𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 “𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝.” 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐒𝐅𝐖, 𝐒𝟒 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝟓 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 + 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 + 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭/𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝), 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐀/𝐍: 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞! 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲! 𝐗𝐎𝐗𝐎
It went by many news titles. “Beloved Summer Hangout Lost: Town Reacts to Starcourt Mall Tragedy,” “Locals Report ‘Strange Lights’ Before Starcourt Blaze,” and my personal favorite, “The Great Burn of 1985.”
Even though I liked my rendition better than any of them- “The Night I Lost My Job.”
I had been working at The Gap, selling everyone in Hawkins clothing. My job hadn’t been that exciting, given I was a cashier. But I was devastated to hear about the mall burning down.
This pushed me to look for new work. I had applied for nearly every place in town, finally ending up at Family Video. Also known as my last resort.
After a short interview, shorter than any other interview I had experienced, I was hired on the spot. I knew enough about movies that I figured this wouldn’t be too difficult.
And I was right. The job was easy. Even when our manager hired two new employees, Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington. I had been told that they had also lost their jobs due to the fire, so our boss felt obligated to take them in. The more the merrier.
Soon after the manager hired them, we started doing a rotation. I would work in the morning, going into the afternoon with Robin. After working two hours together in the afternoon, Steve would come and swap with me. It worked really well. That was until today.
Steve came in to swap places, only for Dustin Henderson to bust in, asking about how many phones we have. Before I knew it, I was being whisked along with the group to find Eddie Munson.
I heard on the news that Eddie supposedly killed Chrissy Cunningham in his home. I didn’t believe it for one minute. I knew Eddie while in school, he wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t, could not, hurt a fly.
Upon finding him, I learned too much information. Way too much. Monsters living among us in Hawkins, said monsters having to do with the Byers boy that had gone missing. The monsters being the reason the mall burned down. For my sanity, I tuned it out. I wouldn’t ever encounter one so it wasn’t something I needed to listen to.
Oh how I wish I was still that naive.
“You stay here, stay with the kids,” Nancy had said, giving the children a pointed look.
“Me? Why me? Shouldn’t Steve stay with them? Or Eddie?” I asked, panicking.
“Yeah why not me-” Eddie began before Steve cut him off.
“Because the rest of us have seen it. Dealt with it. Eddie saw what it was capable of, you need to stay,” Steve says plainly, leaving no room for discussion.
Which leads to now. I’m standing at the edge of Lover’s Lake, binoculars in hand, watching everyone else drift off on a small boat. The kids are all lined up beside me, Max standing close with her arms wrapped around herself. I pass the binoculars to Dustin for him to look out at the boat. Lucas is busy pacing and mumbling to himself.
There’s mild chatter amongst the boys as they bicker over the binoculars. But I’m not listening to what’s being said. I’m staring too hard at the boat, watching as it almost fades too far into the fog. Max nudges me slightly.
“I know you’re like, supposed to be watching over us or whatever. But why do you have that look on your face? You look sick,” Max says, her elbow still digging into my side.
I look down at the young girl, a small sigh passing my lips. “I have a bad feeling about this. Something is going to go wrong and I’m over here. I should be out there.” I look back out at the water. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Max says before going over, asking for the binoculars from the boys before putting them to her face.
It goes quiet along the shoreline. I go over, putting a hand out. “Let me see those.”
Max hands me the binoculars, so I lift them up, putting them to my eyes. The boat comes into focus quickly. Only then do I realize why Max was staring.
“Damn,” I murmur. Steve is standing over on the boat. Not just that, he’s stripping. Why? I don’t know, nor do I really care.
“Seriously?” Lucas whines.
“Maybe you should jump into the lake to cool off,” Dustin jokes even though it comes out in a disgusted tone.
I ignore the kids, watching as Steve jumps into the lake followed by the others.
“No, no, no… this cannot be happening,” I say quickly, shoving the binoculars at Dustin.
“What, what? What’s wrong?” Dustin asks, lifting the binoculars to his face.
I take off my shoes and jacket, “They all jumped in. Every last one of them.”
“And where in the hell do you think you’re going?” Lucas asks, watching me.
“I’m going in after them. Max, you’re in charge now. Don’t make bad decisions.”
With that, I dive into the lake. When I come up for air, I hear the boys yelling after me while Max shouts at them to shut up. I quickly realized that I’ve made a horrible mistake. The boat has moved from the spot they all dove in from.
“Shit shit shit,” I repeat, pushing the water around me. Nothing. There is no trace of them. No light from a sunken flashlight, no weird red gate they were talking about. I’m lost in the middle of the goddamn lake.
It takes me way too long to get back to shore. The kids are gone, no trace of them ever being there. No shoe prints in the mud, no voices off in the distance, absolutely nothing. Fan-fucking-tastic. I have been abandoned at Lover’s Lake.
I start the long trek back to the road. Instead of going wherever made the most sense, I head back to my house. I’m cold, I’m wet, and I’m fed up. Stay with the kids, my ass. Watch all of us jump into a lake where we could all die from a supernatural force that we don’t understand. Yeah, because that makes so much goddamn sense.
I walk up to my house, unlocking the door and stepping inside. It’s even colder in my house. I thank god because my parents are out. It’d be pretty hard to explain why I’m soaked head to toe with no ride home.
I change out of my cold clothes, run a brush through my hair, and sit down on the couch to assess what my next steps should be. Where would the kids have gone? Where would the group go if they were in the Upside Down? I put my face in my hands, rubbing my eyes.
It doesn’t take long before there’s three loud pounds against my door. I sigh, standing up and answering the door with next to no care.
“Yes?” I ask, only to see Robin standing there with a panicked expression on her face.
“She’s here! Guys, she’s here, bring him in!”
“Bring who in?” I ask in confusion, only for my question to be answered in the form of Steve.
Eddie and Dustin are carrying Steve in, a nervous Nancy following behind. Robin nudges my door open wider. I stare in confusion until I see it- blood. Too much blood; blood oozing out of Steve’s sides, even with a tight wrap on. He looks like a mess.
“What the hell? Guys, what the hell happened down there? Why is Steve in critical-”
“Why did you leave the kids alone?” Nancy asks angrily, hands on her hips like a disappointed parent.
“Nancy, Max and Lucas already explained why she left. We have more pressing matters right now,” Robin says, helping guide the boys to my couch to lay Steve down.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I go over to assess the damage. Jesus. It’s so much worse than I thought. Eddie peels back the wrap causing Steve to arch his back in pain.
“What the fuck left those?” I ask, kneeling down beside Steve.
There are giant bites along his torso, much too big to be a dog, or anything else really.
“I don’t think so,” Nancy barks, coming up beside me with her arms crossed. “You don’t get to ignore what you did. You abandoned the kids. What if something got them because you were being negligent? None of us would ever-”
“Nance, that’s enough,” Steve says weakly.
“Hey, don’t talk. It’s alright.” I glance back at everyone else. “I know basic stitches. I can patch him up. And not to be rude to you all, you’re all lovely and more than welcome to come back, but I can’t have all of this noise when I’m trying to fix him.”
The room goes quiet for a moment, everyone looking at each other.
Robin steps forward. “I’ll stay here. You all can go. I’ll make sure he’s okay, then I’ll leave. If that’s alright with you.”
I nod, looking back down at Steve.
“Hold still. Robin, you could be holding his hand rather than holding him down, you know.”
I have both hands gently holding onto the gaping wounds on Steve’s side. Every slide of the needle causes him to buck slightly, his cheeks puffed out to not make a sound. No one has told me what caused the bites, but I’m more worried about helping Steve to care about explanations right now.
“I don’t do well with blood,” Robin says suddenly, her voice wavering.
I pause, glancing up to Robin. Her face is pale. I can tell that she’s minutes away from tapping out.
“My bedroom is the third door on the left. Why don’t you go wait it out in there? If you’re uncomfortable in your wet clothes, the bathroom is right beside my room. Shower, borrow some of my clothes, just don’t make too big a mess,” I respond, looking back down at the stitches.
That’s all it took for Robin to bolt down the hallway. I continue to work on the stitches, trying to be as careful as possible as to not make it worse. Every once in a while I can feel Steve’s eyes follow my movements. He hasn’t said anything since I had started fixing his torso. Unless you count the occasional ‘shit’ under his breath when I hit a spot that particularly hurts.
“So…” I start, setting the needle and thread down on the end table before grabbing antiseptic and a washcloth. “Care to tell me what did this to you now or am I still being kept out of the loop?”
Steve opens his eyes, looking at me weakly. “Bats. But not- not normal ones. I haven’t ever seen them before. Came out of nowhere. Got me real good.”
A huff passes my lips as I wet the washcloth with antiseptic, “You don’t say. Can barely tell that you were injured, Harrington.”
Steve chuckles quietly, more or less just fast, heavy breathing. “I appreciate you doing this. I’m sorry that we disappeared.”
“No, no. I’m sorry that I left the kids. I got worried and-”
“Don’t be.” Steve says cutting me off. “Nancy had no right going in on you like that. You had to act and that’s what you did. Even made a loose plan before leaving. I would’ve done the same thing.”
I nod, gently running the rag along the stitches to get any leftover blood off. Steve winces, one arm covering his eyes. A quiet ‘sorry’ passes my lips as I continue to clean him up.
After I wipe him off, I stand up off the carpet, grabbing the soiled washcloth and clothing. I take them to my kitchen, setting them down in the sink to work on getting the blood out of later. I continue to tidy the area (as well as you can when there’s blood all over your living room). As I gather all of the supplies on the end table, I hear something mumbled from Steve.
“What was that?” I ask, crouching beside the couch.
“I have to get up. I shouldn’t be here. I need to get home, you’ve done so much,” he says louder now, trying to sit up.
I place a hand on Steve’s chest, pushing him back down onto the couch. “I don’t think so. You were attacked, Steve. You need to stay put so you can heal. I can grab you fresh clothing, a blanket. But you’re not leaving right now. Not in your current state.“
Steve stares up at me with slightly widened eyes. It’s almost like he’s shocked that I told him he needed to stay put. I wander off into the back of the house, finding Robin curled up in the chair in my room. I go across the hall to my parents room, opening the drawers to their dresser. I take a shirt and a pair of sweatpants from my father’s side. I take off back down the hall, laying them across Steve’s legs.
“Here. You can borrow these. You’re staying here tonight whether you like it or not.”
It has been three hours since everyone showed up to my house with a battered Steve. I’m sitting on the ground beside the couch, a blanket hanging loosely off my shoulders. I had already gotten the stains worked out of his clothing, the first aid kit tucked away in the bathroom, set up water and pain killers beside Steve, and covered both he and Robin in blankets so they could sleep soundly.
I’ve tried to sleep. I’ve tried laying on the chair beside the couch, on the ground, upright. I’ve tried everything to no avail. My mind is plagued with all of the thoughts I had back at the lake. I thought I had lost all of my friends to the depths of Lover’s Lake. I thought that I was going to have to bury everyone I had grown to respect on levels only the group of us would understand.
Aside from the bad thoughts, I had one other that has been plaguing my mind since I sat back onto the carpet. Steve Harrington was in my house. Borrowing my blanket. My father’s clothing. Sure, I’ve now worked with Steve for a while. But I haven’t been around him like this for long periods of time. Only the occasional question while switching shifts, a quick joke, a ‘thank you’ for doing some of his work for him. Only now have I really gotten to see Steve outside of what I call “work mode.”
And it’s hard to grasp. I enjoy this side of him. Seeing him interact with the kids, take the initiative to go out on a lake to save Hawkins. Not to mention standing up for me against his ex-girlfriend. And we won’t even begin to talk about the fact that I have now seen this man shirtless in my living room.
Robin was one of the only people that knew of my small infatuation with the man. She knows that I’ve eyed Steve since high school. But it had always been one of those unattainable crushes. One where you admire from afar, knowing you’ll never have a shot. I had confided in Robin about it when she started the job with Steve. An unspoken agreement that she and I will never speak of it. Even so, she still did things that made me look suspicious. From nudging me when our boss needed someone to work with Steve to when he asked for someone to ride shotgun in his car and Robin all but strapped me in like I was a child.
I shift slightly against the couch, leaning my head back, effectively nudging Steve’s thigh with my head. I don’t think much of it until I feel his hand sneak into my hair. I tense, knowing he’s asleep and just moving around to get comfortable. That is until he starts gently massaging my scalp. A sigh passes my lips before I close my eyes.
“How come you’re still awake?” Steve grumbles, his voice full of sleep.
I stay quiet for a moment, “Just can’t get comfortable.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re on the floor.”
“I’m here in case you wake up and need something. Don’t want you pulling your stitches,” I push my head more into his hand.
Steve twirls my hair around his finger for a moment. “You don’t have to wait on me, you know. I’ll be okay.”
“Sure you will, just not right now.”
It’s quiet again, so I assume he’s fallen back asleep. That is, until I feel a tap on my shoulder. I glance back, only to see that Steve has scooted himself against the back of the couch.
“Come up here. Plenty of room.”
“I couldn’t. You need the room. Besides, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’ll be fine.”
Steve makes a small ‘tsk’ sound before patting the space beside him. “You aren’t asking. Think of it as a way of thanking you for helping us. Even when you didn’t have to.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Not until I know you’re comfortable and asleep.”
Suddenly it’s a battle of the two most stubborn people. I’m all too aware of how exhausted I am, the troubles of the day weighing down on my shoulders. I shake my head before I slowly get up, sliding into place on the couch. Steve lifts an arm, wrapping it around my torso loosely.
My breath hitches in my throat. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
“You didn’t have to stitch me up either. But you did.”
It got eerily quiet in the living room again. Only until I heard Steve softly snoring behind me.
I can’t believe this is happening. It’s only because he’s being nice, right? That’s all this is. A small repayment for helping him out. Totally not for any other reason. I keep repeating the words in my head over and over in my head until my eyelids fall shut.
I wake up a few hours later to Steve shifting behind me. His arm is still loosely wrapped around me, but I can feel his other hand against my back. His breath keeps hitching in his throat.
“Something wrong?” I whisper, attempting to sit up.
Steve pulls me back down with his arm. “Sorry, I was feeling my stitches. Forgot what happened yesterday.”
I sigh, flipping over to face Steve, giving him some room to look at the stitches. “What time is it?”
“I have no idea,” Steve replies, one hand resting on my torso, the other tracing along the stitches lining his abdomen.
I hesitantly reach out, running my fingertips along the skin, “Feels alright to me. I’d give it a week tops. It will leave scars, which I’m sure you were anticipating.”
“Well don’t you sound like a little doctor.”
I hum, glancing at Steve’s face. “Could say that.”
It goes quiet in the living room once again. I continue to brush my fingertips against the stitches, looking over his stomach. Steve watches my hand, his own rubbing circles over my hip. It’s a nice, peaceful quiet. The calm after the storm.
We sit like this for what feels like eternity. Except when the illusion of calm is shattered.
“What did I miss last night?” Robin asks, sauntering into the room wearing one of my sweaters and sleep shorts.
“Not much,” Steve replies, glancing up at her.
It doesn’t take a genius to piece together what Robin was doing behind my back. I hear her shuffling, small giggles leaving her. Steve rolls his eyes.
“Nothing that exciting happened. She couldn’t sleep, so I offered to let her sleep up here with me. Not a huge deal.”
I hear a disbelieving huff, “Oh sure. Not a ‘huge’ deal. I know the game you’re playing here, Harrington. She may not recognize it but I do,” Robin says before I hear her shuffling to my kitchen.
“Do you have anything I can make for breakfast?”
“What time is it?” I call out to her, Steve’s hand finally stilling on my hip.
“It's almost 8:30. Not too late for breakfast.”
I have only slept six hours. Not too bad, but not great either. I take my free hand that’s not resting against Steve and run it down my face.
“There’s pancake mix in the big cabinet. I’m sure you can figure out the fridge situation.”
After half an hour of me instructing Robin on how to use my kitchen appliances, we had successfully made enough pancakes for the three of us. When we finished, Robin and I devised a plan on what to do about work, Steve in general, and the situation with the gate. I was told to wait until someone called me to make any moves. It’s too risky to do anything alone. Robin took Steve’s car keys, much to his dismay, and walked him out front.
I stand on my porch, watching Robin go ahead to open the passenger side door for Steve. Robin comes racing back up to give me a bone crushing hug, murmuring thank yous in my ear. She tries to grab Steve, but he steps to the side steps to come up to me.
There’s a glint in his eye, one that I can’t quite read. He pulls me into a gentle hug. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Of course,” I reply, gently resting my head on his chest. “Next time I see you I hope it’s not because you’re bleeding out.”
A small sound leaves Steve’s throat as he steps back from me. I watch as he gets into his car, Robin fumbling around with the keys before starting it and backing out of the driveway.
I’m covering Steve’s shift at Family Video with Robin. I’m carrying around a box of returned tapes, Robin trailing behind me, rambling on about whatever was on her mind.
“I don’t think you truly understand what I saw. The way he was looking at you- it just wasn’t as small as you’re making it out to be.”
“Robin, I think you’re just trying to fill my head with delusions,” I say, putting a couple of films back on the shelves. I round another corner, Robin still following me.
“I’m just saying, I haven’t seen him look like anyone like that since I’ve known him, alright? I don’t think it would hurt to say ‘hey, I think we should hang out sometime.’ What would that hurt?”
I pass one of the movies to Robin to set it up on the shelf, “My dignity, my pride, my ego. You can’t possibly think he’d say yes to one on one time with me, Robin. All I was doing was helping out a friend.”
“Oh come on. You think he has ever cuddled me on a couch? Huh?”
“No. And I think that because you’ve already told me that you’ve never spent a night at his house.” I walk back to the counter, setting the now empty box back onto the shelf.
“Just ask him out! Please! What if something comes out of it?”
I turn to the front of the store to see Steve, putting on his vest for work.
“You shouldn’t be here-” “Nobody.” Robin and I speak at the same time, both startled to see Steve here.
“Shouldn’t you be home resting?” I ask, my voice strained.
Steve stretches slightly, “No. I’m feeling much better after laying around doing absolutely nothing for two days. I’m going crazy being at home doing nothing.”
Steve comes behind the counter, writing down the time he came in. “Now, who were you thinking of asking out?”
“I am so not having this conversation with you guys.” I take my vest off, hanging it up on the wall before writing my time down to clock out.
“Oh come on, buddy. It’s just us,” Robin teases, a knowing smile on her face.
I shake my head, waving a hand behind me. “Have fun guys!”
A few hours later, I’m in my bedroom folding my laundry. I’m hanging up a sweater when I hear a knock on my door.
“Sweetheart? There’s a boy here for you,” my mom remarks, opening my door.
I turn to face her, my face twisted. “A boy? Who is it?”
“I didn’t ask for the specifics. I think I saw him at a school event once… or was that at the supermarket…”
I nod, even though I’m confused, quietly thanking my mom before going to the front door. I take a deep breath, preparing for the worst. I open the door to find a nervous looking Steve, hands behind his back, looking like he’s preparing to sell me something.
“Hey, I am so sorry for showing up like this. I should’ve let you know ahead of time.”
My eyebrows furrow slightly in confusion. “It’s alright. What are you doing here?”
“I just had something I wanted to drop off as a thank you for the other day.”
“Steve, you don’t have to keep thanking me for helping you. It’s the least I could do,” I respond, leaning against my doorframe. “I don’t think you should be indebted to me for the rest of your life.”
“Oh but I am,” Steve puts his hand out, an envelope extended to me. “I want you to have this. You don’t need to read it now, I just wanted to give you a little something to show my gratitude.”
I take the envelope. “Harrington, there better not be money in here.”
“There’s not, I promise. Even though now you mention it-”
“No. No money.” I shake my head, a small laugh escaping my lips.
We look at each other for a moment, a comfortable silence falling over us. I can tell that Steve has something else he’d like to say. Even so, he remains quiet with a small smile on his face.
“Well, I’ll head out now. I’m sure you have more pressing matters to attend to.”
I shake the envelope at him, “I appreciate this.”
“Don’t say that just yet,” Steve says as he walks back to his car. He waves before backing out.
I go back inside, ignoring my mom’s game of five hundred questions. I get to my bedroom, shutting the door quietly, moving to sit down on my bed. What could he have possibly brought me? I open the envelope to find a sheet of paper folded neatly inside.
“I’m not very good at writing this kind of stuff so forgive me. I just wanted to thank you for not only literally saving my life, but for also being brave enough to confront whatever trouble we may have encountered. For someone who has never seen the horrors we have, you were ready.
“I also want to thank you again for stitching me up. I bet you thought you wouldn’t have to hear it again. Jokes on you, I solemnly swear to thank you every time I see you until the end of time. I also can tell what you’re thinking right now. Robin told me that this was a good idea. Even helped me spell a few words on the clock (don’t tell Keith).
“I’ll get to what I want to say before you toss this to the side, never to be seen again. I’m glad that amongst the chaos the last week has been, you’re still trying to live a normal, carefree life. Hearing you and Robin banter today made me forget all about the events that occurred. I wanted to tell you that even though you seem way too hesitant to tell this guy your feelings, you should 100% tell him. And if he doesn’t reciprocate, he’s a goddamn idiot and I will tell him such.
“After getting to know you, anybody would be lucky enough to have you in their corner. You’re hardworking, a great listener, you do what you feel is right in the moment, and you care about those around you. If you tell him and he (for whatever reason) doesn’t see that, let me know. I can talk some sense into him. Even though we started off as coworkers, you have become a great friend of mine. I’m always here if you need me.
“P.S. Robin just told me you covered my shifts while I was out. Holy shit, again, thank you. I owe you.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that I had been left out of vital planning. I wasn’t contacted for any missions after the Lover’s Lake incident. While I understand why, I am hurt.
I have tried to contact both Steve and Robin. I tried calling Robin once, only managing to reach her mother who informed me that Robin wasn’t home and that she was at work. Spoiler alert, I was calling from Family Video’s phone. I called Steve more than once, from both the work phone and from my home phone. With his family gone so often, I didn’t manage to talk to anyone at all.
I only pieced together that something was wrong when the ground split down the middle of Hawkins. In the process, Family Video was destroyed. Now I am unemployed once again.
I finally received a phone call from Lucas only to tell me that Max was in a coma in the hospital. No explanation as to what happened, no room number, leaving me to have to lie to the front desk people about how I was related to the patient.
When entering the hospital room, I found a distraught Lucas. He and I had a small heart to heart, talking about what happened and why Max got hurt.
At the end of the conversation, Lucas decided to drop a bomb on me. I wasn’t supposed to know any of that. And the reason was because of Steve. Steve Harrington, the man that I stitched up on my couch after he was attacked by one of those creatures. How dare he. Lucas also told me that there was a loose plan on how to deal with the cool new sheet of metal covering the crack. Not just that, but the new military presence in town. He told me that they were calling this plan a crawl. Lucas promised he’d keep me informed.
After a month of waiting for any sign of life, I was ready to give up. I hadn’t heard from Robin, Steve, nor Lucas. But my phone finally rang, Lucas quickly telling me everything I needed to know.
Nancy had set up headquarters at WSQK, an old radio tower. Robin and Steve have been controlling the radio station, sending out hidden messages to the group on what the military was planning on doing with a gate. The gate being one similar to the one they encountered at Lover’s Lake and the one that opened in Eddie’s home. Lucas continued on, telling me that if I still wanted an in, a way to help, that I needed to go to the radio tower and speak to Nancy.
I didn’t need to be told more.
I’m sat outside in my car the next morning, staring up at the radio tower. No one is here yet, the radio station looking abandoned. I can see the tire tracks of cars going in and out, shoe prints in the dirt. I knew they had been here. I stay in my car, but not for long. I see Nancy’s car pulling onto the dirt road in my rearview mirror.
I watch as she pulls up beside me, she’s already staring at my car in confusion. We both get out of our vehicles.
“Beautiful morning, isn’t it Nancy?” I ask, locking my car before following her towards the building.
Nancy is giving me this perplexed look, like she’s not quite sure what to do with me. “How did you find me out here? Why are you here?”
“Seems to me you may have a mole on your team,” I reply with a small smile. “I’m here to discuss work. I can be a valuable asset.”
Within the next hour, I’m assigned a desk in the corner of the broadcasting room, a cup of coffee in front of me. Given the time Nancy and I had to talk, we were able to come to an agreement about how I can help everyone out. I’ve been given a job in the booth, a job for crawls, and an apology from her about snapping at me about the kids on the night of the Lover’s Lake incident. Which was sweet. I appreciated the apology, even though I understand why she had been upset.
I take a sip from my mug, only to see Robin and Steve come into the station. Steve goes into a backroom, Robin comes into the booth to sit at her station without seeing me. I stand, stretching slightly.
“Well hello, Robin,” I say with a smile on my face.
Robin swivels around, staring at me with wide eyes. “Oh my God, I haven’t seen you in forever! How are you? Wait- why are you here?”
The smile remains on my face as I walk over to Robin, leaning against the desk in front of her. “You’re looking at a new member of The Squawk. I have that corner desk. Oh, and I’ll be helping out with the crawls.”
Robin stares at me for a moment in shock, “Does Steve know you’re here?”
We look at each other for a moment before Robin stands up and pulls me into a tight hug. “I missed seeing your dumb face.”
I laugh lightly, hugging her in return. “I suppose I missed your rude ass too.”
The moment of excitement is quickly cut off.
“What are you doing here?” Steve asks, his voice hard.
I pull away from Robin, looking at Steve. He looks different, mostly the way he’s carrying himself.
“Steve, don’t be harsh with her,” Robin says, her voice slightly strained. “She just got here.”
“She wasn’t supposed to know about any of this.”
“Well, if you have a problem with me knowing all of it, you’ll need to talk to Nancy. She let me join the team,” I say, going back to my area in the corner.
Steve’s face hardens. “Who told you about this?”
“That’s between me, Nancy, and the mole.”
Steve runs a hand down his face before sitting at the sound effects desk. I hear him grumbling to himself, but I can’t make out what he’s saying.
The morning news goes on without a hitch, Robin and Steve carrying the show with ease. Once Robin finishes, she quickly stands.
“I have a quick thing I need to talk about with Nancy, I’ll be back. Don’t start a fight, Harrington,” she says as she leaves the booth.
It’s quiet after Robin leaves. Steve looks over all of his effects, I stare down at my notepad.
I finally speak up without looking at Steve, “Why did you tell everyone not to include me in any planning?”
Steve sighs before speaking, “Because you didn’t need to be wrapped up in all of this. The rest of us are in too deep. You still have the chance to live a normal, peaceful life.”
“But that’s not your choice to make.”
The room goes quiet again for a beat. “I made the choice for you because I know that this could ruin you.”
“You think I don’t sit awake at night wondering if you are all okay?” I ask suddenly, swiveling around to look at Steve, even if it’s just his back. “You don’t think I tried to contact you guys over and over again so I could help? To know what the hell was going on? You don’t think that I sit at home hoping that you’ve healed from your injury? God, Steve. You don’t know what runs through my head. That being involved would’ve been better than leaving me in the dark for a goddamn month.”
“I know you tried to call.”
“I know you tried to call,” Steve repeats before turning to face me finally. “I would let it ring. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up after everything that happened. When I left that note, I knew it would be the last time I saw you. To keep you out of all of this nonsense. So forgive me that I wanted to keep you safe.”
I stare at Steve, my jaw tight. “That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“I’m sorry. Okay? I am so unbelievably sorry. If I knew what that one single event would do to you I would’ve-”
Just then, Robin comes in like a tornado, nearly knocking over her coffee as she sits down at her table. She puts on her headphones, interrupting the song.
“Hello Hawkins! This is Rockin’ Robin speaking and I do apologize for the sudden interruption. I just discovered a song that is sure to turn your day upside down…”
The rest of the day is a blur of planning, strategizing, and finalizing. I’m reintroduced to the group, Lucas being unable to look at me head on because he was too afraid someone would realize he was the one that filled me in. Steve looked drained after our previous conversation. He almost looked more so when the group all expressed their excitement for my involvement.
Later in the evening, we all meet back up at the radio station to begin the crawl. Steve puts up a small fight with Nancy over my involvement, but Nancy shuts him down quickly and quietly.
I sit on the passenger side of the van, Dustin in the back already beginning his surveillance over the area. Steve finally gets into the driver's seat, noticeably tense. Everyone takes off to their respectful starting points. We sit off to the side of the road of a residential street, Dustin listening on his headphones for any signals.
I stare down at the map, marking our spot ahead of time. Steve has his eyes closed, head tilted back as we wait.
“So, what were you doing when you weren’t helping us out?” Dustin asks suddenly, taking one side of his headphones off.
I hum, thinking. “Not too much. Stayed home, did those fun mandated medical check ups from the troops. Thought about finding another job, but what good would that do when our town is falling apart?”
Dustin laughs to himself, Steve sitting up a little straighter. “Shouldn’t you be listening for a signal?”
“It’s been thirty minutes, Steve. It’s too quiet in here. If you’re going to be a stick in the mud, maybe take a lap around the block,” Dustin replies before putting the headset back on and leaning against the wall of the van.
It doesn’t take long for Dustin to finally hear our signal for us to begin. As Steve is given directions on where to go, I mark everything down on a map, tracing our path. We come to a halt, told it may be a bit again before we hear anything. I make note of where we stop before setting the map down on the dashboard.
“I need to take a walk,” Dustin announces from the back, opening the doors.
“Hey, hey, hey. You can’t just leave right now, Henderson,” Steve says sternly, turning around to look at Dustin.
“Joyce said it’ll be another fifteen minutes before there’s movement. I’ll be back.”
With that, the back doors are slammed shut, leaving me and Steve alone. We don’t speak for a moment before I begin to write about our time spent stopped, what spots we had to stop, and how long it took for us to travel there.
“I’m sorry for getting mad at you earlier,” Steve speaks up, looking over my shoulder as I write.
“It’s fine. While I don’t understand why you’re so upset with me, it’s just easier to move on.”
I look up at Steve in confusion, “For what?”
Steve smiles slightly. “I wrote that I’d thank you every time I saw you for saving my life, didn’t I?”
“Don’t start with that, Harrington,” I reply with a small laugh, shaking my head.
“Did you ever confess to that guy?”
That causes me to pause. “What guy?”
“You know,” Steve starts, adjusting where he’s sat to face me more. “The guy that you and Robin were talking about. The one I told you that you needed to confess to.”
Oh. I huff slightly, “No. I haven’t. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I wasn't able to.”
“Oh? You say you hadn’t. Did you see him recently?”
Damn him. “I actually saw him earlier today.” Not a total lie. “But I think that it’s just best if I keep it to myself.”
“Oh come on,” Steve says with a roll of his eyes. “You know, that’s one reason why I didn’t want you getting mixed up in this shit.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are able to find normal work, catch feelings for a guy, go on dates with him. If you actually told him. Mundane things that have been technically ruined for the rest of us.”
“That’s if this guy was into me too, Steve. Not all of us know that everyone is into them like you seem to.”
A scoff passes his lips. “Really now? I’ll have you know that if this guy wasn’t into you, he’d be an idiot.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, leaning back into the chair.
“I already wrote some reasons in that letter I gave you. Must’ve not read it all the way, huh?”
“Oh, I read it all the way through. Multiple times. But it has been a month, maybe I just need reminding. And you just said some, insinuating you didn’t tell me every reason.” I glance at Steve before looking back down at the map.
“Alright. It’s because you care,” he starts. “You’re smart, quick witted. Stubborn. You do what you think is right even if other people disagree with you. Which, I guess, is good and bad. You’re good with the kids, you get along with everyone for the most part. Not to mention you’re beautiful.”
I almost give myself whiplash turning to look at Steve. He’s still watching me, “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no. Unexpected, I suppose.”
“Unexpected? Come on, you knew all of those things.”
I shake my head with a laugh, looking back out of the front window. “Sounds different when it comes from someone unexpected. Robin? I’d expect that. But you?”
The back doors of the van burst open, Dustin climbing into the back.
“I may or may not have forgotten about curfew and almost got caught. We might need to think about moving the van,” he says breathlessly.
“Damn it, Henderson. We can’t just move the van,” Steve says, even though he’s already putting the van in drive.
“It’ll be fine guys, I have our location marked on the map. We can go around until we get the signal to keep going. I can get us back here.”
“At least she’s smart. Idiot,” Steve says, motioning back to Dustin.
We start driving, Dustin trying to listen in for a signal.
“I wasn’t done with you, by the way.” Steve remarks, glancing at me.
“What else do you have to say?” I ask, following our location with a different colored pen on the map.
“I’d like to hear about this guy.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I want to hear about him. What’s he like? What drew you in?” He says, looking back to the road.
“Are you serious, Harrington? You want me to bore you with the details of my silly little crush?”
Steve laughs lightly, shaking his head. “Like I said, mundane things. You’re the one normal connection I have anymore. So, yes, tell me about him.”
I sigh, pausing to think for a moment. “Where do you want me to start?”
“What’s he like? Personality, looks. Anything you can tell me, I’d like to know.”
I have to craft this carefully. Even one slip up could lead Steve, or Dustin who is not so subtly eavesdropping, to realize who I’m talking about. “Well, let me think. He’s caring. He cares an awful lot about those around him. He’s kind. Even though most of the time people assume he’s flirting.”
Steve nods along, “So he’s a flirt? Does he flirt with you?”
I hum, tilting my head side to side. “Hard to tell. I interpret what he says as kind. That’s why Robin was pushing me to try, to get my answer on that. Anyway, he’s good with kids. It’s cute, really. I think he’d be a really good dad.”
Steve glances at me, “You’ve seen this guy around kids?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “It’s not uncommon to find this guy with at least one kid with him. What makes it better is that they aren’t his siblings. He’s just that good.”
“Okay, he cares, is a flirt, good with kids. Give me specifics. Would I have known this guy at any point?”
“Yes. He was a jock in high school, you guys definitely knew each other. Maybe even still know, I don’t know who you talk to outside of us.”
Steve hums, “Only you guys really.”
“Uh huh, I’m sure,” I say before continuing. “He’s good looking. Like, really good looking. I don’t want to give the guy a bigger ego, but girls would swoon over him left and right during our school days.” I shake my head, “I’m proud my swooning was where no one could see because that would be too embarrassing.”
“On a scale from one to Steve Harrington, how good looking is this guy?” Dustin pipes up from the back.
I tilt my head back against the seat as we drive back to our starting point. “See, that’s unfair. Steve had a nickname in school, I don’t know if this guy did. Super unfair to him if he’s being compared to The King, right?”
“Sounds like a cheap out to me,” Dustin replies, shaking his head.
I laugh lightly, Steve glancing between me and Dustin. “You guys are ridiculous. What else can you tell us?”
“Well, I’ll just give you a list.” I close my eyes before speaking again, “He’s good looking, kind, pretty flirty, great with kids. Was a jock in school. Oh, right, he’s also dumb-smart.”
“What does dumb-smart mean?” Steve asks, confused.
“Dumb-smart is where someone is smart, but in a dumb way. Knows the meanings of things but explains them in very dumbed down versions.”
Dustin laughs for a moment before his head pops up between me and Steve. “I think I’m going to start calling Steve that. Sounds just like him.”
Steve playfully pushes Dustin back, my cheeks burning at Dustin’s remark. “Ha ha, so funny, Dustin.”
Dustin goes quiet before looking at us. “Mildly good news, we can go back to The Squawk. Hopper wasn’t able to get close enough, crawl is a dud.”
Steve drives back to the radio station, all of us going quiet, the fact that this crawl had been a failure hanging over us like a cloud.
When we pull up, everyone is already filing out of the building. Everyone mumbles goodnight as they pass by while going to their vehicles. I get to my car, hopping in and going to start it. No, this can’t be happening to me. I try turning the key again, my engine making this sad sound. It’s dead. I rest my head against the steering wheel, letting out a dramatic sigh. The cherry on top.
A rap against my window causes me to lift my head. Steve.
“Hey, sounds like she’s dead. I live pretty close to you, why don’t I give you a ride back to yours?”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that, Steve. It’s alright, I can figure something else out.”
“Oh come on now, what are you going to do? Walk back home at close to one in the morning? Nope, no way. And besides, I’m offering,” Steve says with a sweet smile.
“If I remember correctly, you don’t actually live anywhere near me.”
Steve shushes me, opening my door. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I roll my eyes, giving him a nod as he shuts my door after I get out.
“We can jump start her tomorrow morning. Or maybe after work, that way it doesn’t die again in between.”
“Oh? Already looking forward to seeing me again tomorrow?” I joke, getting into his beamer.
Steve gets in, giving me a look. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Were you there when you told me that I shouldn’t be here earlier in the day or was I arguing with myself?”
He shakes his head, feigning ignorance. “I think it must’ve been with yourself.”
Steve pulls out of the radio station, pulling out onto the main road. I can see him fidgeting out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t mention it.
I turn to look at Steve, his grip a little too tight on the steering wheel. “Should what?”
“Should confess to this mystery man. I mean, I know Robin is going on dates, but she’s in a relationship. Time for another one of us to bite the bullet.”
I continue to observe Steve, “I don’t know. He’s a good friend, I wouldn’t want to ruin the friendship over something like that.”
“So you’re just going to swallow your feelings? Let him find someone else?”
“Sounds like you’re talking about what happened with Nancy, Steve.”
“No, no. Not this time.” He relaxes his grip on the wheel for a moment as he glances at me. “I realized that I had feelings for somebody too. Just like you. But with everything going on, her being a good friend to me, I’m just pushing it down.”
I sigh, my gaze going to his face. Steve looks tired now, almost sad. “That’s not healthy, Steve. You ought to tell her. Remember your whole speech about normalcy? She can be your normal. Does anybody know about it?”
“Robin knows. But that’s it. She’s been pushing me to tell her for, God, over a month now. But I avoided her. I’m pretty shocked that she doesn’t hate me, actually.”
“So you’ve talked to her recently?”
“Oddly enough, I saw her today.”
Steve nods, his voice going quiet. “One lucky guy.”
He pulls into my driveway, all of the lights already out. I stay put, looking over the outside of my house. “I don’t really feel like going in yet.”
“How come?” Steve asks, his head now against the back of the chair.
“Feels too heavy in here. I feel like you have had something to say that you won’t just spit out.”
Steve’s head rolls to the side to look at me before he breaks the silence.
“I don’t actually want you telling that guy.”
“What? Why not? What’s with the sudden attitude change?” I ask. My heart is thudding so hard in my chest that I can hear it in my ears.
“Because I don’t want to see you happy with just anyone. Not just some random guy,” he says while running his hand through his hair.
I stay quiet, trying to think of the best way to approach this. “You almost sound jealous, Steve.”
“I thought you said you wanted to see me happy. To hold onto that sense of normalcy.”
“I do,” he says quickly, sitting up straighter. Steve then lets out a small scoff, “Robin told me you were dense.”
“God, can you read between the lines, please?” Steve says exasperated, his hand weaving through his hair once more.
“What am I supposed to be reading exactly?”
“You’re supposed to be realizing that I mean it shouldn’t be him. It should be me.”
That makes me go quiet. “...oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.” He sounds defeated.
It’s quiet in the car. The only sound is from the radio, the sound of static faint but still there to annoy me.
“You’re pretty dense yourself,” I say after what feels like eternity.
“Right about what, exactly?”
“You are dumb-smart. And good with kids. Good looking, kind hearted.” I ramble, suddenly feeling fed up with the tension. “I was telling you what I see in you, dumbass.”
I shake my head as I shove the door open. Steve says my name, but it’s too late. I slam the door shut. I go up to my front door, only to hear Steve call out that he will be picking me up in the morning. I shut the door behind me, leaning back against it with my head in my hands. This day has drained me.
I’m ready to head out at 7:30, waiting by the front window for Steve to pull up. It takes until 7:35 for him to pull into the driveway. At least one of us seems to be well rested. I step out of my front door, approaching the car. Steve gets out, stepping in front of the passenger side so I can’t get in.
I look up at him, my voice slightly strained, “What are you doing, Harrington?”
Steve looks down at me for a moment before opening the passenger side door. I go to get in and I’m pleasantly surprised. Roses. There’s roses, and he got us coffee. None of the cheap shit from the station either. Real coffee.
“I’m sorry about how I handled last night. I was an idiot to say all of that to you the way I did. Please forgive me.”
I look back to Steve, his hand still holding onto the top of the door. He has this puppy dog look on his face. I shake my head before smiling.
“I forgive you. You didn’t need to do all of this just to apologize.”
“Oh no, this is an apology and a thank you.”
“Saving my life. What else?” Steve now has this charming smile on his face, one that I know that he’s trying to tease me. But also one that just screams Steve Harrington. I can’t help but smile back.
The ride to the station is filled with back and forth conversation, dancing loosely around the conversation from the night before.
“So, you really had been talking about me the whole time?” Steve asks, glancing at me with a smile on his face.
“Of course I was. Wouldn’t just come up with it out of nowhere.”
“But then that also means that you’ve been eyeing me since high school.”
I look over to Steve who is already looking at me with this teasing smile on his face. “Sometimes I wish you didn’t listen as closely as you do.”
We pull up to The Squawk, both of us unbuckling. Right before I get out of the car, Steve grabs my wrist loosely.
“One quick thing before we go in there.”
“What about dinner tonight? Or a movie? As long as it’s a date.”
I can tell he’s nervous. The hand still loosely wrapped around my wrist is trembling slightly.
“You plan it. And of course it’s a date.”
Steve’s face lights up, quickly leaning forward, placing a small kiss on my cheek.
“You missed,” I quip, a small smile playing on my lips.
“What?” He asks bewildered.
I lean forward, placing a hand to his cheek before kissing his lips. He leans into it, gently kissing me back. Steve is the one to break it, pressing his forehead against mine.
