblings you never had; as were the rest of the party, and Joyce was very much a motherly figure to you and always had been. It was only natural that you’d see them off despite how tired and worn out you truly were.

As the next song started playing from the record player, you unconsciously snuggled closer to your boyfriend, and he couldn’t help but grin warmly. You looked so peaceful. However, Steve couldn’t help but think about how that was a completely different story leading up to the events that occurred three months earlier. Soon leading him to let his thoughts begin swarming.

To say that you and Steve had been through a lot would be an understatement. In fact, the two of you had basically been dragged through hell and back, but still managed to function as if nothing had happened. Well, almost. A lot occurred since the two of you started dating around Christmastime the year prior, not to mention everything that happened before that too.

Soon enough, Steve was overcome with the fresh memories of his entire relationship with you.

The two of you always knew each other, Hawkins was incredibly small after all, but you were never really close. However, that all changed in the fall of 1983 when Will and your friend Barb were sucked into the Upside Down, and the first Demogorgon wreaked havoc on your beloved town... The stupid thing almost got you too, but Steve came out of nowhere with that nail-filled bat of his during that fight.

After that, things were quiet, and life resumed as regularly as it possibly could. Steve started seeing you a lot more, thanks to the budding friendship you formed with Nancy after losing Barb, Dustin’s friendship with her younger brother Mike and fighting the monster from the Upside Down together. You, her, and Jonathan grew insanely close after everything, which naturally led to Steve being around much more often as well since he and Nancy were still dating.

After what Nancy said to Steve at the party, he was crushed, but you were there. You went out of your way to try to cheer him up because you refused to pick sides when it came to him and Nancy. He appreciated it more than he could explain, and couldn’t help but notice a warm fuzzy feeling that formed whenever he was around you after that.

He never acted on those feelings, though. Instead, he tried to bury them deep down in hopes they would never surface; but, things changed once Dustin unknowingly brought home a cat-eating, future Demogorgon called Dart.

Steve soon got a firsthand look at just how badass you were when the two of you fought off the demodogs in the old junkyard after you demanded that the Dustin stayed on the bus with Max and Lucas. You naturally had each other’s backs during the whole thing and him fighting with his bat, and you with your trusty crowbar sure put a dent in those bastards from the Upside Down.

Billy showing up at the Wheeler’s house after the junkyard was probably one of Steve’s least favourite memories that you were involved in. It wasn’t because of how he got royally beat up, even though that sucked, but because of how helpless he knew, he made you feel. The sounds of you sobbing and screaming at Billy to stop as Dustin, Mike, and Lucas held you back was on a sickening loop in his mind for days after that, but he really couldn’t think about it at the time seeing he was only barely conscious.

The rest of that night happened in a blur. Steve woke up in the back of Billy’s car while Max was driving, and you nowhere to be found. He soon figured out that Dustin and Mike somehow locked you in the trunk because they knew you’d try to put a stop to their plan, and although they could all hear you yelling and thrashing in the back, none of the kids answered when Steve asked where you were.

“She’s fine, we’re almost there anyway,” Dustin assured while Steve just shook his head, that was until it dawned on him that Max was driving the car and he started freaking out.

He remembered how livid you were as soon as the car came to a stop, and kids opened the trunk again. But, even that anger was short-lived when you looked over to see him awake and basically falling out of the car. You were by his side in an instant, helping him stay upright, and joining him in telling the kids that they were not going down into those tunnels. Brave of both of you to assume any of them would actually listen.

Down in the tunnels, Steve led the group, and you went to follow at the end of it. However, Dustin said he’d go last; and despite your protesting, your baby brother was firm and did not take no for an answer.

“As the man of the family, it’s up to me to make sure you’re safe,” he argued.

“But Dusty-.”

“No buts, Y/N. Follow along.”

Steve watched as you smiled before reaching over to take of Dustin’s hat so you could ruffle his curls, even though you knew he hated when you did that.

“My hero.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled as he snatched his hat back before following behind you and Max.

Once the group was further into the caves and the six of you were a bit more spaced out from one another, Steve was still able to notice your distressed reaction to Dustin yelling from somewhere further behind. The commotion instantly caught his attention, and when he quickly whipped back around, he was able to see, from was what was visible, of your face go pale before you took off in the direction of your brother while he and the rest of the kids followed. When you all reached Dustin, and he started coughing and claiming he was ok, you immediately thumped him in the head and gave him shit for scaring you like that, something Steve couldn’t help but smile at before continuing on again.

As soon as the hub was on fire and everyone was running back to the entrance, you were so focused on getting the kids out first and making sure that they were ok. When a tentacle type thing wrapped itself around Mike’s ankle, you ripped Steve’s bat from his hands and used it to free the youngest Wheeler, and almost started swinging again at Dart once it showed up; but Steve held you back as Dustin took control of the situation. You instinctively gripped onto his hand as you watched your brother interact with the demodog out of fear, which Steve would tease you about after the fact, although the gesture secretly made him a little flustered.

Your little group passed Dart and started bolting back towards where you entered the tunnels originally, you were all aware of how fast you’d have to move based off the screeching of more demodogs approaching. Once everyone reached the rope used to get down there, you helped Max, Lucas, and Mike get out as soon as you could. Just as you were about to help Dustin up, Steve’s arms wrapped around you and started lifting you up so you could climb out.

“You’re next,” he muttered as a surprised yelp left your mouth, but you were quick in recovering as you grabbed ahold of the rope and climbed the rest of the way.

As soon as you were above ground again, you immediately went back to the hole and looked down to help the other two, but much to your dismay, they were frozen as a massive pack of demodogs came rushing at them.

“No!” You yelled as the other kids called for Dustin to come on before watching in horror as Steve stepped in front of your brother to keep him protected from the oncoming heard, but then, the demodogs started running past them without attacking. Steve pulled Dustin close just in case one did attack, but you all knew they wouldn’t because they were too focused on something else. Eleven was closing the gate.

Steve and Dustin were quick in getting out of the tunnels after that, and you wasted no time in pulling Dustin into a bone-crushing hug and repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Thank god you’re ok.”

As soon as Dustin assured that he was indeed ok, you let him go and stepped back so his friends could take over.

Steve lingered nearby, watching the exchange happen between you and Dustin with a small smile as he patiently waited for the next step. But before he knew it, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle, and he was met by you crashing into his chest in a tight embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re ok too,” you stated, shaking your head as Steve instinctively put his arms around your waist, pulling you closer. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” he soothed as he started rubbing small circles on your back, his heart clenching when a choked sob left your mouth. “You’re ok, no one got hurt. We’re safe.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you replied as you started pulling away. Steve could tell you were embarrassed about breaking down like that as you reached away to wipe away the tears spilling from your eyes, and that made him feel even worse. “God, I’m such a mess.”

“No, you aren’t, Y/N. You are one hell of a badass, though.”

A small gasp left your mouth as Steve gently placed his hand under your chin so that you’d be facing him. He didn’t say anything else as he used his thumb to wipe away a few of your stray tears before eventually meeting your gaze, and feeling himself soften. An unfamiliar feeling started swarming in his stomach as you two stood there, staring at each other. Although he had yet to admit it, you caused him to feel massive amounts of butterflies whenever you were around, and that little predicament was no exception.

Slowly, his gaze moved to your lips before fluttering back to lock eye contact with you and letting out a sigh.

“I might regret this,” he started. “But fuck it.”

His grip on your waist tightened as he started leaning down towards you, and you gulped. There was no denying that you had feelings for Steve by that point, but was he really about to kiss you? Your brain screamed at you to move away. He was your brother's best friend and mentor, not to mention one of your best friends exes, but still, as you watched his eyes flutter shut again while he moved to brush his lips against yours slightly, there was no way you were going to stop him.

However, something else did.

The headlights from the car parked only a few feet away grew extremely bright, causing you and Steve to move away from one another just so you could shield your eyes from the beam. You both stepped closer to the kids, confused as to what was going on as the brightness increased, but then it all clicked once the headlights shut off on their own. Eleven closed the gate.

After that, life went on to somewhat resume normally, well, as normally as it could in Hawkins.

Will ended up being ok for the time being after El took care of the Mind Flayer, and before anyone knew it, a month had passed.

During that month, Barb’s funeral happened, which was tough, but you all powered through it. Eleven officially became Jane ‘El’ Hopper, and you continued life as a high school junior. Fall soon turned into winter, and although it was hard to just forget about everything that happened, everyone tried their best to do just that. And to top it all off, you and Steve had barely spoken.

It was awkward as hell. You’d see each other in the hallways at school, and just avoid each other. Neither of you was sure how to even initiate a conversation after the almost kiss you shared, and it was obviously eating away at the both of you.

Jonathan, Nancy, and Dustin were the ones to pick up on how weird you and Steve had gotten to be around each other, not that it was tough for them to tell either. Dustin approached Steve about it (even though he wasn’t too keen on the fact that the girl his friend was fawning over was his sister at first) and told him to man the hell up (even though he didn’t), while subtly trying to get you to hang out with them; to which you consistently declined. You felt really bad about it all and continued avoiding Steve until Jonathan and Nancy called you out on it.

The first thing you did was apologize to Nancy for being a shitty friend, but much to your surprise, she just chuckled. She explained that it was ok if you liked Steve, but what wasn’t ok was how mopy you were because you hadn’t talked to him. Jonathan backed up her on her statements and explained how they were pretty sure Steve felt the same way, but still, neither of you spoke to the other.

When it came time for the snowball, Steve dropped Dustin off at Hawkins Middle School and was completely not expecting to see you all dressed up and helping out Nancy at the punch bowl. Sure he knew you were going to be there. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been needed to drive Dustin, but still, just the sight of you allowed the familiar feeling of a weight being placed on his chest form, and he just simply could not look away. As he watched you, he couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips as you smiled at whoever came up to get some punch, or how you stuck your tongue out at Dustin once he entered the gym. He became entranced. So focused on you, that he actually jumped when you moved your head to the side and ended up locking eye contact with him through the window.

He froze instantly, as did you, but once Nancy noticed what you were gawking at, she smiled a little and nudged you to snap you back to reality. Steve watched as Nancy said something to you before you nodded in response and started walking towards him, almost as if you were on a mission. He remained parked in his spot as you pushed through doors and right up to his car.

“Uh, hi.” Was all he was able to blurt out as he got a better view of how good you looked in your dress.  

“Hey,” you replied back and crouched down so you could be eye to eye with him. “We need to talk.”

Slowly, he nodded, not having it in him to avoid the situation any longer. “Yeah, hop in.”

You did as he said and climbed into the passenger seat, not saying anything else as he pulled away from the door and into a parking space on the other side of the building.

Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time started blaring from the gym as you and Steve got out of his car and moved to sit on the hood. Neither of you spoke up, but the silence was deafening, and you knew you’d lose your mind if you didn’t speak up sooner or later.

“So…”

“We almost kissed,” Steve finished, and glanced over at you. Your cheeks instantly flushed red, and you were extremely thankful it was a bit chilly out because it helped mask your blush a bit better.

“We did,” you replied, unsure of what to say next.

“I’m not sorry about it,” he blurted out and caused your gaze to snap to him.

“What?”

“I said, I’m not sorry about it,” he repeated, as you shook your head.

“Steve-.”

“I like you, Henderson. A lot. I’m not going to apologize for wanting to kiss you, regardless of how shitty that makes me seem for doing such a thing to Nancy…”

He trailed off on the last part of his sentence and slowly dropped his gaze to the ground. You blinked twice, wanting to make sure you processed the fact that he actually said those things before speaking up again.

“Is that why you were avoiding me?”

“Yeah,” he answered with a nod. “And I wasn’t too sure how Dustin would feel about the whole thing at first.”

“What do you mean, at first?” You questioned while furrowing your eyebrows.

“Pretty sure he’s been spending the last couple of weeks trying to set us up,” Steve laughed and looked back to you. “But I was still too nervous to actually talk to you.”

“Well, you had no need to be.”

“What?”

“Cause I feel the same, Harrington,” you explained and could’ve sworn you saw his eyes light up. “I was chicken too. I didn’t want to hurt Dusty or Nancy, but in actuality, they were the ones pushing me to not be such a coward and just speak to you.”

“Oh, wow,” he replied with wide eyes and let out a breath. “So, what now?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if you actually kissed me this time.”

He smiled at that before facing you again and shaking his head. “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

You didn’t have time to react before Steve was leaning in and crashing his lips against yours. Although you always expected to like the feeling of kissing him, you didn’t think you’d miss the sensation so quickly when he moved away. The two of you stared at one another before immediately reaching out and pulling the other closer than you already were. His arms wrapped around your waist, and your hands tangled into his hair as your mouths collided once again.

The two of you made out for a minute or so before the song in the gym changed and was replaced with the familiar riff of Every Breath You Take, causing you to moan slightly before slightly breaking away from the kiss.

“I love this song,” you mumbled against his lips with a smirk.

He let out a laugh before kissing you again and slowly leaning you back onto the hood of his car. “Sure sets the mood, alright.”

Before things could get any steamier, a deep voice called out and caused the two of you to instantly move away from one another.

“Is that you over there, Harrington?”

Of all people that could have noticed the two of you, it just had to be Hopper. Turned out, he was only a few feet away talking to Joyce, who was giggling as she realized what had just happened. “Oh, leave them, be, would you?”

Hop just shook once he saw you slowly stood up beside Steve and tried not to laugh. Steve could tell the sheriff wanted to say something but didn’t as he looked to Joyce and started walking in the other direction.

“Just stay out of trouble, you two.”

“And have a good night!” Joyce chimed in before following after Hopper.

Once they were out of sight, you and Steve glanced at each other and burst out laughing. After a few minutes of trying to catch your breath from laughing so hard, the two of you agreed to go get some food at the diner before having to come back and pick Dustin up.

And that was how it all began. As Steve looked down at your still sleeping figure, he smiled as he thought about just how hard and how fast he fell for you. It’d been a year since then, and he didn’t even have words to describe how happy he was just with you, even on top of what happened during the summer months.

It was supposed to be an uneventful summer. Steve started working at Scoops Ahoy, and you were working at a clothing shop on the upper level of Starcourt. Seeing as there wasn’t anything ever really going on in Hawkins anymore, and Dustin was away at camp, you and Steve tried to make the most of it, and spent what free time the two had together; even planning to save up and take a little weekend trip together before you started school again up to Chicago or Detroit, you guys hadn’t decided yet. However, that never happened.

Instead, your summer was filled with Russians, the return of the Mind Flayer, lots of death, and just overall a ton of traumatic experiences. You were kidnapped, and had to witness Steve get beat up, again; although he did win one fight, which you did give him credit for. The two of you, along with Robin, were injected with a truth serum that just created a mess of things when your boyfriend told your captors your brother's full name and resulted in you almost taking matters into your own hands by murdering him yourself.

Along with all that, many people you knew actually did die. Whether it had been because of the Mind Flayer and his army made up of people you knew (like Billy and Heather), the fall of Starcourt itself, having to fight off the Mind Flayer and face the possibility of losing any of the people you cared for most, or how everyone had to accept the loss of Hopper after he closed the gate to the Upside Down once again to prevent anything like that to happen again. It was sure one bitch of a summer, but still, somehow, you and Steve managed to survive.

It truly amazed Steve what the two of you had been through together when he thought about it. It’s been a shit show of a ride, but the two of you, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, Erica, and the party, all ended up being ok, which is all either of you could have really asked for.

The sound of the record coming to an end once again brought Steve back to reality from his thoughts, and he let out a sigh. He glanced over at the alarm clock to see that it was almost three in the morning and let out a groan. With a roll of his eyes at himself for staying up so late, he sat up so he could reach over to turn off the lamp and call it a night, but froze when you started whimpering and moving around beside him.

You were having a nightmare. Steve had them too. He knew first hand how terrifying they were, filled with images and memories of all the things he’s had to face, and he absolutely hated the thought of you going through that.  

Your whimpers turned into pleas. You were begging for your boyfriend, Dustin, and the others to be left alone so that they could be safe, but with the way, your movements got more aggressive, and your breathing came more sporadic; Steve knew he couldn’t let you suffer through that.

“Y/N,” he whispered and started shaking your shoulders gently, not wanting to scare you even more. You began thrashing by that point, and his heart broke. “Y/N, I need you to wake up. Please babe, just open your eyes for me.”

After a brief moment, you gasped loudly and finally woke from your dream. Steve watched as you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself and blinked as your eyes adjusted to the light-filled room. Once your heart rate steadied, you finally looked to him and sent him a small smile.

“Hey,” he said softly and reached out to hold onto your hand.

“Hey,” you replied with one more deep breath and squeezed his hand. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep as it was,” he explained before moving to brush some hair away from your face. “Nightmare?”

You nodded tiredly, tears welling up in your eyes. “The Mind Flayer almost got you in that one.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Steve soothed as he shifted his position so that he could lay back down beside you and pull you into his chest. “I’m right here. Not going anywhere, ok?”

You nodded again.

“But what if something happens again, Steve? What if it’s worse next time?”

Your voice was barely a whisper as it was drowned out by a few sobs, killing him just a little bit more inside as he thought about what you said.

“You can’t think like that,” he told you firmly before placing a kiss to the top of your head. “We’re going to be just fine with whatever life throws at us. You know this.”

“I do,” you replied softly. “As long as we’re together.”

“Exactly. Now try to go back to sleep, you need rest.”

“Aye aye captain,” you chuckled before cuddling up even closer to him. He just smiled in response and reached over to turn the lamp off. Once he was done, he returned to his spot next to you and wrapped his arms protectively around your waist again.

It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep again, Steve even stayed up a little while longer just to make sure you didn’t have another nightmare. As soon as he was sure you were resting peacefully, he let himself drift off into sleep, but not without mumbling a quick ‘I love you’ while making a silent promise to himself to keep you safe from what life could possibly throw next at the two of you.