#even though nancy had a gun to his face telling him to leave

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Running in the Dark

Matt Murdock x Reader

Words: 4139

Summary: The reader’s work as a decoy for one of Matt’s clients puts her in some hot water with her boyfriend- as well as a jealous ex-husband who has connections more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. 

Notes: This one honestly came about when I was walking around my campus at night. I literally pictured Matt watching over me from the top of the Humanities building. Yes, I am doing fine, how are you?

Warnings: Violence, general peril (I just love making the reader get herself into trouble, don’t I?)

More Matt Murdock: HERE

-

You knew he was there. Your eyes scanned the rooftops of the buildings enclosing you. Even though you couldn’t see him, you could feel him. Standing. Watching. Waiting. You could practically hear his frustrated pacing, his furious objections.

“This is a bad idea. There are other ways. Safer ways. You don’t need to do this.” 

All things he had said before tonight. 

But this was about more than just playing decoy so a woman could be free of her abusive ex-husband. 

This was about what that piece of shit could do for them. 

You may not have been able to hear him, but you knew he could hear you. So, as you pulled Nancy Bartman’s door closed and your hood further over your face- careful to let your hair show- you muttered up at the figure hiding in the shadows. 

“Back. Off.” 

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You ignored it. 

Jogging at night in Hell’s Kitchen alone was a risk all on its own. Every alley you passed seemed to lurk with some unseen threat. Every shifting sound put you on edge. 

God, you were turning into Matt. 

You turned the corner to the street where Detective Morrow was waiting in a dark Sudan. If this didn’t work, everything could go back to square one. They had to catch this guy. You had to catch this guy. He knew something. Nancy wouldn’t say what, but you could tell she was holding something back. Bartman was the key. You could just feel it. 

The Sudan crept forward, keeping far enough away to not look suspicious, but close enough to give you a crumb of comfort. 

You could do this. 

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Says the one who misses date night to go after crime bosses.”

You couldn’t wait to see the look on Matt’s face when this was over. His mild annoyance of being wrong overshadowed by pride. Proud that his girlfriend had made a difference. That you had not only helped a woman in need but also got them one step closer to catching the bigger villain here. Fisk. 

You could do this. 

A hand pulled you into the alley. 

“Did you think it would be this easy, Nance?” Corey Bartman hissed into your ear, pinning you against the brick. “Did you think you could just leave me like that?”

You lifted your head, letting your hood fall back. “You’re never going to hurt your wife again, Corey,” you spat. 

The man’s eyes widened, then filled with rage. “Why you little bitch-”

You heard the flick of a switchblade. 

“Corey Bartman, you’re under arrest!” Detective Morrow’s boomed. 

Corey flipped you around, arm across your chest, and switchblade at your throat. Morrow raised her gun, as did the other cops. 

No no no, you needed him alive. 

“Drop the knife, Mr. Bartman,” Morrow ordered. “This is not how you want this to end.” 

“Don’t be stupid, Corey,” you muttered, trying to swallow without cutting yourself. You lowered your voice to a whisper, your words meant for a different presence. You could feel him, looming from one of the above rooftops. If Corey went any further, he would reveal himself and that would be a whole other problem.  “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“What did you say to me?” Corey snapped, tugging you closer. The blade dug just enough into your neck to break skin. You winced. 

Matt would smell the blood. 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” you said again, hoping he would listen. 

“You can come back from this, Mr. Bartman,” Morrow said. She stepped closer, eyes meeting yours. “But not if you hurt her.”

You gave her a small nod, feeling the blood drip down your neck. 

Bartman gripped you, his hot breath on your ear. “This isn’t over.” 

He let you go. 

You couldn’t help the sigh of relief, pushing yourself away from him as Morrow pushed him against the wall and cuffed him. 

“You okay, Y/L/N?” She asked. “Theo, call a bus!”

“No, I’m fine,” you said. “Really. It’s just a scratch.” 

She handed Morrow off to another officer to put him in the car. “Are you sure? That looks like it hurts.”

“Nothing a little whiskey won’t help,” you smirked. 

“Yeah well, go get yourself a drink then.” She gave you a smile and put a hand on your shoulder. “You earned it.” She started to walk away, turning back. “I expect you bright and early at the station to give a statement though.”

You gave her a mock salute. “Yes ma’am.”

Morrow joined the rest of her team. You sagged back against the wall. 

“I know you’re there,” you breathed out. 

A gloved hand pulled you further into the alley, out of sight from the others. The hand lifted to your neck, just below your new wound. 

“He hurt you,” Matt growled. His other hand held onto your arm, holding you to him. “Morrow shouldn’t have let it get that far. He could have…” Matt trailed off. What if Bartman had done worse? What if he didn’t have time to stop him? 

“Hey,” you said softly, laying your own hand on his cheek, feeling the fabric of the mask under your fingers. “I’m okay.” You checked to make sure no one was coming, then brought his lips down to yours. When you pulled back again, you were smiling. “We got him.” 

Matt couldn’t help but return your grin. “You got him.” 

“I told you I would.” You poked his chest teasingly. “It was unwise to doubt me.”

“I never said I doubted you.”

“It was heavily implied,” you laughed, making yourself wince from the sting in your neck. 

Matt’s expression softened under his mask. “Come on. We should get that cleaned.”

You didn’t argue this time, letting him lead you back home. 

-

It had been a long night for both of you. By the time you got back to Matt’s apartment, exhaustion sagged in your shoulders and weighed in his steps. You breathed in the familiar air like you were drinking water in the desert. Matt’s hand found the small of your back, guiding you to the couch while he grabbed his first aid kit. 

“Really, Matt, it’s just a scratch,” you insisted. 

He didn’t listen, finding a cloth to dab at the now-drying blood on your neck. You winced a little, the alcohol stinging the open cut. 

Neither of you said anything. The silence hurt more than the cut did. 

“I know you’re upset,” you started softly. “But I told Nancy I would help to keep her safe. Now, she is.” 

Matt stayed quiet, putting the kit away. 

“Matt, please. I knew what I was doing.” You reached for him, fingers grazing his arm. “And I knew you were there, watching over me. I knew that I was safe.” 

In one quick motion, Matt pulled you into his arms. It almost felt like he was shaking. 

“Don’t scare me like that again,” he whispered into your hair. “Please.” 

You sat, shocked for a second. Then, you wrapped your arms around him, running a soothing hand up his back. 

“I’ll try my best,” you teased, pulling away to look into those perfect dark, unfocused eyes. “I’m okay, Matty.” 

Matt’s hands cupped your face, gently bringing your lips to his as if to remind himself you were here. You weren’t hurt, not too badly anyway. He hadn’t lost you. You were here. 

“I’m okay,” you said again against his lips. 

Matt pulled you into his lap, your legs on either side of his hips. 

“We should get some rest,” he murmured, resting his forehead against yours. “I’ve got a big day tomorrow thanks to you.”

You bit your lip to contain your giggling. “You’re welcome.” 

Matt’s hand found the back of your head, tangling his fingers in your hair. 

You leaned into his touch. “You’re right, though.” You pulled away from him, smirking. “We really should get some sleep.” 

His head fell back against the couch, a deep chuckle rumbling from his chest. Matt listened as the zipper of your sweatshirt, the fabric brushing over your skin as you took it off, walking toward the bedroom. 

“Are you coming or not?” You asked. 

In a blink, Matt was on his feet and following. 

-

Tangled limbs, sweat-stained sheets, and the memory of sighs filling the space enveloped you as you fell asleep. Matt kept his arms around you, as if afraid you’d run off and do something stupid. Not that sneaking out was ever an option with him. The problem with dating someone with enhanced senses. An overprotective someone who didn’t like it when you did your job because it occasionally put you in dangerous situations. Dangerous situations that you were perfectly capable of getting yourself out of. 

These were the thoughts running through your head as you stared up at the ceiling, Matt’s head against your stomach, his arms draped around your waist. 

Then, Bartman crept into your mind. And with him, came Fisk. 

Fisk. 

Bartman could have papers, maybe even whole files tying him to Fisk’s operation. But they would be at his apartment. The apartment that now lay empty with its inhabitant locked up. But Fisk would send someone… if he hadn’t already. 

You sat up slowly, trying to keep from moving Matt’s arm too much. 

If you could get to the apartment first, if you could find something, anything that could incriminate Fisk, you could wrap this up tonight. In and out under the cover of dark. Easy. 

“Where are you going?” 

You flinched. Maybe not so easy. 

Matt sat up beside you, kissing your shoulder. “Hmm?”

“My apartment?” God, even if he didn’t hear your heartbeat, that was unconvincing. You started to stand, but Matt gently grabbed your arm. 

“You want to go over there,” he said softly. 

You sighed. “There’s a lot of information just ripe for the taking.”

“So breaking and entering, theft, and pissing off a guy who beats his tenants into leaving is your plan?” 

“Well, I think we’re well past the pissing him off stage,” you said. 

Matt frowned. 

“All the more reason you need to stay here.” He moved closer to you, but you stood up. If he held you, you would let him. And you needed to work.

“I can’t just let this lie, Matt. He hurt people. Innocent families. And he did it all for Fisk.” You ran a hand through your hair, gathering and putting your clothes back on. “We have a chance to take them both down.”

Matt stood as well, putting his hands on your arms. “You’ve done enough. You helped them catch Bartman. Let the detective do the rest.”

You pushed him away. “You mean let you do the rest.” You crossed your arms, keeping just out of his reach. “You don’t get to lecture me about being safe when you go out there and do the exact same thing.” 

“Because I know how to take care of myself, Y/N,” Matt fired back. “You go out there, unarmed and unprepared and you might as well be digging your own-”

“I am not helpless!” You screamed, cutting him off. “I don’t need protection, I don’t need to be coddled, and I don’t need you.” 

As soon as you said the words, you felt them sink in, watching Matt’s face fall. He took a breath, squared back his shoulders, and his features hardened again. 

“Fine,” he said, concerningly calm. 

You were shaking from the raging mix of emotions inside you and it infuriated you to know that he could tell. He knew every tick, every clue to how you worked. And you knew so little about him. 

 “Fine,” you snapped. You turned, grabbing your keys. 

“Y/N, wait-” Matt started, his voice tinged with worry. 

But you were already gone. 

-

The sun hadn’t yet risen and the streetlights gave the world a menacing, muted yellow glow. You walked with your arms crossed over your chest, hands tucked under your arms to ward off the cold, and your sweatshirt hood pulled up. You couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being followed and it made you shiver more than the early morning air. 

“I swear to god, Matt,” you muttered to yourself, but, of course, there was no answer. You kept walking, head down and eyes searching. It wasn’t hard to find Bartman’s apartment again. You’d gone over it so many times with the detective that it felt like you’d been there a million times, even if you had never set foot inside. 

You went down the list, pressing each buzzer until someone let you in. It surprised you a little. After everything Bartman had put his tenants through, you expected them to be a little more cautious of who they let in. Maybe they didn’t have the energy to care anymore. After all, if the evil comes from within, what outside could be worse?

Going up the stairs, that creeping sense that made your hair stand on edge never went away. It was like someone was following right behind you, breathing down your neck. This wasn’t Matt. That was for sure. When he followed you, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, you knew it was to keep you safe. It wasn’t overbearing or dark. As annoying as it was sometimes that he didn’t trust you could take care of yourself, you always felt warmth in his presence. Like nothing could happen to you. 

This feeling wanted to hurt you. It wanted you scared. It wanted you to run. 

You picked the lock to Bartman’s apartment quickly and slipped inside. 

Everything was dark and the heater rattled and sputtered, doing little to warm up the frigid room. Many of the light fixtures lacked bulbs, probably to save on electricity. He was cheap with his building, so you weren’t entirely surprised to find he skimped on his own living situation. Besides, Fisk probably promised him a palace compared to this place. 

You turned on the flashlight on your phone and swept over the various, disgusting surfaces. You didn’t want to know what most of the stains on the tables and counters and floors were. When Fisk found men to do his dirty work, they certainly were dirty. 

Through the mess, you found what looked like it could have been a desk in another, cleaner life, and started going through the drawers. All you needed was something, anything that could connect Fisk’s companies and accounts to Bartman. Even if it was just a simple check, it could be enough for a warrant or at least an investigation into Fisk. 

As you rummaged around, the door clicked open and shut behind you. 

“I was hoping I’d get to see you again.” 

Your shoulders tensed. Your hand slowly reached for the taser in your pocket. 

“It was a clever trick, you know.” Bartman stepped toward you, flicking on one of the lamps that retained their bulb. “You look like her.” He took another step. “You’ve got that same bitchiness when you walk. Like you’re better than everyone. Better than me.” He ran a thumb across his bottom lip. “Still… you just happen to be my type, sweetheart.” 

“Stay away from me, Mr. Bartman.” 

“You pretended to be my wife, you can at least call me by my first name.” He held out his hand with a mocking grin. “Jerry Bartman. I would say it’s a pleasure, but it won’t be for you.” 

You backed away, but your back hit the desk behind you. 

There was nowhere to run. 

Shit.

“Who made your bail, Mr. Bartman?” You asked pointedly.

He just chuckled, looming over you. “I’ve got friends in high places, little girl.” His eyes fell behind you to an envelope sticking out of the bottom drawer. 

Bingo. 

“Thank you,” you said, regaining a little of your confidence. “For being such an idiot.”

You jammed the taser into his side, listening to it crackle against his flesh. He yelped and stumbled backward, giving you enough time to grab the envelope and dart for the door. 

His hand caught your ankle first, yanking you to the hard, uncarpeted floor. You landed on your right arm and felt something crack. Your scream was cut off by a kick to your stomach. 

“You…. little… bitch…” Bartman gasped out, holding his side with one hand and pulling back for another hit with the other. 

The door opened. 

Bartman looked up. 

The shot.

The blood. 

The body landed on top of you with crushing force, knocking the scream out of your lungs. 

As the tears cleared from your vision, you saw the man standing over you, dressed in black, with an indifferent expression painting his features. You scrambled to push Bartman’s lifeless form off of you. 

“Shame,” he said. He sounded bored. Like your life was little more than a nuisance he had to deal with. “And you’ve been so helpful getting him out of our way.” 

He raised his gun. 

Not knowing what else to do, you ran towards him, ramming into his ribs with your shoulder and making your arm scream from the secondary impact. He grunted and the second gunshot echoed through the apartment, finding its mark in the lamp bulb, shattering the only light in the apartment. 

You were plunged back into darkness, but so was your attacker. 

Remember what Matt taught you. Feel the air move. Listen to the smallest sounds. And never, ever let your guard down. 

A stumbling step signaled you to the man’s swing, allowing you to dive out of the way before his fist could collide with your already sore ribs. 

“What the hell?” He hissed. He reloaded his gun. 

You kept low and moved quickly, holding your throbbing arm against your torso. Judging by the thundering steps and the sound of him stumbling into things, Bartman’s killer was completely blinded by the dark. 

You ducked into the hallway and found it almost as dark as the room before. Someone had shut off the lights to the whole building. The only light was the EXIT sign at the end of the hall, tinting everything in a deep, menacing red. You could hear Mr. Trigger Happy still coming after you, and debated between your two escapes; down the stairs to hide on one of the lower floors, or out onto the faster fire escape, but left you exposed. 

You ran to the red sign. 

A quiet scream escaped your throat, a hand grabbing your arm and pulling you away from the exit. Your mouth was covered by a hand before you could scream again. Your back hit something firm behind you and an arm locked across your chest, holding you tightly. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay it’s me,” Matt whispered, his breath hot against the back of your neck, breathing heavily like he’d run here. “I’ve got you. You’re okay.” 

You whipped around, his arms wrapping around you, caging you safely in his embrace. 

“Matt,” you gasped, voice low so only he would hear. “They killed him. Fisk. He sent someone. He killed Bartman.” You shook in his hold, turning your head to try and look down the dark hallway. “There has to be more of them. We need to get out of here before they come.” 

Matt gently pushed you back, one hand firmly on your shoulder, the other gentle, softly tracing down your cheek. He could feel your heart racing, your broken bone scraping against itself, your cracked ribs creaking with every scared breath. Every sound only amplified in his chest. 

“Where is he?” He growled, feeling his anger bubbling over. 

“He isn’t important,” you said, a small smile breaking through your panic. You held up the envelope. “I think I found something. Bartman didn’t want me to find this and, clearly, this creep didn’t either.”

Matt shook his head, the black fabric of his mask molding to his hard expression. 

“Did Fisk’s man see you?” 

You swallowed. 

Your silence was enough. 

Matt moved you behind the wall, concealing you in a dark corner, and started back toward Bartman’s apartment. 

“Stay here,” he said. 

“Like hell,” you snapped. Tucking the envelope into your back waistband, you hurried after him. 

Matt turned, jaw tensed and tone dangerous. “Get out of here, Y/N. Go home.”

“What, so you can beat the shit out of some guy who shot at me?” You put your good hand on your hip. “I’m not going to hide. I want to finish this. Nancy Bartman deserves to stop being afraid. We all do.” 

Matt pushed you behind him. 

You grimaced, the spreading pain in your arm worsened by the sudden movement. 

“Really?” The hitman scoffed. “If I had known you’d be joining the party, I would have been quicker with the lady.” He smirked at you. “Friends in low places, huh?” 

“Fisk has you,” you glowered, stepping out from behind Matt, “I have him.” 

“Two birds-” He aimed at Matt’s head. “One stone.” 

Matt moved like a bullet, knocking the man back, twisting his arm to an unnatural angle, and kicking the gun across the floor all in one fluid series of actions. 

You didn’t waste time, picking up the gun and turning it on its former owner. Matt kept him on the ground, knee between his shoulder blades. You pressed the barrel against his temple. 

“Why did you kill Bartman?” You asked. 

“You know, if you wanted to get me going, you didn’t have to bring your friend.”

Matt dug his knee down. 

The man cried out. 

“Why did you kill Bartman?” You asked again, already knowing the answer. 

The assassin glared up at you, his eyes glowing in the red light. “Loose end. Just like you.” 

“Why does Fisk want this building?” 

“He made a deal.”

“So you do work for Fisk?” You pressed the metal harder against his skin, a small victorious rush coursing through you enough to ignore the screaming in your arm. 

He jerked suddenly, lunging for you. 

Matt slammed the man’s head against the carpet once… twice… The man stopped moving, though you could see his chest rise and fall faintly. 

“Did you hear that?” You exclaimed. “Of course, you heard it.” 

Matt didn’t say anything. He just grunted as he got the man up, pulling him back to the apartment and laying him beside Bartman’s dead body. 

“Call the police. I’ll make sure they find him here.” 

You did as he asked, saying that you were a neighbor and heard all the noise. He called Claire so she could be at the apartment to treat your arm. Then, you followed Matt up the roof where he could listen for the police to come. He didn’t say a word to you the entire time.

You could feel the anger tensed up in his shoulders and it wasn’t from the fight. This was a different anger, one that wasn’t violent or loud or could be worked out by hitting something. This was anger that came from one thing: fear. 

“I didn’t think they would come after him tonight,” you said softly, “let alone pay his bail and send him home.” 

Matt’s covered face stayed turned away from you. 

You took off the mask. “Matt, please.” With a hand on his cheek, you made him face you, staring into his beautiful, unstarring eyes. There were tears in them. 

“When I heard the second gunshot…” He whispered, voice cracking. 

A shot of guilt splintered through your chest. 

But you weren’t going to back down. 

“I know you think you are the only one who can face all of this, but you aren’t,” you said gently, but firmly. “You aren’t alone, Matt. We have to be partners if this is ever going to work.” 

Matt sighed. He listened to your heartbeat, reminding himself that it was still beating. You had made it through, even if he thought he’d been too late. You did that. He slowly brought your lips up to his, careful not to move your arm too much. 

When you both eventually pulled back, a small smirk spread across his face. 

“You know, when you were standing there, gun against that guy's head, even I was a little intimidated,” he chuckled. 

“Right? I can be a badass when I want to be,” you snickered, laying your head on his shoulder. You turned so you could see his face, lightly kissing his jaw. “We make a pretty good team. Maybe you should let me go out with you…”

Matt laughed, the sound turning less amused. “Don’t push it.” 

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and you held your injured arm in your lap as he held you. The two of you sat and waited for the sirens and lights to break through the dark of the night. 

-

Hey look, I remembered the tag list this time!

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascall; @childhood-imagination; @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks; @kendahl0216; @yellowbubblewrap

#matt murdock #charlie cox #matt murdock x reader #daredevil imagines #daredevil #marvel #daredevil born again #daredevil netflix

[hellfire--cult]

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader {Dark fic}

wc: 4.5k

+18 MDNI kissing, pining, gore, mur*der, blood, vom*it, weapons, knives, guns, axes, traps, fear of getting kill*ed, panic attacks, sex mention, creepyness in all of its glory - Do not read if you are not comfortable with one of the above.

Plot: You and your friends go to Steve Harrington's summer home. Your goal is to make Eddie stop seeing you as a friend, but it seems the night has other plans for the both of you.

A/N: read end of the chapter for my comment.

please reblog thank you.

DON'T LEAVE ME

It was all decided by Steve. 

They would all go to his summer house, which was on the nearest edge of Lake Jordan to his actual home. It was just a 30 minute drive from his backyard to that other house that had a dock of its own and a speedboat for two. 

Robin, Nancy, Chrissy, Eddie, Steve, Billy and you. You were the newest one in the group, having moved to Hawkins by yourself to escape an abusive mother. You were quiet, but outgoing if engaged properly. 

There were times where you felt out of loop from the group as they told stories to one another, stories you never participated in, but there was one person in this group that always made you feel welcome, and explained to you in extreme detail everything about those stories. 

Eddie Munson.

He was always on the lookout for you, being charming, and always ready to grab your hand if you needed help. He had this goofy side you found endearing, beautiful even, and then his harsh persona. The other quality Eddie has. A protector. A guardian, of some sort. So protective of all of you.

You were instantly in love with him. How could you not? Robin and Chrissy have been teasing you about it since you met him, telling you that your eyes were in the shape of hearts. But you knew that Eddie didn’t look at you in the same way you looked at him.

You were hoping that this trip would change that. 

“Okay, so, there’s four rooms, so let’s split up, I’ll take the main room, obviously, Eddie and Billy?” Said men nodded to each other after a roll of their eyes towards Steve’s commands. 

“Why do you get the master bedroom?” Eddie asked him with a mocking tone and Steve just scoffed at him with a smirk to the face.

“I am the owner of this house Munson.” Steve then looked at all the girls and just waited until you all looked at one another.

“Robin can go with Chrissy.” Nancy immediately answered and you turned to see Robin’s face turn into a deep red, and you stifled a giggle in your throat. Chrissy played it better and looked away so that no one could see her face.

“Then it’s settled.” Steve smiled as he opened the door to his house and you all stepped into the living room, amazed by how spotless it all was. The Harrington’s probably hire a maid for both houses, or two maids. He really is a show off. 

You looked at Nancy and she was with a smile on her face as she looked around. She didn’t seem phased that Jonathan couldn’t come, and you would have to be dumb to not notice it. She is sleeping with Steve, cheating on Jonathan. You shared a knowing look with Eddie, who only sighed at the situation.

You both didn’t like what they were doing, but Eddie even more so because Jonathan is a friend of his. His best friend is Steve though, so even if he hurts him to hide this from Jonathan, Steve comes first. 

“Damn Harrington. Way to show it off.” Billy finally talked as he put his bag on the floor. You licked your lips as you stared at all the pictures on the wall, until you felt someone stand right next to you.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” You jumped up as you turned your head to look at a dimpled smile that was directed your way, making you flush all over from nervousness as you heard your heartbeat right in your eardrum.

“I-I… It’s the first time after many years that I… spent a weekend with friends…” Was your short reply, to which Eddie hummed. He put his arm around your shoulders, surprising you completely with a gasp as he pulled you to his side.

“Well! I’m gonna make it a memorable one! We’re gonna sing around the bonfire, singing Kumbaya, and if we are feeling feisty… Burnt marshmallows.” He wiggled his eyebrows at you and you couldn't help but giggle at him. He would always do this for you, loosening up your nerves before you explode.

“That sounds thrilling.” You replied to him which only made his grin even wider.

“You have no idea.” 

“Do yall think people get murdered here?” Everyone immediately spat whatever they were drinking, and looked at the culprit of the question. Robin looked up from her can to see you all staring at her and she shrugged her shoulders, “What?”

“I don’t think it’s the appropriate question to ask in the middle of the woods Robin…” Nancy reprimanded her friend as Chrissy sighed, taking a long sip of her beer.

“It’s the perfect place for killing though.” Billy was the one that talked now and Steve slapped him on the arm, making Billy glare at him. Eddie, though, saw everyone’s faces and continued with a smile on his own.

“A long lake too… maybe very, very, very deep. Just one heavy stone on their body and poof.” You shivered at his words because he sounded just way too casual about it. Billy laughed at his friend as Nancy just stared wide eyed at both men while Steve pinched his eyelids with his index finger and thumb. 

“You’re both insufferable.” Steve said as he took a hit from his joint and you were feeling uneasy now. You pressed your side against Eddie’s to be able to whisper into his ear. 

“There… There are no killers around… right?” Eddie looked at you with a regretful expression on his face as he whispered back.

“Oh sweetheart, no, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to scare you…” He frowned in worry and you nodded at him in understanding but still biting on your thumb in fear. Nancy is most likely going to leave you alone tonight to sleep with Steve. You really don’t understand why they keep it secret when all the group knows about the two of them.

“Alright…” Is all you mustered to say. You were fidgety and Eddie could see it in the way you played with your fingers. You jumped when you felt his hand wrap around both of yours, and then sneaked in between to be able to hold one of them.

Your heart was thumping in your chest, and you looked down in case he could see any indication that you were growing flustered and nervous because of his touch. You were afraid he could see your real feelings for him with just one look to your face.

Your eyes dared to look up, only to see him looking towards Chrissy’s way, making your heart just fall right down to your stomach. Robin told you that Eddie had confessed to Chrissy last year, but she had rejected him. They both took some time off from each other but then remained friends after the feelings were supposedly gone.

You really didn’t know if Eddie’s feelings were completely gone. You were certain he would never look at you the way he looks at Chrissy, and maybe he is also hurting because Robin and Chrissy now have feelings for one another, even if they are oblivious about it.

“Okay kitties, if you’re going to bed, remember to shut your windows.” Billy joked and everyone else, including you, groaned as he stood up with a smirk on his face and walked inside the house.

You were making coffee the next day as Robin whined about not having been able to sleep for a long while.

“They just tried to keep quiet and failed so much. I could hear Nancy go ‘Harder Steve!’ every second!” She sighed and took a sip of the mug you just gave her as you kept making more for everyone else in the home. You did hear the moans as well, but then they abruptly stopped. 

“Well, at least they got tired at some point.” You replied to her with an understanding frown and a smile to your lips as she kept sipping on her caffeine. You heard footsteps coming down followed by some giggling and you felt your stomach flip as you saw Eddie and Chrissy laughing with each other as they walked downstairs.

You are never going to be able to compete against her. There really was no use in trying to do so when Eddie looked at her like that. You were never going to win, not when Chrissy is right next to him.

“I smell coffee.” Eddie grinned as he walked over to the counter, grabbing onto one of the mugs you filled and you stopped him from taking it to his lips. You felt your body heat up as well as your cheeks as you pointed onto the red mug.

“That’s– That’s yours… I put milk in it…” You looked back down to the coffee pot and you turned to put it back into the machine. Was it too weird you knew how he takes his coffee? It is, isn’t it? He is not saying anything. You shouldn’t have stopped him–

“Wow, thank you darling…” Eddie smiled towards the back of your head as he grabbed onto the red mug as Chrissy sat next to Robin, giving her a kiss on the cheek. That made your hopes rise up again as you watched them. Maybe they’re together now? But Eddie– You don’t dare to look at Eddie’s face, just in case you see a face that shows pain, jealousy…

“Are the other three not up yet?” You heard Chrissy ask, making you turn around and tilt your head in confusion. You look up at the clock and see it was already 11 AM and you had all planned to go to the lake today at an early hour. 

“I’ll go wake them up! I will fucking yell into the room to get them back for yesterday!” Robin yelled excitedly, making you giggle along Chrissy as you saw her jump up from her seat and rush upstairs. 

“She is such a dork.” Chrissy blushed as she took a sip of her own mug and Eddie nodded at that and took a sip of his. You took a deep breath onto your own coffee, taking a long chug of it after a sleepless night as well, and you almost choked when there was a guttural scream coming from upstairs.

The three of you slammed the mugs onto the counters and looked at each other as Eddie was the first one to run up the stairs towards where Robin was. Steve’s room. Chrissy and you followed right behind, fear striking your whole body as you finally reached the scene.

On the bed, Nancy’s naked body laid on top of Steve’s, but there was an ax cutting through Nancy’s neck, all the way down onto Steve’s neck, decapitating the both of them in one single swing. The blood was sipping into the mattress and it had saturated so much that it started to drip onto the floor. 

Your eyes filled with tears as you slammed a hand over your mouth and that’s when you felt the gag coming to your throat. You couldn’t keep it in and you rushed out of the room in order to be able to throw up the contents in your stomach onto one corner of the hallway. 

Robin was sobbing loudly as she grabbed onto her hair while Eddie ran his hand through his. Chrissy was frozen and was feeling nauseous at the gorey scene, fear and uneasiness filled the group and Eddie ran out of the room to go check on you.

Your hand was against the wall as you balanced yourself, still bending your body forward as you gagged once more. He put a hand on your back and you snapped your head to look at him in fear. His breathing was heavy as he looked into your eyes and you knew that he was just as scared as you were. 

He raised his head up as if remembering something, and then he turned in a frantic motion and almost fell on the hallway as he rushed towards his room. He started cursing into the air as he paced back and forth, his hands running through his hair. You heard him and followed him as Chrissy and Robin followed behind you in order to not be left behind with the rotting corpses of your two friends.

“B-Billy… He wasn’t here at night! I woke up to go to the bathroom, and I thought he was out having a smoke, and I woke up today– And he is still gone!” He yelled at all of you and you shakily grabbed onto Eddie’s hand, looking up at him.

“D-Do we– look for him?” Eddie looked down at you and then back at Robin and Chrissy who were still holding onto each other as Robin bawled her eyes out, screams coming out of her lungs. 

“W-What if he was the one who did all this?” Chrissy asked and Eddie and you snapped your heads towards her. It might be a possibility, but what if it isn’t and Billy is suffering somewhere in the woods all by himself?

“We have to look for him, we can’t leave without him– We– We don’t know if it was him!” Eddie stated and Robin nodded at that, wiping her tears away. Even if filled with fear, she wants to avenge her friends, try to save one of them, and then go to the police so they find the murderer.

“Let’s look for Billy. We need weapons.” 

And that’s how you found yourself holding onto a gun, while Eddie had a machete, and Robin and Chrissy had hunting knives. These were all found in one of the rooms inside of the house, probably for Steve’s father and his hunting trips. 

You all walked out of the house and looked forward into the woods. You shared a look with Eddie and he gave you an encouraging nod. You turned your head to look forward and saw Chrissy and Robin already walking ahead, making you gasp slightly in fear of being left behind.

“I’m here. Don’t worry… I’m not gonna let you walk alone.” You looked back at Eddie as he grabbed onto your hand, and you could feel how sweaty he was. He wasn’t going to admit how scared he was, how frightening everything was, and how he cannot even grieve for his friends that were murdered a few hours ago. 

You both walked a few meters away from Robin and Chrissy, who were yelling for Billy. Chrissy turned her head to see something moving in a bush, and she rushed towards it only for something to snap on her calves, as if she had cut a string of some sort, walking right through it. 

Robin’s eyes widened as she screamed Chrissy’s name, when from the top of another tree, a sharp thick branch, like a spear, came falling down like a pendulum thanks to a rope. Chrissy turned her body, only to be pierced by the branch right on her sternum and sent her flying, slamming her body against another tree, nailing her to the bark of it as her feet dangled in the air.

You screamed at the sight and Eddie followed right after as the two of you saw what had just happened to your friend who was coughing blood while her body trembled in shock. Robin ran towards her, wanting to get to her body, only for you to see her disappear with a scream and then it stopped. 

Eddie was stunned as the blood drained from his body, and he used his machete in front of him to swipe around as he guided you both towards the scene. You looked at Chrissy’s still body now against the tree, slamming your hand against your mouth as tears filled your eyes, only to then be stopped by Eddie’s hand as he looked down. You wished you didn’t look down like he did.

There was a hole. A trap. And Robin fell right into it, and at the bottom were many knives  that stuck out from under the dirt, sharp points up. One in particular had pierced her neck, killing her instantly. A sob escaped your lips as you grabbed onto Eddie’s arm, making him look at you.

Your eyes widened when you saw the tears coming down his eyes and you noticed just how frightened he really was. The need to scream and run away was apparent in his features and you just wanted to hug him, even if you were shaking as well from the whole ordeal. Someone had to think straight in the situation–

“Eddie– Eddie– Listen to me…” You licked your lips as you held onto his face with both hands, and you looked around the woods with a desperate look and then back at him, “Here’s what we’re going to do… We’re gonna go back to the house, we’re gonna call the cops, and we will wait there– I– I don’t know if the woods have more traps or not Eddie–” 

You were trying to hold the sobs in and Eddie felt like dying right then and there. There might be traps in the woods, so now, they are stuck in the house. Stuck in a house that has two rotting corpses on the second floor. And the worst part of it all… Billy was still missing.

“God– Fucking damnit, lets go…” He managed to choke out his words and the both of you returned to the home, and immediately rushed into the office room, where you both knew there was no place for hiding in case the murderer had come inside the home when you two were out in the woods.

The second you two locked the office door, you rushed towards the phone only to find it disconnected, no tone on the other side of the tube. You felt tears burning your eyes as you slammed the phone down, hands running through your hair in frustration and fear. You looked at Eddie with a dejected look on your face and he sighed as he took a seat on the floor.

Gladly there was a water dispenser inside the room and some plastic cups. Eddie let you serve the water as his eyes were distant, stuck to the ground as he hugged his knees while sitting against the wall. Of all the things that could have happened, losing his friends in such a way was not something he expected. 

He just wanted to have fun this weekend, smoke a joint, have a few beers, and now his life is in danger because there is a murderer outside of the house, or worse, inside. You turned around as you sat down next to him, handing him the cup of water. 

“I just… I just wanted to have fun– How did it end up like this?” Eddie asked out of nowhere and you looked at him and then back at the water in your hand. 

“I– I have so much I want to do… So much I haven’t done.” You managed to mumble out of your lips and Eddie turned to look at you. 

“Like what?”

“My first kiss…” You can’t even flush in embarrassment now. You don’t have time to have the delight of feeling embarrassed about that fact of your 20 year old life. “I know– I just… I am not a very outgoing person… so…”

Eddie was stunned at your confession. He always thought you were pretty, so he can’t really imagine you not getting a kiss in some part of your life. Regardless, he nodded in understanding at you, and scanned your face for a while.

“Shit, I was going to say I never tried Arabian food, but yours is way more important than that.” He made you snort out a giggle and he took a sip of his water. He scooted closer to you as nervousness filled him, but there’s really nothing left to lose now. “I can give you your first kiss if you want.” 

Your eyes widened at that, head turning to look at him and he was surprised to see the excitement and the sparkle in your eyes as if you were looking at him with complete adoration– And you were.

“You would… do that for me?” 

“Of course. Just close your eyes sweetheart.” Your heart was jumping out of your chest as you closed your eyes, anticipating his touch. He noticed how right you were, which made his heart skip a beat as his cheeks flushed red. He leaned down towards your face, and you gasped slightly when you felt his lips flush with yours.

It was a very minuscule movement of lips because he didn’t want to overwhelm you. He didn’t want to go forward any more than that, so he pulled away and opened his eyes to scan your face. You looked dazed as you slowly opened your eyes as well, looking into his. A smile broke on your face as you got hold of his hand that was pressed onto the floor for support.

“Thank you Eddie.” He smiled back at you and then sighed.

“You don’t happen to have Kebab or Shawarma in your pocket, right?” You laughed at that and he joined soon after, only to feel his eyelids start to feel heavy. He knew sleepiness was going to catch him soon, and by how you pressed your head on his shoulder, he knew it was getting to you as well.

And he couldn’t help himself when he closed his eyes, drifting completely away as darkness consumed him. He dreamed he was back in his trailer, sharing a coffee with Wayne in the morning light before he went to work. All was good, all was fine. Maybe the trip was the dream and he was in his trailer, on his bed, strumming his guitar and tuning it.

But dreams sometimes are cut short.

“Eddie…”

“Eddie…”

“EDDIE!”

He jolted awake, and he turned to see you standing, gun pointing at the door. He saw you shaking as you kept guard on it and that’s when Eddie heard it. Footsteps. Very heavy footsteps. They were coming closer, and closer and he quickly stood up, getting hold of his machete as he pointed it at the door. 

His hand was sweaty, and his lips were trembling in fear, very much like yours. You were filled with dread, wondering if you could come out alive from this. Wondering if everything was going to be okay. You looked to the side and saw Eddie was starting to sweat, and you knew he was about to have a panic attack. 

You turned to him, and grabbed his wrist, that was holding the machete and you raised it up in order to stabilize him. He was breathing heavily as he looked at you. The person behind the door stopped walking and the both of you kept staring at one another.

“What… What if he has a gun?” He whispered to you and you kept grabbing onto his wrist when you still felt him shake. You were afraid he would accidentally swing it towards your face but you kept him in place as best as you could while your other hand held the gun.

“I have one too… Just– focus Eddie–” The door suddenly slammed open by an immense force that the two of you didn’t think was possible. Your heads turned to see the person that came in, as he panted, huffed, and his eyes screamed anger, murder.

Billy.

His blue irises went wide and he raised his hand to reveal a kitchen knife. He instantly went for Eddie, charging at him with a yell, and Eddie couldn’t react fast enough as his eyes widened. He was shocked at the revelation that his friend was the culprit of everything.

Eddie might not have had a quick reaction. But you did. You immediately pointed the gun at Billy, and shot him right in the chest as you let out a whimper through your lips at the sound. Billy stumbled back as he looked up at you, a frown displayed in his face as he touched the wound that was now leaking blood all over his white tank top. 

Your hand was shaking as you still pointed it at your friend. Tears started running down your face as you saw him take another step forward towards the both of you, and you pressed the trigger again, this time the bullet going through his stomach. He coughed blood out of his mouth and that’s when he tried to talk, to say something, but only a groan came out before he slumped to the floor. A last breath could be heard, and then it was all over.

You were breathing heavily, walking towards the body and crouching to touch his pulse. The gravity of your actions settled in and you dropped the gun to the floor, jumping back up as you took many steps back. Eddie was still staring down at his dead friend, and then his eyes turned to look at you. A wave of relief washed over him as he pulled you into a tight hug, his weapon also dropping onto the floor.

“We’re safe– You saved us…” He couldn’t contain the tears any longer, feeling a wave of relief washing over him as he held onto you. He started sobbing onto your shoulder as you wrapped your arms around him, your own tears staining his shirt.

“I– I– I killed him– I killed someone–” You were huffing, trying to get air into your throat and lungs and Eddie only pressed his body against yours even closer.

“I’ll be here… I’ll be here for you– Just, please don’t leave me… Don’t go away, please–” He was afraid for you. He doesn’t know how the two of you would handle the trauma you just went through, but he knew that he doesn’t want to go through it all by himself. He needs you with him. 

“I promise… If you promise me you won’t leave me as well…” You sniffed against his shoulder, calming down from the events and you felt him nod very quickly.

“I promise.”

You two were now in the back of a police car as the men looked all over the home, and the ambulances started taking each body one by one.

“Why do you think Billy did it?” You asked Eddie who was holding your hand tightly in his.

“I… I have no clue…” 

“I’m glad you’re here with me Eddie…” You said to him as your grip tightened around him. He looked over at you, scooting closer as his head rested atop of yours. 

“We should start checking our bucket lists together…” He tried to make the mood less somber and you let out a scoff, but a smile was drawn to your lips, your finger intertwining with his.

“Even if they take forever to tick?” You asked him and he nodded.

“Yes…”

Your smile... turned into a creepy wide grin, showing all of your teeth.

You finally made Eddie’s feelings change, making this trip a success.

But you will never tell him the truth.

You won’t ever tell him that it was you the one who sneaked into Steve and Nancy having sex and slamming the ax over their necks.

You won’t ever tell him it was you the one who set the traps in the woods at night after murdering your other two friends.

You won’t ever tell him that you also slipped some of the smashed sleeping pill into the water, just enough for him to doze off.

You won’t ever tell him that you had drugged Billy and locked him in the basement with a note that said ‘It was me - Eddie’.

That’s why Billy had charged after him that night… and you won’t ever tell Eddie that when you went to take Billy’s pulse, you had snaked the note out of his back pocket, to then eat it up without him noticing as the police questioned him.

You won’t ever tell him it was you.

Not even when you both got married. Not even when you had your first child. 

The trip will always remain a success.

All according to plan.

a/n: oh yeah, yandere!reader, killer!reader, but I wasn't going to put that at the top because ofc, the plot twist would have been revealed too early.

I hope you liked this creepy little thing I wrote, woohoo, happy halloween I guess

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things #eddie munson fics #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #fanfiction #eddie munson stranger things #eddie x you #eddie munson x female reader #eddie x reader #eddie x fem!reader #dark fic #eddie munson dark #halloween #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction

[stevie-petey]

episode five: the flea and the acrobat

“Steve, what-” He pushes past you in a frenzied hurry to get to his car, but you grab his jacket and force him to stop. “Answer me! Is Nancy okay? Was Jonathan with her?” Steve whips around and sneers at you. “Why do you even care about them? About him?” “Because we’re friends,” you say, and for the first time you really mean it. Nancy has become someone you’d call a friend.  Another cruel laugh escapes Steve’s lips. “Friends, huh? Yeah, those two looked real fucking cozy in her bed.”

summary: you and dustin have a long overdue Sibling Moment, at will's funeral you and jonathan exchange information and surprise ! it's all horrible news ! nancy has awful timing and when you leave her alone with jonathan one damn time you and steve end up trauma bonded on her front porch #bffs.

rating: general, though there's the use of guns in here for plot point sake, as well as cursing

warnings: use of guns, cursing, fem!reader, and use of y/n.

words: 14.4k (whew)

before you swing in: i'm back gang ! fall semester is almost done and i am in the trenches, so i leave y'all with this monster of a chapter before hell week (i have three finals in one day next week, no i don't want to talk about it). please enjoy this beauty, i had so much fun messing with character relationships in this and it was very ;)

-

With how many times you’ve knocked on the Wheeler’s door this week, you’d think that Mrs. Wheeler would stop looking so surprised when she answers. 

“Y/N?”

You give the woman a small smile. “Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. Is, uh, Mike home?”

“Yes… he stayed home today because of Will. Is there something you need?” The usually friendly woman seems beaten down from this week’s events as well, which you’re understanding of. 

“I was wondering if I could come in and see how he’s doing? Dustin is really shaken up about it, so I figured…” You shrug, trying to come across as a concerned older sister figure rather than a worried and horrible babysitter who should really retire. 

Mrs. Wheeler places a hand over her heart. “Oh, Y/N. You’ve always been so good with the boys, of course you can check on him. It means a lot that you care.”

Oh, no problem, but if we’re being honest I’m here because I’m scared I accidentally let your son get involved with the supernatural and dangerous monster men thingies that I honestly can’t wrap my head around!

Of course you can’t tell the woman this, so instead you thank her and let yourself in. Immediately you head towards the basement and fling the door open. You like Mrs. Wheeler, but the amount of times her son has snuck out of the house without her noticing honestly concerns you, so you’re a bit unsure if Mike even is home.

You get deja-vu from a few days ago as you head down the basement steps, once again hearing the three boys panicking as they try to hide El. Unlike last time, which had only annoyed you, seeing them scramble to hide the girl makes you relieved. 

They’re here, alive and well. You’d let Steve distract you from your worrying on the drive over, so the relief hits you like a damn truck. 

“Oh god not again!” Dustin groans when he sees you, worried that he’s once again going to get yelled at for being at the Wheeler’s with El. 

You ignore his theatrics and walk over to the girl, who is laying face down on the couch. You notice that she’s dressed in one of Nancy’s old costumes and a blonde wig that suits her well. What the hell did the kids get up to today? 

“Do I want to know why El is dressed like a doll and almost passed out on the couch?” 

“That depends on if you’re going to yell at us again,” Mike says. 

You shoot him a glare, but you guess he has a point. The last few times you’ve been with the kids you’ve ended up yelling at them one way or another. You feel bad about that, but then again: they won’t stop getting into trouble. 

El manages to raise her head from the couch, “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, sweetie,” you approach the couch and gently nudge her to the side so that you can sit down and place her head on your lap. She nuzzles into your warmth and lets out a sleepy sigh. “And to answer your question, Mike: I’m not here to yell at you guys. I just… Please tell me what’s been going on. I know I haven’t been here for you guys like I should’ve, but-”

“Your boyfriend needed you more,” Mike quips, though there’s some resentment in his voice that causes you to feel even worse.

Dustin hits his shoulder against the boy. “He isn’t her boyfriend, but she couldn’t just abandon him; he needed her. Besides, we have been sneaking off without telling her anything.” 

You cast an appreciative smile at your brother, thankful that even though he’s a pain in your ass, he always has your back like you do his. It’s something he’s always done with you and Mike; being so similar, you and him are constantly butting heads, yet Dustin has always been the first to defend you against his friend (even if you’ve never needed it in the first place). 

“I’m sorry, okay? I messed up, but I’m here now and I really, really need to know if I’m being paranoid. What mess did you dweebs manage to get into?”

The three boys suddenly can’t look at you. Their heads turn in different directions, Lucas scratches the back of his neck, Mike kicks at a board piece on the ground, and Dustin whistles a tune. 

Your shoulders slump. “Is it that bad?”

“It started this morning,” 

“Lucas!”

“Mike, she could help us! The weirdo clearly likes her,” he gestures over to El practically asleep in your lap, “plus, she’s the only sane one left in this group. I need backup.” 

“Backup?” You ask. 

Mike throws his head back in annoyance and lets out a groan as if he’s dying. Truly, this kid is the most dramatic person you’ve ever met. “Fine, we’ll tell you everything if you agree to stop hounding us for sneaking around. Will is missing, he’s our friend, and no one in the party gets left behind.”

You think this over for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in your head. “I will agree to those terms if you guys agree to keep me updated on everything at all times.” 

The boys try to argue, but you don’t let them. 

“I mean it, another person is missing. Nancy’s friend, Barb, was in the same woods that Will was, the same woods that you guys keep insisting on trekking through without supervision. This is serious, guys. Whatever, or whoever, is out there… it’s dangerous, and I-” You swallow down some tears that claw against your throat. “I can’t lose anyone else, okay?” 

The mood in the room is solemn, the three boys silent as your words hang in the air. Naturally, you try to lighten things up. “I’ll deny this if anyone asks, but unfortunately I love you boys.” 

As expected, they immediately begin to gag and pretend that they’ve been impaled with something as they all scream “ew” and “yuck” at your words. You laugh, which causes El to laugh as well, and for a moment it feels like nothing has changed. 

“So?” You ask after the boys have finished their gross theatrics. 

Dustin is the one who makes the decision for them. “We promise to keep you updated, for real this time.” 

“Good, now again I ask: why is El dressed like a doll and half asleep on my lap as we speak?” 

Lucas, Dustin, and Mike begin to talk all at once. 

“Mike radioed for me to head over, claiming he heard Will on the walkie.”

“Yeah, and then they radioed me to join. Sorry, by the way. I would’ve woken you up, but you and Jonathan looked so cozy in your bed so-”

“I thought you said they weren’t dating?”

“Not now, Mike.”

It continues like this for a while as they explain everything they did today. Sneaking El into the school, having to to talk to Mr. Clark, attending the assembly for Will, Mike fighting some idiotic kids for making fun of him before El made the head bully pee himself. 

You look down at the girl in your lap. “You can really make people pee themselves?”

“Sometimes,” she shrugs. 

“Lovely.” 

“That’s what you focus on, Y/N?” Mike asks you, and you simply shrug your shoulders in response. Sue you for still having doubts about Will being alive, you’ve gotten your hopes up one too many times. 

“Are you suggesting I believe that you heard Will through your cheap little walkies?” 

Dustin puts his head in his hands in defeat while Lucas gestures over to you. “See, she’s the sane backup I need.” 

Mike groans at you once more. “No, that’s why we snuck El into the radio room and used the heathkit that Mr. Clark got us. Keep up!”

“What, did you tell the guy that El was a new student?” 

“Don’t be stupid, we told Mr. Clark that she’s my cousin.” 

“Uhh, Y/N,” Dustin laughs nervously, motioning for you to stop talking. “You promised you’d be cool about everything if we told you.”

Knowing that your brother is right, you deflate a bit against the couch and start playing with El’s hair. “I am being cool, I just have so many questions.”

“Oh, just wait.” Lucas snorts. 

Mike now crosses the room to stand in front of you, as if he’s gearing up to tell you some major news. “We heard Will on the heathkit. El, she managed to use her powers to communicate with him.”

Like always, the seriousness in his voice concerns yet intrigues you. “Lucas, do you really believe that it was Will?”

The boy nods at you, his face grim. You don’t like how scared he looks, because out of the entire group he’s the one who is always the most reasonable. If he’s willingly telling you that he thinks it was Will, then you have to start taking the situation at hand seriously. 

“Okay, tell me exactly what you guys heard.”

And they do. One by one they tell you about Will’s pleading for his mom, telling her that it’s like home but cold and dark, the banging that followed after his words, how El had used so much of her energy trying to maintain the communication before the radio caught fire and she was too exhausted to do much else. 

“So, you believe us now?” Mike asks after you’re silent for a moment. 

You look down at the girl in your lap, in awe that someone so small and shy could hold so much power. This time you believe what the boys tell you without much conviction. Now that you know that Barb is missing as well, lost in the same woods as Will, the same woods where you found El, the photos from Nancy and the figure she claims she saw… It’s all starting to come together. 

You’re not sure exactly what you’re caught up in, but you know it’s too late to back out. Whatever is going on, whatever thing took Will and transported him to some unknown place with possibly the same powers that El has, you know it’s your responsibility to handle it. 

“Yes,” you respond, and the boys all sigh with relief. “Just one question though,”

Dustin sighs. “Yes, Y/N?”

“How did it take you guys so long to set fire to the school? Honestly, Jonathan and I thought it’d happen sooner.” 

“You’re hilarious.” Mike deadpans, which only causes you and El to giggle together again. 

“I hate to ruin the good mood, but we seriously need to figure out what Will meant when he said that wherever he is ‘is like home’.” Your brother interrupts. 

Mike spins to face him. “He said, ‘like home, but dark’, right?”

“And ‘empty’.” Lucas adds. 

“‘Empty’ and ‘cold’. Wait, did he say cold?” Dustin asks the group.

You nod your head. “You mentioned cold earlier.”

Lucas throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “The stupid radio kept going in and out!” 

“It’s like riddles in the dark…” Your brother sighs, which you hum in agreement to. 

Will’s words were pretty vague, but you wish you had been there at the middle school as well. Maybe if you had heard the tone of Will’s voice, you’d be of more help.

Mike continues to mumble about “like home” and “dark” for a few more seconds, now pacing around the room. You watch from the couch, El still resting with her head in your lap, and as you’re playing with her hair she finally speaks up after having been silent for a while. 

“Upside down.”

“What’d she say?” Lucas asks.

“Upside down? I guess?” Is all you can tell him. 

“What?” 

While you, Dustin, and Lucas are confused by El’s words, Mike rushes over to the forgotten board from a few days ago and sits down. He frantically flips it over and motions for you to come and join him. You hesitate for a second, but he only doubles down on his waving you over, so you gently lift El’s head up and walk over. 

“God, took you long enough.”

“I was literally three feet away from you on the couch, why did I have to move?”

Mike ignores your question and begins to explain the thirty million thoughts flying through his head at the moment, “When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over, remember?” 

You nod, slowly understanding where he’s going with this. “She flipped it upside down.”

“Exactly! Dark. Empty.” 

Lucas looks over at you and Dustin, unamused. “Do you understand what he’s talking about?”

“No,” your brother says at the same time as you saying “the upside down part? Yes. The dark and empty part? No.”

Mike tries to explain further. “Guys, come on, think about it. When El took us to find Will, she took us to his house, right?” 

“You mean last night when they found Will’s body in the water?” You ask, not really understanding where Mike is going with all this. 

“Like Y/N said, he wasn’t there.” Lucas reminds everyone, but Mike still tries to get his point across.

“But what if he was there? What if we just couldn’t see him, what if he was on the other side?”

You think about Jonathan’s words from earlier today in the car while on the way to the funeral home, trying to calm down from his fight with his mom. He had told you about how Joyce was convinced that Will was in the walls within their home, that the body they saw in the morgue hadn’t been his. 

“Hold on,” you interrupt Mike, “you guys said that there was some, like, banging where Will was, right? And that he had been begging his mom to come get him?” 

“Yeah, it was like some sick sci-fi movie!” 

You glare at your brother. “Ignoring you. Anyways, did you guys hear Mrs. Byers on the radio as well?” 

Mike shakes his head. “No, all we could hear was the banging and something... Growling, I guess.”

Knowing Joyce, you’d bet money that the banging had been her. You know that the next time you go over to their house, the walls might actually be destroyed, but she’d been right all along. Will is alive, he has to be. The pieces that you’ve slowly been collecting this past week fall together one by one. 

“That explains the walls and the weird monster thing in Jonathan’s picture,” you mumble to yourself, but Lucas hears you. 

“Do I wanna know?”

You purse your lips. “Let’s focus on figuring out where Will is, then I’ll tell you guys what I’ve been up to this week.” 

“Okay, so,” Mike begins again, now grabbing the board game and flipping it onto its normal, light side. “What if this is Hawkins,” he flips it upside down onto its dark side, “and this is where Will is?” 

“The Upside Down.” You finish for him. 

“The Upside Down.” Mike confirms. 

Slowly Dustin follows along. “Like the Vale of Shadows.”

Somehow you always end up the one confused when it comes to these damn kids. “The Vale of Shadows? What the hell is that?”

Dustin runs over to the bookshelf and pulls out a thick binder full of paper, but as he flips through it you realize it’s a rulebook for Dungeons and Dragons. He lands on the page he’s looking for, and you feel your shoulders drop. Great. More confusing terminology ahead. 

“‘The Vale of Shadows’,” he begins to read, “‘is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death. A plane out of phase. A place of monsters’.”

“Wait, didn’t you say something about a monster, Y/N?” Lucas asks, but you shush him so you don't miss whatever else Dustin will say next. 

“‘It is right next to you, and you don’t even see it’.” He finishes. 

His words hang in the air for a moment, but Mike, always somehow three steps ahead, pieces it together. “An alternate dimension.” 

Lucas finally accepts what’s happening. “But how do we get there?” 

“I’m sorry, we?” You look between all three boys, their faces still young and holding the childish innocence that you once had yourself. “No, there’s no ‘we’ in this. I may not know much about alternate dimensions, but there’s no way I’m letting you guys try to find and go to one.”

Mike rolls his eyes at you. “Well what choice do we have? Do you want to tell that mean police chief about this?”

“I…well… I mean-no.” You sink down in the seat, annoyed that Mike is right. No way Hopper believes any of this, you hardly believe any of it. 

“Can we cast shadow walk?” Dustin focuses back on the conversation at hand.

You don’t bother to ask what that means. 

“In real life, dummy.” Lucas reminds him. 

“We can’t shadow walk, but…” Your brother’s eyes land on El, who is still laying on the couch, silent and unmoving. “Maybe she can.”

The four of you turn towards the girl, and Mike voices his own question. “Do you know how we get there? To the Upside Down?”

El meets your eyes, and you can see that she’s hesitant about something. She’s been quieter than usual, almost suspiciously so, and you know that the more Mike figures things out, the more hesitant she becomes. She shakes her head at you, and you give her a sad smile. 

Lucas flings his head back and groans. “Oh my god!”

Mike and Dustin seem to be thinking the same thing, disappointed by El’s lack of help. You don’t blame them, also frustrated by the fact that it feels like you guys are so close to discovering something big. You can feel hope reignite in your chest; you haven’t been this close to an explanation about Will all week. This has to be it. It’s the only way you can explain everything that’s been happening lately. 

Speaking of which:

“Remember how I mentioned Barb and a possible monster?” 

You tell them everything, about Jonathan’s worry for his mom, how their phone got charred by lightning, Hopper’s theory that Will had been running from something, Nancy and Barb attending Steve’s party and how Barb had been on her own near the woods. You tell them about how Barb has been missing ever since and the photos Jonathan took (leaving out the horrible ones of Nancy) that Nancy brought to your attention at the funeral home. The figure in the background, looming over Barb, how it didn’t seem to have a face.

Then you tell them about Joyce and her spiral, though now you know she actually wasn’t crazy. You tell them about the Christmas lights and Will communicating with her through them. How she claimed that she could hear him through the wall and that the body in the quarry hadn’t been him. 

When you’re finally done catching them up, they stare at you with their jaws open. 

“Dustin,” Mike says, “remind me to never leave your sister out ever again.”

“Noted.” 

– 

The events from the day had left El exhausted and she refuses to say anything else after you explain everything to the boys. Her eyes droop while Mike interrogates you for answers you can’t give him, so finally you take pity on the poor girl and tell him that you’ll talk more in the morning. 

Mike isn’t too happy about being shut down, but when you point towards a half asleep El he reluctantly gives in. “Fine, but as soon as the funeral is over we’re discussing this further.”

Right. Will’s funeral is tomorrow. 

“Yeah, sure,” you tuck your hair behind your ears and motion over to Dustin. “We need to go, it’s late and mom will be wondering where we are.” 

He tries to argue with you but you just gather your things and head for the stairs. There’s still a lot you need to think about and a million things you need to sort before the funeral tomorrow. Did Jonathan even buy the coffin? Who had made the arrangements after you and him left the funeral home with Nancy?

There’s a lot you need to talk about when you call him tonight. 

The bike ride home with Lucas and Dustin is a quiet one, both boys understanding that you need some time to think about everything you learned tonight. 

You make a list in your head of what you do know, but it’s a frustratingly short list. 

1) El, one way or another, has powers that enable her to communicate with Will in some weird upside down universe that you can’t actually get to (can you even count this as something you know?)

2) Hopper was right: Will went missing because he was running from something (probably the same faceless thing that’s in Jonathan’s photo). 

3) Whatever took Will also took Barb, bringing Nancy into this wonderfully confusing mess (you still don’t know if her involvement is a good or bad thing). 

Everything else? You have no fucking clue what’s going on. 

When you get home with Dustin, it’s late; the two of you have to sneak past your mom, who fell asleep with Mews on her lap in the living room. Dustin heads straight for his room but you stop him, motioning for him to come into yours for a second. 

“What-”

“Shh!” You quickly shut your door to ensure that your mom won’t hear anything. 

Dustin groans. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna yell at me?”

You roll your eyes at him. “I yell at you guys twice after years of patience, now suddenly I’m a screaming monster,” he doesn’t say anything and flings himself onto the bean bag by your bed. “Anyways, we’re long overdue for a code blue.” 

Your brother shoots up from the bean bag, eyes wide. “No.”

“Yes,” you join him on the bean bag. “Code blue time, we’re going to talk about our feelings after the hellish week we’ve had. C’mon, you know the drill.” 

Code blue was something the two of you came up with when your dad left. You had been twelve when it happened, Dustin had been nine. It’d been a really rough few months for you guys, dealing with the betrayal of your dad while also moving away from your hometown in Virginia all within a year. Neither of you had adjusted well to the sudden changes, and though you were angry and bitter about what had happened, the moment you saw that it was affecting your brother you decided to implement code blue. 

It’s simple, really. Whoever calls for a code blue gets to talk about or ask whatever they want while the other is required to answer. Originally it was so that you could force Dustin into telling you his feelings, but over the years it’s become a way to bond with each other and know that no matter what you’ll be there for one another. No half truths or a vague “I’m fine”; it’s a time for you guys to be vulnerable with one another without using it as leverage against the other. 

Dustin plops his head back down. “Fine, but I’m tired so can this be quick?”

“Hey, no complaining during code blue. That’s like, rule number one.” 

“Y/N.” His tone is one of annoyance and you know that if you don’t start talking soon then you’ll lose his interest.

“Right, sorry. Okay,” you clear your throat and face your brother. “Today’s code blue topic is this: I’m worried about you getting your hopes up about Will. We don’t know that he’s alive just yet.” 

As expected, Dustin is unhappy with what you’ve said. “We do know that he’s alive, I heard him on the heathkit. He’s alive, Y/N.” He sees the uncertainty on your face and doubles down on what he’s saying. “He is.”

You bite your lip, scared that you’ll say the wrong thing. “Dustin, nothing is certain. Even though we’re definitely onto something, and while I believe that you heard Will on the radio, that doesn’t change the fact that there’s something else out there that wants to hurt him. I mean, he’s trapped in some weird alternate dimension that we have no idea how to even get into. I just… I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

You think about the way your brother’s face fell when they pulled Will’s body out of the water. How the hope that had been in his eyes immediately died alongside his childhood naivety. He had built all of his hope upon a shaky foundation; the moment it collapsed he fell apart. 

“Look I know you’re trying to look out for me, but Will is a part of the party. He’s our friend, we can’t just lose hope and leave him behind. He needs us.” Dustin speaks with so much certainty and an aura of maturity that almost makes you forget that he’s twelve. 

“I’m not saying it’s dangerous to have hope, but I need you to promise me that you’ll protect yourself from whatever happens next. How’s that sound?”

Dustin thinks for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin. “Hmm, I think I can make that deal if you promise the same thing. I mean, c’mon, it’s obvious that you’re the sensitive one out of the two of us. You and hope? Doomed.” 

You laugh, knowing he’s right. You’ve always been branded by hope; hopeful for love, for dreams, and for those who may not always deserve it. You and hope haven’t always gotten along, but she’s become a familiar friend. 

“I think you’ve got yourself a deal. Now, it’s late and I have to call Jonathan and catch him up on everything, so let’s conclude code blue with its mandatory hug.” 

“Woah woah woah, I don’t think we gotta-”

Dustin’s words become muffled as you throw yourself on top of him and squish him into a hug. He squirms against you for a second, claiming he can’t breathe, but you shush him and force him to accept the hug. Though you won’t ever tell him this, losing Will has only made you more appreciative of having a wonderfully annoying little brother. 

After code blue, Dustin goes to his room claiming that “alternate dimensions are super draining”, and before he leaves you tell him to be ready tomorrow by nine for the funeral and that your mom will take him. You’ll be at the Byers’ helping Jonathan. 

Once he’s gone you give yourself a few moments to sit in silence, letting the events from today settle over you. It seems like all you’ve felt this week is exhaustion and hurt and at the rate everything is going, there’s no telling how long you’ll feel this way. 

The moment you’re done wallowing you roll off the bean bag and walk over to your desk to call Jonathan. You’re honestly not sure what you’ll even tell him tonight, there’s no way you’ll be able to cover everything before the night ends. The two of you have a long day tomorrow, so you figure you’ll have to make do with the limited time you have and summarize. 

Jonathan answers after a few rings. “How’d your little secret mission go?”

You make a face. “Is it even a secret mission if I told you I was going on it?”

“It is if you refuse to tell me what you did during it.” 

“Touche, bee.” 

He laughs, which sends a cascading warmth throughout your body. You can envision him perfectly on the other end of the line, leaning against his kitchen wall with the phone wire wrapped around his finger as he absent mindedly fiddles with it while he talks to you. 

You clear your throat and shake the thought from your mind, you called him for a reason. “Anyways… we need to talk.”

Jonathan is silent for a moment and you can feel the playfulness fade away. “Yeah, you first though. You already know what Nance and I were up to.” 

Nance?

Awesome. Cool. Totally not going to be consumed by that later. 

“Right. Uh, well. I went looking for Dustin because the other night when I was with the boys we stumbled upon this, well, this little girl.” 

“A girl?”

“Yeah, she’s bald.”

“Okay… is that important or…?”

“Unsure, but it felt important to tell you. Sorry,” you take a deep breath, “I’m not sure why I’m so nervous right now.”

“It’s okay, bug. It’s me, you can tell me anything.” 

No I can’t.

“Sure, yeah, totally. Um, so anyways we found her, her name is El, and she’s our only connection to Will right now.”

A beat of silence. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she kinda has… powers?”

“Powers,”

“Powers.”

You hear Jonathan sigh on the other end of the call. “Bug, you’re not seriously telling me that the boys have somehow dragged you into one of their little schemes, right?”

Yeah, he’s reacting exactly how you figured he would. 

“I know what it sounds like, but Jonathan… How else would you explain everything going on? Will disappeared, Barb did too, your mom and her lights. Now that thing Nancy saw in the woods, which I know you definitely have an update that will only further prove how weird this all is.”

Again Jonathan is quiet, and this time you envision him pacing little circles in the kitchen as he carefully thinks through your words, trying to piece it all together. “We developed the photo again and you’re right, there’s something behind Barb in it.” 

You close your eyes and exhale. “So, you believe me now?”

“Guess I don’t really have a choice.”

“You don’t.” 

“Then we’ll talk about it after the funeral tomorrow.” He concedes. 

“Yeah,” you let out a shaky breath, “the funeral. I’ll make my way over the second I wake up tomorrow to help with everything.” 

“You don’t have to-”

“I know.” 

More silence settles over the two of you. It’s still hard to wrap your head around the fact that it was only a week ago where everything was normal. No disappearances, no weird feelings, no heartbreak and confusion. 

“Bug?” Jonathan is practically whispering. 

“Yeah?”

“Lonnie is here.”

The words hit you hard. Why the fuck is Lonnie back in Hawkins? “Do you need to spend the night? I can finally bake those cookies for your mom and we can watch whatever you want.” 

“No,” he sounds exhausted. “He hasn’t been a problem yet, and I can’t…” 

“Leave your mom with him?” You finish. 

“He thinks she’s crazy and her axing down one of our walls doesn’t help-”

So you were right, Joyce did indeed break down her wall to try and get to Will.

“Jonathan, it’s okay. I understand, stay with her and get some rest. Sleep, that’s an order.”

He lets out a weak laugh. “I love you, bug.” 

Like how I love you?

“I love you too, bee.” The words burn your tongue. 

“Goodnight,”

“Sleep well.”

– 

You’re up before the sun this morning.

You spent hours tossing and turning last night, hardly getting any sleep. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to turn your mind off. All you could think about was Jonathan, his smile and his voice and the way he kisses your forehead whenever you’ve done something especially endearing to him. You were surrounded by him last night. 

Now you stand outside his front door holding a tin of cookies, dressed in a simple knitted black dress and tights with mary janes that used to belong to your mom for Will’s funeral. The shoes are your favorite, but now you’re afraid they’re tainted by the occasion you’re wearing them for. 

It’s Lonnie who opens the door. “Well if it isn’t little miss Henderson. I missed ya, sweetheart.” 

You haven’t seen the man in two years, having been fourteen when he left Joyce and the kids. Since then he’s only aged horribly, his eyes slightly yellowed and his beer gut now more prominent. Clearly he still prefers alcohol over human company. Figures. 

“Can’t say the same about you.” Your shoulder hits his as you walk in and he lets out an annoyed huff. 

The man follows you but you pay him no attention. Instead you head straight towards Joyce and the second she sees you she runs into your arms; you only have a few seconds to place down the cookies before she’s in your arms. 

“Y/N! You’re here!” She squeezes you tight and you melt into her embrace. She’s always given the best hugs whenever you’ve needed the comfort, but now it’s your turn to be the one offering the support. 

“Of course, Mrs. Byers. Who else will make sure Jonathan is ready on time?” You mean for it to be a joke, but the way that Joyce’s eyes harden tells you that the funeral is a sore topic for her. She still doesn’t believe that Will is dead and it breaks your fucking heart that you can’t tell her she’s right. 

Joyce wipes away a tear before pulling away. She goes to say something before seeing the tin of cookies on the counter; she immediately pulls you into another hug. “Oatmeal raisin,” 

“They’re your favorite.”

“And Will’s.”

“And Will’s favorite. You know I gotta take care of my Byers.” You whisper into her ear, feeling Lonnie’s eyes on you during the exchange. You have to bite back your tongue, though his presence always makes you feel a type of anger that’s normally foreign to you. 

Joyce pulls away and you know it’s taking everything in her to give you a smile. “You’re too good, sweetie,” she tucks a loose strand of hair that came out of its braid. “Jonathan’s in his room.” 

You grab her hand and give it a squeeze, trying to convey just how much you love and admire her into a simple gesture, before letting go and walking over to Jonathan’s door. 

He’s struggling with his tie when you let yourself in. He’s dressed in the only nice white button down he owns, something he bought for his aunt’s funeral a few years ago that now hardly fits. You can tell that he’s getting frustrated with the tie, so you walk over and help. 

“Here, let me,” you wrap your fingers around the piece of cloth and quickly fashion it into a tie. The two of you don’t talk while you fix the clothing and you know that today will be a wordless day with Jonathan. 

When you’ve finished, you begin to pull away before he places his hands around yours. He cups your hands at the base of his neck as they rest against his collarbones; your fingers are still wrapped around his tie. He squeezes your hands and brings them to his lips and kisses your knuckles so softly that you feel all the love within you simmer.

You know he’s only trying to express his gratitude for you but the butterflies in your stomach make you feel faint. 

You’d do anything for him. 

– 

The funeral has a surprising turnout, not because you ever doubted Will’s incredible ability to be loved by anyone he meets, but because you see faces in the crowd who you’ve never seen before. 

You stand behind Jonathan during the funeral with your hand on his shoulder as he sits with his family in a weak attempt to provide comfort during the service. It’s really fucking bleak. Your other hand is on Dustin’s shoulder as he stands next to you while Mike and Lucas are to the right of him.

Your mother is in the back of the crowd having known she’d cry the entire service, and faintly you can hear her blow her nose into a tissue and sniffle. 

The pastor drones on for a while about how a tragedy like this won’t separate everyone from God’s love, but if attending the funeral for a twelve year old boy is how God shows his love then you want no part in it. Joyce sits stoic alongside Lonnie, Jonathan hasn’t moved at all since the service began; they’re a family brought together by grief. This isn’t love. 

“Just wait until we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral,” Dustin snickers, effectively breaking you from your thoughts. You hit his shoulder and shush him as Mrs. Wheeler reminds the boys to be quiet. You flash her an apologetic smile for your brother’s actions. 

You know how firmly the boys believe Will is alive and you honestly can’t say you don’t think so as well, but nothing is certain. Even if he’s alive there’s no way you guys can get to wherever he is; you wish the boys would use some caution with how quickly they’re building their hopes up. 

After the service you walk up to Will’s grave and bend down. You bring one of the yellow roses from the funeral director up to your lips and whisper, “If you’re out there little bee, please, come home.”

Before dropping the rose in you give it a gentle kiss, inhaling its sweet scent and watching as it falls down onto his coffin. Jonathan finds you there crouched down and sees the rose right as it lands. He doesn’t say anything, he just grabs your hand and helps you stand up to bring you over to where Nancy is waiting a couple yards away. 

“Hey, Y/N.” 

You don’t have it in you to do anything other than wave at the girl, but she seems to understand and gives you a sympathetic smile. 

Soon the three of you are settled on the ground with your backs against an old rickety fence behind some tombstones. Jonathan is in the middle of you and Nancy and you rest your head against his shoulder, already exhausted from the day. It’s not the coziest spot to be sitting, but at least you’re away from prying eyes. 

Once you’re seated, Jonathan finally talks for the first time today. “Alright, I already told you this over the phone last night bug, but Nancy was right. After we redeveloped the photo there’s definitely some kind of figure behind Barb, and we thought maybe if my mom has been right all along about some monster-”

“Then she’s right about Will being alive.” You finish for him, having already come to the same conclusion yourself.

“And Barb has to be alive if Will is.” Nancy says, and there’s a spark of hope in her voice that surprises you. You’re ashamed to admit that you didn’t think her and Barb were that close, but seeing how worried she’s been for the girl makes you realize that you’d been a fool not to have seen it sooner. Barb was Nancy’s closest friend. You don’t know what you’d do if Jonathan ever disappeared like Barb did. 

Jonathan pushes your head with his shoulder. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

You look between him and Nancy and try to decide how much you should tell them. While you’ve already told Jonathan a little bit about El, you’re not sure if you can trust the information with Nancy. However, seeing her urgency to find her friend leaves you feeling a bit safer disclosing the information to her. 

“It started the night after Will disappeared…”

It takes a while to tell them everything, and while Jonathan butts in a few times to ask questions, Nancy remains silent and eagerly listens. She nods when she’s supposed to, engages with the story as if her life depends on it. You’re incredibly impressed by her intelligence and openness to the situation at hand. Had it been anyone else they would’ve scoffed at you and called you insane. But Nancy? She holds onto every word and trusts that what you’re saying is true. 

You’re starting to admire her, as painful as it is to admit. But Nancy Wheeler is fucking brilliant, there’s no denying that. 

When you’re finally done explaining El and the Upside Down, Nancy finally speaks. “Let me make sure I’m understanding correctly, you’ve been helping my brother harbor a girl with superpowers in my basement?”

Huh. 

You hadn’t thought of it that way. 

“Ya know, you make a good point.”

Thankfully she laughs and doesn’t seem too upset, which relieves you. You reassure her that they’re fine and that El is someone you trust, and Nancy seems to take comfort in your words. It’s not that you purposely hid the situation from her, but looking back you definitely could’ve used her help now that you know how cool she is. 

As the two of you are laughing, Jonathan pulls out a piece of paper. 

“What’s that?” You ask. 

He shows you. “I printed out a map of Hawkins and drew x’s on every place we know for sure the monster has been.” 

“Two questions: one, so we’re officially calling it the monster now? And two, why don’t you ever put in this much effort for school projects we do together?” 

Jonathan flicks the paper in your face. “Funny. And yes, we’re calling it the monster now. Can you pay attention please?”

“Sorry,”

Nancy shuffles in closer and her head is practically on Jonathan’s shoulder as well (you’re choosing to ignore that) and she studies the paper and points to one of the x’s. “So that’s-”

“Steve’s house,” Jonathan points to another x, “and that’s the woods where they found Will’s bike and where Y/N last saw him,” the familiar feeling of guilt washes over you, “and that’s my house.” 

Nancy reaches over Jonathan and grabs your hand, surprising you both. “You saw Will last?”

“Yeah,” you swallow, your mouth now suddenly dry. 

“I’m sorry,” her tone is sincere.

“We should get back to the map…” You dodge, highly uncomfortable with Nancy’s comfort. You appreciate it, but you’ve never been good at accepting help from others. 

“Right, sorry,” Nancy clears her throat. “The x’s, they’re all so close.”

Jonathan observes the interaction with slight confusion but decides not to say anything besides, “Yeah, exactly. I mean, it’s all within a mile or something. Whatever this thing is, it’s not traveling far.”

There’s a look in his eyes as he speaks, one of determination and disdain for whatever that thing is, and before you can tell him no, it’s Nancy who voices your concern first. “You want to go out there.”

Jonathan nods and you feel uneasy. “I trust you won’t try going alone again, right?” It’s a question, but he hears the underlying try and I’ll kill you hidden beneath your words.

“No, not this time… but we might not find anything.” 

“I found something,” Nancy reminds him, which you nod at. She’s the only one out of the three of you who has seen the monster in person, and if you had to place any bets, she’s the one who will be able to figure out what the fuck to do with it. 

Actually, what are you guys going to do?

“Do we, like, have a plan for after we’re done monster sightseeing? Or are we just going to take a look at it and call it a night?” You ask the two of them. 

Nancy bites her lip and looks down, also unsure what exactly the three of you are supposed to do. It’s Jonathan who remains stone faced, and there’s a newfound sense of confidence within him that you’ve never seen when he boldly states, “We kill it.”

“Alright there tough guy,” you hit his chest with your hand and snort. “Sure, we kill it. Obviously.”

“Well, do you have any other ideas? For all we know, Mike and the others will be out there in those woods later looking for Will.”

“We don’t know that-”

“Bug, humor me, how did they find El again?”

You’re silent. He’s right, if you guys don’t go and find this monster before tonight then there’s a high chance the boys and El will find it themselves. Fuck. 

“Nancy,” you say to the girl, “it seems like we’re now officially monster hunters.”

– 

Of course Lonnie has a goddamn handgun just casually stored in his glove box.

You’re not entirely on board with this whole gun situation and apparently Nancy isn’t either, immediately questioning Jonathan when he picks the lock to get the gun.

“What, you want to find this thing and take another photo? Yell at it? Better yet, why doesn’t Y/N just round up the boys and El and have them take it down.”  

“Okay, hey,” you point at Jonathan. “Out of line.” 

He mumbles an apology under his breath while Nancy claims that this is all a terrible idea. You’re not sure where you fall in regards to what’s happening, but you’d say at the moment you’re a solid mix between Jonathan’s no time for nonsense mood and Nancy’s hey let’s slow down hesitation. 

You kick a rock and watch as it dings against Lonnie’s car, which pleases you. “Oh it’s definitely a terrible idea, Nancy. Unfortunately it’s all we have going for us at the moment.” 

Jonathan nods at your words. “She’s right, no one’s going to believe us if we tell them. You know that.” 

“Your mom would.” Nancy responds, jutting her jaw out in defiance. 

You cringe, unsure how Jonathan will respond to what she’s said. Joyce is a sore topic for him, he’s always been so protective of her.

“She’s been through enough,” he sighs, and you hum in agreement. 

Nancy grows more frustrated. “She deserves to know!”

You step in between them. “Look, you’re right. Mrs. Byers deserves to know, but right now she isn’t well enough to handle the idea of her only remaining son actively seeking out a monster that may have taken her other son who could possibly be alive. If we’re wrong or Jonathan gets hurt, it might actually kill her.”

“Yeah, we’ll tell her when this thing is dead.” You note Jonathan’s word choice, saying “when” instead of “if”. In the four years you’ve been his friend, you’ve never seen him so self-assured before. You’d be proud of him if the circumstances weren’t so damn grim. 

“What about the kids?” Nancy finally says after a few seconds of silence. 

“They can’t get involved, I won’t let them.” You tell her and she nods as if expecting you’d say that. 

She gestures over to the funeral home where the crowd of attendees are now gathered for the post burial service. “I know my brother, so you better go and tell him that they need to stay at our house while we deal with the monster. They like you better than they like me, they’ll listen to you if you explain what we’re doing.” 

You’re flattered by her words, honestly. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas listening to you about staying put while you guys go monster hunting? They’d be out the door before you’d be even able to finish saying the phrase “monster hunting”. No way they’ll listen, and you’re about to say exactly that before catching the look Jonathan is giving you. 

You groan at him. “You don’t actually believe they’ll listen to me, right? C’mon, you know those boys as well as I do. This is just a giant DnD game for them at this point.” 

He shrugs, “It doesn’t hurt to try?”

Nancy gives you a hopeful look and bats her eyelashes at you, which, okay, shouldn’t work on you but does. Jonathan does the same, except instead of batting his eyelashes he winks at you and suddenly you’re very confused by the onslaught of emotions that wash over you.

“Ugh, fine. But when they show up in the woods later you guys are on your own!” 

– 

When you step inside the service hall, everyone is gathered into small groups talking amongst themselves. You scan the room for the kids and spot them across the room sitting at a table with Mr. Clark. He’s talking to them about something while holding a paper plate up. You’re not sure what exactly he’s saying to the boys, but they’re leaning in close to him and are listening intently. 

This worries you. 

You try to make your way over as quickly as you can, but being Jonathan’s best friend has some challenges. Every few steps you take you’re stopped by an extended family member of the Byers to ask how you are or a stranger stops to offer you their condolences because you’re close with the family. You do your best to make small talk and thank the people, but you don’t have time to say much else besides, “thank you” or “you were Will’s favorite great aunt”.

By the time you finally get to the table with Mr. Clark and the boys, the man has folded up the paper plate and stabs it with a pen. You really, really don’t want to know whatever the hell this man is explaining to the kids. 

“You create a doorway,” he explains, holding up the plate and smiling at the boys. 

Dustin looks enthralled. “Like a gate?”

“Sure, like a gate. But again, this is all-”

“Theoretical.” Lucas says, nodding his head.

A gate?

What are the odds the boys are talking about a gate to Disneyland?

You sigh, not liking the odds at all.

You slide yourself into Dustin’s chair and force your brother to share with you. He squeaks in surprise and you flash him a tight lipped smile, which causes him to gulp. He knows he’s been busted. 

Mike scoffs at your arrival. “Gee, wonder why you’re here Y/N.”

“Go on, continue this conversation with Mr. Clark here. I wanna hear it.” 

Mr. Clark looks at you uncertainly but Mike simply carries on with the conversation as if you aren’t even here. “But what if this gate already existed?”

“Well, if it did I think we’d know.”

You snort. “Wanna bet?”

Again the man looks at you uncertainly and clears his throat, uncomfortable by your presence. “What I mean to say is that it would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment.”

“So if there is a gate, it’d be really bad?” You ask, but you already know the answer. 

“Oh, definitely. It might even swallow us up whole!” 

You and the boys look around the table at one another, not at all liking what Mr. Clark is saying. Swallow you guys up whole? That’s not really something you’re interested in. 

Mr. Clark sees your nervousness and shrugs. “Science is neat, but it’s not very forgiving.”

Silence falls upon the table. 

Mr. Clark is such a peachy person.

“Well!” You throw your hands upon the table and the loud noise causes everyone to flinch. “Thank you so much for that lovely information, Mr. Clark. It was truly riveting, but would you mind giving me and the boys a second alone? I just, I want to make sure they’re doing okay after today.” 

You bat your eyes at the man, something you never do, and he clears his throat and excuses himself. The second he’s gone you snap your finger in the boys’ faces. “Hey, listen up. Whatever you guys are planning? Don’t.”

As usual, Mike is the one who argues. “But-”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what we’re-”

“No.”

“Can you at least let me-”

“Sure,”

“Really?”

“No.”

Lucas and Dustin watch the interaction with slight pleasure, amused by your ability to shut Mike up, but when he turns to them for help they reluctantly give in. 

“Y/N,” Dustin sighs, “honestly, how many times are we gonna do this whole ‘we’re not allowed but we’re going to do it anyways’ bit?” 

You glare at your brother. “However many times it takes for you guys to finally listen.”

“Cool. Then we’ll expect you to bust down Mike’s door later tonight.”

“I’m not kidding,” you face all the kids and make sure they’re listening. “Whatever you’re trying to do, don’t. Jonathan and I-”

“You told Jonathan?” Mike exclaims but Lucas shushes him. 

“We’re going to handle it, we already have a plan but whatever you do: stay out of the woods from here on out. We think… We think there’s a monster out there hiding. I just want to make sure you guys are safe.”

“Monster hunting?” Dustin’s eyes light up and you silently curse Jonathan and Nancy for even suggesting you do this in the first place.

“Technically… yes, but you guys absolutely have to stay put.”

They stare at you as if you’re insane.

“You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” Dustin asks. 

You flick his head. “Yes, and I’m putting a lot of trust in you guys right now. I’ll let you guys do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t include the woods. Until you get an all clear from me, it’s off limits.” 

Mike thinks this over. “Can we look for the gate then?”

You sigh. There’s no other way to appease them. “If you don’t go near the woods… then fine.”

The boys begin to cheer, which causes several funeral guests to stare at you with judgment. You realize now that this probably hadn’t been the right setting to have this conversation in. Oh well.

You don’t let the boys cheer for long. “However-”

“There she goes,” Lucas sinks into his seat and squeezes his eyes shut. 

“I get full updates whenever I please. I don’t care if I have to track you guys down from the gates of hell itself, but I will find you and you will tell me everything. Deal?”

Lucas, Dustin, and Mike gather close together and duck their heads down so whisper to one another. You roll your eyes but wait for them to finish. When they’ve reached a decision, Mike interlocks his fingers and places his hands on the table. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” 

– 

As soon as you’ve changed out of your funeral clothes and into a simple pair of jeans and a sweater, Jonathan arrives at your house. You kiss your mom’s cheek before leaving and shout over your shoulder, “Remember the deal, Dustin!” 

You don’t quite catch what your brother responds with but you honestly don’t care enough as you run over to Jonathan’s car and hop into the passenger seat. 

“You certainly didn’t waste any time getting here,” you say in lieu of a hello. 

Jonathan shrugs. “No time to waste when it comes to monster hunting.”

“You do realize that we’re only scouting out the woods tonight, right?” 

You, Jonathan, and Nancy had decided earlier to simply go and explore the woods for any clues of the monster and then figure out how, or even if, you can kill it. 

“I know, but monster hunting sounds cooler.”

“Bless you, bee.” 

The two of you get to the field in no time. Jonathan had been the one to suggest the spot a few yards behind his house for target practice and Nancy had agreed to bring a bat just in case you needed more protection. 

And you?

You’re bringing the cans to serve as targets for shooting. Your family has never owned a gun and last time you checked, Dustin doesn’t play any sports, so all you can offer is your emptied recycling bin contents. 

It doesn’t take long for you and Jonathan to set up the cans on top of the tree trunks before he begins shooting. Jonathan takes a deep breath and holds the gun up so it’s eye level and looks over at you. “Ready?”

You take a deep breath as well and prepare yourself, knowing it’s about to become loud. “Yeah, start shootin cowboy.” 

The first shot hits a tree behind the can, nowhere near its intended target, and you wince. It’s looking like the monster might actually win at the rate Jonathan’s aim is going. 

“It’s okay,” you tell your friend. “The tree looked at me funny, he had it coming.” 

Jonathan snorts. “You’re laughing now, but I can’t exactly hunt a monster if I can’t even shoot it.” 

“Maybe you could talk nicely to it?”

“And say what, exactly? ‘Hey, Mr. Monster, where are you hiding my brother?’”

You step closer to him so that you’re now side by side and you nudge his shoulder. “Hey, you never know. It could work.”

Jonathan readjusts his grip on the gun and aims it once more. He takes another shot, this time it lands a bit closer to the can, but not by much. He lets out an agitated, “Fuck!”

He tries shooting again and again but each shot is as unpredictable as the last. After his sixth round of firing you can see how tense his shoulders are and the way he’s clenching his fists against the weapon. You remember how he acted earlier today, the newfound anger and resentment within Jonathan that had originally impressed you. Now it only frightens you. 

When he goes to re-aim the gun for the seventh time, you grab at his hand and stop him. 

“Bug, what are you-”

“Let’s go for a walk.” 

Jonathan looks at you like you’re crazy but you simply take the gun from his hands, click the safety back on, and then walk over to the tree stumps to rest it against one of them. When you’re done you walk back over to the boy and interlock your fingers with his to drag him along. 

There’s not a whole bunch of room in the clearing for a walk per say, but there’s enough to go a few laps around for Jonathan to take a breather. You’re not sure exactly what’s going on with him but a walk has never hurt anyone. 

Jonathan’s silent the first lap around. You’re content with this and you admire the fall weather and enjoy the slight warmth from the sun as it kisses your face. When you’re on the third lap you decide to ask a question that’s been on your mind since yesterday when Nancy showed up at the funeral home. 

“Do you really believe Will is alive?”

Jonathan thinks the question over for a moment, and as he’s lost in thought you notice that he begins gently swinging your hands back and forth absentmindedly. “I can still feel him.”

“Feel him?”

“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy but…”

“No, I think I get it. I mean, I’d be able to feel if something bad happened to Dustin. I know I’d be able to, even if there’s not necessarily a science behind it. It’s like there’s a lifeline connecting us, like some unspoken sibling thread that neither one of us can sever.”

“A sibling thread?” Jonathan asks, a slight laugh accompanying his question. 

“Oh, you know what I mean, bee.” 

“No, no. I wanna hear all about this thread theory of yours.” 

Jonathan’s bright mood is back, reminiscent of the boy you once believed you knew better than you knew yourself, so you entertain his teasing if only to sustain his light a little longer. “If I explain this theory you have to promise not to laugh at me.”

“I promise,” he says and he gives your hand a light squeeze. 

“Alright, but if you decide I’m insane after this, just know that you legally cannot leave me. You signed a contract.” 

“Oh, did I?”

“You sure did, bee. Anyways, back to me,” a slight breeze surrounds you for a moment and you let the crisp air fill your lungs. “I have this theory that we’re all connected to each other in some way by different threads. Some threads are older than others, stronger, or maybe even more rigid, but they’re there. Whether it’s a thread between you and your family, the love of your life, or a stranger you happen to pass on the street one day, none of it happens by accident.” 

“The threads are the reason it all happens?”

“Not necessarily, but yeah. To put it simply, I guess you could say that.” 

“So, for our thread,” Jonathan stops walking and tugs at you to stop as well. “After everything we’ve been through, all that we’ve done for one another, what thread would you say our’s is?”

His question catches you off guard; you can hear your heart beating within your chest. There’s so many things you wish you could tell him.

Our thread is one of romance, of lovers, of soulmates, even. 

The feelings build within you and the words threaten to spill out. The November sun is beginning to set and everything is golden in its light and Jonathan is a part of it all. His brown eyes are like warm honey on a cold winter morning and his hair is slightly ruffled from the wind that leaves his cheeks flushed and rosy. 

“Our thread,” your voice catches in your throat for a moment. “You know what our thread is, bee.”

He pulls you closer to him and in this moment all you can focus on are the slight freckles that dot across his face and neck. “Do I?”

Jonathan has never, ever looked at you like this before. There’s an intensity within his eyes that frightens you and leaves you feeling bare before him. Does he know? Has he figured it all out?

“I…” You can’t form the words you want to say; the three words that have been weighing upon you feel even heavier than before. They’re thick on your tongue, syrupy and dense and you feel as if you can’t breathe.

“Y/N?” He whispers, but you can only shake your head. 

It’s too much. It’s all too much. 

And then suddenly Jonathan leans in. 

Maybe you’re imagining it. 

Maybe you’re delirious after almost a week of sleepless nights and exhausting encounters. 

Or maybe, just maybe, he feels the same way about you. 

You lean in as well and allow yourself to close your eyes; you believe that just this once you can be selfish and accept more than you may deserve.

“Hey! Guys!”

Nancy’s shout causes you and Jonathan to spring apart. 

You want to scream. 

Of course it’s Nancy fucking Wheeler. 

Jonathan drops your hand and waves the girl over while you stand there, trying to collect yourself. As she walks over, you have just enough pride left over to say, “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”

The question is one Jonathan isn’t expecting. He steps back a bit, now even more aware of the close proximity the two of you had only seconds ago. “Of course I do, bug. You’re my best friend.”

Best friend. 

The words hurt more than they should, really. 

“Right. Best friend, ha.” You step even further away from Jonathan, which he raises his eyebrows at. 

“Did I miss something or…?”

If you had the time, you’d ask him why he wanted to know about the thread between the two of you. Why he looks at you like you’re the most precious thing in the entire room. Why, just minutes ago, he leaned in as if to kiss you. 

But Nancy is now only a couple feet away and it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to give the two of you some privacy. You spot the bat in her hand and it serves as a reminder of what the three of you are here for in the first place. 

Will, Barb, the monster. 

“No, of course not,” you clear your throat and greet Nancy as she arrives. “Hey, Nancy.”

She smiles at you and then says hello to Jonathan. “Hey, where’s the gun?”

You point over to the cans and the tree stumps. “Over there, we just wanted to go for a little walk after shooting a few rounds.”

Nancy nods and walks over to inspect the undamaged cans. “You said you already shot a few rounds?”

Jonathan ducks his head down. “Yeah, well. It’s not as easy as it looks in the movies.” 

“Y/N, did you try shooting?” 

“Pfft, I’m definitely not a weapons kind of girl. I prefer to use my crippling good looks instead.”

While you and Nancy talk, Jonathan walks back over to the gun and reloads it. He motions for the two of you to step back and he shoots a few more times. Not once does he hit the can. You pinch the bridge of your nose and sigh. 

“You’re awful at this, bee.”

“Yeah,” Nancy agrees.

Jonathan looks over at her. “Have you ever shot a gun before?”

She scoffs. “Have you met my parents?”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Wheeler seems like the type to have a hidden gun.” You say, and Nancy waves you off. 

“Well, I haven’t shot one since I was ten. My dad took me hunting on my birthday and made me kill a rabbit.” Jonathan’s words make you frown. Every day he gives you another reason to hate Lonnie. 

Nancy sympathizes with Jonathan and the two of them fall into an easy banter that you’ve never seen before with him. He’s comfortable around her in a way that makes your stomach twist. He tells her about his parents and how they may have loved each other at one point but now no longer do. He’s opening up to her after only a few days of really knowing her. 

Lovely. 

Nancy shares some details about her own family and how she believes her parents never loved each other, which you can relate to. You watch as Jonathan hands her the gun as she explains how her mom had been younger than her father. “He had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So, they bought a nice house at the end of a cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family.”

“Isn’t it funny how the fathers never seem to suffer the same fate as the mothers?” You ask, and Nancy looks over at you in confusion, so you explain further. “My own parents, they were like yours except the moment my mom was no longer young, my dad left. Found a newer and cheaper model back home in Virginia.” 

“I didn’t know that, I’m sorry Y/N.” 

You shrug. “It’s not like I go and advertise it. Besides, he was an asshole anyways and my mom is better off without him. She’s the sweetest woman in the world who was forced to run back to her family in Hawkins. Nuclear families aren’t all they’re cracked out to be.”

Jonathan ruffles your hair to get you to laugh, which he succeeds in doing. “Screw that.”

 Nancy raises the gun to eye level and closes one of her eyes, her beautiful face now scrunched in concentration. “Yeah, screw that.”

And with that, she shoots a perfectly aimed shot and knocks the can off the stump. You and Jonathan look at her, stunned, but she can only laugh. 

“Damn, Jonathan. Remind me to never piss Nancy off.” You say, still staring at the fallen can. 

Only he doesn’t hear what you’ve said because he’s too busy staring at Nancy. You can tell he’s impressed by her hidden shooting talent and the way she holds herself with such confidence. His eyes shine as he stares at her and he almost seems to come to life whenever she looks back at him. 

Jonathan looks at Nancy and you know he sees what everyone in Hawkins sees: a beautiful, fierce, and incredible girl. 

Nancy Wheeler, the perfect enigma.

Suddenly it clicks. 

Jonathan is in love with her, or at least he’s beginning to fall in love with her. 

You want to hate her. Afterall, she already has Harrington head over heels for her, and yet you can’t blame either one of the boys. She’s perfect and brilliant and everything you’re not. You’d fall in love with her too if you weren’t already in love with someone else. 

You watch as Nancy and Jonathan become lost in their own little world, him helping her reload the gun as she flashes him a shy smile, and you no longer exist near their presence. It feels like a fucking stab to your already open wound of a heart. You watch the way he ducks his head down whenever she looks at him and the way she stares at him when he isn’t looking. 

Nancy shoots a few more rounds and each shot feels like a hammer coming down onto your own coffin. Each time Jonathan looks at her you feel another nail enter. 

Clearly there’s no room for you here. 

Which is fucking ironic given that you’re in a giant field outside. 

You reach for Jonathan’s hand and tug him forward. He gives you a look as if asking is everything okay? and you wish more than ever that things were different between the two of you. You give him a soft shake of the head. “I can feel a headache coming on and I just remembered that I have a shift tonight, so I should get going.” 

He frowns. “But what about the monster? We can’t look for him without you.”

“You’ll be fine without me,” to your horror you can feel tears forming, which you quickly wipe away before Jonathan can notice. “I doubt I’d be any help, anyways. I suck with guns. Nancy’s the professional here.” 

“I mean, I guess, but…” He looks over at Nancy, who is busy firing the gun and hitting every target she aims for, before pulling you even closer to him. “Are we okay? I feel like, I don’t know… like I’m losing you.”

Your breath catches in your throat. He could never, ever lose you, but if you don’t leave now then you’re afraid that maybe you’ll lose yourself. 

“Don’t be silly, bee. You’re not losing me, no matter how much you may want me to.” You try to tease him, but your heart isn’t in it. 

“You didn’t answer my question, Y/N. Are we okay?” He’s looking at you with so much adoration and concern in his eyes that it almost makes you sick. 

“Of course we are. I promise. I think it’s all just catching up to me, if I’m being honest. Between finding Will and tracking down my own brother, I think this monster hunting business may break me.” 

Jonathan eyes you for a moment as if to try and catch you in a lie, but while you’re only telling him this as an excuse to get away from him and Nancy, it’s not technically a lie. You are exhausted. Plus, you really do have a shift. 

The boy scans your face once more before deciding that you’re telling the truth. You know he suspects there’s something else behind your words, but thankfully he doesn’t pry. “Let me tell Nance that I’m driving you home,” 

And there it is again. 

Nance.

The nickname is like a punch to your gut and only solidifies that you should go. “It’s okay, bee. It’s still nice out, figured I’d walk home and get some sun before winter officially takes over Hawkins.” 

“You can’t expect me to let you walk alone now that we know there’s a monster out there taking people, bug.” 

You kiss his cheek, letting your lips linger for a little longer than necessary. “I’ll be careful, I promise. Stay with Nancy and call me tonight after you guys are done scouting around. We’ll figure out where to go from there. Okay?”

You don’t give Jonathan time to argue because you pull away and inform Nancy of your departure. She also frowns at the idea but has already learned that you’re not one to be told what to do. She understands this aspect of you, and you understand it within her as well, so she wishes you goodbye and tells you to stay safe before going back to shooting.

As you leave, you feel Jonathan’s eyes follow after you. 

– 

The walk ends up being more than enough to clear your head. You haven’t had any time to be alone in god knows how long, so it’s nice to have some time to just think and enjoy the quiet. There’s a lot you need to think about, but at the very forefront of your concerns are Will and El. You still have no idea how they’re connected or how the monster comes into play.

Then there’s Steve, oddly enough. 

You’re not really sure why he’s in the midst of your thoughts, but there he is. Smiling at you and laughing at your jokes and telling you that you’re pretty as he instills a carefree sense within you that feels foreign to enjoy. 

As his words ring through your head, you find your thoughts drifting towards Jonathan and the way he holds your hand every time you’re worried about something and the way he kisses your hair after a particularly hard day.

You’re not sure why the two boys almost seem to clash within your mind, but you don’t have time to look into it. Your shift starts soon and god knows how long your coworker Alex can survive on his own if you’re late. 

Work is slow as usual tonight, but you find the downtime a pleasant relief. It gives you the opportunity to skim some new books that shipped in and catch up on some Spidey storylines. In between stocking books and arranging comic displays you find yourself wondering just how true to his word Dustin stayed earlier. 

Like hell those kids really stayed out of the woods. 

Your question is answered as soon as you get home and find your brother crying in his room. Panic immediately swells within your chest and you run over to him.

“What’s wrong?” You check Dustin’s body for any sign of injury and he lets you as he cries, too upset to wave you away. When you’re assured that he’s okay, you feel your heartbeat calm down again. 

Christ, everytime you see this kid he takes ten damn years off of your life. 

You pull a chair from his desk and sit in front of him. “Dustin, do we need to have another code blue?”

“Maybe,” Dustin sniffles, wiping away a few tears. 

“Okay, then code blue. What happened? Is everyone okay? Is it El?” At the mention of the girl’s name, Dustin flinches. Your blood runs cold. “Dustin, what happened with El?” 

“You won’t yell at me?”

You smooth down his always wild hair. “Never during code blue. Please talk to me, bud.”

Dustin explains how he and the group had gone looking for the gate like they told you they would. He explained how they’d followed the train tracks throughout Hawkins for what seemed like hours. 

“The train tracks that go through the same woods I told you not to go in?”

“Like hell we were gonna listen to you.” 

“Yeah, I know.”

This gets Dustin to laugh a bit, which you’re relieved to see, before he continues his story. When he reveals El’s weird behavior and the way she seemed to be hiding something from them, you feel dread creep in. “Did she… Did she do something to prevent you guys from finding the gate?”

“She used her powers to mess with the compass. Lucas found the blood on her jacket.”

You sense that there’s more. “And then?”

“Mike and Lucas… they-they started fighting.” Dustin’s voice breaks, “they started really going at it, and I tried to stop them. I swear I tried, Y/N!”

“Shh,” you reach for his hand to try and calm him down. “I know you did, but I also know how Mike can get when he’s protective of someone and I know that Lucas isn’t El’s biggest fan. It was a recipe for disaster.”

Dustin snorts, “No kidding.” Then his face darkens once more, “but they wouldn’t listen, and that’s when El screamed.” 

“She screamed?”

“I think she was overwhelmed, but she used her powers on Lucas and flung him across the yard and he hit his head pretty hard…”

“She what-”

“She didn’t mean to! She looked really upset after, and Lucas was fine after he woke up-”

“He was knocked unconscious?”

“And then he stormed off and El ran off. We searched for her, but…” 

You stare at your brother in shock. That definitely hadn’t been what you were expecting. El never struck you as a violent girl, but she knocked Lucas out with her mind. Sure, she may have been trying to break up the fight, but you’re willing to bet that she lost control for a moment and Lucas ended up getting hurt as a result.

Maybe you don’t want superpowers. 

“Y/N, have I lost all my friends?” Dustin asks. 

You shush him once more. “No, of course not. You three boys have always been so drastically different from one another, and this week has been one from pure hell. It makes sense that Lucas and Mike finally snapped, but I promise you that they’ll bounce back eventually.” 

“And El?”

“I’m not sure what to make of her,” you admit. “She isn’t violent, I know she’s not. But we also clearly don’t know her as well as we think we do. I just, I need you to be careful around her, okay? Fight for her, defend her like you would for the boys, but be cautious as well.”

“Cautious, got it.” He cocks his head at you, “but what about Lucas and Mike? They’re still friends, right?”

“Of course they are. Just… sometimes friendship can be hard, but it’s almost always worth fighting for. It’s rare to find friends as loyal as Mike or as brave as Lucas or even as sincere as Will. Yet look at you guys, all together; you’re all incredibly lucky to have one another.”

“Lucky like you and Jonathan?” Dustin asks, a sly glint in his eyes. 

You smile, even if he’s teasing you. “Yeah, like me and Jonathan.”

Dustin returns your smile and you squeeze his hand. “Anyways, I say give Lucas some time to calm down. I think he was scared, more than anything. Tomorrow you can try to talk to him again.” 

Your brother nods at your words and he seems better than he did when you first started the conversation, so you open your arms wide and engulf him into a hug. 

“Code blue concluded, I guess.” Dustin mumbles against your chest, which causes the two of you to laugh.

– 

After your talk with Dustin, you head back to your room and wait for Jonathan to call. You glance at the clock and figure that maybe him and Nancy were still out scouting for clues, so you busy yourself with some homework.

When it nears ten at night and the phone still hasn’t rung, you sigh and reach over for the phone on your desk. You dial Jonathan’s number and hope he simply forgot to call, but when no one answers after your fifth time calling: you begin to worry. 

Ya know, maybe it wasn’t your best idea letting him and Nancy go off alone with a monster on the loose. 

You find yourself frantically biking to the Wheeler’s house before you can even think about it. The night blurs past you and as you walk up their driveway and try to rest your bike against their mailbox, a familiar BMW parks next to you. 

“We’ve gotta stop meeting like this, Henderson.” Steve says as he sends you a wink. 

You almost greet the boy before Tommy’s head pops out from the passenger side window. “Hey good lookin.”

You hear Carol berate him and the two begin to bicker as Steve gets out of the car. 

Great. He brought the idiots.

Steve walks over and takes your bike from your hands. After a couple seconds of repositioning and balancing, he finally manages to get the bike to stay upright. “Tada!”

“I almost had it,” you glare at him. 

“Sure ya did.”

Steve’s presence is frustrating as always, but you spot Jonathan’s car parked down the street and Carol’s shrill voice becomes increasingly irritating. You don’t have time for this right now. “What are you doing here, Harrington?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” When you glare at him, he finally says, “Nancy promised she’d call me but hasn’t, so I wanted to check on her.”

His sincerity is why you say, “I’m here for…” You realize you can’t necessarily tell Steve about Jonathan possibly being here. You have a feeling it wouldn’t end well, but you’re also not keen on lying to the boy. You’re already keeping secrets from practically everyone in your life; you don’t want to add Steve to the list. Not when he doesn’t deserve it. 

“I’m looking for Jonathan,” you confess, worried about Steve’s reaction. 

He frowns. “Why would Byers be here?”

“Him and Nancy have this… thing for english. Due tomorrow. A big thing. Like, huge. So they’re working on it together. In the house. Where Nancy lives. Here.” You stumble over your words, more nervous than usual, but you weren’t expecting Steve to be here or that you’d need a cover story. 

“Uh huh,” something almost aggressive flickers across Steve’s face and you silently curse to yourself. You said the wrong thing. 

“Funny, Nancy told me she was only helping Byers for the funeral.” 

Shit.

Tommy and Carol watch from the car, obviously amused by the whole situation. 

“Right! She was, now she’s working on an assignment with him.” Technically not a lie, you’re just omitting the fact that the assignment in question is monster hunting. 

“You’re really bad at lying, Henderson.” Steve walks past you, now over the conversation, and you struggle to keep up. You try to block his path, assuming that he’ll use the front door, but as you near the front step he side steps you and starts heading towards the bushes. 

“What are you doing?” You whisper loudly, trying not to draw too much attention to yourself. 

Steve ignores your whispered yelling and jumps on top of the radiator. Once he’s up, he begins to pull himself over the overhang and up onto the roof. There’s a window just above the ledge with a light on, which you presume to be Nancy’s room due to the practiced ease in which Steve scaled the house. 

You don’t try to climb up after him in fear that you’ll only end up embarrassing yourself. “Ya know, Mrs. Wheeler loves me, I could’ve just knocked on the door.”

Steve peers down at you, an easygoing smile now back on his face. “Relax, this is quicker. Besides, you gotta admit it was impressive to watch.”

Again he winks at you and you feel your cheeks flush. He’s right, it had been impressive to watch; he had made it look so easy. While you struggle to come up with a witty retort, Steve almost knocks on Nancy’s window before his smile drops.

You notice the way his face hardens. “Steve?”

He doesn’t respond, which only concerns you more. You begin to think about the millions of possibilities surrounding Nancy, Jonathan, and monster hunting; fear creeps in. “Is Nancy there? Is she okay?”

“Of course you’d be worried about Nancy right now,” Steve laughs bitterly. You frown at his words, unsure what they mean, but before you can ask anything else Steve angrily climbs back down.

“Steve, what-” He pushes past you in a frenzied hurry to get to his car, but you grab his jacket and force him to stop. “Answer me! Is Nancy okay? Was Jonathan with her?”

Steve whips around and sneers at you. “Why do you even care about them? About him?”

“Because we’re friends,” you say, and for the first time you really mean it. Nancy has become someone you’d call a friend. 

Another cruel laugh escapes Steve’s lips. “Friends, huh? Yeah, those two looked real fucking cozy in her bed.”

A wave of nausea hits you.

“W-what?” You drop your hand and release his jacket. 

“It’s incredible, really. Byers has some fucking nerve.” Steve runs a hand through his hair in agitation and begins to pace. You’re too numb to stop him. “I mean, look at you! He has everything he could possibly want, but he decides to go after my girlfriend.”

“It’s not like that-” 

“Did he tell you they’d be in her room, alone in her bed, underneath her blanket?”

More nausea hits you. “No,”

They were supposed to look for any signs of the monster in the woods. That’s all he told me, you think. 

“So he’s a liar, too.” Steve scoffs, “you deserve better, Y/N.”

And with that, he heads back to his car and drives away, leaving you standing alone once more in the Wheeler’s driveway. You get a sense of deja-vu, watching Steve’s BMW descend down the street, but only this time there’s no warmth fluttering within your stomach as he leaves. 

All you feel is nausea. 

You don’t remember the bike ride home; you’re not sure how you even made it back safely without crashing into anything. All you remember is that you cried the entire way. 

You’ve lost Jonathan, there’s no denying that now. He’s Nancy’s, wholly and truly, he’s hers. 

He was never yours in the first place, you remind yourself. 

But if he was never yours in the first place, then why does it feel like you were almost something?

No. 

You don’t want to think about it that way. 

Yours or not, you can’t afford to lose Jonathan. 

Something or everything, you’ll take whatever you can when it comes to him. 

Everything, anything, nothing. Whatever he gives you, you know you’ll cling onto it with all that’s within you.

But your friendship with Jonathan is too precious to lose, too meaningful to let stupid feelings ruin it. You refuse to let anything come between your friendship with him, and you swear to yourself to shove everything down. Every hurt feeling, all the pain stabbing within your chest, you force it all down to focus on finding Will. 

He’s all that matters right now, even if it feels like the thread connecting you to Jonathan has begun to wither.

Will has to come first. 

You have to find him, something good and lovely has to come from this. You can’t let this all be for nothing.

-

⌑ series masterlist

⌑ if you would like to be added/removed from my taglist, just let me know :)

⌑ taglist - @siriuslysmoking @sheisjoeschateau @myeclispedsun @innercreationflower @juhdoche

#steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things rewrite #slowburn #angst #wdtai #m's writing #jonathan the man that u are .... #and steve my beloved #cannot wait to see how yall react to the field scene i feel like an evil villain

[chelseeebe]

and i’d follow (wherever you may go)

uhhh apocalypse au anyone? i literally have the second part to this basically ready to go and wanted to post this as a little feeler.. if i’m honest i’ll probably post the other part n e ways lmfao

weird fishes/ arpeggi - radiohead (read the lyrics babes)

₊ ⊹

steve had stumbled across your makeshift camp while out checking the traps, and he was honestly just going to leave it be and disappear back to the school but you’d caught him with his pants down.

‘what’re you doing?’ your voice startling him from somewhere behind, by the time he turns to see who’s speaking, your gun is drawn, pointed right between his eyes.

his breathing stills, one hand on his pocket, trying, and failing, to indiscreetly grab his own gun without you noticing.

‘don’t,’ you bite, moving your gun down toward his hand, ‘i’ll shoot you,’ face hardened, covered in muck from the overgrown forest. you’re not scared, at least not that he can see, you’ve done this before.

‘okay.. okay,’ he soothes, holding his hands in the air in surrender, ‘i was just..’ his breath shaky as he inches away from the trap, painstakingly slow, ‘i was checking the traps.. i didn’t know you were here,’ he has no doubt that you would shoot him so he doesn’t dare try and run.

‘traps?’ you question, ‘who are you with?’

he shakes his head, unsure of whether telling you would be a bad idea or if it might save his life, ‘there’s a group of us.. at the school a mile or so away,’ his lips suddenly incredibly dry, ‘if you lower your gun i can take you.. we have supplies,’ you don’t look like you’re in dying need of anything except a good shower, which he can definitely offer.

there’s some dried blood on your arm but he can’t see it clear enough to know whether it’s old or a fresh injury.

‘no,’ your jaw taut, finger still on the trigger as steve attempts to bargain for his life, ‘i want your gun.’

his mouth falls open, hopper had just trusted him enough to go out on his own with one, he wasn’t keen on the idea of letting you just take it and then gun him down. but really, what other choice did he have?

‘how do i know you’re not gonna shoot me with it?’

‘you don’t.’

he blinks at your brutal honesty, fingers shaking as they reach for the gun, slowly pulling it out from his pocket and tossing it to your feet, ‘let me take you to the school,’ trying again at his incredibly weak offer, ‘we can help you.’

your foot pulls the pistol towards you, bending quickly to grab the gun while still aiming your own right at his head. sliding his into the back of your pants, ‘i don’t think so,’ you take a step towards him and that’s when he gets a clear look at the gash on your arm, if nancy’s skills had taught him anything, he could definitely tell that it was infected.

‘your arm.. we have medicine too,’ he nods towards the cut. it’s a different world now, he knows that, but he wishes you weren’t quite so stubborn so he could at least help.

you scoff, pointing the gun at the clearing in the woods, ‘go,’ eyes narrowed as sweat seeps from his pores, ‘don’t bother coming back.. i’m not staying,’ stepping over broken twigs toward your tent.

steve doesn’t hesitate, making off quickly. he glances back a few times, shaking his head as you stand there, gun still pointed at him even when you’re a tiny dot in beneath the trees.

hopper is understandably pissed when he makes it back, giving him a small thump to his arm when he admits you’d taken the gun and he hadn’t been able to check the traps properly.

he tries to tell them not to go back, that you’ll have moved on by now anyway but it’s useless. hopper assures him that they’re just going to make sure you’ve gone.. nothing else. though he doesn’t quite believe it.

steve knows it’s bad news when your tent is still there in the clearing, if you had any brains about you, you’d have gone as soon as he disappeared from the forest.

‘oh shit,’ nancy swears, dropping to her knees as she enters the tent.

as steve nears, he can see your lifeless body lying on the makeshift floor, both guns laid out around your head. you’re insanely lucky to have not been chewed to bits.

‘she’s breathing but her arm.. it’s infected, bad,’ nancy looks back at both him and hopper, ‘we need to get her back to the school now.’

hopper frowns, reaching over to pick up steve’s gun before pocketing yours, ‘you think we can trust her?’ he glares at steve, holding the gun just out of his reach.

‘yeah.. yeah i think so,’ he nods quickly, he wasn’t entirely sure about it but it was between that or letting you die and he sure as hell wasn’t gonna let that happen.

‘it’s on your head if anything happens,’ hopper barks, shoving the gun into steve’s chest, ‘don’t make me regret giving you this back.’

you laid in what once was the nurses office for days, nancy tending to your arm every so often, ensuring that the infection was disappearing.

steve’s not there when you wake, but he’s told that it wasn’t easy. kicking up a fight the second you come round, hopper has to restrain you to the bed before it turns into a full blown disaster.

when steve makes his way to the makeshift infirmary, you’re staring daggers at the wall, a deep frown painted on your face. ‘i knew it was you.. i should’ve just killed you when i had the chance,’ you mutter through clenched teeth, brows furrowed.

at least you looked a lot cleaner now, nancy must’ve given you a sponge bath while you slept.

‘i’m sorry.. i told them to leave it alone but you were.. well i thought you were dead,’ steve exclaims, hovering by the door just in case you decided to kill him now.

you sigh, your eyes aren’t quite so hard now, instead they brim with tears, ‘maybe that’s what i wanted? now i’m here with a buncha’ people i don’t know, waiting to see if they’ll kill me.’

‘we’re not gonna kill you,’ steve’s face scrunches up. people were certainly pretty barbaric now but christ, they hadn’t sunk that low yet. at least he hadn’t. ‘you’ll be free to go when you’re better.. nancy just wants to make sure that your arm’s healed before you leave.’

you don’t respond, turning your gaze back to the wall as the tears spill over. steve’s maybe not the best at picking up social cues but even he can tell that you don’t want him there anymore, slipping out of the door with his head hung low before he manages to piss you off any more.

it’s another few days before there’s more news on your condition, nancy’s sure that the antibiotics were working and in just a couple days you’d be on your way. hopper’s not so keen on the idea of just letting you run off, you obviously had at least half a mind to keep yourself alive this long, so maybe it wasn’t exactly wise to let you go back to wherever, with god knows who.

‘she can stay, can’t she?’ steve questions at their little meeting, joyce and hopper wanted to get everyone’s opinions on board before making the decision.

‘if she wants to,’ joyce offers, smiling softly at steve, ‘but i don’t think she does, sweetie.. that’s why we’re stuck.’

after a lot of deliberation, the majority of them agreed that it’s only fair to let you go. they’d brought you here unwillingly and they couldn’t exactly tell you that they weren’t going to let you leave.

and now here he sat, heart breaking into two as he prods the fork into the lukewarm can of beans after you’ve told him you’re going to leave after everything you’ve been through.

‘you knew that i wasn’t going to stay here forever,’ you sigh, still picking at the bag of jerky steve had brought to your room.

because even after nancy had cleared you and hopper had determined that you weren’t really a threat, you stayed. slowly, and he truly means slowly, warming up to his friends, to him. in fact, you’d proved to be quite the opposite to what he’d first thought. you were soft and kind and yeah, a little bit of an asshole but you were now in the rotation of people he cares about.

you laughed at robin’s shitty puns, listened to salvaged mixtapes with jonathan and will and had even started going on supply runs with hopper, an honour even steve hadn’t earned yet.

those words are enough to make him stop eating, staring over at you from the ratty old chair. a few months ago, he would’ve never expected to feel so shocked actually, he might’ve even celebrated. steve had been the very last person you opened up to, which was really no surprise considering the circumstances under which you’d met.

but when it had happened, one night after dinner, steve could’ve jumped with joy. it was silly, looking back, you’d nudged him and told him to come to your room later. all to present him with a new coat, something you’d found while out with hopper.

‘i’m sick of that dirty old jacket you keep wearing,’ you said, a hint of a smile on your lips. the first time steve had ever seen it directed towards him.

that had been the first of many exchanges, usually little things like soap and hairspray that you’d bring him. initially, steve had thought that your newfound relationship was purely transactional, that you were doing this for everyone. like anyone would be, he was sceptical. it was only when dustin outwardly complained about all of his new things that he realised this was something you were only doing for him.

he didn’t have much to offer back, though he’d somehow always manage to jack some extra food from the kitchen. quickly learning what you liked, ensure that nancy made sure to keep the tinned peaches stocked. they were your favourite.

‘can you at least speak to me?’ you start, breaking him from his daydream.

the candle flickers, the deep orange light casting a hue over the old classroom, ‘don’t go,’ is all he can muster up. it’s pathetic and if he sounded as sad as he did in his head, he wouldn’t be surprised if you started laughing at him.

you sigh again, ‘i have to.’

maybe steve had known deep down that you weren’t going to stay. he’d just pushed the possibility of it ever happening out of his head, preferring to live in his delusions. the thing is, steve’s not sure if you’re just friends anymore.

at some point, he’d moved his things to the adjacent classroom, begging dustin to swap with him so he could be closer. most nights, he wasn’t even sleeping in there, opting to bring his sleeping bag in here and sleep just a few feet away from you instead.

perhaps he had just been starved of attention for too long but he was sure that at least some of the looks you shared weren’t something friends did. would you really risk your life just to grab his favourite soap if you were just friends? maybe. but steve didn’t think so.

‘where’re you gonna go?’ there’s nothing out there for anyone anymore. this, the school, was the best shot at survival any of you had. he doesn’t even want to imagine the shit that awaited outside of the hawkins boundary.

‘i dunno..’ you shrug, not quite meeting his eye, ‘north i guess,’ picking at your already broken nails, a habit steve had noticed just a few weeks into your stay. it was really only when you were nervous.

‘north? it’s getting colder.. you’ll freeze.’

you shake your head, pulling your legs in closer, ‘i have to go steve, my parents are- were.. in minneapolis, i have to know if they’re okay.’

he looks down at the floor, he doesn’t understand and probably never will. his parents were out of town when everything happened and if he were to be truly honest with himself, he was relieved. he didn’t.. hate them but he was infinitely better off without them. his heart hurt a little thinking about his mom at least, but his dad.. steve didn’t possess a remorseful bone in his body for that man.

‘it’s a long way.. maybe we can find you a car,’ he looks back at you, lump growing in his throat, ‘just a few more weeks.. can’t you do that?’ he’s almost pleading now, begging you to stay right here. with him.

‘no,’ shaking your head slowly, it’s hurting you too, ‘i can’t not know if they’re still alive any longer.. i miss my mom, steve,’ your voice cracking.

‘but..’ he trails off, not sure where he was even going with his sentence, ‘let me come with you,’ it slips out of his mouth before he can even think about it properly.

truthfully, he wouldn’t mind it. sure, the people here were his family but they weren’t really. they all had their own, actual family with them. joyce had hopper and her boys, nancy had mike and even robin had helped her parents to safety. he was the outsider.

as were you, of course.

‘you don’t mean that,’ you sigh, looking pitifully at him.

‘yes i do,’ he straightens up, features hardening. why wouldn’t he mean it?

you shake your head, sighing once again, you’ve done an awful lot of that tonight and steve doesn’t like it. ‘you have people here that need you.. i can’t let you leave them behind for me.. that’s not fair.’

steve stands now, frustrated and upset all over again, ‘no, what’s not fair is you deciding what i can and can’t do,’ his words shock you enough to frown at him, ‘i want to go with you. they don’t need me.. they have each other, but who do you have?’

your mouth opens and subsequently shuts again. averting your gaze as he steps closer. he knows, or at least he thinks he knows what you want to say.

he continues on, ‘you don’t have to do this alone, i can’t-,’ swallowing the words before he gains the courage to speak them aloud, ‘i can’t let you do this alone.’

the room falls silent, the air still as he walks over to your chair, crouching down in front of your shying face.

‘steve..’ you speak quietly, braving a look at him after what felt like an eternity, ‘if my parents are still there then.. i don’t know if i’d ever come back here.’

he searches your face, looking for something, anything to tell him to do what he wants to do. like an idiot, he goes against his better judgement and does it anyway, placing a soft hand on your cheek, keeping your chin tilted towards him.

‘i don’t care,’ he states rather flatly, ‘i want to go with you,’ eyes falling from yours to your lips, ‘if you’ll let me.’

you take your bottom lip between your teeth, biting at the chapped skin. it wasn’t an easy decision, steve can acknowledge that but if you weren’t willing to stay, he’d risk it all to follow you anyway. reflecting on the past few months had left him feeling confused, unsure of what your relationship truly meant but he thinks he knows now. he’s sure of it.

‘okay,’ you breathe and if he weren’t inches from your face, he most likely wouldn’t have even heard it. his lips become the focus of your gaze, inching forward so painstakingly slow that he almost wants to just mash your faces together.

when your lips eventually connect, it’s as if the planets had aligned, everything clicking into place in his mind. steve presses forward, almost losing his balance from his crouched position, using your knee to steady himself.

you pull back, still keeping incredibly close, lips grazing against his as you speak, ‘i don’t want to regret that..’ serving more as a warning than anything else.

but steve understands, in the realest terms, you two were still essentially strangers. he didn’t know what school you went to or how you liked your coffee, though he supposes those things don’t matter now. because he did know how you liked tinned peaches and how you like your tongue out when you’re concentrating. those things were what was important now.

‘you won’t,’ he breathes, vision blurring as he gazes into your eyes, ‘i promise.’

-

hopper peeks his head into the classroom the next morning, expecting to find the usual sight of you and steve barely awake and groggy but seperate, instead steve’s cradled into your back, arm wrapped tightly around your waist as you slept.

he’s about to wake the both of you for breakfast but decides against it, maybe in his bitter old heart you two reminded him of joyce and himself.

when you do eventually rise, it’s an hour after everyone else had eaten and started their duties. the echoes of dustin screeching about something pull steve from the best sleep he’d had in months, hell, maybe even years.

‘i’m gonna tell them today..’ you start, rubbing the sleep from your eyes, ‘you can still say no.’

‘i’m not doing that,’ steve asserts, brushing the hair from your face. he regularly saw you in this state but something about today felt different, like you were finally allowing yourself to show that softer side to him.

you nod, smiling gently at him from the flat camping pillow.

as suspected, the news doesn’t go great.

hopper tries a similar tactic to steve, offering to find a car for the pair of you. dustin is downright hysterical, arms flying everywhere as he lists off a number of reasons you shouldn’t leave. but joyce.. joyce just nods, giving you both that sincere smile that made steve feel all warm inside.

and he knows that she’d probably do the same for her sons, a few years back when will had gone missing, she had turned the world upside down just to find him.

there’s a sort of longing in steve’s chest that makes him wish for someone that he’d do that for and just maybe he’d found it.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve stranger things #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington angst #stranger things x you #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fluff

[totally-bogus-timelady]

Make do and Mend

Fwb!Steve Harrington x Fem Reader

Chapter one : The Same Situation

Screams.

You hear the screams of your best friend. The man that you've come to love, who you'd confessed to loving straight to his face just a few days ago.

Eddie Munson was out there. His screams loud enough to be heard over the wild screeching of Demobats even from this distance. Determination overtakes both you and Dustin and eventually you both make it through the gate to the upside down, each gaining injuries as you do.

As you both finally reach Eddie you realize that you're already too late. Demobats gone, Eddie's screams have now quietened to whimpers and he lays there, small and broken on the ground.

He tells Dustin to look after the others, that it's up to him now to carry on his legacy. He says how much he loves you both and turns his head towards your tearstained face. You manage a watery smile for him as he barely gains the strength to grab your hand.

"You are so beautiful," he rasps, spluttering a little. "I wish I'd told you sooner... I... I love you."

Your words are thick with tears and sadness as you reply, "I guess we were both pretty stupid on that one huh?"

You can still hear Dustin crying next to you but all you see right now is Eddie, soaking him up for however long he has left.

You lean forward and kiss him for the second and last time. His bloodied lips struggle against yours as he tries to find the strength to reciprocate.

"I love you Eddie," You choke out. And as you pull back, you see that he's gone, his eyes staring but not seeing. You and Dustin sit with him a while longer, you still cradling the body of your best friend, the man you loved.

================================================

You gasp and wake suddenly, startled by your reoccurring dream of Eddie's last moments. You lift a hand to your cheek and feel a dampness where the tears in your dream had bled through to reality.

You reach for the glass of water on your bedside table and take a sip to steady your nerves.

It was rare in the last two months that you had a full nights sleep. Not since you had all been in the upside down and Eddie had died.

Nancy, Steve and Robin had all succeeded in killing Vecna, El had managed to close the gates, Max was in a coma and everyone in Hawkins had gone back to normal, or as normal as Hawkins could get.

And then there was you, who was also expected to go back to normal. But how could you when the one person that made everything seem better, the one person who despite being dressed so darkly made each day brighter, was no longer here.

You get up and decide to stop dwelling on your nightmares for now, though they're still there in the back of your mind.

Looking over at your bedside table you find that you have just under an hour to get ready for work at the video store.

================================================

Your car pulls up in the parking lot outside Family Video. You look down at your watch and see that there's still ten minutes before your shift starts and decide to get a well needed coffee from the café next door, picking one up for Steve and Robin too.

Five minutes of queueing and two minutes of frothing later you were entering the doors of Family video to a very grumpy looking Steve standing behind the front desk and a few loud banging noises coming from the stock room that you could only assume was Robin.

His elbow was leaning on the desk whilst his head was resting in his palm, frown plastered on his face.

"You know, I don't think you're gonna sell many copies of Top Gun looking like that," you remark as you walk up to him.

He huffs and lifts his eyes to meet yours.

When you started working here, it'd taken you a while to warm up to Steve. You got on with Robin immediately, like a house on fire. You'd had a preconceived opinion of Steve from all the stories about how much of a jerk he was in high school. But after a couple of weeks working with him and a day where Robin had called in sick, leaving you to work alone together, you'd found that he was very different to the Steve you'd heard about and was in fact, a decent guy.

"Is that coffee?" He asks hopefully.

You scoff, "Help yourself Dingus, I got you the lowest fat option available. I know how you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Says Robin, finally appearing from the stock room. "That despite you working in an ice cream shop for a whole summer -meaning you get all the free ice cream you want - the only thing you would help yourself to was the bananas. You, Steve Harrington, are a health Dingus."

Steve rolls his eyes at Robins words.

"Oh! Coffee! Thanks," Says Robin, already downing too much for a steaming hot cup, hence why you requested the barista put more cold in hers.

Steve takes a swig out of his cup, still quiet but he nods his head at you in thanks.

"Well, I'm gonna go hang up my jacket. I'll be back in a sec," You head towards the back to slip your denim jacket onto your hook, a sticky label with your name on above it. Next to yours is one that says Robin and next to hers is a sticky label with Steve scratched out and Dingus written above it instead, courtesy of Robin.

You check yourself in the small, square staff mirror next to the coat hooks. You look tired as you observe your reflection, now twiddling with the pick necklace around your throat.

Wayne had given it to you, saying that after some serious thought that he was sure Eddie would've wanted you to have it. You lift it to your lips, kissing the pick quickly before leaving.

You head back onto the shopfloor, still tugging your dark green Family Video vest over your shirt.

"I swear these things get itchier each day. You know, I don't think Keith ever washes them..." You say as you clock yourself in on the computer behind Steve. He still remains silent. Just you and him behind the counter - Robin having left to help a customer pick out a movie - you move to stand beside him so you can see his face better.

He has a soft frown on his face like he's deep in thought, brow creased and his eyes wide and sad.

"You okay?" You ask him softly. He looks up suddenly and turns his head towards you, as if just realizing that you must be talking to him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no I'm... I'm fine," You give him a somewhat disbelieving look.

"You sure? You're kinda quiet..."

Steve opens his mouth to reply but at that moment the bell rings. a tall, beautiful, dark haired woman walks in - one of your regulars who always gets served by Steve. Her eyes light up as soon as she sees him behind the front desk and she heads over.

"Hey Steve! I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with some recommendations?" Steve barely lifts his gaze, clearly disinterested.

"What kinda movie you after?" He drawls in a bored tone.

Not quite catching onto Steve's mood, she continues in a light, hopeful and somewhat nervous voice.

"Well I was," The woman clears her throat. "I was hoping you could recommend something good for a date?"

Steve reaches into the trolley of movies waiting to be reshelved, grabs the first one at the top of the pile and hands it to her.

"Try this one."

She looks down at the copy of 'My Little Pony : The Movie' that Steve had handed her and frowns but decides to continue with what must've been a carefully constructed plan.

"The erm... The only problem is that I have no one to watch it on a date with... Any er, any ideas on how to fix that," She sets up his opportunity to suggest he go on said date with her. Her eyes are hopeful as she gazes at him.

Steve, already ringing her up at the till simply says, "You want a bag for that?"

Your mouth drops open in shock.

"Oh... No, thanks," She takes the video from his hand looking quite deflated, turns on her heel and leaves.

Steve's already standing back in his spot looking mopey when you turn to him.

"What the hell was that? She was totally asking you out on a date!"

"What?" He frowns at you again, looking confused.

"Oh my god Steve! What's up with you?"

"Look, it's nothing okay. I'm just not in the mood for flirting with random girls today. Just let it go."

He's avoiding your eyes, something that in the past you had found to be a telltale sign that he was lying to you.

"Hey," Your tone of voice softens and you put a hand on his shoulder making him look at you as you ask, "What's really going on with you? You can talk to me you know."

A look of defeat crosses his features.

"I just... I," He huffs, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, "I went grocery shopping before work this morning 'cause I was out of milk, then I realized I was out of eggs and laundry detergent as well so- uh, anyway. I got all my shopping and I was waiting in the checkout que and I heard this beautiful laugh that I'd recognize anywhere, so I look a few tills over and there's... Nancy and Jonathan."

Steve's eye's go big and sad again as his frown returns.

"I know its stupid and they've been together for a couple of years now but... I guess just after everything with Vecna and how we were together it just, it just really seemed like I could get her back for a while there." Steve pauses, running his hand through his hair. "I mean, I wasn't the only one that thought it. I had Dustin nagging me about it in one ear and Robin in the other, even Eddie said-"

He seems to realize his mistake a second too late and pinches his nose between his finger and thumb. You reach up and twiddle your necklace at the mention of Eddie's name, a sharp stabbing pain going right through your heart. Steve, now feeling like an idiot, looks at your fallen expression and your watery eyes.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking... Here I am whining because Nancy doesn't love me when you're going through all this."

Steve continues apologizing, his hand waving around. You grab his shoulder again, this time to stop his apologetic spiel.

"Steve, Steve, it's okay! No I- It's okay Steve!" He stops waving his hands around and finally stops apologizing. "I mean, we're both kinda in the same situation really."

Steve narrows his eyes in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're both in love with someone we can't have, we're both trying to move on and we're both hurting right now. I mean it's different but kinda the same," You lean back on the counter.

"I guess so, when you put it like that,"

"I've not had much experience in the dating world but, you have... How would you normally get over someone?"

Steve's eyebrows raise in thought and his toned arm reaches towards his neck to scratch it awkwardly.

"Well, uh... Normally... Normally I'd just have a fling," Steve clears his throat awkwardly.

"A fling?"

"Yeah, I'd go on a date with some random girl and just have some meaningless sex. You know, just get it out of my system."

Steve looks over at the sci-fi section where Robin can be heard trying to explain to her customer why Star Trek and Star Wars are not the same and that his date wont be happy if he whips out Star Trek as a substitute.

He sighs and looks back at you, who is currently eyeing him curiously.

"Honestly," He starts, "I don't wanna go on a date with anybody right now. I just got my heart broken again, by the same girl. The last thing I feel like doing is buying flowers and going on a date with some girl I don't wanna be with 'cause she's not Nancy... I don't wanna waste my time or theirs, so I don't know what to do..."

He sighs again and slumps back into what seems to be his new favorite position on the counter. You decide to join him and press your jaw into your palm, your other hand starts to play with the slinky between you on the desk.

"I know what you mean. To be honest with you I don't want to go on a date with anyone unless it's Eddie, not at the minute at least."

Steve turns his attention from your hand toying with the slinky to your face again.

"You're right, we are in the same situation."

You turn to look at him, you mimic the gentle smile lifting his his lips. Your eyebrows furrow as briefly, a thought enters your mind. You and Steve are in the same situation. Maybe you and Steve could-

Robin suddenly appears in front of you both.

"Honestly, I just spent the last thirty minutes serving that guy and he said he'll come back tomorrow... I don't wanna serve that guy tomorrow or today, couldn't he have at least wrapped it up in one visit!"

She looks between the two of you, "Have either of you done any work since I went over there or do I have to do everything?" She says grabbing hold of the trolley of tapes waiting to be reshelved. You snap out of whatever crazy thought you were about to have.

"Oh god, Robin I'm sorry, I'll do that, You go and head off on your break," You say rounding the desk and taking the trolley from her hands.

"You sure you can handle Mr Grumpy while I'm gone?" she asks cheekily.

"Ha ha," Comes as a sarcastic reply from Steve.

"He'll be fine, go enjoy your lunch."

Robin thanks you and skips happily off to eat her tuna sandwich.

"Hey, you good?" You ask Steve.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm gonna head to the stock room and do some inventory. Give me a call if we suddenly get a load of customers."

With one last huff, Steve turns and heads towards the stock room. You watch him as he goes, one thought replaying in your head.

You and Steve are in the same situation...

================================================

A/N Hope you all enjoyed! chapter 2 should be up soon if I can get my arse in gear as It's very nearly done.

I don't know how many parts this will end up being but it is linked to my Fwb!Steve oneshot as well, so give that a read if you're thirsty for more as that will be making an appearance in the fic eventually.

Thanks for reading! xx

#fwb steve #fwb steve harrington #stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x fem!reader #make do and mend

[afewproblems]

Lost and Lonely Just Like Heaven - Part One

If you had asked Steve what the worst sound in the world was when he was a freshman in highschool he probably would have said, Mr. Greenier telling him, 'Detention Harrington,' or his mother's, 'Again Steven?' when he eventually tells her of his most recent failed essay.

If you had asked Steve what the worst sound in the world was when he was a sophomore, he would have told you it was Nancy's frantic yelling and the bang of a gun echoing through the Buyers home, or the horrible screeching from the flower faced demon that fell under his bat.

If you had asked Steve when he was a senior, he would have said the drunken hiss of, 'bullshit,' at a crowded party or perhaps the sound of a plate smashing against his skull before everything else slowly faded away.

After highschool it's Russian words, shouted with venom and followed by the scrape of glinting metal tools just outside his periphery, Robin's screaming at them to stop.

But now?

Now it's the sound that Dustin made as he carried him out of the Upside Down, the choked sobs and frenzied scrambling to get away.

"LET ME GO," Dustin screamed at him, his face stained with blood and tears, mud and viscera, "We can't just leave him here Steve, PLEASE".

"I HATE YOU, LET ME GO, EDDIE, EDDIE!"

Dustin hasn't spoken to him since.

It hurts, almost as much as the sight of Eddie's body, crumpled and bloody, his wide brown eyes left open and unseeing while his normal dimpled grin was replaced by wide lax mouth -open in some kind of terrible silent scream.

Steve can still see it, still hears Dustin every time he closes his eyes.

"I hate you".

"How could you just leave him there?"

Dustin may have been avoiding him but the other kids have been around. He sees them when he and Robin visit Max.

Will is jumpy and always cold if the multiple layers and scarf in April are anything to go by, Jonathan and Joyce dote on him nervously as though he may just disappear again.

And El…

Its hard to describe with her, distant isn't the right word, but she seems farway, lost more often than not while sharing the same space with all of them.

She and Will stick to each other, much to Mike's dismay, as though they can't stand being with out the other for longer than a moment.

It's sets Steve's teeth on edge.

It's awkward though when they are all in the same room, taking turns with the limited seating by Max's bedside. Dustin makes a point of leaving every time Steve comes by.

He hates it.

Hates the Eddie sized hole in their lives, the gaps in conversation where the kids still pause and wait to hear his laugh or know that there would be a stilted metaphor from Lord of the Rings spilling out of his mouth to cut through the tension.

He hates that Dustin can't stand to be in the same room as him, that Robin has to steady him with her small hand on his back as Dustin stalks out of the hospital room. And none of the other kids seem comfortable addressing it, letting the steady rhythmic beat of Max's heart rate monitor and the sound of the ventilator fill up the quiet.

It's been nearly a month since the last gate closed, at least that's what they've been told while signing their most recent NDA.

It's longer than the others, Steve and Robin attempt to parse through it the afternoon they receive it, but the painkillers and antibiotics Steve is on for the wounds on his sides make it even more difficult to get through the documents and legalese is not one of the many languages that Robin has a knack for so they give up and sign on each page next to the bright yellow arrow stickers the government agent left for them.

Nearly a month since the town had been ripped into pieces by the fissures and quakes.

Nearly a month since they left Eddie Munsons body behind as they fled the death and decay of the Upside Down behind them. It's the first of April today, April fools day.

Which makes sense, doesn't it? Because how else could Steve explain the strange noises at night or the faint smell of cigarettes and weed that follow him from room to room, the doors that open and close all on their own.

How could Steve begin to account for the flickering lights that left him breathless and cowering in his bathroom, toothbrush hanging limply from his mouth as he scrunched his eyes shut.

And absolutely nothing could explain waking up to a Deadman standing in his bedroom early that same morning.

Right?

Part two now up here!

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #the party #stranger things season 4 #afewproblems writes #upside down shenanigans #hurt dustin #stranger things season 4 aftermath

[bylertruther]

"will shouldn't use a gun in season five because his father probably taught him how to use one and that could be a bad reminder for him" have you considered that will using what was very likely a Bad experience to save his life in what is undoubtedly an even worse experience could be a good thing? have you considered that him using a skill he was forced to learn to save not only himself but (as is likely more important and meaningful to him) the lives of others could give him a sense of usefulness and safety knowing that he isn't defenseless and can stand his and others' ground if need be? especially considering that's a skill that we've only seen hopper and nancy possess, making it that much more valuable and himself more helpful to the group? after everything in s1 and s2, he's probably felt guilty for having endangered them and dozens of other people multiple times, i don't think it'd be out there for him to feel "happy" that he can finally return the favor and protect them for once (especially after having complained about being babied and treated like a doll).

"will doesn't have and shouldn't have powers because that makes him different and he doesn't want to be different" not only are you wrong lol <3 but how have you not noticed that will's entire thing since the very beginning is that he is different and he knows it and while he does get his heart broken over the fact that this means he faces constant unfairness in life, he still refuses to be any other way? will doesn't conform nor does he ever try to even when others try to force or shame him to. he gets frustrated and upset at being treated differently, yes, but he stays true to himself. to battle that feeling he sometimes gets that tells him he's a mistake, a feeling he gets not from his own otherness but from living in a world that Makes it an otherness and thus isolates him for it, he seeks out that which he loves and enjoys and throws himself wholeheartedly at it. will lives his truth and is willing to suffer the consequences for it. he refuses to live in darkness and let it take a hold of him. he holds on to hope and all that makes him feel better for being different. he holds on to art, to dnd, to video games, to his family and his friends, and everything that brings him joy and reminds him that it's okay to be different. in s1 joyce defends will ("he's missing is what he is") and jonathan tells him he shouldn't like things that other people (namely their homophobic dad) try to force him to like, that he should like what he genuinely likes. in s2 jonathan gives will the freak speech and tells him that no one normal ever accomplished anything and mentions bowie. in s3, he doesn't get a speech, (though joyce does tell him that when he falls in love he won't find it gross [avoiding the word girlfriend and leaving it neutral]) but he does face backlash from someone that IS trying to conform and IS shaming will for not letting go of "childish" things aka his interests, what's important to him, and what he wants. does will back down or shy away in shame? no. instead, he lets mike sit in his shame for having said something that hurtful, and he says "yeah. i guess i did. i really did." clearly this is a conversation about what makes will different aka his sexuality bc he goes and destroys castle byers (the safe place he and his brother built once their homophobic dad left which is a place will can be himself unapologetically) with what is likely a bat that lonnie gave him when trying to get him into baseball. he calls himself stupid and donates his dnd books, but i don't see this as an act of conformity (he tells mike as much, suggesting he'll just use his books + if he was ashamed he wouldn't have painted the party as their dnd characters and given it to him of all people lol). he felt stupid because he thought they'd always be crazy together, that they were of the same mind and heart still, and that they had the same brand of "otherness" if you catch my drift. then in s4 we get jonathan's tender "you're my brother and there is nothing absolutely nothing that will ever change that" which is the most direct anyone has ever been about that which makes will different. and he doesn't shy away from it! he doesn't deny it, because we can see from his confession and how he breaks down that he's desperately been wanting and needing to hear that. he accepts that love and allows himself to be held and seen by someone else, as he has every other time. because will doesn't hate being different, he just hates that he has to live in a world where that's seen as wrong and thus makes him feel like he doesn't belong because of it. but he doesn't change himself. he doesn't feel ashamed of it. he doesn't see it as a flaw in himself or others and he never has. will is different and he knows it and he wouldn't have it any other way.

will's story since the beginning has been about being different and going through awful things, and managing to not only find the light in it but also make it out stronger because of it all. it's always been about using what makes him different as a good thing and as something he uses to save himself and others.

will being good with a gun bought him time with whatever kidnapped him. will knowing how to run and hide kept him alive in the upside down. will acted as a spy while possessed and managed not only to save hopper but also tell them how to finish this. will's experiences and senses helped them figure out what was happening in season three. will's love and loyalty inspires mike and manages to bring him to a better place even if just for a moment in the van, and again he's the one that knows vecna's current state, aaaand had he been in hawkins at the time it likely would've gone a lot better because as dustin said "we need will".

taking something awful and turning it into a good thing and a source of strength is a wonderful trope. it's inspiring and empowering not only for the character but for those that could use that hope and reminder that there's always a silver lining, that life isn't all darkness and shadows and hurt. not only that, but it's something that they've literally always done for will since the very beginning. he is the prime character for that. his entire message has always been that it's okay to be different and that you can find strength and peace in that; that the things that make you different aren't a detriment, they're precisely what make you strong. like... i'm sorry, but have you not been paying attention at all whatsoever this entire time or... :/

#some of u heard 'sometimes it makes you feel like a mistake' and just forgot every other season ever it seems like #but idk maybe IM the outlier here lmao #characters like mike steve and eleven i can see the conformity argument for #BUT WILL?!?!?!? #will who has always drawn and listened to his music and wanted to hang out with his friends and play dnd and who #gets made fun of for so many things even by those that mean the world to him but has never ONCE tried to change #anything about who he is over that..... THAT'S who you think thinks being different is a bad thing!?!?! #will who has never lied about being a loner or what he likes or what he wants in life or has dressed like other people want him to #will who specifically has received multiple It's Okay To Be Different speeches and came out of them believing them is the character #that you think hates being different? will who loves mike's nerdy self and thinks the absolute world of him and TELLS HIM AS MUCH AND #CONFESSES HIS GAY LOVE TO DESPITE THE SUMMER OF HOMOPHOBIA AND THE AIRPORT FIASCO AND THAT DREW A #FUCKING HEART ON HIS SHIELD UNABASHEDLY AND CONFESSED IN FRONT OF TWO OTHER PEOPLE TOO ON TOP OF THAT #IN THE EIGHTIES!!!!!!! TO MIKE!!!! WHO COULDNT TOUCH HIM AND HAS A CONSERVATIVE FAMILY AND DIDNT TALK TO HIM FOR A YEAR #IS WHO YOU THINK HATES BEING DIFFERENT . HELLO #literally everything that he goes through is turned into something 'good' because that's the POINT!!!! #HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE NORMAL!!! HE IS NOT THE CHARACTER U SHOULD BE MAKING THOSE ARGUMENTS FOR LMAO #jus say u don't want him to have powers bro don't be lying on my blorbito's name like that 😭😭😭😭😭 #anyway. crazed frenzy is over im normal now <3 #u kno how the long and all too passionate bordering on Is This Bitch Okay mobile posts go #back to being offline now byeeeee 🏃‍♀️

[fox-muldest]

Back To The Future

foxy_mulder

Summary:

The party is playing D&D when Steve Harrington, covered in scars, appears out of nowhere asking what year it is.

(Or, Steve returns to 1983 to try and stop it all before it begins.)

Notes:

CW for brief homophobic language & use of f slur

They’re playing D&D when it happens. Sat around the table in Mike’s basement as usual, in the middle of a campaign where they're fighting a Demogorgon.

"Quiet down," Mike hisses. "My parents will make us stop playing if we don't shut up."

"This is kind of an urgent moment!" Lucas says. He doesn't know what he'll do if his character dies, he doesn't want to make a new one in the middle of a campaign.

"The thing from the darkness strikes your character again."

"Can I see what's there?"

“Roll for--”

And then, out of nowhere, a human being drops out of the air to land on the table with a heavy thud, scattering papers across the floor. Dustin screams, and they all jump back as dice clatter to the floor.

The man sits up, and groans, pushing back his thick brown hair and straightening his polo shirt. It's Steve Harrington, Nancy's asshole boyfriend, but he's… different, somehow, in a way Lucas can't really pinpoint.

“Hey,” Steve says casually, like he hadn't just appeared from thin air. “Wow, you guys were small.”

“What the fuck,” says Mike.

“What’s the date?” asks Steve, sitting up. He winces, touching his head where it hit the table. "Head injury number six, here we come," he mutters.

“November 6th," says Lucas. Maybe he really doesn't have a head injury from falling and he's trying to see if he remembers stuff? Lucas has seen that in movies.

“The year, man," says Steve urgently.

“1983?”

“Perfect. Will, do not bike home by yourself. Stay the night here, or call your mom. The rest of you, I’ll hopefully make it back here tomorrow with a map of places to avoid, and I want you to stick to it like your life depends on it."

"Where did you come from?" asks Dustin.

"I fell from the upper floor?" tries Steve.

"There would be a hole in the ceiling!"

"You'll understand when you're older, now listen, have you seen anyone else?”

“Like, in general, or…?”

“Appearing out of the air,” says Steve exasperatedly.

“No, believe it or not, we haven’t. Can we get to the part where you explain how the hell you did that?”

“Are you magic? Magic is real?” asks Will, eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah?” says Steve. “I… didn’t mean to land here, though. So. I’ll see you guys around?”

“You can’t just leave after--”

“Listen. If it were up to me, you dorks wouldn’t even know I had been here, and I could fix everything with only El.”

“Who’s El?”

“Right, you don’t… okay. She’s a friend of mine. Keep your mouths shut, alright? Don’t tell anyone I was here. And stay here. Do not go outside by yourselves. Use the buddy system.” He pauses. "Do you have any guns here?"

"No?"

He snatches a brook out of the corner and breaks it to create two sharp sticks, then leaves, just like that. They all sit around the table staring at each other, at the mess left across the table and floor.

"Do you guys want to finish the game?" asks Lucas hesitantly.

"Hell no!"

"Magic is real!" exclaims Will.

"We have to follow Steve and bug him until he tells us how to do it. This is literally awesome."

They rush to the door, but Steve is gone, and his car isn't outside.

Mike runs up to Nancy's room. “What's going on with Steve? Where'd he go?”

“What?” she frowns.

“He was just here, and he popped up out of nowhere, and--”

“I’m on the phone with Steve right now. He’s at home.”

"He can teleport," whispers Will.

"When did you start talking to him?"

"Like an hour ago. Yeah, I--" she speaks into the phone. "Hold on, Mike is annoying me, I've got to--"

She shuts the door in their faces.

----

Eddie is rewatching Lord of the Rings when there's a knock at the trailer door. Probably Wayne, he's always forgetting to bring his key. He's lucky Eddie is awake at weird hours too or he'd be locked out at least once a week.

Eddie goes to the door and opens it. He stops in his tracks.

"Steve Harrington, at my humble abode?" He asks, putting on confidence that he absolutely does not have. Why would Harrington come here? Eddie is in boxers, socks and a T-shirt. He's not wearing shoes or pants, he couldn't run if Harrington is here to hurt him. "What do you want?

“Sorry. Uh… could I come in?"

He's got a bat in his left hand. Eddie's heart thumps in his chest.

“Are you gonna hit me with that?” asks Eddie.

Harrington had never done it before, but he runs with the jocks who do. Eddie peers over his shoulder, and doesn’t see anyone else, but they could be hiding in wait.

“No. It's for, uh. Something else. Okay, that sounded unconvincing, I should have left it in the car, but I didn't feel safe-- not because of you, it's because of something else."

"Something else," says Eddie blankly.

"I didn't want to get you involved. It's...I couldn't help myself and," he sighs. "Should have stuck to the paper."

Eddie stares at him.

"Hold on. Let me start over.” He pulls out a rumpled, folded sheet of paper, folds well worn like he’s opened and closed it a million times. “Disclaimer, hopefully I’ll have taken care of this before you even need this advice. But if Chrissy Cunningham tries to buy from you--”

“Buy what?”

He blinks. “Oh, you don’t sell drugs yet? Best not to even start then, because I know you were strapped for money but your uncle says he could have helped with the--” he stops, seems to realize who he’s talking to. “Sorry. Don’t sell drugs. And definitely don’t have Chrissy over to your house.”

There’s a lot to unpack here. “How do you know my uncle? And are you… warning me off of Chrissy? Not cool, man. Don't you have a girlfriend?”

Eddie isn’t even sure where he got the idea that Eddie was interested in Chrissie. Sure, Eddie might have liked her once, but she’s probably grown into another one of the mean popular kids like the rest of them. Brats like Harrington. He would never date somebody like that, he wants somebody who’s more open minded.

Harrington laughs again, knowingly, like he’s recalling some inside joke between them, though Eddie doesn’t know what it could be.

Harrington continues like he hadn’t said anything. “Like I said, if all goes to plan, it shouldn’t be an issue. Just keep it in mind.”

"You're being reeeally cryptic," says Eddie slowly, nervous now for a different reason. Maybe Harrington's off his rocker.

Harrington smiles tightly. "Sorry. I shouldn't even be here, honestly.”

“Then… leave.”

“Okay.”

Harrington looks like he’s about to cry. Now Eddie feels guilty. But, the guy came to his house with a fucking nail bat, what’s he supposed to think?!

“One more thing. Have you seen anyone around that looks like you?”

He laughs. “No one in this town looks like me.”

Harrington quirks a smile.

“If you do see anyone, give me a call. I'll go now."

He leans forward, and for a second Eddie thinks he’s gone completely insane because for a second it seems like Steve Harrington is leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. But he stops in the middle of the action and pats him on the shoulder instead. Then he turns and leaves.

----

This week couldn’t get worse. Steve keeps hearing these rumors about himself, that someone saw him hanging out with Eddie "the Freak" Munson. Which, like, doesn’t make any sense. He’s never even talked to the guy, and now he’s staining his reputation? Apparently Munson is telling people Steve’s stalking him. Besides that, Nancy’s brother and his weird friends are being incredibly annoying lately. They keep approaching him at school and trying to get him to talk about their little magic game.

Steve taps his pencil on the desk at school, bored. He looks out the window, and sees something strange.

Someone stands in the shadows at the parking lot's edge, right by Steve's car. That's creepy as hell. It might be Munson. Steve’s gonna go out there and show everyone who’s stalking who. Whoever it is, Steve's itching for a fight.

He gets a bathroom pass and leaves the classroom out the side door to the parking lot. He walks to the fence, where he gets a better look. It's not Munson, he's got shorter hair, and when Steve calls out to him he turns.

It’s… Steve. He’s got blood on his lip. Exhaustion creeps through the lines of his face, and he wears a torn polo shirt showcasing the old scars on his sides that look to be from an animal attack.

“Hey Steve,” says the man.

“Are we related?” Steve asks stupidly. He wouldn’t put it past his father to have another kid and not tell him, but god, they look absolutely identical, down to the moles on their faces.

“Yeah, you could say that. I mean, I’m you, so. There’s that,” he coughs awkwardly. “I was waiting for you to come out to your car. I need to ask you a favor. I need you to hide a kid in your house, there's people after her. I don’t have anywhere to stay, and I didn’t take that into account when I came here, and I know your house is empty as fuck.”

That's... A lot to take in.

“What do I look like, a babysitting service? And who are you, actually?"

"You'll love it, trust me," he says, skimming past the second question like Steve hadn't even asked. "Her name is El, she's gonna help save the world and stuff."

----

The kids show up at Steve's door that afternoon, and ring the doorbell repeatedly. Steve groans.

"These kids won't leave me alone. They keep trying to talk to me."

"Kids? It's not Mike and his friends, is it? The kids that play D&D at Nancy's?"

"Yeah."

"I should have known they wouldn't listen. You tell them 'stay,' they immediately run to wherever you're going." Future-Steve opens the door. "Hey guys."

"We demand that you tell us how to do magic," says Dustin. "Please. We have always wanted a wizard friend. We won't tell anyone, just pleeeease tell us how to do it."

"He cloned himself," gasps Mike. "Holy shit."

"Language. Anyway, I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to promise me some things."

"What?"

He starts listing off his fingers. "You will not interfere with my plan, you will be nice to El when you come in, because she's been through a lot recently, and you will not try to be a hero. And Dustin, if you find a little slug creature in the woods at any point, for the love of God kill it immediately, do not keep it."

They all nod, more confused than anything.

"Perfect. Come on."

"Hey, don't let them in, it's my house," says Steve.

"We like them, don't worry."

He sits them all down at the table.

"As you probably figured out, I'm not from here. It's like… how do I put this in nerd terms… you know Back to the Future?"

"What's that?"

"Oh. A little before your time I guess. Well, you guys are gonna love it when it comes out. It's like… ugh, I guess I shouldn't spoil the movie. Basically I'm from the future, and I came here to fix some things in the past. Or, the present, to you guys. Does that make sense?"

"That's incredibly simple. Could not be more clear," says Dustin.

"Okay, well some people might find it hard to follow," mutters Future-Steve.

"But what is there to fix?"

"A few things. El and I were gonna go take care of some monsters, the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, but ultimately I think we should hold off because we might alert--"

"You play D&D?" Lucas' eyes widened.

"Uh, yeah. I play once in a while, but that's not what I'm talking about. These are monsters in the real world. There's this dark wizard, Vecna--"

"Are you a wizard too?" blurts Will, bouncing out of his seat.

"No? Well… Kind of. I had to learn a little necromancy one time, but that doesn't really count. I know someone who knows magic, and a psychic, that's El. They're the ones who sent me here through a portal thing. I don't really get how it works, but that's not the point. The point is… are you guys getting this?"

They stare blankly.

"I'm getting this all out of order." He takes out his folded piece of paper, a list titled THINGS TO DO IN HAWKINS 1983. "Knew I should've just read from the paper… Let me start from the beginning. There's an alternate dimension below Hawkins."

----

Steve goes to school the next day like everything is normal, like he's not having the crisis to end all crises, and like his cooler future self didn't come back to… save the world? Fuck up his life?

These kids keep following him around, talking about how Future-Steve is a badass, how he's so cool and mysterious and knows all about their interests.

At least Steve's not a nerd.

---

"Shit," Eddie hisses to himself, "shit, shit, shit."

They're coming to beat up the freak again. They've found his usual hiding spot, so now there's not much he can do but run.

He turns the corner and opens the back door of the school, casting wildly about for a place to hide.

The dumpster, he could hide in there.

He makes a run for it, but his shoe is untied and he skids across the concrete and eats shit.

He closes his eyes, waiting for the hits to rain down, but none come. He opens an eye, and one of the guys is on the ground, nose bleeding. Harrington is there too, holding the other guy up by his collar, calm as anything, like it was effortless.

"You okay?" he asks Eddie.

Eddie nods dumbly.

Steve frowns. "Your knees are bleeding. Hold on."

The guy with the nosebleed runs off, leaving just Harrington, Eddie, and the guy still struggling to get Harrington to let him go.

"Put me down, Steve, come on, it's me," says the guy. James, Eddie thinks his name is. Or Joe, or something.

"I like you man, but you can't keep doing this."

"It's the Freak. Don't tell me you're actually friends with--"

"Dude," he says sharply. "Don't make me hit you too."

He drops Joe or James or whoever, who looks at him for a long moment and then runs off.

Harrington kneels beside him, and Eddie has no idea what's happening, or if he's about to get beat up too, or if it'll be another confusing interaction like they had the other night at the trailer.

Harrington reaches into his pocket, and takes out… Hello Kitty bandaids.

Eddie stares shamelessly, and Steve blushes.

"Wouldn't have pegged you for a Hello Kitty fan."

"I went to the store for a kid I know. She likes cats," he says defensively. "They're cute."

That's… surprisingly cool. Who is this Harrington? He keeps hello kitty bandaids for kids, and throws punches at bullies, and he's a lot more filled out than Eddie remembered, his arms are muscled and a little bit of stomach is visible over his jeans--

He stops the thought in its tracks. He has no business thinking of Harrington that way.

"Do you know why they were chasing you?"

"The usual," he scoffs. "I'm a Satan worshiping, D&D playing freak. God forbid I exist in public."

"I'm sorry."

"Like you don't believe that stuff too."

"I don't. D&D is cool. My DM's got us doing this campaign with dragons and shit--"

"You are so full of shit," he laughs.

"I'm serious. I play a paladin. Took me a long time to figure the game out, but I had help." Harrington looks so fond when he says that, like he's thinking of his friends warmly. "As for the devil worshiping, you don't worship Satan. You have long hair and do devil horns at every opportunity because you wanna look like Ronnie James Dio."

Eddie's world has been totally turned on its head. Steve Harrington plays D&D? He knows who Ronnie James Dio is? He's not a complete asshole?

"How'd you know that?"

"I know things. Paladin, remember? I'm maaagic," he says, waving his fingers and grinning.

Eddie barks a surprised laugh. "You are strange, man."

"Eh," he shrugs. "There are stranger things out there."

Harrington's hands brush over the fine hairs of his knee, and he shivers as the band-aid is applied.

He wants to ask what that was, the other night at his trailer. Why he's being so kind. But Eddie's always been a coward.

"Thanks, Harrington. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah." He gets a weird look on his face, like he's got something more to say. "See you."

----

"Were you just out there with Steve Harrington?" asks Robin, a girl who he's seen around school.

"Yeah."

"Was he being… weird?"

"Yeah! He gave me these," he says, gesturing to the hello kitty bandaids on his knees. "These two guys were ganging up on me and he--"

"Took care of it? Me too. Yesterday. And then he totally wingmanned me! I don't know how he knew that i'm-- uh. Well. The point is it was, like, crazy, and I'm glad I'm not the only one because I thought I was going insane and then I saw him out there with you and I thought, maybe I'm not the only one seeing this!"

"Your name's Robin, right? I'm Eddie." He holds out a hand, and she shakes it awkwardly.

----

Steve is loaning Future-Steve some clothes, but he keeps getting them covered in blood and dirt from whatever he does all day. Fighting government agents coming after El, or something.

"You have to stop, this was my favorite polo," whines Steve.

"Sorry man," says Future-Steve.

The door opens, and Steve turns to tell the kids to get out, but it's not the kids. It's Eddie Munson.

"Hey," he says awkwardly. "That guy who looks like me? He's here."

Then another Eddie Munson walks in behind him, but taller, and with longer hair and a metric shit ton of tattoos over his body.

"Hey princess," he smiles. "Sorry it took so long."

Future-Steve runs over, and they're… kissing.

Oh.

Steve makes eye contact with Eddie and sees his expression of what the fuck reflected there.

Some girl he thinks he's seen in class comes in.

"El's downstairs saying hi to herself."

"Rob? You didn't have to come!"

"Course I had to, I wanted to see my bestie, it's been a week and I missed you and I wasn't gonna pass up the chance to freaking time travel!"

Future-Steve leans back in and gets right back to making out with Future-Eddie like they hadn't even been interrupted.

"That's us. Kissing," Steve says dumbly, mostly to make sure he's not hallucinating.

"Yeeeeahhh," says Eddie, eyes never leaving the pair. He swallows, and red rises in his cheeks. "Uh. Care to explain what the hell is going on?"

----

"Since I've seen you, has anything changed?" asks Future-Steve, sipping a cup of tea as they all sit around his kitchen table. The kids are quiet for once, avidly listening to their conversation like these people from the future are the most interesting things they've ever seen.

Future-Eddie shakes his head. "Things have been about the same. A little hectic, because getting the materials together to open another portal through time wasn't easy."

"You shouldn't have closed it behind you," says Future-El.

"Yeah, not cool. And don't give me that 'wanted to keep everyone safe' crap either. Now we have to set the chart back to 0 days."

"What chart?" asks Lucas.

"The Number of days without Steve trying to sacrifice himself chart. It was at 29! Almost a whole month!"

"When did Steve Harrington sacrifice himself for someone else?" scoffs Mike. "Look at him, he wouldn't save someone if it meant his hair would get messed up."

"He saved you. More than once, you little brat, so how about you show a little respect?"

"El," Steve interrupts. "Do you remember what happened today when you were," he gestures to the younger El.

She nods. "Hopper found me. Then I stayed with Mike, in his basement."

"That wasn't what happened this week. And you all said nothing has changed, so… if me picking up El hasn't changed your memories, this whole trip hasn't changed the future," says Future-Steve disappointedly.

"All of us still remember everything going how it went before."

Future-Steve sighs. "I was debating whether to kill Vecna or just close the gates, but if it isn't changing anything…"

"We could go back now. It was worth a shot."

"I don't want to go back without fixing things. You should leave me here, or send me back further maybe, and I can keep trying to--"

"We aren't gonna do that. That's the whole reason why we came," Future-Eddie says softly. "To get you."

Steve can feel his heartbeat in his chest watching the exchange. How had Future-Steve managed to find friends who cared this much for him? Who would find a way to go through time and space on his whims, and then would go out of their way to come pick him up even when he failed?

"No. If it'll be different in their timeline, then it's something, isn't it? I'll finish this."

"We'll help," says Robin firmly. "Duh."

"So will we!" says Lucas.

"Totally."

Future-Steve sighs. "I'm so sorry I got you guys involved in this again. This time was supposed to be different. You were supposed to be safe."

"These kids are a handful any timeline we go to," Eddie grins. "They'd do anything for you, Steve, you know that. Dustin wanted to come back with us, y'know."

"You told him no, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, he's got a chemistry test coming up. He needs to study."

"And it would endanger his life!"

"Oh, yeah, that too. He handled that well every other time though. Like, actively enjoyed it."

"Okay," sighs Future-Steve, long suffering. "Let me lead a bunch of children into danger, again.

----

Steve sits by the pool, bored. He’d called Nancy earlier, but not for long, because she had to go hang out with Barb. It’s always Barb, Barb, Barb with her.

Future Steve walks up behind him and takes a seat on the other patio chair.

“Heard you and Nance fighting,” he says. “What was that all about? You didn’t tell her anything, did you? I want to keep her and Barb away from this for now.”

“I didn’t. We were just… talking. She had to go see Barb,” he scoffs.

"You should be nicer to Barb," says Future-Steve, looking out over the pool’s blue water.

“She’s trying to sabotage my relationship.”

“She just cares about Nancy.”

"You think I don’t?”

“I know that you do, that’s why I’m telling you. If you want it to work with her, don’t treat it lightly, y’know? You gotta respect her friends.”

“Why would I listen to you? You’re dating Munson, clearly she dumped you.”

“Maybe it was mutual,” he says, too defensively to be true.

“Whatever. Can you fuck off and do whatever you came here to do and leave me alone?"

He's being unfair. He knows he is, Future-Steve is literally trying to save everyone, but Steve can't help but hate the guy. He's just so annoying, always preaching to Steve about what to do, and everyone seems to think the sun shines out of his ass. But, hey, Nancy dumped him, so maybe he’s not that great.

"Eddie said I should be gentle about this, but I don't see any reason to. You’re a real piece of shit."

"What?"

"Nobody's told you that before, have they, King Steve? But you are. You don't give a shit about anything but your image, can't even be nice to your girlfriends best friend because of it, and it's… it's such a joke. No wonder mom and dad don't wanna come home, you're a brat."

"Shut up. You don't know what--”

"I know exactly what I'm talking about,” he says, and he stands to look at Steve directly, voice rising to a shout. “Barb is dead because you couldn’t just--"

"She died?"

He stops, seems to lose all the steam he had built up in one fell swoop, and slumps back down in the patio chair.

They sit there quietly, Steve contemplating what he should say to that. If his own future self hates him, then maybe there’s something there. He knows himself best, after all. It’s not like he didn’t know mom and dad weren't proud of him, but to have his own face say it, it’s real in a way he’s never allowed it to be before.

"I would care. If she died,” he says. “I don't want anyone to die.

"It's your fault,” Future-Steve rasps, facing away from him. Steve thinks he might be crying. He doesn’t say anything.

----

Future-Eddie comes to talk to Steve later, while Future-Steve is out getting quote-unquote ‘supplies.’ He had refused to say anything more on what the supplies were.

"So, I heard that Steve's being mean to himself today,” says Future-Eddie as he joins Steve on the couch. “He never listens to me. I told him he should wait to talk to you 'til I was here, the guy’s self-esteem is lower than my high school GPA."

Steve just looks at him.

“Which is low. To clarify. I was held back. So don’t take what he said to heart, he doesn’t know you.”

"He's me. Of course he knows.”

"I know you pretty well too. You apologize too much, you always run into danger even when it’s not necessary, you’re, like, the most heroic guy I’ve ever met..."

"That's him, not me."

"Then be that guy. Except don't throw your life away because you feel guilty. Steve literally threw himself into the portal I made. Didn't even give anyone the option to go first, because he wanted to 'make sure it was safe.' Pissed me off."

"I'm not like him!”

“What’s so different?”

“For one, I'm not a fag."

He hums. "You had a crush on William Shatner as a kid."

Steve's head shoots up. He had never told anyone about that.

Future-Robin comes from the other room.

"Ugh, I wish you guys hadn't given him an early crisis," she says. “You couldn’t have kissed when he left the room?”

"I'm not not gonna kiss my boyfriend when I see him, Robbie," says Eddie, throwing up his arms dramatically.

"It took me years to get him to open up about being bi, and you're trying to do it all in a day? Look at him, he's, like, a baby version of Steven, practically in the womb!"

"I'm literally right here," Steve says. “I can hear you.”

“I’m giving him a pep talk! He’s the one who brought up gay people!”

Robin looks at Steve. "You don't have to listen to him. But we're also friends of Dorothy. So, don't be straight on our account. Or gay! Don't be straight or gay on our account! You can be… whatever you want!” She pauses, and backtracks. “ I mean, not that it's a choice, but it's your choice to… to tell people, or to not!"

Eddie rolls his eyes.

"Smooth. How are you, a lesbian, messing up the gay speech? I’ve gotta do everything around here. Steve, trust that you are very loved, and just be yourself."

"I am myself," he says defensively. "I don't see how you convinced me to stop dating girls. I mean, if you guys had the chance wouldn't you rather be normal? It's kind of gross, is all. I don't mind it, as long as you don't hit on me."

They’re silent for a long moment, and Steve smirks. He's gotten to them, and now they'll finally leave him alone.

Then the two burst out laughing.

"Oh, Steve."

"I forgot what a pill he was back then."

"You knew him?"

"From class, yeah. He was always saying shit like that. 'It's kind of gross, is all.' So were your polos. And they still are."

"I'm just saying, if a guy touches me, it would freak me out, so don't get any ideas!" As an afterthought, he adds, "And you, stay away from my girlfriend."

They just look at him in fond amusement, like he's being funny instead of insulting them to their faces.

"Do not tell him."

"I wasn't going to!"

"Tell me what?"

"Nothing!" they say in unison.

"If Nance and I aren't together in the future, uh," he swallows, nervous at the answer, "Do you know why we broke up? Like, what I did wrong?"

"How do you know you did something?"

He shrugs. He just knows. He wouldn't leave Nancy, and he was bound to fuck something up at some point.

Eddie sighs. “I don’t know if my Steve would want me to go into it. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Did I cheat?” His mom always said he would turn out like his father, it makes sense.

“No. You’re against that stuff, and you know it. You have never done that,” says Future-Robin firmly.

“Is it because I killed Barb?”

“Oh my God, I am gonna have a serious talk with Steve. God. You didn’t kill anyone!” says Future-Eddie.

“He said I--”

“You had a party, and a portal to the Upside Down opened in your pool, and Barb fell into it. You weren’t even at the pool at the time. Steve thinks it’s his fault, but he thinks everything is his fault. Really, we all just got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time,” says Future-Eddie sadly. “And it’s not our fault.”

Steve is quiet.

"What's going on in that brain of yours?" Future-Eddie says, poking him in the middle of his forehead.

"Nothing."

"Okay bud," says Future-Robin, ruffling his hair. "Well, we love you. Get to bed early and don't eat any cheese before bed, it gives you bad dreams."

"How did you--"

"You told me. Anyway, I'm off for the night, gonna go hang out with myself at my place and spoil movies for her."

"What?! Why?" yells Robin from the other room.

"So you can tell people at school the plots and pretend to have precognition!" She yells back. She turns back to the two of them. "We've always wanted to do that. She’s big time lonely. So it's me and me, slumber parties every night, bitches."

"You're spoiling yourself," says Eddie.

"You told your past self about the stock market. And how to make beef stew."

"Hey, cool. Beef stew is my favorite food," says Steve.

"We know," say Future-Robin and Future-Eddie at the same time.

Future-Steve comes back to the room carrying a bundle in a sheet glances between them, furrowing his brow.

"You guys aren't talking about me are you?"

"Get over yourself, not everything's about you," scoffs Future-Robin.

"Yeah, we were," says Future-Eddie.

“Okay. Well. supplies are here!” He drops a bundled sheet onto the couch. It unrolls to reveal a huge pile of weapons.

Where the hell did they get these?

----

They decide to kill Vecna instead of just closing the gates. It's a bigger risk, as by taking El with them they risk Vecna taking her powers and immediately opening more gates, but Future-Steve is worried that if left alive, Vecna might eventually find another way to open gates and they won't be able to stop him.

They trek through the Upside Down, which Dustin thinks is kind of a cool name. He wonders if he came up with it. Lucas, Will and Mike are waiting back by the gates, making sure no one approaches them, and that if they randomly close, they'll have people on the outside who can contact Hopper, Murray, or Sam Owens for help. The rest of them come to the Upside Down. Future-Steve is against the idea of any of them coming, but the others insist that it's safer this time, they know what they're doing now and Vecna isn't expecting them.

"Forgot what a dump it was here," says Future-Steve.

"Home sweet home," sighs Future-Eddie, but he glances around nervously. Future-Steve rubs his back.

Ugh, Future-Steve is so awesome. Doing that for a bro.

----

They travel through the Upside Down. Eddie and Steve stay toward the back of the group, glancing around nervously at their weird surroundings.

"Do you think we'll end up being them?" asks Eddie.

He doesn't have to clarify who.

"I don't know," says Steve. "They're… a lot to live up to."

"Yeah," Eddie chuckles darkly. "They said I died to save the Dustin kid, but I can't see myself doing that. I'm more of a runner than a fighter."

"Seriously, they said I learned necromancy to bring you back to life! And I have muscles like crazy in the future--"

"I opened a time portal and I'm a wizard apparently, and I helped kill… demon bats? Using metal? I'm like badass Gandalf."

"And in the future, I would know what the fuck you mean by that."

They laugh.

As Steve steps on a vine, it reaches out, snatching his leg.

"Oh shit! Shit!" He reaches for his weapon, a rifle Future-Steve has somehow obtained from the police station, but he's yanked out of reach.

Eddie grabs it.

"Shoot!"

"I might hit you," he says hesitantly.

"It's okay if you hit me, just do it! It's gonna reach for the others," he says frantically.

The thing is reaching out, feeling around, and if they don't sever it, it will grab more of them. Eddie doesn't like it, he would rather the responsibility be someone else's, someone more capable. His future self would do this better, but there's no time, he's got seconds to act.

Eddie could drop the gun and run, but… he couldn't. He won't.

He shoots. The thing contracts, dropping Steve and pulling away.

Steve sits up, panting. "Thanks," he says.

"It was no Gindeldalf, but that was cool, huh?"

"It's Gandalf." He smiles at Steve, who smiles back. "We might have to get you your own self sacrifice chart, mister 'its okay if you hit me a little.' Maybe we are gonna become them.'"

They run to catch up with the group.

"For the record, I think you're okay right now, Munson," Steve says.

"Thanks," says Eddie. "You're not so bad yourself."

----

They reach the Creel house very quickly. Eleven looks up the winding stairs. There is something dark up there, she can feel it. This is the center of the power.

"He's upstairs. Hurry. Don't touch anything."

"Did you think of a happy memory?" Asks the older version of Eleven. She had asked her, earlier, to think of moments of strong emotion.

El shakes her head. Everything has been fear. "I can use an angry one."

Her strongest feeling is anger, she thinks. She has so much of it, unused. Her hands shake as they walk down the hall.

"You're scared," says the older version of Eleven. She has kind eyes. Eleven doesn't think her own eyes are so kind. "Don't be. We can do it."

"I can go alone," says Eleven. "I'm strong."

"We're stronger together."

"If we fail," she says, voice catching in her throat, "You have things. I have nothing. I can go alone."

It would be less lost. Eleven would be missed by no one important. She has spent the past weeks in comfort, at Steve's house, but it came with uncertainty for the future, and the sense that it would soon be gone again. These people would go back to their future, those other children would go to their homes, and El would be captured again.

Older Eleven shakes her head, crouching to speak to Eleven at eye level. "You will have so much. You have friends, and a dad."

"Not like Papa?"

"No. He is kind and keeps us safe, and allows your boyfriend to spend time as long as the door is cracked. You like food. Waffles. They're good." She pauses, thinking. "You're not alone anymore."

She looks back at the other children, her future friends, and at her future self with kinder eyes and a reassuring grip on her hand.

Something unfurls in her chest that she's never allowed in before. And she knows she has a future, the proof stands living before her.

This is the memory I will use.

They enter the attic, and there's a thing there, like a man but wrong, red and covered in vines, power emanating from him.

Vecna. Eleven freezes. They had told her what to do, and who he was, but it's different to see it in real life.

Vecna opens his eyes.

"Eleven," purrs Vecna, reaching out vines to curl against the sides of the room threateningly. "I wasn't expecting you to find me so soon. I have plans for you, little one, I--"

El has a future.

She reaches out her hand, and eviscerates him.

"Oh," says Future-Eddie. "That was... efficient. Uh. Let's run away before the house starts to crumble."

----

The group from the future gets ready to leave, standing by the portal and saying their goodbyes.

Future-Robin and Future-Eddie, surprisingly, want to say goodbye to Steve.

“Thanks for helping us, Stevie,” Future-Eddie smiles at him.

"Uh, yeah, no problem,” says Steve. “Sorry I said that earlier. You guys are really nice. I was just being an asshole."

"We love you anyway, dingus."

He thinks she's said that today more than anybody's ever said it to him. He can’t understand these people. They seem to mean it when they say it, every single time.

"Why?"

"You figured yourself out. We've had a lot of time to talk about stuff and move on. And, you're my best friend and number one supporter in the future, so I’m trying to return the favor."

Steve’s eyes well up.

"I don't get what I could have done to deserve it. I didn't save your lives or anything.”

"We don't love you for that. I love you for that big fat beautiful heart of yours.”

“And I love you for your looks,” says Future-Eddie dryly. Future-Robin elbows him. “Ow. And all that other stuff.”

“Think about who you are, instead of who King Steve is, and it'll all come together. Okay?"

He shrugs, and looks away. "I'll think about it."

“Hug time!”

They hug him tight, and when they let go and walk through the portal, when the portal closes behind them leaving only empty air, he feels like he’s lost something crucial.

Steve looks around at the people left standing there. Lucas, Dustin, Will and Mike. Eddie, Robin and Eleven. They’re a strange bunch.

“What now?” asks Will.

After this bizarre series of events, it’s odd to think they might all go their separate ways and never see each other again. He can see it all now. Steve would go back to throwing parties and sitting in his parents house alone. Once in a while, he would see the others around at the grocery store or at school, and he would remember that, in another timeline, they could have all been something.

“You guys wanna go to the drive-in?” he asks. “They’re playing that Star Trek movie, you nerds would like that.”

They all pile into his car, several of them sitting in each other's laps to make room, and they chatter in the backseat. Eddie sits on Robin's lap up front and they argue about lore, and Steve has no idea what they're talking about.

Yeah. This could be the start of something beautiful.

A/N:

sorry about the "there are stranger things out there" line, I know it's corny, the strangest thing is that I couldn't help myself 😭

a couple things i wanted to put in but didn't want to go to the effort to write, or felt they'd distract from the main story too much:

-Eddie totally showed Will how to do magic in real life... because come on. he's Will the Wise

-Steve driving to wherever Max lived before moving to Hawkins and probably kicking the shit out of her stepdad and billy

-Nancy figuring out that somethings going on, joining the team, realizing she and Steve broke up, and the two of them having a real conversation about their compatibility as a couple

-Kind of wanted more of Future Steve lurking around and being mysterious before anyone found out who he was, but then I decided to make the kids find out immediately because it was more dramatic. Also because Steve is not someone who is very capable of being cryptic or mysterious

-El and Steve bonding and Steve realizing he does in fact love babysitting

-More explanation on magic. The time travel and necromancy were hand wavey but I think it would be cool if there's other things out there besides the Upside Down, like other alternate dimensions and systems of magic. In my head, many of Future eddies tattoos are runes for this kind of magic. Dont know how they came across it or learned it or anything, just a fun idea.

unbeta'd & unedited. If there are mistakes, no there aren't <3))

#stranger things au #stranger things fanfic #steddie fanfic #steddie #5k

[stranger-marauders]

shattered

eight: cigarettes

chapter summary: Kate finally arrives at her destination, and Steve doesn't truly know how to feel

chapter warnings: language, sad breakup stuff, cigarette use, dead dad joke, grief, ex-relationship stuff

word count: 4.0k

series masterlist | masterlist

THE KIDS HAD quickly given Kate the rundown of what was going on, after some much needed reunions.

Chrissy Cunningham, captain of the cheer team, had been brutally murdered and it had looked like Eddie Munson, resident freak, drug dealer, and member of the Hellfire Club, had committed the crime. Of course, they had already figured out that Eddie hadn't done it, but something coming from the Upside Down had. Another kid, Fred Benson, had also been killed by Vecna, as they'd started calling the murderer. Now, though, it was coming for Max.

Of all the things Kate was expecting to come back to, that certainly hadn't been close to anything she'd imagined in the car. She hadn't seen the murders coming, and by the way Dustin had described the way that Chrissy and Fred had been killed, she certainly didn't have any desire to experience nor witness it. Her stomach hurt at the thought of it. She hadn't known Fred Benson in the slightest, but she'd talked to Chrissy a few times. Even if she didn't know Chrissy that well, she had been a sweet girl, someone at Hawkins High who she didn't have a problem with. Neither of them deserved this.

No one did.

When Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Robin were filling Kate in, Steve had taken Nancy aside. "Why didn't you tell me she was coming?"

"What?"

Steve watched Kate carefully from the other side of the room. "After she... Whenever she got here, she said she wasn't going to tell me she was even coming. Why didn't you... Nance, why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I–I literally had no idea, okay? She just showed up," Nancy tried to clarify. "I promise you, I didn't know. If I did, I... I would've told you. I promise." Nancy hesitated, watching him carefully. He still hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "Maybe you should... try talking to her?"

Steve finally snapped his gaze, turning back to Nancy after a few seconds. "Wh–What?"

"You know, Kate." She sighed when Steve seemingly didn't get her point, still looking confused. "Look, I know she was supposed to go to California, and obviously she chose to come here instead. Maybe you should talk to her about it."

Steve sighed. "If she wanted to talk to me, she would've by now."

Nancy shrugged before walking back upstairs. "Just... try before she leaves again."

He shook his head whenever he was left alone again, leaning against the bannister of the stairs. He watched Kate carefully, trying not to be creepy as he analyzed her. She was... here. Granted, she was different than when he last saw her, and she had already pointed a gun at him, but she was here. He was looking at her, could hear her voice—Kate Hopper was right here in front of him.

"All right, that's enough," he finally said, walking over to the kids and Robin. "Kathy's been driving for hours, leave her alone for a minute."

"Are you kidding me?" Dustin asked. "We have until tomorrow and we just earned a power player whenever this shit comes around every couple months? No."

"Henderson, just—!"

"Steve!"

"Guys!" Kate shouted, trying to get their attention. She'd already noticed the discomfort that plastered Max's face, the look that said she didn't want to keep talking about her inevitable doom. "I'm... okay. I can read a little bit about it tonight, okay? I'll be completely caught up by tomorrow. Don't worry about me."

"Kate, just—"

"Shit, I've got to get something out of my car," she said, standing up off the couch. "I'll be right back."

Before she could walk out of the basement door, Steve followed her, closing the door behind him. Even though Kate could hear him catch the door, she didn't stop, holding her keys in her hand as she went for her car. "Hey, Kathy!"

She unlocked the car door, opening it and turning to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Just... Jesus, just wait a minute, okay?" He moved swiftly over to her, holding the car door with his hand. He realized how close they were whenever her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. He looked down to the chain around her neck—she was still wearing the necklace he got her. Kate stared at him expectantly, almost waiting for him to go on. "I... I–I'm sorry. For freaking out earlier, I mean."

She shook her head, moving around him to go to the passenger's side. "I, uh... It's fine. I was literally pointing a gun at you. Again."

He chuckled nervously as he closed the driver's side door. "Yeah, uh... tha–that was terrifying, but that's not... that's not what I meant." He paused whenever she looked back up at him from inside her car, a jacket in her hand. "I just mean I'm sorry for acting like I didn't want you to be here, okay? That's not... That's not at all what I meant."

She furrowed her eyebrows together again. "What?"

"It's not like that, I just... I didn't want you getting wrapped up in this shit again. Not after what happened last time."

She shrugged, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and putting the gun back in the glove box. "I'm fine. You said that last time, too." She chuckled. "Can't lose my dad again, you know?"

He hesitated. "Kathy, that's not what I meant."

"Don't worry about me," she said, closing her car door as she walked back inside. "I'll be out of your hair in a couple days."

He sighed as she walked back inside, closing the door behind her. He was absolutely hopeless.

Kate and Robin had been talking in French for fifteen minutes, and it had begun to drive Steve insane.

That's how it always was between them now. Every time they didn't want someone to eavesdrop on them, if they were talking about something that was sensitive, more specifically to the people around him, they would discuss it in French. Kate and Robin, however, did it even more often when they were talking about him.

Whenever Steve had heard a long strand of foreign words from Robin and his name smushed in the middle of it, followed by Kate's stifled laughter, he finally put his foot down. "All right, just because I can't understand you doesn't mean I can't hear you, okay, Robin?"

Robin groaned, moving to whisper in English instead. "If he wants to hear me talk about how he hasn't tried shaving the past few weeks, then be my guest."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Stevie!" Robin shouted across the room, smiling kindly at him. She turned back to Kate. "He gets so sensitive sometimes. Was he ever like that with you?"

"Constantly," Kate said, almost inaudibly.

"All right, so, onto more important things, please tell me you've met someone that you've just been hiding from me."

Kate gave an awkward half-smile. "What?"

Robin chuckled. "Every time I write you, all you talk about is school and work. Do you have... I don't know, like, some friends? Maybe a guy that likes you or something? There's definitely gotta be a guy that likes you, or something."

Kate hesitated, stopping herself from looking at Steve before she answered. She could almost feel his gaze on her.

The answer was quite simple: no. Kate didn't hang out with anyone outside of class, and if she did, it was for a class assignment. She didn't have any kind of social life, and she mostly talked to her roommate if she felt like she actually needed to talk to someone. She didn't do anything to enjoy herself anymore, but she knew how pathetic that sounded. She didn't want to sound like she was miserable.

She couldn't stop thinking about what Robin had asked her. No, there wasn't a guy, nor would there ever be a guy again. Kate would rather die alone than waste her time with anyone else that wasn't Steve, and she knew she couldn't have him. She wouldn't let him die because of her.

"Uh... nope. Nothing, really. I'm pretty busy with work and school and... stuff."

Robin's eyebrows quirked upward. "Stuff?"

She shrugged uneasily in response. "You... You know, wi–with El and stuff. She's just... I–I have to be there for her, you know? Like, she... she's just a kid."

Robin nodded, seeming to understand. "I still can't believe you're here. It's... I had no idea. Best surprise ever."

"Yeah," Kate said uneasily as she continued to read over one of the files, fidgeting with the hair tie on her wrist. "Sure is."

She didn't know what she was doing here. She should've called. She knew something was going on in Hawkins again, but she hadn't realized it had been so bad that it would gain the entire town's attention. Now, more than ever, she appreciated that she had knocked that agent out in the alleyway, mostly because she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to one of the kids, to Nancy, to Robin, or to Steve and she hadn't been able to help. She was so worried about Max, worried that after she died that it would cut all of them off one by one until she was the only one left. She wouldn't let Max die.

She tried not to show her panic, but Steve had picked up on it, knowing to save the conversation for later.

Whenever the kids and Robin had fallen asleep and Nancy had gone upstairs to her room so as to avoid any suspicion of six people sleeping in her basement, Kate and Steve remained awake.

They'd gone outside to talk again so as to not disturb the four of them that were sleeping in chairs and on couches in the basement of the Wheelers' house. They'd sat on the edge of his trunk next to each other, their feet rested on the back bumper. They didn't sit too close, only close enough where they could feel the heat of one another without actually touching. Even though it was cold outside, it was still pretty with the stars the way they were.

Kate missed that about Hawkins—the way it looked at night. She missed when she and Steve would go out to seemingly the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, the only thing in the world being them at that moment. She missed that feeling, and, in an odd way, she almost felt like she had it back now.

She still couldn't believe she was sitting next to him. While he still felt like the same Steve she knew and loved, there were other things that made him seem so much different. For starters, she couldn't remember the last time he'd ever tried to grow any type of facial hair, never mind actually have luck with the stubble that had started to grow in. His hair was still done, but the lack of care in precision in what he had done with it struck her as odd—it almost seemed like he didn't care as much as he used to, which felt completely off. Most importantly, though, Steve was quiet. In all the years that she'd known him, she knew that if he was quiet, he was thinking hard about something.

"Hey, Steve?"

He perked up, meeting her eyes for only a second. "Yeah?"

She hesitated, taking a deep breath. "When I got here, you were... Why were you outside? Like, why were you standing in the bushes like a weirdo?"

He chuckled slightly, putting his hands in his jacket pockets sheepishly. "Okay, you're not gonna like the answer to that."

She raised her eyebrows evasively. "Consider my interest piqued, then."

He sighed, digging in his jacket pocket for something, more specifically a pack of Camels. Whenever her eyebrows furrowed together, he sighed, putting them back in his pocket. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. Before you yell at me, I quit in December, I just... Every once in a while, I have a couple. Everything with Max, it just... it freaked me out, okay?"

She pressed her lips together, hesitating to speak again. "Can I let you in on a little secret?"

"What?"

She scoffed softly, almost sounding like a laugh. "I knew the second you stood next to me outside. Whenever I got my shit out of my car?"

He sighed. "Seriously?"

"Uh, yeah," she started. "Your cologne faded earlier, I guess. Now you just smell like a smoker."

Steve stifled a laugh, throwing his hands up in the air. "Great."

She pressed her lips together. "If you light one, I'll share it."

He gave her a concerned look. "Seriously?"

"What? I may indulge every once in a while." Whenever Steve's look didn't melt away, she continued. "You realize my dad used to go through, like, two packs a day, right? I don't think a singular cigarette once in a blue moon is gonna kill me." She gave him a questioning look as he pulled a cigarette out of the box. "Unless it's those strong ones."

He chuckled as he lit the one he'd placed in his mouth, taking a drag on the cigarette before shaking his head and giving it to her. "I'm not that crazy yet, okay?" Whenever she inhaled the smoke, she coughed, releasing and wafting the smoke out of her face, he took it back from her, chuckling slightly. "I thought you said you could handle it, city girl."

"I can, I just don't do it often."

"Sure." He passed it back to her once he gave his turn, sighing whenever she took a puff. "Just... Don't mention it to Dustin or Robin, okay? I told them I was done a couple months ago," he said, taking another drag for himself.

She nodded once, understanding his gist. "Your secret's safe with me."

He took another puff, nodding slightly. "Jesus, I still can't believe you're here."

She pressed her lips together when he kept the cigarette, almost as if he didn't want to pressure her to take another drag. "Yeah, I know."

"I just... I can't believe you came back, a–and you... you didn't say anything to anybody," Steve said, his foot bouncing the car. He threw the cigarette into the grass next to the car. "I mean, i–it's not like I don't want to see you, it's not like that, I just—"

"Steve," she said gently, trying to stop him from rambling. "I'm sorry. I–I should've called Robin or something, at least. I... I–I'm not supposed to be here, really. I'm looking for something, but I don't think sh... it's here. I'll be gone as soon as possible, promise."

"No, it's not... I don't want that, I—" He stopped himself before he went on. He didn't want to overwhelm her with the fact that he still loved her, that he would always love her, just like he'd said he would. He didn't want to scare her away again, not when it had been the longest seven months of his life since he'd seen her. He didn't want her to leave, not in the slightest. He just hadn't been given a moment to prepare himself to see her again. If he would've known she would be there, he probably wouldn't have worn jeans that showed literally everything, for starters. "I just... I wish I would've known you were coming."

"I'm sorry, it's just—" She cut herself off to sigh. "Something's... not right."

His eyebrows furrowed together. He reached for her hand at first, but ran his own hand through his hair instead. "What's... What's going on?"

She pressed her lips together, hesitating to say anything else about it. She hated that he still acted like he cared about her. She played with the hair tie on her wrist. "I–I don't know. It's nothing, I'm just being—"

"Hey." This time, Steve didn't stop himself from reaching for her arm with the hair tie on it. "Hey, you can talk to me, okay?"

She hesitated again, taken aback by the sudden touch. She didn't pull away, however, but only scanned her surroundings before she spoke again. "Agents were looking for me earlier today."

"What?"

She shrugged slightly, trying not to come off as anxious. "I don't know. Jonathan called me to tell me something happened with El, but when I called again, the line was busy. I called three times, Steve, and Joyce isn't even home. It shouldn't be busy like that." She paused, feeling Steve's concerned gaze on her. "Agents came looking for me this morning. I–I don't know why I didn't just stay. I couldn't, I just... I had to come back for her. I think they took her back."

"Back to the lab?" Steve asked, almost trying to get clarification. "You didn't... You didn't go by yourself, did you?"

When she shrugged slightly, an anxious look in her eyes, he shook his head in worry. "Kathy, why'd you do that?"

"I had to know, Steve. If she was there, I couldn't... I wouldn't—" She cut herself off, sighing. "I was fine, I had... you know, I had that revolver."

The worried expression covering his face didn't seem to melt away. "Why'd you leave?"

She sighed again, burying her face in her hands for only a second before looking back up. "I–I don't know, I just... I just ran. I wasn't gonna sit on my ass when I knew something was wrong."

"Kathy." He gave her somewhat of an unconvinced look, almost like her answer wasn't good enough. "It's not like they're gonna stop looking for you just because you're not there, okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm supposed to be leaving tomorrow morning for California. What kind of idiot would ditch on plane tickets?" When Steve didn't laugh, she sighed softly. "They're not going to find me here."

Steve didn't really know what to say. He couldn't remember a time when Kate had been so daring. He almost didn't recognize the girl that sat next to him now, the one with an affinity to cigarettes. The one with her father's revolver in her glovebox and a seeming death wish. He couldn't think of a time before when Kate would have run from government agents, not only that but would have actually outrun them, outsmart them the what she had. "And what if they do?"

"They won't," she said, somewhat firmly. "Besides, it doesn't matter. She isn't here."

He sighed, looking back to the basement door behind them. "They, uh... We need your help. I–I'll pay for your California ticket if... if you stay, okay?" When she opened her mouth, he went on. "I know you hate when I do that, but please. We really, really need you right now, okay? Max... Max needs you."

Max. She almost wanted to curse him for that, for using one of the kids against her. He must've known how she cared about them, about how she and Max had connected since the mall burned down. Kate had lost her father, Max lost her brother, and that loss was something that only the other would understand. Of course she would stay to help her. In a strange way, Kate saw herself in Max, and she wouldn't abandon her. She refused.

She scanned her surroundings again, trying to avert her gaze from him as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Steve was practically begging her to stay: how could she say no to that? "I, uh... thanks. Really, you don't... Don't worry about that. I can't go back for now, anyway. Not until this blows over." She chuckled hollowly. "I just hope it doesn't take too long, you know?"

Steve's eyebrows furrowed together. "Why not?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging slightly. "I've got so much shit back... back in New York. Work, school. I've got a lot on my plate." She hummed a chuckle. "The bag of clothes I have with me were also picked for California weather, so..."

"Jesus, I've still got some, uh... some stuff of yours," he said, speaking more softly when he reached the second half of his sentence. "I–I'm always finding stuff of yours. From when you, uh... you know. Last summer." He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'm sure you find stuff of mine, too. It happens."

She pressed her lips together, trying not to form a smile. She missed moments like these. She missed how awkward he was, especially when something as small as that happened. She missed him. She tried to push it out of her mind. It was her fault that it was over. She was the one that had pushed him away, just like she'd pushed everyone away. He didn't love her anymore, and that was something she would just have to accept. "Thanks. Saves me the money. I'm not using my card until this is over, either."

"All right, that's a little paranoid."

She pressed her lips together to contain her laugh, merely a hum coming out. "That's the pot calling the kettle black."

"What?"

"Dude, you'd be freaking out if something like this happened to you. Like, inconsolable."

He gave her a confused, almost offended look. "Okay, that is so not true, okay? You don't think I could handle a couple of feds after everything we've gone through?"

Kate shook her head, pressing her lips together. "I know you couldn't."

"What about the Russian?"

A moment of hesitation struck her face—what Russian? She then quickly remembered that Steve had, in fact, knocked a Russian out cold whenever they were in the secret Soviet bunker of Starcourt Mall. "What about him? You've never won a fight with an American, never mind an American government official."

Whenever he sighed, he could've sworn he saw Kate's lips flinch upward for half a second. "Whatever. Just know you're welcome here, okay? Wanted and needed, all right? Dustin was right about you being a... a power player, or whatever he said. You have no idea how much harder all of this is without you."

She nodded, seeming to understand. "Speaking of which, you need me to look at anything else tonight?"

"No." He shook his head, shooing away the thought with his hand. Kate hadn't realized Steve had still been holding her hand until he'd moved it. "No, you... you've been driving all day. Get some sleep, okay? We'll definitely need you tomorrow, and I do not want to deal with your cranky, sleep-deprived ass all day long tomorrow."

She scoffed. "I am not cranky."

"Sure," he said nonchalantly. "And I'm still really cool. Like, overwhelmingly."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly when he chuckled. "So, uh... what have you been up to recently, since you're so cool?"

Steve hesitated to respond. He didn't want to tell her what he had been up to, not in the slightest. He would feel like even more of a jerk than he already did. He couldn't remember how many dates he'd gone on since New Year's. None of it mattered. None of them were her. None of the girls that he had gotten with had even come close to being her, and he didn't think any of them would ever be, not even Nancy. "No–Nothing, really. Been working a lot, making money, you know?"

She pressed her lips together to hide a laugh. "So none of the dates have gone well, I take it?"

Steve immediately whipped around to her, giving her a confused yet horrified look. "How... How'd you know about that?"

She gave him an unconvinced look. "Come on, I know you." She exhaled sharply, playing with the hair tie on her wrist. "Also, Robin might've accidentally told me around Valentine's Day."

He shook his head, running his hands through his hair as he began to panic. "I–I... I specifically told her not to tell you because I wanted to tell you myself. I–I didn't want you to, uh... to think that I didn't... that I don't—"

"Steve," she said softly. He was rambling again, and somehow this was worse than the first time. "It's okay. I broke up with you. There's no reason to explain yourself to me. You moved on, and that's okay."

He tried to hide the hurt look on his face, but he knew there wasn't any point. The problem was he hadn't moved on from her. He kept trying and trying, just out of respect for her and what she'd asked for, but he wouldn't move on, and that was something he'd have to live with for the rest of his life. He had loved her for so long that he knew he could never stop, no matter how hard he tried. "Kathy—"

"Just do me a favor and shave... whatever that's supposed to be above your lip? Either that or grow it out. It's... sad looking, honestly. Pathetic." "Girls like it," he said defensively.

She shrugged. "I don't?"

Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. She shrugged, pressing her lips together when she saw his smile. "It stays, okay?"

She shook her head whenever he laughed, and this time, she didn't fight the smile that came to her face.

next chapter

taglist:

@thatsonezesty13 @cece5298 @thepowerstoner @alovelytardis @coolchick333 @stand-tall-pineapple @littlet-holmes @guichu @cinderellacauseshebroke @blackbirddaredevil23 @mads-weasley @ilovemarauders @pearlstiare @liableperfections @khaylin27 @girlwiththerubyslippers @cyarikaaa

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x hopper!reader #stranger things 4 #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington series #steve harrington stranger things

[manycoloureddays]

i was asked for my top 5 [insert character from stranger things here] scenes and obviously i chose the love of my life, nancy wheeler, so without further ado and in no particular order:

1. “i want to kill it” the scene in the hall of hawkins’ middle school where nancy decides that it’s not enough to just have hopper & joyce go to the upside down & retrieve will, she wants to kill the monster that took him & more importantly to her at this point, she wants to kill the monster that took barb. jonathan would have been happy to hang up the monster fighting equipment once he had will back. he wants to help draw the monster away from joyce & will, but the real reason we get the showdown with the demogorgon at the byers’ house is because nancy wasn’t okay letting barb’s death go unpunished. not only does that tell you an awful lot about who she is, it sets up her s2 arc beautifully. nancy isn’t someone who leaves things unfinished. if she can’t protect the people she loves, you can be damn sure she’ll avenge them

2. when she faces down flayed!billy with nothing but a gun and her bravado. she will not move, she barely flinches, even though she doesn’t know steve and robin are coming, because he’ll have to go through her before he gets to lucas, will, and jonathan. she is so brave!!

3. the entirety of her scene with wayne is so dear to me! i mean, so much of her trailer park investigation is a delight! she wants to interview the dog! but also the way she and wayne relate to each other is just so wonderful. her kindness is so obvious in this scene, it just bleeds out of her. she’s so warm that he has no choice but to believe her sincerity. she’s just a kid from the high school paper and he trusts her to help save his boy

4. “so does that make us friends now? officially?” NANCY WHEELER THE WOMAN YOU ARE!! she has so much friend related trauma. she lost barb and she has been holding people at arms length ever since. she burned her relationship with steve to the ground (and i have Thoughts about the why that go beyond her grief), jonathan is being distant & lives miles away, and fred has just died too, but still she opens herself up to the possibility of robin rejecting her overture of friendship. and after she was so standoffish in the library too (still trying to protect herself, always trying to protect her heart). it’s so fucking brave!! i love her so much!!

honourable mentions to: “monster hunting” [what a fucking line!!] the snow ball scene with dustin [big sister nancy my beloved], the scene in the library with robin [there are two lesbians in that library], “actually i’m pretty sure it’s a felony” [hot!!! and also protect max at any cost is an excellent priority], any scene she has with mike where they’re actually siblings [BIG SISTER NANCY MY BELOVED] & when she shoots vecna with that sawn off [she is no mother, she is no bride, SHE IS KING]

5. nancy with the baseball bat in the wheeler’s garage!! it’s her origin story baby!! she can barely swing that bat, it doesn’t look natural at all, she has no idea what she’s facing, the kinds of monsters that live in the world, but her best friend is missing, her best friend has been taken, and no one is doing anything about it. so she will. that is nancy wheeler in a nutshell. she sees an insurmountable problem that no one else is dealing with and she rolls up her sleeves, picks up a weapon, and makes a plan

#she is everything to me!!!! #nancy wheeler #stranger things #favourite characters

[myth-blossom]

Hi! For the song fic challenge I want to suggest Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. It kinda has Mendoza vibes but everything is up to you.

Thank you for your request! I LOVE this song and it has been my obsession over the last 24 hours. I hope you like the fic that it inspired :)

Diana took a long drag of the cigarette and exhaled a steady stream of smoke. She finally had a moment to herself, free from the watch of Tamara Vidal and her guards—Diana could hazard a guess as to why they disappeared. She decided to isolate herself for the brief time given to her so she could settle her nerves, choosing the quiet emptiness of the railing overlooking the vineyard.

A pair of familiar arms enveloped Diana, their hands now neighboring each other on the railing. Diana closed her eyes and leaned back into 47’s chest with a sigh.

“Vidal is gone.”

Diana nodded. “I had a feeling.” She briefly brought the cigarette to her mouth for one last taste, careful to avoid her gloved fingers touching her lips. She tossed the cigarette to the ground next to them and pressed it out with her shoe before returning her hands to the railing.

“I thought you quit smoking.”

“I did.”

He nodded in understanding. “It’ll be over soon.”

“I know.”

47 looked over his shoulder. “Yates is sending his men to bring you to the meeting.” He felt Diana tense against him. “I’ll find a way in. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Diana felt sick to her stomach, and not because of the cigarette. “I know you won’t.” 

They took in the warm beauty of the valley for a moment longer before 47 began to pull away. They couldn’t afford to be seen together in such an intimate position. Before he could leave, Diana covered his hand with hers and gently squeezed his fingers. His breath hitched as he paused, no longer wanting to move away from the railing. Diana and 47 shared a look, wordlessly conveying what their hearts wanted to say but their lips could not afford to. Not here, not now.

“Good luck,” she said instead, managing a small smile.

47 nodded, broken from his trance. As he pulled away, he lightly ran his right hand over Diana’s gloved fingers and arm before walking away. She shuddered lightly and kept an eye on 47 as he made it a safe distance away. He was thankfully out of sight by the time two vineyard security members approached her.

“Mr. Yates requests your presence, Ms. Burnwood.”

She turned to face them. “Lead the way, gentlemen.”

_____

Diana’s eyes blinked open into the darkness. She rolled over to look at the bedside clock that read “2:17.” She sighed and rubbed her face before she pushed away the covers. Diana had been having trouble sleeping as of late. She attributed it to the stress of learning the duties of the Constant as she planned for the most effective ways to tear it all down. 

Though really, she hadn’t slept well since she left 47 in Mendoza. Diana missed him. And in between bits of broken sleep, she valued the glimpses of him in her dreams. She took deep breaths and forced her eyelids to close, taking a moment to usher herself back into an unconscious state.

_____

Diana was not fond of Don Yates, and he became even more of a bastard in her book after he directed his Head of Security to strike her across the face with his gun. Her face throbbed as she noticed one of the guards in the corner starting to step forward before hesitating. She could tell 47 felt he had broken his word, but he hadn’t—Yates was simply throwing a tantrum, as she suspected he would. 

Diana felt no fear as they led her to the designated kill spot in the house, complete with tarp on the floor for easy cleanup. Diana knew 47 would come to her rescue, and he did. She only hoped that 47 was able to truly listen and understand what she told Yates as he lay dying.

“If it’s any consolation, Don, your instincts were dead on. I will be Constant now, and I will make it my mission to tear down Providence brick by brick.”

She knew it was possible that she would never see 47 again. Diana wanted them to have one last good memory with each other before their separation, so she asked 47 to meet her on the dance floor. She hoped her body would remember well the strength and warmth of his hands on her as they danced, the gracefulness in his steps as they indulged in their brief escape into paradise. 

She felt ill for betraying 47, but her intentions of destroying Providence were still true. It’s what made her plan their best option for survival: Diana would use 47’s only weakness to bring down Edwards and Providence. 47 couldn’t—wouldn’t—suspect Diana of any betrayal. Not from the woman he loved. It was an act of cruelty Arthur Edwards would appreciate, but she knew it was a necessary evil to save 47.

Their dance ended and they parted ways with plans to visit the olive grove. Diana had to let 47 go. She had to free him from his long life of following the directives of others: Providence, the ICA, even herself. 47 deserved a future of his own making, and she hoped he would understand that.

_____

Diana stirred once again, this time grateful to be woken up. She loved remembering their tango, but her subconscious would often follow with visions of 47 on the ground, wincing in pain from the effects of the neurotoxin. Her heart couldn’t bear to hear his sincere apology again, not tonight.

She looked at the clock and noticed an hour had passed. Concluding that that was as much sleep that she was getting for the night, she got out of bed. Diana pulled on her satin robe and took a walk through the penthouse. Providence security was stationed in the hallway and surrounding apartments, but left her alone through the night. It was the only window of time she had to herself in the last month.

Diana entered her office and turned on the lamp adorning the elegant desk. Moving the chair aside, she opened one of the desk’s drawers to access the secret panel within. She pulled up the panel cover to find the silverballer there, unmoved in its hiding place. She brushed her fingers along the grip and wondered where in the world its owner was at that moment.

When they carried away 47, they initially left his gun behind to gather dust on the ground. She made sure to take it when she had the opportunity—as a trophy, she would have assured someone, had they see her do it. She quietly stashed it in her possessions and kept it safely hidden during her dealings with Providence. Diana found comfort in its presence not for its use as a weapon, but as a memento of the man she didn’t quite know that she would ever see again.

She would try to make contact with him once Providence rued its demise among the ashes. But it would be 47’s choice of whether or not he would return to her, and what kind of relationship they would have moving forward.

Diana secured her desk and turned out the light. As she returned to bed and closed her eyes, she hoped to fall asleep and dream a new kind of dream. That one night she would open the hidden panel in her desk to find the gun missing, a familiar shadow approaching her from behind. 47 returning to take back what was his.

All that was his.

#hitman #hitman fandom #hitman fanfic #hitman fanfiction #diana burnwood #agent 47 #diana/47 #agent 47/diana burnwood #hitman playlist #song inspired fic #inspired by hitman playlist #Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood #Mendoza

[munsontm]

CHAPTER ONE : THE HUNT.

Some days were good, others were bad, and the rest were downright fucking terrible. Today, for example. Eddie didn't feel like laying down on the forest ground and letting the greenery slowly consume him. He'd imagined it enough times when his thoughts strayed to darkness, which occurred easily enough with the dark times they were living through. The leaves would cover him in a fine first layer as vines slowly anchored him to the earth, twining around his arms, legs, neck, and torso. Roots eventually sprouted from his flesh, tethering him once and for all. Spores and seeds got in where they could, turning his corpse into a death garden. It was beautiful in its own fucked up way, and Eddie preferred his dreamy nightmare scenario to the reality of getting eaten alive by zombies. But the topic of sometimes yearning to be consumed by nature didn't feel particularly appropriate in the presence of a teenager, so Eddie put on his good day face instead and lived it as well as he could.

Everyone in the camp had a set job to do. Steve was security, Nancy was the leader, Robin was in charge of food, Argyle was in charge of growing food, and Jonathan was the go-to for scavenging. Much to everyone's surprise except Eddie himself, his skill was hunting. When they'd all stared at him with wide-eyed wonder, he'd simply said: I'm a redneck. Of course, I know how to hunt. Wayne taught me instead of doing the usual uncle shit. Then came the questions. Can you track it? Yeah. You can shoot? Uhh, I've been doing that for months, are you blind? Why didn't you tell us this before? Reasons. What reasons? Fuck off reasons. What's the biggest thing you've shot? A deer. Whoa, did you eat it? Duh. From that moment on, it fell upon Eddie to teach the entire group to hunt one by one, no more than two at a time.

Today was Dustin's turn.

Eddie rarely ventured too far, always staying within running distance for Steve if backup became necessary. But once enough of the others had some hunting experience under their belts, more significant expeditions were possible, something he figured Dustin might want to be part of. The kid liked feeling useful.

"First, we gotta find us some tracks. They're not always obvious, either. You might not even know you're looking at one if you don't know what you're doing." The emerald greenery interspersed with blades of sunlight shone on the two as they trekked through the forest path, with Eddie giving the same speech he'd given to all the elders. Nancy wanted Eddie to provide Dustin with a gun, but so far, he felt reluctant to do so. Not because he believed his lil buddy to be incompetent, far from it. He just didn't like the thought of taking away what shred of innocence Dustin may have retained since humanity fell apart. People hunted animals before, sure. Only true dickbags enjoyed taking lives, though. If Dustin didn't have to do it, Eddie didn't want him to. He'd always take the shot for him. What was one more life to a man whose hands already dripped red?

"See anything back there yet?" Eddie saw some signs here and there, but wondered if his friend saw anything among the twigs and leaves.

@scoopstrooptm ( dustin ) ; liked THIS for the survivor.

#v. zombies and shit. #scoopstrooptm #ᴅʏɴ ⯮ 𝘽𝙐𝙏 𝙄 𝘼𝙈 𝙂𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊 𝙈𝙊𝙍𝘿𝙊𝙍...ᴏꜰ ᴄᴏᴜʀꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ; ᴀɴᴅ ɪ'ᴍ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ ( munsontm 🎸 & scoopstrooptm 🧢 ) #hope this is good bby uwu 💜

[wheelrisms]

for @kinghaargrove from -> Scene written from characters perspective

"Nancy! We need to go now!" Jonathan's voice was a dull roar in her ears as the girl tried to figure out what the hell she could do next. The only thing she could think of was to get the kids out of there, but then she would be leaving him. Shaking her head, Nancy snapped out of the thoughts that she lost herself in and ran to the car to make sure the kids were safely inside before looking at Jon and telling him to move. All they had to do was defeat the mindflayer and billy would be free of its hold.

Thats it.

And then she could have him back.

She knew something was wrong with him when he ended things abruptly but decided to go after someone else. Even though she showed up at his house and he told her over and over again to stay away, she knew that something was wrong. But she didnt want to believe it was this. And now here she was, trying to protect her brother and his friends from someone who she swore wouldn't try and hurt them again.

Hearing the click of the starter as Jon tried to start the car, her eyes went wide as they met his. Well, that wasn't good. "Get out and see what's going on." She said quickly as she looked around. God knew where Billy was, but she wasn't going to stick around to see if he would show up. Watching Jon lift the hood and try to figure out what was going on, Nancy quickly surveyed the surroundings, her heart sinking to her stomach once she saw headlights and heard the familiar roar of an engine. Getting out of the car, she grabbed the gun that was in the glove box and looked at the kids. "Stay put." She said as she slammed the door.

"Nancy, what the hell are you doing?" Jon's panicked voice came out over the roar of the engine from the other vehicle. "I'm buying time." She said as she walked around the front of the car and cocked the pistol. She held it towards the ground as she just stared at Billy through the glass of his windshield.

"Come on baby...dont make me do this." She whispered to herself.

The fact that she was even in this position made it hard to breathe. The fact that no one else knew about them made it worse. The engine reved as they locked eyes. Nancy could see the fear and the pain behind the hard look that the mindflayer had on his face. Her Billy was still in there but he was just being held hostage. He was still alive. As of now, its not like they couldn't reverse whatever happened. She could still save him. All they had to do was get out of here and set him free. She could see the internal confilict play out on his face as the car jumped into action and barrled towards them.

Nancy just lifted the gun and cursed to herself as she tried to put off what she needed to do. She couldn't kill him, she couldn't.

Pop, pop. The first two shots hit to the far left of the windshield. Warning shots.

Pop pop Second two hit a little closer but still not close enough to hurt him. More warning shots

Pop pop Those two hit where his head would have been had she not seen him move it a few seconds before she shot. those werent as much warning shots as shots to show she was serious.

Closer, closer.

oh god he was getting closer. And if she moved then the kids would get the brunt of the hit. All she could do was brace herself as the kids yelled her name, and wait for the hit....that never came. Crunching metal happened but not in the way that she expected. Steve..it was steve and robin in another car. She heard the roar of the engine as Jonathan got the other car started and heard her name being told to get inside. But she needed to check on Billy....but she couldn't. Looking into his car as she ran to the kids in the other car, she let her breath out as she saw him moving. He was still alive...they could still save him.

And she would tell him how sorry she was when all of this was over.

#Listen you asked for this #answered asks #**youve begun to feel like home**(feat billy) #i changed their tag no regrets.

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

Season Four, Chapter Nine: The Piggyback

I made it. Somehow, I made it.

The Netflix synopsis upset me even before I started the episode. "With selfless hearts and a clash of metal..." is just Eddie all over, isn't it?

I'm honestly still surprised no one in the Russia story died. I thought for sure the guard or Yuri was going to bite it. Or possibly Murray, but they just made him a regular so that seemed unlikely.

The Hop/Joyce hook-up was a long time coming. They're as bad as Nancy and Jonathan, dancing around each other - you can see where Jonathan gets it from.

Hey, breadsticks and lasagne ARE good!

Ninja!Steve!

This is the last time Nancy, Steve, and Robin see Eddie alive :(

Argyle suggesting the baggage compartment is just...yeah. He does come up with the right solution in the end though, so he gets points for that.

Fucking Jason, ruining everything.

For what is essentially longer than most movies, this episode really does keep you going all the way through. There's a LOT to it, and I never felt like I was getting bored even having seen it once before.

They manage to link the Russia storyline back to the Hawkins stuff pretty well, surprisingly.

Hey, it's Chekov's flamethrower!

Pizza is always the answer.

Oh god, the Argyles are multiplying. I'm sure the other guy is even billed as Other Argyle or something in the credits, I forgot to check.

You should probably lock the door, Jonathan.

Preparations for war take many forms. Guns, guitars, and pizza dough are equally as important.

I'm glad at least some of the pizza ingredients got eaten.

Eddie's final stage :(

Super confident idiot. We love Steve. I'd forgotten about this whole conversation, it really does sum up Steve's arc up to this point.

Of all the things you wouldn't expect to work, appealing to Yuri's better angels is what gets him to buck his ideas up. Huh.

The Lucas/Max scene with the notepads is adorable as fuck. Also Caleb's a lefty.

Good thing Vecna was home and not out for a walk or something.

Oh, it's the sad Will hour.

Jonathan is still Big Brother Of The Decade.

And there's Tear-Up #1 - Will and Jonathan hugging it out set me off.

I hope the water they had MBB laying in was warm, at least.

Sadie Sink really knocks it out of the park this season. She's always been the strongest of the kids, but this season was another level.

Max wanted something bad to happen to her, and she definitely got it. I wonder how she'll feel in Season 5, if she'll think she deserved what happened to her?

The timelines for this last bit are kind of weird. Pretty much everything happens at once, but because they linger on certain scenes it makes it feel like some stuff takes longer than it does - like Steve, Nancy, and Robin are being strangled for like 45 minutes because the prison stuff is so far behind.

The blending of the Billy footage is really good; you'd never know Dacre didn't re-shoot it.

I love that Eddie's reaction when Dustin tells him it's time to go is to rock harder, and not run away.

Couldn't Eddie and Dustin's plot just end there? Let them leave and live happily ever after?

Silly Russians, you should know not to play with evil clouds.

Memory-ception!

Blood balloons. Gross. I know high school dances are bad, but this is kind of ridiculous.

Jason's little minion should NOT have messed with Erica.

Eddie shoving the nail-shield into the ceiling was very clever.

Oh, it's kinky strangle time! Vecna has a choke fetish for Steve, this is like the third time it's happened.

And here we go. Eddie's fucking face when he realises that he has to go back is just...the journey he goes on, it's so painful. This is the part where I realised he wasn't going to make it out of the season the first time through, and it broke me.

"Eddie, what are you doing?!" Yeah, we were all asking that, Dustin.

Crit hit! Go Erica!

Lucas's speech to Jason is A+. "Normal is a raging psychopath" indeed.

If Jason hadn't smashed the cassette player, I wonder if this would have ended differently.

The parallel between how Henry held El in the Rainbow Room vs. how El holds Henry in the Snow Ball is delicious.

There's just so many of those bats, but Eddie stays anyway. What a fucking hero.

"Touch her again, and I will kill you...again." El has entered her BAMF stage. Kali would be proud.

That shattered Creel House set in Vecna's mind is so good, it's smashed to bits, just like Vecna's mind itself.

I do enjoy the Mind Flayer/Vecna dynamic twist. Considering we haven't seen the Mind Flayer at all this season, and we know it's still alive out there.

Also, the Mind Flayer is a giant spider. I never noticed that before, but it is. So clever.

"It was always you." The best kind of retcon is one where it doesn't even look like a retcon. Amazing storytelling.

"Stay still, it'll all be over soon." That's exactly what Billy said to the people that got flayed.

Murray + Flamethrower = <3

Everyone really does play a part in the final fight, even if it doesn't look like it from the beginning.

Just fucking die, Demogorgon, jesus christ.

Epic Kate Bush reprise is epic. Get his ass, Nance!

But of course, he gets away.

Eddie's lifeless eyes, FFS.

Here comes Tear-Up #2 - Eddie's death, and then Max's literally the scene afterwards was just too much, man.

Did Jason deserve to die? No. Am I glad he won't be around anymore? Yes.

God, somehow watching that was worse the second time around. I was a mess even before Eddie died.

Oh, we're going into the final season, let's smash all the sets!

Steve's ass in those jeans at the end is perfection.

God, Vickie and Robin are as bad as each other. What a pair.

And just when I'd recovered from #2, here comes Tear-Up #3 - Dustin's little speech to Wayne broke my fucking heart.

Jonathan's still lying to Nancy. It's not going to end well, bud.

I wonder if, because Vecna apparently absorbs everyone he kills, El might be able to like deep-dive into his mind and pull her out, so she can get back to her body?

That final shot is chilling as hell.

What a great season.

#Lem's Stranger Things Rewatch #Stranger Things #Beware The Liveblogging Lem

[catstack17]

my superiority complex comes from loving steve harrington since the end of season one, that’s where his development started. i have the right to gatekeep him, and i will.

#steve harrington #loml #stranger things #he’s been my favorite for at least three seasons #edit: it’s been four seasons he’s been my fav you can’t hate him at his worst but love him at his best #and hot take but he honestly wasn’t all that awful in s1 #don’t get me wrong he has his flaws and he never should have antagonized jonathan the way he did even if it was out of hurt #him calling jonathan a certain word in a derogatory tone and then disgracing joyce and then will was out of line #but his immediate development when going to the byers’ house to apologize to jonathan (though nancy opened up the door) #his refusal to leave nancy and jonathan alone with a monster that he previously had little knowledge about then hitting it w/ a nail bat- #even though nancy had a gun to his face telling him to leave #which he hesitates in leaving but does then can’t leave either of them to fight the thing and saves jancy’s lives in the process #bc the monster pretty much would’ve killed both nancy and jonathan had steve not hit the thing and protected them both #the level of love i have for steve harrington is beyond comprehension honestly #his previous actions causes viewers to fully admire and appreciate him more when he has even more growth and development from s2 to s4

[plentyoffandoms]

Need You (Part 23) (18+)

Lee Bodecker x f/Reader

WARNINGS: This is smut. If you are under the age of 18, please do NOT read this. Swearing. Unprotected sex (always remember to use protection). Ddlg, step-father/step-daughter. Reader is legal age. Descriptive torture. Murder.

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Gifs & photos do not belong to me.

No smut in this chapter, but there sure as hell will be plenty in the upcoming chapters.

Main Masterlist ♡ The Devil All the Time Masterlist ♡ Lee Bodecker Masterlist ♡ Need You Masterlist

Summary: F/Reader is the step-daughter of Lee, who has taken care of her ever since her mother walked out on them. The two of them have always been able to keep the sexual tension at bay until one night.

Lee Bodecker's POV:

YN was right about it all. The two of them could escape and finish the job. Even the thought of coming home and finding her body or our boys bodies filled me with rage.

It didn't take long until we were pulling into the long drive way that leads up the Phil's house.

A few men were outside, keeping watch. Making sure no one comes on the property and making sure those two do not leave the property as well.

Phil came walking out of his house, cleaning his hands with a towel that was thrown over his shoulder. I wasn't even going to question what the hell he was doing before we got there.

"Lee, YN." He said as be nodded his head at us. Phil gently hugged YN, knowing she is still sore and healing from what she has gone through.

Phil's eyes raked over YN and it wasn't because he wanted her or found her attractive, no. It was to look over the damage that those did to her.

I heard her tell him that she is okay and that she will heal. He nodded his head but I can tell he is pissed that his friend had to go through this all.

"Phil, take us to them." I said as I wrapped my arm the waist of my wife, who leaned into my side.

He knew what was about to happen. I told him earlier that if YN is with me that means it is time to get everything prepared.

The bags for when we cut up the bodies, the holes dug up. Everything. From what Oliver has told me, they have already sanded off their fingerprints.

Oliver went to the dentist and burned Leroy's file just in case their bodies get found later on and they decide to try and identify him with dental records.

Nancy hasn't been here long enough to even go to the dentist, so I wasn't concerned about anyone trying to find out who she was.

Even if they did find the bodies, they would have no idea who she was. No cop is gonna go to every town in this state or adjacent states and look around for a Jane Doe.

I had YN go ahead of me. I am still concerned about her and I wanted to be behind her just incase she falls, but I had nothing to worry about.

I watched as the love of my life held her head up high and she descended down the basement stairs.

I heard the muffled screams of Leroy and Nancy as they heard more than one set of footsteps.

Then they stopped screaming once the three of us came into the small light that was the only source of light in this room.

I got a good look at the two of them and my men have done a good job with them. Their arms were tied above their heads. Their feet were barley touching the ground.

Their faces were beaten in and their finger tips had dry blood on them from the sanding.

I heard a set of footsteps come down the steps and I had my hand on my gun, ready. But it was just Oliver who stood next to me.

"Bring him down." YN said.

Oliver, Phil and I did as she asked. Even though Leroy was pretty badly beaten already, he still put up a fight. Trying to do everything to get away from us.

At one point his head actually made contact with my shoulder and then he tried to bite me. I made sure to get one good punch in before he was laid on the ground, that was covered in a plastic tarp.

Phil and Oliver held him down as I went and joined YN who was looking for something.

"What are you looking for gorgeous?" I asked her.

"I don't know. Something that will catch my eye." At that moment her eyes seemed to light up as she grasped the metal pipe that was in corner of the room.

I watched as YN picked it up and tested the weight of it and before I could even move, she took her first swing.

She made direct contact with Leroy's knees and he screamed in pain. Phil and Oliver had let him go before the first hit as they knew he wasn't going anywhere.

I watched as my wife beat Leroy with a metal pipe. Nancy screaming from where she was still hanging.

The three of us winced when YN hit Leroy over and over again in the junk, working her way up his body.

His screams were bloody loud as the cloth that was in his mouth fell down his chin.

YN finally took a moment and I could tell she was trying to figure out a way to finish him.

"Please....no....more." Leroy actually said.

The laugh that left YN's lips went straight to my cock as I felt it twitch in my pants slightly.

"Why should I stop? You didn't stop when I begged. You didn't stop when you told me how you were going to murder my family and then you were going to murder me. No, I don't think I will stop."

Leroy was about to say something else but the moment his big mouth opened, YN shoved the metal pipe into his mouth, his eyes wide as he tried to move his head away but he had no where to go.

So with all the strength she had left, she jumped up and put her whole weight on the pipe.

My own mouth fell open as I heard and saw the blood leaving his mouth. I heard the sound of pipe go through the back of his throat and YN let it go.

The metal pipe was standing straight up and YN turned to Nancy with a smile on her face.

"And now you Nancy." Nancy was quiet as the tears were streaming down her face. I saw the fresh trail of piss down her legs and I knew YN wasn't going to torture her physically.

"You know Nancy you could of just came and talked to me like a woman, instead of trying destroy my life. I could of explained to you what happened between Adam and I. How he was trying to blackmail Lee and I."

YN said as she gripped Nancy's face so Nancy would look at her. "How in his final moments, your cousin, the one person who you loved, watched as I fucked my step-daddy in front of him. How he came in his own pants to me cumming over and over again on my husbands cock. The last thing Adam saw was my face as I came and then he was shot in the head."

Nancy was full on crying now. Her face was coverd with snot and YN moved her hand from Nancy's face to grip her hair and pulled her head back.

"His final thoughts were not you. He never once mentioned you the whole entire time we worked together. You loved him more than he ever loved you and now you are going to die trying to avenge the man who did not care for you."

At that moment, Nancy gasped I saw her eyes look down as YN was still holding her head.

YN stabbed Nancy right in the stomach, but not enough to do any major damage.

"Lee?"

"Yes love?"

"Want to finish her like how we killed her beloved Adam?" I stood behind YN just like we did that faithful night.

Our hands both on the trigger and as I counted backwards from ten, I looked into the eyes of the woman who brought this on herself.

Just as I got to three, Nancy was screaming her head off and then she went silent as the gun went off. Her blood splattering YN and I and the two of us didn't even flinch.

I did check Nancy and Leroy to see if they were in fact dead. While I was doing that, Phil went upstairs and got the rest of the men.

I pulled YN into my arms and kissed her. Trying to show how I proud I was of her for not backing down through all of this.

We pulled apart and she leaned her head against mine and sighed.

"I need to see our boys."

"Let's clean up first and we will go and get them."

Phil showed us where his bathroom was so we can clean our hands and faces, which we did.

YN and I left the property and after I told Oliver I will be back later that night.

Once in the car, I explained to YN that when we get home to give me all the articles of clothing that she is wearing and put them in a garbage bag.

I was going to burn our clothes and then bury whatever didn't burn properly and plant a nice flower garden over it.

No one will go looking for Nancy and Leroy. A note will be 'found' in Nancy's apartment about how her and Leroy have decided to run off with one another and start a new life in Canada.

We will act like concerned co-workers of Leroy and will go to his apartment and we will find a note, similar to the one at Nancy's.

No one will question this. They will just think that two people are so madly in love with one another that they decided to run away.

Hopefully our lives will go back to normal once tonight is done and over with.

Part 22 / Part 24

Tag List: if you would like to be added, please let me know. @kitty1960 @red-rose-21 @adaydreamaway08 @charmed-asylum @thegirlnextdoorssister @thehuntresswolf @rebeccapineapple @hernameisnoellex3 @avengershoney

#the devil all the time (2020) #the devil all the time smut #the devil all the time x reader #the devil all the time #the devil all the time fanfic #lee bodecker #lee bodecker fic #lee bodecker x ofc #lee bodecker x you #sheriff lee bodecker #lee bodecker series #lee bodecker smut #lee bodecker x female reader #lee bodecker x reader #lee bodecker x y/n #sheriff lee bodecker x reader #sheriff bodecker #seb stan #Sebastian Stan