jailbreakiosus

[sunderedhearts]

@mirageformed​ | billy & steve at the library ♥

     The ride to the library had been awkward, quiet, much worse than the trip to Pennhurst. Not only was Steve barely rested, but his breakdown earlier had been embarrassing to say the least. But if anyone was going to be there for it, he was weirdly grateful that Billy had been the one to see the seams come undone. Unlike the rest of his friends, Billy didn’t judge him for having emotions, for feeling a certain way and letting it overwhelm him. Nancy seemed to think very little of him, which broke his heart anew each and every time he realized it over and over again. Dustin treated him like a child, and he was sure they had all agreed he was just an idiot--which, Steve had come to understand, was all he would ever be.

     But not Billy. When Steve’s life was falling apart Billy let him grieve for it. He brought him out of his spiral, didn’t chastise him for having an emotional melt down. It wasn’t his job to pick up the pieces, but ever since returning to Hawkins Billy had been getting Steve through the worst of it. It just reminded Steve that he needed to do more, to pull his own weight and give back whatever he could. Billy had enough things to worry about; he didn’t need all of Steve’s burdens added to them.

     Steve was still quiet when they walked into the library, sullen, pale, tired. Of course he hadn’t expected his asshole boss to understand what was going on, but he hadn’t expected to actually lose his job, either. What would his dad say when he got home and found out? Mercy wasn’t on the table, he knew that much, and even the thought of living in his car was laughable when he realized his father would take that, too. But his own sad future wasn’t important, not when there was so much more at stake. So rather than wallow, Steve decided to pay attention to the task at hand--follow up on what they had learned from Victor. 

     “I haven’t actually been here very often. Like...a few times as a kid. I always just went to the school library when I needed something.” Which wasn’t often. Steve had rarely done his own research, had written a handful of papers on his own, and only really studied because Nancy had asked him to. After the break up, he had felt like there was no point in trying to get good grades anymore; college wasn’t going to take him, and he was going to be stuck in Hawkins forever. What good was a library going to do, then?

     “So, uh...what should I look for, exactly?”