Footsteps Pad Down The Hallway As Steve And Eddie Make Their Way To Their Bedroom At An Honestly Irresponsible
Footsteps pad down the hallway as Steve and Eddie make their way to their bedroom at an honestly irresponsible hour given that they both have work in the morning. Yawning, talking quietly. They get ready for bed one at a time in their small bathroom, Eddie settling under the covers with a book while Steve finishes brushing his teeth.
There's a smile in Eddie's voice when he speaks, the words muffled to outsiders by the rustling of sheets as Steve climbs into bed. Whatever it is, it makes Steve laugh, which makes Eddie laugh too. They fall in and out of bouts of talking and giggling, the only two people in the world - or at least it must feel that way, alone together at such an absurd time of night, in the familiar comfort and quiet of their shared bed and shared home.
They don't know that their teenage daughter is still awake in the room next door, listening to their laughter floating through their house's thin walls. She smiles to herself in the dark, warmed by the simple and genuine joy in that sound.
They don't know that this is far from the first time she's heard them laughing together in private. They don't know that she's absorbed every smile they've given each other, every kiss and kindness and warm conversation she's ever witnessed them exchange, and with every one she has learned what love looks like. She may make a whole dramatic show of gagging or pulling a face at some of her dads' displays of affection for each other (she is Eddie Munson's daughter after all), but they don't know how much she actually appreciates the fact that her parents are still so happily in love, that after nearly 30 years together they still genuinely enjoy being around each other. Their relationship began long before her and the love they have for each other continues still not because of her or in spite of her but simply alongside the love they have for her in equal measure.
There is so much love in this house, of that she has never had any doubt. She loves her dads, her dads love her, and her dads love each other, and those are facts, fundamental truths that have been shaped into the very foundation of her bones as she's grown up. No argument or mistake or disagreement has ever been - or will ever be - enough to waver that. Even in moments of anger there has always been love, unquestionably. They don't know just how deeply she knows that. They don't know just how much she values that.
Sleepy and sentimental, she thinks of friends she knows who have grown up in broken homes and are drawn to broken relationships, and she feels so incredibly grateful for the happy childhood Steve and Eddie have given her and the example they've set of such a healthy, loving relationship for her to look up to. They don't know that she knows how lucky she is to have them.
One day I'll tell them, she thinks as she rolls over onto her side and lets her body grow heavy with sleep. One day I'll thank them for teaching me what love is.
More Posts from Neverthebabysitter and Others
Dustin moved to the window by Steve’s front door and pressed his face to it.
"Robin. . .why is Steve talking to Santa?" Dustin asked and turned to look at her.
"Oh, he knows him very personally. He called him over for you guys," Robin said.
"Steve knows Santa?!" Dustin shrieked. "He never said!"
"Okay, do you still bel - ," Robin started to say.
"WHY IS STEVE KISSING SANTA?!" Dustin yelled, his face pressed to the glass.
"Oh, well, Steve’s been a very bad boy this year, and he's trying to work his way back onto the nice list," she replied.
"BY SEDUCING SANTA?!" Dustin yelled. "That's not how you do it!"
Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, and El entered the hallway.
"What's going on?" Max asked.
"Steve knows Santa! He called him over, and now he's cheating on Steve with him!" Dustin yelled.
"What? Is he trying to get on the nice list or naughty list?" Mike asked.
"Fuck this," Max swore.
They all spilled out onto the front lawn with Robin following after them.
"You guys do know that Santa isn't - "
"STEVE!" Dustin yelled.
"Oh, goddamn it," Steve cursed as he pulled away from Santa. "I've ruined - "
"Are you cheating on Eddie?!" Dustin yelled, his hands on his hips. "You're my brother, and I love you, but if you ruin this relationship with Eddie, I'll never forgive you!"
"That's sweet, Henderson, but completely unnecessary," Santa said and pulled his beard down to reveal Eddie. "Surprise!"
"Oh my god!" Dustin exclaimed.
"Don't beat yourself up, Dustin, it's an easy mistake to make!" Eddie said cheerfully.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" He asked.
"Uh, well, Steve wanted to keep it a surprise, and I thought you were old enough to know," Eddie said.
"It makes sense now, Eddie wasn't here last Christmas!" Mike exclaimed.
"And it makes sense why his wounds healed so quickly," Lucas said.
"And why he can drive so fast," El said.
"And why he is so good with animals," Max said.
"And kids," Dustin said.
"He's great with kids and storytelling!" Will exclaimed.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Eddie asked.
"I don't know," Steve frowned.
"He loves elves and Lord of the Rings!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Oh my god! Eddie's Santa Claus!" Dustin yelled.
"I have to call Nancy!" Mike yelled.
"We have to call the rest of the party!" Dustin yelled.
Robin, Steve, and Eddie watched dumbfounded as the kids ran back inside.
"Do they still believe in Santa?" Eddie asked.
"This is the first time I'm fucking hearing about it and we've known them longer than you," Steve said.
"Maybe since they know that the Upside Down exists, they think other things like the North Pole exists," Robin said.
"Makes sense," Steve frowned.
"I am NOT telling them that I'm not Santa," Eddie said, crossing his arms. "You do it, Steve!"
"I'm not doing it!" Steve yelled.
"I'll do it!" Robin yelled and then paused. "After everything they've been through. . .don't they deserve to believe in a little bit of magic?"
"I don't know. . .we would be lying to them, Robin," Eddie said.
Meanwhile, the kids were watching them argue from the window.
"So, how long do you think it'll take them to realize that we don't actually believe in Santa Claus?" Max asked.
"A while," Mike snickered.
"Eddie should have done a better job at hiding the Santa costume," Max said.
As Robin, Steve, and Eddie fought on the front lawn, the kids watched with freshly made hot chocolate and Christmas music playing in the background. Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, dancing around to land on the ground.
"The mood is right. The spirit's up. We're here tonight, and that's enough. Simply having a wonderful Christmastime. . ."
Hopper accidentally becomes the biggest ally in Hawkins out of hatred for Mike Wheeler. El wants to date Max? Perfect, Mike is terrified of Max. El wants to date Max and Lucas? Even better, more people to keep Mike away. Will comes out to Joyce and Hop? Hopper is immediately studying up on gay culture and flagging so he can find him a Hop ApprovedTM boyfriend. He sees that nice boy Gareth cuff his jeans one time and starts inviting him to family dinner. Mike seems annoyed that Steve is spending more time with Munson? A pamphlet titled “Accepting your Bisexuality” finds its way into Steve’s jacket pocket. Hopper has never seen Mike as furious as the day Steve and Munson arrive at dinner holding hands. It’s a good day. Hopper isn’t sure how Nancy dating the Buckley girl will annoy Mike, but he’s willing to give it a shot.
[Eddie, Robin and Steve in a sleepover]
Robin: [sleeping]
Steve: How is she already asleep?
Eddie: Maybe is the lack of guilt on her conscience.
Steve: Uh, couldn't be me.
There is an AITA out there that I can't find but it's been haunting me for weeks with visions of semi-angsty Steddie that I need to release onto the world. (If anyone happens to know what I'm talking about hit me up and I'll link it) ------
Modern AU, Eddie and the guys are a moderately successful local band in the Chicago area playing gigs on the weekends and doing small tours whenever they all have the time. Gareth and Jeff are both in college while Eddie and Freak are both working part-time at a game store. Eddie managed to lock down that assistant manager position that lets him work 30 hours a week with weekends off for gigs. All in all, it's a pretty sweet deal and they can't complain.
Eddie had sworn off dating after a small handful of disastrous relationship attempts in their first year in the city. He dismisses any advances from people who attend their shows and tries not to think about how much he wants to make a genuine connection with someone and have something real. He's been burned one too many times to try and make something with someone he met in a bar or at work.
He knows the guys talk about it behind his back sometimes, he catches Jeff and Gareth fervently whispering to each other and stopping when they catch him entering the room one time too many to not suspect they're talking about him and he can't think of anything else going on in his life that they would feel the need to whisper about.
The fervent conversations take a slight uptick one day and about a week and a half after they do, Gareth hits him up and tells him he wants to set Eddie up with a guy from one of his classes. At first, Eddie is skeptical and cites all the reasons why he doesn't want to try with anyone right now but eventually, Jeff jumps in to plea the case and Freak jumps in on top of that and under the combined weight of his best friends he agrees to meet up with this Steve guy.
The guys set up the whole thing and before Eddie knows it it's Saturday night and he's wearing his best black jeans and a gray button-down, untucked, to go on an honest to God blind date like his life is some low-budget romcom.
Steve is not at all what Eddie thought he would be. Not the kind of guy he thought his friends would pick out for him given they know he usually goes for other alternatives like himself. Steve, who is shyly waving him over and getting out of his seat to great him, is the very epitome of prep. Well-fitted polo, light blue chinos, and what Eddie assumes this guy thinks are casual loafers. He's handsome to be sure, a 12/10 at least with perfect hair and defined biceps but Eddie is fairly sure he's being punked.
But, Eddie doesn't want to be rude so he goes to meet Steve at the table, confirming just in case that he's actually here to meet with a guy named Eddie. Steve gives him a bit of a confused look, saying that Gareth showed him a couple pictures of Eddie before he agreed to meet and figured he'd done the same for Eddie off Steve's Instagram. Gareth had, in fact, not done anything of the sort but they both dismiss it and get on with their date.
In all honesty, Eddie is expecting it to be a complete wash, but it turns out that even if Steve is not at all what Eddie would have previously said what his type, Steve is damn near perfect. He's funny, kind, a little bitchy, and even though he proves himself to be every bit the sports nerd he looks like he doesn't turn his nose up at Eddie's own much more classically nerdy interests. By the end of the date, Eddie has a new type and that type is Steve Harrington. He's quick to lock down a second date for the next weekend which Steve happily agrees to. They exchange numbers and Steve gives Eddie a chaste kiss on the cheek that has him floating all the way home.
Steve texted him that next morning letting him now he had a great time and is really looking forward to their next date and Eddie thinks this might be the start of something big for him. When he gets to practice he's clearly still floating on cloud nine and in his own little world designing their marriage invitations and matching tombstones so he doesn't notice the sly grins on his bandmates' faces.
"So...how'd it go last night? Everything you dreamed it would be?" Gareth asks, a strange glint in his eyes that Eddie doesn't clock.
Eddie goes on and on about how nice Steve was and how he might be The One, thanking Gareth profusely. Freak looks pleased for him, giving him a hard pat on the shoulder in congratulations but when Eddie finally tunes back into the real world he's greeted by Gareth's livid expression and Jeff's overly concerned one.
He asks the guys what the fuck is up and it turns out that Gareth and Jeff set this whole thing up as a prank of sorts. Eddie was never supposed to hit it off with Steve who Gareth selected specifically because he's a "totally brain-dead prep" and as far away as someone could get from Eddie's previous relationships. He was supposed to be someone Eddie could go on a date with and not form a connection with without getting completely burned at the end like all his previous relationships in the hopes of getting him out of his slump.
Jeff was in on it as well. He wanted to get Eddie back out there, so when Gareth presented the plan he sat in on a couple of Gareth's general credit business class sessions to help pick the guy out.
After Jeff and Gareth finish explaining he does a complete 180 and just...leaves. In any other situation, he would be raging and verbally tearing his friends a new asshole but instead, he completely disengages and walks out the garage door, ignoring his friends' shouts to come back.
He goes back home, socked and hurt and so very confused about how the hell he found himself in this position when his phone lights up.
New Message: Steve H.
Fuck.
-------
Part two coming soon??? Maybe???? We'll see.
Ophelia's Son: Addams Visiting
Author's note: I'm not going to let Cleopatra actually visit Hawkins. I'm pretty sure the Party would immediately kill her. Also I do have more ideas to play with in this world so I'm not saying it's over forever, just for now.
Summary: A storm is forecast for Hawkins so what better time for the Addams Family to come and visit
Continuing on from Ophelia's Son Smoking What Will Grow and Abigail
/\
There was a storm due. Steve had been debating since hearing about it whether he should invite everyone over for a sleepover or just prepare to drive through the storm fetching anyone who got upset. Robin and Eddie had already invited themselves over and had been laughing together about his worrying.
The knock at the door stopped the laughter and had them all glancing to the closet he’d stored the nail bat in. Steve chuckled at the realisation they’d all done it and went to answer the door without grabbing it.
“Hello, um, Aunt Morticia and everyone. Come in. I didn’t know you were visiting.” Steve blinked at the half dozen people stood on his doorstep, including the giant carrying all the suitcases.
“Good lad, Steve. We saw the weather forecast and simply had to come.” Gomez greeted, shaking his hand rapidly before he’d held it out. “Lurch will bring everything in but you’ve got some wonderfully ominous woods Wednesday was begging to explore on the drive through. Hope you don’t mind us arriving then going out for a walk immediately.”
“In a storm?” Eddie asked, sceptically.
Morticia beamed at him, “Of course. What better weather. And the moon is full too which is wonderful for the skin when it spears through.”
“We’ll prepare rooms for you all while you explore then.” Steve agreed easily, letting Lurch past.
He would definitely need more blankets if the party needed comfort through the storm now, but extra company wasn’t a bad thing at all.
/\
Morticia had been close to frowning as she took in the Harrington house, but forced a smile for Steve, saying, “Oh it’s got a Je ne sais quoi about it, charmingly but far too bland.”
“Tish! That’s French!” Gomez stumbled out of his chair ceasing her arm to start ravishing it.
After a moment of watching this Steve looked away a little awkwardly, “Um, I’ve set up spare rooms for you. Yours is top of the stairs, second to the right. If you want privacy or, you know.”
“Much obliged,” Gomez agreed, now carrying Morticia up the stairs, kissing the back of her neck when he could. “We’ll talk later.”
“Steve, remind me never to speak anything other than English around any and all Addams’s from now on.” Robin asked after they’d heard the door shut. Granmama’s insistence that they’re in love over some Russian made a lot more sense if that was Gomez’s reaction to French. She did not want to test if it applied to other people speaking foreign languages or not.
Steve glanced at her, smirking, “I might be suffocating you if you do. Just to avoid whatever love dust is.” He snickered to hear Eddie’s yelp as he’d been finishing off the rooms somehow.
“Glad we agree.” She nodded briskly, “Now how are we going to make the kids witness that so they’ll stop trying to set us up?”
“I’ve got some French cook books I think,” He said after a moment, deciding to ignore the possibility of it occurring that night or just because of the kids nosiness about his relatives now, "Could do a family dinner.”
“Perfect.”
In the reactions of his Aunt and Uncle Steve had momentarily forgotten that there were also two kids staying with him. Granted they’d both quickly gone to entertain themselves and each other but he was usually more alert over anyone younger given his kids likelihood to get into deadly situations.
He was reminded of them by Pugsley coming through frowning. “Cousin Steve, you don’t have any tunnels yet.”
“No Pugsley, I’ve not found any.” He answered mostly hoping he wasn’t about to be told about Upside Down tunnels again. Having it happen once with Dustin was beyond enough/
“We’ll start making them now.” Wednesday offered, climbing out of the closet, cuddling a headless doll and his nail-bat. “Any pipes to avoid?”
Steve reached to take the nail-bat back, sighing, “Try the office for house plans cause I don’t know.”
“Thank you.” Robin shared a glance at him as the kids ran off. Neither had to speak to know they were both wondering if kids really were just looking for ways to die all the time and how neither of them had done that.
/\
The storm passed without any of the Party asking for comfort beyond radio confirmation everyone was okay and Steve now wished it was still going.
Gomez had declared after breakfast that it was time he got Steve acquainted with Zen Yogi and flipped into a headstand.
“That will hurt my flowers. Are there any other poses?” Steve asked, hand going to his hair and the sunflowers that he’d kept growing through the few experiments they’d done since the first one.
“Well, yes, but this is the most important one to master.” Gomez genially explained, somewhere he’d gotten a newspaper to read and had pulled a cigar out of his pocket, already lit somehow. “At least try it once. It’s wonderful for inner strength building.”
Eddie laughed, “Steve does need to work on his core muscles.”
“Nope, no more jokes like that.” Steve knelt, eyes narrowed as he worried over the flowers he was increasingly fond of. “If it damages my flowers, I’m stopping.”
He had done a few headstands before but not often so took a moment to get stable, during which Morticia clapped her hands together with a joyful noise, “Wonderful and if I may say, I’m thrilled to see such variety of plants growing. Ophelia always stayed so limited with daisies when there are much more delightful plants.”
Her warm tone had something in Steve relaxing, a worry they’d dislike or judge him over the flowers dissolving. “It’s become an experiment for the kids, testing what will grow. I’m pretty sure Dustin has theories over what should grow well in brains as well as what soil type my head it.”
“Gardeners?” Morticia sounded pleasantly surprised about the experiments. “Oh I wish I’d known. I’d have brought Cleopatra with us. She is a dear vine.”
“Maybe if you visit again you could bring her.” Steve decided not to question a plant being spoken about like a person. After all some of the ones growing on his head definitely felt like that to him now.
He came out of the headstand when the conversation seemed to have ended, immediately checking the hallway mirror to see if the plants and flowers were okay. Seeing they were he relaxed and moved to curl up between Robin and Eddie for the rest of the afternoon.
I'm Your Guy pt 2
part 1, you are here
It’s not very common for the whole party to come together for a meeting that has nothing to do with the end of the world. Therefore, there are procedures for this kind of thing, Mike has followed every one of them to a tee to bring everyone together.
So, honestly, it's kinda insulting that nobody's taking it seriously.
“Mike, buddy” Dustin starts and Mike narrows his eyes, “look, I get where you're coming from–actually no I don’t.”
If Mike had not been desperately trying to keep his cool for the past hour this would probably be when he starts screaming.
“And I don’t get what you guys are confused about! We have to keep Eddie away from Steve!”
“Why?” El pipes up “Eddie and Steve are friends?”
Mike tries to keep his shoulders from raising around his head. He knows they’re friends, and Steve is allowed to have other friends, but Eddie is a threat. If they stay friends Eddie will drive a wedge between Steve and the party. If that happens that will hurt Mike’s friends; but it's not just them he’s worried about.
“Look I’ve seen it happen with Nancy” Mike argues “you guys remember how she stopped hanging out with us. She hated babysitting duty” heavy air quotes “and then she was all alone when the friends she left us for left her”
Mike can see the reluctant agreement on the others faces as he plops onto the couch and crosses his arms.
“I” he sighs “I just don't want that to happen to Steve”
“Oh Please!” Max cuts in, huffing in annoyance “sure it could go bad, but it's not like we’re actually gonna get replaced”
Mike’s about to retaliate when they hear as Steve enters the house and greets Mrs. Wheeler and Holly.
“Oh, Eddie by the way,” Steve calls, apparently continuing a conversation with the older teen “what movie where you talking about earlier?”
“Halloween? You want to watch it?” Eddie replies
There is a kerfuffle of something being set on the counter “Yeah sure, If I leave the twerps sleepover early then I can pick up some snacks.”
The two boys keep planning but nobody in the basement is listening anymore.
“okay” Max turns back to look at Mike “how do we get rid of this guy?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry this part is kind of short, I'm not really happy with it but its the best I could do under the circumstances.
Things are getting better now because I don't have to worry about my apartment anymore, so hopefully, the next update will be longer and better written.
Heard people are going crazy for some dude named ZTEEV
(you should probably follow me on twitter if you want the full lore for this AU, we goin wild over there)
How the Night Changes
Summary: Based on the premise that having a threesome with Steve and Nancy would have saved Barb's life.
18+ MINORS DNI
"This isn't you, Nance," Barb sighed like she usually did.
Nancy looked at her like she always did when she was about to get herself into trouble. It's been like that since they were kids. Nancy would see something she'd want, and she'd go for it with reckless abandon. Barb always had to be there for her afterward and clean up the mess whenever it went wrong. Sometimes, it didn't. Sometimes, it worked out. She wasn't sure about this time. This was different than anything she had done. What if Nancy got hurt?
"Well, if you're so worried about me, then why don't you come up here and make sure I stay out of trouble?" Nancy smirked.
That was how Barb found herself in Steve Harrington's bedroom.
"Oh my God! My eyes!" Barb exclaimed.
"Barb!" Nancy exclaimed.
"It's a crime! Plaid on plaid and then, of course, there's the sad little picture of that car," Barb said. "Who decorates their room like this?"
"My mother," Steve said as he entered. "Yeah, she has terrible taste. I didn't have the heart to tell her at first that it was awful. My dad tells her things like that all the time just make her feel bad, and I didn't want to do that. She figured it out, though, and I tried to insist that it wasn't that bad. I put up that car picture to try and pull the room together. I was trying desperately to make my mom feel good about herself, but all it did was make it look more sad. We both thought it was so utterly ridiculous, and we ended up laughing so hard. . .so I don't keep it up because I think it looks good, it's just. . ."
"You keep it up because you love your mother," Nancy said.
"Yeah, Steve Harrington is a mama's boy," Steve said.
"I think it's actually sweet now that I know the story behind it," Barb said. "Sorry."
"Nah, your intention wasn't to make me feel bad," Steve shrugged. "And it is shocking the first time you see it."
Damn it, Barb cursed mentally. She was starting to like this guy.
"It's not too bad," Barb said, and he smiled.
"Here. I found you some clothes," Steve said and handed them to Nancy. "I'll leave you to it."
Barb recognized the look in Nancy's eyes. She had seen it many times when they had sleepovers, and she wanted to forgo their pajamas completely.
"Steve," Nancy called out.
Yep, there she goes. Steve turned and ran his hands through his hair. Okay, that was kind of cute. Wait, cute? She didn't find him cute, did she? No, she was strictly into girls, wasn't she? Suddenly, Nancy was taking off her shirt. Steve looked pleasantly surprised at the turn of events and he smiled.
"You're beautiful," Steve said and then looked at Barb. "What's happening here?"
"Well, Barb is here to make sure I don't get into trouble," Nancy said, smirking. "To look out for me. . .be my guardian."
"Well, she's a very good friend," Steve said smiling, and he moved closer to them.
"She is. . .we do everything together, but if you're not okay with that - " Nancy said.
"Oh, I'm definitely okay with that," Steve said.
Steve kissed Nancy. He was a lot more gentle than Barb thought he would be. Every touch said that he didn't want to hurt Nancy. A warm feeling began to stir within Barb as Steve kissed Nancy gently. He broke the kiss, and he turned to Barb, raising a questioning eyebrow at her.
"Barb?" Nancy asked.
"Well, I guess we really do everything together," Barb said with a sigh, and then she kissed Steve.
She could feel Steve smiling against her lips, and a giggle slipped out at what she had said. Okay, yeah, she liked kissing Steve. Almost as much as she liked kissing Nancy. Maybe it didn't matter to her what was on the outside, maybe it was what on the inside that sparked her attraction. It wasn't until that tidbit about his mother that Barb started to feel something. Barb cupped the back of Steve's head and deepened the kiss and loved the way that Steve kissed her back just as softly as he did with Nancy. He wanted to make sure that they were both safe and comfortable. Steve broke the kiss.
"If you guys want to stop this at any time, I would be happy to just hang out," Steve said.
"That's sweet, Steve," Barb said. "But we definitely want to do this. Right, Nance?"
"Definitely," Nancy said.
Nancy took off Barb's glasses and set them on the nightstand. She moved to the to the other side of Steve. Together, Nancy and Barb peeled off Steve's sweater, dropping it to the floor. Barb took off her jacket and sweater, dropping them amongst their clothes.
"I hope you don't mind - ," Barb said shyly.
"You're beautiful, too," Steve said, and he kissed her before stepping back to let Nancy in.
"Of course, you're beautiful," Nancy said, and she kissed Barb.
"Well, I already know that you don't mind," Barb said, rolling her eyes affectionately. "Just making sure that Steve doesn't."
"Oh, so, you've already been together. . .?" Steve asked.
"Well, not all the way," Nancy said.
"To be honest, I've never done it with two other people at the same time," Steve said, bashfully.
"Really?" Nancy and Barb asked.
"Why are you so surprised?" Steve scoffed. "Because I've slept with a few women?"
"I'm sorry," Nancy said.
"I kind of assumed Tommy and Carol," Barb said, sheepishly.
"Well, I mean, they tried," Steve said and he screwed up his face. "I heard what they're like when they have sex. No thank you."
Barb giggled. He was just as judgmental as she was. As hard as she tried not to be, she could be a little catty.
"So, I guess this is the first for all of us," Barb said.
Steve was just as gentle with them when he was kissing them. Nancy and Barb couldn't help but share a look when Steve wanted to hold both of their hands. It was proven to be true that he thought they were both beautiful when they shed all of their clothing, and his eyes were just as dark when he looked at either one of them. Everything had fallen out of her head. All she could think about was Steve and Nancy. Barb had even forgotten to mention something to Steve. Oh, right.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that Nancy likes to - "
"OW!"
" - bite."
"Do it again."
It had started out awkward at first but once they found a rhythm, it felt beautiful to Barb to do this with both of them. Barb could tell that Steve was trying to hold off a long as possible but judging by the noise he made and the feeling between her legs, he had finished. He had satisfied them both pretty well, but Barb wasn't surprised when Steve rolled out of bed to clean himself off and throw away the condom and Nancy climbed on top of her. Nancy had kissed her harshly before sliding between her legs with her own, pressing herself up against her. She knew how randy Nancy could get. Even after all of that, she always wanted more. She loved being overstimulated.
When Steve came back, he had a rag and a couple of bottles of water. He got to watch them go all the way with each other, and Barb made eye contact with him when Nancy rolled off her, collapsing onto the bed. At some point, he had slipped his boxers back on. Steve climbed into the bed and cleaned them both off before offering them both a bottle of water. Nancy slipped on a sweater of Steve’s, kissed him, and went to the bathroom. Right, you were supposed to use the bathroom after you had sex? Barb had been a little too fucked out to think clearly but she remembered that much. Barb pulled on her sweater and underwear, hurrying after Nancy to do the same.
"How are you feeling?" Steve asked after they crawled back into bed.
"We feel really good," Barb said. "You didn't hurt us at all."
"Well, not in a bad way, anyway," Nancy smiled.
"I'm tired, but my brain feels like it's on fire at the same time," Barb said. "I'm glad I decided not to sit outside and pout while Nancy had all the fun."
"I'm glad you didn't either," Steve said and kissed her cheek, resting his head on her shoulder.
"So, what did you mean when you said that Tommy and Carol tried?" Barb asked.
"Well, they attempted to seduce me, but they had a video camera, so I don't think their intentions were all that pure," Steve said. "I turned them down."
"You know, you seem nicer than I thought you'd be. I think I assumed you would be an asshole because of Tommy and Carol," Barb said. "Why do you hang out with them?"
"I'm curious to know myself," Nancy said.
"Well, Tommy didn't used to be so bad, not until Carol came along. He was my friend since I was eight, and I just hope that at some point, he will turn back to the Tommy that I used to know. I just can't seem to walk away from that," Steve said, and he paused, cursing. "Oh my God! I'm my mom!"
"What?" Nancy asked.
"No, my mom definitely deserves better, and she knows that, but she can't seem to walk away from my asshole of a father," Steve said, and then he scoffed. "I'm a kid that wants his parents to get a divorced."
"You're not alone with that," Nancy said as she ran her hand through his hair. "I want my parents to get divorced, too. I love them both, but I think they're just holding onto something that's never been there."
"I'm sorry," Steve said.
"I'm sorry, too," Nancy said.
"You know, my father expects a lot from me. He wants what's best for the image on his family, not what's best for me. It's the complete opposite of my mother," Steve sighed. "I'm tired of trying to be perfect all the time."
"Maybe you don't have to be with us," Barb said. "What do you say, Nancy? Should we keep him?"
"Oh, definitely," Nancy said.
"You know, now that you belong to us," Barb said, and Steve smirked. "Whatever decision you make about Tommy and Carol, we'll support it even if it's the stupid decision to stay with them."
"Thanks," Steve said fondly.
Nancy pushed him back, kissed him, and curled up against him. Barb laid down, kissed him as well, and threw an arm over the both of them.
"We should probably call our parents and tell them we're spending the night at each other's houses," Barb said.
"Oh, right, good idea!" Nancy exclaimed.
After calling their parents, they crawled back into bed and started to drift off to sleep.
BANG!
"What the hell was that?" Steve asked, sitting up.
"It sounded like it came from outside," Nancy said.
Barb, who was closer to the window, rolled out of bed and looked out onto the pool in the backyard. There was a rather large, deformed looking animal banging out the lawn chairs by the pool. It was sniffing rather frantically as though it was looking for something.
"What the fuck is that?" Barb gasped and grabbed her glasses, putting them on. "FUCK!"
Steve and Nancy rushed to the window. The deformed looking animal looked up, revealing that it didn't have a face. It wasn't an animal that Barb had ever seen before. Steve and Nancy gasped as it's face opened up, revealing several rows of teeth.
"Shit!" Steve exclaimed.
The monster rolled out its tongue and started lapping up something on the concrete.
"What's it doing?" Nancy whispered.
That was where Barb had been standing when she sliced her thumb with the knife. She glanced down at her hand.
"Licking my blood," Barb said. "It's hungry."
The monster stopped what it was doing and sniffed the air. Its head snapped in their direction, almost as if it heard Barb. She quickly yanked them both down under the window and grabbed their hands in hers. The only sound they could hear was their own shaky breathing. It seemed like forever had passed but really it had only been minutes when they heard a loud splashing sound and a screech. Nancy peered over the windowsill.
"Nance!" Barb hissed.
"It fell into the pool," Nancy whispered. "It doesn't not like it. It's burning its skin. It must be the chlorine. It's out, it's running away."
There was a pregnant pause as Steve and Barb looked out the window with Nancy.
"It's gone," Steve whispered. "Yeah, I'm not fucking sleeping tonight."
"Me neither," Barb and Nancy said.
Barb struggled to find anything to say or to think about other than the monster. There was one fact that Barb couldn't get out of her head, and it was the stupidest thing in the world to think about.
"If I had been out there, it would have gotten me," Barb breathed out shakily.
"But it didn't, you're here," Nancy said and squeezing her hand.
"Fucking you and Steve saved my life," Barb said.
She looked at Steve and together, they burst into laughter. Nancy eventually followed suite.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Nancy exclaimed.
"I know, but it's true!" Barb giggled.
Once the laughter died down, the horror of what just happened continued to hover over them. They said that they wouldn't fall asleep but the three of them ended up falling asleep, curled up on the floor.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Barb, Steve, and Nancy woke up with a jolt to the sound of Steve’s alarm clock. They jumped up, ready to fight. Barb groaned and rubbed her back.
"Yeah, falling asleep on the floor was a terrible accident," Barb said.
"Did that really happen last night?" Steve asked as he rubbed Barb's back.
"Yes, you did get to see the amazing secrets that I hold underneath my sweater," Barb said.
"No, not that," Steve snorted. "No. . .I mean. . .the monster. . . "
"Yeah," Barb said softly. "That was real."
"Well, going to the police seems stupid. I doubt they would believe us about what we saw," Nancy said.
"Okay, but shouldn't we tell someone?" Barb asked.
"Who would we tell?" Steve asked.
"I think our only option is to go to school and just act like nothing is wrong until we can come up with a plan," Nancy said. "We need proof."
Barb dropped Nancy off at home and then back to hers so they could get ready. The image of the monster floated into her head, and she couldn't get the fact that she could have died out it. Somehow, at the same time, she was also wondering where she stood with Steve and Nancy. Everything changed that night. Nancy and Barb could no longer deny that there was something between them. They always played it off as practicing but now that they went all the way with each other and also with Steve. Does that mean that Steve is her boyfriend and Nancy was her girlfriend? She couldn't help but giggle at the thought. She always figured that she would never have a boyfriend but now, maybe, she did. It was Steve Harrington of all people.
"Hey," Nancy said shyly as she slid into her car.
After getting ready, she went to pick Nancy up again. The car ride was silent until Nancy told her to stop.
"Nancy, what - "
She was cut off by Nancy kissing her. Barb was surprised for a moment, but she eagerly kissed her back. God, she wanted to pull her into her lap, and just - Nancy pulled away with a gasp.
"I just wanted to make sure that no one saw us," Nancy said.
Barb smiled at her as she took her hand and drove off. They ended up parking behind Eddie Munson's van, and a few minutes later, Steve found them. He made sure no one was watching before popping his head through the window to give Barb a kiss and then Nancy before letting them get out of the car. Steve shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I ditched Tommy and Carol," he said.
"Really?" Barb asked.
"Well, life is too short for me to be dragged down by those two idiots. I found something better for me, I think," Steve said. "Honestly, after what happened last night, it seems dumb to worry about popularity and all that when there's a monster out there."
"Well, it's good you got some perspective," Barb said. "And honestly, you're not the only one who's ever worried about that shit. There was a small part of me who wished that some of those people would acknowledge me a little."
"Really?" Steve and Nancy asked.
"Don't be so surprised," Barb said. "Come on, I don't want to be late for class."
"Great, and during lunch, we can talk about what to do about the monster with a flower for a head and teeth like a shark," Steve said. "Can't believe those words came out of my mouth."
"Well, it hates chlorine. That's one thing we know about it," Barb said.
As the three of them walked away, a confused Eddie Munson popped his head out of his van.
"Did Steve Harrington give up his crown to play D&D?" Eddie asked. "What the fuck kind of monster is he talking about? No, no, I'm hearing things again."
It was a tame sort of day compared to last night. It was still sort of an out of body experience to be hanging out with Steve knowing what they did. It made Barb blush when Steve and Nancy thought about it, too, sending her soft, knowing smiles her way. Tommy and Carol were petty bitches, trying to get under their skin all day but they ignored them. . .for the most part.
"So, Wheeler," Tommy said, slamming his hands onto the cafeteria table. "What is your ideal of a perfect date?"
"Watching you get hit by a bus," Nancy said.
Barb and Steve nearly choked on their milk. They cleared their throats, looking amused as Tommy's face started to turn different shades of red. Carol glared at her.
"How pathetic - ," Tommy started to say.
"I don't know, Tommy, how pathetic are you?" Barb asked. "I mean, I assume that's what you were going to say considering that you are being pathetic."
"You little - "
"Don't you finish that sentence," Nancy glared at him.
"You think you're so much better than us, but considering how easy it was to spread your legs for Stevie here last night, you're not really," Carol told Nancy.
"At least we actually like Steve. Do you even like spending time with him or listening to anything he has to say, or do you just like what he does for your image?" Barbara asked. "You can't stand on your own, so you use Steve like a crutch."
"Steve doesn't need you, but you need Steve," Nancy said. "And now that Steve doesn't want anything to do with you, you think that you can come over here and try to fuck with us until we leave."
"Well, we're not fucking leaving so find someone else's ass to bury your nose in," Barb said.
"Whatever," Tommy said. "Stevie-boy, running away like a fucking coward like always. You can't even stand up for yourself. You have to have these ugly bitches to protect you. You're not going to find anything better than us, and when you eventually get bored with them, we're not going to be here to save your sorry ass."
"They're better than you'll ever be, and if you think I'm ashamed of them fighting for me, then you're as stupid as you look. I know what it's like for people to really have your back, to care. . .one day, you're going to wake up and realize that you've cared about all the wrong things. You're going to look even more pathetic and stupid than you do right now. You'll be as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside. You'll look in the mirror and realize that you had your chance but you fucked it up. I'm tired of waiting for you to be the old Tommy that I used to know, the one who actually gave a damn. Being friends with these two, I have better odds at not hating myself in the future than you do. What are your odds, Tommy?" Steve snapped.
Tommy scowled at him, his face bright red, and angry tears filled his eyes. He didn't have anything else left to say, so he stormed off, dragging Carol with him.
"That was hot," Barb said.
"That really was," Nancy agreed.
They nudged their feet with Steve’s and he smiled at them.
"You two weren't so bad yourselves," Steve grinned, and the smile slipped from his face. "I don't really feel like going to the game this afternoon. I don't know if I can go home either knowing what might be waiting for me."
"Well, maybe we can go over to my house this evening. My brother could use some company. And if you're scared of going home, maybe Mom will let me keep you in my basement," Nancy joked.
"I always did like the idea of being a kept man," Steve said.
"Eddie Munson is staring at you," Barb said.
"Probably wondering how I got so lucky with you two," Steve said with a charming smile.
"No need to strain yourself, Steve," Barb teased. "You've got us."
They moved on to discussing what they were going to do about the monster and whether or not it wasn't just a shared delusion between them. It was decided that it wasn't. The rest of the day moved rather quickly, still without a plan for the creature that haunted all of them. When the end of the day came, they moved sluggishly out into the parking lot. All three of them were exhausted from not getting much sleep last night. They almost didn't notice Nicole approaching them.
"Nancy, Barb, I'm so glad I found you," Nicole said. "I want you to know, first off, that I'm not going to say anything. I have a cousin who's like that, and I would never say a word."
"What are you talking about?" Nancy asked.
"Were you aware that Jonathan Byers was at your house last night?" Nicole asked Steve.
"What? No," Steve said.
"Well, I went into the dark room, and Jonathan was developing photos of your house. You and Tommy were in the pool with Carol and Nancy. Then there was a picture taken of your bedroom. Nancy was taking off her shirt, and so was Barb. You were kissing."
Barb felt her stomach plummet. Her worst nightmare and Nancy's. Well, one of them, anyway. Fuck. Normally, she wouldn't care about what others think, but this was different. If this got out, it could be dangerous for her and Nancy.
"Son of a bitch!" Steve yelled and then he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thanks for telling us, Nicole."
Barb turned to Nancy, who was quiet, her eyes downcast as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was clearly uncomfortable by the thought of what Jonathan did and Barb hated him for it.
"Yeah, thank you, Nicole. We'll take care of it," Barb said.
Nicole smiled sympathetically at Nancy and walked away.
"You know how many times I defended Jonathan to Tommy whenever they had something shitty to say about Jonathan and his family?" Steve asked, his jaw clenched.
"Yeah, I figured that out when you told Tommy off yesterday when he was saying all that shit about his missing brother," Barb said and then muttered, "I thought he was a nice guy."
"Okay, one problem at a time!" Nancy exclaimed, and then she paused. "Wait, the photos. . . What else do you think he got a picture of?"
"I don't know. . .Tommy and Carol going at it in my parents' bed?" Steve asked.
"No, think again," Nancy said.
"The monster!" Barb and Steve gasped.
"Let's go find the creep," Nancy said.
It didn't long to find him making his way to his car. He looked startled to see all three of them together.
"Where are the pictures you took last night?" Nancy asked, her arms still crossed.
Barb knew how much Steve wanted to step in. She wanted to as well, but she felt like Nancy needed to handle this herself. She took his hand, squeezing it affectionately. God, his hands were huge. Suddenly, she recalled the way they squeezed her thighs last night. Right, focus.
"What photos?" Jonathan asked, his face turning a paler shade of white.
"You know exactly what photos that I am talking about, asshole," Nancy spat.
Nancy had that fire still inside her from earlier, and she was using it now.
"I didn't - " Jonathan stuttered as he held his bag closer to him.
Before Jonathan knew it, Nancy had yanked the bag from him. She rifled through it and pulled out the photos victoriously. Nancy shoved the bag at him and started looking through the pictures. Barb peered over her should and paled at the sight of herself shirtless as she kissed Nancy. Now, she was uncomfortable. She felt Steve squeeze her hand.
"I - I was looking for my brother," Jonathan stuttered.
"No, this is called stalking," Steve said, looking at him in disbelief.
"I'm sure that it started out like that," Barb scoffed at Jonathan.
"Do you know how stupid it was that you developed these on school property? I mean, you could have locked the fucking door or something?!" Nancy asked furiously. "What would have happened if this had gotten out?"
Barb suddenly realized what Nancy was doing. She was protecting Barb this time instead of the other way around.
"I didn't think about that," Jonathan said.
"Clearly," Nancy scoffed.
"I just thought it was a good picture," he said meekly. "There was this girl who was trying to be someone else."
"That's bullshit!" Nancy and Barb exclaimed.
"You know, I thought that once, too. I thought Nancy was trying to be someone she wasn't. I realized that I was wrong. The simple fact is that she wanted to sleep with Steve, and eventually, I realized that I wanted to as well. I realized how exciting it was to explore a side of yourself that you didn't know was there. There's nothing artistic about the pictures that you took. You fucked up so you're trying to say anything to make you feel better about what you did. Steve didn't make us do anything that we didn't want to," Barb said. "I thought you were the kind of guy who would never do something like this."
"I'm sorry," Jonathan said.
"Well, I'm taking these photos," Nancy said and paused before snatching his camera as well. "I'm also taking this, and I will think about giving it back to you when I feel like you earned it."
"You want me to write an essay, too?" Jonathan scoffed.
"Come to think, yeah, you definitely should," Barb said. "Write until your fingers bleed. I want an in-depth analysis of why you thought it was okay to do that. . .I mean, after you find your brother safe and sound because I do get that you're going through something."
The three of them walked back to Barb's car with the camera and the photos in Nancy's hand.
"God, I wanted to smash his camera," Steve said.
"Yeah, so did I. Do you think he understands how close he came to outing us?" Barb asked.
"I mean, he did out us, but thankfully, Nicole is a decent person," Nancy said. "And I kind of wanted to smash it, too."
"Do you think we should tell him we're probably not going to bring the photos to the police?" Barb asked. "His mother has been through enough."
"Nah, let him sweat and think we are," Steve said grinning.
"Thank you for letting us handle that," Nancy said to Steve.
"Well, I thought about what Barb said about supporting my decision with Tommy and Carol. . .thought maybe I should do the same," Steve said, blushing.
"Oh, you're cute," Barb said.
"Yeah, how cute am I?" Steve asked.
"Get in the car, and I'll show you how cute I think you are," Barb said.
"Really?" Nancy asked, smiling at the two of them.
"Totally your fault, Nance, you showed me a new side of myself, and I like it," Barb said. "I like Steve."
"I like you, too," Steve said.
"Okay, well, let's focus on the photos," Nancy said and slapped the photo on the hood of Barb's car. "We got our proof."
There, in the photo, was the monster sniffing around the lawn chairs. It was hard to tell from the photo that Jonathan clearly accidentally took, but it was there.
"So, now, what?" Steve asked.
"Go home, and come up with a plan," Nancy said.
They jumped when they heard someone approaching them, and they whirled around, covering the photo. It was just Eddie Munson.
"We're not doing anything illegal!" Steve blurted out.
"Right," Eddie grinned. "I'm not a cop, you know."
"Obviously," Steve scoffed.
"Or maybe I am. Might be an undercover cop," Eddie said, twirling his keys in his hand. "Might have to arrest you on suspicion alone."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Steve replied. "And I might have believed that if I didn't remember you from middle school and just so you know, I'm really good at getting myself out of cuffs."
"Yeah, I bet you are, big boy," Eddie said, winking, got into his van, and drove off.
Barb and Nancy looked at Steve, scoffing.
"Really?"
"What?" Steve asked.
"Flirting with someone else right in front of us," Barb said.
"Classy, Steve," Nancy said.
"What? No! He means nothing to me!" Steve exclaimed. "And I didn't even know I was flirting with him! . . . You guys are messing with me, aren't you?"
Nancy and Barb giggled as they got into her car.
"Classy!"
Steve pulled up behind Barb in Nancy's driveway and followed after them into the house. Mrs. Wheeler greeted them at the door, chasing after Holly.
"Oh, hey, Barb, does your parents know you're here?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.
"I let them know before we left school," Barb said.
"And who is this?" Karen asked.
"Larry!" Holly exclaimed, hugging her leg.
"Oh, honey, I'm sure he came with his own name," Karen said. "He's not a stray cat."
"I'm Steve Harrington," he smiled. "But Holly can call me whatever she wants to."
"Larry!" She yelled. "I like your hair."
"I like yours, too," Steve said.
Holly giggled and ran off towards her room.
"Steve, is it?" Mrs. Wheeler asked. "Hm, that name sounds familiar."
"I'm sorry, mom," Nancy said. "I totally lied to you. Steve is my boyfriend. We just started dating, I didn't want to freak him out by introducing him to you so soon."
"You've got amazing daughters, Mrs. Wheeler," Steve said. "And Nancy's been treating me really great. Very respectful. I like her a lot."
"We like her too," Mrs. Wheeler said. "Well, sometimes."
"Mom!" Nancy exclaimed.
"Nancy, you didn't tell me your mom was so funny!" Steve laughed.
"She likes to think she is," Nancy muttered.
"No, Mrs. Wheeler is definitely hilarious," Barb said.
"Thank you, Barbara," Mrs. Wheeler said.
"They offered to help me study, I'm having difficulty in Chemistry," Steve said.
"Oh, well, you definitely came to the right people," Mrs. Wheeler said. "Do your parents know where you are?"
"Well, uh, my parents are out of town," Steve said. "I couldn't get a hold of them earlier."
"And is anyone staying with you?" Mrs. Wheeler asked with a frown.
"Just me," Steve said.
"Give me their number, I'll call them," Mrs. Wheeler said. "I'll also call Claudia Henderson and see if she'll be happy to take you in. I'm sure she will be."
Barb knew that look. It was the same determined look that Nancy had. She tried not to laugh when Steve immediately gave her the number. Nancy rolled her eyes at Steve's dumbfounded look before dragging them upstairs.
"What is she going to say to parents?" Steve asked.
"You probably don't want to know," Barb replied.
Steve threw himself onto Nancy's bed and grabbed the teddy bear on her bed, holding it to his chest.
"You really like that bear," Nancy said as she closed her door.
"It reminds me of the one I used to have. My grandfather gave it to me," Steve said.
"You don't have it anymore?" Barb asked.
"Nah, my dad gave it away because he said I was too old for it," Steve said.
"The more I hear about your dad. . .," Barb trailed off.
"The more you want to smash his camera?" Steve asked and Barb laughed.
She crawled onto the bed and leaned her back against the headboard. She pulled Steve to her chest and Steve sighed happily as he snuggled into her. Nancy laid down next to Barb.
"Okay, what's our plan?" Nancy asked.
"I don't know, I can't really think right now," Steve said. "I'm suddenly very sleepy."
"Well, we didn't get very much sleep last night," Barb smirked.
"We definitely didn't," Steve said.
"We have to come up with a plan, there's a monster out there," Nancy said. "We need to keep ourselves awake."
"I thought I was a lesbian," Barb said. "Until last night. Kind of thought Nancy was too."
"I thought I was too," Nancy giggled.
"Maybe we are lesbians but we're also stevesexual," Barb said.
"Oh, you're definitely stevesexual," Steve replied.
"That is NOT a word," Nancy laughed.
"Newsflash, Nance, all words are made up," Barb replied. "Lesbians existed before the word existed."
"You're definitely tired, Barbara," Nancy replied.
"No, no, she's onto something. I mean, you can call yourself anything," Steve said.
"I could call myself a pineapple if I wanted to," Barb teased.
"You can't!" Nancy giggled.
"Why the hell not?" Barb asked.
"Because I hate pineapples and I definitely don't hate you," she said.
"Hm, I guess I can't call myself a pineapple," Barb said and kissed Nancy. "I guess I only care about what's on the inside."
"Me too," Nancy said.
"You both have sexy hearts," Barb said, yawning.
"Yeah, we definitely need a nap," Nancy said.
"A real nap?" Steve asked.
"Yeah, a real nap, Steven."
When they woke up, it was dark outside, and Nancy's bedroom door was wide open. Mrs. Wheeler had been in here. The three of them wandered downstairs to find Mrs. Wheeler standing in the entryway, hugging Mike as he cried.
"Mom? Did they find Will?" Nancy asked and Mike's sobs grew louder.
The next morning was a somber affair, and the three of them stood in the parking lot before school once again.
"I had hoped that they wouldn't have found him like that," Barb said.
"Yeah, me too," Steve said.
"I should have stayed, but Mike insisted that he was fine and that I should go to school," Nancy said. "I feel weird being here knowing how upset he is."
"Well, you want to skip, and we can go check on him?" Steve asked.
"That's a sweet offer, but I want to respect his space, too," Nancy said. "He'll come to me if he needs me. I let him know that I'll be there for him when he's ready."
"I never know what to say in situations like this. Everything feels like it's - " Steve started to say.
"Like it's not enough?" Barb asked.
"Yeah," Nancy said.
"Didn't your dad offer to do the same thing?" Barb asked.
"He did, according to mom. He's still dad," Nancy smiled.
"What does that mean?" Steve asked.
"Lately, he's been stuck in his chair and a lot more lethargic. I'm worried that he might have a tumor or something," Nancy said.
"Or maybe he's having a hard time at work," Barb suggested.
"Maybe," Nancy sighed. "So this monster. . .I'm starting to think that it might have something to do with Will's disappearance. I know they said he fell into the quarry, and maybe he did. . .or maybe he was chased into the quarry by something."
"Like the monster, you mean?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Nancy said.
"Yeah, I can see that," Steve said. "I don't see us approaching Will's mom about this so. . ."
"That leaves Jonathan," Barb said, rolling her eyes. "This is so going to be so awkward. So, Steve, how was it staying with the Hendersons?"
"Well, Claudia is amazing. Dustin's a little shit but somehow, at the same time, it's endearing," Steve said, his face scrunched up in confusion.
"Congratulations, Steve, you just got yourself a bouncing baby brother," Nancy said. "It's both wonderful and stressful at the same time. You're going to love it."
When they did find Jonathan, he was picking out caskets for his brother. So, yeah, it's very awkward. She still hated him for what he did, but she was a big enough person to also feel sympathy for the situation that he was in. They pulled him into the entryway where Nancy showed him a picture of the monster.
"I thought my mom was crazy," Jonathan said. "She kept going on about a monster without a face, a monster in the walls, and I - I didn't believe her."
"You didn't know," Nancy said softly.
"All three of you saw it?" Jonathan asked.
"Yeah, it was definitely gunning for Barb's blood," Steve said.
"Well, that's disturbing," Jonathan said.
Barb bit back a retort. He would know what's disturbing, wouldn't he?
"Okay, so, what do we do? Do we tell someone or try to kill it ourselves?" Barb asked.
"How would we kill it?" Jonathan asked. "We don't have anything. I mean, my dad has a Smith & Wesson."
"Well, we know Chlorine hurts the fucker. Fire generally kills most things," Barb said.
"I don't know if I can do this right now," Jonathan muttered.
"Well, that's understandable," Nancy said. "We can figure it out later."
"Do you mind - ?" Jonathan asked.
"Of course. Just let us know if you need anything," Nancy said.
"Thanks," Jonathan said. "I can do this by myself."
Nancy squeezed his arm and exited the funeral home with her partners.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Steve said to Nancy. "Even after everything he's done, you're still willing to help him."
"It's nothing," Nancy said, bashfully.
"You're a bigger person than I am," Barb grinned. "You and that sexy heart of yours."
"Okay, so, after the funeral tomorrow we gather the supplies and we hunt this fucker down," Nancy said. "Hopefully, we can get the gun from Jonathan."
"You're really determined to take this monster down," Barb said.
"It came after my brother's friend, and then it tried to come after you," Nancy said. "I want to kill it."
"I love you," Barb said.
The next day, Barb was getting dressed for Will's funeral when her mother entered her bedroom.
"So, you and Nancy have been hanging out with Steve Harrington lately," her mother said.
"Where are you going with this, mom?" Barb asked.
"Well, you've complained a lot about him in the past," she said.
"Turns out Tommy and Carol were the assholes," Barb said. "I made a snap judgment of him. He wasn't who I thought he was. . .in a good way, though."
"Well, we all sort of do it," she said.
"He dumped his supposed friends for us," Barb beamed.
"Well, I'm glad," she said.
"Okay, mom, what's this all about?" Barb asked.
"You know you can talk to us about anything, right?" She asked. "We'll always love you, no matter what. I'm not trying to push you into talking about anything. I just want you to know we're here for you whenever you're ready."
"Okay, mom, what do you know?" Barb asked.
"What? Me? I don't know anything," she said innocently.
"Mom! Do you know about me, Steve, and Nancy?" Barb asked.
"Oh, well, yes," She said.
"It's only been like three days!" Barb exclaimed.
"And you were very obvious, dear," she said. "With the way you talked about them. We've known about you and Nancy even longer, and we were alright with it. I mean, we figured you girls would share everything, although we never expected an entire person."
"So, what? Like half a person, then?" Barb asked sarcastically.
"Barbara!" She chuckled.
"Why are you saying this now?" Barb asked.
"Well, we wanted to wait and give you time to come to us on your own, but with Will dying. . .you never know how much time you have left with your children. We both wanted you to feel accepted," She said.
"Oh, mommy," she said softly. "I love you so much. . .where's dad?"
"I promised myself I wouldn't cry!" Her father's voice floated in from the hallway.
"He started crying before we even came in here," she said. "He loves you so much."
"This was supposed to be all about you, I did not want to make it about myself again!" Her father sobbed.
"Daddy, get in here!" Barb laughed.
Her father shuffled in, his face red from crying. She smiled and hugged her father tightly. God, she had the best parents in the world. Her mother clapped and quickly joined the hug. She shouldn't be this happy going to a funeral, especially for a kid. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of the Steve and Nancy. She quickly made herself look sad, though, as she stood beside them. She looked at Joyce and Jonathan. God, they looked so heartbroken. . .so lost. Joyce was glaring at the casket as if she didn't believe what was in there. Maybe it wasn't Will. Maybe somehow he was still alive somewhere, maybe it was a fake body lying in that coffin. Barb wanted it to he true for Joyce's sake.
"I want to kill it," Jonathan said.
They had gathered together after the funeral to talk about what they were going to do. Nancy had brought a map to look to track where the monster might be going.
"Are you sure?" Nancy asked.
"Yes," Jonathan said.
"What about your mom?" Barb asked.
"I'll tell her after this thing is dead," Jonathan said.
After the funeral, they all got dressed and ran off to gather more supplies. Jonathan had managed to steal his father's gun, but they still needed a bigger arsenal. Nancy managed to bring her bat from home, and Barb managed to swipe a couple of knives from her mother's collection.
"Your mother likes knives?" Steve asked Barb.
"Oh, yeah," Nancy laughed. "It's impressive, actually."
"So, you better not break my heart or Nancy's," Barb whispered.
"Noted," Steve laughed, and they moved through the aisle. "So, why aren't we telling an adult about this again?"
"My mom's not in the right headspace," Jonathan said.
"Are you in the right headspace?" Steve asked.
"I have to be," Jonathan said.
"Hm, I've had Dustin Henderson as a sort of brother for like five seconds, but I think I'd kill for him," Steve said. "I don't what it's like to have a brother, though I've always wanted one. I can imagine that it must be nice."
"How come you don't have a brother?" Jonathan asked.
"I asked my dad that once when I was like eight, and he said my gigantic head ruined my mother for him," Steve said.
"Jesus," Jonathan said.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not that big," Steve said.
"I'm talking about your dad. What an asshole," Jonathan said.
"Yeah, I never got why she's still with him," Steve said.
"Never really understood why my mom stayed with my dad for so long either," Jonathan said. "She's always said that sometimes good things come out of bad situations."
"Like you and your brother?" Steve asked.
"Oh, yeah, I guess she was talking about us," Jonathan said.
Barbara smiled at them, glad that Steve was making a better friend in Jonathan who actually seemed genuinely sorry that he took those photos. Still, he had a lot to prove. Once they got to the counter, the guy there looked at them funny.
"What are you guys planning to do with all this?" He asked.
"Monster hunting," Nancy replied.
Luckily, the guy thought it was a joke. . .or he really didn't want to know. Either way, they managed to get out of there without any more questions and quickly loaded it in the back of Steve’s car.
"It's weird. Just a few days ago, Barb and I were shopping to find a sweater that I thought that Steve would like," Nancy said.
"Really?" Steve asked.
"Oh, I told her that you probably wouldn't care," Barb said.
"Anything purple or pink, really," Steve said, and they looked at him. "It just seems like it's your favorite color. You like beam more when you wear them."
"Blue's one of my favorites, too," Nancy replied.
"So, what's the weirdest part about all of this? The monster hunting or hanging out with me?" Jonathan asked.
"Oh, definitely, you," Nancy, Barb, and Steve all laughed.
Jonathan was about to reply when someone drove by and stuck their head out the window to yell at them.
"Hey, Nance, I can't wait to see your movie!" And they didn't wait for a response.
"What the hell?" Steve asked.
They followed Nancy to the Hawk. Spray painted on the theater under "All the Right Moves" were the words written in spray paint: starring Nancy "the slut" Wheeler.
"Oh, someone's going to be dead," Barb scowled. "Or at least they wish they were."
They followed the sound of spray paints and laughter to the alleyway beside the theater. Of course, it was Tommy and Carol.
"Hey, assholes!" Steve yelled.
Things did not get better after that. Nancy slapped Tommy, Tommy said words to both Jonathan and Steve while Barb yelled at Carol for words she said about Nancy. Jonathan had thrown the first punch at Tommy, who swung back and knocked him on his ass before turning on Steve. He had Steve on the ground, who fought well, but Tommy fought harder. He kept hitting Steve even when Steve could barely get a word in. Nancy and Barb screamed, trying to get Tommy off of Steve. Jonathan managed to get back up and pulled Tommy off of Steve. He hit him and kept hitting him until Tommy was the one on his back. Jonathan didn't even notice that the cops had shown up, and he accidentally hit one. That's how they all ended up at the police station.
"Steve, are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Barb asked as she held ice to his eye.
"I'm fine, really," Steve said. "I just want to make sure that Jonathan doesn't go to jail."
"Thanks, man, but you don't have to do that," Jonathan said.
"Nah, I'm good," Steve said. "Really."
"That lady doesn't know what she's talking about," Nancy told Jonathan as she did the same with his eye.
"Yeah, you punched the douche because he was insulting your family," Steve said, and then he frowned. "I wonder if that would have been me, you know, if things hadn't changed, you know, if I hadn't walked away from them. . ."
"You can't think of the what ifs, Steve," Barb said. "They'll eat you alive, but you would have gotten there eventually, and you wouldn't have been nearly as cruel as Tommy."
"I do have to admit that you're a good guy," Jonathan mumbled.
"Coming from Jonathan Byers, that's a compliment," Steve smiled. "I think, anyway. . .you're not entirely bad yourself."
"I really am sorry about the photos, you know, and my reaction to taking them. . .there's really no excuse," Jonathan said.
"Well, you really proved yourself back there," Nancy said.
"You totally did," Barb said.
"Saved my ass, man," Steve said.
"Does that mean that I'll get my camera back?" He asked.
"You still have an essay to write," Nancy said.
"You're serious about that?" He asked.
"Oh, yeah," Barb and Nancy said, giggling.
"Why is my son in cuffs?!" They heard Joyce Byers yell. "Take them off!"
"He assaulted a police officer, ma'am," Callahan said.
"Take them off! Now!" Joyce yelled at them, Chief Hopper coming in behind her.
"You heard her, take them off," Hopper said.
Callahan sighed and took the cuffs off of Jonathan.
"There's something you should see, Chief," Powell said.
Barb shared a look with the others. Shit, they were going to look in the trunk. Powell led Hopper outside, and a moment later, they came back, looking even more serious.
"Care to explain why you have all of that?" Hopper asked Jonathan.
"You won't believe us," he said.
"Why don't you give us a try?" Hopper asked.
Barb, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan squeezed into the chief's office, away from prying eyes. Hopper was looking at the photo of the monster.
"And this thing is drawn to blood?" Hopper asked.
"Well, that's the theory," Nancy said. "Not really a theory, I guess, because it smelled Barb's blood and tried to go after her. It would have, too, if it hadn't fallen into the pool."
"And if I hadn't been hanging out with Steve and Nancy inside," Barb said.
"Is this the only photo?" Hopper asked.
"The only photo of the monster," Nancy replied as she shoved Jonathan's camera and the other photos into her bag.
"Why does Nancy have your camera?" Joyce asked.
"I'm letting her borrow it for a school project," Jonathan said, blushing, and Joyce looked at him doubtfully.
"Let's go talk in the hallway," Joyce said and pulled him out of the room.
"You do realize that it was unbelievable dangerous to try and go after this thing by yourselves?" Hopper asked.
"Yeah, we always knew that, but it didn't seem like anyone was trying to stop this thing, and honestly, I wanted to get it before it got me or anyone else I cared about," Barb said.
"I definitely wasn't going to let it get Barb," Nancy said.
"Me neither. . .also, there is no way that I was going to be able to sleep in that empty house with that thing on the loose," Steve said.
"Empty? Where are your parents?" Hopper asked.
"Oh, out of town," Steve said.
"Did they say when they'll be back?" He asked.
"I don't know. That kind of depends on whether my dad cheats on my mom again," Steve said. "If he does, they usually stay longer."
"Are you expecting a call from them anytime soon?" Hopper asked.
"When they can remember to, they'll call, so no," Steve said, and Hopper clenched his fists. "Did I say something wrong?"
Hopper sighed, unclenched his fists, and squeezed Steve’s shoulders gently.
"No, kid, you didn't," Hopper said.
"We should definitely make you staying with Claudia a permanent thing," Nancy said.
"I'm definitely going to look into that," Hopper said.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on the monster?" Steve asked, blushing.
It wasn't hard to figure out that the girl with the powers that Joyce and Hopper had been looking for was with Nancy's brother and his friends. When they showed up to Nancy's house, there were tons of vans parked out front and people in suits searching the place. Nancy moved towards her house, but Barb and Steve grabbed her hands.
"That's my house!" Nancy exclaimed.
"They haven't found him yet," Steve said.
"That's true. Look, Nance," Barb said, pointing at the helicopters. "They're still looking for him.
"They're right," Hopper said.
"All that's for Mike?" Nancy asked, stunned.
"Do you have any idea where they might go?" Joyce asked them.
"No," Jonathan said. "But I know how we might find out."
Barb and Nancy went with Steve in his car while Jonathan went off with his parents. Jonathan might as well call Hopper his dad, Barb thought. Jonathan looked at Hopper like he was the first man who came through for him in his entire life, and he was doing it all to help his family. It was a shock when they showed up to the Byer home to find it a complete mess with a hole in the wall and Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. Joyce had been really desperate to find her son. Not that Barb had blamed her, considering the lengths that Nancy was going to in order to keep her safe. They managed to make contact with the kids, and the rest of them stayed behind while Hopper went to pick up the kids. When they finally returned, night had fallen. Barb watched with a smile as Nancy ran out to greet her brother.
"Steve!" Dustin exclaimed and ran to him, hugging him as tightly as Nancy hugged Mike.
"Looks like someone made an impression," Barb teased Steve and then turned to Dustin. "And if you're lucky, you might get to keep him."
"Cool! I always wanted an older brother! What happened to your face?" Dustin asked.
"My former friend Tommy didn't like that I started hanging out with people who are cooler than he is," Steve said.
"What a mouth breather," Dustin scowled.
"You said it," Steve grinned and placed his hand on his head. "Glad you're okay."
They all moved into the house where the boys explained to them about the Upside Down and how El was able to get a glimpse into the other world with her powers. It angered Barb to no end that this girl had been raised in a lab her entire life and experimented on. That was the only life she had ever known, and she had been taken from her mother in order to be turned into a weapon. As a babysitter and a human being, she couldn't understand how people could do that. . .use children as a weapon for their own cruel reasons. The difference here, with them using El, was that they made sure El knew what she was getting into and that it was her choice to do this. It was how they ended up at the middle school, preparing a homemade deprivation tank for El's power.
"It's crazy what you kids went through," Steve said to Mike as he went with him, Nancy, and Barb to grab the hoses. "I would have been terrified. How high does your IQ have to be to have outrun those suits?"
"It was a group effort," Mike shrugged.
"No, you're definitely smart," Barb said. "But you also got lucky like we did. We could have definitely used you on our team."
Barb could feel Nancy smiling at both her and Steve. She just wanted to let Mike know that he should probably contact them next time without telling out right that he needed a babysitter.
"I thought you hated Steve, Barb," Mike said.
"Well, I just didn't know him," Barb said. "Plus, there's nothing like a nine foot tall monster with a flower face to really bring you together."
And there really wasn't. Oh, she wished Mike wasn't looking so she could kiss both Steve and Nancy. Nancy picked up a rock and smashed open the lock to the shed. Using a wheelbarrow, they pushed the hoses up back to the school.
"So, do you like El now?" Nancy asked.
"What?! Ew! No, gross!" Mike scowled and Steve laughed. "Do you like Jonathan now?"
"What?! No! We-I'm dating Steve," Nancy said.
Barb shared an amused smile with Steve. It was going to come out eventually, but maybe now wasn't the best time. Barb knew how much Nancy cared about Mike and his friends. They had spent many occasions babysitting them together. She remembered when Nancy had dressed up for their D&D game once. She had remembered it so vividly because she remembered the way Mike's eyes shined when his big sister, whom he looked up to, did that for him. Mike and Nancy were so different but also so alike in so many ways. Barb could see that Steve was starting to pick up on the fact that Nancy cared about these kids. She could see it in Steve's eyes: the admiration for the drive and the compassion that Nancy had. The fact that he could also see that she wasn't perfect either and that she tried to be. In that aspect, Nancy and Steve were alike. Barb couldn't help but watch Steve look at Nancy so fondly.
"Do I have something on my face?" Steve asked, and she glanced away for a moment.
"Skin, moles," Barb replied. "Lots of moles."
"Haha, hilarious," Steve said.
"You're good," Barb smiled.
Steve smiled and brushed his shoulder against hers, letting their fingers touch for a moment. They walked back into the gym and helped set up the tank. Barb sat down in between Steve and Nancy, watching as El was lowered down into the pool. Barb squeezed both of their hands as they awaited to see what El found. She hoped they found that little boy, and Barb chose to focus on that rather than the fact it could have been her in there as well. The lights flickered as El continued to search for the boy and even more so when she found him alive, but barely hanging on. It was a rush for Chief Hopper and Joyce to run off towards the lab to enter the gate through the Upside Down. Jonathan had tried to go with them, but Joyce had pleaded with them to stay.
Barb had wandered back into the gym to find the kids huddled up together on the bleachers. Barb smiled at the sight of El resting her head on Mike's shoulder while Lucas patted her back, making sure the towel was secure around her shoulders, while Dustin reached over to squeeze her knee. It looked like El was going to get to some great friends out of this and maybe even a family, too. Judging by the way that Hopper and Joyce had guided her, Barb had a feeling that they were somehow going to end up as El's parents. She wandered over to them.
"How are you guys holding up?" Barb asked.
"You are Barbara," El said.
"Yeah, but you can call me Barb," she replied.
"Barb," she said, and then she pointed at herself. "El."
"I know, it was pretty cool what you did back there. You did a very good thing even though you didn't have to," Barb said.
"I had to," El said.
"Nancy said the demogorgon almost came after you," Mike said.
"Well, I cut my hand, and I guess some of it dropped by the pool," Barb frowned. "It was drawn by that tiny drop. I'm just thankful it fell in the pool."
"And that you were hanging out with Steve and Nancy. What were you guys doing, anyway?" Mike asked.
"Oh, you know, speaking of Steve and Nancy. I, uh, I'm going to see what they're doing," Barb said, blushing. "I'll be back."
Bullet dodged. Hopefully, they'll forget that question when she gets back. She wandered towards the entrance of the gym, where she found Nancy talking with Jonathan and Steve.
"What did I miss?" Barb asked.
"Nancy wants to finish off the demogorgon," Steve replied.
"It needs to die. Even if we can't kill it, we can at least distract it so it doesn't go after Hopper and Joyce in the Upside Down," Nancy replied.
"Yeah, okay, but what about the kids? They can't stay here by themselves. Those assholes could come back for them at any time," Steve said.
"Well, it's Jonathan's house, so maybe I should go with Jonathan and Steve if you want to stay here with the kids. . .yeah, they definitely need someone looking out for them," Nancy said.
"And Steve will need help looking after the kids. I'll stay here," Barb said.
"Are you sure?" Nancy asked.
"About as sure as you are about killing this thing," Barb said.
"It came after you, Barbara, I'm not going to let it do it again," Nancy said.
Barb smiled and kissed her. Nancy smiled against her lips and wrapped her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss. Barb pulled her in closer, her hands gripping Nancy's waist. She tried not to cry and tried not to think that this might be their last kiss. They pulled away, and Nancy leaned her forehead against Barb's for a moment before pulling her out of her arms. They gave Steve the baseball bat and the box of nails with a hammer.
"We got more and another bat in the trunk. Go nuts," Jonathan said.
Steve grinned and nodded at him. Nancy moved in front of him.
"Be careful, look after each other," Nancy said.
"You, too," Steve said.
Nancy kissed him as desperately as she kissed Barb, and Steve nearly dropped the stuff in his arms. He managed to kiss her back. Nancy pulled away before climbing into the car with Jonathan. Barb stood next to Steve as they watched him drive away. Barb turned to him.
"It was really great that you were worried about the kids," Barb said.
"Well, they shouldn't have to go through this alone," Steve said.
Barb studied him. She imagined a young Steve home by himself, wondering when his parents would remember to call. . .wondering when they would decide to be there for him.
"No, they shouldn't," Barb said.
She took the stuff out of his arms and set them on the floor. She grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him just as deeply as she kissed Nancy. Steve pulled back and pressed his forehead against Barb's.
"She's going to be okay," Steve said.
"I know," Barb whispered.
"Oh my god! You guys really do share everything!" They heard Mike yell, and they both laughed.
Barb ushered Mike inside with the other kids. Steve immediately went to work hammering in the nails in the bat. The kids had crowded around Steve, watching him work. Steve held up the bat when he was finished.
"What do you think?" Steve asked.
"Awesome!" Lucas, Mike, and Dustin exclaimed.
"Yeah, awesome," El breathed.
Steve moved away from them, twirled the bat, and started practicing his swinging. He started doing all sorts of things with it. He dove, he dodged, and weaved as though he was fighting off an invisible force. The kids clapped and cheered when he rolled across the gym floor, jumping up to swing the bat like the demogorgon was there. Steve came to a stop, leaned on his bat, and winked at Barb. She rolled her eyes, smiling. He was clearly showing off for the kids.
"I'm not impressed," Barb teased. "You're such a dork."
"What? No, Barb! That was totally cool!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Don't you think Steve’s a douchebag?" Mike asked Lucas.
"Not anymore," Lucas said.
"Anyone could do that," Mike rolled his eyes.
"Bullshit, Mike! You couldn't do that!" Dustin exclaimed. "Just admit that it was cool. He's a total paladin."
"Okay, I'd admit that it was cool, but I'm not going to call him a paladin," Mike said.
"You guys are hilarious," Steve said. "Definitely a lot cooler than I am."
The kids ended up dragging Steve and Barb into the cafeteria to pilfer the pudding the lunch lady had been hoarding.
"You're not going to tell on us?" Dustin asked Barb.
"Why would I?" Barb asked as she swiped a pudding cup. "If we're going to die, might as well die with pudding in our stomachs."
"That's the spirit," Dustin grinned. "I keep telling Mike you're the coolest babysitter ever. He's such a pessimist."
"Nancy can be a little pessimist herself," Barb smiled.
"Steve, if you really want to learn how to be a really cool babysitter, Barb knows," Dustin said and walked off.
"Did you hear that? You're a really cool babysitter," Steve said bumping her hip with his.
"You're not so bad yourself. You'll get there with a little help," Barb grinned.
They had only a moment of peace before the assholes from the lab found them. They dropped the pudding cups, and Barb led the kids down the hallway with Steve behind them all. She had her knives out, prepared to stab anyone in case they decided to come after the kids. Steve had his trusty bat in his hands. They got as far as they could, but the bad men had them covered on either side of the hallway. They had guns. Barb and Steve stood on either side of the kids, back to back practically. A woman moved forward and Barb didn't hestitate to take a slice off that bitch. The woman didn't hesitate to pistol whip Barb, knocking her glasses off of her face.
"Barb!" Steve hollered.
El moved forward, focusing on the agents, and the lights flickered over head. Blood trickled from El's nose at the same time that blood started pouring the bad mens' eyes, noses, and mouths. Their necks snapped at the same time, and they fell to the ground in unison. Head still ringing, Barb quickly picked up her glasses and put them back on her face as El collapsed.
"El!" Barb exclaimed and moved to her side.
That's when he showed up. A man with white hair who was tall and very forboding. A chill shot down Barb's back at the sight of him. He was just as terrifying as the demogorgon. Steve rushed to Barb's side but was grabbed and held by an agent at the same time that Barb was grabbed by another one. They fought hard against their grips as they took Barb's knives and held Steve's bat. Barb noted with a smile that one of their leg's was bleeding heavily. Steve had gotten one of them with the bat. The white-haired man approached El and cradled her in his arms.
"Papa," El muttered.
"Let her go, you son of a bitch! She's not your property. She's a human being, and she doesn't deserve to be treated ~," Barb started to say but was pistol whipped again.
"Don't you fucking hurt her!" Steve yelled and he was given the same treatment.
Barb could feel blood drip down from her forehead as Steve spat blood from his mouth. She yelled and yanked her head backward, butting the person in the face with it. He yelled, letting go of one of her arms, and she elbowed him in the stomach, making him let go of her other arm. She pulled the knives out of his belt and thrust it into his neck. He dropped to the ground just as another agent tried to grab for her but he froze when they all heard a loud growling sound. The agents let the kids and Steve go to pull out their guns. The white haired guy dropped El as the demogorgon appeared.
"Oh, shit," Steve yelled and grabbed his bat. "RUN!"
Steve hit the strange man in the leg and picked up El before he could, handing off the bat to Barb, who took it gladly. The kids took off ahead of them, and they ran into an empty classroom, slamming the door behind them to hide. Barb stood protectively in front of the kids and Steve as the demogorgon caught up with them. El wiggled out of Steve's arms and moved towards the monster, Mike screaming her name. She held out her hand and pushed the monster back with her powers, slamming it into the chalkboard. They watched as El destroyed the monster along with herself, nothing left behind but dark ash. Mike stood there, stunned as he looked at the disfigured chalkboard.
"Mike," Barb said softly as she stood up.
Mike threw himself into her arms, crying. El was dead, but so was the monster. Barb held Mike tightly, pressing her cheek into his hair as his entire body shook with sobs. Steve tentively walked up beside her, Dustin curled up against his side, and he placed a hand on Mike's shoulder. Lucas patted Mike on the back, sniffling as well.
"Physically. . . is everyone okay?" Steve asked.
"Better than you and Barb," Lucas said.
They moved through the school, making their way past the dead, bloody bodies, and out into the fresh air. Barb held Mike to her side, gripping Steve's bat in her hand. They weren't sure who had called them, but the ambulances and the cops had shown up pretty quickly. It wasn't long before their parents had shown up. . .well, everyone except Steve's.
"Barbara!" her mother shrieked. "Oh, look at you!"
Her parents hugged her tightly as Mike's parents did the same with him. Barb couldn't explain to her parents what had happened. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to explain anything except for the fact that Steve had helped save their lives.
"Barb! Where's Nancy?!" Karen asked and she snapped out of it.
"Jonathan's house," Barb replied.
"Dusty!" she could recognize Claudia Henderson's shriek from anywhere and then: "Steve!"
To Steve's surprise, Claudia had pulled him into a hug along with Dustin. Barb smirked. It looked like Steve was going to have a family that he always secretly wished he had. Barb frowned. That should be El, too, with Hopper and the Byers. . .did they find Will?
LATER. . .IN THE HOSPITAL. . .
Barb and the others met everyone there, including Nancy. Barb had pulled Nancy into a hug along with Steve while Jonathan stood off to the side.
"Hey! You, too! You're not getting out of this," Steve said to Jonathan.
"Me?" Jonathan asked.
Barb laughed as Steve rolled his eyes before pulling Jonathan into the group hug. Joyce laughed at the look on her son's face.
"The doctors are looking over Will now. It's probably going to be a while, so if you guys want to go home. . ." Joyce said.
"Nonsense, Joyce," Karen said. "We'll be here as long as you need us."
Nancy quickly pulled Steve, Jonathan, and Barb off to the side.
"Barb. . .your eye and forehead. . ." Nancy whispered.
"Oh, I totally killed that guy," Barb said.
"Yeah, no, she really killed him," Steve said, nodding at the look on Nancy's face.
"In other news, Mom's letting me keep her knives," Barb said.
"You totally pull them off," Steve muttered.
"And so, El is for sure. . ." Nancy trailed off.
"Yeah," Barb said, glancing at Mike. "It was awful."
"Poor Mike, she was the first girl he liked, I can't imagine watching that," Nancy said.
"He's going to need a lot of help," Steve said.
"Yeah," Jonathan said as they all looked at the kids. "We all are. . .uh, if you don't mind, I'm going to wait with my mom."
"Well, we'll be here," Barb said.
"Does this - does this mean we're friends?" Jonathan asked.
Barb studied him for a moment. She could see it in his eyes, how desperately he was trying to hide the hope he was feeling.
"Yeah, it does," Barb said.
"All of us," Steve said.
"We're still expecting that essay," Nancy said, her eyes twinkling.
"Whenever you're ready," Barb said.
Jonathan walked over to his mother and sat down next to her, holding her hand. Barb, Nancy, and Steve sat in the corner of the waiting room near Nancy's parents. Nancy and Barb leaned as close to Steve as possible, discreetly brushing their pinkies up against Steve’s. Barb glanced over at Nancy, who was resting her head on Steve’s shoulder. It's crazy how things changed. . . It was crazy how that image would have annoyed her, but now all it did was give her warm fuzzy feelings in her stomach. . .
SUMMER OF '84
Barb was sprawled out in Jonathan's room, Steve between her legs with his back to her chest, and his head tucked underneath her head. Nancy was holding his hand while Barb stroked his nose with her finger. It was a complete accident that they discovered that you could calm Steve Harrington down if you just stroked his nose. It also helped to look at the blanket that hung on Jonathan's wall. Something to do with the colors. Steve was peculiar, as it turns out, like they were. Jonathan walked into the room and handed him a glass of water.
"You know, my mom did these breathing exercises when she was giving birth to Will, if you need help with your own delivery," Jonathan said in amusement.
"Shut up, Byers," Steve said as he took a drink of water.
"With your legs spred like that, it does look like you're giving birth," Barb said with a giggle.
"Nancy, tell our girlfriend that she's supposed to be helping me," Steve said.
"Sorry," Nancy said.
"Some friends you are," Steve said and smiled. "I don't even know why I'm freaking out. My parents are getting divorced so, what?! I mean, this is what I wanted, right?"
"Well, change can be scary even if it's what you wanted," Nancy said. "I mean, you must have been scared when you finally dumped Tommy and Carol."
"That's true," Jonathan said. "I mean, even though I wanted Lonnie gone and out of the house, it wasn't like he was totally useless. He did bring some things to the table, and it was scary that we were being left with this vaccum that we didn't know how to fill. We did manage to find a way to work around it, though."
"I just don't want what I have now to disappear, you know. I want to keep living with Claudia and Dustin," Steve said.
"Does your mom seem like the kind of person to take you away from them?" Nancy asked.
"No, in fact, she likes coming over now, and it's totally weird having her around all the time," Steve said. "And I guess I just don't want to get my hopes up that she'll stay."
"Well, it's not crazy to worry about that either," Nancy said. "I'm sure it's an adjustment."
"I'm sure it's going to work out and if your mom does try to take you away, we'll just kidnap you and bring you back," Barb said.
"Aw, you'll break the law for me?" Steve said.
"I think all of us would," Nancy said.
"Tommy and Carol never would have broken the law for me," Steve said.
"Their loss is our gain," Barb said.
Barb actually liked him like this, just utterly and completely melting into their arms. No one but them knew what Steve Harrington was really like, not even Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins. Steve wanted to be soft and small. He never really wanted the attention. He just didn't want to be alone. Jonathan was similar, but he had pushed people away rather than surround himself by the wrong people. He had his graded essay hung up on the wall to remind himself what kind of person, of what kind of photogropher that he wanted to be along with pictures of his new friends.
"I guess I don't have anything to worry about," Steve said. "Thanks for letting me freak out. Tommy would have just told me to stop being a crybaby."
"You really like reminding us that we're better for you than Tommy and Carol, huh?" Nancy teased.
"Oh, yeah," Steve said. "You all are."
"Well, you've been there enough of all of our freak outs," Jonathan said. "We've promised to be there for each other so. . .we're here."
"Oh, speaking of my mother coming over all the time," Steve said. "She's also been talking to Claudia a lot."
"Well, we figured," Nancy said. "So, what did Claudia say to make Maggie realize she should have probably divorced that jackass a long time ago?"
"Maybe it was Claudia," Barb said. "Or maybe it was the fact that she had come home and realized that her son had moved out?"
"Maybe it was both," Steve said. "Anyway, Dustin told me that he saw something the other night that made him think that there might be something between my mom and his."
"Oh, that would be perfect," Nancy gasped. "You both would get two wonderful mothers, and maybe your mom would move in there!"
"It would be great, wouldn't it?" Steve asked.
"So, what was it that Dustin saw exactly?" Barb asked as she wrapped her arms around Steve.
"Well, he said it was the way they looked at each other," Steve said. "I think he just wants to have two mothers."
"And to keep his favorite brother around," Barb said.
"Maybe," Steve grinned. "So, right before school ended, I overheard a couple of jocks whispering about Eddie Munson. Apparently, it's a possibility that Higgins blackmailed Munson into dropping out, and that's why the jocks have been out for him as well as Hellfire."
"Well, apparently, he failed because Eddie's coming back next year," Jonathan said.
"Really?" Nancy asked. "And how do you know that?"
"I just know," Jonathan blushed.
"It has nothing to do with the weed that fell out of your bag earlier?" Steve asked.
"Okay, so maybe Eddie's been selling me weed, and we've been talking," Jonathan said.
"So, you're friends?" Nancy asked.
"He defended my brother against some mouthbreathers and took a baseball that was meant for him," Jonathan said, his face turning a deeper red.
"Oh, so, you want to be more than friends," Barb teased.
"I mean, maybe, he is cute," Jonathan said.
"And it definitely doesn't hurt that he stuck up for your brother," Steve said.
"It's a huge plus," he said.
"Well, it sounds like Higgins has it out for your boyfriend," Steve said.
"We should definitely do something about that," Nancy said.
"Ooh, does this sound like a case for the monster hunting squad?" Barb asked.
"Ooh, I love Nancy Drew," Steve said. "It's perfect. Jonathan and Nancy are already on the paper. Maybe we should join, too, Barb?"
"And what would you do on the paper?" Barb teased.
"Hey, I could learn to be a sports writer," Steve said.
"That's true," Barb said thoughtfully.
"That could work," Nancy said. "Especially, when you start asking questions in the locker room."
Nancy got up and grabbed a journal off of Jonathan's desk. She plopped down in between Steve's leg and leaned against his chest.
"Alright. . .let's get to work, we have a mystery to solve. . ."
Whenever I hear the word platonic now anywhere outside of Stranger Things, little tiny Robin and Steve start running around in my head.
Modern AU.
Steve is a bit clueless about social media. He had been on it for a few years but realized it was detrimental for his mental health and went on a much needed cleanse. And besides, he would get anything truly important from Robin, and anything not so important from Dustin.
And really, Dustin is the one blamed for this whole mess. It started with a clock sounding app that Steve kind of brushed off until it was everywhere. TikTok.
He didn’t download it because he heard several rants from Robin about how she swore she was going to spend ten minutes on it before suddenly realizing hours had passed. And Steve felt glad that that wasn’t him.
But soon enough, TikTok would get a little too involved in Steve’s life.
See, unbeknownst to him, Steve was getting a little famous on the app because of Dustin Henderson. The kid had posted some video of Steve giving him a lecture about the importance of calling and texting when he gets home that had gone a bit viral.
And it wasn’t because people were agreeing with what Steve was saying. They just thought he was hot.
And Dustin thought it wouldn’t hurt if Steve just… didn’t really know about the small fame he was racking up. He worked from home anyways, and he didn’t go out in public too much to be recognized. So Dustin kept up with the videos until Steve noticed one day that his phone was pointed at him.
“I’m just saying… Dude, are you filming me?”
In the video, the phone is put down and the screen goes black before some muffled arguing is heard in the background and the phone is picked up, showing Dustin shrieking while being held back. The camera flips to reveal Steve staring at it confused. “What the hell? Is this that Tiktok app you’re talking about?”
The video cuts itself off after reaching the time limit Dustin had set. But Steve is still confused and presses on a bit about it until Dustin confesses he has a bit of a fan following. Steve is now way more than confused until Dustin shows him all the videos and comments.
Of course, that leads to another lecture that has Dustin willingly admitting to being in the wrong. But Steve, as always, gives in a little and tells the kid that if he wants to keep filming then it’s fine, “But don’t post that video.”
“I won’t. I won’t. Jeez,” Dustin promises before going to his drafts and uploading the video.
And Steve thinks that maybe that’ll be the end to it. Maybe the people won’t like him now that he’s noticed the camera.
And that is definitely not the case.
The video goes very viral because not only does it show Steve closer up, but Eddie Munson, the up and coming artist, comments on it “👀”.
And fans kind of blow up over the comment, and they beg Dustin to ask him what he thinks of Eddie and his music. Of course, Dustin is more than willingly to comply.
He goes over to Steve’s and starts filming as Steve is putting the finishing touches on a homemade pizza, so he’s a bit distracted to notice. Dustin asks Alexa to play one of Eddie’s older song that’s been climbing the charts as Eddie’s name has become more well known. Steve kind of smiles and sings the words under his breath.
“So, Steve, you like this song?”
Steve rolls his eyes as he slides the pizza into the oven replying, “You know it’s my favorite.” Then he turns to Dustin and gives him a look before saying, “I told you, if you’re filming you have to tell me-”
The video cuts off and is posted with the caption @ eddiethefreakmunson this is for you.
And Steve goes on with his life without knowing anything about the way the internet is blowing up when Eddie comments, “Please tell me he’s single.”
And Dustin, being as sneaky and subtle as he can, brings up Eddie Munson that night after seeing the comment that is posted quickly after the post - he even follows Dustin, and it takes all his willpower not to freak out in front of Steve. But Steve just shakes his head and says he has no idea who Eddie is which doesn’t surprise Dustin much. Steve was never one to really look into bands.
Dustin calmly suggests, “So, I was wondering… there’s this like thing on TikTok where people are asking their parents and grandparents to rank celebrities that they don’t know. And I thought it would maybe be cool if we made a video of that.”
Steve looks at him for a few moments and thinks about it. It’s not like anything will happen if he voices his opinions about random famous people, right?
Wrong.
He just kind of shrugs, and Dustin asks to use his phone. Steve hands it over, and Dustin quickly unlocks it.
He sets up his camera and starts recording.
“Hey, you guys know Steve here. He’s agreed to rate some celebrities today, and we’re going to start with Eddie Munson. Steve, did you know that he sings one of your favorite songs?”
Steve eyes the camera uneasily and replies, “No?”
Dustin smiles. “The one I played earlier. Your favorite.”
“Oh,” Steve replies and just shrugs. “I just know it’s by Corroded Coffin or something.”
Dustin grin gets wider. “And have you ever seen a picture of the lead singer from the band?”
Steve looks at the camera again and back at Dustin. “No? But you know this. I’m not really too big on social media.”
“Alright, so can you close your eyes while I pull up a picture of Eddie Munson?”
Steve’s eyes narrow at Dustin. “I really don’t trust you but sure.” He sighs and puts his hands over his eyes not sure how he got here.
He assumes Dustin is talking to the camera as he says, “So, this is the picture I’m going to… Focus. Come on. Damn it-”
“Language,” Steve lectures with his hands still over his eyes.
“See what I have to put up with?” Dustin asks and Steve scoffs. “Oh, finally it’s focused. It’s this picture if you’re wondering.” There’s a bit of a clatter on the table below Steve before Dustin continues, “Now, Steve, you can open your eyes.”
Steve’s hands fall down dramatically as he glares at Dustin. He can see his phone is laying on the table in front of him. “Now was that really neces…” he trails off as he looks down and slowly finishes, “sary… Woah.”
On his phone is a picture of a guy with longer hair, holding a guitar, and grinning at the camera in a genuine way that tugs at Steve’s heart. He realizes Dustin typed the name into Google and just went to images, so he swipes to look at more. He smiles and even laughs at the more ridiculous images with him sticking out his tongue and making little horns with his fingers and even one where he’s completely mid air wiping out on a small stage.
“Steve’s scrolling through all the pictures you find when you search for ‘Eddie Munson’ on Google if you were wondering what he’s looking at.”
The voice snaps Steve back to reality and he slightly startles as he looks at the camera. He feels a blush rise on his face as he asks, “Is it still recording?”
“Yes it is,” Dustin says sounding a little too proud of himself. “And Steve, what would you rate this man on a scale of one to ten?”
Steve glances back down at the picture and smiles. “This is the one who sings my favorite song?”
“Yep!”
Steve looks at the camera and says, “He deserves way more than a scale from one to ten but even then he’s always going to be off the charts.”
“So a ten out of ten.”
Steve scoffs, “An eleven at least.”
“And Steve, one last question.”
He hums in response slightly confused.
“Are you single?”
“Dude, you know I’m single. Why are you asking?”
Dustin smiles. “And that’ll do for this video!” He giggles as he ends it and types up something before posting it.
Steve feels like he’s out of the loop about something, but he’s not sure what. He decides it’s better not to ask. “No more TikTok for the rest of your visit, okay?”
“More than okay,” Dustin says with a smile before launching into the latest drama in his life. Steve settles in and listens while the pizza cooks.
Eddie has already commented, “Marry me?”
-:-:-:-:-:-
The next day, Steve wakes up to his phone blowing up with notifications, but what worries him the most is the twelve missed calls from Robin. He calls her and she immediately answers, “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Eddie Munson?!”
“I’m what?” Steve says groan and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“Your name is everywhere, dingus, talking about how you’re Eddie’s TikTok boyfriend!” Robin yells.
“I thought you offloaded TikTok,” Steve replies confused.
“Oh my gosh, that is not what you should be worried about right now. Stop dodging my question!”
Steve grunts as he gets out of bed and makes his way to his coffeemaker. “Robin, don’t you think if I were dating some famous dude that I would’ve told you, my best friend?”
There’s a huff on the other line. “Well when you put it like that…”
Steve can’t help but laugh.
“Just, these sources are really convincing! Especially with all his comments on Dustin’s TikToks about you.”
Steve freezes. “He’s commented on those?”
“Yeah, dude. It’s all over how he recently commented on all videos that Dustin posted in the past few weeks saying stuff like ‘mine.’ and ‘Gareth is about to steal my phone because I can’t stop gushing over Steve.’ And blah blah blah Steve this Steve that.”
“Who’s Gareth?” Steve can’t help but ask as a bit of jealousy twists in his stomach.
“Oh my god! You cannot be jealous because of a stranger!”
“He’s a hot stranger who sings my favorite song!”
Robin laughs hard on the other line, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I can’t either,” Steve says with a laugh, fully in disbelief about it all. He almost expects Robin to tell him it’s a joke, but he puts her on speaker so he can scroll through his notifications all about Eddie Munson. He takes a deep breath and decides to Google Eddie again except this time one of the top search results is “Eddie Munson and TikTok Steve.” He clicks on it and feels his heart pound at the stupid articles that claim they’ve been dating for years and his “Marry me” comment was an actual marriage proposal.
“Oh, that is not a flattering picture of me,” Steve groans and keeps scrolls. “Shit! Robin, there’s a picture of you and me here!”
“No shit!” Robin shrieks.
Steve looks at the article and laughs, “They think that I’m straight and you’re my girlfriend.”
“No way!” Robin yells laughing. “Life cannot be real right now.”
Steve keeps scrolling until he suddenly closes out of the tab. Life really can’t be real. He takes a moment to settle in it. He’s probably going to be recognized a bit now until this whole thing dies down, and shit, they might try to dig into his personal life. Will this effect his job? His reputation? What are people going to find? Are they going to make crazy shit up about him?
Steve lets out a deep breath and runs his hands over his face. Some of the internet thinks he’s dating Eddie Munson. He scoffs at the idea but thinks about how Eddie has somehow commented on all these videos about him. But maybe he was drunk or something. Robin’s right. He doesn’t know the man.
“I’m in some deep shit, aren’t I?” Steve asks.
“We’re in this together, you know,” Robin replies. Then there’s a clattering sound and some freaking out on the other line.
“Robin?! Are you okay??” Steve yells into the phone.
“Yes! Yes! Sorry. Yes. It’s just…” she takes a deep breath. “Eddie Munson followed me on Instagram. And he messaged me. Oh my god.”
“What does it say?” Steve asks, stomach fluttering with butterflies.
“Holy shit, he wants to know if he can get your number and understands if not, but he can’t find your social media anywhere and now he’s freaking out about asking if you’re straight but then taking it back saying he doesn’t want to out you or anything. And this is actually really funny he just keeps sending stuff, but holy shit Steve! What do I say?”
Steve takes a moment to think about it. If he says no, the whole buzz will kind of die down, and his life might return back to normal. He could get Dustin to delete the videos, and maybe it would bruise Eddie’s ego but maybe the sources would just assume Steve was straight, it was some publicity stunt, or thing just didn’t work out. Everything would go back to normal, and he wouldn’t have to think about Eddie and the way some of his songs have gotten him through shit, or how his smile is easily the most gorgeous thing he’s ever seen.
He takes a deep breath and replies, “Okay. Uh, give him my number.” His eyes widen. This is happening.
Robin replies, “Sent! Oh my god. This is the coolest moment of my entire life.”
There’s a notification from a new number that appears on Steve’s phone soon after that says, hi uh this is Eddie :P
“He texted me,” Steve breathes out and shakily types out Hello, I’m Steve :). “And I replied.”
There’s already the bubbles that appear as Eddie types something else before they disappear and reappear and disappear again before reappearing. A message finally appears.
How do you feel about FaceTime?
Steve stares at the message and says, “Robin, I’m going to have to call you back. I’m about to FaceTime Eddie Munson.”
Life is not real.
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He/She Steve Harrington my beloved ♡ ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧ [ENG/ESP] Personal blog: imgoingtobed | Artblog(?: whatami-chopliver
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