𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥
𝚘𝚛𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚞𝚜!𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝚎𝚞𝚛𝚢𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚎!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 masterlist - read on ao3 - act two - act three
In the devastation that shakes Hawkins following the Hellfire murders, you find yourself alone with nothing but memories and the clothes off your back. Abandoned, you don't expect to find shelter in the form of the Harrington house off Maple Street. You just wanted to survive the quarantine and maybe find your family again once this all passed. Only the fates know what's in store. word count: 4.6k cw: starts where season 4 ends, descriptions of natural disasters, descriptions of abandonment, profanity, mentions of violence, one use of y/n i'm sorry pg-13 content but prefer 18+
it's an old song, it's a sad song, it's a love song — and we're gonna sing it again!
Nancy and Robin used all their force to pull him back from running forward into the glowing red gate. It had already begun to stitch itself closed, sealing your fate. He thrashed in their arms, snapping as he tried to follow, the look of a madman taking over his eyes.
When Steve finally broke free of their hold, he ran down the back patio of the Harrington home. He collapsed to his knees at the edge of the pool as the gate completely disappeared, taking every trace of your location with it. He yelled and thrashed at the water, tears of anger streaming down his face.
He felt a hand rest itself cautiously against his shoulder. Steve whipped his head around, ready to snap, only to find Nancy looking at him sympathetically. From the look in her eyes, he knew that Nancy could sympathize with him more than anyone right now. The scene was too eerily similar to the night that Barbara went missing four years ago.
Steve craned his head to look back at the pool, the memory of you screaming for him ingrained in his mind as he stared out into the water. He realized that he had broken his unspoken promise.
That you were never supposed to get involved.
— — —
When the earthquake shattered Hawkins, the rift tore through your house, splitting your childhood home in two. Your parents had been out, meeting with other concerned parents, while you remained home. The start of your spring break had been exceptionally boring since you were practically on house arrest with the murders that were happening, and you hadn’t heard from your friend Robin in days.
You were watching The Princess Bride in your bedroom when the sirens started. Outside, you saw lightning flash across the night sky, and a red glow illuminated the forest from a distance. The house shook, and in the hall, family portraits and paintings clattered to the floor, leaving shards of glass in their wake. You’d lived through tornado season before, and this was nothing like you had ever been prepared for. Earthquakes seldom struck Indiana, and you felt the tremors grow beneath your feet.
As the red glow became brighter, the rift crawled closer to your home. Time was limited; you snagged your emergency bag and dashed towards the stairs. But you weren’t fast enough because as soon as your foot hit the first step, the entire staircase crumbled down into the searing red rift. You stumbled back down the hall, slicing your palms against the shards of glass as the house continued to shake and cave in on itself.
The flooring split down the hall, allowing the furniture to start sliding down and falling into the gaping earth. You crawled backward, fighting for your life as you used all your strength to pull yourself into the furthest bedroom. As the second floor continued to collapse in on itself, you threw open the window, tossing your backpack down into the hedges before crawling out on the roof. You climbed down the siding of the house in just enough time before the second floor fully collapsed down.
Everything your family had was gone, your home destroyed. Every birthday, every holiday, every memory — gone. The only evidence that your childhood had ever existed now remained in your memories.
A cough racked your body, as you covered your mouth with your elbow to shield yourself from all the dust and ash from the fire. Your eyes followed west to where the rift continued to crawl towards downtown. The adrenaline died as fear clawed itself up out of your throat when you heard an eruption in the distance.
As you stumbled out of your yard and onto the street, you looked around at your neighbor, all just as frightened and confused as you were. The once quiet neighborhood had been replaced by screaming sirens from all directions.
Parents immediately sprang into action, forcefully telling their children to pack a bag. That they needed to leave Hawkins. But you were alone, your parents were downtown, and you didn’t know if they were safe or even alive. There was no home left for you to find shelter in, and your neighbors were too focused on the safety of their family to notice the lonely girl walking down the street.
All you had left was a bookbag with items that hardly provided you any comfort or semblance of a plan. You didn’t know exactly what to do, but you knew that you needed to find a place to seek shelter and find help. Right now, you had to survive the night before you could worry about what came tomorrow.
None of your neighbors or the cars that passed you on the roads offered you assistance or even a curious glance. They were escaping with their loved ones while they could. Why stop for some poor fool wandering the streets?
The wind was cruel and cold, a sharp contrast to the previous sunny day. It whipped through the trees and bit at any exposed skin until it was red and raw. You gripped the straps of your bookbag tighter as you continued to trudge along the treeline, dipping into the woods every time an unfamiliar car passed.
Eventually, the cars became more frequent, and you decided it would be safer to remain hidden in the woods. You could still make out the yellow-and-white-lined road that would lead to your destination. In the small moments of stillness between cars passing, you allowed yourself to find some comfort in the silence.
But the silence made each sound more prevalent. If someone else were in the woods, they would easily identify the rustling of leaves with each of your steps. Maybe that’s why your breath hitched when you heard it.
For the past mile, you had been more heavy-footed, exhaustion settling into your bones. Or at least, you thought that was the case. Until a twig snapped somewhere deeper amongst the trees, and you realized that something had been precisely matching the fall of your feet — a perfect stalker.
You squinted as you looked out to spot what or who was following you. When a chittering growl sounded behind a large maple tree, you reached back into your bag to pull out the emergency flashlight, only to discover it was already on.
There was no time to question why it was on as you directed the light towards the source of the sound. Maybe it was a coyote? But you had never heard such a sound from an animal before.
Your flashlight began to flicker when the low chittering began again. You smacked at the handle, praying that the batteries hadn’t died on you, but the switch was still flipped in the off position. The light went out, and a tall figure emerged from behind the trees.
Everything in your body went still. The creature was too skinny to be a bear and too tall to be human. In the darkness, it looked faceless, and from its stance, it looked ready to strike its prey. You parted your mouth to scream and raised the flashlight, finally flicking the switch into the on position.
The flashlight glowed bright, sending a strong beam of light through the woods that you knew shouldn’t have been possible with such a small bulb. It was blinding, disorienting in the face of danger. You quickly flipped it back off, but the creature was gone, along with any sign that it was ever there.
It took until dawn to reach the high school, where an emergency medical center was already being set up. A volunteer nurse quickly noticed your approach, her sympathetic gaze seeking to comfort you as she asked for your name and age. She asked about your family and where they last were as she guided you over to a cot. The nice older woman, who you soon learned was Mrs. Dunne, cleaned the cuts on your hands.
You remained on that cot for another forty-eight hours, hoping your parents would come find you here. More and more people piled into the high school gymnasium, where you had seen the basketball team win a conference the week prior. As your eyes scanned the missing posters that adorned bulletin boards and saw families reconnect, your hope slowly began to die.
That was until some stopped in front of your cot, calling out your name with shock.
You lifted your head to discover one of your dearest friends, whom you hadn’t heard from in days, “Oh my god, Robin!”
You practically leaped into her arms, hugging your friend tightly. It was good to finally have someone you knew again.
“Holy shit, Robs,” You pulled back, wiping your eyes, “Where the hell have you been?”
“No, where the hell have you been?” Robin looked at you as if she had seen a ghost.
Your brows knit together at her expression, “Um… my house collapsed in the rift, but I was able to escape? I found my way here to seek help.”
Robin’s face softened into something apologetic, “I— wow. I’m really glad that you’re here and that you’re okay, but… what the hell?”
“What the hell is right?” You chuckled, enjoying the small moment of normalcy, “My parents were across town for another Hellfire meeting, and I haven’t seen them since.”
“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Robin squeezed your hands a little tighter, “Your parents called my house yesterday to tell me that the police announced that you were dead after presuming you had fallen into the rift. They said that the house had burned down in the destruction, and that all the locks were fastened. They… they left town this morning because they thought you were dead.”
You tried to make sense of her story and piece it together. Your parents assumed you were dead? Did they not bother to actually look for you? To just believe the assumed story from the police? You were alone, and you didn’t know the first step to finding them again.
You opened your mouth to speak when the sky outside began to gray, making the gym darken. People slowly began pointing at the windows; a few even dared to go outside to see if another tragedy was about to befall the town. One grandmother clutched her grandson, a soft prayer spewing from her lips.
Your eyes fixated on the flecks that fell from the sky. It wasn’t snow — it was ash.
A voice called out to your friend.
“Robin,” Steve Harrington, former asshole and now a friend by proxy, quickly made his presence known. His brown eyes flicked over your frame, offering you a kind smile, “Oh, hey, you’re alive. That’s awesome.”
His words caught you off guard. And by his expression, he seemed amused by his ability to draw a giggle from you, “That’s awesome?”
A lopsided grin painted Steve’s lips at the sound of your laugh. He went to respond, but the growing sound of helicopters swarming into the town drowned him out. Steve immediately refocused on Robin, “We should probably leave and regroup with the others, just in case this is something more. We gotta get Dustin and then swing by the hospital to grab Lucas and Erica.”
Robin nodded but then looked at you. Realization suddenly dawned on the girl that you would be alone again to deal with whatever new storm brewed outside.
The words left her mouth before she could think twice, “We have to bring (Y/N) with us.”
Your head snapped over in surprise at not only her statement, but the firmness of her tone. This wasn’t what you had expected.
Steve gave you an apologetic glance before looking back to his friend, “Robin, we’ll come back, please—”
“Her family skipped town, Steve. No one knows what’s going on, and I refuse to abandon her after all the shit we’ve seen in the past four days.” Robin grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers in solidarity.
You glanced between them in confusion, not quite understanding their words. There wasn’t time for them to explain either at that moment. Robin simply gave Steve a look that conveyed more than you would ever know.
Steve sighed and simply nodded, “Okay, fine, fine. We’ll drop her off at your place—”
“We can’t take her to my place,” Robin quickly cut him off with an apologetic wince.
His brow furrowed, “Why’s that?”
“Because that would involve me seeing my parents, who will likely be determined to keep me at home, and our ragtag team can’t exactly spare a party member right now, so,” Robin shrugged at her languid explanation, “Plus there’s hardly enough room at my house for just my family.”
Steve pursed his lips together as he mulled over her words. Robin was right about her house. The Wheelers had their hands tied with the Byers, and it wouldn’t make sense for you to stay with the Sinclairs or at the Henderson House. So Steve made an executive decision and tried not to think about the consequences that would follow.
He nodded with a sense of finality, “Okay, we drop her off at my house, and then we grab the Sinclairs—”
“Your house?” You finally spoke up, trying to sound appreciative but also wrap your head around everything that was happening.
“Oh, wait, yes! That’s a great idea!” Robin nodded, her head whipping between the two of you. Her attention returned to you as she noticed your nervous fidget, “It’s okay. Steve’s parents also bailed town because they thought he was dead, and his house is huge. Like, you’ll seriously have your selection of rooms, and he has a pool!”
“Robin, let her breathe.” Steve rested a hand on her shoulder, chuckling even though this heaviness weighed over your town. His eyes met yours again, and in the brown iris highlighted with flecks of hazel and gold, you found a sense of security that you needed right now. The corner of his lip tugged into a polite smile as his tone became gentler, “You’re welcome to stay with me. It’s better to be amongst friends than be alone in times like these.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind—”
Robin interrupted, “This isn’t a negotiation. You won’t be a burden. And Steve’s right about sticking together.”
There wasn’t a lot of time to exactly think about the offer, not with the commotion that started to brew again. You didn’t know Steve or the other people Robin had mentioned that well. There were three clear options: stay at the gym, flee Hawkins to find your parents, or go with Robin and Steve. In that short moment, you didn’t think about where your parents were or how long you would be permitted to stay at the school or the Harrington home. You simply thought about how a real bed and shower would feel after being covered in grime and sleeping on a medical cot for two nights.
“I— that would be great,” You finally agreed as you snagged your bookbag off the floor. You pointed towards one of the donation stations, “I just need to grab some clothes, I’ll only be a minute.”
Steve was the first to move, looking to Robin with a nod, “I’ll go find Dustin and start the car. You two grab what we need.”
Before you could even reconsider, Robin held your wrist, tugging you towards the stacks of clothing a volunteer was organizing.
— — —
When Steve pulled into the driveway, he moved swiftly to unlock the front door for you. According to Dustin, they still had to make a pitstop before going to some cabin? And meeting with the others? You were already going to be staying somewhere new, and you were grateful to have it, not wanting to press your luck. So you didn’t ask about who exactly these other people were or why they were in such a rush to leave.
“You can have any bedroom, except the one with the plaid wallpaper,” Steve quickly explained as he escorted you into the Harrington home, “That one’s mine. But seriously, take whatever and just make yourself comfortable. The kitchen has stuff to make peanut butter and jelly, or spaghetti, or whatever you can find. Just… don’t answer the front door until I get home? Not that anything crazy should happen while I’m gone.”
It was a lot of information to absorb at once. But you simply smiled and nodded, entering the house.
He blinked twice, the usual stoic front he showed the world suddenly falling away. Steve’s eyes met yours, warmth filling the dead air. His care and concern were genuine, which both endeared you but made you all the more weary. After all, the entire situation was completely unfathomable, much less seeking shelter with Steve of all people.
“You gonna be okay alone?” He gently asked, his voice a comforting murmur.
“Yeah, yeah,” You shook your head dismissively.
Steve held his focus, searching your face for any sign of worry. He realized that he had really never gotten to know you beyond the pleasantries of sharing a mutual friend. And though you were both alone in this storm, neither of you had to be stranded.
With a heavy breath, Steve released a deep sigh, returning to the front door. Peaking around the foyer, you glanced back at him before he closed the door, “Thank you.”
Steve paused, eyes cutting back to meet yours. He nodded, “Don’t mention it.”
— — —
Hours had passed without a word from Steve or Roor from, nor any of the chilthat the older teens seemed to be friends with. Freshly showered and dressed in some of the donated clothes you picked up earlier, you were just grateful for the small things right now. The house was silent, and you were even afraid to turn on the TV, much less the record player in the living room corner.
Prodding over to the kitchen, you managed to pull together enough ingredients for dinner, making a few extra portions for when the others returned. Once the kitchen was clean again, you settled yourself back in the living room. There was a discarded copy of The Never Ending Story on the coffee table. You remembered seeing that movie with the kids you babysat at the time. Maybe the familiar story would provide you with some temporary comfort.
You managed to make it through the first few chapters before you heard the lock click at the front door. The digital clock on the VCR read 11:03 PM in bright red. You stood as you set the book back onto the coffee table, peaking your head into the foyer.
Steve stood there in silence for a moment, just glancing at his reflection in the entryway mirror. If he knew you were watching, he made no sign of it. You could tell by the way his shoulders sagged that this wasn’t the first time he’d felt so defeated. He ran a hand over his face, trying to wipe off the exhaustion of the previous week. Deep in his chest, Steve knew that things would get worse before they got better, but he didn’t want the weight of the world to show on his face.
You stepped farther into the moonlit hallway in an attempt to make yourself known, only for Robin to stumble through the front door. She gave Steve a reassuring pat on the back before her eyes drifted to where you stood.
“Oh my gosh, did we wake you?” Robin was quick to apologize, “I’m so sorry that we’re back so late and left you alone for hours. But we’re back now!”
Despite her awkward explanation and guilty tone, you simply chuckled in reply, shrugging the concern away, “I’m just… glad to see you made it back in one piece. Both of you…”
Finally, Steve’s eyes find yours from across the room once he realizes that you are talking to both of them. He tosses you a small smile, something soft and grateful.
“I made dinner,” You thumbed back in the direction of the kitchen, averting your attention from Steve, “Just spaghetti, but there’s still plenty left.”
“Hell yes,” Robin applauded and immediately made her way to the kitchen to serve herself.
Steve lingered behind, toeing off his sneakers and locking up the front door for the night. You stayed in the hallway, watching him place his car keys on the hook. He took one final breath, shaking off what remained of the heaviness from the day.
“Shall we?” He nodded towards where he could hear Robin fishing for a serving utensil, an easy smile on his lips.
“Right,” You exhaled, your feet gently padding across the hardwood floors of the home. You could hear Steve following behind.
Robin had perched herself atop one of the marbled countertops with more Parmesan than sauce in her bowl of spaghetti. A smear of sauce already painted the corner of her lips. The scene made you chuckle while Steve simply rolled his eyes, reaching for a bowl of his own.
“So what room did ya end up picking?” Robin casually asked, obviously familiar enough with the layout of the Harrington home.
You perked up at the question, clearing your throat, “Oh, um, the second door on the left. Looked like a guest room anyway.”
“Oh, yeah,” Robin continued to babble. Steve had his back turned to you, but the tension in his shoulders made you aware that he was alert and listening — a practiced trait. Once he portioned his serving, he moved to stand next to Robin, easily inserting himself, “That’s where I usually stay during the few times I’ve stayed the night.”
Robin’s hand rustled the top of Steve’s hair; he responded by elbowing her side. She groaned, “Plus, you’re right across the hall from Stevie.”
“I’m a light sleeper,” Steve easily added as if it were a beneficial fact. You didn’t want to think about the layered meaning of his statement.
In fact, you were ready to turn to lighter conversations when Robin snidely added, “Yeah, Steve will protect you from all the monsters—”
Steve scoffed, “Robin—!”
“Monsters?” You asked, glancing between them.
Robin noted the intrigue and suspicion in her gaze, “Yeah… have you seen any monsters?”
Steve gave the freckled-faced girl a pointed look, “Robin.”
You could so easily say yes. Tell your new confidants about your encounter in the woods after the rift opened. After you saw that faceless creature, and the dread of knowing it had been stalking you for an unknown amount of time. But the way Steve looked at Robin… You had a roof over your head and friends at your side, but that didn’t mean they would believe you. The anxiety of their distrust kept you silent.
Clearing your throat, your eyes refocused on Robin, “Of course not. The world already feels like it's ending — why add in monsters?”
The three of you laughed at the silliness of the conversation. It warmed something in your chest to know that even here at the edge of chaos, you could still come across light in the darkest of times. In the comfort of the kitchen, Robin exchanged stories of how she befriended Steve and explained to Steve about your time together in drama club.
“Can you believe Tammy Thompson actually moved to Nashville?” You chuckled as you leaned into Robin’s side, “She sounds like a muppet!”
“Thank you, thank you!” Steve clapped once in agreement, excitement lighting his cheeks. He nodded at Robin with a smugness that showed that this was a topic of constant discussion between them.
“Oh my god,” the girl released an exaggerated yawn while placing her empty bowl in the sink, “Steve literally reminds me about that all of the time.”
You smiled in Steve’s direction, finding that he was already looking at you with a soft grin of his own. Suddenly, there was a sense of camaraderie between the two of you, and a small realization for yourself. For the past year, the only commonality between you and Steve Harrington had been Robin Buckley. You hadn’t gotten to know him, but just accepted that somehow, someway, Robin had befriended the town’s heartbreaker while scooping ice cream at Starcourt.
From the entryway to the kitchen, Robin bowed, “And since it is your first night at Casa de Harrington, I will relinquish the guest room to you and find respite in the master suite!”
“Why the hell do you have to say it like that?” Steve rolled his eyes at Robin’s antics, though his amusement simmered beneath his stern gaze.
“To annoy you, dingus,” Robin stuck out her tongue as she stomped up the stairs, “G’night!”
A moment of stillness passed where you both silently noted the absence of your common denominator. Robin was no longer a buffer between you both, and maybe you both realized that this arrangement of staying at the Harrington House meant that neither of you could truly live on the edges of each other’s lives anymore. You were the first one to extend the olive branch.
“I’ve never seen her light up so much around anyone else before you,” You softly commented from across the kitchen.
Steve lifted his head, hazel eyes meeting yours. A soft smile twitched at the corner of his lips, “Yeah, I guess she’s alright.”
You giggled at his feigned nonchalance, “It is still strange, I admit. I remember when all the drama girls tried to hatch a plan to convince Steve the Hair Harrington to come see the spring musical of Little Shop of Horrors. Tammy was fully convinced that you’d fall in love with her after watching her performance as Audrey.”
“Oh god,” Steve rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I wouldn’t have been caught dead at a play back then. But now? Hm… Well, I’d like to think that I’ve changed.”
Your fingers drum against the kitchen counter tops, eyes looking anywhere but Steve as you allowed yourself to speak freely, “I didn’t really know you before all of this, but as an outsider to your life, I can tell that you’ve grown into your own person. Maybe you’ve struggled in finding your way, but you show up for your friends, and you show up for yourself, and that’s really all that matters in times like these.”
Steve smiled, and a golden aura surrounded him from the warm kitchen light. But there still remained the unknown and whatever secrets Steve did have. There was an edge to him, something that screamed of danger he had seen, yet survived. And if you couldn’t read it in his face, then it was glaringly obvious from the faint scar around his neck.
But this was not the night for questions. Tonight, you just needed to be grateful for a warm bed and for what friends you had.
Before Steve could speak up again, you shifted to take care of Robin’s dishes in the sink.
“No, no, no,” Steve chuckled as he approached from behind, “I’ll take care of this. You head to bed. Sounds like you’ve had enough excitement.”
“I could say the same for you.” You matched his easy smile. “Besides, the dishes are the least I can do.”
Steve shook his head, smoothly slotting himself to your right side. His larger hand snagged the sponge from your grip, “But you’re my guest…”
You paused, considering the words. But when you met his caring gaze, you realized that Steve would pester you until you agreed to leave the dishes and go to bed.
“Okay,” you nodded, taking a half step back. Your eyes drifted over his frame once more as you moved towards the stairway, “Goodnight, Harrington.”
“Goodnight,” He hummed back, already getting to work as you made your way upstairs.
@cha0ticstranger