#steve harrington x olivia henderson

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Five: The Battle of Starcourt

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 9,951 Warnings: buckle up, we got a lot - angst, fluff, el's leg, canon violence with the mind flayer, small intentional car accident (no one gets hurt), singing, liv being sleep deprived, main character deaths Smut: no | yes; you're welcome oral (f+m receiving), fingering, protected m+f A/N: Hi, friends! As stated above... you're welcome. If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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I felt two arms go around me as I cried, watching El scream and sob in pain from her leg. I knew it was Steve because anytime I cried, he wrapped me in his arms like he was protecting me from whatever it was that caused tears to stream down my face. 

“What is that?” Erica asked.

It sounded like El’s flesh was about to burst into flames as Mike said, “There’s something in there.”

I moved from Steve’s arms as El yelled out “No!”, sitting on my knees at her head, brushing her hair down on her head.

“Jesus Christ,” Dustin said, looking at her leg still.

I think everyone’s eyes were glued to El’s leg as we just watched as something moved under it.

“Keep her talking,” Jonathan said, standing up. “Keep her awake, okay?”

El closed her eyes, whimpering just a little.

“El, baby, keep your eyes open,” I said. “You gotta stay awake, baby, okay?”

“Let’s get on this side, on this side,” Mike said. 

“Just lean her up on me,” I said, putting my arms under hers.

“Easy, easy, easy, easy,” Steve said, helping me pull her up in between my legs as I kicked them out.

Robin’s voice rang out as she said, “It’s, uhh… ya’know, it’s actually not that bad. There was a… the goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg, and like, the whole bone came out of her knee, six inches or something, it was insane.”

“Robin,” Steve and I said.

“Yeah?”

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jonathan’s footfalls had me turning my head in his direction, the boy stopping right in front of El, saying, “Alright, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?”

She sobbed out an “Okay.”

“Liv, I need you to help keep her real still.”

“Okay,” I said, gripping onto her a little tighter, feeling her hands doing the same on my arms.

Jonathan put on some gloves and handed me a wooden spoon, saying, “Here. You’re gonna wanna bite down on this.”

I put the handle between her teeth, the young teen biting down on it. Watching him pull out a knife, I said, “Holy shit, Byers!”

Jonathan looked at everyone before Mike said, “Do it.” He plunged the knife into her skin, her grip on my arms tightening tremendously. It hurt, but I didn’t care as she screamed in pain.

He dropped the knife before plunging his fingers into her leg, her grip once again increasing, her screams coming out more painfully. He felt around as Nancy was saying his name, him telling no one in general to stop talking, tossing out a “goddamn it!” in frustration.

“No!” El screamed, dropping the spoon from in between her teeth. “Stop it! Stop! Stop!” She let out a little sob, saying, “I can do it.”

“El,” I said as she sat up from my lap.

“I can do it,” she repeated, sitting up more, feeling for my hand. I scooted closer to her, my hands resting on the outside of my thighs, watching her as she reached out with her right hand, pulling whatever was stuck in her leg out with her psychokentic skill.

She screamed and the glass behind us shattered as she pulled whatever was in her leg out, suspending it for a moment before pushing it away. It started crawling as she leaned back against my chest, but it didn’t get very far before a foot stomped on it. That foot belonging to the one and only, Jim Hopper.

After we had picked El up and moved her to a bench, I wrapped her leg up before she laid on Hop while Joyce sat beside her, everyone else standing around.

Mike began explaining, “The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world.”

“And it almost did,” Nancy added. “That was just one tiny piece of it.”

I sighed, and turned towards Steve, his arms going around me as he walked a few steps forward, taking me with him. 

“How big is this thing?” Hopper asked.

Jonathan replied, “It’s big. Thirty feet at least.”

“Oh, sweet shit,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” Lucas said, looking at Hop. “It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry.”

Steve had moved us to stand by Max… well, I was standing by Max, he was on the other side of me. “Okay, so, just to be clear,” Steve said. “This big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it’s some kind of gigantic… weapon?”

“Yes,” Nancy said, sounding annoyed.

“But, instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon… with melted people?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Yeah, okay. I– yeah, I’m just making sure.”

Grabbing his attention, I said loud enough for only him to hear, “Do not let her make you feel small, okay?”

“What was that?” Nancy asked.

“No need to act all annoyed and shit just because someone’s asking a question to fully understand what we’re about to go up against.”

“Well maybe some people shouldn’t ask questions about what this thing is made of.”

Stepping forward, I said, “You wanna go, Wheeler?”

“Olivia,” Hopper said, gaining my attention. “Station?”

Groaning, I stepped back in between Steve and Max, saying, “Someone’s gonna have to teach her a freaking lesson on how to not be in control all the time.”

“Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?” Joyce asked.

“El beat the shit out of it, but yeah, it’s still alive,” Max said.

“But if we close the gate again–” Will said.

“We cut the brain off from the body.”

“And kill it,” Lucas added. “Theoretically.”

I jumped at the sound of Murray’s voice saying, “Yoo-hoo!” while waving some papers around. Looking back at Hop, I said, “Really, Jim? Murray?”

“Since when do you call me Jim?” Hop asked.

Murray walked over to us, saying, “Hello, Olivia,” before he set the papers down on a table, saying, “This is what Alexi called the hub,” while pointing to a spot on the papers. “Now, the hub takes us to the vault room.”

“Okay, where’s the gate?” Hop asked.

Pointing to another spot, Murray said, “Right here. I don’t know the scale on this, but I think it’s fairly close to the vault room, maybe 50 feet or so.”

“More like 500,” Erica said, walking towards the table. “What, you’re just gonna waltz in there like it’s commie Disneyland or something?”

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

With all the sass she could muster, Erica said, “Erica Sinclair, who are you?”

“Murray… Bauman.”

“Listen here, Mr. Bunman, I’m not trying to tell you how to do things, but I’ve been down in that shithole for 24 hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you’re all gonna die.”

I started laughing during her spiel, not sure if it was from lack of sleep or because she was doing what I had been dying to do since last year. “She’s got a point.”

“I’m sorry, why is this four year old speaking to me?” Murray asked.

“I’m ten, you bald bastard,” Erica said.

Laughing, I said, “Oh, my god, this is great!”

“Erica!” Lucas said.

“Just the facts!” Erica said.

“She’s right, though,” I said, my laughter dying down. “You’re all gonna die.” Walking forward, I continued, “But you don’t have to.” Looking at Murray, I smiled. “May I?”

“Please,” he said, smiling.

I sat down, feeling Dustin coming up behind me. Turning towards Dustin, I said, “You got a pencil on you?” Once he handed me his pencil, I said my thanks and moved the paper, marking where I needed to as I explained, “You see this room? Storage facility. There’s some sort of hatch that leads into their underground ventilation system. That will somehow lead you to the base of this massive weapon that I almost died from. It’s a fucking maze down there, but between these two-” I pointed to Erica and Dustin. “-they can get you through.”

“They can show us the way?” Hop asked.

“Don’t worry, Hop, you can be all macho man and do the brunt work, and they will just be your navigators.”

“No.”

“Hopper,” I groaned.

Shaking his head, he shrugged once and said, “Nope.”

~~~

“He can be such a jerk sometimes,” I said, getting whatever supplies we needed.

“Who?” Steve asked.

“Freaking Hopper,” I exclaimed. “He won’t let Dustin and Erica help them through the vent system when we’ve spent the last like–” I looked at the nonexistent watch on my left wrist. “–12 or so hours down there!”

“Eh, just let him take control for a little bit,” he said, passing in front of me.

Taken aback, I said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He sighed, placing whatever he had in his hands down. “Babe, it means you can’t always be in control.”

Sighing, I retorted, “You know why I have to try and be… especially for Dustin.”

“I know,” Steve breathed. “But just… take a step back and breathe for a little bit.”

Closing my eyes, I hung my head forward, my chin meeting the dip in my collarbone. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

I breathed his scent in as he put his arms around my shoulders, my own going around his middle. “It’s okay,” he said. 

“Hey, if you two could stop being all cute and shit and grab some stuff we need, that’d be great,” Robin said.

“I should go check on Dustin,” I said, looking up at Steve’s chin. He looked down at me, saying, “I can see him, he’s fine.”

“I’m being protective now. A sister. Plus, I can sense they’re about to start talking shit and I want to get in on that action.”

Steve chuckled, looking down at me. “Alright, beautiful. Go be a shittalking big sister.”

I smiled at the new nickname, kissing his chin before he looked down at me. “Okay, handsome.”

He smiled, leaning down to place a sweet kiss to my lips. I pulled my lips back into a smile, slowly pulling my body away from his as I backed myself up to the counter to jump over it, making my way over to Dustin and his group of friends.

“Well, that settles it,” Erica said. “He’s gonna die. They’re gonna die.”

“Yeah, most likely,” I said, walking down the small ramp to the fountain they were standing at.

“You guys survived,” Lucas said.

“Barely,” Dustin said, after turning to face Lucas.

“Call it luck,” I said.

“We could have really used you guys down there.”

“Could’ve used you up here, too,” Mike said. “Especially Liv’s protective side.”

“Yeah, well, I probably would’ve knocked your sister out in the process,” I breathed.

“We miss you, dude,” Lucas said, looking at my brother.

I put my arm around my brother’s shoulders, seeing a ghost of a smile on his face. “See? They missed you. I knew it all along.”

“Big-time,” Will said. 

The four younger boys I adored all huddled together in a hug. I tried to get out of it, but Will pulled me in, saying, “You’re a part of this party, too, Liv.”

“Honorary member,” I chuckled, causing them to laugh as well.

“Please, don’t cry, nerds,” Erica said.

Turning around to face her, I laughed, “Shall we tell them the little discovery we made about you in that vent system?”

“Erica,” Lucas said, stepping forward.

“Keep saying my name,” she sassed. “See what happens.”

“Ohh!” I breathed out.

“Hey, heads up,” Hopper said. “You can navigate, just from someplace safe.”

Shrugging with a frown on my face, I said, “Looks like you won’t die after all,” before smiling wickedly. “But it’s not that simple.”

“The signal won’t reach,” Erica added.

“Not with this,” Dustin said. “You need something with a high enough frequency band to relay with the Russian’s radio tower. But for that to work, you need someone who has both seen their comms room and has access to a super-powered handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins. Oh, wait. That’s me. If you want us to navigate, you got us. But we need a head start.”

I held my breath the entire time Dustin spoke to Hopper, releasing it once he was done. “Holy shit, I thought he’d never stop talking.” Looking at Hopper, I watched as his brows quickly rose up before Dustin looked at Erica then back at him saying, “And a car.”

Hop looked over at me, my lips scrunching to the side as I shrugged. “He’s right.” I put my hand out, saying, “Fork ‘em over.”

He turned to the side a little, yelling Steve’s name, said teen making his way over. Hopper put the keys in Steve’s hand, telling him to take us where Dustin told him to take us. I gawked at Hopper, who just shrugged and raised his brows like he couldn’t care less.

Letting out a groan, I tiled my head back, turning around and walking towards the front of the mall. Steve and the rest of our group followed behind a few moments later, until Steve got in front of me to open the doors.

“Oh, man, now this,” he said, tossing the keys a few inches out of his hand before they fell back into his hand. “This is what I’m talkin’ about.”

“Toddfather?” Robin and I asked.

“Oh, screw, Todd! Steve’s her daddy now.”

“Please don’t ever say that again,” I said, climbing into the front seat.

“Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?” Robin asked.

“Did he just call himself daddy?” Erica asked.

As the three of them - Robin, Erica and Dustin - all climbed into the back, Steve asked, “Alright, where are we going?”

“Weathertop,” Dustin answered.

“Weather-what?”

“Drive,” I said.

“Okay. Jesus.” Steve turned on the car and put it in reverse, sitting up to see behind him as he backed out, putting it in drive to start us forward on our newest mission.

I sat with my arms crossed, looking to my right at the scenery passing by. I was jealous that Steve got to drive, okay? I could hear the smile in his voice as Steve asked, “Baby, are you jealous?”

“Can you please stop calling her baby in front of me?” Dustin asked. “It’s gross.”

“Dustin, hush,” I said. “Steve, yes. I am. Now let me wallow.”

He chuckled, putting his hand on my elbow to drag my arm away from me, sliding his fingers between mine and kissing the back of my hand.

We drove for what felt like two states before I asked, “Sweet shit, Dustin, how far is this place?”

“Relax, dear sister, we’re almost there,” Dustin replied.

“This girl better be fucking special, Dusty. I mean, because of the fact that you went to camp, met her, built this radio and put it in the middle of nowhere  just to stay in communication with her.”

“Nobody’s scientifically perfect, but Suzie’s about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be.”

Looking at Steve, who never let go of my hand, I smiled and said, “I know someone.”

“You two are gross,” Erica said. “And this girl sound made-up to me. What about you?”

Steve and I looked at each other before Dustin said, “Why are you two hesitating?”

“I’m-I’m-I’m not! I’m not,” Steve said. “I think she sounds real. Ya’know, totally, absolutely real.”

“Left, turn left,” Dustin said. 

“There’s not a road here.”

“Turn left now!”

“Jesus. Hang on!”

I couldn’t help but scream as Steve made the sharpest turn in the history of sharp turns,  hitting a wooden fence, the car’s tires meeting nothing but grass.

“Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!” Steve yelled, both hands now on the wheel.

“Up!” Dustin said.

“We’re definitely gonna die!” I yelled, the car bumping against the grass.

“We’re not gonna make it!” Robin and I yelled.

“Yes, we are,” Steve said. “Come on, baby. Come on, baby!” He pressed the gas to accelerate us up this stupid hill, being unsuccessful as the car struggled to get more up. “Come on!"

“I guess the Toddfather has its limitations,” Robin said. 

“In other words, we’re stuck,” I said, resting my elbow on the part the window’s at, letting my fingers rest on my forehead.

Steve breathed heavily before I heard him get out of the car, the rest of the group following, aside from me.

“Liv!” Dustin called. “Come on!”

“Nope, I’m waiting for the Mind Flayer to come and eat me,” I deadpanned. A moment later, a body was leaning against the door, the backs of their fingers gently rubbing up and down my arm. 

“What’s up, babe?” Steve asked, gently.

I sighed. “Guess I’m just wallowing.” I looked up at him, placing my hand on his cheek, careful not to rub my thumb over his bruised eye. “Even with a black eye… you’re still perfect.”

He chuckled lightly, turning his head in my hand, pressing his lips to my palm. “I’m glad someone thinks so.” Locking his eyes on mine, he whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you,” I whispered back, smiling.

“Come on,” he whispered, backing away from the car to open the door. 

I sighed and got out, taking his hand after he closed the door, Dustin complaining about Steve and I taking forever, which in reality it was more like a minute.

We started walking up the hill, finally making it to Dustin’s man-made radio, my brother picking up the mouthpiece, pressing the button on it and saying, “Bald Eagle, do you copy? Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?”

Standing with Steve a few feet away, I said, “I’m gonna be repeating radio talk in my head for the next two years.”

“Yes, I copy,” Murray responded.

We all chuckled before Dustin asked, “Call sign?”

We had assigned everyone group names and call signs before we left… or at least Dustin did while I was walking away from everyone to get in the car.  In case you were wondering, call signs are as follows;

Griswold Family; El, Max, Lucas, Mike, Will, Jonathan and Nancy.

Eagles Nest; Murray, Joyce and Hop.

Scoops Troop; Robin, Erica, Dustin, Steve and myself.

“Bald Eagle,” Murray responded.

“Please repeat,” Dustin said.

Without missing a beat, Murray came back with “Bald Eagle! This is Bald Eagle!” before Dustin said with a smile, “Copy that. Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle. What’s your 20?”

“We reached the vent. I’ll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence.”

“Roger that, Bald Eagle. This is Scoops Troop, going radio silent. 10-10 over.”

I decided to lay on the wet grass a little while later, bored out of my mind. “Ya’know, I have a slight fear of space, but I find it fascinating. I especially love looking up at the stars. This angle suits you.” I chuckled, shifting my eyes from the stars to Steve as he came into view, his head tilted down, looking at me.

“Why are you laying on the wet grass?” he asked.

Shrugging, I said, “My legs were getting tired. And I’m tired. I haven’t slept in over 24 hours.”

“Scoops Troop, this is… hm… Bald Eagle. I’ve reached another junction.”

“This is what?” Dustin asked. 

“The fourth junction,” Erica said.

“Alright, so, if memory serves–”

“Right after the nerd epiphany,” I said, turning on my side a little.

“We went left, so he has to go right,” Erica said.

“Fly right, Bald Eagle,” Dustin said. “Fly. Right.”

“Roger that, flying right,” Murray confirmed.

“What’s the nerd epiphany?” Robin asked.

I noticed Steve walk away a few feet, looking out at Hawkins from our view. I got up, brushing myself off, and walked towards him, wrapping my arms around his middle, pressing forehead in between his shoulder blades. “What’cha doing?”

“Look,” he said.

I looked around him, seeing the mall’s lights flickering. “Uhh, guys!” A few seconds later, Erica, Dustin and Robin walked over to us before I turned to face Dustin, telling him, “Get your ass back over there right the hell now!”

The five of us rushed back to the radio, Dustin picking up the mic, saying into it, “Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over! Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop! Do you co–” The radio went staticy, Dustin asking once again, “Griswold Family, do you copy?”

Grabbing the mic from him, I pressed the button and yelled, “Do you copy?!” before hearing a roaring sound that shook me to my core. “Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Please, for the love of God, confirm your fucking safety! Griswold Family, please confirm your safety! Are you on your way to Bald Eagle?” I sighed before whispering to myself, “Goddamn it.” Pressing the button again, I repeated my words to Griswold Family.

Dustin grabbed the mic from me, telling them that someone needed to answer to confirm their safety.

“Why aren’t they answering?” I asked.

Dustin repeated “Griswold Family, do you copy?” over and over again. I had to stand up, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by everything going on, so I did what I felt the need to do; run. I ran past the group, hearing Erica ask not a second later, “Where are you going?”

“To get them the hell out of there!” Steve answered. “Stay here! Contact the others!”

I looked back, seeing him gaining speed as he caught up with me, Robin following his lead until we got back to the car, Steve putting it reverse and tearing out of the grass and back onto the main road, speeding like a bat out of hell.

“Steve,” I said. “Faster.”

“I’m already going–”

“Steve! Those kids are in danger! Faster!”

I watched his face as the car gained more speed, the trees zipping by us like the speed of light. Before we knew it, he was slowing down, turning somewhat carefully as to not flip the car and kill us all.

I saw a car headed for Griswold Family’s, so I patted Steve rapidly on the shoulder. “Baby, crash the car into Billy’s.”

“What?”

“He’s gonna kill Griswold! Crash the car!”

Right before Billy’s car went to make an impact, Steve yelled, “Hang on!!” before he t-boned Billy’s beautiful Camaro, both cars spinning 90 degrees before coming to a stop. A few seconds and heavy breathing from all three of us later, Steve asked, “You guys okay?”

“Ask me tomorrow?” Robin answered.

“Babe?”

Looking from somewhere in front of me to Steve, I said, “That was terrifying, but exhilarating! I have so much adrenaline right now, I could beat that motherfucker to a pulp.” Looking up, I said, “Holy fucking shit.” I stood up, resting my arm on the top of the windshield, watching as the Mind Flayer stomped its way up onto the roof of Starcourt Mall before it roared.

“Let the Battle of Starcourt begin,” I breathed. Hearing a horn honk, I looked to my right, seeing Mrs. Wheeler’s new car beside us.

I jumped out as Nancy said, “Get in!”, going to the very back of the stationwagon. I sat against the back of the seats in front of me, Steve right next to me by the door with Robin across from us.

“Byers, drive!” I said, looking at the 90 foot monster about to chase us as it descended from the building. I repeated, “Oh my god” about thirty times in a whisper, watching this thing chase us down the road. 

Steve put his arm around my leg, breathing heavily, my own arms going around his. The radio in Robin’s hand, that Dustin had apparently given her, went off.

“Dusty-bun, you copy?”

“I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks.”

I looked at Steve before looking at Robin, all three of us saying Suzie’s name.

“Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's Constant?” Dustin asked.

“Do you know the Earth orbits the Sun?” Suzie countered.

“Okay, so I know it  starts with two sixes, and then a… w-what is it?”

“Okay, so let me just be clear on this. I haven’t heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can… save the world?”

“Suzie-poo, I promise I will make it up to you as soon as possible.”

“You can make it up to me now.”

“What?”

“I want to hear it,” Suzie said, bribing my little brother.

“What?”

“I want to hear it,” she repeated.

With fear in his voice, Dustin said, “Not right now.”

Sternly, Suzie came back with, “Yes, now, Dusty-bun.”

“Suzie-poo, this is urgent.”

“Yes, yes, you’re saving the world, I heard you the first time, but Ged is also saving Earthsea and he’s about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie signing off.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Okay,” Dustin said. “Okay. Okay.” Even from here, I could hear him say, “Shit.” What came next had me groaning the same word, my forehead meeting Steve’s shoulder. “Turn around, look at what you see. In her face, the mirror of your dreams.”

I picked my head, grimacing as Steve looked confused. He looked down at me as I joined in, “Make believe I’m everywhere, given in the light. Written on the pages is the answer to our never-ending story.” Insert vocal run here.

“Reach the stars, fly a fantasy. Dream a dream, and what you see will be. Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds, and there upon a rainbow is the answer to our never-ending story.” Insert second vocal run. “Story!” Last vocal run.

“Plancks’ Constant is 6.62607004,” Suzie said.

“You just saved the world,” Dustin said, super proud of his girl.

“Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun.”

“I miss you more, Suzie-poo.”

“I miss you more, multiplied by all the stars in our galaxy.”

Grabbing the walkie from Steve, who had taken it from Robin, I pressed the button as soon as Dustin started talking again, saying into the mouth-piece, “Enough, Dustin!” Looking between Robin and Steve, plus Lucas and Will who had turned around to look at me, I breathed, “Shut up,” before looking back behind us, seeing the monster stopping.

“It’s turning around!” Steve said.

“What?” Nancy said.

“It’s turning around!” I exasperated.

“Maybe we wore it out,” Lucas said.

“I don’t think so,” Jonathan said. “Hold on.” He made the sharpest and quickest u-turn in the history of– oh, sweet shit, you get it!

I yelled out, feeling my body lurch forward towards Robin, who held her hands out to stop me. Once I was sitting right again, I turned my head to the front saying, “Never do that again, eldest Byers!”

~~~

We made it back to the mall in record time, quickly making our way to the second floor. Griswold Family apparently picked up some fireworks from a store they broke into the first time they cared for El’s leg. 

Seeing El on the ground, scared, made me angry and concerned all in one. Grabbing a firework, I lit it before tossing it at the Mind Flayer, the firework exploding once it hit. I lit another one before Lucas and I both yelled out, “Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!” before launching our fireworks at it, Lucas’ landing in the Flayers mouth. 

One by one, we all lit the fireworks, tossing them at the Mind Flayer, trying to either kill it or keep it distracted enough to not kill El.

“Hey, asshole!” Steve said. “Over here!” He tossed his firework at the monster, Robin tossing hers after, Billy going down with each hit.

With all the fireworks going off with our throws of them, you’d think we were having our own firework show in the middle of the mall.

“Shit, we’re almost out!” I yelled.

“Dustin,” Steve said into the walkie. “We’re outta time!”

“Hurry!” Dustin said. “Close it now! Close it!”

One last firework went off before I went to the railing, putting my hands on it, looking out Billy and El, the former leaning over her, still as can be before he turned his head towards the Mind Flayer, standing up before El started scooting back.

“What’s he doing?” I asked, to no one in particular. Just seeing him stand there, I wanted to make my way to El, and started to when two arms went around me. “Let me go, Steve. I need to get to El.”

“You’ll die if you,” he said. “She’ll be okay.”

Before I knew it, I was jumping in surprise in Steve’s arms, watching as Billy reached his hands out as the Flayer’s tongue, tentacle… thing reached out, Billy’s hands grabbing onto it as he said, “No!”

Color me surprised when I felt the protective side of him come out as he walked forward, yelling out to try and keep El from being attacked. Two tentacle-like arms came out of the Mind Flayer, digging themselves into Billy’s sides, him screaming out in pain.

It was very well known that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Billy after what he did to Lucas and Steve a few months ago, but I couldn’t help the tears that began to form at my waterline, knowing he was gonna die protecting Eleven.

Four more tentacles came out, grabbing onto him from all sides, hoisting him in the air as the teenager screamed out in pain. The creature brought Billy to his knees, who had black blood coming out of his mouth as he screamed at the creature roaring at him.

I screamed in horror as the creature’s mouth tentacle came rushing out, piercing itself into Billy’s sternum, Max screaming out his name.

The creature’s tentacles retreated, Billy dropping to the ground with blood coating his white tank top.

“Oh, my god,” I said, covering my mouth with my hand.

All of a sudden, the creature started writhing, tossing itself around. Steve pulled us back as it made its way towards us, crashing into the railing before landing on the floor, hopefully dead.

Making my way back to the part of the railing it didn’t destroy, I leaned over it, looking at the monster, feeling Steve and Robin all around me, fire all around the creature.

Watching Max lean over Billy’s body immediately had me looking around for Dustin, wanting to do nothing but hold him as tightly as I could.

“I’m sorry,” Billy choked out before letting out his final breath.

I moved from Steve and Robin, quickly making my way to Max, sliding onto my knees and wrapping her in a hug that I knew she needed in that moment. She grabbed onto me, sobbing into my shoulder at the loss of her big brother.

“I’m so sorry,” I cried. “I’m so sorry.” I sniffled. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” Feeling two hands on me, I looked to see El, our eyes locking before she rested her head on my shoulder.

Before we knew it, we were being brought to our feet by our military, the soldiers rushing us out of the mall before the fire could get any worse. There were soldiers, paramedics and firefighters everywhere when we got outside.

A paramedic went to grab at me first to check me over but I ushered Max forward first, letting them check her. A blanket was wrapped around my shoulders as I looked around to see if Dustin was gonna show up. When he didn’t pop up, fear took hold of me. “Where’s Dustin?”

“What?” a paramedic asked.

“My little brother,” I said, looking into her eyes. “Where is he?”

“Ma’am–”

“H-he’s got curly brown hair, like mine. He’s wearing a-a Roast Beef t-shirt–”

“Babe,” I heard Steve’s voice. I looked at him as he made his way towards me, a blanket around his own shoulders. 

“Oh, thank god,” I breathed, hopping down from the ambulance to rush to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank fuck you’re okay!” I pulled back to look at him, crashing my lips to his not a second later. Pulling my lips away from his, I said, “I love you. Holy shit, do I love you! I’m so in love with you, it’s ridiculous!”

He smiled before it faltered a bit, his face slightly scrunching up at the pain in his lip. “You heard that?”

“Every single word.”

We smiled at each other before he kissed me again, our lips moving in sync for a moment before he pulled away, grimacing. I touched the bottom of the cut, saying my apologies before he shook his head, saying we should go check on our friends.

Dustin showed up a few minutes later, Erica right on his heels. I ran over to them, wrapping my brother in the biggest hug I think I’ve ever given him since his birth. A couple minutes later, I pulled away, keeping my hands on his shoulders. “From now on, we’re never separating again, do you hear me?”

He nodded in agreement, pulling me back into a hug. I let all the tears slide down my cheeks, happy that I had my brother, but sad for Max, as she lost hers.

~~~

Three Months Later

I sat in the front seat of Steve’s BMW, he in the driver's seat, Robin in the backseat. “Okay, so what are we doing?” I asked.

“Steve and I are going to see about getting a job at–” Robin said, handing me the classifieds. “Family Video.”

“The movie rental store?” I asked. “You two should get the job! I mean, Steve and I spend a shit ton of time there weekly.”

Steve had asked me to basically move in with him since his parents weren’t home a lot of the time. I had asked my mom and she practically cried as she said yes, saying how much she’d miss me. I had told her that Steve and I worked out a plan that when his parents come back, I’d be back home until they left.

So, Steve and I had movie nights pretty much every single night, although I fell asleep during every single movie we rented.

When we pulled up and Steve put the car in park, the three of us got out as Robin asked, “You put your mom down as a reference?”

“Yeah, why not?” Steve said, standing at the front of the car, hand held out for me to take. “She’s, like, super-well respected.” He opened the door, lifting his arm for me to walk under, Robin walking in behind me saying, “You’re such a dingus.”

Seeing Keith behind the counter eating Cheeto Puffs, I turned to Robin and said, “One of you might get a job.”

Keith, Robin and Steve chatted for a minute before Robin corrected Keith’s words of them getting fired. “Uh, just to be clear, we weren’t fired, ya’know. The mall burned down and, like, killed a bunch of people.”

Keith dropped their resumes, deadpanning, “Thanks for sharing. Didn’t know.”

I scoffed, “Please.

He snapped his fingers, pointing at Robin, asking, “Three favorite movies, go.”

“Uh,” she said. “The Apartment, Hidden Fortress… Children of Paradise.”

“Liv, go,” Keith said.

Confused, I said, “Uh… Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club.”

He scoffed. “Typical. John Hughes.” Snapping and pointing at Steve, he said, “You, go.”

“Favorite movies?” Steve asked.

“Did I stutter?”

I facepalmed as Steve replied, “Uh… Animal House, for sure. Uh…”

Keith snapped at him again, using two fingers to point to his eyes as he said, “Eyes on me, Harrington.”

“Yeah, uh… Star Wars.”

Pressing my forehead against Robin’s shoulder, I muttered, “Oh my god.”

“A New Hope?”

“A New what-now?”

“Which Star Wars?”

“The one with the teddy bears,” Steve said. “Duh.”

“They’re called Ewoks,” I whispered. Steve then proceeded to make noises like an Ewok.

“No? Uh… oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out. Babe, we saw it, remember? The one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he’s trying to bang his mom.” Steve chuckled as I closed my eyes and sighed. “The time… yeah, those are my top three. Classics.”

Point between Robin and I, Keith said, “You two start Monday.”

“Wait, what?” I said. “I didn’t even apply! I’m just here for moral support.”

“Monday,” Keith enunciated. Look at Steve, he said, “You start never.”

Steve looked at me, annoyance in his eyes.  I rested my forehead on his shoulder, upset for him. He’d been at this all day.

Feeling a hand on my back, I turned head to face Robin as she said, “Steve, will you, uhm… give Liv and I a moment with Keith? Will you just give us a minute?”

“Why?” Steve asked.

She whispered his name as I picked my head up, looking up at him as he turned his eyes to our best friend before downcasting them to me. I leaned up just as he was leaning down, his bottom lip captured between my own.

We pulled apart just as he was reaching for his resume, sliding it along the counter as he started backing away.

“Alright, Keith, you gotta understand,” I said.

“His taste is a bit pedestrian,” Robin said. “But the dingus has other qualities.”

“He’s a douchebag of the highest order, girls,” Keith said.

“Eh, not anymore,” I defended. “I mean, to be fair, he was a bit of a prick to everyone in high school, myself included, but he’s–”

“A total chick magnet,” Robin interrupted.

I cleared my throat, looking at her with raised brows.

“Yeah, okay, and this is relevant to me, how?” Keith asked. “Besides, he’s with Henderson here.”

“Earth to Keith,” Robin enunciated. “The ladies will come in just to see him. They’ll come in in droves.”

“Quit prostituting my boyfriend,” I said.

Ignoring me, Robin continued, “We sold so much ice cream, they had to get a second shipment from Michigan. Goddamn Michigan, Keith. And these ladies–” She inhaled sharply. Yes, I know about her being gay. “These ladies are hot. They’re so very hot.”

“Okay, calm down.”

“And there are too many of them for little Steve. He needs assistance. He needs your assistance, Keith.”

Munching on a Cheeto Puff, Keith asked, “What’s in it for you? What’s in it for Olivia since she’s dating the douchebag?”

I quickly turned my head to look at the commotion behind me, watching Steve pick up a cardboard cutout of Phoebe Cates from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 

“Goddammit,” Steve said. “This is–” He tried putting the stand back in place, his resume between his lips.

“We’re just friends,” Robin said.

Turning back to her, I said, “I’m not prostituting my boyfriend. Again.”

“Oh,” Steve said, causing me to look back at him again. “Fast Times. Fast Times. Ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith.”

Robin and I laughed at him before I went over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck after taking the paper from his mouth. Pressing a kiss to his lips, I brought a hand to his cheek, feeling his hands grip my waist.

Pulling away, I whispered, “I love you. And I think Robin just got you a job.”

“Really?” he whispered back.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “But I have to prostitute you out for sales again. Oh! I need you to take me to the Byers. They’re packing up and I want to be there to send them off.”

~~~

I got to the Byers’ house as soon as Nancy and Jonathan were bringing a mattress out to put in the U-Haul truck that was backed up to their front door. After I greeted them, I went inside, Max’s face lighting up as she saw me.

“Liv!” she said, standing up to give me a hug. Ever since the 4th of July, she’s been by my side, almost like a shadow that I welcomed. Her mom and stepdad weren’t doing so well, so I told her that I’d be there for her. She’s turned into the little sister I’ve always wanted. I’m grateful for Dustin, do not get me wrong. He’s my little buddy, and I love him.

Max guided me to a box that Dustin was sitting at, asking me to help him pack it and tape it up. I wasn’t there for five minutes before her and Lucas started singing, “Turn around, look at what you see.”

I laughed and joined in, “In her face, the mirror of your dreams.” As I looked at Dustin’s profile, the three of us continued, “Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.”

“Wait, did we get that verse right?” Max asked.

“It is ‘unfold behind the clouds,’ right?” I asked.

Turning his head to lock our eyes, he said, “Yeah, you should know it. But all three of you are butchering it, so could you please stop?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “I think we sound pretty good.”

“Yeah, join in, Dusty-bun,” Lucas said, dreamy like before blowing a couple kisses at him.

I laughed, “Yeah, Dusty-bun, join us!” as I put my arm around his shoulder. 

Looking at me, Dustin said, “You’re so funny, you should be on Carson.”

“Can we hear it again?” I asked, smiling. 

“No.”

“Please?” 

“No, Liv. It’s reserved for Suzie’s ears and Suzie’s ears alone.”

I looked at Lucas and Max, still smiling as they shifted their eyes to mine, all three of us starting to sing again. “Turn around, looking at what you see!” Looking at Dustin, I started laughing while continuing my singing as he flipped all three of us his middle finger. Resting my head on his shoulder while looking at Lucas and Max, I laughed harder than I have in the last three months.

Of course, Steve and I have shared laughs like this in the last three months, but I haven’t shared a good laugh with my kiddos.

Yes. I consider the party my kids, as well as Dustin. I used to call him my baby when we were little.

Will packed up some things in the donation box they had set up as Jonathan and Nancy came back in the house, I’m assuming going to his room. Joyce came out with a box in her arms, her face lighting up when our eyes met. 

I smiled at her, standing up and giving her a hug once she set the box down, giving me her thanks for coming to help, even though the majority of everything was already done. “I’m just here for moral support,” I told her.

She picked her box back up and went outside to put in the moving truck. I grabbed a box that the kids had packed and taped, bringing it out to the truck and setting in an open space. Tears streamed down my face as I hugged the Byers family, El included.

“You’ll call me, right?” I asked her, sniffling.

She nodded her head. “Yes.”

“I want to hear every single detail of everything you experience, okay?”

She chuckled. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I whispered. I gave her another big hug, whispering, “I love you, El.”

“I love you, too, Liv.”

Giving Joyce one last hug, she said to me, “You be good… and careful.”

I nodded, the tears flowing once again. “I will.”

Pulling out of the hug, she said, “You take care of yourself. And be safe.” She gave me knowing eyes that I chuckled at, wiping a tear away.

“We’re not there yet, but once we are, we will be.”

She nodded her head, giving me one last hug before moving to the driver’s seat of the moving truck, Jonathan and Will getting into his truck. Joyce’s car was being towed on the back of the moving truck.

The Wheeler’s, Lucas, Max, Dustin and myself stood in their driveway, watching as they drove off for the very last time. The kids got on their bikes while Nancy and I got into her mom’s car, offering me a ride to Steve’s house.

Over the last few months, Nancy and I have been on okay terms. She told me that she didn’t care that I was with Steve, she was just upset that he and I got together as quickly as we did after they broke up.

I told her the same thing, just with Jonathan, who was like a brother to me. I told her that I didn’t want to see him get hurt, but I could tell she loved Jonathan a hell of a lot more than she ever did with Steve.

When we made it to Steve's, I thanked her and got out of the car, making my way to the front door, where I let myself in with the key that he had made for me. I smiled as I took my shoes off, setting my keys down on the table by the front door. The smell of popcorn filling the air.

Steve and I walked into the living room around the same time, a handful of popcorn up at his mouth as he stared at me. “You’re home early,” he said around that handful.

“They pretty much had everything packed and loaded on the truck when I got there,” I said, walking towards him, taking my own handful of popcorn, dropping a couple of pieces into my mouth at a time.

He nodded his head, pointing to the couch with the popcorn bowl. “I was about to watch a movie.”

“Ooooh, which one?” I asked, turning on my toes to walk to the couch, plopping down on it.

“Police Academy.”

Nodding my head with an impressed look, I said, “Nice. Can I join?”

He chuckled. “Of course.” He sat down next to me, the bowl of popcorn on his lap, no sound coming from either one of us. 

As the movie played, Steve and I cuddled, the popcorn long gone, and before I knew it, the movie was long forgotten about, my back to the cushions, our lips in hungry kisses.

***

Steve was slotted between my legs as he pulled my shirt up to just below my breasts, his hand resting on my ribs, lightly.

“Take it off,” I breathed. I knew he knew what I was referring to, but the look in his eyes had me say the material I meant. “My shirt. Take it off.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

We’ve only ever made out, clothes staying on the entire time. I knew I wanted to go there with Steve, give him all of me, and I knew he wanted to give me all of him as well, but we never got there. No time ever felt like the right time.

Sure, I’ve had sex with two other guys in high school, but they never made me feel that good. The rumor mill in school said that Steve was the best and he cared for his partners, wanting to make them feel just as good as he did. 

So, as I looked him in the eyes, running my hands through the sides of his head, I nodded my head. “Yes.”

“It could lead to… other things.”

“I know,” I said, softly. “I want it. I want you… again.”

Without a moment's hesitation, he leaned down, saying, “I want you again, too,” before connecting our lips in a kiss that I felt every emotion, all the love and care in. Pulling me up gently, he grabbed the sides of my shirt, lifting it over my head. He stood off the couch, taking my hands in his, lifting me to my feet. He placed his hands on my hips, telling me to jump, which I did, my legs wrapping around his hips.

As he walked towards the stairs, he checked to make sure the front door was locked. It was because I had locked it before taking off my shoes just an hour before. Taking careful steps, he walked us up the stairs, over the landing and to his room, my face buried in his neck the whole time.

I felt my back on the mattress, Steve still hovering over me. “Our first time as a couple shouldn’t be some couch fuck,” he said. “It should be special… like you.” I smiled, threading my fingers through his hair as he leaned down once more to kiss my lips, both of us breathing in deep.

It’s funny how connected you can feel to someone just by kissing them, or being around them. I’ve always felt connected with Steve, ever since we were kids. Before my dad left, he would bring me over to Steve’s, him and I swimming in his pool while his parents and my dad talked inside. When my dad walked out of his and Mom’s bedroom with his suitcase was the last time I saw him before I snuck out, Steve letting me stay over that night.

I felt Steve pull back, our eyes locking, as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shaking my head, I said, “Nothing. I just… love you. So much.”

He smiled, cupping my cheek with his hand. “I love you, too.” He kissed me again, the hand cupping my cheek making its way down my neck and the middle of my breasts before moving more south towards the button of my jeans. I watched him pop it open with one hand, a smile on my face as he did so.

“Look at you, Mr. I-Can-Do-Shit-With-One-Hand,” I mused.

He chuckled, looking down at my stomach. “That’s not all I could do with one hand.”

Flood gates opened at my entrance, my panties becoming wet with my arousal. “Fuck me,” I whispered. “Damn, Harrington. You have a way with words.”

“You bet, babe,” he smiled, kissing me again.

I swear, if a Demogorgon came and killed me, I would want to die right here in Steve’s arms with his lips on mine.

He moved his lips from mine to my cheek, down to my neck where he left a lovely bruise that I would have to cover tomorrow when I go to do my errands, before moving to the valley of my breasts.

They aren’t big, a low B cup, but they’re just big enough to fit into Steve’s hands after he removed my bra from my chest, tossing the material to the side of the bed, a small thud sounding on the floor as he did. I watched as he admired my breasts, looking me in the eyes after a moment. 

“So perfect,” he whispered, before taking his lips to my left nipple, a gasp sounding from me.

“Oh… my god,” I breathed, carding my left hand through the back of his hair as he lapped and sucked and licked and kissed my nipple and breast. He moved the other, showing the same amount of attention as he did my left.

No eye contact was made as I watched him kiss his way down my stomach to the tops of my jeans. He sat up and looked at me before wrapping his fingers around the material hugging my hips, pulling them down slowly before dropping them to the pile that’s being started on the side of the bed. 

I could tell he was straining behind his own pair of jeans, so I sat up and cupped him lightly, hearing him let out a sharp breath. “Don’t worry,” I mused. “I’ll get to him next.”

“Fuuuuuuuuuck,” he breathed as I popped the button on his jeans, bringing down his zipper to help give him more room. He laid me back down, hand resting on my stomach. “Next time, you can take care of me. This time, our first, I want to take care of you.”

All I could was smile at his words as he looked down at the center of my panties. His eyes widening for just a moment before he looked at me.

“Goddamn, babe,” he said. “All that for me?” He lightly ran a finger over my clothed core, a hiss sounding from me at the anticipation I was having.

“Yes,” I nodded. “All for you, Stevie.” There’s only a few people in the world that could call him Stevie. His mother, Robin and myself. His mother because… that’s his mother. Robin because he decided to deal with it, and me because I called him that once when we were in middle school and he said I could call him Stevie anytime.

He pulled my panties to the side, dragging his finger through my folds from my entrance to my clit, where he drew light and small circles, my back arching a little as I moaned. “That all you got for me?” he asked, drawing faster circles. 

“Do other things and I’ll give you more,” I panted.

“Oh?” he asked, arching a brow. “And what else can I give you?”

“Your mouth.”

Putting my panties back in place, he said, “What do you want, Liv? What do you want me to do?”

“Eat me,” I said, hooking my thumbs into the sides of my panties, taking them off and spreading my legs. “Eat me like I’m your last meal.”

He laid on his stomach, wrapping his arms around my thighs, kissing each one carefully while making his way up, his face eventually meeting my core. Looking at me, he asked, “Are you sure?”

I nodded my head almost too eagerly. “Yes. I’m sure.”

Without missing a beat, he licked a long stripe from my entrance to my clit, just like he did with his finger. Letting out a long moan, my head went further into the pillow, my right hand grasping at the sheets while my left went for his hair.

I had also heard in that rumor mill that Steve liked his hair pulled roughly, which I didn’t believe. He would always come to school with a headache or stay home with a headache that I would ask him about the next day.

Steve wrapped his lips around my clit, sucking lightly. There were also rumors about me in the sex department at school, saying that I liked it super rough, but I didn’t. I liked a little bit of roughness when done correctly, not the kind that would have me sore all over the next day, and not the good kind of sore either.

I didn’t believe any sex rumors about Steve, and I don’t think he believed any about me, which is a really good thing. I looked down at Steve as he worked magic on my core, his tongue diving into me as his nose brushed my bud that was growing sensitive. “Steve,” I moaned out. 

He put one finger in me to start, looking at me. “Yeah, baby?”

“Need you.”

Chuckling, he placed a kiss on my bud before licking it again, adding another finger to my entrance. Moaning again, I lightly pulled his hair, hearing and feeling a satisfied groan from him. 

Just as my orgasm was climbing to its peak, he pulled his fingers from me, climbing up my body. “What… the… fuck… did you just do? I was gonna cum in the next five seconds!”

He chucked, kissing me to stop my unnecessary whining. “You’ll cum, don’t worry,” he said, reaching into his nightstand. He stood from the bed, shedding his jeans and boxers as I sat up quickly, getting to my knees in front of him. 

“You’re getting a blow job whether you like it or not,” I said, kissing the head of his penis while wrapping my hand around his shaft. I don’t really like giving guys head because of my experience with other guys being extremely rough. But with Steve, I want to. His cock is like a drug at this very moment for me as I take the head and put him into my mouth, hearing him moan above me.

I slowly take more of him in, going as far as I can to not set my gag reflexes off. Starting my bobbing rhythm, I jerk off what’s not in my mouth. When I look up through my lashes, I see his head is tilted back. Moaning around him, I close my eyes for a moment before feeling him tap my cheek.

Pulling back, I let go of him with a small pop before kissing his shaft and standing up. Steve places his lips on mine as I hear the tearing of a foil packet, Joyce’s words sounding in my head. “Be safe.”

I can’t help but smile through the kiss, breaking apart momentarily to look down, watching as Steve rolls the rubber onto his glistening shaft.

“What’s with the smile?” he asked. “Not that I’m happy to see it.”

Shaking my head, I said, “Nothing. Just something that Joyce said earlier. No biggie.”

“What’d she say?”

“She said to be safe.” I grabbed his hand in mine, crawling backwards on the bed until my head met the pillow again, Steve hovering over me before he pulled back up again, pulling the sheets back.

“Personal preference?” I asked.

He shook his head, bringing the covers over us after I laid back down. “No. Just wanna feel closer to you, that’s all.”

I smiled at that, threading my fingers through his hair once last time before letting out a moan as he carefully and slowly slid his cock inside me. “Fuck, Steve.”

��Damn, you feel good,” he groaned.

We stayed like that for a moment, Steve letting me adjust to his size again. He’s the biggest I’ve ever had. I could cum just from this alone, his head already reaching that spot inside me that my own fingers can’t reach.

“I’m gonna move now,” he said, kissing my cheek.

All I could do was nod my head, basking in this moment. He started moving his hips back and forth at a slow, but good pace, letting me continue getting used to him. When that no longer did anything, I bucked my hips, letting him know he could go a little faster.

Resting his forearms beside my head, he looked me in my eyes and I knew he was going to say what he told the other girls, but what came out of his mouth shocked me. “You’re out of this world beautiful.” Well, I wasn’t expecting that.

Cupping his cheek, I whispered, “And you’re out of this world handsome.”

He kissed me stupid after that, both of us cumming at the same time. 

After he disposed of the condom and carefully helped to clean and dress me, we laid in his bed, his arm around me as I cuddled into his side. He ran his fingers up and down my arm as I closed my eyes, content in this moment with him.

***

“I love you,” I whispered, tears coming to my eyes.

“I love you, too,” he whispered back.

“No, like…” I sniffled, sitting up. “I love you. Like, I wanna marry you one day, have your babies, grow old with you kind of love.”

He cupped my cheek for what felt like the millionth time tonight, wiping away a tear that had fallen from my waterline. “Is that why you’re crying?”

I nodded, leaning into his touch. 

Smiling, he said, “Well, it’s the same for me, baby. Always has been.”

“Aside from–”

“Even with Nance. I think I loved her because I felt like I couldn’t have you.”

Another tear fell, and another wipe with his thumb. I leaned down, capturing his bottom lip between mine before laying back down, my head on his shoulder. I sighed, closing my eyes, ready for sleep.

“I love you, Stevie.”

“I love you, Livvie.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note: S4 COMING NEXT WEEK!! also, if y'all want a backstory on the "again" comment before they do the smexy time, let me know!!

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

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Posted on April 16, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #max mayfield #billy hargrove #robin buckley #season three episode eight #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

[sweetdreamsshifter]

Hey guys! Please, please, PLEASE send in requests! I'm in desperate need for writing time, but I have no inspiration. Here's the people/characters I'll write for that I can think of. If someone isn't on the list, just ask, and I'll try to deliver! I'll possibly post a prompt list as well.

WHAT I WON'T WRITE: SMUT, ABUSE, PEDOPHILIA, RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA

(If any of these themes are present in a shows storyline, then there will be a warning in each story and a cut of where)

With that, enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Smosh:

- Literally anyone in the cast/crew, new or old Smosh (Reader will be aged up, duh)

Stranger Things:

- Eleven

- Mike

- Dustin

- Will

- Lucas

- Max

- Steve

- Billy

- Jonathan

- Nancy

Teen Wolf:

- All the characters :)

Umbrella Academy:

- All the Hargreaves children. (Anything with Five will either be aged up or reader will be aged down)

Harry Potter:

- All characters (Golden Trio Era, Marauders Era)

#smosh imagine #smosh fanfic #damien haas x reader #shayne topp x reader #courtney miller x reader #Olivia Sui x reader #Keith leak jr x reader #Noah Grossman x reader #stranger things x y/n #will byers x reader #Mike Wheeler x reader #billy hargrove x reader #eleven x reader #max x reader #lucas x reader #dustin henderson x reader #steve harrington x reader #jonathan byers x reader #nancy wheeler x reader #teen wolf x reader #harry potter fanfiction #umbrella academy number five

[nikosasaki]

mara's mobile masterlist.

sorted alphabetically - fics that have been posted are linked.

freefall winxverse blog | fictional k-pop blog

original fiction masterlist.

Benny Bayford.

fandom; riverdale. love interest(s); Jughead Jones, Sweet Pea. fic; It's Only Right. face claim; timothée chalamet.

Blue Alvar.

fandom; fate the winx saga. love interest(s); Beatrix. fic; x. face claim; brianne tju.

Bram Marwood.

fandom; wednesday. love interest(s); Xavier Thorpe. fic; x. face claim; aidan gallagher.

Cassie Lewis

fandom; pjo. love interest(s); Luke Castellan. fic; x. face claim; sadie sink.

Camile L'Angevin.

fandom; gossip girl reboot. love interest(s); Obie Bergmann. fic; Rich Kids. face claim; talia ryder.

Cricket Malhotra.

fandom; heartbreak high. love interest(s); Ant Vaughn & Spider White. fic; x. face claim; megan suri.

Dani Manhattan.

fandom; gen v. love interest(s); tba. fic; x. face claim; havana rose liu.

Drew Sato.

fandom; teen wolf. love interest(s); Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken. fic; Take Me Back. face claim; lyrica okano.

Dolores Till. 

fandom; the umbrella academy. love interest(s); Five Hargreeves. fic; Cherry Wine. face claim; raffey cassidy.

Felix St. Arthur. 

fandom; pjo. love interest(s); Matty Ellis. fic; - face claim; finn wolfhard.

Fletcher Hunt.

fandom; the hunger games. love interest(s); Julius Alexander. fic; x. face claim; george mackay.

Jos Franken.

fandom; shadow and bone. love interest(s); Malyen Oretsev. fic; The Gentleness That Comes. face claim; anya taylor-joy.

Jules Gardner. 

fandom; titans. love interest(s); Dick Grayson. fic; The Fall. face claim; erin moriarty.

Julius Alexander.

fandom; the hunger games. love interest(s); Fletcher Hunt. fic; x. face claim; drew starkey.

Jordan Hicks.

fandom; scream. love interest(s); Chad Meeks-Martin. fic; x face claim; peyton list.

Kate Simmons.

fandom; mcu. love interest(s); Peter Parker. fic; - face claim; kathryn newton.

Kit Macmillan.

fandom; the wilds. love interest(s); Kirin O'Conner. fic; - face claim; ella purnell.

Kyata Rin.

fandom; alice in borderland. love interest(s); Chishiya Shuntaro. fic; - face claim; sonoya mizuno.

Leo Clarke.

fandom; outer banks. love interest(s); JJ Maybank. fic; Pleaser. face claim; haley lu richardson.

Louisa Henderson.

fandom; stranger things. love interest(s); Steve Harrington. fic; - face claim; maddie hasson.

Luke Greco.

fandom; xo kitty. love interest(s); Minho. fic; - face claim; michael cimino.

Mack Tahau.

fandom; riverdale. love interest(s); Toni Topaz, Veronica Lodge. fic; It's Only Right. face claim; erana james.

Magpie Prescott.

fandom; hsmtmts. love interest(s); EJ Caswell. fic; Anyone Else (the jealousy series) faceclaim; chase sui wonders.

Margot Kipps.

fandom; lockwood & co love interest(s); Anthony Lockwood. fic; Hauntology. face claim; emilia jones.

Mathéo L'Angevin.

fandom; gossip girl reboot. love interest(s); Aki Menzies. fic; Rich Kids. faceclaim; jacob elordi.

Matty Ellis. 

fandom; pjo. love interest(s); Felix St. Arthur. fic; - face claim; riley lai nelet.

Newt Solis.

fandom; fate the winx saga. love interest(s); Riven. fic; Freefallverse face claim; archie renaux.

Nick Davis.

fandom; stranger things. love interest(s); Robin Buckley. fic; - face claim; olivia scott welch.

Oz Reynolds.

fandom; stranger things. love interest(s); Eddie Munson. fic; Never Going Back. face claim; mark mckenna.

Samir 'Tripwire' Walker.

fandom; peacemaker. love interest(s); Adrian Chase. fic; - face claim; avan jogia.

Skipper Munroe.

fandom; outer banks. love interest(s); JJ Maybank. fic; The Lighthouse. face claim; mike faist.

Sonia Parikh

fandom; lockwood & co love interest(s); Lucy Carlyle. fic; Hauntology. face claim; charithra chandran.

Stevie August.

fandom; julie and the phantoms. love interest(s); Reggie Peters. fic; Haunt Me. face claim; jenna ortega.

#mobile masterlist

[willow-tree-writes]

❀Chocolate❀

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Summary: You and Steve have a sort of thing. But that’s all it is. That is until at one fateful party, liquid confidence and a little push of emotions take you over.

Request: N/A

Author’s Note: This is the first fic I’m posting, so I hope you like it! And please feel free to send me requests. (I hope it isn’t too bad)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Fluff, Cursing, Underage Drinking, Blood, Angst

!I don’t own this gif!

You, Y/N Henderson, didn’t go to parties. You much rather sit at home, watching geeky sci-fi movies with your little brother.

This Friday night wasn’t supposed to be any different. That is until your best friend decided for you to change up your plans.

Your arms were crossed as Olivia opened the passenger’s side door. Music from the house blared out over the whole area. It wouldn’t surprise you if someone called the police with a noise complaint.

“Come on, Y/N. You’re not going to sit in my car all night.” She tried to reason, but nothing stuck.

“If I have anything to say in the matter, then yes, I will.” You mumbled, shifting as if you were trying to become one with the seat.

Olivia simply rolled her eyes. “You know he’ll be here, right?”

You seemed to sink into the seat deeper. “That’s the main reason I shouldn’t be here…”

There was no doubt that something was going on between you and a certain Golden boy with great hair. But no one knew what it was that was going on. No one, including you. Steve, in your eyes, always seemed to have things planned out, while you sat there wondering what you were going to do minute to minute.

After some more coaxing, you finally get out of the car and are immediately pulled into a den of drunk and high teenagers.

Olivia pulls you through a crowd of dancing drunks in the living room to a crowd of tipsy girls in the kitchen. You didn’t notice it when she grabbed you a cup and filled it with some liquid as your eyes had been scanning semi-familiar faces. You were looking for a certain familiar face.

You didn’t know how long you were looking, but it was long enough for Olivia to disappear from your side.

You sighed to yourself and started to maneuver your way through the crowd. You didn’t really give what could be in your cup any thought. You knew Olivia probably would be drinking and that you were the one that would have to drive her home. Yay for you.

This was the only real thought that swarmed around your head when you spotted a certain tuft of hair. Then, all thoughts went to him.

He looked good. He always looked good. He wore a simple dark blue polo with a pair of jeans. His hair was slightly a mess, probably from partying. He wore the perfect smile, which infected you with a stupid, bashful smile.

He looked exactly like he does now when this whole ‘thing’ between them started.

**

“Y/N! Popcorn!” Dustin called out from the living room. He wouldn’t dare get up and get it himself.

“Hold your horses!” You called back out, grumbling something to yourself. Steve’s kitchen was big and impossible for you to navigate alone. 

The Party was having their weekly movie night at the teenager’s house and Dustin had invited you for the first time. You thought it would be to spend some more time together. Nope. He just wanted you as a snack server.

You didn’t know why, but even Steve wasn’t helping. And this was his damn house.

You found the popcorn and started to get it ready. You waited for it with crossed arms. A minute or so later it was done and you started now looking for a big enough bowl. Just your luck, the perfect bowl was in a cabinet above the fridge, behind a glass bowl.

You pulled over a bar stool that sat at the island in front of the fridge. You were determined to do this yourself. Too determined.

Standing on the wobbly stool, you reached back and grabbed the bowl, carefully pulling it out. Turns out, you weren’t careful enough.

The glass bowl that was in front was hit lightly once, but that was enough to send it out of the cabinet and onto the floor with a loud crash.

“Shit shit shit.” You mumbled, quickly getting down off the stool.

You could hear some of the Party talking from the other room, wondering what the hell you were doing. Steve came rushing into the kitchen, looking around to try and find out what happened.

There you were, on your hands and knees, cleaning up the pieces of broken glass. “I’m so sorry Steve.” You seemed to sense his presence.

He shook his head, but you didn’t see him. “Uh, no, it’s alright.” He grabbed a trash can and came over to start helping you clean up. “It was probably just some cheap, expensive bowl that my mom got from Europe or something.”

You almost snorted, a small smile tracing your lips as you shake your head. “Yeah, no big deal at all.”

That smile was quickly wiped away and replaced with a look of pain. “Fuck…!” You mumbled, pulling your hand away from the glass and inspecting the cut you just got.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, noticing immediately that your demeanor changed.

You quickly stood up, rushing over to the sink to make sure you didn't bleed all over his floor. "Um, I think so, but I'm not completely sure, to be honest." Your tone of voice was on the edge of blinding pain and crippling embarrassment.

You didn’t hear him get up or move closer to you, but you could suddenly feel a presence right behind you.

You turned to say you were fine but were hit with a wave of dizziness and started to stumble and lose balance.

Steve was quick to catch your arms, helping you steady yourself. “Woah there. Come on, let’s clean that up before you bleed out.”

He held onto you tightly as he led out of the kitchen and to the bathroom next to his bedroom. You were seated on the toilet as he grabbed a first aid kit and squatted down in front of you. This was obviously all a blur to you, only remembering the sound of his voice and the pain coursing through your hand.

Before you knew it, your hand was fully wrapped and you were feeling a little better. 

“Thank you…” You said quietly, meeting a pair of chocolate eyes.

His smile made your eyes flicker from his eyes to his lips. “She speaks. Thought I lost you there for a moment.” He jokes, bringing a slight smile to you. But that wasn’t on your mind for long.

You didn’t notice you both slowly leaned in until your lips met. 

The kiss was rushed, yet calm and sweet. He tasted like chocolate, no doubt from the candy Dustin had brought. Chocolate. He tasted just as his eyes looked. Was that a coincidence? It had to be.

**

Any thoughts about chocolate fled your mind as a chocolate haired girl rested her hands on Steve’s chest, his hands finding her swaying hips.

Now, normally you weren’t the drinking type. You never had a reason to. It seemed pointless. But at this moment, it felt like the only option. Why watch the guy you like and thought liked you back dance with a different girl when you could get shit-faced and forget about him?

Within seconds, the red solo cup that was in your hand was completely empty. You downed whatever liquid was in it. It wasn’t the best tasting, but the only thing you cared about was the buzz you were starting to feel.

You listened and nodded your head to the music, ignoring the ringing in the back of your head and the thumping of your heart.

You let your eyes wander, trying to find where Olivia could be. She was the one who dragged you here, she was going to be the one to deal with your drunk ass.

She’s standing behind a couch, cheeks a rosy red as she laughs with some meathead from your English class. 

You make your way over to her, stumbling due to your tipsy state. A familiar hand lands on your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks.

“Didn’t know you left that fortress of yours for parties like these.” Steve’s voice almost completely sobered you up.

“Believe me when I say I’m never coming to one of these again…” You mumbled, reluctantly letting yourself face him. 

He was holding an identical red solo cup, but he didn’t seem as fazed by the contents as you were. He knew how to hold his liquor. “Then let’s make your first and last party as enjoyable as possible.”

He was standing in front of you, talking to you as if he wasn’t just dancing with someone else. “Actually, I was just about to head home.” That was a lie. Olivia was your ride home, and she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

You wormed yourself out of his hold, not sticking around to listen to his response as you bolted it out the front door and out to the street. You’d rather walk home then act like everything was okay.

It didn’t process that tears were streaming down your face until someone calling out your name broke through the quiet of the night. Why did he have to follow you?

You frantically wiped your tears as he appeared beside you. You tried speeding up, but he was faster and caught your arm in his hand.

“Y/N, did something happen?” He asked, as if he didn’t know that he was the cause of every feeling of pain and love in your mind.

You ripped your arm out of his hold. “Don’t fuck with me like that, Steve.” You didn’t know why, but you were suddenly angry instead of sad. “Don’t act like you don’t know anything.”

He was shocked, and for obvious reasons. “I don’t-”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot you were King Steve. You just kiss whoever the fuck you want and then ignore them. Kiss and tell. Kiss and then go dance with other girls.” You never talked like this. But he had this kind of effect on you.

Everything looked like it was connecting in his head. “Y/N…” He reached out to take your hand.

“Don’t touch me.” You pulled your hand back as fast as you could.

He put his hands up in a defensive way. “You know that’s not like me, Y/N. Me and that girl in there, there’s nothing. Hell, I don’t even know her name.”

You shook your head. “It sure as hell didn’t look like that.”

He sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair. “Dammit, Y/N. What do I have to do to get you to believe me?”

You stayed quiet. You just wanted the truth. “How do you feel about me…?” You asked quietly after a long moment.

It was Steve’s turn to be silent. “Fuck, Y/N.” He mumbled after a moment. “You wanna know the truth? I can’t get you out of my head. Even before that damn kiss. I was ignoring you because I didn’t know how to feel. You don’t get how many times I’ve been hurt. I don’t think I could take it if you rejected me too.”

Your anger sizzled as quickly as it came. Now, you just felt bad. Not completely bad, but partly bad. “Steve, why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed in a bit of frustration. “I just told you why.”

You bit your lip a little. Good point. “You should have come to me…” You said quietly, looking down. “Cause I can’t get you out of my mind either.”

Steve’s footsteps shifted as you felt a hand on your waist and a hand on your cheek, making you look up at him. “I guess I’ve come to you now.”

You crack a small smile, rolling your eyes. “You’re a piece of work Harrington.”

He chuckled and smashed his lips to mine. He tasted like alcohol, which wasn’t the best taste on him. I definitely preferred chocolate over cheap booze.

#Stranger Things #Steve Harrington #Steve x Reader #Steve Harrington x Reader #Stranger Things x Reader #Stranger Things imagine #Stranger Things One Shot #One Shot #Stranger Things x Y/N #Stranger Things x You #Steve Harrington x Y/N #Steve Harrington x You #Steve Harrington Imagine #Steve Harrington One Shot #steve harrington x henderson!reader #Stranger Things x Henderson!reader #Steve Harrington Fanfiction #Steve Harrington Fanfic #Stranger Things Fanfiction #Stranger Things Fanfic #Fanfiction #Fanfic

[wouldpollyapprove]

Rules

Welcome to my rules!

I’ve tried to list things out as best as possible and cover all important topics, but if I’ve missed anything or you are confused or you have a question, please don’t hesitate to send me a message, whether in my inbox or my messages. I do highly encourage that you read all of my rules as any request that goes against any of my rules will not be accepted.

What I Write For:

The Peaky Blinders

Aberama Gold

Ada Shelby Thorne

Alfie Solomons

Arthur Shelby

Bonnie Gold

Esme Lee Shelby

Grace Burgess Shelby

Finn Shelby

Isaiah Jesus

John Shelby

Johnny Dogs

Linda Shelby

Lizzie Stark

Luca Changretta

Michael Gray

Polly Gray

Thomas Shelby

Cast of the Peaky Blinders

Cillian Murphy

Finn Cole

Harry Kirton

Joe Cole

Paul Anderson

Tom Hardy

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Alexandra Cabot

Amanda Rollins

Casey Novak

Dominick Carisi

Donald Cragen

Elliot Stabler

John Munch

Nick Amaro

Olivia Benson

Odafin Tutuola

Rafael Barba

Stranger Things

Billy Hargrove

Dustin Henderson

Eddie Munson

Eleven/Jane Hopper

Jim Hopper

Jonathan Byers

Joyce Byers

Lucas Sinclair

Max Mayfield

Mike Wheeler

Murray Bauman

Nancy Wheeler

Robin Buckley

Steve Harrington

Will Byers

Top Gun & Top Gun: Maverick

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

Jake “Hangman” Seresin

Mike “Viper” Metcalf

Natasha “Phoenix” Trace

Nick “Goose” Bradshaw

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell

Robert “Bob” Floyd

Tom “Iceman” Kazansky

PSA:

I will not accept any requests that have been send to other writers. 

No writer enjoys seeing the same request they’ve recieved get send to other writers. It’s not fair to anyone and no one enjoys it. Now, if your request hasn’t been accepted then, at least for me, feel free to send it to other writers. But please wait until you know whether its been accepted or not to do that. 

What I Write:

One Shots & Blurbs

One shots are usually anything that is 1k or more and blurbs are anything under 1k. When requesting, you can use the prompt list on my master list, but you don’t have to. 

Headcanons

Preferences

Please list the characters you would like in your request. There is a minimum of three characters for preferences, but I have yet to set a maximum. That doesn’t mean you should go crazy about it.

Gif Imagines

These are only ever don by request, just so you guys know.

How to Request Something:

I know it sounds stupid to have this but it can be hard.

Have the name of the character or characters you want somewhere in the request. I have gotten requests that were just prompts and what do you do with that? 

When more fandoms are added to the list, state the fandom.

Tell me what you are requesting. I need to know what format you would like it in. 

What I am Comfortable Writing:

Male x Male / Female x Female or whatever else

Poly relationships

Age gaps (I have to be comfortable with the gap, though, and it has to be legal)

Abuse (but it will never be romanticized)

I don’t want to sugar coat anything and pretend things don’t happen. Abuse of any form is real and it’s horrible, I know that. Any fics that include abuse will say so in the warnings.

Writing for real people.

Smut

What I am Not Comfortable Writing:

Romanticized abuse & self harm

It’s a short list, but if you want to know if I’m comfortable with something that’s not on either of these lists, just ask. It’s better to ask so then everyone becomes informed.

If you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to ask and I do have the right to refuse to write something if it makes me uncomfortable or I have no interest in it.

You can find my ask box here.

#the peaky blinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders imagines #peaky blinder fanfic #fanfiction #historical fanfiction #pirates of the caribbean #the outsiders #dunkirk #animal kingdom #animal kingdom imagine #animal kingdom imagines #j cody #j cody x reader #j cody imagine #j cody imagines

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Three: E Pluribus Unum

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 1,757 (short chapter this week) Warnings: angsty Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We get a lot of Dustin and Erica in this chapter <3 Also, no Steve gif this chapter! We're getting a Dustin one 'cause of this iconic line!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Dustin looked up at me - well, past me to look at Steve, both of them saying, “The gate.”

I backed up from between them making my way back down the steps. “Ya’know, Dustin, I really hate being doubted.”

“I don’t understand,” Robin said. “You’ve seen this before?”

“Not exactly,” Steve said.

“Then what, exactly?”

“Trust me when I say it’s really bad,” I said.

“It’s really bad,” Steve added.

“Just said that, babe.”

“Like end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad,” Dustin said. 

“And you know about this how?” Robin asked.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

“Uhm, Steve,” Erica said. “Where’s your Russian friend?”

I turned around to look at the ground behind me, seeing that the guy was indeed gone. “Sweet shit.”

Next noise to hit our ears was the alarm blaring, Steve rushing to the door to open it and look out into the hub space we sneaked through moments earlier. I heard “Halt! Halt!” before Steve closed the door, saying, “Shit!”

We ran through a couple of doors that led us straight to the control room, all of our feet stopping when the men turned to face us. Looking to my left, I saw another flight of stairs, running towards them.

“Come on!” I yelled, hearing Steve’s voice repeating the word go. I ran down a walkway, screaming as I pushed one of the hazmat suit guys out of the way, stopping once I reached the end, almost falling to my untimely demise.

I felt Dustin’s arms around me, pulling me back, both of us repeating, “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!”

I breathed in deep before I screamed out, “Holy shit!”

“Guards! Go!” Erica said.

I turned around to face the rest of the group, my arm being tugged by Dustin as Steve yelled, “This way!” and led us down another set of stairs, pushing a guy out of the way before pushing a set of barrels towards some more guards.

I rushed towards him, running past him and to another door, leaving it open for the rest of our group to run through. Hearing it close, I turned back around, seeing Steve and Robin leaning against it to keep some weight on it.

Dustin and Erica went to a vent cover, opening it, Erica yelling out for us to come on. I looked between my brother and boyfriend, wanting to protect both of them, but knowing I’d have to leave one.

“Liv, go with Dustin!” Steve yelled.

“I– I–” I stammered.

“I’ll find you,” he said. “Go!”

“Steve–”

“Go, get out of here! Go get some help!”

I wanted to rush to him, to plant my lips upon his, but knowing I couldn’t against his struggle on the door. Feeling myself being pulled up the stairs, I kept my eyes locked on Steve before I had to look away, almost falling into the vent shaft. Looking back at Steve, I yelled, “I love you!”

“I love you!” Steve replied before I ducked into the shaft, closing the cover as I heard Robin yelling out, guns being cocked.

“He better not die,” I muttered, following after Dustin and Erica down this vent shaft.

~~~

Sitting in front of a giant fan, Dustin explained to Erica what happened that first year when Will went missing and then explained what happened a few months ago with Dart and the demodogs.

“And now, for some insane reason, these Russian assholes want to reopen it, for God knows what reason,” I said, using my hand to fan myself… even though we were by that giant ass fan. “Destroys everything we’ve risked our lives for.”

“By we, you’re including Lucas?” Erica said.

“Yes. Even Lucas was there. Matter of fact, everyone was there, aside from our mom, your parents and Mike’s parents.”

“So, all that shit he told me, Lucas was there?” Erica asked.

“Yes, Erica, he was there.”

“My brother, Lucas Charles Sinclair?”

“Yes!” Dustin and I exclaimed.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” I said, sitting up a little and facing the young girl. “You mean to tell me that you believe everything about El and the gate and Dart, but you don’t believe the fact that Lucas was there helping us protect Hawkins?”

“That’s correct.” She looked from me to Dustin before she asked, “You need help with that?”

“No,” Dustin replied.

“Well, I mean, it’s taking a while, so–”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.”

“Dustin Wade!” I exclaimed.

“Alright,” Erica said. “So, if we don’t find a more efficient method to stop these fans, we’re never gonna find help, and your ice cream buddies, slash boyfriend and best friend, are screwed.”

“Yeah, with that attitude, they are,” Dustin and I said.

“Jee-zus,” Dustin added.

“I’m just being realistic,” Erica said. Looking at her watch, she said, “I mean, we’ve made it about point-three miles in nine hours. Then we had to walk three hours down that tunnel, so I’d estimate ten miles back to the elevator, which should take us approximately twelve-and-a-half days.”

I looked at her with a stunned expression as she did all that math that quickly. “Holy shit. You just did all that… in your head?”

“I’m good with numbers,” she deadpanned.

“Holy shit,” Dustin said.

“You’re a nerd!” we exclaimed.

“Come again?” Erica scoffed.

“You,” Dustin said.

“Are.” Me.

“A.” Dustin.

“Nerd,” we both ended.

Pointing her finger between the both of us, Erica said, “Okay, you better take that back, nerds.”

“Can’t put that truth back in the box,” I smiled.

“But it’s not the truth.”

“Okay, let’s examine the facts,” I said, scooting a little closer, holding my fingers out while I counted the facts. “Fact One: You’re apparently a math whiz.”

“Pretty straightforward equation.”

“Fact Two: you’re a 10 year old political junkie.”

“Just because I don’t agree with Communism as an ideology–” 

“Fact Three: you love My Little Pony,” I said, grabbing her backpack and turning it to face her.

“And what does My Little Pony have to do with this?” she asked.

“Ah, let’s recall the ponies’ latest adventure, shall we?” Dustin said, which caused a confused look to come from me. “The evil centaur team and Tirek turns Applejack into a dragon at Midnight Castle, and then Megan and the other ponies have to use Moochick’s magic to defeat his rainbow of darkness, saving them from a lifetime of enslavement. All the pink in the world can’t disguise the irrefutable fact that centaurs and castles and dragons and magic are all standard nerd tropes. Ergo, My Little Pony is nerdy. Ergo, you, Erica, are a nerd.”

“Bro, what the fuck?” I murmured.

“And how do you know so much about My Little Pony?” Erica asked.

“Because I’m… a nerd,” Dustin said, taking the panel off the wall that he unscrewed during his little rant. He pulled the wires from their slots, the fan next to us powering down. “Let’s go… nerds.”

~~~

After we crawled through the blades of the fan, we made our way down the vent shaft. Whenever I spotted holes above us, I started feeling around for a loose square. Once I found it, I pushed it up and out of the way, climbing out of the shaft and onto the floor that we were crawling beneath, seeing a whole bunch of that green stuff they were putting into, what I’m calling, a gate drill.

“Jackpot,” I said, helping Erica and Dustin out of the shaft.

Spotting what seemed like a golf cart, I smiled and made my way towards it. “Hell yes!” “Do you even know how to drive?” Erica asked.

“Of course,” I said. “I’ve been driving on my own for a year. Damn it. There’s no keys.”

“You seriously thought they’d just leave keys in there?”

“There’s always a spare,” I said, more to myself. I started looking around, hearing Dustin’s rustles as he helped me look.

“Hey, Hendersons,” Erica said.

“Yeah,” Dustin and I said, getting out of the golf cart to look around more.

“How big did you say that Demogorgon was?”

“Huge,” I said.

“Nine feet or so,” Dustin said.

“Why?” we both asked.

Dustin moved to another panel box, using his screwdriver to open it, grabbing a key to the vehicle inside. “Found ‘em.”

“Dustin,” I said. “Look.”

What I was looking at was a crate, big enough for a Demogorgon. 

“Ah, shit,” I said.

“Erica?” Dustin and I said, jumping at the sound of a loud zapping noise.

“What the fuck?” I breathed, holding my hand to my chest.

“What the hell is that?!” Dustin yelled.

“A deadly weapon,” Erica said, almost like she was in love with it. “Could be useful.” She zapped it again, Dustin and I jumping once more.

“For what?”

“What do you think? Taking down Commies, saving your friends.”

“Thought you were more realistic than that, nerd?”

I took the keys from him, not wanting to hear anymore of their banter for the moment. As I got behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition, I said, “We don’t even know where they are, and even if we did, there’s a million guards up there with way deadlier weapons. The best thing we can do is get out of here and find help.”

“Easy with that,” Dustin said. “Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust us on this. Please?”

~~~

Stopping at a certain point, I got out of the cart and looked in the back, seeing boxes of that green goop sitting in it. Grabbing a couple of them, I walked a few feet in front of the cart, taking a deep breath. “Steve… this is for you.” Slamming the glass containers on the ground, I watched as they shattered, the green stuff once again eating away at the floor.

I quickly made my way back behind the wheel, trying my best to speed off. Stopping a few feet from a door, I told Dustin to charge in with that laser thing, to which he immediately did.

I charged in after Erica, standing in between her and Dustin and watching as an evil looking doctor fell to the ground. I turned to face Steve, seeing his eye bruised and swollen.

“Hey! Henderson!” Steve said, excitedly. “That’s… crazy, I was just talking about you.”

Sighing, I undid the bonds that were around his arms, hands and legs before putting my hand on his cheek. “What happened to you?”

“Oh, my god,” Robin said.

“Get ready to run!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note: i absolutely love it when gaten screams shit. it's the best thing ever, lol

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Posted on April 2, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eddie munson #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #max mayfield #billy hargrove #robin buckley #season three episode six #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Seventeen: The Gate

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 6,766 Warnings: canon violence, angst, lil' bit of fluff, steve unfortunately getting his ass kicked.. again, ...billy Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We get Billy in this episode, and we get to see more of Liv's protective side with the kids!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Mike and El walked towards each other, saying each other’s name before embracing in a hug. 

Grabbing Steve’s hand and moving impossibly closer, I looked up at him, not knowing what I would do with myself if I were ever in Mike’s shoes.

“Is that…” Max asked. I looked around Steve, looking at Max while nodding my head, whispering, “Yes.”

Once he pulled out of the hug, Mike said, “I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for–”

“353 days,” El said, shaking her head before looking in his eyes, saying, “I heard.”

“Why did you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her,” Hopper said. 

Mike turned to face him, Hopper walking towards El as he said, “The hell is this? Where’ve you been?”

“Where have you been?” she asked, the two of them embracing in a hug. I saw the crown of her head go back like she was looking at Hop before her voice said, “Is she here?” He moved out of the way, El’s eyes meeting with mine.

I let go of Steve’s hand to walk towards El, giving her a hug that I only reserved for the most important people in my life.

“You’ve been hiding her,” Mike said, realization hitting him like a bus.

El turned to look at Hop and Mike, keeping her arm around me, my own still around her shoulders as we watched Mike and Hop’s small altercation.

“You’ve been hiding her this whole time!” Mike added, hitting Hop at the end.

Turning around to face Mike, Hop responded, “Hey. Hey!” He grabbed Mike’s shirt, saying, “Let’s. Talk. Alone.”

Before a door shut, I heard Mike say, “Protecting her! Protecting her?!”

A couple of moments later, I rubbed her back, saying, “Well, uh…” Looking at El, I said, “I’m digging the new look.”

A throat clearing had me looking at the owner; my little brother, Dustin.

El walked over to Dustin and Lucas, giving them both a hug, Dustin saying that they missed her and that they talked about her pretty much everyday. She noticed Dustin’s teeth, touching them. “Teeth.”

“What?” Dustin asked.

“You have teeth,” she said, a subtle duh tone to her voice.

“Oh,” he smiled. “You like these pearls?” He then proceeded to make a sound that resembled Chewbacca.

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, resting my forehead against Steve’s arm. I had moved back to stand next to him, lacing our fingers together before I had, basically, hugged his arm.

“Eleven?” Max asked, causing my head to shoot up as she walked over to El and the boys. “Hey, uhm, I’m Max.” She put her hand out for El to shake, adding, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

El wanted nothing to do with Max, so she pushed her way through the three younger teens to move to Joyce, the two of them embracing.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, Max’s head moving to look at me. “She’ll come around.”

“Can I see him?” El asked.

Joyce took her to Will’s room, leaving Steve and I with Dustin, Max, and Lucas for a moment before they both came back out, Joyce whispering my name.

I went into the kitchen with her and El, looking at the words Nancy had written earlier. “Wait a second,” I whispered. Pointing to the notepad, I asked, “You’ve opened this gate before, right?”

“Yes,” El replied.

Putting a hand on her back, I asked, “If we got you back there, do you think that you could close it? Put all this behind us?”

She looked at me for a moment, determination in her eyes. When Hop and Mike came out of one of the bedrooms, I told him what El and I had thought as everyone else gathered into the kitchen; getting El back to the lab to close the gate.

“It’s not like it was before,” Hopper said. “It’s grown. A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering we can still get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demodogs,” Dustin said, turning to face Hop.

Placing my forehead once again on Steve’s arm, I muttered, “Oh my god.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Hop asked.

“I said, uhh, demodogs,” Dustin said. “Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass–”

“How is this important right now?” Hop and I asked.

“It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“I can do it,” El said.

“You’re not hearing me,” Hop retorted.

“I’m hearing you. I can do it.”

I looked at her, impressed at her biting back at Hop.

“Even if El can, there’s still another problem,” Mike said. “If the brain dies, the body dies.”

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max wondered.

“It is,” I said, all eyes turning to me. “But if we’re really right about this, and El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayers army, Will’s a part of that army, and closing the gate means… Will dies.” I watched as Joyce got up after my explanation.

She walked by all of us, going into Will’s room, where we all followed her. “He likes it cold.”

“What?” Hopper asked.

“That’s what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold.” She went over to his window and closed it before turning around to us and saying, “We keep giving it what it wants.”

“If this is a virus and Will’s the host, then…” Nancy said.

“Then you need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan and I said. 

“So if he likes it cold–”

“We need to burn it out of him,” Joyce said, looking at her youngest son.

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn’t know this time,” Mike suggested.

“Yeah, somewhere far away,” Dustin added.

I looked at Hopper, as he thought about where. 

He told them about his cabin in the woods where he was keeping El hidden. They gathered Will and bundled him up, moving through the house as Hop was giving directions to Jonathan as they did.

Steve and Nancy went out back to look for something to help with burning the Mind Flayer out of Will. He came back inside a couple minutes later, looking at me like I held the stars as I looked back at him.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, brushing my face.

“Liv!” Dustin called.

I looked at him and walked towards him, hearing the papers on the floor rustling under everyone else’s shoes before the young teens and I walked outside to stand on the porch, watching the scene before us.

“Just be careful, okay?” Mike said to El. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me,” El replied.

I felt fingers going in between mine, knowing they were Steve’s.

“Do you promise?” Miked asked.

“Promise,” El said.

They stood there for a moment before Hop said, “El, come on, let’s go. It’s time.”

She got into Hop’s truck, Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy getting into Jonathan’s to do their part of this mission.

The kids, Steve and I stood and watched them all drive off, my thoughts starting to… well, start up.

Going back inside, I looked at the Demodog laying in the corner, asking Dustin what was the plan for dealing with that dead thing.

He asked Steve to pick it up and bring it into the kitchen, where I was sitting on the counter. Dustin opened the refrigerator, emptying out a space.

“I-it should fit now,” Dustin said, pointing to the empty fridge.

“Is this really necessary?” Steve asked.

“Yes, it is,” Dustin said, matter-of-factly. “Okay, this is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can’t just bury it like some common mammal. Okay, it’s not a dog!”

“Alright, alright, alright.” Steve moved to the fridge as Dustin moved out of the way, saying, “But you’re explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?” He moved his arm to put the Demodog’s head into the cold space, hitting the head against the side of the fridge.

“Christ,” Steve whispered. He looked back at Dustin, saying, “Help me out.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Dustin asked.

“Get the door, man. Get the door.”

“Aright, I got the door.”

I couldn’t help but snort before laughing while watching the two of them as I sat up on the counter. Once they got the creature in and closed the door, Steve patted Dustin on the top of his head, moving his hat some.

Steve started coming over to me, but I put my leg out and said, “You wash that alien slime off of you before you touch me, Harrington.”

He chuckled, moving to the sink to wash his hands. Once he was through, he came over to me, putting his wet hands on my cheeks, causing me to laugh. When he placed his hands on my outer thighs and placed a smiling kiss on my lips, I welcomed it.

I pulled away when Dustin said, “Demodogs!”

“Give it up already, Dustin!” I said, before giving Steve a chaste kiss and jumping down off the counter, giving him a dish towel to use to finish drying his hands.

“The chief will take care of her,” Lucas said as I walked to stand next to Dustin.

“Like she needs protection,” Max muttered.

“Listen, dude, if a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it, alright?” Steve said.

I looked at him, confused, before saying, “First off, babe, this isn’t a basketball game, and second–”

“We’re not even in the game, we’re on the bench,” Mike interrupted.

“Right,” Steve stammered. “So my point is…” He was silent for a moment before I said, “Care to share that point?”

“Right, yeah, we’re on the bench, so, there’s, uh, there’s nothing we can do,” he said, putting the towel over his left shoulder.

“That’s not entirely true,” Dustin said. “I mean, these Demodogs, they have a hive mind.” He looked at me and Steve, eyes bouncing between us. “When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.”

“So, if we get their attention,” Lucas said.

“Maybe we can draw them away from the lab,” Max added.

“And clear a path to the gate,” Mike finished on their train of thought.

“And then we all die,” Steve and I exclaimed.

“Well, that’s one point of view,” Dustin said.

“No, that’s not a point of view, man,” Steve said. “That’s a fact.”

“Excuse me, Liv,” Mike said, causing me to move out of his way. “I got it.” He moved around to the kitchen, finding the spot he needed on the map, squatting to say, “This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel.” He got up and moved into the hallway, standing and then kneeling by a spot on the map that was bigger than the rest. “So, here - right here. This is like a hub. You got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire–”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a no,” Steve said, pointing down towards the kids while looking down at them.

“The Mind Flayer would call away his army,” Dustin said, jumping on Mike’s theory.

“They’d all come to stop us,” Lucas added.

“Hey,” Steve and I said, trying to get their attention.

“Then we circle back to the exit,” Mike said.

“Guys.”

“By the time they realize we’re gone–”

“El would be at the gate,” Max said.

“Hey,” we tried again, Steve clapping while saying, “Hey, hey, hey!” Gesturing to the ground, he said, “This is not happening.”

“But–” Mike tried.

“No, no, no, no, no! No buts!” I said.

“I promised I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. We’re staying here on the bench and we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?”

“This isn’t a stupid sports game!” Mike said.

Taking the towel off his shoulder, Steve repeated, “I said, does everybody understand that?” He looked at the kids then at me before looking back at the kids. “I need a yes.”

We all turned to look at the front of the house upon hearing an engine revving. I instantly recognized it after hearing it on his first day of school.

“Oh, sweet shit,” I muttered.

Max and Lucas moved the couch, looking out the window. “It’s my brother,” she said. “He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me.” She looked at Lucas as she added, “He’ll kill us.”

I looked at Steve, seeing that look on his face that I knew all too well. “No.”

“Stay in here with the kids,” he said. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Steve–”

“Just stay here,” he said. He looked me in the eyes, waiting for me to answer, so I just nodded before feeling his lips on my forehead. He went outside and stood at the door on the front porch. I only knew this because I moved to the couch with the kids, looking out the window.

Billy turned his car off, the lights shutting off as he did. I was thankful because I was getting blinded by them. He got out and put his hand on the top of the car, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?”

“Yeah, it’s me, don’t cream your pants,” Steve replied. 

The walls were thin enough for me to hear their conversation.

Billy took off his jacket, putting it in his car before shutting the door as Steve walked towards his car, Billy doing the same towards Steve. “What are you doing here, amigo?”

“I could ask you the same thing, amigo,” Steve said.

“Looking for my stepsister,” Billy said, looking towards the window. “A little birdie told me she was here.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Steve said. “I don’t know her.”

“Small? Red-head? Bit of a bitch.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”

Billy took another drag from his cigarette, before saying with some weird hand motion, “Ya’know, I don’t know, this… this whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Oh, yeah, why’s that?”

Another drag before Billy says, “My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day,” before looking me dead in the eyes for a second before adding, “And then I find her with you and Henderson in a stranger’s house,” another look, “and you lie to me about it.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” I whispered with every look.

Chuckling, Steve turned his head towards the window before turning back to Billy, saying, “Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”

As Billy pointed to the window with his cigarette, I put my hands on two of the kids' heads as he said, “Then who is that?”

Steve turned to face us as I pushed their heads down, exclaiming, “Shit!”

“Did he see us?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, shit,” Steve said. He turned back to Billy as I moved away from the window, moving the kids off of the couch towards the hallway.

A couple seconds later, Billy walked in the house, saying, “Well, well, well,” slamming the door behind him. “Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise.” He took a few steps to us, stopping when I crossed my arms.

“Touch these kids and you’re dead,” I spit.

“Max disobeyed me,” he said.

I scoffed. “Like she has to obey you.”

“She knows what happens when she disobeys me.”

“What?” I chuckled. “You go to your room and cry like a little baby?”

“I break things,” he said, shoving me out of the way.

I landed on the floor on my back, hearing the door open. 

“Liv,” Steve said, helping me to my feet.

“Billy’s gonna hurt Lucas,” I breathed, both of us walking towards the kitchen.

“You’re so dead, Sinclair,” Billy exclaimed. “You’re dead.”

Steve moved him away from Lucas, saying, “No. You are!” before punching him square in the jaw.

Dustin chuckled, while Max said Steve’s name. Lucas ran over to me, so I had my arms wrapped around him, trying to protect him. I think Mike was just too stunned.

Billy laughed as Steve shook his hand out and fixed his hair before he looked in my direction for a moment before looking back at Billy as the asshole said, “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about.”

Steve put his fingertips on Billy’s shoulder, pushing him back a little as he growled, “Get out.”

Billy stood there for a second after Steve put his hand down. He swung his fist, but Steve ducked, hitting him back and sending him towards the kitchen sink.

“Yes!” Dustin and I said.

“Kick his ass, Steve!” Dustin said.

“Get him!” Mike said. 

Billy just stood up and laughed, but Steve hit him again, myself and the kids cheering him on.

Steve landed another punch, as Dustin and I exclaimed, “Murder the son of a bitch!”

I watched Billy grab for a plate as he laughed, the kids still cheering Steve on.

“Steve, watch out!” I said, but was too late, as Billy had shattered a plate on Steve’s head. I let go of Lucas to put my arms around Steve. He looked at me for a second before I bolted away from him, giving Billy my own punch to his face.

“Olivia, baby,” Steve said. “Move.”

I was pulled back by one of the kids, as Billy walked toward me, Dustin’s voice in my ear yelling, “Shit!” before both of our bodies went down, Steve’s groans sounding at the same time.

I watched Billy follow Steve into the living room, where he grabbed Steve’s jacket, saying, “No one tells me what to do,” before headbutting him.

“Steve!” I exclaimed, seeing my boyfriend’s body slide against the floor.

Billy hooped and hollered, telling Steve to get up.

I was fighting against Mike, Lucas and Max, the three of them helping Dustin keep me back from putting myself in the middle of the two teenage boys.

“Billy, you’re gonna kill him, stop!” we all said at different times.

“Steve, baby, you have to get up!” I said.

Billy got a few hits in, the boys and I telling Billy to stop and for Steve to fight back. I felt hands let go of me before I saw Max move towards Billy, sticking something in his neck.

The boys and I stopped our protests to Billy, said boy standing up and facing us, taking what I now know to be the needle for Will sticking out of his neck.

Looking between the needle and Max, Billy said, “The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?” He went down to the ground, hard, laughing once he landed on his back. 

Feeling hands lightly push me, I made my way quickly over to Steve, elevating him by placing the back of his head on my knees as Max got Steve’s bat, holding it up.

“From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone, do you understand?” Max said.

“Screw you,” Billy slurred.

She brought the bat down, mere inches away from Billy’s junk before picking the bat back up, the nails having dug into the floor a little. “Say you understand. Say it. Say it!”

“I understand,” Billy mumbled.

“What?”

“I understand,” he said, a little more loudly before passing out.

Max moved to his left side, taking his keys from his pockets. She held them up, saying, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait,” I said. “We can’t just leave Steve here. We need to patch him and take him with us.”

“What do you need?” Dustin asked.

“A warm washcloth, some Neosporin and band-aids, please.”

The kids got into gear, Dustin bringing me a warm, wet washcloth. He knelt next to Steve as I gently started cleaning as much blood as I could without hurting him, even though he couldn’t feel it in his passed out state.

When he was all cleaned and patched up, Dustin helped me carry Steve to Billy’s car where Mike opened the driver side door, leaning the seat forward and letting Dustin climb in first.

“Dustin, how the hell am I gonna get him in the damn car when I have his arms?” I groaned. 

“Uhhh,” Dustin said.

“Hurry your big brain up, he’s heavy.”

“Switch on three,” he said. “One… two… three.”

I moved out of the way so that Dustin could wrap his arms under Steve’s, dragging him in the car as Max, Mike and Lucas brought all of the gear they gathered while I had patched up Steve.

“Careful,” I said. Once Steve was in, Mike got in. “Where–?”

“Liv, over here,” Lucas said, opening the passenger side, pushing the seat forward. It was awkward getting in the back with Dustin, Mike and Steve, but we somehow made it work. Lucas got in the front seat with Max in the driver.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked, leaning forward, turning my body a little so as to not scrunch Steve’s neck too much.

“I got it,” Max said. “You need to be with Steve.” I leaned back, looking at Steve’s beat up face. As Max started driving, I ran the backs of my fingers over the parts of his face that weren't bloodied and bruised. I heard him wake up a few moments later, watching as he turned his eyes to Mike, saying, “Nancy?”

Mike and I looked at each other like, what?

Steve groaned, going to touch his face. I moved his hand out of the way as Dustin said, “No, don’t touch it.” He tilted his head a little to look up at Dustin.

“Hey, buddy,” my brother said, shushing Steve. I rolled my eyes at his antics. “It’s okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you still put up a good fight.”

“Dustin,” I groaned.

“Well, he did.”

A pained look on Steve’s face had me petting his forehead into his hair. He might kill me later for touching his hair, but I didn’t care.

“Okay, you’re gonna keep straight for a half a mile, and then make a left on Mount Sinai,” Lucas said.

I watch Steve turn his head towards Max, seeing her driving.

“What’s going on?” he asked, before the kids’ plan came back to him. “Oh, my god!”

“Babe, relax,” I said.

“She’s driven before,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, in a parking lot,” Mike added.

“That counts!” Lucas and I retorted.

Steve started freaking out more as Dustin said, “They were gonna leave you behind.”

They really did. When I patched him up with the supplies they all found, Lucas, Max and Mike wanted to just leave and go with their plan, but Dustin and I didn’t wanna leave him with Billy when they both woke up.

“Liv and I promised that you’d be cool,” Dustin said. 

“I didn’t say jack shit!” I exclaimed.

Max sped up more, Steve repeating whoa a few times before asking, “What’s going on?” I even felt the force of the car speeding as Steve said, “Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down.”

“Don’t puke on me.”

“I told you he’d freak out,” Mike said.

“Stop the car!” Steve exclaimed.

“Everybody shut up!” Max yelled. “I’m trying to focus!”

“Oh, wait, that’s Mount Sinai,” Lucas said. “Make a left!”

“What?”

“Make - turn left!”

Max effectively ran into a couple mailboxes before sharply turning left, everyone in the car screaming and holding on to something or someone; Steve grabbed my leg, Dustin grabbed the front of my shoulders, I grabbed the seat in front of me as well as Mike’s shoulder, Lucas… well, I have no idea about him. She stopped once we got to our destination, Steve yelling out, “Whoa! Hello!”

“Incredible,” Mike said.

“I told you,” Max said. “Zoomer.”

The kids piled out of the car, followed by myself and Steve, who leaned against the opening of the passenger door. The kids went to the trunk to get their gear on and to grab their backpacks, while I stood at the back near the back window.

“Oh, no,” Steve groaned. “Hey, guys.”

Mike, in full gear, walked past me and Steve to the front of the vehicle, the older teen asking, “Hey. Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

Dustin handed me my gear; a bandana to keep my nose and mouth protected as well as some goggles to keep my eyes protected as well.

“What are you, deaf?” Steve said. “Hello?”

I think everyone was ignoring him at this point, myself included. I didn’t want the kids to go through with the plan, but I wouldn’t have been able to stop them anyway.

“We are not going down there right now,” Steve continued. “Liv and I made ourselves clear.”

Turning to face him, I said, “You made yourself clear. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop them.”

“Whatever,” he said. “There’s no chance we’re going to that hole, alright?”

Dustin had a bag ready on the side of the trunk to grab it when he needed it, but Steve grabbed it and slammed it back in the trunk yelling, “This ends right now!”

“Babe!” I said at the same time Dustin said, “Steve!” while turning him around.

“You’re upset, I get it,” Dustin said while I shouldered my bag. “But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance.”

“Now, we know you promised Nance that you’d help me protect these kids,” I said, grabbing his bag from the trunk, holding it out to him. “So, help me keep them safe.”

We looked at each other for a moment before he lightly nodded his head and grabbed the bag from my hand, putting on the bandana and goggles.

Mike, Lucas and Max had already walked to the hole, gas cans, rope and map in hand, so when Steve put on his gear, he, Dustin and myself walked to the hole, the kids going down the rope first before Steve went down.

He looked up at me, holding his arms out to catch me as I slid in, my hands landing on his shoulders.

I looked around, seeing what looked like flecks of snow floating around. “Holy shit.”

“Uhh,” Mike said. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s this way.”

Steve helped me put on my bag as I had dropped it first before I turned around and helped him as Dustin asked, “You’re pretty sure, or you’re certain?”

“I’m 100% sure,” Mike said, turning to face the party. “Just follow me and you’ll know.”

He turned back around right before Steve and I said in unison, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey, I don’t think so.”

“What?” Mike asked.

I walked towards him, saying, “Any of you little shits die down here, Steve and I are getting the blame. Moreso me. You got that, dipshit?”

Hearing the paper map Mike had in his hand rustling, I looked at it in Steve’s hand as he turned and said, “From here on out, I’m leading the way.” 

With an eyebrow raised, I watched as he put the paper in between two of his fingers that were holding his flashlight before he grabbed my hand and led me down the tunnels, as I said, “Let’s go! Hustle!”

I’m not sure how many tunnels we went through; it could’ve been one, it could’ve been 100, I wasn’t sure. Only thing I was sure of was that the part of the tunnel we were in looked like a giant nest of some sort. Very hard to describe.

“God,” Lucas said.

“What is this place?” Max asked.

“Can we keep moving, please?” I asked. “This place is freaking me out, and making me want to scrub my skin off in the shower.”

“Come on, guys, let’s keep moving,” Steve said, leading the way out of this… nest?

I heard screaming a few seconds later, followed by a “SHIT!” Stopping my steps, I said, “Dustin?!” Running back to him, I knelt down next to him, asking him, “What the fuck happened? Are you hurt? Dustin, talk to me!”

“It’s in my mouth! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!” Dustin said before he started coughing.

I was breathing heavily, anxiety and worry filling me up fast.

He spit before looking at me. “I’m okay.”

Small bit of rage filled me as I hit his arm, yelling, “Don’t fucking do that again, Dustin Wade!” Standing, I let out a frustrated growl, pushing my way past Steve and the kids.

“Are you serious?” Max asked.

“Very funny, man,” Steve said. “You almost gave your sister a heart attack.” 

I could see the flashlight trail beside me as I heard Steve tell me to wait up. When he caught up with me, I was walking down what seemed like steps within this tunnel.

“What the hell?” I whispered, looking around the… I guess, room we were in.

“Alright, Wheeler,” Steve said. “I think we found your hub.”

Looking around, I grossly underestimated how big this hub would be. I breathed in a deep breath, releasing it as confidence took over.

“Let’s drench it,” Mike said.

The four younger teens started drenching the hub in gasoline while Steve and I watched. I felt him rub his hand up and down my back. “I’m so ready for this shit to be over with. I want my boring life back. I wanna be able to sleep and not have nightmares.”

“Once we burn this place, it’ll go back to normal,” Steve said. “I promise.”

The kids came back to Steve and I when their cans were emptied, all of us squatting down.

“Alright, you guys ready?” Steve asked, the kids echoing, “Ready.”

I grabbed the lighter from my pocket, holding it up to Steve, saying, “Light her up.” He grabbed it from my hand, his eyes looking into mine before he said, “We’re in such deep shit.”

Steve flicked the lighter, the flame appearing immediately before he tossed it into the gasoline. Flames instantly started burning the hub, the vines almost dancing around as Steve said, “Go, go, go!”

He didn’t have to tell me twice as I got up and started following him and the kids back through the tunnels. Map in hand again, he was at the front of the line, Dustin behind us repeating oh my god like it was a mantra or something.

We made it to the little room where Dustin had his freak out just a few minutes before, Mike’s muffled, “Help! Help! Help!” making me grab Steve’s jacket and telling him Mike needs help.

All of us went back to help save Mike, a vine wrapping around his ankle when we got back to him. “Pull him out, pull him out!” I yelled.

The kids and I grabbed on to him, playing tug of war with Mike and this vine.

“Back, back, everybody back!” Steve yelled before he started whacking at the vine before it split, releasing Mike. 

I looked at Steve with heart eyes, I’m sure, saying to him, “If we weren’t basically in the Upside Down, I’d kiss you stupid.”

“You can do that later,” he said. “Now, come on.”

A growling behind us made everyone turn to face it, the growling coming from Dart. I grabbed onto Dustin, not wanting him anywhere near Dart.

“Dart,” Dustin said, taking a couple of careful steps towards the creature.

“Dustin, no,” I said, trying to pull him back.

He gently pulled himself from my hold, turning to face me. “Liv, trust me. Please.” Turning back to face Dart, Dustin walked forward at the same time Dart did. “Hey. It’s me, it’s me. It’s just your friend. It’s Dustin.” He knelt on one knee in front of the creature, asking, “You remember me? Will you let us pass?”

When Dart opened his face at Dustin, I jumped, ready to save my little brother as Steve wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me in place.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Dustin said. “Liv and I are sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?” He took a strap off his shoulder, reaching into his bag.

“He’s insane,” Lucas said, all of us shushing him after.

“I’ve got our favorite, see?”

“Nougat,” I whispered as Dustin said aloud to Dart.

I could tell he was opening it just by the way his arms were moving. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, alright? Eat up, buddy.” He moved his hand for us to move past him and Dart, the creature now distracted. “Come on, come on.”

After Max moved first, I felt Steve lightly push me to move forward, him and the other two boys following.

“There’s plenty more,” Dustin said. “I’ve got more.”

I stopped a few feet away to turn and watch my baby brother say goodbye to his interdimensional pet. “Goodbye, buddy.”

“Let’s go, let’s go,” Steve whispered.

We made it through the tunnels, probably about three quarters of the way back to the rope before the ground beneath us started rumbling, almost like an earthquake for a couple seconds.

I stood from having fallen over at the rumble, hearing the unmistakable Demodog roar.

“What was that?” Max asked.

We turned from the direction we just came from, hearing them roar again as Mike said, “They’re coming. Run! Run!”

He did not have to tell me twice. I just ran, not caring if I was going the right way or not, but thankful I turned down the right tunnel when I saw the rope. “There! Come on!”

I stopped at the rope, waiting for Steve to help me get the kids up to safety.

We got Max up first, then Lucas, followed by Mike and Dustin. Steve went to bend to hoist me up before I started to protest.

“No, no,” I said, watching him stand. “I’m not leaving you to die alone.” He tried to protest, but I just put my hands on his chest, saying, “No! I just got you, I can’t lose you already.”

I heard the monsters before I saw their shadow, Steve standing in front of me a little with his bat out to protect me, the kids shouting above us, “Liv, Steve, come on!”

I screamed a little as one came charging at us, closing my eyes, ready to see nothing but black, but… nothing came. As I opened them, I watched as they all passed us, Steve grabbing onto me as I leaned back a little to dodge the Dogs.

I was breathing so hard, my goggles started to fog up before I breathed, “Eleven.”

Steve and I made it up the rope after the Dogs ran past us, the headlights on Billy’s Camaro getting brighter and brighter before they dimmed back to their normal brightness.

Grabbing Dustin, I gave him the biggest hug ever, thankful that I still had my little brother with me. “I love you, Dusty,” I whispered. When I pulled back, I looked him in the eyes and said, “If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”

He smiled. “Same.”

Turning to Steve, I smiled at him before wrapping my arms around his middle, just holding him for a moment, feeling him do the same with his arms around my shoulders. I looked at him after a few moments, saying, “I really thought I was going to lose you.”

He shook head. “You’ll ever lose me. I promise.”

I smiled at him, ready to kiss him stupid like I said earlier, but didn’t, not wanting to hurt his already swollen lips from getting the shit knocked out of him by Billy. Lightly touching them, I said softly, “When these aren’t swollen, I’ll kiss you stupid.”

He smiled a little before wincing at the pain.

A throat being cleared made me turn around, seeing Max with Billy’s keyring on her finger.

“I’ll drive,” I said.

~~~

After I had dropped Steve off at his car, I took the Camaro back to the Byers, Steve following me. Billy was still passed out on the floor, so I just dropped his keys on his abdomen before getting into the driver seat of Steve’s BMW, driving the kids back home. 

I gave Dustin the option of staying at home alone or staying with Mike. He opted to stay with Mike. Steve also gave me options; go home or go with him. I chose the latter. I didn’t wanna stay home alone.

When Steve and I made it back to his house, we took our showers before I cleaned him up some more and patched him back up. We cuddled in his bed that night, talking about anything and everything; fears for the next few weeks, goals, what we wanted out of… us.

I sighed. “I don’t want a comparison relationship. I don’t want us to be compared to you and Nancy.”

Running his fingers lightly on my arm, he said, “We won’t. And if anyone tries to say it in front of us, I’ll kick their ass.”

I chuckled, looking up at his jawline, cupping the right side of his face. “Need I remind you why that would be a bad idea?”

He chuckled a little, resting his hands on my arms before he sighed. All I could hear was his heartbeat under my ear as I closed my eyes, silence following. 

I wasn’t sure what this thing between Steve and I would hold… if it even held anything.

All I wanted was Steve… and I got him.

~~~

One Month Later

It was sad officially saying goodbye to Barbra Holland, but her parents and Nancy needed closure. I had told Steve that it felt right and respectful to be at the services for Barb, and he agreed.

Steve took me home after the funeral services, promising he’d be back to take me on a small diner date later. As I was getting ready, I heard Dustin stomp around the house, saying, “Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!”

I walk out of my room as my mom and I asked, “Where did you see it last?” She was sitting in her chair holding our new kitten, Tews.

Pointing at a spot on the counter, Dustin said, “Right here, where I put it.”

“What’s so important anyway?” I asked, crossing my arms.

He picked up a brown paper bag, turning to us and smiling. “Got it.” After running past Mom and I, the doorbell rang.

“That’s your ride, Dusty!” Mom said.

Eyes wide, I realized I wasn’t fully ready. Turning to bolt back to my room, I said, “Son of a bitch!”

~~~

“Why am I always in the backseat?” I groaned as Steve pulled up to the Middle School gym.

“Because I’m more special, that’s why,” Dustin replied.

Leaning in between the front seats, I glared at my brother. “I’m his girlfriend, I think that makes me more special.”

When Steve stopped the car, he said, “Stop bickering, please. We’re here. So, remember, once you get in there…”

Dustin turned his head to face Steve, confirming, “Pretend like I don’t care.”

I facepalmed as Steve said, “You don’t care.”

“I don’t care.”

“There you go. You’re learning, my friend. You’re learning.”

Dustin checked himself in the rearview mirror, making sure his hairstyle was still in place.

“Dusty,” I said.

“What?”

“Come on, dude. You look great. I mean, you used half that can. I could smell it down the hall.”

“Really?” 

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Steve said. “Now, you’re gonna go in there–”

“Yeah,” Dustin said.

“Look like a million bucks.”

“Yeah!”

“And you’re gonna slay ‘em dead.”

“Like a lion,” Dustin said, before proceeding to growl.

“Uuuuuuhhhhh, don’t do that, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steve stuck his hand out, Dustin wrapping his own around Steve’s as the older teen said, “Good luck.”

Dustin and I got out before I gave him a hug, whispering, “Care,” before I lightly shoved him away from the door, telling him to have fun as I got in and shut the door.

I looked at Steve, and him at me before we leaned towards each other, smiles on our faces. Our lips connected in a sweet kiss before we pulled apart, Steve driving off with his hand on its normal spot; my thigh.

I was so happy with Steve. Nothing could destroy it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Posted on February 19, 2023

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season two episode nine #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fandom #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-One: The Sauna Test

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,001 Warnings: fluff, lil' angst, falling elevators, almost confessions?? 👀 Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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When I woke up the next morning, I made a quiet groaning noise as I stretched my limbs. After I put my arms back down, I felt paper, so I picked it up and read it.

Olivia,

      I didn’t want to wake you. I’m downstairs in the kitchen. Come find me.

Steve ♥️

Ever since I told him he was being all domestic last night, it seemed to me that he wanted to keep that up. I mean, I was practically living with him. So, as I got up to make my way down the hall and to the stairs, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

Looking at Steve as I walked into the kitchen, the smile was still on my face. Something about Steve drinking from a coffee mug just made me… fall for him even more. The way this man is just casually being… him makes me wanna kiss him stupid.

“Hey, there, lover,” I said, softly, wrapping my arms around his middle from behind.

“Morning, baby,” he said. I could hear the smile on his lips.

“Whatcha doing?” 

“Reading the paper and drinking–”

“Coffee?” I asked, perking up.

Chuckling, he turned around and said, “Tea.”

I made a sad face, saying a sad “Oh.”

“Look over there,” he whispered, pointing.

Following the line of sight his fingers gave me, I saw a coffee pot with freshly made coffee inside. Looking back to him with a smile, I said, “You’re the best.”

“I know,” he smiled back, giving me a kiss to the tip of my nose.

He had already set out a cup for me to use, the sugar container sitting next to it. After I had poured some of the brown liquid into my cup with some of the sugar and some half&half, I turned to him, taking a sip. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Yes,” he said. “You just told me that like 2 minutes ago.”

All I could do was smile at him as I took another sip of my coffee.

We chatted about this and that while we sipped our caffeine and ate our breakfast. I cleaned up the kitchen while we went and got ready for work. When he came back down, blue uniform on and all, I went upstairs to get changed.

Clad in my graphic tee and denim shorts, I strutted my way back into the kitchen, stopping when I heard Steve call my name. Looking in the direction I heard his voice, I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering how I passed him standing at the door and not realizing it.

Shrugging, I made my way over to him, trapping his bottom lip between mine, feeling him kiss me back instantly. “Can I kiss you stupid later?”

He nodded, kissing me once more before opening the front door and leading me out to his car after he locked the door.

~~~

Once we picked Dustin up and made it to the mall, we sent Dustin up on the roof again to spy on the Russian guys that were standing guard outside while deliveries were being made. When he had enough entail, he came to Scoops’ back room, where Robin, Steve and I were sitting.

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

While Dustin was talking, I watched as Steve swirled his Scoops hat around on his hand.

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

Blowing into his hat to form the top of it back out, Steve said, “Well, ya’know… I could just take him out.”

“Take who out?” Robin and I asked.

“The Russian guard.” He looked over at me, my face giving off a confused expression. “What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It’s easy.”

“Babe,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Need I remind you about your track record with trying to ‘take people out’?”

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

“Yes, Dustin, I did,” Steve replied. “And that’s why I would be sneaking.”

“Ah,” Dustin and I said.

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

Looking at my brother, I said, “Did you not hear me basically ask that?”

“Okay, you two, that was one time–” Steve said.

“Nope. Twice. Jonathan kicked your ass our Junior Year. Next.”

“Listen, that doesn’t count.”

“Why doesn’t it? I watched him beat the shit out of you, AND helped you out after.”

Dustin and Steve started arguing about whether or not Jonathan’s fight actually counted. I rolled my eyes, turning my head in Robin’s direction, seeing her looking up before she said something about… something might actually working before she got up and went to the cash register, Steve and I standing at the open door watching her.

“Robin,” Steve said, taking my hand and pulling me through the door, Dustin following. “Hey, Robin! Hey, what– what are you doing?” She turned to us, backing up out of the store as she said, “I need cash.”

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

“To find us a way into that room, a safe way,” she said, voice raised. “And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don’t get beat up. I’ll be back in a jiff.”

“Ah, dude,” Steve said. I looked over, seeing him take the ice cream scoop from Dustin. “Come on, man, not my scooper.” He twirled it on his finger like those cowboys do in the Westerns before placing the handle in his pocket.

“I hope you wash that before you use it,” I said.

~~~

Robin came back from her little errand a little while later with a paper in her hand, walking into the back room. “It is fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the County Recorder’s office.”

“Care to elaborate?” I said.

Placing the gigantic sheet of paper on the table, which turned out to be the mall’s blueprints, Robin said, “Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints.”

“Holy shit,” I breathed, looking down at the sheet.

“Not bad,” Dustin said.

I leaned down a little to look at the prints, seeing Steve doing the same from the corner of my eye, his hand on my back as Robin said, “This is us, Scoops, and this is where we want to get,” while pointing to the points on the blueprints.

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

“There’s not, if you’re talking exclusively about doors,” Robin said, flipping the page on the blueprint.

“Air ducts,” Dustin and I said.

“Exactly.”

I looked up, watching as she walked to the board to grab a marker before coming back to the table, continuing her words, “Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts–” She marked where she needed to, making a circle then a line following the air ducts to another part of the blueprints, making another circle on Scoops. “Lead all the way… here.”

I looked up at the vent, trying to get ideas on who we can send up there. “We need to look inside to see how big it is to send someone in there, but unfortunately… it’s screwed into the wall.” Movement from the corner of my eye had me looking in that direction.

“Well, who’s small enough?” Robin asked.

Dustin and I looked at each other, our eyes saying the same thing before we spoke our thoughts, “Send one of us.”

Steve moved to where they kept all their hardware before getting a ladder to stand on, unscrewing the screws from the wall and pulling the vent off, handing it to me down below. Through the screwdriver in between his teeth, he said, “Flashlight.”

I took the vent from his hands, giving him the flashlight as he took the screwdriver from between his teeth as he took the flashlight from my hand, saying, “Thanks, baby.” Shining the light down the metal air duct for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I don’t know, man. I don’t know if either of you can fit in here. It’s, like… super tight.”

“Get down,” I said, tapping the back of his thigh. “Let me try.”

He jumped off the ladder before letting me climb. I tried sticking my body through, not going past the middle of my arms. I pulled out of the duct, shaking my head before jumping down. “I can’t get through.”

Looking at Dustin, he said, “I’ll fit. Trust me. No collarbones, remember?” He moved to the ladder, climbing it before putting his head and shoulders in… getting stuck at his hips. 

“Uh, excuse me?” Robin said. 

“He’s got cleidocranial dysplasia,” I said. “Basically, he’s missing some of his bones and shit.”

“He can bend like Gumbo,” Steve said.

“You mean Gumby?” Robin corrected him… or tried to as Steve looked from me back to her while he said, “Pretty sure it’s Gumbo.”

“Steve, just shut up and push me!” Dustin said.

“Okay.” Steve moved to the ladder, grabbing Dustin’s feet and pushing, while saying, “I’ll push ya.”

“Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass.”

“What?”

“Touch my butt! I don’t care!”

“Oh, sweet shit,” I muttered, covering my mouth with my hand as Steve climbed the ladder a couple steps, pushing on my brother’s ass. I tried to contain the laughter that wanted to escape, but it came out in a chuckle.

“Come on! Harder!”

“I’m pushing!” Steve said.

“Push harder!” Dustin screamed.

I looked at Robin and started laughing as Steve and Dustin argued.

“You’re playing with my legs!”

“I’m not playing, I have terrible footing,” Steve said.

“Come on!”

“I’m just gonna shove you, ready?”

“Just shove me?”

“One, two…” Steve shoved Dustin, trying to get him into the duct more, my little brother saying, “Shit!”

“That work?” my boyfriend asked.

“One more time.”

The bell ringing had Robin and I turning our heads, my laughter dying down at seeing Erica at the front counter, saying, “Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck! Get over here and serve me some samples.”

Robin and I looked at each other, sharing the same idea.

I looked back at Erica and said, “Hey, Sinclair! Wanna earn a couple bucks?”

~~~

After I convinced Erica to look into the air duct, she came into the back room and did just that as Steve, Dustin, Robin and myself leaned against the counter by the window. She stepped off the ladder, turning to face us and said, “Yeah, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know if you can fit?” I asked.

“Oh, I can fit,” she said. “I just don’t know if I want to.”

“Are you claustrophobic?” Robin asked.

Erica scoffed, saying, “I don’t have phobias.”

It was my turn to scoff before I turned to Dustin and muttered, “Wish I didn’t.”

“Okay, well, what’s the problem?” Steve asked.

“The problem is, I still haven’t heard what’s in this for Erica,” she said.

Sighing, I stepped forward, pulling out some cash. Giving her two dollars, I said, “Here’s your pay for looking.” I leaned in a little closer to her, talking quietly so only the two of us could hear. “I’ll even convince these two sailors to give you some ice cream while you think it over.”

She looked at me for a moment, smirking a little before reaching out her hand. “Deal.”

I turned to the other three standing behind me, smiling a little. “Get her all the samples she wants, in or on what she wants.”

“Babe–” Steve started.

Holding up the rest of the cash I had on me, I said, “I’ll pay for it.”

“That’s for lunch!” Dustin whined.

“Got any better ideas?”

At his nonanswer, I walked through the doors to sit at a booth, watching as Erica put in her orders before sitting down next to me, Dustin following suit before Steve and Robin made their way to the booth as well, placing the ice creams down on the table before sitting.

Steve pushed a banana split to Erica, the young girl pushing it back, asking for more fudge. He gave me a sour look, one I knew all too well; he was upset with me, but wouldn’t be for long.

After Steve had gotten up with Erica’s banana split, Robin pulled out the folded blueprints of the air ducts, holding it up, saying, “Alright. You see this?” She pointed to the line she had drawn. “This is the route you’re gonna take.” She flipped the prints, revealing the other side of the line. “Then we just wait until the last delivery goes out tonight.”

“Then you knock out the grate, jump down and open the door,” I added.

“Then you find out what’s in those boxes?” Erica asked.

“Exactly,” Robin answered.

“Mm-hmmm. And you say this guard is armed.”

“Yes, but he won’t be there,” Dustin said.

“And booby traps?”

“Booby traps?” Robin and I asked.

“Lasers, spikes in the wall?” Erica said.

“What?” 

Putting her hand on my arm, Erica said, “You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me? Child endangerment.”

“See, no–” I said.

“We’ll be in radio contact with you the whole time–” Robin said.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Erica exclaimed. “Child. Endangerment.”

Sighing, Dustin said Erica’s name, the girl looking at him before he continued, “Hi. Uhh, we think these Russians wanna do harm to our country. Great harm. Don’t you love your country?”

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, looking up at the ceiling.

“You can’t spell America without Erica,” she said.

Looking back down at her, then at my brother, he and I both said, “Oddly, that’s totally true.”

“So, so, don’t do it for us,” I said, while Erica slurped on her milkshake. “Do it for your country, for your fellow man. Do it for America, Erica.”

She shivered next to me, before smiling while saying, “Oh! I just got the chills.”

I smiled, sitting up a little straighter while looking at Robin and Dustin.

“From this float,” Erica added, my confidence shattering. “Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?”

Dustin and Robin said they did while I looked confused. 

“It means this is a free market system,” she continued. “Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are. And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all. So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many.”

“Free ice cream?” I asked.

“For. Life,” she enunciated.

~~~

“I cannot believe I’m back on this stupid roof,” I complained, leaning in between Robin and Steve.

“You’ll be fine,” Dustin said.

I looked at him, his binoculars held up to his eyes. 

“It’s all quiet here,” Robin said into the walkie talkie. “So, you’ve got the green light.”

“Green light, roger that,” Erica said, her voice coming through the walkie’s speaker. “Commence Operation Child Endangerment.”

“Are we really gonna call it that?” I asked after Robin hit the button to talk.

“See you on the other side. Nerds.”

I sighed and backed up a little from the group. Since I turned and had my back facing them, I didn’t register someone coming up behind me, hands being placed on my arms. Immediately feeling safe, I leaned back into Steve’s arms, his own wrapping around me as I sighed again. “When can we live normal lives again? Demogorgons, Mind Flayers and Demodogs, and now Russians?”

“I know, baby,” he whispered, his lips pressing to the side of my head. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

I turned in his hold, looking into his eyes while putting my arms around his middle. “Really?”

Smiling, he pushed a piece of hair back behind my ear, cupping my cheek before he said, “I’ll kiss you stupid.”

I smiled a little, leaning up to kiss him; a long, sweet kiss. 

The crackling of the walkie brought me back down to reality, Erica’s voice coming through as Steve and I made our way back to the ledge. “Alright, nerds. I’m there.”

“D-do you see anything?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, I see those boring boxes you’re so excited about.”

“Any guards?” I asked.

“Negative.”

“Booby traps?”

“If I could see them, they’d be pretty shit traps, wouldn’t they?”

“Thank you for that?” Robin answered.

I heard bangs coming from the other side of the door before Erica said, “I’m in.”

“Oh, god,” Steve breathed, right before the doors opened and Erica walked out.

“Free ice cream for life,” she said.

Dustin, Robin, Steve and I got down off the roof, making our way over to Erica and the boxes, where Steve used a knife or a boxcutter to open an Imperial Panda box… another box of some sort sitting inside.

He grabbed the handle on it, turning it, causing air to hiss out of it before lifting the lid, revealing four more handles.

“Oh, sweet shit,” I breathed.

“That’s definitely not Chinese food,” Steve said. He put the lid down, placing his hand back in the cardboard box on one of the metal handles. He looked at us all before putting both hands up and saying, “Uh, maybe you guys should, ya’know, stand back.”

Robin and Erica did as Steve asked, but Dustin and I did not.

“No,” my brother and I said.

Putting his arm across my stomach to reach Dustin, Steve said, “Just step back, okay?”

Pushing his arm down, I said, “No.”

“Baby, seriously.”

“No! You’re my boyfriend, I lo–” I stopped my words, taking in a deep breath. I placed my hand on his cheek, saying, “We’re in this together. If you die, I die.”

He sighed, knowing my determination. “Okay.” Putting his hand back on the handle, he twisted it before lifting it out of the slot it was in, revealing green… something. I’m not sure what it was. Goo? Slime? I… I didn’t know.

“What the hell?” Steve muttered.

“What is that?” Robin asked.

An answer came in the form of the room rumbling before it moved a little. I instantly put my hand on Steve’s arm, grabbing for Dustin’s hand or wrist with my other.

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

I looked at Erica as she whispered, “Booby traps.”

The room rumbled again, sending Robin into motion, grabbing for the green substance. “Ya’know what? Let’s just grab that and go.”

Steve put the lid back on the metal… container thing as Dustin went to the control panel, hitting a button… about four or five times.

“Which one do I press, Erica?” he asked.

“Just press the damn button, nerd,” she said.

“Which one?” I asked.

“I’m pressing the button, okay?” Dustin added.

“Press open door,” Erica said.

“I’m pressing open door.”

Steve moved past me saying, “Just open the– press the other button.”

Anxiety was filling me at the arguments going on, an overwhelming feeling washing over me. I was brought back to reality when I heard Robin say, “Just open the door!” before a loud clanging noise sounded.

I watched as what seemed like a wall came down, slamming shut and trapping us in this room filled with boxes with unknown substances. Then the room just… fell with all five of us in it.

I was screaming, Robin and Erica were screaming, I’m sure Dustin was screaming. Feeling arms around me, I heard Steve’s voice in my ear say, “Oh, shit,” as lights were flashing by as we made our very fast descent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Posted on March 18, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #robin buckley #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season three episode four #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Eighteen: Suzie, Do You Copy?

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,233 Warnings: fluff, some teasing, robin (yay!!) Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! Season 3 is upon us!! WE FINALLY GET ROBIN!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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“And if your path won’t lead you home, you can never surrender,” I sang, putting on a layer of mascara. I had to take the kids, minus my brother, to the mall. 

Hawkins got a new mall built; our very first one, and it was the new hangout spot. You either shopped or you hung out, which is what I did most of the time. 

When a knock sounded on my window, I knew it was go time. After I opened my bedroom door, I walked down the hallway and to the front door. For some reason, Mom was still awake, so I asked her if I could borrow the car to go see my favorite person, which she smiled and agreed.

When the kids piled in the car, I drove straight to Hawkins new mall; Starcourt. It literally had everything; shops, a food court, - hell, even a damn movie theater.

“Liv, hurry up, we’re gonna miss the opening!” Will groaned.

“Do I detect whining coming from a Mr. Will Byers?” I asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror. “Blame Mike. His ass had us waiting for him. Plus, I’m going the speed limit.”

“We’ll miss it if you keep complaining,” Mike said.

“Oh, look,” I said, pointing to the big ass building. “We’re here.” I parked in the closest spot I could find, the kids and I piling out before we walked inside the mall.

Lucas was making fun of Mike for being at El and Hop’s house… making out with her the whole time. Gross. But I guess I couldn’t say anything. Steve and I made out half the time.

Will and I laughed at Lucas’ tactics, the latter saying, “See? Even Will and Liv think it’s funny.”

“Because it is,” we said.

“Yeah, it’s so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend,” Mike said. “And, Liv, you can’t say anything. That’s all you and Steve do.” “Yeah, but doing nothing but making out isn’t romantic,” I said. “You have to take her out, like on a picnic or something.”

He stopped and turned to face me, giving me a look that I chuckled at.

“Okay, I know it’s hard because of Hop, but you can take her on the front porch with a couple sandwiches or something.”

When we reached the escalators, we walked down them instead of enjoying the small ride it gave, everyone exclaiming out “Hey!” as we walked around them. We walked by a few people, me giving apologies to everyone the kids bumped into, someone saying, “Watch it.”

“Yeah, watch it, nerd,” Erica said. She was sitting by some plants, a waffle cone in her hand from the ice cream shop.

“Isn’t past your bedtime?” Lucas asked.

“Isn't it time you died?” 

“Erica!” I chuckled.

“Psycho!” Lucas said.

“Butthead!” Erica retorted.

A couple more names were thrown at each other before Lucas blew a raspberry at her, Max grabbing his arm and telling him that what he did was mature.

Mike went into the ice cream shop, Scoops Ahoy, walking up to the counter and ringing the bell. A girl I came to know as Robin, hollered out, “Hey, dingus, your children and girlfriend are here!” before the window doors opened up, Steve coming into view, saying, “Again? Seriously?”

Mike just rang the bell a few more times before Robin let them in the back, where we followed Mike to the back door that Steve opened up for us. The kids went out first, Steve telling them, “I swear if anyone hears about this–”, the kids replying, “We’re dead!”  before I tried to sneak by him, but failed as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said. I could hear the smile in his words.

I giggled as he walked me back into the back room of the shop, pressing my back against the wall. “Steve! I have to-” Kiss. “-get back-” Kiss. “- to the kids!”

“Later,” he breathed, diving back in for another kiss. “You have to kiss me stupid.”

I smiled, feeling his lips on my teeth before laughing.

Steve groaned, resting his head on my shoulder. “Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiv.”

“I’m sorry,” I laughed. Taking in a breath, I said, “I’m sorry, I’ll stop. I’ll stop.”

He looked at me, that look of really? in his eyes. I honestly couldn’t help but laugh at his look, him walking away towards the door to the front of the store before I walked up to him, grabbing his hand and turning him around. “I’m sorry.”

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he said, “Uh-huh, sure,” before kissing me again. He pulled away when Robin called, “Hey, dingus! Customers.”

“We’ll finish this later,” he said, nose brushing mine.

“I look forward to it,” I smiled, diving in for one last kiss before he disappeared. Not even five minutes later, the power went out. I stood up and went to the door that led to the front of the store, poking my head out as Steve came walking to the switch by the door. “What happened? Is there a storm coming?”

“I don’t know,” he said, flipping the switch up and down.

I watched Robin walk closer to him, watching him for a moment. “That isn’t gonna work, dingus.”

“Oh, really?” He annoyingly flipped the switch rapidly. 

“I give you full permission to murder him,” I said, looking at Robin. Looking back at Steve, I said, “It looks like you’re jacking off.”

When he flipped the switch for on, the power came back on. Steve walked back to the ice cream buckets, saying, “Let there be light.”

“You’re lucky you’re hot as fuck,” I muttered, walking back into the back room. I picked up a book I kept back here for when I came to visit Steve… which happened to be almost every single day.

I guess I had fallen asleep because I woke up to feather-light kisses on my cheek.

“Liv,” Steve said, gently. “Come on, baby, it’s time to wake up. My shift’s over. You have to take the kids home.”

I groaned, opening my eyes. “Shit. I forgot.” I stood, placing my book back in its hiding spot before walking over to Steve at the front of the store so that he could close and lock the door that almost looked like a garage door.

The kids knew to meet me at the front of the mall, so I knew they were there. What surprised me was that Erica was standing there with them, waiting. Then it hit me; I needed to take Erica home as well.

Before I walked to my car with the kids, I kissed Steve goodbye and told him I’d be at his house later. I always dropped the car back at the house before biking to Steve’s, where I slept like a baby in his arms.

~~~

I woke up with a start and sat up in the bed, the word shit on repeat out of my mouth. Steve woke up as I threw the blankets off of me before I got out of the bed. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” I swear I looked like a chicken with its head cut off as I ran around his room, opening drawers and his closet door, looking for clothes.

“What time is it?” he asked, groggily.

“Uhm… 7? I think,” I said, pulling on some shorts. I grabbed my favorite graphic tee and put it on before finding my socks and Converse, sitting on the bed to put them on. I felt Steve’s fingers under my shirt, lightly stroking the skin of my back above my shorts.

“What’s the rush?” he asked, yawning.

“I forgot I have to go with Mom today,” I said, standing up, running my fingers through my hair. “We’re picking up Dustin from that camp.”

Steve nodded, remembering what I told him earlier in the week. “Will you come see me?”

I smiled. “Of course.” Bending down, I placed my lips on his, feeling his hand on the back of my head. I squealed when he pulled me down on top of him, peppering kisses all over my face. “Steve! I have to go!”

“One more,” he said, bringing his lips to mine once again in a sweet kiss.

I pulled away, looking at him. We haven’t said those three words yet, mainly because I didn’t want to feel rushed. I do feel it, but with his track record of that four letter word, I wanted to make sure I actually felt it, and I do.

Smiling, I said, “I’ll see you later.”

He smiled back at me, repeating my words. 

I gave him one last kiss before getting off the bed once again to walk to the hallway then the staircase before going outside and getting on my bike to pedal myself home.

When I got home, I ran inside to my room for a moment, spritzing myself with my favorite perfume Steve got me for my birthday before my mom and I got in the car to go get Dustin.

Her and I talked about almost anything and everything, her main questions being about Steve.

“So,” she said. “Have you said it yet?”

I shook my head, forgetting she was driving. “No, not yet. I want to make absolutely sure.”

“Well, you have since you two were kids. What’s the holdup?”

I sighed. “His track record. The last girl he was with–”

“Nancy Wheeler,” Mom interrupted. 

“Yeah,” I breathed. “She didn’t love him, and it messed with him for a few days. I guess I’m just waiting for the right moment, the right time.”

Mom put her hand in mine, squeezing a little. “You’ve always waited for the perfect time or place to say or do anything.”

“I-is that a good thing?” I wondered.

She laughed a little. “A very good thing. When it comes to you. Now, Dusty on the other hand–”

“He’ll blurt things out without thinking, do things without thinking,” I chuckled. “But that’s what makes him our Dusty.”

“And that’s what makes you you,” she said.

I looked at her and smiled before looking at the sign for the camp Dustin had been at for the last month. Oddly enough… I missed the little shithead. I smiled big when I saw him before I got out of the car and gave him the biggest hug. “I missed you, shithead.”

“I missed you, wiseass,” he said. I could hear the smile behind his words.

Mom telling us to come on caused us to break out of our hug. He tried to go around me to get in the front seat, but I beat him to it. As he got into the backseat, he whined, “Mom, Liv won’t let me sit up front.”

“Okay, first of all,” I said, turning to face him. “Every single time we’re both with Steve, you always sit in the front. On the way to drop your ass off at camp-”

“Livvie,” Mom said, driving back towards Hawkins.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “You got to sit in the front. So it’s my turn. You can sit up front when we leave again.”

“I’m gonna try and hang out with the party today,” Dustin said. 

I groaned, turning and resting the back of my head against the headrest.

“He’ll understand,” Mom said.

“I know,” I dragged. “He was asking me about Dustin the other day on the phone.”

It was quiet for a moment before I heard Dustin say, “This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over.” A few seconds later, he repeated his words. Since no one answered him a second time, I could tell he was frustrated when he repeated it a third time. No answer, so he proceeded to say, “I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader–”

“Dusty!” Mom and I exclaimed.

“What?”

“Relax, for goodness sake,” I said.

“Liv, I’m in range, they should be answering.”

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun,” Mom said. “Maybe they just… forgot.”

Tension rose in the car as Mom continued to drive us back home. When she pulled in the driveway, she parked the car under the awning. Dustin made his way inside the house as soon as Mom turned off the car, his duffle bag in his hand.

I went straight to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water, drinking about half of it before hearing Dustin say, “Liv, are you seeing this?”

Smiling to myself, I set the glass in the sink, rim side down before walking into the living room, seeing Dustin knelt beside his toys. Feeling hands on my arms and shoulders, I tried not to laugh as I counted from three on my fingers, five out of the six kids blowing their noisemakers.

I laughed as Dustin screamed and turned around, spraying something in Lucas’ eyes causing him to scream as well from the pain. “Dustin, stop!” I laughed. Grabbing Lucas’ shoulder, I led him into the kitchen. “Flush your eyes out.”

Max came in after us, turning on the water and sticking his eyes under the faucet.

I heard my phone ringing, so I ran to my room to answer it. “Hello?” “There’s that voice I adore so much.”

I smiled, laying on my back on my bed. “Steve,” I said. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I am,” he said. “But considering it’s only 10 o’clock, no one really comes in for ice cream this early.”

“Not even for some USS Butterscotch?” I asked, almost seductively.

He chuckled on the other end. “Not even for that. Hey, are you coming up here today?”

“Yes. You think I’m gonna miss you flirting with other girls just to get a sale?”

“I can’t believe you’re okay with that.”

“Well, as long as you don’t leave me for one of those other girls, I have no problem with it,” I smiled. I really did trust him. They really didn’t flirt back with him, which was honestly shocking.

“Dingus! Counter!” I heard Robin say. Steve sighed before saying, “I gotta go. But I'll see you two later?”

“Just me. Dustin wants to hang with the party today since he just got back. Not sure when I’ll bring him up.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll see you later then.”

I giggled. “Sure. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up the phone, smiling to myself. I was so incredibly happy with Steve. I just hoped nothing would mess it up. I ran out of my room when I heard the word girlfriend come out of Dustin’s mouth.

Popping my head in his room, Will, Mike, El and myself all exclaimed, “Girlfriend?”

 ~~~

After Dustin had told us about his girlfriend, whose name was Suzie with a Z from Utah, I got on my bike and rode to the mall, needing to tell Robin about this new piece of information. She didn’t know Dustin all that well, so she wouldn’t judge… or really care. Steve, on the other hand, needed to hear this piece of information from Dustin himself.

I ran into the mall, running down the escalators and straight into Scoops Ahoy, where I ran past Steve with a customer. Robin was in the back, so I quickly rushed out my words, out of breath. 

She had her board in her hand, giving me a look that said I really don’t care.

Sighing, I said, “I needed to get this piece of information off my chest.”

She opened the window, the back of Steve’s head coming into view. I watched him scoop some ice cream on a cone before handing it to the customer, saying, “Alright, one scoop of chocolate, that’s a buck twenty-five. Anything else?”

The customer handed him some bills before he asked, “Ooh, Purdue. Fancy.”

“Yeah, I’m excited.”

He messed with the register as he said, “Yeah, ya’know, I considered it, Purdue, but then I was like, ya’know what? I-I really think I need some real-life experience, ya’know, before I hit college, see what it feels like.”

I facepalmed before looking at Robin, asking, “Why am I with him again?”

“Kinda like, uhh, I don’t know, see what it’s like to earn a working-man’s wage, ya’know? Uhh…” The register beeping distracted him for a second before he said, “I think that’s, like, really important.”

“Yeah, totally,” the customer said.

“Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun,” Steve said, almost throwing the girl's change back at her. “This is… my first day here,” he said, as the girl and her friend walked away.

“Aaaand another one bites the dust,” Robin said.

Steve turned around to face as she handed me her marker.

I looked at the board, counting the tallies as I marked one and said, “You are oh for six, Popeye.”

“Yeah, babe, I can count,” Steve said.

“You know that means you suck,” Robin said.

“Yep, I can read, too, but that doesn’t matter ‘cause I have my beautiful girlfriend right here,” he said, holding his hands out towards me.

“You can read?” I asked, feigning shock. “Since when?”

“Okay, you know what,” he said. I giggled before he added, “It’s this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature.”

“Your heart?” I said, reaching over the counter to press my fingertips to where his heart laid beneath his chest.

He looked at me with a deadpan look. “My hair, wiseass.”

“Company policy really blows, doesn’t it? I mean, you don’t want your customers to eat Faberge with her USS Butterscotch.”

“Haven’t you considered… telling the truth?” Robin asked.

“Oh, you mean, that I couldn’t even get into Tech and my douchebag dad’s trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? That truth?” Steve said.

“Hey now,” I said. “Future is standing right here.”

“Hey, twelve o’clock,” Robin said, pointing behind Steve.

He turned, saying, “Oh, shit,” before turning back to face me, saying, “Gotta flirt.” He turned to Robin and said, “You know what?” before tossing his hat off in my direction. I caught it and placed it on my own head as he said, “Screw company policy.” 

“Oh, my god,” Robin and I said. “You’re a whole new man.”

Steve backed away saying, “Right? Ooh,” before turning around and yelling at the customers. “Ahoy, ladies! I didn’t see you there. Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I’ll be your captain. I’m Steve Harrington.”

“Kill me,” I whispered. “Kill me now.”

“Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people, four spoons?”

“Give me the marker,” I said to Robin.

“You still have it, dingette,” she said.

I looked down at my hand, the marker, in fact, still there. I walked over to the board, putting another tally on it before capping the writing utensil and going over to where my book was, grabbing it and sitting on the corner of the counter to lean back against the wall to begin reading.

Once Steve’s shift was over - like, always when I biked - we loaded my bike in the trunk of his car, or what would fit, and drove back to his house, where we took our showers, got dressed in our pajamas and fell asleep, teasing each other about his antics at Scoops Ahoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

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Posted on February 26, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season three episode one #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Sixteen: The Mind Flayer

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,860 Warnings: liv being a little insecure, canon violence, angst, squint for fluff, nickname drops Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! To go ahead and clear up any confusion; Ch15 (S2Ep7) doesn't exist here. If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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All of us were walking along the tracks again when we left the junkyard. I was scared and, quite frankly, a little cold. I had my arms crossed over my chest, looking down at where I was walking. I did this when I was anxious beyond belief. I felt a hand on my arm, looking at who it was attached to.

Steve’s eyebrows were a little furrowed, so I shook my head a little before lacing my fingers with his, sighing and feeling more at ease as I did.

“You’re positive that was Dart?” Lucas asked.

“Yes,” Dustin said. “He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt.”

“He was tiny two days ago,” Max said.

“Well, he’s molted three times already.”

“Malted?” Steve asked.

“Molted,” I said. “He’s shedding his skin to make more room for growing. Kinda like snakes.”

“When’s he gonna molt again?” Max asked.

“It’s gotta be soon,” Dustin said.

“When he does, he’ll be fully grown, if not close,” I said. “So, will his friends.”

“Yeah, and he’s gonna eat a lot more than just cats,” Steve said.

“Wait, a cat?” Lucas asked. “Dart ate a cat?"

I turned my head over my shoulder at hearing their footsteps stopping, stopping my own while pulling on Steve’s hand to get him to stop.

“No,” Dustin said. “What? No.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve said. “He ate Mews.”

“Mews?” Max asked, looking from Steve to me. “Who’s Mews.”

“Dustin and Liv’s cat.”

“Steve,” I said, while Dustin yelled his name at the same time.

“I knew it!” Lucas said. “You kept him!”

“No!” Dustin tried to deny. “No. No, I… No, I…” He was going to relent in three… two… one. “He missed me. He wanted to come home.”

“Bullshit!”

I felt Steve’s hand tighten on mine, so I rubbed my thumb against his, letting him know everything was okay.

“I didn’t know he was a Demogorgon, okay?” Dustin said.

“Oh, so now you admit it?” Lucas asked.

I rolled my eyes, so used to their banter, and looked off to the woods on my right.

“Guys, who cares?” Max said. “We have to go.”

“I care!” Lucas said. “You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!”

“SO DID YOU!” Dustin yelled.

“What?”

I sighed and looked back towards Steve and Max, putting my eyes on Steve. “Can I murder them?”

“You told a stranger the truth!” Dustin said, briefly shining his light in Max's face.

She scoffed, saying, “A stranger?”

“You wanted to tell her, too!” Lucas said. 

Letting go of Steve’s hand, I put my hands up in surrender and turned 90 degrees to the right, saying, “I’m so fucking done.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t, okay?” Dustin said. “I didn’t. We both broke the rule of law. We’re even. We’re even.”

Screeching in the distance put me back on alert, my anxiety at an eleven.

“Steve,” I whispered. I saw his light from the corner of my eye before feeling his chest on my shoulder.

“No, no, don’t even try that,” Lucas said. “You’re stupid pet could’ve ate us for dinner.”

“That was not my fault,” Dustin retorted.

“Hey, guys,” Steve said.

“He wasn’t gonna eat us.”

“Oh, so, he was crawling to say hello?” Lucas said.

“Guys!” Steve and I yelled, turning to look at the kids.

The kids looked at us before we looked back at the woods. I knew he looked, too, because I could feel his shoulder move from and to my back.

Steve moved towards the woods, grabbing my hand as he did.

“We’re not going in there,” I said, walking with him. “Steven Anthony, we are not walking in these woods. We are not following the sound. Steve? Steven.”

I heard leaves crunching as the kids followed us. We came to a clearing, standing there to look for a moment before Dustin voiced, “I don’t see ‘em.” It was like you could see the entire town of Hawkins from where we were.

I looked over at Lucas, feeling his arm brush against mine. He had his binoculars up to his eyes. “It’s the lab,” he said. Watching as he lowered his arms, he added, “They were going back home.”

Somehow, we made our way through the woods to the lab, coming up on… Nancy and Jonathan?

Us four older teens voiced each other’s names before questions were being thrown.

“What are you doing here?” Nancy asked.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked back.

I let go of his hand as she said, “We’re looking for Mike and Will.”

“They’re not in there, are they?” Dustin asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling embarrassed.

“We’re not sure,” Nancy said.

“Why?” Jonathan asked.

Screeching had me popping my head up, looking towards the building.

I was standing outside the huddle everyone had put themselves in, nerves on high alert, while I was looking down at the ground.

“The power’s back,” Nancy said, causing me to pick my head up.

We all rushed to Jonathan’s car, said teen going inside the security box to mess with something for the gate. Dustin followed him inside a couple of seconds after, trying to push him out of the way.

“Let me try,” Dustin said. “Let me try, Jonathan.”

I was on the passenger side of the car, watching the gate do… well, nothing.

“Son of a bitch. You know what…” Dustin said.

Too anxious to say anything, I started pacing the passenger side, letting my thoughts get the better of me. I didn't know how long I was pacing for until I felt hands on my shoulders, rubbing up and down.

I closed my eyes and sighed, knowing exactly who it was. Feeling a kiss to the back of my head, I felt safe.

“Why are you pacing again?” 

“Because I’m scared,” I whispered. I turned around to face Steve, his hands still on my shoulders, pulling me back until he was leaning against the back of the car.

“Of what?”

I looked down, tears once again filling my eyes.

“Talk to me,” he whispered.

Looking up at him, I whispered, “Everything.” I breathed in a shaky breath before adding, “Dustin dying, you dying, everyone dying.” I glanced over his shoulder at Nancy, looking down at where Steve’s shirt and jeans met. “I’m scared of Nancy hating me.”

I could tell he dipped his head to try and look at me, but when I wouldn’t he whispered, “Baby, look at me.”

Lifting my head, a couple tears streamed down my cheeks… for the millionth time tonight.

He shook his head, putting his hand on my cheek. I leaned into his touch, stepping a little closer to him. “She’s not gonna hate you. If anything she’ll hate me… for moving on as fast as I did.”

I sighed and leaned forward, dropping my chin a little to my chest. I felt Steve’s forehead bump against mine, his hand coming to rest on my neck.

“Everything will be okay,” he whispered. I felt him lift his head from mine, causing me to look up at him. “I promise.”

I nodded, feeling him lightly pull me towards him, our lips meeting. We didn’t move for a few seconds, Steve pulling away first. We ended up moving to the front of the car where everyone else was standing, the gate opening it.

Dustin praised himself for opening the gate, even though I’m pretty sure someone inside did reset the system using BASIC.

Jonathan and Nancy got in the car, driving towards the lab to go find Mike and Will.

Steve and I moved to lean on a post by the guard box with my back on his chest, the other three teens walking around aimlessly. Max stepped closer to the opened gate, saying, “Guys?” as two pairs of headlights were pointed our way.

Since I had my head leaning against Steve’s shoulder, I picked it up, hearing the engines revving. Seeing the cars coming towards us at fast speed, I told the kids to get out of the way, pulling Dustin closer to me as he stepped backwards.

Jonathan’s car zoomed past us first, Hopper’s truck stopping beside us. He looked out the opened passenger window, saying, “Let’s go.”

Steve moved first, getting the kids in the back. He guided me in with a hand on my back into the truck, where I sat on the middle console between him and Hop.

~~~

We went back to the Byers’ house, the vibe in the house one of sadness. Hopper told us on the way back to the Byers’ that Bob died from the Demogorgon’s attacking him as they were trying to escape.

I’m not sure anyone wanted to say anything to anyone. Will was asleep on the couch, the boy apparently is being possessed by that Shadow Monster he drew. Jonathan was talking to his brother as Nancy was standing behind him for support.

I was standing by Steve, both us watching them. He turned around and walked into the kitchen, pinching his nose to not cry. I was already letting the tears flow. Will was like a little brother to me, so seeing him in his state made me very sad.

Following Steve, I couldn't help but hear Hop’s conversation on the phone. “I don’t know how many people are there! I don’t know how many people are left alive! I am the police! Chief Jim Hopper! Yes, the number that I gave you, yes. 6767 - I will be here.”

“They didn’t believe you, did they?” Dustin asked, the rest of the younger teens with him at the table.

“We’ll see,” Hop said.

I was standing by Steve, facing the kids at the table. I felt his hand on my arm, feeling him pull me towards him, so I turned my back to him, feeling his arms wrap around me, holding me to him, my arms resting over his.

“‘We’ll see?’” Mike asked. “We can’t just sit here while those things are loose!”

“We stay here, and we wait for help.” Hop walked into the hallway to Joyce’s bedroom. 

I sighed and leaned my head back against Steve’s shoulder, turning my head towards him just a little. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, just wanting to sleep for at least fifteen minutes.

I was successful for about two of those minutes before I heard Mike’s voice say, “Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?”

“Really?” Lucas asked.

“He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him.” Mike walked back over to the table. “Pretty awesome, right?”

“Yeah,” Lucas and my brother said.

Mike placed one of Bob’s puzzles on the table before saying, “We can’t let him die in vain.”

“Well, what do you wanna do, Mike?” Dustin asked sharply.

“Dusty,” I whispered.

“Alright, the Chief’s right on this. We can’t stop those Demo-dogs on our own.”

“Demo-dogs?” Max and I asked, my tone more confused.

Deadpanning, Dustin said, “Demogorgon. Dogs. Demodogs. It’s like a compound. It’s like a play on words–”

“Okay, Dusty,” I sighed. “We get it.”

“I mean, when it was just Dart… maybe.”

“But there’s an army now,” Lucas said. 

“Precisely.”

“His army,” Mike muttered.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked. I looked up at him, looking at his jaw. “His army. Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too.”

Scrunching my brows, I unwrapped myself from Steve to walk into Will’s room, the younger teens and Steve following. “Are you talking about this?” I asked Mike, my facial expression laced with nothing but confusion.

Mike looked at the drawing of the Shadow Monster that I had in my hands, the one that Will drew. “Yeah.” He handed the drawing to Dustin, everyone huddling into a circle. 

“The Shadow Monster,” Dustin said.

“It got Will that day in the field,” Mike said. “The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him.”

“And so this virus, it’s connecting him to the tunnels?” Max asked.

“To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, to everything.”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down,” Steve said, taking the drawing from Dustin.

“Okay, so, the Shadow Monster’s inside everything,” Mike explained. “And if the vines can feel something like pain, then so does Will.”

“And so does Dart,” Lucas added.

“Yeah, like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind.”

“Hive mind?” Steve asked.

“A collective consciousness,” Dustin said.

“It’s a super-organism,” I added.

“And this is the thing that controls everything,” Mike said. “It’s the brain.”

“Like the Mind Flayer,” Dustin said, his eyes a little wide.

Lucas snapped his fingers, pointing towards my little brother as Steve, Max and I asked, “The what?”

Dustin sighed, exasperatedly, pushing Steve out of the way to find Will’s D&D book, asking everyone but Joyce and a passed out Will to come around the table, where he slammed the book down on the page he needed. “The Mind Flayer.”

“What the hell is that?” Hopper asked.

“It’s a monster from an unknown dimension. It’s so ancient that it doesn’t even know its true home. Okay, it enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly-developed psionic powers.”

“Oh, my god,” Hopper groaned. “None of this is real. This is a kid’s game.”

“No, it-it-it’s a manual,” Dustin argued. “And it’s not for kids. And unless you know something we don’t, this is the metaphor–”

“Analogy,” Lucas and I said. Since I was leaning against the table by Dustin, I felt his eyes on me, so I looked at him.

“Analogy? That’s what you’re worried about?” Dustin said. “Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is.”

“Okay, so this Mind Flamer thing–” Nancy said.

“Flayer. Mind Flayer.”

She sighed before asking, “What does it want?”

“To conquer us, basically. I-it believes it’s the master race.”

“Oh, like, uhh, like the Germans,” Steve said.

Turning my head over my shoulder, I softly corrected him by saying, “The Nazis, babe.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Nazis.”

Hopper groaned while Dustin said, “Uh, if the Nazis were from a different dimension, totally. Uh, it views other races, like us, as inferior to itself.”

“It wants to spread, take over other dimensions,” Mike added.

“We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it,” Lucas said.

“That’s great,” Steve said. “That’s great!”

“That’s really great,” I added, before walking away and whispering, “Sweet shit.”

I leaned my hands against the sink, letting my chin meet my chest, feeling hands on my upper arms, rubbing up and down. Picking my head up, I closed my eyes, sighing. I turned around, Steve’s hands still on my arms as I whispered “When did this become our lives?”

He pulled me into a hug, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “I’m not sure,” he whispered back. 

“Great,” Hopper said, bringing Steve and I out of our little moment. “So, how do you kill this thing? Shoot it with fireballs or something?”

Chuckling, Dustin said, “No. No, no fire– no fireballs. Uh, you summon an undead army, uh, because… because zombies, ya’know, they don’t have brains, and the Mind Flayer, it-it-it likes brains. It’s just a game. It’s a game.”

Closing the book and slamming it on the table, Hopper said, “What the hell are we doing here?”

“I thought we were waiting for your military backup, Hop?” I sassed, walking around Steve.

“We are!”

“But even if they come, how are they going to stop this, Jim? You can’t just have a damn shoot out!”

“You don’t know that! We don’t know anything!”

“We know it’s already killed everybody in that lab,” Mike said.

“And we know the monsters are going to molt again,” Lucas added.

“And we know that it’s only a matter of time before those tunnels reach this town,” Dustin said.

“They’re right,” Joyce said, all of us looking her way. “We have to kill it. I want to kill it.”

“Me, too,” Hopper said, walking towards Joyce. “Me, too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with here.”

“No,” Mike said. “But he does.” He started walking towards Will laying on the couch, everyone else following. “If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it’s Will. He’s connected to it. He’ll know its weakness.”

“I thought we couldn’t trust him anymore,” Max wondered. “That’s he’s a spy for the Mind Flayer now.”

“Yeah, well, he can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is,” I said.

“Where can we do this at?” Hopper asked.

“Jonathan, don’t you guys have a shed in the back?” I asked, the oldest Byers boy nodding.

Hopper and I walked outside to the shed, where he opened the door and looked in for a moment before saying, “Yeah, this’ll work.” We started cleaning it out, placing everything from inside the shed onto the ground in a giant pile.

Steve and Nancy came out to help me put a tarp up. Steve was using the staple gun to hold the tarp in place, while Nancy was ripping pieces of duct tape.

“Hey,” she said. “What you did, uhm, helping the kids…”

I sighed, looking at the back of Steve’s head as he looked at her, resting his arm on the shelf in front of him.

“That was… really cool,” she finished. 

“Yeah,” he said, looking back at me. “I had help.”

I smiled a little at him, feeling my cheeks flush. He held his hand out for me to take, guiding me to step up on the step stool. Since I was too short to reach the top of the tarp, I tested the strength of the shelf before jumping onto it, basically standing on my knees.

As I felt Steve’s hands on my thighs, he said, “Those little shits are real trouble, ya’know?”

“Believe me,” she said. “I know.”

“Gimme the gun,” I said, turning my body towards Steve a little bit. 

He smiled a little bit, handing me the staple gun. I started stapling the tarp every few inches or so.

Once everyone had the materials that we needed for the shed, everyone came inside, helping to tape the tarp to the windows, as well as the newspaper, tin foil and cardboard that we all had found in the trash and around the house.

A couple chairs were placed in the middle of the shed; one against the post in the middle, the other in front.

When the job was done and we all went back inside, Jonathan scooped Will up off the couch, taking him out to the shed.

I was sitting on the living room floor, leaning against the couch, watching Steve practice some swings with his bat. Leaning my head back against the cushions, I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment.

Paper rustling caused me to open my eyes, watching as Steve sat down next to me. I scooted a little closer to him, resting my head against his shoulder, feeling his head rest on mine.

Sighing, I said, “Here’s hoping he doesn’t sick his dogs on us. Judgment day if he does.” I jumped up to my feet when the lights started flickering a couple of minutes later, walking towards the backdoor.

Hopper, Mike, Joyce and Jonathan came back in the house a couple minutes later, my little brother asking, “What happened?” The Chief sat down at the table with a piece of paper and a pen, saying, “I think he’s talking… just not with words.” He drew four dots, followed by one, then dot dash dot before finishing with one dot at the end, writing the letters that correspond with each code.

“What is that?” Steve asked.

“Morse Code,” all of us answered.

“H - E - R - E,” Hop spelled, all of us answering, “Here.”

“Will’s still in there,” Hop said. “He’s talking to us.”

Jonathan went to his room, grabbing his boom box and a cassette after Hopper had suggested using something to help Will talk more.

A couple minutes later, we got our first code.

“Dash, dot, dash, dot,” Dustin said, writing it down. Lucas looked for it, him and Max saying, “C,” Nancy writing it down after. This continued for the next few minutes before we had all the letters, all nine collectively saying, “Close Gate.”

I jumped out of my skin when the phone rang, Dustin going to quickly pick the receiver off the base before hanging it back up, saying, “Shit. Shit.”

It rang again, Nancy taking it off the wall and throwing it down the hall.

“Damn, Wheeler,” I muttered.

“Do you think he heard that?” Max asked.

“It’s just a phone,” Steve said from next to me. “It could be anywhere. Right?”

That screeching sound that only Demodogs make had me turning my head from looking at Steve to the front windows. Dustin, Max, Nancy, Lucas, Steve and myself all walked into the living room, Dustin and I saying, “Thaaaaat’s not good.”

Joyce, Mike and Jonathan came back in the house with a passed out Will, taking him into his room. Max, Lucas and Mike were leaning against the couch looking out of the windows.

“Hey,” Hopper said. “Hey! Get away from the windows.”

Gathering in the living room, Hopper held out a shotgun and asked Jonathan, “Do you know how to use this?”

“Wha-what?” Jonathan asked.

With urgency in his voice, Hopper asked, “Can you use this?”

“I can,” Nancy answered, Hopper tossing the gun to her.

Since everyone that had a weapon stood in front, those of us without weapons - the kids, myself, Joyce and Jonathan - stood behind them, waiting for something to happen with the Dogs. Dustin and I stood behind Steve with his bat, Max stood behind Lucas with his wrist rocket, while the Byers’ stood behind the Wheeler’s.

When we heard thudding, all of us turned to the right, Nancy asking, “What are they doing?” before we all turned back to the left, facing the windows.

I grabbed onto Dustin, feeling him grab me back at the sound of the creatures so close, a pained screech sounding a few seconds before once came crashing through the windows, the only thing I could hear was my own screaming, tears filling my eyes for what seemed like the millionth time tonight.

“Holy shit,” Dustin said as Hop moved toward the creature.

“Is it dead?” Max asked.

“It freaking better be,” I exclaimed.

Hopper moved its head with his foot, giving us our answer of whether or not the creature was dead.

Hearing something creak had all of us looking towards the door, the deadbolt unlocking. Those with weapons held them up as Hopper moved towards the door, the chain moving next. The door opened and my heart dropped to my butt.

There, dressed like a MTV punk with her hair slicked back and black eyeliner smudged around her beautiful hazel eyes and blood dripping down her nose… was El.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: i feel like everyone uses the gif above, but i couldn't find anything else 😩

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

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If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on February 12, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #eleven hopper #will byers #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season two episode eight #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fandom #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

Author:@harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) (eventually) Word Count: 3,008 Warnings: lil' bit of angst, lil' bit of fluff, not proofread Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! Another rewrite series is upon us!! I'm so excited for y'all to read this one, and I hope y'all are just as excited!! If you are, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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November 6, 1983. A normal fall night in Hawkins, Indiana. A Sunday night spent in the basement at my little brother’s best friend’s house. My brother is Dustin Henderson. His best friend is Mike Wheeler. They’re both here with their other best friends, Will Byers and Lucas Sinclair. 

I’m Olivia Henderson, and I do not want to be here. You see, Mike has an older sister named Nancy. She and I used to be the best of friends… before she started dating my other best friend, but we’ll get to that later.

“Something is coming,” Mike said. “Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.”

I watched as all four boys playing a board game called Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D for short. They were all so immersed, I seriously think they all thought I left.

“What is it?” Will asked, almost excitedly.

I smiled at him, so happy to see him excited and happy about something, even if it was just a board game. He’d been through so much with his parents splitting and fighting all the time.

“What if it’s the Demogorgon?” Dustin asked.

I stood up from where I sat on the couch, moving towards the group.

“Oh, Jesus. We’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.”

“It’s not the Demogorgon,” Lucas said, completely sure of his answer.

“It’s definitely the Demogorgon,” I whispered, face scrunched.

“Shut up, Liv,” Dustin said.

Slamming a gaming piece on the board, Mike said, “An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!”

Lucas pointed at the board like he was right as my brother said, “Troglodytes?” with a smile on his face.

“Told ya,” Lucas chuckled.

Mike went serious as the rest of the group chuckled a little. “Wait a minute.”

I walked slowly around the table, as Mike thought for a moment. “Something is coming. Something hungry for blood.”

“Did you hear that?” Mike said, looking to his left. “That… that sound? Boom… boom… BOOM!” He slammed his hands on the table, the other three young boys jumping a little in their chairs.

“That didn’t come from the troglodytes,” I whispered, now standing behind Dustin. “That… that came from something else.”

Slamming another gaming piece on the board, Mike yelled, “The Demogorgon!”

The boys groaned as I chuckled.

“We’re in deep shit,” Dustin said, to which I smacked his hat off his head.

“Will, your action!” Mike said.

“I don’t know,” the young Byers boy exclaimed.

“Fireball him!” Lucas exclaimed.

“I’d have to roll a 13 or higher!”

Looking at Will, Dustin said, “It’s too risky. Cast a Protection spell.”

“Don’t be a pussy,” Lucas said. “Fireball him!”

“Cast Protection.”

Slamming his hands on the table yet again, Mike exclaimed, “The Demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! It stomps towards you. Boom!”

“Fireball him!” Lucas said.

“Another stomp! Boom!”

“Cast Protection!” Dustin said.

Looking up at me, Will asked, “Liv, what should I do?”

Shrugging, I answered, “I say cast Protection, but Fireballing sounds fun.”

“He roars in anger!” Mike yelled.

Everyone at the table started talking over each other before Will decided to roll the dice and yell out, “Fireball!” as the dice flew across the table and onto the floor.

The four of them quickly got up and started looking for the dice, wanting to see what numbers Will rolled. Dustin paced while saying, “Oh, my god,” over and over again.

“Mike!” Mrs. Wheeler yelled.

“Mom, we’re in the middle of a campaign!” the middle Wheeler said.

“You mean the end? Fifteen after.”

I looked at my watch with wide eyes, mouth agape after a second. “Shit. Dustin, we gotta go.”

“Why do we have to go?” Will asked.

“Because it’s a school night, Will,” I said, putting my jacket on. I looked at Dustin, watching as he put on his jacket as Will said, “Does a seven count?”

“Did Mike see it?” Lucas asked. “Then it doesn’t count.”

Not totally understanding the meaning behind that, I said, “Come on, boys. I can bring you back over next weekend for another 2 hour game.”

“It was 10,” Dustin said, picking up a box of pizza.

“You been playing for ten hours?”

Ignoring my question, my brother said, “Anyone want this?”

“No,” Will and Lucas said.

“Liv?”

I looked at the ceiling, thinking for a minute. “See if Nance wants it.”

“I thought you were mad at her,” Lucas said.

“Mad? No. Upset? Yes.”

“What’s the–”

“Don’t get involved,” Dustin said. “It’s complicated. Come on, Liv.”

Dustin and I walked up the stairs, and I immediately wished I hadn’t because what I heard made me want to rip my own ears off.

“Yeah, he’s cute,” Nancy said. “Barb, no. I don’t think so.”

Dustin waved at her, trying to get her attention. “Hey, Nancy. There’s a slice left if you want it. Sausage and pepperoni!”

I watched as Nancy rolled her eyes and told Barb to hold on before putting the phone down and walking over to her bedroom door… closing it in our faces.

“Do not let her bother you,” I said, the two of us walking down the stairs and to the garage door. “She’s just being a bitch.”

“There’s something wrong with your sister,” Dustin said as I closed the door behind us.

“What are you talking about?” Mike asked.

Will, Lucas, Dustin and myself all got on our bikes as Dustin said, “She’s got a stick up her butt.”

“Yeah. It’s because she’s been dating that douche bag, Steve Harrington,” Lucas said.

“Watch it, Sinclair,” I said.

“Yeah, don’t talk about Steve like that around Olivia,” Dustin defended. “Douche Bag was her best friend before Nance came along and she started becoming a real jerk.”

“She’s always been a real jerk,” Mike and I answered.

“She used to be cool. Like that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder Tree campaign.”

“That was me,” I said, riding off with two of the younger boys. I stopped pedaling when I heard Will say, “It was a seven. The roll, it was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me. See ya tomorrow.”

As soon as Will met me at the end of the driveway, I pedaled behind him after waving bye to Mike. When we made it to Lucas' house, he turned to us and said, “Goodnight, ladies and Liv!”

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me,” Dustin teased. He looked at Will and said, “Race back to our place? Winner gets a comic.”

“Any comic?” Will asked.

“Yeah.”

My chuckle turned into a laugh as Will started pedaling faster towards mine and Dustin’s house. Unintentionally, Dustin yelled, “I’m gonna kill you!”

“I’ll take your X-Men 134!” Will yelled, passing by our mailbox.

Dustin stopped, putting his feet flat on the ground. “Son of a bitch.”

I stopped beside Dustin, laughing, as I heard our mom yell out, “Livvie! Phone call!”

“I really wish she would stop calling me Livvie.”

Dustin chuckled as we made our way up the driveway, parking our bikes before heading inside, where I took my phone call in my bedroom.

“Yeah, hello?”

“Did you do the homework for Click’s class?”

“Hello to you, too.”

“Did you?”

I sighed, and hung my head. “Yes. But I’m not doing it for you?” I heard yelling on the other end of line. “Go before you get even more trouble for something you probably didn’t do.”

~~~

Since our mom works part time, she lets me take her car to school… but not on this Monday morning. I didn’t mind riding my bike, though. It was good exercise. When the boys and I made it to the high school, I stopped my bike and put it on the bike rack before bidding Lucas, Dustin and Mike a good day at school.

Right as I started walking up the school doors, I watched as Nancy Wheeler did the same. We smiled at each other a little, almost walking together like we used to. She went to say something before her friend Barbra Holland walked up.

“So, did he call?” Barb asked.

“Did who call?” I asked, acting oblivious. I knew exactly who she was talking about.

“Keep your voice down,” Nancy said, almost whining in her tone.

“Did he?” Barb inquired.

“Okay, someone has to fill me in,” I said.

“Barb, I told you, it’s not like that,” Nancy said. “Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just…” Nancy stopped at her locker, as did I. Our lockers were next to each other. “Made out a couple times.”

Barb mimicked her as I poked my head from behind Nancy, and said, “Will one of you please quit ignoring me and tell me who the hell she’s talking about?”

“Nance, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now, it’s ridiculous,” Barb said.

“No, I’m not,” Nancy said.

“Hey, Olivia,” a random girl said.

“Hey, queen Liv,” another girl said.

I sighed, and closed my eyes. “Really wish they wouldn’t call me that.”

“Why?” Barb asked. “Because you got the nickname by association with Steve and now you two aren’t friends anymore?”

I held a finger out to her. “We never said we weren’t friends anymore. We just… drifted apart, is all. Happens all the time.” I looked at the back of Nancy’s head, gesturing to the younger girl. “Back to the task at hand.”

“You better still hang out with us, that’s all I’m saying,” Barb said.

“Us?”

“Yes. Us. I’m declaring you two friends again. But, Nance, if you become friends with Tommy H. and Carol–”

“Gross,” I mumbled. 

“It was a one-time– two-time thing,” Nancy said, opening her locker.

I chuckled as Nancy put stuff in her locker before she grabbed a piece of paper in handwriting that I knew all too well.

Barb and I looked at each other before we said in unison, “You were saying?”

Nancy put the note back in her locker before closing it. She turned to face me, asking with her eyes if I’d meet her at the bathroom, to which I nodded my head and silently told her yes.

The only thing I heard before she walked out of the bathroom was the words to study in a stern, but almost playful voice by Nancy. When Steve opened the door a couple minutes after Nancy walked out, he and I locked eyes. 

“I really hope you’re being careful with her,” I said. “She doesn’t need to have the reputation like all of your other cohorts. She isn’t like that.”

“Liv, I’m not–”

“You better not be. Don’t forget, I know where you sleep.”

He smiled a little, knowing I was right. I guess he decided to have some weird lame-ass comeback ‘cause he said, “Clothes get a little darker there, Henderson?”

When he looked over my head, I realized why he said that. Tommy H. and Carol.

“Yeah, well, I’d rather dress in dark clothing than dress like the ultimate geek,” I said. Turning to face Tommy H and Carol, I really didn’t want to waste my breath on them, so I just rolled my eyes and walked away.

“That’s right,” Carol said. “Walk away.”

Turning to walk backwards, I said, “Hey, Carol. Why don’t you stop being a bitch? Maybe then you wouldn’t have to beg for friendships from people that dress like nerds.” I walked straight to class, not thinking about them for the rest of the morning.

~~~

Third period. Not my favorite, but then again it was my favorite because that meant that lunch was next and all I wanted was to sit on the hood of Steve’s car and eat my lunch without him knowing.

When the Principal and Chief Hopper showed up at the door, knocking on it, my nerves went up about 100%. My first thought was Dustin, that something had happened to him. When the Principal called my name and had me follow the Chief to the Middle School, I kept quiet, not wanting to ask too many questions.

When we got to the AV room and I saw that Dustin was perfectly okay, I sighed in relief, hugging him when they entered the hall. The four of us followed Hopper to the Principal’s office, who joked that he never thought he’d see me in his office again.

Once the boys and I were sitting down on the couch, Hopper started asking his questions, and the boys started talking over each other.

“One at a time, alright?” Hopper said. He looked at Mike and asked, “You said he takes what?” “Mirkwood,” Mike answered. 

“Mirkwood?”

“Yeah.”

Turning to Officer Callahan, Hopper asked, “Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?”

“I have not,” Callahan answered. “Sounds made up to me.” “No, it’s from Lord of the Rings,” Lucas said.

“Well, The Hobbit,” Dustin corrected.

“Here we go,” I sighed. 

As Lucas and Dustin started their bickering, Hopper leaned forward saying, “What did I just say? One at a damn time.” Looking at Mike again, he said, “You.”

“Mirkwood, it’s a real road,” Mike said, before looking up at me.

I sighed and said, “It’s just the name that’s made up. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet.”

Leaning back, Hopper said, “Yeah, alright, I think I know that–”

“We can show you, if you want,” Mike said.

“I said that I know it!”

“We can help.”

As the boys agreed, Hopper disagreed. “After school, you are all to go home. Immediately.” He looked at me and continued, “Make sure they don’t go biking around looking for their friend. No investigating, no nonsense. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.”

“The Hobbit,” Dustin said.

“Dustin, shut the hell up,” I said.

As the boys bickered, once again, Hopper looked at me and asked, “Do I make myself clear?”

“Inescapably clear.”

He stood up and looked at the boys, asking, “Do I make myself… clear?”

Once they all agreed, we were let go and Hopper walked me back to the high school, where his car was parked.

Before I walked back into the building, I turned and said, “Hey, Hop?”

He looked at me, pointedly, telling me to correct myself.

I sighed. “Chief.”

At his look of almost relaxation, I asked, “Do you think Will’s in danger or do you think something happened to him?”

He sighed, brushing his hand over his face. “I don’t know, kid. If he went home and then vanished, maybe his dad–”

“That piece of shit wouldn’t come back for his son,” I said, almost angry. 

Hop sighed again. “Look, I’m just not sure. I’ll keep you updated. Get back to class.”

~~~

I looked at my phone, confused, as it rang. I picked the receiver, putting the earpiece to my ear. “Hello?”

“Can you come help me study?”

I sighed into the mouthpiece. “Nance. There’s a curfew in place because of Will missing.”

“Please?”

“Nance, I can’t. I can’t break the curfew.”

She sighed on her end. “You used to sneak out all the time.”

“Yeah. With Steve because we were both little shits,” I chuckled. I sighed, thinking it over for a moment. “Okay. I’ll come over–”

“Nevermind,” she said. “Steve’s here.”

“Don’t get caught,” I said, hanging up the phone. Dustin burst through my door a few seconds later, jacket and backpack on. “What are you doing and where are you going?”

“Looking for Will. You’re coming.”

~~~

Neither boy gave me a chance to try and explain why I didn’t want to go out looking for Will, but alas! Here I am. In the cold. Standing the barriers the police put up. Nice.

Getting off my bike, I mumbled, “You three are going to get me into some deep shit with the police.”

“Like you haven’t been in enough trouble with them already,” Lucas mumbled back.

“Watch it, Sinclair.”

“You feel that?” Dustin asked, a few seconds after a low rumble came from the sky.

I felt a raindrop on the top of my head, so I put my jacket’s hood on to protect my hair. 

“I think maybe we should go back.”

“For once, I agree,” I said.

“No,” Mike said. “We’re not going back. Just stay close.” He and Lucas started going under the barrier while Dustin and I looked at each other, deciding that since we were both here and bound to get in trouble, we might as well just follow the other two.

I’m following three 12 year olds? Gross. 

“Just stay on Channel Six. Don’t do anything stupid,” Mike continued.

The four of us started our hike into the woods in the torrential downpour happening, yelling out Will’s name, in the hope that he’d answer back.

“Will!” I yelled. “This isn’t funny! WILL!”

“I’ve got your X-Men 134!” Dustin yelled. “I really think we should turn back.”

“Seriously, Dustin?” Lucas said. “You wanna be a baby, then go home already!”

I walked up to Lucas and grabbed his jacket, pulling him  back. “Would you quit being a damn bully? Look, we’re all scared! Dustin’s just not that great at hiding it. We’re going to stay searching for Will, even though Hopper told us to stay at home.”

“Did you ever think Will went missing ‘cause he ran into something bad?” Dustin asked. “And we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen? And we have no weapons, or anything?” “Dustin, shut up,” Mike said, more calmly than Lucas.

“I’m just saying, does that seem smart to you?”

Putting his hand back to stop my brother in his tracks, Mike said, “Shut up, shut up.”

That’s when I heard rustling and went to stand in front of the three pre-teens. We all turned to our left, not seeing anything. We, then, turned to our right, seeing what looked like a little boy in a yellow shirt, drenched in the rain. 

Upon further inspection, the little boy turned out to be a little girl, and my big sister instinct kicked in like crazy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! i hope y’all liked this, and it got y’all excited for always the babysitter. i’m working as hard as i can on it. again, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: i know that some of y’all are waiting to see your requests, and i promise i’ll get to them. the writer’s block hit really bad with them. atb is the only thing i have motivation to write for at the moment. once i receive my ged, i’ll have more time to sit down and write them.

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: none yet!

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on November 6, 2023 *Happy Stranger Things Day!*

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington #olivia henderson #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #barbra holland #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season one episode one #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fandom #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve fanfic #steve fanfiction #steve harrington imagine #joe keery imagine

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twelve: Will the Wise

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) (eventually) Word Count: 2,271 Warnings:  fluff, lil' bit of angst, maybe a phrase we're gonna see in the future? 👀, dart... eating mews Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We've got more fluff in this episode!! What do we think about Steve & Olivia's friendship? Remember, if you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Hopper ended up taking me back to the station, where I biked home when my shift was over. He told me on the way that I couldn’t see her because it was dangerous- the same thing he told me the night before.

I understood and went home when my shift was done, seeing Dustin home as well. We hung out that night, watching tv with our mom before we had to take our showers and go to bed.

Mom said she needed the car again for errands today since she didn’t get all of them done yesterday, which was fine because when I stepped outside after Dustin turned onto the street, Steve was pulling into my driveway.

I didn’t have to do an early shift at the station, so we went straight to school, talking about anything and everything again. I told him about the pumpkins and how they were all rotting for no apparent reason.

We walked into the school together, laughing about something he’d said. Our first periods were next to each other, so we parted ways for an hour before we stopped by my second period, where my teacher was holding my assignments for the day, then went to the gym where I sat in my usual spot on the bleachers and got to work on my schoolwork before the boys played Shirts vs Skins again.

I watched as Steve tried to keep Billy from getting the ball, only for Billy’s teammate to throw it to him, Steve trying to knock the ball away from Billy, who ended up pushing Steve away a little to dribble the ball.

“Alright!” Billy said. “Alright, alright!” Gesturing towards Steve, he said, “King Steve! King Steve, everyone. And his lovely Queen behind him!”

I rolled my eyes at his words. All I wanted to do was come out of the bleachers to pummel his face in.

“I like it,” Billy added. “Playing tough today.”

“Jesus! Do you ever stop talking, man? Come on!” Steve said.

Billy laughed before saying, “What? You afraid the coach is gonna bench you now that I’m here? Huh? Or are you afraid your Queen is gonna go for a real man?” He shouldered Steve, making a basket before looking at me and winking.

“Ew,” I muttered. 

“What?” he asked.

“I think I threw up in my mouth a little,” I sighed. “Watch your fucking back, Hargrove.”

He chuckled and turned around, bending down to help Steve up, but instead stopped about halfway and said, “You were moving your feet. Plant them next time, draw a charge,” before pushing him back down to the ground.

Again, red. All I saw. I leapt out of the bleachers so fast, I didn’t even register Steve getting up and putting his arms around my waist, putting my back against his front.

“Let go, Steve,” I said, struggling to get out of his hold.

“No.”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“No.”

“Aw, come on, Harrington,” Billy said. “Let her see what a real man is all about.”

I struggled even more against Steve, but stopped when the coach blew his whistle, calling my name. I looked his way when he blew the whistle again, telling his team to go hit the showers.

Steve told me to wait in my spot, and not talk to Billy, no matter what he says to me. I sighed and nodded, telling him not to take too long.

I went back to doing my schoolwork when the last bell rang for the next class, but I just stayed put, not caring about going to class. I definitely wanted to leave when I heard Billy say, “Especially that one.”

I looked up, seeing him looking at me with a smile that I’m sure would get a lot of girls out here wet, but not me.

Tommy H. said something that I really didn’t need to comprehend as I heard their sneakers on the gym floor.

“Ready?” Steve asked, standing by the bleachers a couple minutes later.

I got down, shouldering my bag. “I really don’t want to be here anymore. I just… I wanna go to the station to get my hours in and go home to soak in a nice, hot bubble bath.”

He put his arm around me as I took a deep breath. “It’ll be fine. Just ignore him.”

I gasped. “I have an idea. I just go to the front office and tell them that Hop needs me early today and that I need to get there right away! Problem solved!”

Steve laughed, but agreed. Surprisingly, the administrators believed the hell out of me, which made Steve and I laugh once we got in the car. 

“I cannot believe that worked,” I laughed as Steve was backing out of his spot.

He shook his head, a smile on his face as he put the car in drive and drove off to the station. 

“Thanks for taking me around,” I said. “Since Mom’s been needing the car here lately.”

“It’s no problem,” Steve replied. “I enjoy it. Really.”

I smiled and looked out the window. If I don’t get these feelings under control, I might just kiss him stupid.

~~~

Hopper wasn’t at the station when Steve dropped me off. I asked Flo where he was, and she told me that he was probably at the Byers house. Groaning, I walked back outside, Steve’s car a block away. He was stopped a light, which I thanked the universe for. I got it in and scared him half to death.

“Geez–”

“I need you to take me to the Byers,” I rushed. “Hop’s there.”

He nodded and took the next turn to drive to the Byers home. The drive was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. When we got there, I thanked him and kissed his cheek, something I hadn’t realized I’d done until I got halfway to the door.

The front door was open, and cold inside the house. “Hello?” “Olivia?” Joyce said. She came around the corner. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

“Y-yeah,” I stuttered. “But I was having some rage issues towards another student– what’s going on?” 

“Come on,” she said, giving me the come here motion with her hand.

I followed her to Will’s room, the boy just sitting there facing the window. “What’s wrong with him?” I whispered.

“Will, honey, Olivia’s here to visit,” Joyce said.

At his non-response, Joyce, Hop and I sat down next to Will on his bed, two drawings in Hop’s hands. “So this thing, this shadow thing,” Hop said. “You told your mom it likes it like this. It likes it cold?” With red rimmed eyes, Will whispered, “Yeah.” Confusion laced over my face, I asked, “How do you know that?”

“I just… know.”

Hopper looked at the drawings again before asking, “Does he talk to you?”

“No,” Will said. “It’s like… I don’t have to think. I just know things now. Things I never did before.”

Hopper got up and moved to sit in Will’s desk chair, asking, “And, uhh… what else do you know?”

“It’s hard to explain,” Will said. “It’s like old memories in the back of my head, only… they’re not my memories.”

I wanted to wrap my arm around his upper back like I used to, but feared doing it for some reason.

“I mean, I don’t think they’re old memories at all,” Will continued. “They’re… they’re now-memories, happening all at once, now.”

“Can you describe these now-memories?” Hopper asked.

“I don’t know,” Will replied after a moment. “It’s… it’s hard to explain.”

“I know it’s hard,” Joyce said. “But can you try? For us?”

With tears in his eyes, Will replied, “It’s like… they’re growing and spreading… killing.”

“The memories?”

“I don’t know.” He started crying, saying, “I’m sorry,” as he put his face in the crook of his mother’s neck. She looked around for a moment before looking me in the eyes.

“What if you draw them?” I asked. “It’ll be easier than using words.”

When he agreed, he moved to his desk to start drawing… more like scribbling. Once there were enough papers he’d tossed to the ground, we picked them up and took them into the living room, going back every so often to fetch more.

I was looking at them, more confused than ever. “I’m so fucking confused,” I whispered.

“Language,” Hopper groaned.

“This is more of the same,” Joyce said.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just scribbles.” He put one page behind the others he was holding, Joyce telling him to wait before she started looking for a paper in her stack, connecting the papers together.

“Oh, my goodness,” I said, realization hitting me like a bus. “I know what he’s doing.” I ran to get more papers, waiting for both adults to give me instruction.

“Wait, what?” Hopper asked.

“All the lines connect, Hop.”

We moved the table and couch out of the way, setting the papers down on the ground. I sat on the ground on my knees, connecting each paper that was dropping to the floor. I enjoyed doing puzzles. They relaxed me a lot.

We went back to get more papers as fast as we were putting the lines together from each paper. Once we were done and had every single paper that we had taped together, we stepped back to admire the work we’d just done.

“Does this mean anything to you?” Hopper asked, before moving along the papers.

“No,” Joyce said. “Is it some sort of maze or a road? I mean, it’s sort of forking and branching like… like lightning.”

“You think it’s that storm?”

“No, the storm he drew was different,” I said. “He used red. This is all blue and some weird dirt color.”

“Maybe it’s roots,” Joyce suggested. “‘Cause remember, he was saying it was spreading–”

“Killing,” Hop and I said.

“He said they were killing,” he said. He stood there for a moment before saying, “Vines.” He turned to put his jacket and hat on while saying, “He’s drawing vines.”

When he walked out, I looked at Joyce with my arms crossed. “I was gonna say he’s drawing some sort of map, but vines is good, too.”

She chuckled before looking at her watch. “Oh, sweetie, you better go. Don’t wanna be late to start your hours.”

“I’m sure our Chief here will count towards my hours,” I said.

She gave me that look that only mothers know how to give, so I relented. “Okay. I’ll go to the station and put in my hours.”

~~~

When I walked up the driveway, I heard a bike behind me. Turning to see who it was, I smiled when it was Dustin. He didn’t acknowledge me as he passed me, but he did almost shut the door on my face when he walked in the house.

Mom was filling up Mews’ food bowl when I walked in, Dustin saying his apologizes.

“Where are you?” Mom yelled. “Mew-Mew.” She looked our way, saying, “Oh, hi, kids.”

“Hey, Mom,” we said.

“Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Dustin said. “Yeah.”

“Livvie, how were your hours?” 

“Fine, Mama,” I smiled. “The Chief has this big case regarding the pump–”

“Liv!” Dustin yelled. 

I sighed before kissing my mom’s cheek, telling her I’d talk to her about my hours later. Dustin called my name again as I walked down the hallway, my reply being that if he didn’t shut his face, I’d take his teeth and hide them.

When I walked into his room and slid the door shut, I watched him walk to Yurtle’s tank, saying, “Dart, I’ve gotta talk to you, buddy.” He took off his hat and backpack, slinging them onto his bed. “It’s about my friend, Will.”

“Who the hell is Dart?” I asked.

“You’re about to see,” he smiled, turning to look at me. Taking a sheet off the tank, he said, “I think–” before stopping his words, the glass on the tank shattered.

“You better start explaining,” I said, coming to stand next to him.

“Liv, look.”

I looked at the slime that was dripping off the edges of the broken glass, more on the floor of the tank. “Gross.”

Dustin picked up what looked like molted skin, something a snake would shed. “What the hell?”

A roaring sound made me jump and turn around to face the other side of the room. A sound that was all too familiar.

“I swear to god, Dustin,” I whispered.

“Dart?” Dustin said. 

I saw a blood trail from about the middle of the room on the carpet to the chair sitting in the corner of the room, going over it. We looked over, my mouth instantly hanging open.

“Oh, my god. Mews,” I gasped.

The creature turned and faced us, opening its mouth and screeching. I put a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming before walking out of Dustin’s room and into mine.

“Liv, I need you to keep calm,” Dustin said, sliding my door shut. 

“Keep calm?” I exclaimed. “Keep calm? Dustin, why is there a fucking Demogorgon in the house?!” I whisper-yelled my question, not wanting to alarm our mom. “Why the hell was it eating Mews?”

“When I found him, he looked like a new species of reptile–”

“Well, he’s not! He’s from the Upside Down! Hopefully he can’t eat through wood because you’re sleeping in here tonight. Or you need to find some way to keep him contained tonight.”

It was quiet for a moment before he asked, “But he’s cute, though, right?” with a small smile on his face.

“Oh, my god.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! what do we think about hop trying to keep liv's language in check? please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: 

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on January 22, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #will byers #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #joyce byers #chief hopper #eleven hopper #season two episode four #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things imagine #stranger things fandom #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fandom #steve fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Four: The Bite

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,200 Warnings: angst, mention of el's leg, not-so-bathroom scene with steve & robin (you'll see what i mean, lol) Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! The gang's back together!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Somehow, we got Robin and Steve in the back of the cart, Dustin and Erica sitting up front while I drove. I guess I hit a turn too sharply because I heard Steve slur, “Jesus, babe, slow down.”

“Do you want to make it out of here alive or not?” I asked.

“What is this, like, the Indy 500?” Robin slurred.

I guess we’re gonna be hearing them slur from here on out.

“It’s the Indy 300,” Steve said.

“No, dingus, it’s 500,” Robin corrected.

“It’s 300!”

“Let’s say… a million.”

They both started laughing as I quickly closed my eyes with a sigh. Guess I was going to have to use some tactics on them like I did with Steve when he smoked.

“What is wrong with them?” Erica asked.

“I don’t know,” Dustin said.

“Best to say they were drugged with some… kind of drug,” I said, looking at my brother and Erica. “Fuck, I don’t know! I just want to get the hell out of here!”

“Olivia, watch out!” Erica said.

I looked in front of me, screaming as I hit the brake while crashing into some metal barrels. Hearing groans coming from Steve and Robin behind me, I turned my head a little and asked, “You guys alright back there?”

All I received were groans in response. Turning back to Erica and Dustin, I frowned and said, “They’ll be fine,” before getting out of the vehicle. 

Erica, my brother and I rushed to the back, opening the back door, seeing Steve and Robin sitting against the grate. 

“Come on, let’s go,” I said, Erica and Dustin joining me in urging the two other teens out of the back of this thing.

Pulling Steve out first, I said to Dustin, “Take that keycard and unlock the elevator. See if it works.”

“Here goes nothing,” he said, a few seconds later.

“This sucks!” Steve said. 

“Yeah, well, you got drugged,” I said, putting his arm over my shoulders, struggling to keep him up. “God, how do I do this when you’re drunk?”

“You’re normally drunk with me,” he said, booping my nose.

Swatting his hand away, I muttered, “Stop that,” as I walked him inside the elevator. Once we got inside, I set Steve up on a table, urging the other three inside.

Dustin hit the button to go up, and I guess Robin and Steve decided it would be fun to surf on a rolling pallet.

“Hey! You look like you’re-” Robin started, Steve saying, “Surfing!” with her.

Erica tapped me on the shoulder, saying, “They seem drunk.”

“Why would they be drunk?” Dustin said.

“No, they’re not drunk,” I said, arms crossed over my chest.

“I’m a natural,” Steve said. “Babe, check this out!”

Robin pulled the pallet away from him, holding her hands out while chuckling, “Wipeout!”

They were both laughing while I bent down next to Steve, Dustin following my lead and putting his hand on Steve’s forehead before saying, “He’s burning up.”

“You’re burning up,” Steve retorted.

“Oh, my god,” I said. “Steve, shut up.”

“Check his eyes,” Dustin said. 

Sighing, I said, “I don’t need to check his eyes.”

“Why? His pupils are super dilated. Even I can see that from here.”

“Yeah, I saw his eyes after I cut the bonds, dumbass! Besides… they’re drugged.”

Steve put his fingertip to my nose, saying, “Boop.”

“Don’t boop my nose,” I said.

“Steve, are you drugged?” Dustin asked.

“How many times, Dad? I don’t do drugs. It’s only marijuana,” Steve said.

“Baby, this isn’t funny, okay,” I said. “We need to know what they did to you. I need to know if you’re going to die on me.”

Reaching up with his finger again, Steve booped my nose, laughing. 

“We all die, my awesome teenage friend,” Robin said. “It’s just a matter of how… and when.”

Looking from Robin back to Steve, I asked, “Where did you park your car? Because they’re going to be looking for us up there, and I don’t really feel like dying at 19, okay?”

“We’re 19?” Steve asked.

“Oh, for the love of god,” I breathed, dropping my chin to meet my chest.

“Can we make a pit stop at the food court?” Steve asked.

“I would kill for a hotdog on a stick,” Robin said.

“Ooh!” Steve uttered.

Picking my head up, I exclaimed, “Yes, we can make a freaking pit stop! But only if you tell me where your car is parked, high off his ass boyfriend of mine!”

“Uh-oh!”

“Uh-oh?” Dustin and I asked.

“The car’s off the board.”

“What?”

“They took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys,” Steve said, turning out his pockets. “Like, forever ago.”

I sighed, exasperatedly, while hanging my head again, Robin and Steve both laughing. Smiling at me, Steve said, “That’s a bummer, right?”

~~~

When the elevator made it back to its top stop and the door opened, we all piled out, the two high off their asses Scoops employees enjoying the outside air… while trying to eat it. 

“Steve, can you taste the air?” Robin asked.

“I taste it! I taste it!” he answered.

“Shit,” I said, spotting two more guards coming through a gate in front of us. Turning around, I ran for Steve, grabbing his hand while saying, “Come on!” and heading for the pair of doors to our left.

“Why are we running?” he asked, Robin laughing while Dustin and Erica ushered her in before they, too, were inside the back of the mall.

“Where are we going?” someone asked.

“Just trust me!” I said, spotting a door at the end of the hall. I stuck my head out, seeing we were in the theater part of the mall, pulling Steve in the hallway while gesturing for Dustin, Erica and Robin to follow, turning to my first left.

Steve grabbed a bag of discarded popcorn on our way in, Back to the Future playing on the screen.

“What did I tell you? 88 miles per hour!”

I groaned quietly, and turned towards Steve. “I wanna see this movie so bad! You’re bringing me when all this is over.”

“Come on,” Dustin said, leading us all down the aisle to two empty seats, where we sat Steve and Robin.

“For the love of god, don’t move,” I said.

“These seats blow,” Steve said.

“Then don’t watch it.”

“We wanna watch it,” Robin said.

“Then watch it!” Dustin said.

Some guy shushed us, so I shushed him right back.

“Sorry.”

“Whatever you do, do. not. move,” I repeated.

“Fine, mom,” Steve said.

I shook my head, moving down the front aisle to sit an empty seat. Dustin sat on the floor in front of me, Erica beside me. Tapping Dustin on the shoulder, I said, “Remind me to never have kids.”

“Not even with Steve?” he asked.

I thought about it for a moment before I leaned back in my seat. “This is so not how I wanted to watch this movie with Steve.”

“What are we doing here?” Erica asked, leaning closer to me.

“Laying low,” I said. “Cooling down.”

“Like Oswald,” Dustin added.

“Oswald was found dead in a theater and shot to death,” Erica said.

“Yeah,” I said. “A week later.”

“The point is, his plan didn’t work.”

“He was set up.”

“What?”

“He was just a patsy,” Dustin said.

“Tell me he’s joking,” Erica said.

“Shh!” 

“You shh!” Looking around, Erica said, “We need to get out of here.”

“Alright, Dusty, you watch Tweedledee and Tweedledum,” I said. “Make sure they don’t move.”

“Where are you two going?” Dustin asked.

“To find us a ride.”

“You sit, I’ll go,” he said, getting up and taking the walkie from Erica’s bag and walking off.

I looked down at Steve and Robin, the former munching on the popcorn. Michael J. Fox’s voice brought my eyes back to the screen. 

“Are you telling me you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?”

~~~

A few minutes later, Dustin came back asking about Double A batteries. “Oh, my god,” I muttered. “What did we tell you about the batteries?”

“I guess we’ll have to go to Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?” I asked.

“Liv.”

I looked down at Dustin, seeing him looking at Robin and Steve… who weren’t in their seats. “Where… are… they?”

“Shit,” I whispered, getting up from my seat, hearing their footsteps behind me. Once we reached the mall, I turned to them both and said, “We’re splitting up. I’ll check the bathrooms, you two check the food court.”

I didn’t wait for an answer as I ran towards the bathrooms, checking every single one before I stopped my hands from pushing open the ones we were standing by the entire time, hearing their voices.

“Have you ever been in love?” Robin asked.

“Yep. Twice,” Steve said.

“Who was the first?” 

“Nancy Wheeler,” he said. I closed my eyes, willing the tears to not make an appearance as he said, “First semester, Senior year.”

“Oh, my god. She’s such a priss.”

“Turns out, not really.” A single tear fell from my waterline as he slightly defended her.

“Are you still in love with Nancy?” 

“No.” “Why not?”

“Because I found someone better for me. Since Dustin’s been home, he’s been saying, you’ve found your Suzie, you’ve found your Suzie.”

“Wait, who’s Suzie?” Robin asked.

“Liv’s told me a little bit about her. It’s some girl from camp, I guess his girlfriend. To be honest with you, I’m not 100% sure she’s even real. But that’s not– that’s not really the point.”

“Who’s the second?”

It was silent for a moment before Steve said, “Olivia Frances Henderson. She’s amazing… been there for me since day one, knows all my secrets, knows how my homelife really is. There isn’t a single thing that she doesn’t know. Well, she doesn’t know one, but she will. Soon I hope. Once I became King of Hawkins High, we kind of… drifted apart for a while, but once we came back to each other, it was like… we never drifted. She was even there for me when Nancy broke up with me. She’s never once left my side since we… drifted back, I guess. 

“She hated my friends, but endured their presence for me. Especially Tommy H. and Carol. Liv always wanted to punch her in the face. I remember her being so excited for me when I was announced prom king, but flabbergasted when she won queen. She didn’t even want it.”

I smiled when Robin said, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Steve chuckled. “She hated being in the spotlight like that. Even when we walked the halls after…” He paused, not wanting to reveal the night he and I got together. He cleared his throat. “After Nance and I broke up. Liv and I were pretty quick to get together, but I think most people expected it because no one really talked about it. She’s always careful to say the word bullshit around me because of Nancy. 

“I never once compared her to Nance, not once. Liv’s everything she isn’t. Liv’s… been respectful these last eight months, she hasn’t rushed anything and we actually talk about things. It’s nice for a change. Like, I’m so in love with her, it’s ridiculous. I can see a future with her.

“And she’s freaking hilarious, always dropping dad jokes, saying the most random shit while we’re sitting in silence and it’s uncomfortable for her. I’ve laughed with her more than I have anyone else, besides you, of course. Liv’s way smarter than me, too. She used to help me with my homework. Because of her, I know what a hivemind is. She’s not anyone I’ve ever met before.”

I was full on silently sobbing at his words at this point. I didn’t know he felt that way. I mean, I felt the same way, but I wasn’t about to burst into the bathroom and tell him that. That was for a more intimate moment that I was dying to share with him.

Stepping back into the mall, I wiped my eyes, a smile on my face as I did so. Once this was all over, I was going to share that moment with Steve. I’ve been with one other guy, but it was only because of a stupid bet he had going with his buddies. Happened Sophomore year.

I turned around to make my way to the right when I crashed into a body that belonged to my little brother. 

Putting his hands on my shoulders, he asked, “Hey, you okay? Did you find Steve?”

Sniffling, I decided to lie to him. “No. I–I didn’t find them.”

Dustin went around me to the bathroom door, hearing Robin and Steve laughing about something. He, Erica and myself walked into the bathroom before Dustin said, “Okay. What the hell?”

“Damn, you sound like a parent,” I said. I went to the mirror to check my mascara, thanking the makeup gods that it didn’t smear. Seeing Steve approach behind me in the mirror, I smiled, turning to face him. Putting my arms around his neck, I breathed in deeply, feeling his arms go around my waist. “I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too,” he whispered back, leaning in to press his lips to mine in a sweet, loving kiss. 

“Hey, love birds!” Dustin said, breaking us apart. “You can suck face later. Right now, we have to blend in.” I rolled my eyes as he went to the door, slowly opening it, the four of us standing behind him before the five of us looked out of the door. “Okay. And… blend.”

We all walked out into the mall, Steve and I hand in hand, doing our best to blend in with the crowds that just came out of the theaters. 

“Well, shit that worked,” Erica said.

“ ‘Course it worked,” Dustin said. I could hear the smile on his face. “Now, we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come.”

“Uh, Hendersons?” Steve said.

“What?” Dustin and I said.

“Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house.”

Looking at Steve's profile, I asked, “What the hell did you do?”

“Well, I might’ve told them both of your full names.”

“What is wrong with you?” Dustin whisper-yelled.

“Dude, I was drugged.”

“So?”

“So?”

“Babe, you were supposed to resist,” I groaned.

“You tough it out,” Dustin said. “You tough it out like a man.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s easy for you to say,” Steve said. 

“You two fight like siblings,” I breathed.

“Guys?” Robin said after we rounded a corner, stopping us from walking any further.

We saw two Russian men talking with some people from the crowd, one of them looking in our direction. 

“Abort,” Dustin said, reaching back to grab my hand, the other man looking in our direction as well. “Abort. Abort.” We turned and started running back the way we came to the escalators, but they had that velvet thing in front of them, blocking anyone from using them.

“Shit,” I said. “Slide down the middle.”

Robin went first, then Erica, Dustin, myself and Steve at the end. Running toward Great Cookie, none of us stopped until we were all over the counter, hiding behind it. I tried quieting my breaths as I heard multiple guards, one of them saying something that I couldn’t understand.

It was quiet for about 15 or 30 seconds before we all jumped at the sound of the car alarm going off.  “Sweet shit,” I whispered, hearing the sound of the car crashing afterward.

Turning around, I placed my hands on the counter, pulling myself up and peaking over, seeing all the Russians dead on the floor, the hubcap spinning around until it ultimately stopped before we looked at where the car landed, the underside facing us.

Wanting to see how the car ended that way, I turned my head to the left, looking up and seeing El. Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, Nancy and Jonathan showing up behind her a few moments later.

“Fuck yes,” I whispered, a smile on a my face. 

Leaping over the counter of Great Cookie, I made my way towards their group, immediately going to hug El as Dustin said, “You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!”

Embracing El, I let my tears flow, happy to see her. “I’m so happy to see you!” I voiced. Pulling back, I smiled at her before wiping the blood from her nose, wiping it on my shorts. “That was awesome, El! I know that took a lot from you.”

Chuckling, she said, “It did. I’m happy to see you, too.”

“Ask them, it’s their fault,” Erica said, sassy as ever.

“Oh, yeah, blame it on us,” I said, keeping one arm on El, but turning to face Erica, the now twelve of us in a circle.

“It’s absolutely our fault,” Steve said.

“I don’t understand what happened to that car,” Robin said.

“El flung it with her mind,” I said, duh tone to my voice. “She has superpowers.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Superpowers,” Steve said. “She threw it with her mind. C’mon, catch up.”

“Basically what I just said,” I retorted. “And how long did it take for me to explain El to you last year?”

“That’s El?” Erica asked.

“Who’s El?” Robin asked.

“I’m sorry,” Nancy said. “Who are you?”

“No need to get snippy, Nance.” Me.

“I’m Robin, I work with Steve.” Robin.

“She cracked the top secret code.” Dustin.

“Which is how we found out about the Russians.” Steve.

“Russians?��� Jonathan asked. “What Russians?”

Pointing behind us, I exclaimed, “The Russians!”

“Some of them,” Erica said.

“What are you talking about?” Lucas asked.

“Didn’t you hear our code red?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah.” Mike. “But I couldn’t understand half of what you were saying.”

“Goddamn low battery.”

“How many times do Liv and I have to tell you with the low battery?” Steve exclaimed.

“Yeah, well everything worked out, didn’t it?”

“We almost freaking died!” I exclaimed, feeling El move away from me.

“Yeah, but we didn’t.”

“But we almost did! It was pretty damn close.”

“Okay, Russians?” Lucas asked. “As in, they’re working for the Russian government?”

“What is it that you’re not comprehending?” Dustin asked.

“Is he not speaking English?” I asked.

“We have a full-blown Red Dawn situation.”

“So this has nothing to do with the gate?” Max asked.

“It’s got everything to do with the gate…,” I said, looking behind me at Eleven on the ground. “Holy shit.”

Mike was the first to jump into action, running to her and kneeling down by her side. 

“What’s wrong with her?” Erica asked.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked, looking down at El.

“My leg, my leg,” El whimpered.

“Her leg, her leg, okay,” Jonathan said, taking the wrapped bandage from her leg.

Once her leg was visible, we all voiced our disgusts, tears springing to my eyes at seeing her leg looking like it was severely infected and… moving on the inside? It looked almost like a worm moving inside.

El screamed, and a tear slid down my cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note: y'all ain't ready for next weeks chapter 😏

~~~

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*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

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Posted on April 9, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #will byers #jonathan byers #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #max mayfield #billy hargrove #robin buckley #season three episode seven #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imaine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction

[harringtonstilinski]

Summary: Steve Harrington and Olivia Henderson have been the best of friends since they could remember. It was a coincidence, really. They got put in the same first grade class.

As time went on, they were practically joined at the hip!.. until they turned 12, and Olivia started babysitting her little brother, Dustin, and his best friends, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers and Lucas Sinclair.

A crush on Steve developed for Olivia when they entered the 7th Grade at Hawkins Middle School.

Olivia changed a little in high school. Her clothing got a little darker; black shirts and black Chuck Taylor’s. She still wore her denim; she couldn’t shy away from it, but she added more than just blue denim jeans. Skirts and shorts were added to her wardrobe.

Steve became popular in High School and was dubbed the King of Hawkins High after the previous King graduated. Steve felt he had to live up to the expectations of being King, but that didn’t really stop Olivia from hanging out with him when he wasn’t around Tommy H. and Carol.

Things started to change when he became attracted to Nancy Wheeler, Mike’s older sister. He started ditched Olivia more for Nancy, and she understood, but didn’t like it.

The night Will Byers went missing, it put a few things into perspective for Olivia, like her protectiveness for Dustin grew, as well as her friendship with Will’s older brother, Jonathan.

Dustin, of course, dragged his sister into the craziness of Eleven, a mysterious girl with superpowers that showed up out of nowhere.

Will Olivia eventually tell Steve about her feelings for him during their Upside Down adventures, or will she continue to keep it a secret?

Season One

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#always the babysitter masterlist #atb masterlist #stranger things rewrite masterlist #stranger things rewrite #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #steve x olivia #steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve harrington imagine #steve fanfiction #steve fanfic #steve harrington series #stranger things #stranger things fandom #stranger things fanfiction #atb #always the babysitter #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #will byers #jane 'eleven' hopper #chief jim hopper #joyce byers #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #billy hargrove #eddie munson

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Six: The Hellfire Club

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,303 Warnings: tooth-rotting fluff Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! I can't believe we're on the last season!! Buckle up, friends, 'cause it's a lot this season!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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The phone ringing startled me awake as I sat up straight in the bed. Looking at the clock, I tried to count three hours backward from the time shown, slightly struggling before jumping to my feet and rushing to the phone, answering with a groggy and breathless, “Hello?”

“Can I read this to you?”

I sighed at the sound of El’s voice before answering, “Of course, sweetie.”

She always read me her letters that she wrote to Mike, asking for my advice on whether or not it sounded good enough. “Okay. Here it goes. ‘Dear Mike, today is day 185. Feels more like 10 years. Joyce says time is funny like that. Emotions can make it speed up or slow down. We are all time travelers if you think about it. For example, this week is going very fast. I think because I am so busy. I have to make something called a visual aid. I hope Mrs. Gracey will give me an A. Some exciting news; Joyce got an amazing new job. She gets to work at home. She says she loves the freedom. Will is painting a lot, but he-he won’t show me what he’s working on. M-maybe it is for a girl. I think there is someone he likes. Because he has been acting… weird. Jonathan is acting weird, also. I think he is just nervous about college. He is still waiting for his big letter. I hope he and Nancy get to go together. But I don’t know how he’ll ever get to college because his car is still broken down. His funny friend Argyle has been taking us to school. His hair is longer than mine. And he and Jonthan like to smoke smelly plants together. Jonathan says the plants are super safe because they come from the Earth, but to not tell Joyce. Me? I’m twice as happy now. You were right. It just takes time. I think I have finally adapted. At first, I missed all the spring flowers, but now I find it pretty here, too. I even like school now. I am still best at math, but my grammar is good now also. Thanks in part to Olivia back home. It helps that everyone is so nice here. I have made lots of friends. Even so, I am ready for Spring Break, mostly because I get to see you. I am so excited to see you, it is hard to breathe. Are you excited, too? I think you will love it here like me. I think we will have the best Spring Break ever. I hope my spelling was better this time. Miss you. Love, El.’”

She breathed deep on her end of the phone, silently asking me what I thought. Taking a drag from my cigarette, which I rarely ever do, I nodded my head before saying, “It’s good! But the part about friends? I’m not sure that should be in there.” El’s kept her word on telling me every detail when she calls me. This bitch Angela bullies her to no end, and it pisses me off to the point where I want to get in my car and drive to California to beat the shit out of this girl… but I can’t since she’s a minor and I’m 19 years old. “Maybe just tell him the truth?” I took another drag, holding it for a moment as I said, “The truth–” I blew the smoke from my lungs. “Is a lot better than having to cover up your lies in front of him when he’s there in a couple days.”

“Livvie! Are you smoking again?” Mom hollered.

“Shit,” I whispered, dabbing my cigarette.

“Steve will be here soon!”

Holding the mouthpiece of the phone, I hollered back, “Okay!” Sighing and shaking my head, I removed my hand, saying into the mouthpiece. “Listen, get ready for school, do the finishing touches for your visual aid that I know you’re gonna kick ass on, and have a good day at school, okay? I’m sorry this phone call is short.”

“It’s okay,” El said. “Can I call you tonight?”

“I’ll be at Steve’s, but sure,” I smiled. “You can call.”

“Okay. Argyle is here. I finished my visual aid before I called you.”

“Okay, sweetie. Have a good day at school.” “I will. Bye, Olivia.”

“Bye, El.” I hung up the phone, yawning after I did so. Going into the kitchen, I made myself a cup of coffee, adding my sugar and cream into it before taking a sip and walking back into my room.

No, Steve’s parents didn’t come home last night. Dustin needed help with something for school, so I told him I’d come for the night to help him. My plan was to go back to Steve’s, but I ended up falling asleep on Dustin’s bed, him waking me up to kick me out of his room. As I entered my own room, my phone was ringing, so I walked to it, picking up the receiver, answering with, “Can’t I just enjoy a cup of coffee this morning?”

“Good morning to you, too,” Steve said.

Sighing, I said, “Oh. Morning, baby.”

“Hey, listen. I’m gonna leave here in a few minutes to come get you and then pick up Robin, okay? So, be ready this time.”

I chuckled. Last time he had to come get me from my house I wasn’t ready for work. He and I had had… a night and I was super tired the next day, so I didn’t wake up with my alarm. We were late for work and Robin was late to school that day.

“Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“Promise?”

“Promise! I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up the phone, taking another sip of my coffee while looking at my closet door. I set my mug down, walking towards the door when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. “What?”

“Liv, I need you to stall Mom,” Dustin said.

“And why, pray tell, do I need to do that?” I asked, turning to look at him with my arms crossed.

“I’m talking to Suzie and I need you to not tell her what’s going on behind my door.”

Scrunching my face in disgust, I said, “Dustin, I don’t need to hear you two have radio sex.”

“We’re not! It’s something about school,” he exclaimed.

Sighing, I said, “Fine. Whatever. But you owe me.”

“Thank you!” he said, running back across the hall to his room, sliding his door closed.

I turned back to my closet, finally able to go into it to pick my outfit for the day; a graphic tee, comfortable but tight-fitted jeans and my Converse. I’ve been working with Steve and Robin at Family Video since October and I have to say I quite enjoy it. Not the whoring out my boyfriend part, but everything else about the job, aside from Keith, is awesome!

Once I was dressed, I heard talking on Dustin’s Cerebro, that he somehow installed in the house, so I poked my head in to see what was going on.

“That’s a negative, Dusty-bun,” Suzie said.

“Son of a bitch,” Dustin said, pressing a button on his radio. “Try tigers86.”

“Tigers86, copy that.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, walking into his room, sliding his door to a crack.

“Liv, not now,” Dustin said. 

I sighed, “Alright. Oh! I can’t pick you up tonight. Steve and I are going to the game and then I’m going back to his house.”

“Fine, whatever,” he said, going back to his radio.

“Jiminy Crickets, Dusty,” Suzie said. “I’m in.”

“Holy shit,” he said.

“Wait, is she… is she hacking into the school system?” I asked.

Dustin and I jumped at the sound of hearing pounding on his door, Mom’s voice ringing on the other side, “Dusty, what’s going on in there? You’re gonna be late.”

Mom went to open the door just as Dustin shouted, “Don’t come in! I’m naked!”

She shut the door before saying, “Oh, Livvie! Steve’s here!”

I said, “Shit!” at the same time Dustin said into his radio’s mouthpiece, “Running out of time here!”

I walked out of his room as I heard Suzie tell him to hold on. Walking past Mom in the hallway, she told me to grab a slice of toast on my way out, which I told her I would, grabbing it and a banana before rushing out of the house, hearing Steve honk his horn. “Alright, Harrington! I’m coming!”

Opening the passenger side door, I tossed the banana at him, my piece of toast hanging between my teeth. As I buckled my seatbelt, he backed up out of our driveway and started towards Robin’s house before he sighed out and said, “Good morning, Henderson.” “Harrington,” I said, muffled through a bite of toast. I shook my head while taking the toast from between my teeth, saying, “Ew. No.”

He chuckled, handing the banana back to me. “You’re lucky I let you eat in my car.”

“At least I brush the crumbs off my legs when I get out of the car.” I finished my toast by the time we got to Robin’s house. Getting out of the car, I brushed the crumbs off my jeans, turning to go back in the passenger seat when Robin called out, “I need the front, Henderson!”

When I turned to face her, she shoved her shako into my hands, the yellow and white plume sticking out of the top. Yes, I know marching band lingo, shut up.

As we started driving, Steve was telling her about our date we had the other day when we had the day off. “And then we went to Enzo’s and had an amazing dinner–”

Leaning between the seats, I interrupted, “I literally thought he was going to propose, it was so freaking romantic.”

“And then we went back home and watched a movie–”

“Cuddling on the couch before I fell asleep to the movie.”

“What, no sex?” Robin asked.

Chuckling, I said, “No. Not that night. The next morning, however…”

“Gross.”

“You asked!” I exclaimed.

“Liv, I’m not fully awake yet. It is 7:00 in the morning, we have this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a total corpse.” She pulled her face back after fluffing her hair a little bit.

“Oh, you’re worried about a basketball pep rally?” Steve asked. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Newsflash, Steve, you were in the pep rallies, remember?” I said, poking his cheek.

“Yeah? So?” Robin said. 

“We all know what this is about,” I said, looking at her profile. “He’s not buying any bullshit. This is about Vickie.” I smiled at her as she turned her head to look at me. “Absolutely not.”

“Yes, it is, and you know what else I think?” Steve said.

“I don’t care–”

“I think you gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you’re around her.”

“You just gotta be yourself, love,” I said.

“You’re both quoting me to me, you do realize that right?” Robin said.

“Well, maybe you need to listen to yourself,” Steve said. “Ever think about that, smartypants? I mean, I listened. Look at me. Boom. Back in business.”

Looking at him, I deadpanned, “You’ve been in business, Steve. For over a year!”

“It’s not the same thing,” Robin said. “And Liv’s right.”

“Plus, when you asked out girls, they all said no,” I said. “Big deal. Nothing happened, other than your ego getting bruised–”

“I ask out the wrong girl, and bam, I’m a town pariah,” Robin added. 

“Yeah, I’d buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl,” Steve said.

“We just don’t know that, do we?”

“She returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds. Do you know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds?”

Silence.

“Oh, my god,” I breathed. “People who like boobies, Robin!”

“Ew, don’t say boobies!” she said.

“I like boobies, Steve definitely likes boobies, you like boobies! Vickie definitely likes boobies,” I said.

“Wait, you like boobs?” they both asked.

“We’re not talking about me.”

We got to the high school, Robin and I getting out before I handed her her shako hat for the pep rally. We hugged before she ran off with her friends, chatting and walking them as she met up with them.

“Were we like this?” I asked, leaning over a little bit.

“Yup,” Steve said. 

I looked at him, our eyes meeting. I smiled as he leaned in closer, our lips meeting for a second before I heard kids through the opened windows saying, “Get a room, Harrington!”

We pulled apart as I groaned, resting my forehead on his shoulder. “Get me off this campus before I beat the shit out of these sophomores.”

He chuckled, driving off to our day job that helps with the bills… metaphorically speaking.

~~~

I was standing with Steve on our side of the counter when the phone rang, and because I was standing by the phone, I turned around and picked it up, answering it with “Family Video, this is Olivia speaking. How can I help you today?”

“Liv, I need you tonight for Hellfire.”

Chuckling, I said, “No way, Dustin. Not tonight.”

“What?! Come on!”

“I don’t even know how to play! Plus, I’ve got a date with Steve tonight.” I turned my head over my shoulder, watching Steve help out a female customer. 

“Just move your date this one time! Come on.”

“What, to hang out with you and Eddie? I’ll pass this time.”

“What about Steve?”

“Negatory, little brother.”

“He’s just jealous because I have another older male friend.” 

I heard the smug little smile on his stupid little face. “Yeah, I don’t think he feels the same. Besides, Steve and I really dig each other. I think that he could… well, I know he’s the one.” I watched as some girls walked into the store. “Oh, I got– well, Steve has customers. I’ll call you back.” I hung up the phone, faintly hearing Dustin say that he’s at school.

Turning my head over my shoulder, I whispered, “You're on, babe.”

~~~

Once we were done with our shift, Steve and I went to grab a bite to eat before heading to the basketball game. I said hey to Nancy as we walked in and gave a small wave to Lucas with a thumbs up. He slightly smiled back at me, going back to his warm ups.

After Steve and I found a spot in the bleachers, I turned into him after he put his arm around my shoulders once we sat down. I looked up at him, asking, “Baby, would it bother you if we won this game after we’ve graduated?”

“Interesting point,” he said. “Thanks for bringing that up, babe.”

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his middle while still looking at him. He looked down at me, giving me a chaste kiss on my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said, a smile ever present on his face.

The principal came up to the microphone that was in the middle of the gym, asking, “Everyone now please rise for our national anthem.” You could hear everyone standing, collectively. “Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest. All the way from Nashville, our very own Tammy Thompson!”

I clapped while looking confused at Steve as he looked over at Robin, a confused look on his face as well. Tammy started singing, the microphone giving feedback as she did.

“Told you,” Steve whispered. “Muppet.”

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, trying to hold back my laugh at either Steve calling her a muppet or her singing, I couldn’t decide. Maybe a little bit of both.

“Okay, she does sound like a Muppet,” Robin whispered.

“Oh, my god, totally,” I heard Vickie agree. “She sounds like Kermit.”

“I was thinking it was more like Miss Piggy.”

I snorted, turning my head into Steve’s shoulder, his hand coming up to rest on cheek from my shoulder.

When the game started, we got two baskets right off the rip. I honestly didn’t get basketball, I just knew the basics from what Steve had tried to explain to me over the years. But everytime he got to what he thinks is interesting stuff, I would always fall asleep. 

I swear I was getting whiplash just watching the boys run up and down the gym, shooting baskets, colliding with one another, almost getting into fights with other team and the ref.

Seeing movement from the corner of my eye, I looked in Lucas’ direction, seeing him running onto the court. “Oh, my god. He’s putting Lucas in. He’s putting Lucas in!” I exclaimed, jumping in my seat, happy that one of my kids is actually playing.

I knew three of them were on school grounds with Hellfire, so I wasn’t worried about them. I wasn’t worried about Lucas either, moreso happy for him that he’s finally getting to play.

Steve was enthusiastic as ever, standing and shouting at our players to shoot the ball, to pass it, to not travel with the ball. I swear to god, seeing him in this element turned me on like no freaking other.

Steve and I were standing, the ball being passed and dribbled around before he said, “Shoot it!” as one of our players got the ball, making the basket.

A few more points in and Jason, the captain, called a timeout. The team huddled together as the drumline started to play a cadence. I secretly did band throughout middle school and freshman year of high school. I quit once Steve became King, not wanting him to be associated with a “nerd.”

Once the game continued, Jason got the ball, and from what I heard from Dustin, Jason’s a cocky motherfucker who thinks he's the top dog of the high school just because he’s King. No one will ever meet up to Steve as King.

Jason shot the ball, not making the basket at all. Ha ha! That’s what he gets. Lucas grabbed the ball as it bounced off the rim, breaking out of the huddle to run a few feet from the basket, turning around to make the shot as the buzzer went off.

You could hear everyone collectively stand again as the ball flew through the air. I could feel Steve behind me as we watched the ball bounce off the rim to the backboard and into the basket, giving us the Championship win!

Steve and I jumped, excited for Lucas and excited for the win. He wrapped me in his arms, giving me a kiss on the lips as the players and cheerleaders ran over to Lucas, chanting his name.

We had waited outside for the team to come out after hitting the showers, Lucas spotting us right away.

“Oh, my god,” I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. “Congratulations!” 

“Thanks, Liv,” he said. When we pulled apart, he kept his hands on my shoulders. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course!” I said. “I wouldn’t miss my little brother playing for the world!”

He smiled before looking at Steve, giving his thanks to him as well. Jason and his small crew came out, calling Lucas over to them. He walked with them as Steve and I started our own journey to his car. 

I stopped him as I watched Dustin and the rest of Hellfire walk out of the school. He spotted me, raising his hands in the air. “Liv!” Dustin shouted. “We won!”

Giving him a smile, I raised my thumbs out to him, letting him know I was proud of him.

Steve and I went home that night and celebrated with a movie and popcorn, clothing optional.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Posted on April 22, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eddie munson #max mayfield #robin buckley #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #eleven hopper #chief jim hopper #murray bauman #argyle #vecna/henry/001 #henry creel #season four episode one #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Two: The Flayed

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,322 Warnings: lil' angst, lil' fluff, falling elevators, confessions?? 👀 Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! You're welcome, bye!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Yup. We’re still falling. And still screaming, Steve having joined us. We were holding on to each other for dear life.

“Sweet shit, I’m gonna die!” I cried. Yes. I was crying. I was scared shitless.

Dustin’s screams of, “Shit! Shit!” came through the rest of our screaming.

“We’re going down, we’re going down!” Steve yelled.

“Ya’think?!” I yelled back at him. “We’re gonna fucking die!”

“Yeah, no shit, Harrington!” Robin yelled at the same time I did.

“Why don’t these buttons work?!” Dustin yelled.

I swear, we were all about to start having a screaming/yelling match. If we weren’t in the situation we were currently in, I’d be laughing my ass off, but… I couldn’t do that because… of the situation we were in.

I had Steve screaming in my ear, my own screams I’m sure going right back into his, Dustin and Erica were fighting over the buttons. Robin, I’m sure, was probably holding on for dear life, screaming at the top of her own lungs.

“Come on, press something!” Steve yelled.

“Just press the button!” I screamed.

I have no idea what happened next, but what I did know was that I was basically sitting on top of Steve, my whimpers sounding through the air as Steve held on to me, both of us breathing heavy.

“My groin,” Steve groaned.

“What?” I asked, looking at him.

“You fell on my groin.”

“Oh, shit!” I quickly made to stand up, giving him a moment to gather himself in that… region.

“Is everyone okay?” Robin asked.

I went to answer for myself, but Steve cut me off, saying, “Yeah, I’m great, now that I know that Russians can’t design elevators!” while walking toward the control panel.

“I think we’ve clearly established that those buttons don’t work,” Robin said.

“They’re buttons. They have to do something.”

“Yeah, if we had a keycard.”

“A what?” Steve and I asked.

“It’s an electronic lock.” Robin moved to the control panel, standing on the other side of Steve as she said, “Same as the loading dock door. If we don’t have a keycard, it won’t operate, meaning–”

“We’re stuck in here,” I breathed, my eyes dancing around the floor.

“Yeah.”

“Just so you nerds are aware,” Erica said. “I’m supposed to be spending the night at Tina’s, and Tina always covers for me. But if I’m not home for Uncle Jack’s party tomorrow and my mom finds out you four are responsible, she’s gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat.”

“I don’t care about Tina,” Steve said. “Or Uncle Jack’s party! Your mom’s not gonna be able to find us if we’re dead in a Russian elevator!”

“Hey,” Dustin said. I looked at him, his eyes cast up above my head, pointing. “What if we climbed out?”

Stacking up a bunch of boxes, Dustin was the first to climb out, Steve following him.

Feeling on the verge of a panic attack as Steve asked Dustin about climbing, I sat down in a corner, pulling my knees up to my chest. Resting my forehead on my knees, I sighed and closed my eyes.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been like that, or how long I’d even been asleep for, but I stirred awake, feeling fingers lightly stroke my arm. Looking at their owner, I smiled a little, seeing Steve sitting next to me.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know I fell asleep,” I chuckled. Looking up at hearing Dustin’s voice, I heard him repeat the same thing over and over again. Groaning, I went to get up, but Steve’s hand on my arm stopped me.

“I’ll go,” he said before pressing a kiss to my temple. He got up, going over to the boxes they’d stacked to begin his climbing. “Hey. You gotta take it easy on that thing, okay? You’re gonna drain the battery.”

I couldn’t hear anything else after that, other than Steve shushing my little brother.

“So,” I heard Robin say. “How long have you and Harrington been a thing?”

Smiling a little, I said, “Like, 8 or so months.”

“Anything beyond kissing and hand holding?”

Darting my eyes between hers and Erica’s, I said, “Little ears, Robin.” Turning my sights up the ceiling of this damned elevator, I heard Dustin say, “What are you doing?”

Narrowing my eyes a bit, I whispered more to myself, “What?” before hearing what sounded like a stream of water. Getting up from my spot, I turned around and looked at the wall, sighing to myself and closing my eyes. “Baby, move your stream!”

I sighed again just before I heard something banging. Turning to see what it was, I watched Erica smack the container filled with that green stuff against a metal barrel. “Wait, Erica, don’t do that!” 

“Hey, hey!” Robin said, running towards the young girl. “Be careful, careful, careful!”

“We don’t even know what that is.”

“Exactly, Olivia,” Erica said. “It could be useful.”

“How?”

“We can survive down here a long time without food, but if the human body doesn’t get water, it will die.”

“I hate to break it to you, little Sinclair, but this-” I pointed to the green stuff in Robin’s hands, never taking my eyes off Erica. “-is not water.”

“No, but it’s a liquid, and if it comes down to me drinking that shit or dying of thirst, I drink.” She smiled at the end of her sentence, causing me to roll my eyes.

“God, you are a Sinclair,” I muttered.

Robin pressing her ear against the wall of the elevator caused my eyebrows to furrow in utter confusion as I said her name, a “shush” coming out of her mouth in response. She moved the table, climbing it before poking her head out of the shaft door. “We’ve got company.”

Erica and I quickly moved to the table where I made sure she climbed the boxes carefully to reach the top of the elevator before I followed her out, Steve helping me to my feet before closing the door.

The five of us either knelt or squatted while Steve watched the guards through the small square holes as they moved inside the elevator to retrieve a couple of boxes before going back out. I watched as my boyfriend looked at Erica, who was holding on to that green goo for dear life.

Just as soon as the guards left and the door was closing, Steve jumped back down into the room, just in time to put the container under the door, holding it up a few inches. One by one, we all crawled under the door, Steve looking at it on his way out, the glass on the container starting to give.

Once the glass gave, the liquid started to sizzle on the ground, like food being placed on a hot Hibachi grill.

Quickly standing, Steve said, “Jesus Christ,” as the goop ate into the floor.

“Still wanna drink it?” I asked, looking at Erica.

A few seconds later, I heard Dustin say, “Holy mother of God,” before we all turned to face what he was looking at; a super long ass hallway that seemed to stretch for what seemed like the whole country.

“Well…” Steve said next to me, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together. “Hope you guys are in good shape.”

Putting my hand on Dustin’s shoulder as Steve walked me by him, I said, “He’s looking at you, Roast Beef.”

“Let’s go, come on.”

“Why me?” Dustin asked.

“Because you’re wearing a Roast Beef shirt,” I said, walking beside Steve down this gigantic hallway.

~~~

“I mean, you have to admit, as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive,” Dustin said.

Steve was giving me a piggyback. He claimed it was to help keep his strength up or something, I don’t know. All I did know was that I really wanted to nap.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, groggily.

“It’s a total fire hazard,” Steve added, slightly shifting me.

“No stairs, no exit. Just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell.”

“They’re Commies,” Erica said. “You don’t pay people, they cut corners.”

“To be fair to our Russian comrades,” Robin said. “I don’t think this tunnel was designed for walking.”

“Speaking of,” I said, turning my head to face Steve’s profile. “Do I need to start walking again?”

“No, baby, you’re good,” he said, turning his head to kiss my cheek.

“Get a room,” Robin grumbled before adding, “But think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo.”

“It all comes into the mall like any old delivery,” Dustin said. “And Steve, put her down. She’s not helpless.”

“And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody’s the wiser.” Shifting me again, Steve wondered, “You think they built this whole mall just so they could transport that green poison?”

“Shift me again and I’m walking,” I said.

“You’re slipping.”

“Then let me walk, dingus.”

Steve set me down as Dustin said, “I very seriously doubt it’s something as boring as poison.”

Shrugging after grabbing Steve’s hand, I said, “Maybe I’m just talking out of my ass here, but what if it’s a gate?”

“Yes, you’re talking out of your ass,” Dustin said, before continuing, “It’s gotta be much more valuable, like promethium or something.”

“What the hell is promethium?” Steve asked.

“It’s what Victor Stone’s dad used to make Cyborg’s bionic and cybernetic components,” Robin said.

“It’s a radioactive metal,” I said, looking at Steve’s confused profile.

“You’re all so nerdy, it makes me physically ill,” Erica said.

“No, no, no,” Steve said. “No, don’t lump me in with them.”

“He’s definitely not a nerd,” I said.

“Why so sensitive, Harrington?” Robin teased.

“He’s afraid of losing cool-points to a 10 year old.” Looking at Steve, I smiled, seeing a not so happy look on his face. Shoulder bumping him, I said, “Oh, come on. I’m just teasing.”

“I’m just saying that I don’t know jack shit about Prometheus.”

“Promethium,” I corrected. “Prometheus is a Greek mythological creature.”

“All I’m saying is it’s probably being used to make something,” Dustin added.

“Or power something,” Robin said.

“Like something to open a gate with,” I suggested.

“You’re still on that?” Dustin asked.

“Jeez, Dusty, I don’t know! I mean, with the shit we’ve dealt with for the last two years, it could be possible!”

“I was thinking more of a nuclear weapon, Liv.”

“Walking towards a nuclear weapon,” Steve said. “That’s great. That’d be great.”

“But if they’re building something,” Robin said. “Why here? I mean, Hawkins. Seriously. Of all places. At the very best, we’re a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland, but maybe that’s it…” Her and Erica continued walking as Steve, Dustin and myself stopped walking.

“You think the Russians know?” Dustin asked.

“About the–” Steve said.

“What I’ve been saying during that conversation?” I said, crossing my arms.

“They could,” Dustin said.

“So, it’s connected?” Steve asked.

“You two aren’t listening to me, are you?” I asked, looking between both boys.

“Maybe.” Dustin.

“How?” Steve.

“We’re breaking up.” Me.

“I don’t know, but it’s…” Dustin said, glancing at me.

“Possible,” both boys said.

Steve looked at me like what I had said just now registered. “Wait, we’re breaking up?”

“Oh my god,” I muttered, walking forward to Erica and Robin.

“No, wait, are we? Because that would suck!”

Turning around to face him, I quickly put my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him towards me. My lips met his in a passionate kiss, but before it could get too hot and heavy, I pulled away, pressing my forehead against his. “That the kiss of someone who wants to break up?”

“No,” he whispered. He went to dive back in for another kiss, but a throat clearing stopped him.

“Before you decide to have sex with my sister, can we please get going?” Dustin said.

The radio going off with a Russian man’s voice coming through the speaker brought Steve and I back to reality.

“Walkie,” the boys said, rushing over to Erica.

I had to steady myself on the bars next to me, Steve and my brother having almost knocked me down.

Robin had the walkie in her hand, reciting the Russian words, all of us kneeling on the ground. “It’s the code.”

“Wherever that broadcast is coming from–,” Dustin said.

“It’s close. And if there’s one thing we know about that signal…”

“It can reach the surface.”

Robin looked up at the ceiling before saying, “Let’s go.”

~~~

We somehow made it to a hiding spot behind what looked like a big A/C thing, the five of us crammed between it and the wall.

“Steve, are we clear?” I asked. “It’s getting crampy in here.”

He leaned forward a second before moving his whole body out of the way. “Okay, clear.”

One by one, we piled out of the hiding spot, following Steve. 

“Okay, that was close,” Robin said.

“Too close,” Dustin added.

Did I mention that we were almost spotted by a few Russians? No? Oh. Well… we were.

“Baby, this is dangerous,” I said, speed walking to reach him, my fingers sliding between his.

He tightened his grip on my hand, almost like he was telling me he was going to protect me from danger… like he always did. “Baby, we’re fine. The rest of you, relax. Nobody saw…”

“What?” I asked, looking from him to in front of us. “Holy shit.”

I couldn’t describe the room we were looking at because I didn’t know how to describe it. It seemed like a hub almost. There were guards keeping… well, guard. People in what looked like hazmat suits, doctors. Looked a little insane.

I made eye contact with a guard on accident, pulling Steve to a new hiding spot where we all crouched down, pressing our bodies against the railings next to us to try and hide our bodies.

“Red Dawn,” Dustin said.

“Oh, shut the hell up, Dustin,” I gritted.

“I saw it,” Erica said. “First floor, northwest.”

“Saw what?” Steve asked.

“The comms room!”

“You saw the comms room?”

“Correct.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Positive. The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there.”

“That could be a hundred different things,” Dustin said.

Turning my sights to Robin, she said, “I’ll take those odds.”

I looked at Steve, shrugging a little bit. “We need to find a way out, babe.”

He sighed like he didn’t want to have to do this, but knew there wasn’t another way out. He shook his a little before looking around the red metal box we were hiding behind. Everyone else followed his lead while I stayed put. When he pulled his body back, he faced me a little. His eyes stayed locked on mine while his hand went to my cheek, his next words directed at the whole group. “We’re gonna move fast, and we’re gonna stay low, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

Steve placed a kiss on my forehead before turning back to face the front, moving in a crouched position to the grates that were catty corner to us, myself and the other three following his every move.

We stayed there for a moment before moving again, Steve turning to shush us for a moment. I watched him turn his head back forward, tucking his hair behind his ear. Damn, if that didn’t do things to me.

Hearing a door panel beep, I did my best to look around him, watching as a man in a lab coat walked out with an opened file folder in hand.

Steve slightly stood to watch the man pass by before reaching back for my hand and pulling along with him, telling the rest of the group, “Let’s go!” as we moved to the closing door, reaching it before it actually closed.

We silently went inside of the room Erica talked about as Steve stayed at the door, ready to close it once our little group was inside. I turned around, spotting a man in a Russian Army suit sitting in a chair. 

The man turned to face us, setting down his headset and standing to face us. He moved to grab something from his waist, both of my hands moving to Dustin and Steve, both boys standing on either side of me.

As the man did this move, Robin stepped forward, hand out as she said “Tread lightly!” in Russian, saying it again at his confused look before he asked us something in Russian.

“Silver cat,” she said, making a tail motion with her hand behind her as she said it again. I only knew she was saying this code to him because we heard a million times as she was translating it.

The Russian man said something else that I didn’t understand before Robin looked back at us for a moment before saying, “China?”

The guy scoffed, reaching for what I now know to be a gun a split second before Steve yelled and ran towards him.

“Steve!” I exclaimed, feeling a hand tug me back.

Steve wrapped his arms around the guy's waist, sending him back before he was tossed to the side by the Russian. He went to swing, but Steve backed out of the way, dodging the guy’s fist. Russian Dude grabbed Steve’s uniform and slung him over to the table next to them, Steve’s chest meeting the tabletop before he elbowed the guy’s stomach as he grabbed onto the back of the sailor uniform Steve wore.

Steve grabbed the intercom thing, switching it between his hands before smacking the guy across the face with it, sending his face to the table he sat at before hitting the floor unconscious. Steve breathed heavily, moving his hair out of his face. 

“Dude!” Dustin said, gaining Steve’s attention. “You did it! You won a fight!”

“Holy fuck,” I said, regaining his attention after he looked down at the man. “I love you.” I rushed forward, grabbing his face with my hands, my lips meeting his in the same kiss we shared in the hallway.

We pulled back a little, pressing our foreheads together for a moment before he breathed, “You love me?”

I nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah.” Pulling back to look into his eyes, I ran my fingers through the side of his hair. “I do.”

“Good,” he smiled. “Because I love you, too.”

“While that’s beautiful and all,” Dustin said. “We have a mission to accomplish.” I watched as he moved towards the guy, taking the keycard off of his belt.

“What are you doing?” Erica asked.

“Getting us our ticket out of here.”

“You want to walk all the way back?”

“Well, we can hang out for a little, relax, have a little picnic maybe,” Dustin replied, sarcastically.

“Have a picnic?” Erica said. “We came here for the radio!”

“This plan is way better,” Dustin said. “If I knew Steve could knock out a Russian–”

“He did say he could take him out yesterday,” I said, turning to face Dustin a little.

“Oh, don’t defend him.”

“Why not? He’s my boyfriend,” I retorted, crossing my arms. “You’d do the same with Suzie with a Z from Utah.”

“So, you believe me about Suzie?”

“We’re not talking about Suzie!” I exclaimed.

“Then what is this about?”

“It’s about getting out of here–”

“Guys,” Robin said, gaining all of our attention. “There’s something up there.”

We all followed her up the stairs and through the door as quietly as we could. We walked up the pair of windows, looking out at what I was right about.

“Holy shit,” Dustin said.

A laser device that was being used to open a gate.

Leaning down a little bit towards my brother, I said, “Told you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note: i absolutely love it when gaten screams shit. it's the best thing ever, lol

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Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

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If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

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*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on March 25, 2024

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #always the babysitter #atc #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #robin buckley #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season three episode five #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction