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DISCLAIMER: in this story y/n is described as female, however it is up to you what she looks like!
after hawkins, indiana experiences the tragedy of will byers going missing, y/n hopper discovers that there is more to her life than grades and cigarette smoke. there's things she can't escape. things like secret labs, monsters, portals to other dimensions, and worst of all, her best friends boyfriend, steve harrington.
this is a slow burn fan fic that goes throughout all seasons of stranger things. steve and reader do get together eventually, i promise!
you’ll be able to see what season im currently working on/have finished by if the episode titles are there or not for that season!
my masterlist
SEASON ONE:
the vanishing of will byers
the weirdo on maple street
holly, jolly
the body
the flea and the acrobat
the monster
the bathtub
the upside down
SEASON TWO:
madmax
trick or treat, freak
the pollywog
will the wise
dig dug
the spy
the lost sister
the mind flayer
the gate
SEASON THREE:
suzie, do you copy?
the mall rats
the case of the missing lifeguard
the sauna test
the flayed
e pluribus unum
the bite
the battle of starcourt
SEASON FOUR:
the hellfire club
vecna's curse
the monster and the superhero
dear billy
the nina project
the dive
the massacre at hawkins lab
papa
the piggyback
princess byers masterlist (steve harrington x byers!reader)
| DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE. reblogs are fine and appreciated! |
a stranger things rewrite in which...
y/n byers, the princess of hawkins high, has her world flipped upside down in one foul swoop. while dating the most popular guy in her school, steve harrington, she must work through a lot of distress. she juggles her baby brother going missing, her mom balancing on the edge of slightly insane, her other brother picking fights with her boyfriend, and the cherry on top, disgusting, previously un-heard of, monsters lurking in the town. the byers girl doesn't back down, however. not to monsters, not to government officials, and certainly not to her boyfriends awful friends. she'll do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves.
"your family's a disaster, your brother is missing, yet somehow, i'm the one getting yelled at? classic."
"screw you, steve."
"you already did, sweetheart."
my masterlist
season one:
the prologue
1: should i stay or should i go?
2: goodbye barb
3: off with their heads!
4: baby brother
5: ice-capped fire
6: the beginning of the end
7: hurry...
8: patient, for you.
season two:
in progress!
season three:
coming soon!
season four:
coming soon!
season five:
coming soon!
a/n: i am so excited to write this story!! i am planning on it being a full rewrite, and don't worry... steve might seem like a bit of a jerk in this first blurb but he's going to be great. and i know i said to some of you that this wasn't going to come out until after my hopper!reader series is over, but i have been thinking about writing this non-stop, and so i at least wanted to get this idea out there! i am going to start the taglist now, so let me know if you want to join!!
princess byers (steve harrington x byers!reader rewrite)
the prologue! | do not copy or repost. reblogs are fine and appreciated!
2.3k words | summary: in which we learn the history behind y/n byers and how she became the "queen," long before her baby brother goes missing, and her life goes off the rails.
disclaimer: y/n is described as female, and is known to be a byers sibling. it is talked about her being biologically related to all of the byers family members present in the show.
tw: mentions of abuse, pregnancy, bullying, and underage drinking!
a/n: well guys, i just couldn't resist! here is the start of princess byers! this is all background to the canon plotline. i hope you enjoy!!
y/n byers, the first child to joyce and lonnie. a little girl born in 1966 as the result of a loving night, later seen as a mistake by one, and a blessing by the other.
the daughter of two angry parents who communicated in yelling. despite the air being heavy at home when she first entered it, her presence lifted a weight off of her mothers shoulders. she now had someone else to put her energy into, rather than putting it all into fighting with her husband.
when she was just a year old, her new brother was born, jonathan. now, lonnie had a son to care for in the way that joyce had a daughter. rather than doing that, he decided to take his aggression out on him instead.
lonnie byers raised his children to be the picture perfect images of femininity and masculinity. he thought that y/n needed to always wear dresses and bows like a princess, while jonathan needed to learn how to shoot young and be a true man.
but for a while, life was good. the four of them fell into an easy groove. until money got tight - tighter than usual - and joyce found herself pregnant again. of course y/n and jonathan, the best of friends when younger, noticed the nights that their father spent drinking, or the ones he spent hitting their mother.
when will was born, they fell back into peace for a while. but it didn't last long. once lonnie started emotionally abusing his children, bringing drugs into the house, and sneaking off to meet younger girls, joyce had had enough.
his presence was gone before his stuff was gone, and the kids noticed that as well. y/n could remember the night that her mother sat the three of them down to explain where their father went.
she remembered the tears that ran down little will's face, too young to truly understand. the anger on jonathan's. the exhaustion in her mothers eyes. mostly, she remembered the relief she felt that he was gone.
he would come around for birthdays and occasionally on christmas. he would invite them out to visit his new place in the city, to which they wanted to say no, but were too afraid too. eventually, they stopped seeing him enough that his girlfriends stopped knowing about them.
what y/n remembered most of all was how lonely she felt. suddenly, even though it was a mostly unwanted presence, her house felt more empty. this loud person who had always been there was gone. her mom's husband was gone, her dad was gone. luckily she had her brothers.
the only friend she had was because of will. when he befriended mike wheeler on the playground, he started hanging out with him constantly. y/n would throw him on the back of her bike and bring her to the wheeler's so that they could play. that's how she befriended nancy. the perfect representation of how her dad always wanted her to be.
she was nine years old when she went to the wheeler's for the first time, dropping will off before planning to bike to the movie theater.
"okay, will. i'll walk you to the door." she parked her bike on the curb at the wheeler's house, lifting will off of the back of the seat.
she took his hand, leading the five year old boy up the path to the door. when they reached the door, she picked him up so that he could knock.
to the door came eight-year-old nancy wheeler.
"oh, hi. you're y/n, right?" she asked, even though she knew who she was from school.
"yeah, you're nancy." y/n smiled back. "i'm here to drop off my brother, will. he's friends with mike."
"oh, right, my mom said something about him having a friend over today. come in." she widened the door, welcoming the byers' inside. nancy showed y/n and will the way to the basement, where mike was hanging out. y/n made sure to introduce herself to mrs. and mr. wheeler on the way down.
when y/n had made sure that will was situated she turned to nancy.
"well, it was nice to see you, my mom will be here to pick him up once she gets off work." she explained.
"okay." nancy smiled at her.
"hey, i'm going to the movie theater, do you want to come with me?" y/n asked hopefully.
"oh, sure! that sounds fun. i can grab my bike."
and that's how the wheeler girl and the byers girl became the best of friends. along the way, they adopted barbara holland into their small group.
slowly, y/n lost the perfect girl image that her dad had enforced onto her. she still dressed femininely and loved to do girly things, but she didn't feel like it was her only choice anymore. that was, until she got to highschool.
alone.
y/n had to start her first year at hawkins highschool without any friends, since her brother, nancy, and barb were all a year younger.
the first weeks were rough. she was alone, and felt like she was getting laughed at wherever she went in the halls.
until she noticed steve harrington, the so-called king of the freshman class, in line for the throne of the entire school. his effortless look and cool-ness exuded off of him like breath of fresh air. y/n noticed him, not just for his looks, but for how he seemed to carry himself without anything weighing him down. maybe that's why he was so popular. she couldn't help but to notice the style he sported and the friends he kept around. she knew him from middle school, and from beating him in the science fair last year, but they were definitely not friends.
y/n decided they needed to be.
the girl was tired of being lonely, tired of being a joke. the byers family carried a reputation, and she wanted to set it down.
she got home from school one week and emptied her piggy bank. then, she biked to the store, ready to buy a whole new look.
the next day, she got up three hours earlier than normal. she actually put effort into her hair, wore more flattering clothes, and did her makeup in bright colors.
that day at school, she swore people didn't even recognize her. they actually talked to her in class, and not just to get the answers to the homework. maybe looks did matter.
at lunch, she decided to shoot her shot. she grabbed her lunch from the cafeteria line, and made her way over to where king steve and his minions, tommy hagan and carol perkins, sat. she walked over there, pretending like nothing weighed her down, and stood at the end of their table.
the first to notice was carol.
"uh, can we help you?" she mocked, popping her gum.
"mind if i sit?" y/n didn't bother looking at her or tommy, just steve.
he took a second to assess before agreeing. "yeah, uh, sure, go ahead."
after smiling and taking her seat right next to him, she introduced herself.
"i'm y/n." she left off the last name for a minute before adding it. "byers."
"yeah, i know." steve replied.
"really?" she arched a brow.
"you beat me in the science fair thing." steve explained, taking a bite of his food.
"oh, right." she acted as if she didn't remember. "well, i have to say i was pretty hard to beat."
tommy leaned forward. "so, what, you just sit anywhere you want now?"
"did i miss the assigned seating?" y/n leaned forward to meet him.
steve let out a snort, and carol rolled her eyes, smiling slightly, tommy scoffed.
"dude, you're gonna let her talk to me like that?" he asked steve.
"i mean, she's right." he told him.
y/n turned back to steve, saying, "i just thought that if i was supposed to survive this hellhole, i might as well talk to someone who seems to know how to do it."
"and that's me, because?" steve questioned.
"i think you know why." y/n looked down, smiling.
"she means that you're popular." carol joked.
"yeah, that too."
"okay, well, something you need to know is that people talk." steve told her, putting down his fork.
"they already do." y/n crossed her legs nervously.
"then don't let it get to you." he replied.
"i'm working on that part." she smiled wider.
"so, what made you want to sit at my table specifically?" he narrowed his eyes. "because it seems like you've got it figured out."
"well, for one, you didn't flinch when i said my last name." she admitted.
steve just blinked while tommy and carol looked at each other in shock over the interaction.
"well, i guess you picked the right one." steve went back to eating, and they sat in silence for a moment before the four of them fell into natural conversation.
eventually, the bell rang, breaking up the moment. y/n stood quickly, not taking her time to get to class like the other three, before being stopped by steve's words.
"hey, byers?" he called out.
"yeah?" she replied anxiously, never liking when people called her by her last name.
"see you tomorrow." he smiled at her and she nodded turning away. as she walked out, she felt the familiar sense of eyes on her. this time, they were jealous. turns out, sitting with steve harrington can do a lot for your reputation.
the first week of sitting with steve and his friends was easy. tommy and carol mainly warmed up to her, but were still stand offish. then, on friday at lunch, tommy brought up a party.
"steve, you're going to the party at kevin's tonight, right?"
"yeah, are you two going?" he looked up at tommy and carol.
"obviously." carol replied, smirking. "kevin always gets the good stuff."
y/n didn't know what the good stuff was, but she was intrigued.
"y/n, do you want to go?" all eyes turned to her after steve's question.
"oh. uh, yeah, yeah, sure. that sounds fun." she smiled slightly.
"have you ever even been to a party?" tommy belittled.
"i mean, no. but there's a first time for everything, right?" she hoped.
"yeah, of course. kevin lives close to me, so you could come to my place and we'll walk over, yeah?" steve explained his plan.
"okay, what time?" she asked.
they went on to discuss the rest of the nights schedule and y/n knew her plan was working. if steve invited her to a party, she'd be set.
when they got to the party later that night, y/n was in awe of what was around her. people were everywhere. she couldn't imagine having that many people in her home, mainly because she knew that many people couldn't safely fit.
"wow." she muttered under her breath as the four of them walked in.
"harrington!" a chorus of shouts echoed as he entered.
a couple of girls instantly moved closer to where he was, giggling to themselves. steve could tell that y/n was a little nervous, and put his arm around her. smooth.
"hey, wanna get a drink?" he whispered in her ear.
"sure." she smiled, blushing slightly at the contact.
they made their way into the kitchen, tommy and carol following. they each grabbed a beer, and moved to the dance floor.
y/n had never felt as free as she did that night.
the next week at school, she was respected. she didn't know what she had done at that party, and honestly hoped that she never found out, but it seemed to put her on a pedestal. if steve was the king, then y/n was now a princess, on her way to becoming the queen.
the two became a couple at steve's pool in the summer between freshman and sophomore year. he had invited tommy, carol, and y/n over to swim and watch a movie that night. tommy and carol were swimming in the opposite end of the pool from where y/n and steve were currently floating around.
they were living in a peaceful silence, soaking up the feeling of the water on their backs and the warm air around them.
"you know, most people think we're a couple." steve said, suddenly, causing y/n to shoot up out of the water.
"really?" she asked subtly.
"yeah, i think they assume that your sudden rise to fame is because you're my girlfriend." he smirked.
"i guess they're not that far off." y/n smiled.
"not really."
they fell back into silence.
"i'm really glad you came to sit with us, y/n." steve spoke again.
"you are?" her eyes widened.
"mhm, it's nice to get a break from those two shitheads over there." he gestured towards tommy and carol who were making out at the other end of the pool. "gross." he fake gagged.
"i'm glad i sat with you too, steve." she moved closer.
"you're really not who i thought you'd be." he told her.
"i'm usually not. and you're not either."
"i'm usually not, too."
then there was more silence.
"i kind of wish they were right." y/n spoke boldly.
"right about what?" steve asked, confusion laced in his voice.
"about us. being a couple, i mean." she looked down, blush tinting her cheeks.
"oh." steve said. before y/n could spit out how sorry she was that she said that, already assuming her weird girl status was about to come back, steve leaned in and kissed her.
"there." he said. "now they're right."
nancy and barb found out about this when hanging out at the wheeler's one day.
"oh, guys, i totally forgot to tell you! steve and i are, like, dating now." y/n commented while flipping through a magazine.
she didn't get a response and assumed they didn't care so she looked up. what she was met with instead were two looks of bewilderment.
"and you forgot to tell us this, how?" nancy scoffed.
"uh, i don't know. maybe i was too caught up in the fact that i have a boyfriend!" the girl started jumping up and down, getting nancy and barb to join in.
"and, he's steve "the hair" harrington!!" barb squealed.
that's how y/n became known as royalty of hawkins high, alongside her boyfriend, king steve. she was popular, loved, and definitely envied.
once nancy and jonathan had joined her at school, she was even happier. they cruised through sophomore year, making it to junior year before they even knew it.
but only a few months in, y/n's perfectly crafted world flipped upside down.
a/n: thanks for reading! if you made it this far, let me know if you found any grammatical/spelling errors and what you're thinking so far! let me know as well if you'd like to join the taglist below.
SEASON ONE, CHAPTER ONE: the vanishing of will byers
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2264 words | series masterlist
DISCLAIMER: in this story y/n is described as female, however it is up to you what she looks like! additionally, this is a slow burn, steve and reader do not get together right away!
i blew out cigarette smoke on the playground. well, not on the playground, but under a tree on the playground. that's how i met steve harrington. i guess a seventh grader smoking caught his attention.
a basketball rolled past my feet.
"what are you doing?" a voice asked me, startling me.
"um, what does it look like i'm doing?" i said, taking another drag.
"i've never seen a girl smoke before. well, besides my mom."
"do you smoke?" i asked him.
"uh, i guess yeah." he responded reluctantly.
"well, then what's the difference?"
he smirked. "yeah, i guess that's true. i'm steve harrington." he sat down. i was surprised.
"i'm y/n hopper."
"you're the chiefs daughter, right?"
"that'd be me."
"well, y/n, why are you out here all by yourself smoking?"
"i just needed a break from studying. my friends are obsessed with their grades."
"and you're not?"
"well, i am, but i guess i just needed to step away." i offered him the cigarette, he took it.
"why are you sitting here abandoning your game?" i asked in response.
"you intrigued me."
"okay." i laughed, taking my cigarette back.
"what, you don't like my presence?" he asked in fake offense.
sprinklers hiss. mike wheeler, brother of my best friend nancy, is downstairs playing dungeons and dragons with his friends. their voices are loud enough to travel upstairs to where nance and i are on the phone with our other friend, barbara.
nancy scoffs. "ugh, they're obnoxious! i'll go shut them up." she begins to get out of the bed, handing the phone to me, when i stop her.
"it's okay, i'll go. you stay with barb." i stood up, and handed the phone back to her. i always enjoyed watching the boys play.
"oh, okay!" nancy smiled, taking back the phone from my hand, continuing to chatter away to barb on the phone.
i made my way downstairs, catching the attention of the four boys. they all turn to look at me and smile.
"y/n!" dustin cheered, causing me to smile back.
"hi dustin, hi everyone." i waved.
"can we help you with something?" mike asked cautiously.
"no, not really," i told them, "nancy was just wondering if you could keep it down a little."
"tell her that she can keep it down a little. i always hear her when she's with steve." he gagged, i laughed. i kinda agree with him.
"alright, i'll let her know." i said while continuing to laugh. "what are you guys up to? dungeons and dragons again?"
"obviously." will smiled.
"can i watch for a bit?" i ased, gesturing to a chair in the corner.
"sure, why not." mike replied, quickly getting back to the intensity of the game. "a shadow grows on the wall behind you... swallowing you in darkness... it is almost here..." they all leaned towards the board in intrigue, causing me to lean in as well. i narrowed in on the pieces and i notice that will is playing as a wizard, dustin a dwarf, and lucas a knight.
"what is it?" will asked. "what if it's the demogorgon? we're in deep shit if it's the demogorgon-" dustin riled himself up. i laughed quietly. i always thought it was funny when they swore.
"it's not the demogorgon." lucas assured him.
"an army of troglodytes charge into the chamber!" mike continued, slamming a figure onto the table. the boys took a deep breath, when all of a sudden...
"wait a minute... did you hear that? that... that sound...? boom... boom... boom..!" he slammed his hands on the table making all of us jump. "that didn't come from the troglodytes, no that came from something else." dustin's face paled.
"the demogorgon!" mike slammed the figurine onto the table, and all the boys slumped in defeat. "we're in deep shit." "will, your action!" "i don't know!" "fireball him!" "i'd have to a roll a 13 or higher!" "too risky. cast a protection spell." "don't be a pussy. fireball him!" "cast protection."
"the demogorgon is tired of your silly human bickering! it stomps towards you. boom!" "fireball him, will!" lucas shouted. "another stomp, boom!"
i'd be lying if I told you i wasn't invested.
"cast protection!" "he roars in anger!" "fireball!" will then throws the dice, but they go flying off the table. "oh, shit!" "where'd it go? where is it?" i held in another laugh as they scurried around looking for them.
"i don't know!" "is it a 13?" "i don't know!" "where is it?" "oh, my god! oh, my god! oh, my god!"
"mike! mike!" nancy and mike's mom, mrs. wheeler, shouted from upstairs.
"did you find it yet?" lucas asked. "no, I can't find it!" "mike!" mrs. wheeler shouted again, quickly opening the door to the basement.
the bickering continued when i decided to start helping them look for the dice. i suddenly found it. "oh, i got it! it's a seven!"
lucas and will looked at me in disappointment.
"it was a seven?" lucas asked, "did mike see it?" will shook his head no. "y/n, will you tell?" i "zipped" my lips shut, and winked. "then it doesn't count." lucas finished, making both will and i smile. i ruffled his hair.
"okay, well i'll walk you guys outside." i followed them out to their bikes, dustin returning a few moments later from nancy's room.
"no luck?" i asked, pointing to the pizza box still in his hand.
he shook his head no and says to mike, "there's something wrong with your sister." this made me laugh again. he's not wrong. as much as i love nancy, she can have an attitude, especially with her brothers friends.
"what are you talking about?" mike asked.
"she's got a stick up her butt." "yeah, it's because she's been dating that douchebag, steve harrington." this caused me to laugh even louder. i was glad to know the boys and i were on the same page about nancy's recent relationship.
"she's turning into a real jerk." "she's always been a jerk!" mike scoffed.
"nuh uh, she used to be cool." they all got onto their bikes.
"yeah, like that time she and y/n dressed up as elves for our elder tree campaign." dustin pointed out. i smiled fondly at the memory. that was the day i got invested in watching the boys play.
"that was four years ago!"
"just saying." at that, i said "good night boys, get home safely!" they all said good night back, and i headed back upstairs to nancy's room.
"where did you disappear to?" nancy asked me as i open the door.
"i got caught up in their game. it's pretty entertaining, y'know." i laughed.
"whatever you say, y/n." nancy rolled her eyes and smiled, patting the bed next to her. "we have to go now barb, see you tomorrow at school."
"bye, barb!" i raised my voice so she can hear me. i quietly heard her say goodbye to nancy and i.
nancy and i spent the rest of the night talking about her gross boyfriend steve. don't get me wrong, i was happy for her, but my previous experiences with that guy turned me off. i decided to stay the night since it got so late. i called my dad and told him where i was before we got ready for bed.
that night i dreamt about a world where the monsters from dungeons and dragons really did exist. i don't think i'd like that world too much.
the next morning, after nancy and i somehow dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready, we sat at the breakfast table. i always loved feasting at the wheeler's house as my dad is not the best cook, although the perfect family reminded me of my past.
interrupting the bickering between the two eldest wheeler kids, was a shrill ring from the phone. mrs. wheeler sighed and got up to answer.
"hello? oh joyce! hi." i perked up at the mention of mrs. byers, as my dad would never stop talking about her. somehow with nancy and mike yelling about syrup i managed to make out mrs. wheeler's conversation.
"no, he left here a little bit after eight. why? he's not home?" she asked. i frowned slightly. will didn't make it home?
later that day at school, barb, nancy, and i were at her locker, talking yet again about my least favorite topic. steve harrington. i tried to put my dislike for the guy aside and be excited that my best friend had a boyfriend.
"so, did he call?" barb asked.
"keep your voice down." nancy smiled.
"did he?" i teased.
"i told you, it's not like that. okay, i mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. we just.. made out a couple times."
i scoffed. "we just made out a couple times." i mocked her, barb laughing.
"nance, seriously, you're gonna be so cool now, it's ridiculous." barb frowned, and i nodded my head.
"no, i'm not."
'"you better still hang out with us, that's all I'm saying. if you become friends with tommy h. or carol-" barb got interrupted. "oh, that's gross! okay, i'm telling you, it was a one-time.. two-time thing." nancy responded.
she opened her locker, and a saw a note that said "meet me in bathroom. steve." "you were saying ?" i smirked.
the only thing i've heard all day is the name will byers. it was said everywhere. hawkins isn't a very interesting town so when a kid goes missing it's gonna be known.
i was helping my dad lead a search party for the kid. there were over two dozen people searching, and we all wore orange vests. my old teacher mr. clarke walked up to us and said hello. "good evening ms. hopper." "hi mr. clarke." he smiled at me and then returned to his previously grave expression. he turned towards my dad and said "he's a good student."
my dad turned his head towards mr. clarke and asked, "what's that?"
"will, he's a good student. a great one actually. i can't fathom him getting into any kind of trouble." mr. clarke offered his hand. "i don't know if we met back when y/n was in my class. scott clarke. i teach at hawkins middle, earth and biology-" he was cut off by my dad starting a rant about how he hated science. i rolled my eyes at him, zoning out at their banter. my attention to their conversation only returned when i heard my sisters name.
"sara, my other daughter." why did he always do this? "galaxies, the universe, whatnot: she always understood that stuff. maybe she got it from her mother, i dunno. there's enough down here, i don't need to go lookin' elsewhere."
i smiled at the memories of my sweet baby sister.
"your daughter, what grade is she? maybe i'll get her in my class." my smile faded.
"she lives in the city with her mother" was my dad's response. i wished he would just tell the truth. he smiled at mr. clarke and walked away. i realized that i was so caught off guard that i had stopped walking. i ran to catch up to mr. clarke.
"she passed a few years back." i whispered to him.
"sorry?" he asks, looking surprised.
"my sister." his expression darkens. "nice to see you, mr. clarke."
later that night, i decided to bring flowers over to the byers house, to hopefully seem like i cared. well, of course, i did care! will was always my favorite of mike's friends.
i knocked on the door and jonathan byers opened. i gave him a small smile.
"um, hi. y/n, hi." he rambled.
"hi, jonathan. um, i brought these flowers for you and your mother. i'm so sorry about everything with will..."
"oh... that's so nice of you. do you want to come in? it's cold out there." i smiled again and walked inside, thanking him.
i went into the kitchen and looked for a vase to put the flowers in.
"do you want to talk to my mom?" jonathan asked.
"oh, i.. i don't want to intrude." i said, shaking my head.
"don't worry, it might help her feel a little better." i nodded and followed him to his moms room. i always loved joyce. i got to hear so many stories about her from dad, and despite not being close with jonathan, i grew up with him, so i knew his family well. she had the kindest heart. we knocked on her door and she opened it grimly. when she saw me she straightened up.
"oh, oh! hi, y/n." she said.
"hi mrs. byers. i'm sorry if i'm intruding, but i brought flowers, they're on the table."
"oh, thank you sweetheart, that's very kind of you."
"of course. um, i really just wanted to say that i wish i had done something. that night, you know? i was with will that, um, that night. i just wish i had stopped him or something or, i don't know... gone with him somehow?" i continued to ramble, mrs. byers stopped me.
"oh, honey, no, stop." she grabbed my hands. "you didn't have anything to do with this mess. thank you for your concerns, but we will find will."
a/n: wow! thank you so much for reading the first chapter of the chief's daughter. i was not expecting such a response to the masterlist post! i hope everyone enjoyed and is looking forward to the rest! please tell me if there are any grammatical errors and let me know if you would like to join the tag list :)
princess byers chapter one (steve harrington x byers!reader rewrite)
chapter one: should i stay or should i go? | do not copy or re-publish! |
3.7k words | summary: y/n's little brother goes missing, causing her to be plunged into a pool of darkness.
disclaimer: y/n is described as female, and is known to be a byers sibling. it is talked about her being biologically related to all of the byers family members present in the show.
tw: underage drinking + sort of drunk driving
a/n: here is the first chapter! thank you all for expressing so much love on the prologue. i had so much fun reading all of your comments and seeing what you thought. please keep reblogging and commenting, i love to see! without further adieu, enjoy!
the morning of november sixth, 1983.
y/n was awoken by a sharp three knocks on her door. it was a code she knew well, to alert her to who was knocking. she had one with each of her brothers, a system they established when they were young. this time, it was will.
"come in." she coughed, barely awake.
"y/n!" will threw open the door. "you need to take me to mike's!" he exclaimed.
"will, what time is it?" she rubbed her eyes.
"it's 11:00, i can't believe you were still asleep." he sighed.
"it's sunday." she shrugged, throwing the covers off of her bed, and standing up. "why can't you bike?" she asked.
"i can, but you told me you'd drive me." will explained.
y/n knew how much she meant to will, serving as a second motherly figure and someone to lean on. jonathan might've been more of a role model for will, but y/n taught him half the things he knew. she always knew that their car rides were something he looked forward to, something they had been doing since she got her license.
"right, i vaguely remember that." she glanced at her calendar that was above her dresser, seeing a star next to the date. another system she had put in place. a star meant a party, this one specifically being hosted by steve. there were a lot of those that they went to, and she could barely keep track.
"how long do you think you'll be there?" y/n turned back to will.
"a long time. mike's been planning this campaign for weeks."
"okay, well, i have plans tonight. do you think you could bike home if i drive you there? we can throw the bike in the back of my car." she told him, opening her drawers.
"sure, that works. get ready fast." he smiled. "i'll make you toast."
"thanks, buddy." she ruffled his hair before he ran off. then she picked out an outfit and did her makeup. she threw her hair in a ponytail, not having time to style it fancily, and walked out to the kitchen, where she found will.
"thanks for the food." she grabbed it from him, taking a bite, before throwing her shoes on. she picked her car keys up from out of her purse that was on the couch, and led him out to the front. he helped her load his bike into the trunk of her car then went to get in the car.
"hey, back seat, dude." y/n told will.
"what! you always let me sit in the front when you're driving." he frowned slightly.
"yeah, yeah, whatever, just get in." she smiled, opening her own door, as will grinned.
y/n started the drive to the wheeler's, one she knew like the back of her hand.
"i think i put my clash tape in the glove compartment, if you want to get it out." she gestured, taking another bite of the toast she was still holding.
will instantly started digging around until he found the beloved tape.
"awesome." he said, putting into the player.
the familiar tunes started and a couple songs played until the byers reached their favorite, should i stay or should i go?
they sang in unison together, albeit not well, until they reached the wheeler's.
"hey, let me help you get the bike out." they both hopped out of their seats and walked the bike to the garage. simultaneously, will's friend dustin arrived.
"will! y/n!" he exclaimed, excited to see them.
"hey, dusty!" y/n smiled back, calling him by his nickname.
"it's good to see you." he grinned.
"you too, henderson. okay, will, have fun, i love you."
"thanks, y/n, you're the best." he threw his arms around her and y/n hugged him back. "see you later." he waved before he and dustin made their ways inside.
"see you later! say hi to nancy for me!" she called out.
y/n heard will shout an okay to that before she turned around and walked back to her car.
then, she made her way back home.
later that night, y/n pulled up to steve's with a more party appropriate outfit and look. she made sure to get there early so she had room to park.
she walked up to his door at 7:00, an hour before the party was expected to begin, carrying two beers from her fridge. one for him and one for her.
she rang the doorbell, expecting steve to answer, but was met with carol's face instead.
"good, you're here." she smiled. "and you brought me a beer!"
carol took one of the beers from y/n's hands before she could protest. the two had become friendly with one another, mainly just because they were both girls. they still probably wouldn't be considered friends.
"yeah, for you." y/n sighed. "enjoy."
steve must've heard her voice, because he emerged from his living room with tommy.
"babe, you're here!" he pulled her in for a kiss.
"i'm here." she smiled.
"it's party night!" tommy slurred, clearly already tipsy.
"it's also sunday night." y/n laughed. "who's idea was it to throw a party on sunday night?"
"hey, if the parents are out of town, it's party night." steve corrected before leaning in for another kiss.
"ugh, gross." carol whined.
"you're one to talk." steve grimaced.
"okay, well, we better get this stuff set up!" y/n diverted, walking into the kitchen to find the crazy amount of alcohol that steve was able to supply.
by 8:30, the party was in full swing. by 9:30, crowds of people filled each room, some dancing, some making out, some talking, but most drinking.
y/n was talking with a couple girlfriends that she'd made through helping host these parties until steve came up and grabbed her from behind.
y/n shrieked before realizing who it was, sloshing some of her drink on his shoulder.
"steve! put me down!" she laughed.
"fine, fine, whatever the lady requests."
"you're crazy." she replied, once she was safely back on the floor.
"you love it." he smiled, kissing her again.
"right."
"hey, wanna go upstairs?" steve asked her, pulling her in even closer.
"who am i to say no?" y/n shrugged jokingly, before letting steve drag her to his room.
they instantly were kissing more when they shut his door, y/n’s drink discarded on one of the steps on their way up.
"you look beautiful." steve told her in between kisses.
"thank you." she smiled. "you don't look too bad yourself."
he pulled away, looking her in the eyes.
"i'm really happy you're here." he said.
"well, why wouldn't i be?" she asked, confused.
"i don't know, i'm just glad you're here." he looked down.
"me too." she leaned back in.
as time went on, the soft crackling of the radio filled his room while steve and y/n lay on his bed. he pressed soft kisses up her neck while she had her eyes closed, letting it happen. eventually, he pulled away.
"we should probably head back downstairs." he admitted. they had been up there for awhile.
"and i should probably head home." y/n glanced at the clock, worry seeping into her mind.
"it's like, 10:30." steve scoffed.
"yeah, but it's sunday, need i remind you. my mom's gonna be on my ass." y/n stood up. "plus, i don't know if my little brother is home completely alone or not. jonathan might've taken an extra shift and my mom's always at work." she rambled.
"okay, well, can i drive you?" he asked earnestly.
"now how is that going to work? this is your party, steve. i'll be fine, you need to stay here." she placed a kiss on his cheek before grabbing the bag she had set in his room when she first got there.
"are you sober enough?" he furrowed his eyebrows.
"yeah, i didn't really drink that much. just the one beer." y/n nodded. "like i said, everything will be okay."
"fine, just be safe." he stood up, pulling her in one more time.
"wow, you're really not helping. now i wanna stay." they laughed.
"no, it's fine, you're right. you should go. get home safe." steve finally let y/n go, and she went downstairs. as she exited the quiet of steve's room, the deafening excitement that was happening in the rest of the house rang in her ears.
she got to her car, and drove home, extra carefully to please steve.
when she got there, she noticed that nobody else's cars were out front yet. she figured that jonathan would be home soon and her mom shortly after that. she knew will was probably in his room.
she got to the door, realizing it was unclocked. weird, will must've left it that way on accident. she'd have to remind him not to do that tomorrow. she thought about knocking on his door to see if he was awake and ask about the campaign, but ultimately decided to let him sleep.
then, y/n went to bed, unaware of how the next day would proceed.
the next morning, y/n woke up to her alarm, hopping out of bed to get ready. ever since her purposeful makeover, she needed to get up extra early to achieve her desired look. she really didn't mind as it was kind of therapeutic to get ready the same way every morning.
after she was all ready, she could hear movement in the rest of the house. it meant that her brother was probably making breakfast while her mom was running around looking for her keys.
as y/n left her room, she saw that she was exactly right. bingo!
"where the hell are they?" she heard her mom groan. "jonathan?"
"check the couch!" he shouted back.
"ugh, i did." y/n walked further into the living room, just as her mom dug under the right pillow, finding her keys. "oh, got them!"
jonathan was, like he often was, making breakfast for them.
"good morning, guys." y/n smiled.
"good morning, sweetie. how did you sleep?" joyce asked, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"pretty good. smells great, jonathan." he nodded in her direction.
"okay, i'll see you guys tonight." joyce ran over to him, squeezing his shoulder before asking, "where's will?" once she noticed his absence at the table.
"he's not up?" y/n questioned, looking towards his room.
"no, i didn't get him up yet, he's probably still sleeping." jonathan admitted.
joyce sighed. "jonathan, you have to make sure he's up!"
"i'm making breakfast!" he said.
"sorry, that's my bad." y/n sheepishly smiled. "i usually knock."
joyce groaned and ran over to his door. "i told you both this a thousand times." she clapped while saying, "will, come on honey, it's time to get up."
there was a moment of silence before everything erupted.
"he came home last night, right?" joyce asked.
"what do you mean?" y/n replied, taking her seat at the table. "thanks, jon."
"what, he's not in his room?" he added, setting down the plates and setting a hand on y/n's shoulder before sitting down himself.
"did he come home or not?" joyce asked again.
"uh, i don't know."
"you don't know?" joyce looked at her children, surprised.
"i got home late, i was working." jonathan stammered.
"you were working?"
"eric asked if i could cover, and i said yes. figured we could use the extra cash."
y/n smiled in appreciation at her brother while taking slow bites of her food.
"jonathan, we've talked about this. you can't take shifts when i'm working." joyce explained.
"i know, i know." he looked down.
"and what about you, y/n?" she looked at her daughter expectantly.
"oh, uh..." she hesitated. "i was at steve's." she blushed.
"steve's? really? and why were you home so late that you didn't know if your brother came home or not?" joyce antagonized.
"i really thought he was home! i drove him to the wheeler's and he said he'd bike back, i'm sure it's not a big deal, he probably just slept over." y/n explained hopefully.
"yeah, mom, i'm sure that's what happened." jonathan agreed.
joyce sighed again. "i can't believe you two. i can't believe you sometimes." she walked over to the phone, ready to call the wheeler's.
the byers siblings droned out their mothers conversation, whispering to themselves.
"steve's, really?" jonathan scoffed.
"oh my gosh, again with this?" y/n rolled her eyes.
they were only brought back to the conflict at hand when her mom asked, "he didn't sleep over last night?"
they both turned their heads towards joyce worriedly, occasionally glancing at each other.
eventually, joyce ended the conversation with, "um, you know what? i think he just left early for school. thank you so much, bye."
when the phone call was over, there was a heavy air in the byers household, one that hadn't been there since lonnie left. all three of them knew that will usually wouldn't have left early for school.
y/n tried to put will out of her head for the day, focusing on getting to school on time. she and jonathan parked and made they way in, fbefore separating, y/n finding barb and nancy in the halls.
"hey, guys." she smiled.
"hi, y/n." they responded.
"hey, nancy?" y/n couldn't resist. "what time did my brother leave your place last night, do you know?"
"oh, uh, i think around 8:00, 8:30, maybe? why?" nancy answered, confusion in her eyes.
"oh, he just wasn't home this morning. i'm thinking maybe he just left for school early for some reason." y/n rambled.
"maybe he got together with my brother for their dragon game." nancy said.
"yeah, that's a possibility." y/n felt hopeful, realizing that it would've been too early for will to be hit by a drunk driver from steve's party. she was a little relieved, but still concerned. the three girls made it to their lockers, which were conveniently placed close to each others. as y/n opened hers, a small note fell out.
it read: meet me. bathroom. - steve.
the girl smiled. finally, a distraction from her worry over her brother.
barb and nancy came up behind her, reading the note.
"good to know you and steve are still going strong." barb commented, smirking.
"that's for sure." y/n laughed, checking her watch. there was still five minutes until class started. "hey, i'll meet you in class, okay?"
they said their goodbyes before she hurried off to meet steve.
instantly, his hands found her waist and their lips met, once she got to the bathroom.
"oh my god, steve." she laughed, in shock at his aggression. "you're acting like you just came back from war. it's been less then twenty-four hours. in fact, it's been less than twelve."
"and?" he smiled. "a boy not allowed to miss his girl anymore?"
y/n exaggerated her dreamy sigh. "wow, i'm steve harrington's girl. i bet all the freshman girls wish they were me."
"and i bet all the freshman boys wish they were me." steve replied.
"because i'm your girl?" y/n grinned.
"that and because of my hair."
"right." she laughed. "how could i forget?"
then the bell rang.
"hey, want to come to my place tonight?" steve asked.
before y/n could say yes, the memory of her brother came back.
"oh, i don't know if i can tonight." he frowned. "but, i can call you, for sure."
"alright." he placed a hand over his chest. "i'll settle for that, i suppose."
they shared another kiss before saying goodbye, then, y/n went to class.
the rest of the day luckily passed in a blur. when y/n and jonathan pulled up at home, their mother was pacing on the porch outside.
"hey, hey, mom? what's going on?" she jumped out of the car, running to her mother.
"he's still not home." joyce said shakily. both y/n and jonathan's eyes widened.
"what?" jonathan asked.
"will still isn't home." joyce said again.
"okay, uh, okay. maybe he got lost in the woods last night. maybe he went to castle byers?" y/n suggested.
"good idea, let's go look." jonathan replied. y/n took her mothers hand and squeezed it, the three of them walking in the direction of will's hiding place.
"he's gotta be around here somewhere, mom. don't worry too hard."
joyce looked at her daughter, but didn't seem convinced.
they eventually got to castle byers, where joyce pulled the curtain open. no luck. will was not inside.
the three of them went back to shouting his name, y/n's voice cracking after awhile.
after they gave up looking in the forest, they went back to their house. y/n and jonathan took on the painful task of looking through photos of will for the missing posters while joyce called lonnie's.
"cynthia, this is joyce." their mother said.
"oh, it's cynthia now, huh?" jonathan joked, making y/n crack a smile.
"no, no, not later, now." joyce said. she then slammed the phone into the wall, shouting, "bitch!"
y/n jumped slightly at the aggression, something she didn't see her mother do too often.
"mom." jonathan said.
"what?" she shouted.
"you have to stay calm."
joyce chuckled before calling the number again, so the kids went back to sorting the photos. the second phone call ended in the same result.
just then, y/n noticed a police car pulling up out front. she nudged jonathan, catching his attention, and pointed to the scene.
"mom?" they both said.
"what?" she replied, even more annoyed this time.
"cops."
joyce all but ran to the door, y/n and jonathan following after her. they went outside, and saw chief hopper loading a bike out of the back of his cruiser.
"shit, that's definitely will's." y/n muttered under her breath.
the cops led the byers back inside, while joyce shouted all sorts of questions at them.
"it was just lying there?" was one of them.
"yeah. cal?" hopper said, directing one of his officers towards the other room.
"did it have any blood on it, or-"
"no, no, no, no, no." hopper sighed.
"if you found the bike out there, why are you here?" jonathan asked to which y/n swallowed.
"well, he had a key to the house right?" hopper asked.
"yeah."
"so, maybe he came home."
y/n scoffed before joyce replied. "what you think i didn't check my own house?"
"i'm not saying that." hopper walked over the backdoor, noticing a dent in the wall. "has this always been here?"
"what? i don't know. probably, i mean, i have three kids, two of which are boys. look at this place."
hopper opened the door, aligned the knob with the dent perfectly. y/n narrowed her eyes, the dent definitely wasn't familiar, but she couldn't be for sure.
the dog barking outside caught hopper's attention, joyce trailing after him.
jonathan and his sister stood still and silent in the kitche, unsure of what to say.
late that night after the cops had left, the three byers sat down on the couch to look at the photos again.
"wow, jonathan. you took these?" joyce asked, amazed.
the rain fell heavily outside, depressing the mood further.
"i know i haven't been there for you." she began.
"mom-" both of the kids tried to cut her off.
"no, no, i've been working so hard, and i just feel bad. i barely even know what's going on with either of you. alright? i am sorry about that."
tears started to form in both jonathan's and y/n's eyes.
"hey, what is it?" joyce asked in response to jonathan's quiet sobs.
"nothing." he sniffled.
"tell us." y/n leaned forward.
"it's just... i should've been there for him." jonathan said.
"no, no, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine." y/n corrected him. "i should've left steve's earlier and picked him up, and not told him to bike home. maybe he wouldn't have gotten lost, or hurt, or whatever happened that way." y/n explained through her own sobs.
"no, oh no, you can't do that to yourselves." joyce took both of her childrens hands. "this was not your fault, do you hear me?"
y/n took a deep breath.
"he is... close. i know it." joyce stated. "i feel it in my heart. you just have to trust me on this."
"yeah." jonathan sighed.
"oh, look at this." joyce picked up a photo of will from a few months prior. he looked so little. all three of them laughed while sobbing agreeing it was the one for the posters.
suddenly, the phone rang, and joyce hopped up. y/n scooted closer to her brother and pulled him in to a deep hug.
"i love you, jonathan." she said.
"i love you." he said back, crying still.
"lonnie?" joyce said on the phone.
"dad?" y/n questioned, pulling away from the hug.
"who is this?" the siblings got off the couch to meet their mother by the phone, concerned at her expression. they couldn't hear any words coming from the other end of the phone. "will?" joyce asked.
"it's will?" jonathan asked frantically.
joyce started screaming into the phone. "who is this?"
"mom?"
"what have you done to my boy?" she shrieked.
jonathan and y/n looked at each other, scared out of their minds.
"give me back my son!" then the phone electrocuted joyce's hands, causing her to fling it down.
jonathan lunged at it, picking it up from where it dangled near the floor. "hello? hello, who is this?" he hit the phone.
y/n pulled her mom into a hug, sobbing into her shoulder with her.
"mom, who was it, mom?" jonathan asked, turning around after hanging up.
she sobbed incoherently, all that was understandable was will.
"what did he say, mom?" y/n asked, letting go of her grasp around her.
"he just breathed." joyce weeped.
the crying and confusion continued for the rest of the night, until eventually, y/n and jonathan resigned to bed.
in the quiet of her room, she took off her makeup, brushed her hair, and changed into her pajamas. in the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. all she saw was her brother, looking back at her.
and all she felt was guilt.
a/n: thank you for reading the first official chapter of princess byers!! i am so happy with it. i really put a lot of effort into it, so i hope you enjoyed. literally while writing it, i got a message saying they needed more princess byers. so, if that was you anon, ask and you shall recieve! let me know if you found and errors and if you'd like to join the taglist! and of course keep commenting what you think, it is the most rewarding part of writing.
SEASON ONE, CHAPTER TWO: the weirdo on maple street
| DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE. reblogs are fine and appreciated! |
3112 words | series masterlist
DISCLAIMER: in this story y/n is described as female, however it is up to you what she looks like! additionally, this is a slow burn, steve and reader do not get together right away!
"jesus christ, steve. you can't sneak up on people like that." i was walking through the hallway at lunch, heading to meet nancy and barbara in the library, when he came out of nowhere.
"sorry. didn't really think i'd scare ya, i guess."
"y'know, my dads a cop. i'm trained in self defense. i could be carrying a gun and you wouldn't even know it." i smirked.
he scoffed. "you're not carrying a gun."
"you didn't think i'd smoke, so who says i don't have a gun?" i shrugged.
"you're right. anyways, when did you start smoking?"
"well at least you get straight to the point." i joked. he smiled.
"tell me then." my smile faltered, looking around.
"this isn't the place to talk about it." i replied. "you'll have to find me under the tree again sometime if you really want to know." i glanced at him before walking hurriedly towards the library. his face as i walked away was one of confusion.
i went back home after i left the byers' house. i spent an hour with mrs. byers and jonathan looking at pictures of will before i decided it was time for me to head home.
by the time i woke up the next morning, mrs. byers had called over ten times. when i picked up, i told her that my dad wasn't home, but she seemed too distressed to care. i promised her we'd come over right when he got home.
less than 24 hours after i'd left, we pulled back up to the byers residence. i sighed at the gloomy aura encompassing the home that once felt warm and welcoming. i remembered mrs. byers and jonathan's sad expressions from the night before. i still couldn't believe anybody would try to hurt will.
almost instantly after dad knocked, mrs. byers opened the door.
"we've been waiting six hours." she complained, tears stuck in her throat.
"yeah, i know. i came as soon as i could." my dad replied, making me roll my eyes. i sheepishly stepped into the building, smiling softly at jonathan. his lips turned upwards but not as much as they used to. as i stepped through the doorway the scent of cigarettes infiltrated my nose. i didn't notice it as much last night.
"six hours!" she repeated.
"a little bit of trust here, all right?" dad snapped back. "we were searching all night. went all the way to cartersville." my eyes widened. i didn't know they had gone that far. i stopped searching after two hours, when i decided to go to the byers', and after i that i had gone home.
"and?" mrs. byers asked shakily.
"nothing." my dad reluctantly admitted. i could hear the sorrow in his voice.
"god." mrs. byers continued to cry, turning away. jonathan shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
i cleared my throat. "i heard you got a phone call?" i asked, my voice cracking.
mrs. byers led us to the bright yellow phone. the inside of the machine seemed to be fried pretty good.
"the storm barbecued this pretty good." dad said, examining it.
"what else?" at this i went and stood over near jonathan.
"can we like trace who made the call? contact the-" jonathan tried to speak but my dad cut him off.
"no, it doesn't work like that."
i decided to try and get involved. "and, uh, you're sure it was will, right?" i asked.
"yeah, flo said you just heard some breathing." my dad nodded his head.
"no." mrs. byers shook her head. "it was him. it was will. and he was scared. and then something-"
my dad cut her off. he seemed to have a pattern of doing that. "it was probably just a prank call. it was somebody trying to scare you." he tried to explain.
"who would do that?" i questioned "who would have the nerve to do that?"
"well, this thing's been on tv. it brings out all the crazies, you know. false leads, prank calls, uh..."
"no, hopper, it was not a prank. it was him." mrs. byers sighed.
"joyce-"
"c'mon, hopper, how 'bout a little trust here?" she cried, raising her voice. "you think i'm... i'm making this up?"
"i'm not saying that you're making this up. all i'm saying is it's an emotional time for you."
"and you think i don't know my own son's breathing? wouldn't you know y/n's, or... or sara's?" she stopped quickly. i sucked in a breath.
dad took a deep breath, pausing. i looked away uncomfortably. i could hear mrs. byers sniffling. i know she didn't mean it in a bad way.
"you hear from, uh, lonnie yet?" dad asked after composing himself.
"no."
"it's been long enough. i'm having him checked out." dad put his hat back on, and began to walk outside.
"oh, come on! you're wasting your time!" mrs. byers shouted.
"bye, jonathan." i whispered and ran after dad. instead of responding, he followed me out.
"hey, hopper." he said in the middle of pants. "let me go."
dad stopped. "i'm sorry?" he asked.
"to lonnie's. you know, if will's there, it means he ran away. and if he sees the cops, he'll think he's in trouble. he'll... he'll hide. you know, he's good at hiding." jonathan stammered.
"yeah? well, cops are good at finding. okay? stay here with your mom." dad gave him a soft punch on the chest. "she needs you."
"dad, i, uh, think you should let jonathan go." he looked at me with an annoyed expression and then just sighed. "fine. go then, kid." he got in the car.
"uh, if you want.. i could like, come with you. i just, i really want to help." i told him.
"oh, uh, sure, y/n. thanks."
i smiled and got in the car. dad sped away.
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at school, barb, nancy, and i were walking through the hallway. barb was quizzing nancy off of her flashcards.
"when alpha particles go through gold foil, they become...? she asked.
"unoccupied space." nancy answered.
"good. a molecule that can-" next thing i know, the flashcards were flying through the air, all thanks to the man of the hour himself. steve harrington.
i scoffed, helping barb pick them up. when we stood up, tommy ruffled barb's hair, then brought his hand near mine. "don't touch me." i grimaced.
steve laughed. "i think you've studied enough, nance."
"steve-"
"i'm telling you, you know, you got this. don't worry. now on to more important matters." i rolled my eyes.
"my dad has left town on a conference and my mom's gone with him, 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him."
"good call." tommy butted in. i didn't like where this was going.
"so... are you in?" steve asked.
"in for what?" nancy stared at him.
"nancy, no parents...? a big house...?" i tried to help her figure it out.
"a party?" she caught on.
tommy and carol laughed.
"it's tuesday!" nancy replied.
"it's tuesday!" tommy mocked. "oh my god!"
"okay, come on. it'll be low key. it'll be just us. what do you say? are you in or are you out?" he looked at barb and i when he said that. i made eye contact with steve harrington for longer than i would have liked to.
"oh, god. look." carol averted our attention to jonathan, who was putting up missing posters for will.
"oh, god, that's depressing." tommy laughed.
he's right. it was depressing.
"should we say something?" nancy asked.
"i don't think he speaks." carol scoffed.
"how much do you want to bet he killed him?" tommy smirked.
"are you kidding? cut it out!" i looked at him in shock.
him and carol laughed at me, and i scoffed. i saw steve looking down at his shoes. "whatever." i walked away.
later, i was with jonathan driving to his dads house. we had some subtle radio music on.
it was rainy outside, so he was driving extra carefully. we pulled up in front of the beat-up house, and got out of the car. we ran up the steps and jonathan looked in the small window in the door. i could see a little around his head, and it looked like nobody was home.
jonathan suddenly banged on the door loudly, which startled me.
"hello?" he shouted.
he kept banging on the door, and i saw through the window a young looking girl, chewing gum angrily.
"can I help you?" she asked rudely after opening the door.
"yeah, is lonnie around?"
"yeah, he's out back. what do you want?" "to look around."
with that, jonathan walked in, and i followed after him, not bothering to give the woman any pleasantries.
"hey, what do you two think you're doing? hey!"
"we'll be fast." i said.
"hey, will?" jonathan shouted, looking around. "will! will, you here? will!" we looked in a bedroom, no signs of will.
we walked out of the room, and a man, who i assumed to be lonnie shoved jonathan up against the wall, making him grunt.
"get off!" jonathan shoved him. i stood back.
"damn, you've gotten stronger."
"will someone please explain what the hell is going on?" the lady reappeared.
"jonathan, cynthia. cynthia, this is jonathan. my oldest." he then looked at me, i guess i wasn't invisible anymore.
"um, y/n." i managed to say.
lonnie moved on quickly. "come here." he leaned in to hug jonathan.
"get off me, man."
"okay, okay. this your girlfriend or somethin'?" he laughed and pointed at me.
"um, no, i'm just helping him out." i replied, and crossed my arms.
"too bad. i was rooting for you, kid." lonnie said to his son. we then walked outside to his car.
"take a look at this beaut. should've seen it when i got it. took me a year, but it's almost done." lonnie explained. jonathan opened the trunk. "really? you want to check up my ass, too?" jonathan slammed the trunk shut. "i told you the same thing as i told those cops, he's not here and he never has been."
"then why didn't you call mom back?"
"i don't know, i just... i assumed she just forgot where he was. you know, he was lost or something. that boy never was very good at taking care of himself." i'd never heard someone talk so badly about their own family. it hurt to hear.
"this isn't some joke, all right? this is your son." i cut in. "there are search parties, reporters-" he cut me off.
"hopper's not still chief, is he?" lonnie asked.
"excuse me?" i was taken aback.
"tell your mother she's gotta get you out of that hellhole." he ignored me. "come out here to the city. people are more real here, you know? and then i could see you more."
there was a pause.
"what, you think i don't want to see you?"
"i know you don't."
"see, that's your mother talkin' right there. she even know you're here? oh, great. so one kid goes missing, the other one runs wild? some real fine parenting right there. look, all i'm saying is maybe i'm not the asshole, all right?" jonathan pulled a folder up poster out of his bag, and shoved it against his chest. "in case you forgot what he looks like."
he started walking away, and i followed him, glaring at lonnie on the way out.
she explained to me why i had to go steve's party with her.
"why do i have to go?" i groaned.
"because i don't want to go by myself! y/n, it's not rocket science. just tell hopper you're gonna stay at my place afterwards. that's what barb is telling her mom.
"you actually got barb to agree?" i laughed.
"yeah, it took some convincing, but she reluctantly agreed."
"wow." i quietly heard mrs. wheeler call for nancy in the background. "coming!" she replied. "look, i gotta go. will i see you there?"
later in the evening we were all outside by the pool, and carol screamed extremely loud as tommy threatened to throw her in.
"one! two!" the screaming continued, as tommy kept holding her over the water.
"stop it, tommy, no! don't!" he finally set her down, laughing. "you're such an asshole, tommy."
there was rock music playing, and even i had cracked a grin at their antics. steve cut a hole in his can of beer, putting his mouth to it, chugging the whole thing in less than three seconds. he sat down, pulled his cigarette out from behind his ear, and popped it in his mouth. i watched him do it with ease. he caught me, lighting and passing me one. a habit.
"y/n, you smoke?" barb asked, shocked.
"uh, occasionally..."
"is that supposed to impress me?" i heard nancy ask steve. too enthralled to even realize what i was doing.
"what, you're not?"
"you are a cliché, you do realize that?" nancy said smiling.
i watched this interaction from the next pool chair over. it felt awfully familar.
"you are a cliché." he replied. "what with your.. your grades and your band practice."
"i'm so not in band." nancy laughed.
"okay, party girl. why don't you just, uh, show us how it's done, then?" steve asked, handing her the knife.
barb looked at me and i purse my lips.
nancy cut the can, and drank the beer. okay, guess she's breaking those stereotypes today.
"chug, chug, chug!" steve, tommy, and carol started chanting. i didn't want nancy to get to hurt, but i wanted to see how far she would go. so, i quietly started chanting as well. the chanting went on for like 10 seconds, and then nancy had chugged it all.
she clumsily curtsied, and steve turned to me, raising his eyebrows.
something in me gave in and i raised my hands in defeat. they all started laughing. i took the knife from nancy, and sliced open the beer can easily. my dad may be a cop but that doesn't mean i can't handle my alcohol. i chugged it down quickly, and all of them looked at me.
i gulped, thinking that i did something wrong, but they all clapped, impressed.
i smiled, and took another one. "barb, you wanna try?" i asked quickly.
"what? no." she responded immediately.
nancy tried to hand her one still. "no, i don't want to. thanks."
"come on." nancy teased.
"yeah.. come on. yeah." steve encouraged.
"nance, i don't want to." barb scoffs.
"it's fun! just give it a-"
"nance..." i interrupted.
"just.. just give it a shot." nancy persuaded her.
barb then stood up. "okay. okay, fine." she tried to cut the can, but ended up making a nasty gash in her hand. tommy chuckled at her. i looked at her hand and saw a lot of blood. "gnarly." tommy said quietly.
"are you okay?" nancy and i asked at the same time.
"yeah."
"barb, you're bleeding." i replied.
"i'm fine." she said, turning to steve. "where's your bathroom?"
"oh, it's.. it's, uh, down past the kitchen, to the left." steve explained.
"okay, thanks." steve lead her inside.
i waited outside with nancy, tommy and carol, in an awkward silence.
then all of a sudden, tommy pushed carol in, and she screamed again. "oh, my god! what the hell, tommy?" tommy leapt in.
suddenly, steve was back outside, lightly shoving nancy and i in. we shrieked, getting splashed by steve who had jumped in after us. more rock music played lightly in the background. we all started tackling each other. until suddenly, i realized i was at steve harrington's house, in his pool, with his friends. with his girlfriend. nancy wheeler, my best friend.
i ended up falling asleep at steve's house. barb went home, nancy wanted to stay, and i wasn't about to walk all the way home alone after what happened to will. steve was nice about it, he said i was welcome to stay in his guest room. it wasn't too hard to fall asleep over all the noises from the other rooms.. i just turned the tv on.
late in the night, nancy came and woke me up, and said that steve was going to drive us home. i came to my senses, and got up quickly, ready to be at home in my own bed. when we got to my place, i thanked steve for driving me home, said goodbye to nancy, and ran inside. dad wasn't home yet, probably still out looking for will, or something.
i dreamt that night of middle school, studying with nancy and barb, smoking with steve, partying with tommy and carol. i vowed i wouldn't go back to those days. i guess vows are meant to be broken.
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a/n: thank you so much for reading the second chapter of the chief's daughter. i have been getting notifications all day about the first chapter, and i am so delighted you all are enjoying it. fun fact, i started writing this way back in 2022 when season 4 came out, but gave up halfway through writing season 2. but i was inspired to get back on it with season 5 coming out so soon! please tell me if there are any grammatical errors and let me know if you would like to join the tag list :)
i sat at the kitchen counter, steve next to me, eating toast. he came over a lot, and my dad didn't seem to mind that much. he really seemed to have more of a problem with el and mike.
speaking of, el was pacing outside waiting for him to arrive. she suddenly came in and went straight to the phone.
"hey, is everything okay?" dad asked her. steve and i turned to face her.
"yes." she said. after a minute, she spoke into the phone. "it's 9:32. where are you?" she walked away into her bedroom.
dad had a smug smile on his face that i chose to ignore for the mean time.
"what time does your shift start today?" he asked steve and i.
"noon, i think." i looked at steve for approval.
"yeah, noon." he nodded.
"okay." dad smiled again.
i looked at steve with a confused expression on my face. only a minute later, el trailed out of her room, with an equally confused look on her face.
"hey." dad said. "what's going on?" he asked.
she went back into her room, slamming the door loudly behind her.
i looked back at dad, his expression even more smug than before.
"oh, gosh, dad, what did you do?" i slouched in my seat.
"nothing." he smiled, setting his cereal down. "i gotta get to work. see you kids later."
"uh, alright?" i said.
"bye, hopper." steve told him. to which dad nodded his head in his direction.
i could've sworn that on the way out, i heard him humming 'you don't mess around with jim' under his breath.
later, we were at work. yet again, steve and i were "taking our break" in the back. after making out for, honestly, quite some time, we just sat there, avoiding going back out to the front.
"so, uh, anything interesting going on in your life?" steve asked.
i laughed. "steve, we literally spend every day together. i think you'd know if there was anything particularly interesting going on."
"right, right." he nodded. "just thought i'd check." he flashed a grin at me, making my heart race.
then, a familiar voice carried into the back.
"is that..." i started, but steve was already out of his seat, busting through the door to the front.
"henderson!"
dustin laughed.
"henderson! he's back, he's back!" steve looked at robin and i.
"i'm back! you got the job!" dustin exclaimed.
"i got the job!" steve imitated a trumpet, initiating his and dustin's elaborate handshake.
"how many children are you friends with?" robin asked, making me laugh.
steve sighed, gesturing towards robin in a form of introducing her to dustin.
"yeah, yeah there's a lot of them actually." i nodded my head, walking around the counter, pulling dustin into a hug.
"it's so good to see you, dustin." i told him. "how was camp?"
"it was incredible, and i have so much to tell you." he said.
"okay, well let me get you a banana split, go sit down." i shooed the boys away and got to work.
"you guys are kinda weird, you know that, right?" robin smiled.
"yeah, i know. especially him, though." i laughed.
"oh, for sure." she agreed.
i finished making the split and walked over to where steve and dustin had sat down. he started telling us how he supposedly had a girlfriend named suzie.
"no way, hotter than phoebe cates?" steve scoffed. "no." i gently hit him on the chest with the back of my hand.
"mm-hmm." dustin said, through a mouthful of ice cream.
"brilliant, too. and she doesn't even care that my real pearls are still coming in. she says kissing is better without teeth."
steve nodded in astonishment and i just smiled.
"that's amazing, dustin, i'm sure she's great." i told him.
"wow. yeah, that's great. proud of you, man." steve rambled. "that's ro- that's kinda romantic. that's like, wow."
"so do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?" dustin asked us.
"yeah, i mean sure." steve said.
"i eat a lot of it." i confirmed. "like, a lot."
"it's not really a good idea for me, though." steve continued. "i gotta keep in shape for the lady." he gestured in my direction, and i shook my head, laughing.
"how's that working out for you?" robin asked from across the room.
"ignore her." steve responded, making her and i laugh more.
"she seems cool." dustin smiled.
"she's the best." "she's not." steve and i said over each other.
"so where are the rest of your friends?" i asked dustin.
"they ditched me yesterday."
"no." steve said in shock.
"my first day back, can you believe that shit?"
"whoa, seriously?"
"that's awful, i'm sorry." i frowned.
"i swear to god." dustin shoveled in another bite of ice cream. "they're gonna regret it though, big time, when they don't get to share in my glory."
"glory? what glory?" steve asked him, confused.
dustin scooted closer to us, lowering his voice.
"so, last night, we're trying to get in contact with suzie."
"oh, mm." steve encourage, looking at me.
"and, uh," dustin lowered his voice even more. whatever he said next, all i heard was muttering.
steve looked at me to see if i understood, to which i shrugged.
"what?" we both asked.
"uh," dustin looked around, speaking too softly again.
"just speak louder." steve demanded.
"i intercepted a secret russian communication!" dustin all but shouted across the entire store, people's heads turning towards us.
"jeez, shh, yeah, okay. that's what we thought you said." steve told him.
"what are you talking about, dustin?" i asked.
"yeah, what does that mean?"
"it means, steve, we could be heroes. true american heroes."
"huh." steve smirked. "american heroes." he exclaimed.
"just think, you two could have anything you want, and more." dustin explained.
" and more?" i smiled.
"more."
"i like more." steve nodded. "what's the catch?"
"no catch, i just need your help."
"with what?" i asked him.
dustin unzipped his backpack, pulling out a russian - english dictionary.
the three of us sat in the backroom listening to the russian message.
"well, it's definitely not english." i groaned. i stole the banana steve was eating out of his hand, and took a bite.
"uh, okay, i guess, go ahead." he said, rolling his eyes. i smiled stupidly and handed it back to him.
"it sounded familiar, though." i told them.
"what?" dustin asked.
"yeah, the song at the end." steve nodded.
"why are you listening to the music? listen to the russian, we're translating the russian!" dustin shouted.
"i'm trying to listen to the russian, but there's music-" he was cut off by robin bursting into the room.
"alright, babysitting time is over, you need to get in there." she stated.
"i guarantee you what we're doing is more important than scooping." dustin told her.
"yeah? and how do you know these russians are up to no good, anyways?" she asked in response.
"how does she know about the russians?" dustin looked at us.
"i don't know. it wasn't me."
"hello, i can hear you. actually, i can hear everything! this room is not noise proof, i can usually hear you two," she pointed at steve and i, "making out in here too."
i groaned and covered my face with my hands. "great." i said.
"you are all extremely loud." she said, dustin laughing.
"you think you have evil russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you're trying to translate, but haven't figured out a single word because you didn't realize russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do." robin explained. "sound about right?"
"yep, precisely." i sighed.
then, she lunged for the tape, but steve caught it first.
"woah, woah, woah, what do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"i wanna hear it!" she said.
"why?" they both asked.
"cause maybe i can help." she shrugged. "i'm fluent in four languages, y'know."
"russian?" dustin asked her.
"ou-yay are-yay umb-day." robin stated, looking at me, laughing.
"oh-ho-ho!"
"holy shit!" the boys said.
"oh my god, you guys, that's piglatin, not russian." i laughed.
"but, i can speak spanish, and french, and italian, and i've been in band for twelve years. my ears are little geniuses, trust me."
"uh..."
"come on, it's your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. i don't even want credit, i'm just bored."
the bell kept dinging.
"fine." steve took the scooper, and handed robin the tape. i stood up to go with him.
"no, y/n, stay." she told me. "you don't need to go."
"fine by me." i grinned, sitting back down, much to steve's dismay.
about thirty minutes later, i went to check on steve, making my way to the front room.
"hey, how's it going out here?" i asked him, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"not great. this job is boring as all hell." he told me.
"tell me about it. we've made some progress with the translation though." i looked forward and in the food court, i saw a familiar face with a red head next to her.
"what the hell?" i ran out of scoops. it was my sister. in public!
i ran up to her and max. "el? what the hell are you doing here?"
"i escaped." she told me.
"clearly, but, why?" i scoffed, crossing my arms.
"i was bored. mike ditched me."
"right." i narrowed my eyes at the two of them. "well, i guess so long as you're here with me, you're safe."
el continued to look around in amazement.
"you've never been shopping before, have you?" max asked her, to which she shook her head.
"well, then i guess we're gonna have to try everything." max looked at me and i smiled. "ooh, come on." she grabbed el's hand, who grabbed mine, and we ran off in the direction of the gap.
we looked around in the gap at every single piece of clothing that was for sale. el looked in amazement at a blue shirt with specks of color.
"do you like that?" max asked her.
"how do i know what i like?" el responded.
"you just try things on." i told her. "like, try on anything you find." i explained.
"anything?"
"totally." max and i said.
"until you find something that feels like you."
"like me?"
"yeah, not hopper, not mike," max listed.
"not even me." i beamed. "you."
and then, the shopping spree began. we went to almost every store in starcourt, trying on all sorts of crazy outfits. the girls even got me to try on wedding dresses in the bridal shop, saying i should get steve to buy me one. i laughed in their faces at that, but was blushing while i did it.
i happened to have some cash in my pocket so i bought el a cute jumpsuit and max some sunglasses, and also a new outfit for myself. i didn't feel like wearing that god-awful scoops uniform for our mall adventure.
we ran off to the flash studio where we got our photos taken. they styled us in even crazier outfits and colorful makeup, before they posed us for the pictures.
then we went to the shoe store, where i taught el, and even max a little, how to walk in heels. when el tried, she fell dramatically, making the three of us laugh, and everyone else in the store turn towards us.
el used her powers on some mean girls in the food court and max said,
"see? what'd i tell you? there's more to life than stupid boys."
"that's for sure."
eventually, i told them i better make it back to scoops, even though it had been like, an hour since i was last there.
"hey, i'll get you free ice cream, though." they grinned, and i led them back in the direction of scoops.
we walked in and steve's expression lit up.
"ice cream on the house for the girls." i told him.
"right, of course." he said, scooping their orders.
robin opened the window.
"we've got our first sentence!" she exclaimed, smiling at steve, and additionally me.
"oh, seriously?" steve asked.
"the week is long." she said in a mocking russian accent.
"well, that's thrilling." he said annoyed.
"i know." robin said.
"progress!" i replied, and she pointed at me.
"exactly." then she shut the window.
"uh, okay, here you go. you got a strawberry then a vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream." he handed max and el their respective cones.
"thanks." they both said, starting to lick the ice cream.
"wait a second." he started to say. "are you even allowed to be here?" he asked, looking at el.
her and max glanced at each other, laughing, then ran away.
"be safe! please!" i shouted after them.
"she's not allowed to be here, right?" he asked me.
"no. not at all." i smiled, making my way into the back, carrying my uniform in the bag from the gap.
finally, our long ass shift ended, and we had translated the entire code. we stood reciting it.
"the week is long, the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west."
"right, okay, cause that makes sense." i said.
we started to pack up, making our way out of scoops.
"i mean, it just can't be right." steve said while locking the gate.
"it's right." robin assured.
"honestly, i think it's great news." dustin told us.
"how is this great news?" steve cried, catching up with us. "i mean, so much for being american heroes. it's total nonsense." he took my hand.
"it's not nonsense, it's too specific. it's obviously a code." dustin stated.
"see, steve? it's obviously a code." i teased gently.
"what do you mean a code?"
"like a super secret spy code, of course!" i exclaimed.
"yes, thank you, y/n."
"that's a total stretch." steve replied.
"i don't know, is it?" robin asked.
"you're buying into this?"
"listen, just for kicks, let's entertain the possibility that it is a secret russian transmission. what'd you think they're gonna say, 'fire the warhead at noon'?" she explained.
"exactly."
"and my translation is correct. i know that for sure, so, 'the silver cat feeds', why would anyone talk like that unless they're trying to mask the true meaning of their message?"
"exactly." dustin said again.
"and why would anyone wanna mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?" i added.
"exactly!"
"exactly." steve mocked under his breath. i squeezed his hand.
"so i guess that confirms your suspicion." robin smirked.
"evil russians."
"i can't believe i'm about to agree with this strange child, but, yeah, totally evil russians."
"so how do we crack it?" i asked.
"well, i guess we translate the rest and hopefully a pattern emerges."
robin and dustin kept walking and talking, but steve and i stopped. the mini carousel played the music from the tape.
"you figure it out, too?" he asked.
"yeah, i knew it was familiar!" i replied.
"you got any change? we can get the ride going."
"no, i actually don't." i told him. "shopping spree."
he started digging in his pockets for coins.
"steve?" we heard robin ask. "y/n?"
the coins clattered on the hard floor. "what are you doing?" she asked.
"uh, it's a quarter. i need- do you have a quarter?" he frantically questioned.
robin chuckled, the two of them running towards us.
"you sure you're tall enough for that ride?" she joked.
"quarter!" i exclaimed, again.
dustin threw us a quarter and steve plugged it into the slot.
the horse, indiana flyer, started moving. the creepy tune of daisy bell played.
"you need help getting up, little stevie?" she kept teasing.
"sshh!" i told them. "just shut up and listen!
dustin knew.
"holy shit. the music!" he pulled the tape back out.
"i don't understand." robin said.
"it's the same song from the tape." i replied.
"maybe they have horses like this in russia." robin shrugged.
"indiana flyer? i don't think so." steve scoffed.
"this code... it didn't come from russia." i started.
a/n: happy holidays, everyone! it's almost 2026, which is just crazy. i can't believe the last episode of stranger things comes out in TWO DAYS! i'm veryyyy excited since i'm going to the theater to see it. thanks for being patient with me, i was super busy for christmas. but i can finally get this chapter out and i am so glad, because it's a really fun one!
as always, let me know of any grammatical/spelling errors, if you'd like to be added to the taglist, and/or your thoughts on the story! thank you so much for reading, love you guys!
also! follow sscoopsah0yy on tiktok! i'm making st content and videos about this series! okkkk bye!
| DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE. reblogs are fine and appreciated! |
4083 words | series masterlist
DISCLAIMER: in this story y/n is described as female, however it is up to you what she looks like! additionally, this is a slow burn, steve and reader do not get together right away! currently there is billy hargrove x reader as well.
"i never gave up on you. i called you every night. every night for-"
"353 days." she finished. "i heard."
"why didn't you tell me you were there? that you were okay?"
"because i wouldn't let her." dad said.
eleven turned and ran up to me, engulfing me in a hug.
"i'm so glad you're okay. i missed you." i told her.
"i missed you... too." she replied.
"you look so different!"
"bitchin'." she said.
"yeah," i laughed. "you do. you look bitchin'."
dad came up to us. "the hell is this? where you been?"
"where have you been?" eleven snarked.
dad pulled her in.
"you've been hiding her. you both have." mike's eyes were wide. "you've been hiding her this whole time!" he hit my dad.
"mike!" i exclaimed.
"hey! let's talk." dad pulled him close by the collar of his sweater. "alone."
he led mike in to another room, and i pulled eleven in for another hug.
"i missed you so much, el. i was so worried."
she just smiled. "can we talk too?" she stuttered.
"okay."
before we went into the dining room, she went forward and hugged lucas and dustin.
"we missed you." they said.
"i missed you, too."
"we talked about you pretty much everyday." dustin told her.
she reached forward and rubbed his teeth.
"teeth." she said. "you have teeth."
"oh. you like these pearls?" he asked, making a strange purring sound. i smiled.
"eleven?" max stepped forward. "hey. uh, i'm max." she stuck out her hand for el to shake. "i've heard a lot about you."
eleven just looked at her hand and stepped forward. i looked at max apologetically. el jugged joyce and told her she would look at will after she talked to me.
we then went into the dining room to talk.
"so, where did you go?" i asked her.
"chicago."
"wow." i gasped. "you made it pretty far."
"i found my sister."
"what? your sister?" i furrowed my brows.
"yes. number eight. she was also from the lab."
"oh, wow. that's crazy. i guess i never thought you'd meet someone else who went through what you went through."
"y/n." she refocused.
"yes, el?"
"she was my sister in a way. but you are my real sister." she smiled at me.
"oh." my eyes welled up. it felt nice to have a sister again. "yeah, el. you're my sister too." i pulled her into a third hug. "let's go check on will, huh?" she nodded and i led her to where will lay, leaving her with joyce.
a minute or two later they re-emerged to look at the morse code message.
"wait, you opened this gate before, right?" joyce asked. eleven nodded and said yes.
"do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?"
we were all gathered around the table, yet again. like some weird, messed up, family dinner.
"it's not like it was before. it's grown." dad said, referring to the gate.
"that's for sure." i added.
"a lot." he nodded. "and i mean, that's considering we can get in there. the place is crawling with those dogs."
"demo-dogs." dustin corrected him.
"i'm sorry, what?"
"i said, uh, demo-dogs. like demogorgon and dogs. you put them together it sound pretty badass-"
"how is this important right now?"
"it's not, i'm sorry."
"i can do it." eleven said.
"you're not hearing me." dad shook his head.
"i'm hearing you. i can do it."
"even if el can, there's another problem. if the brain dies, the body dies." mike explained.
"i thought that was the whole point." max said.
"it is, but if we're really right about this... i mean if el closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..."
"will's a part of that army." i realized.
"closing the gate will kill him." mike finished.
everyone went silent. joyce's eyes widened.
she started walking into will's room. we all followed her.
"he likes it cold." she said.
"what?" dad asked.
"it's what will kept saying to me. he likes it cold." she shut the window. "we keep giving it what it wants."
"if this is a virus and will's the host, then..." nancy began.
"then we need to make the host uninhabitable." jonathan ended.
"so if he likes it cold..." i said.
"we need to burn it out of him."
"we have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time."
"yeah, somewhere far away."
dad decided they were gonna take will to our house. great, they were exorcising a demon into my home.
he carried will out to the car, giving directions to our practically secret cabin.
steve, nancy, and i went to the trash pile outside of the byers' residence to look for heaters.
"you should go with him." he told nancy.
"what?"
"with jonathan." i clarified.
"yeah, you should go with him."
"no, i'm..." she scoffed. "i'm not just gonna leave mike."
"no one's leaving anyone." steve said after a moment. "i may be a pretty shitty boyfriend but... turns out i'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter."
i smiled and laughed quietly, not wanting to interrupt their moment.
"steve..." nancy drawled.
"it's okay, nance. it's okay." he reassured her.
he walked inside, and i gave nancy a hug.
"go with him. i'll be here with the kids too, don't worry. and don't worry about steve, he'll bounce back." i let her go and she went to find jonathan.
i found mike and eleven on the porch having a heart to heart before dad took her to the gate. i gave her one last hug and repeated mike's message that he couldn't lose her again.
"i can't lose you either, sis." i smiled.
"you won't, sis." the word rolled off her tongue strangely.
i then walked up to dad. "be careful, dad. please." i hugged him too.
"you know it, kid." he kissed the top of my head, smoothing my hair.
i ushered mike back inside.
"all right." i told everyone. "let's clean up that mess." i pointed to the demogorgon.
everyone except dustin wanted to burn the demogorgon's body, but he insisted that we keep it in the fridge. somehow, he won the argument. dustin ran to the fridge to make room for the body.
"it should fit now." he told us.
"is this really necessary?" steve asked, holding the demogorgon wrapped up in a quilt.
"yes, it is, okay? this is a groundbreaking scientific discovery! we can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? it's not a dog."
"just do it, steve." i told him.
"all right, all right, all right. but you guys are explaining this to mrs. byers, okay?"
he struggled to shove the demo-dog's body into the fridge.
"christ, help me out man." he told dustin.
"what am i supposed to do?"
"get the door, man."
"all right, i got the door."
"ew. jesus." steve groaned. finally, they got it shut.
mike was pacing back and forth in the living room as max and lucas swept up the glass.
"you weren't in there, okay? that lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs." he said.
"demo-dogs!" dustin shouted.
"the chief will take care of her." lucas shrugged.
"like she needs protection." max added.
"listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it, all right?" steve interjected, trying to use some "cool sports lingo".
"okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game." mike told him. "and second, we're not even in the game. we're on the bench."
"so, my point is..." steve stammered.
"c'mon, spit it out." i encouraged him.
"right, uh, yeah. we're on the bench, so uh, there's nothing we can do."
"great! thanks for that realization." i slapped him on the back.
"that's not entirely true." dustin said, out of nowhere. "i mean, these demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. when they ran away from the bus, they were called away."
"if we get their attention," lucas caught on.
"maybe we can draw them away from the lab." max agreed.
"clear a path to the gate." mike nodded.
"yeah, and then we'll all die!" steve shouted.
"that's one point of view." i told him.
"no, that's not a point of view, y/n. that's a fact." he pleaded with me.
"i got it!" mike said, pushing through us to get to will's drawing on the fridge.
"this is where the chief dug his hole." he said pointing to the center of the map. "this is our way into the tunnel."
he then led us back into the living room. "here, right here. this is like a hub. so you got all the tunnels feeding in here. maybe if we set this on fire..."
"oh, yeah? that's a no." steve confirmed.
"yeah, i kinda have to agree with him on this one, guys." i said.
"the mind flayer would call away his army."
"they'd all come to stop us."
"we circle back to the exit."
"guys..." steve and i said.
"by the time they realize we're gone..."
"el would be at the gate."
"hey, hey, hey!" steve clapped his hands. "this is not happening!" he put his hands on his hips.
"but-"
"no buts. y/n and i promised to keep you shitheads safe, and thats exactly what we plan on." i nodded mimicking him, trying to look like i had authority.
"we're staying here. on the bench." he determined. "and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. does everybody understand?"
"this isn't a stupid sports game!" mike shouted again.
"i said does everybody understand that?" steve grabbed the towel off of his shoulder, pointing it towards the boys. "i need a yes."
there was then a revving outside. it felt familiar.
steve went outside to meet him. i listened through the door.
"am i dreaming, or is that you, harrington?"
"yeah, it's me. don't cream your pants."
i could hear them talking about max, and eventually billy noticed her watching through the window.
"shit, did he see us?"
"oh, shit, listen." i heard steve say. i opened the door just in time to see him get shoved to the ground.
"hey, billy, stop!"
"oh, man, now you got my girl in here, too, huh?"
"billy, i swear, there is nothing going on here-"
"yeah, yeah, right, so did you forget about our plans, or what, y/n?" he stalked forward blowing smoke in my face.
"billy, look, i got so caught up in babysitting- they really needed me here, and i, yes, i did forget, i-"
"you know, i tried to call you. my dad made me cancel anyway. but you weren't even there for me to cancel. and now, i find my missing sister, with you and harrington."
"billy, stop-" i tried to stop him from going into the house, but he pushed past me.
"well, well, well. lucas sinclair, what a surprise. i thought i told you to stay away from him, max."
"billy, go away."
"you disobeyed me. and you know what happens when you disobey me."
"billy, stop, leave her alone." i cried, tears were flowing down my face, and i was conflicted between staying in here and helping steve outside.
he ignored me.
"i break things." he grabbed lucas by the neck of his jacket, slamming him up against the china cabinet. we all screamed at him to stop.
they fought, and lucas kicked him in the balls.
"so dead, sinclair. you're dead!" billy screamed.
steve pushed through the crowd. "no. you are." he punched him.
billy cackled. "looks like you've got some fire in you after all, huh? i've been waiting to meet this king steve everybody's been telling me so much about."
"get out."
billy didn't listen and punched steve again. "i guess all it took was you going after my girl, huh harrington?"
"she's not your girl..." steve mumbled.
"stop, both of you!" i shouted, yet again.
the boys were shouting at steve to kick billy's ass. billy broke a plate over his head.
"you're gonna kill him, stop billy!" i cried, tears streaming.
"oh, i guess he's worth more to you?" billy laughed. "no one tells me what to do." he kept hitting.
before i knew it, max had jammed will's tranquilizer into billy's neck.
"the hell is this?" he pulled it out.
"you little shit, what did you do?" he slurred.
then he collapsed and max grabbed steve's bat.
"from here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. do you understand?" she demanded.
"screw you." he said. she hit the bat right between his legs, narrowly missing.
"say you understand! say it, say it!"
"i understand."
"what?"
"i understand."
then he was out. max grabbed his keys. "let's get out of here."
i sat with steve, mike, and dustin in the back of billy's car. somehow, even though i was the only conscious one with a license, max ended up driving. it was something to do with me being needed to watch over steve. honestly, i wasn't in the right head space to drive. finally, steve woke up.
"nancy?" he asked mike, clearly still very groggy.
"no, don't touch it." dustin said to steve, whom i assumed was prodding at his injured face.
"hey steve." i spoke gently. "i'm so glad you're awake."
"hey buddy, you put up a good fight. he kicked your ass, but you put up a fight." dustin then said.
"okay, you're gonna keep straight for a half of a mile," lucas directed max. "then make a left on mount sinai.
"what's going on?" steve asked, noticing that max was driving.
"okay, don't panic." i told him.
"oh my god!"
"just relax. they told me she's driven before." i said.
"yeah, in a parking lot." mike laughed.
"that counts." lucas exclaimed.
"they were gonna leave you behind." dustin explained. "i promised that you'd be cool."
we all got out of the car and steve stumbled. "guys." he groaned.
everyone put on their gear.
"oh no, guys. hey, where do you think you're going? what are you deaf, hello?"
"steve, we're already here. i tried to stop them but, maybe they're right." i explained.
"we are not going down there. i made myself clear." he said to all of us.
none of us listened and kept setting up.
"hey, steve, you're upset, i get it." dustin told him. "but the bottom line is, a party member need assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance. now, i know you and y/n promised nance that you'd keep us safe." he pulled the bat out of the trunk, handing it to steve. "so keep us safe."
steve reluctantly took it and jumped into the hole. i followed closely behind him, making sure hte kids got down safely.
"holy shit." he and i breathed out.
"yeah, i'm pretty sure it's this way." mike told us, gesturing to his map.
"you're pretty sure, or you're certain?" dustin clarified.
"i'm 100% sure. just follow me and you'll know."
"whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. hey, hey, hey. i don't think so." steve told him.
"what?"
"any of you little shits die down here, and i'm getting the blame. got it, dipshit? from here on out, y/n and i lead the way. come on, let's go."
"come on." i gestured to them, trying to keep up with steve.
"hey, a little hustle." he said.
we kept going and eventually came to what was like a four way stop, but with tunnels.
"god."
"what is this place?" i asked.
"come on, let's keep moving."
we all kept going until we heard dustin scream.
we all went running back to help him.
"dustin!" we screamed.
"what happened?" steve pushed forward, and i went to crouch around dustin.
"it's in my mouth! some got in my mouth! shit!" he started hacking and i gave him some pats on the back.
after a minute, it was clear he was fine.
"i'm okay." he said.
"you serious?"
"very funny, man."
"jesus, what an idiot."
"it's okay, dustin. i'd react the same way." i laughed.
i helped him up and pulled him along.
we made it to the 'x marks the spot' and steve said, "all right, wheeler. i think we found your hub."
now there were even more tunneled pathways around us. so many choices.
"drench it." mike said.
we started spraying the gasoline all over the... uh, walls? once it was completely soaked, we crouched down, anticipating the flames.
"you ready?" steve asked, pulling out his lighter.
"ready." we all echoed.
"light her up." i said to steve. we looked at each other before he lit a flame.
"i am in such deep shit." he sighed.
he tossed the lighter into the center of the tunnels and the whole thing immediately was engulfed by fire. the vines tossed back and forth.
"go, go, go, go!" steve and i shouted to the kids, all of us sprinting back to the exit.
"hey, this way!" steve led us.
mike then started screaming, captured by one of the vines.
"help!" he called.
we ran back for him, and i tried to pull the vine out from around his foot, without success.
"everybody back!" steve said, and i stepped away. he slamed his bat down around the vine until it wriggled off of mike.
"are you okay?" i asked him, he nodded.
"guys, we gotta go!" and then there was a familiar growl. a demogorgon.
"dart." dustin said. he shushed us.
"please, dustin, get back." i cried.
"trust me, please." he told me.
he fed him a three musketeers, telling us to quickly pass before he went after us.
we finally made it back to the rope, and steve and i helped all of the kids get up by pushing their legs and holding on to them as they climbed.
then, when just dustin, steve, and i were left, the demo-dogs came running.
"come on!"
"guys!"
"dustin, take my hand!"
steve got his bat ready. but when they came, they ran past us.
"eleven." mike and i said in sync.
when they were all gone, we helped dustin get up, and then steve helped me up.
steve, who was now alive enough, drove each kid home to their parents, ending with me. i could see that my dad and eleven were inside.
"that was..." i started.
"a crazy night." he finished, nodding.
"i... i'm so sorry, steve."
"about what?"
"about billy. he had no right to do that. and... i hope you know that i will not be going out with him anymore." i explained.
"well, i hope not." it was then that i realized that our hands were intertwined.
"i don't.. i don't know why i went out with him in the first place."
"you don't?"
"well, actually, i do." i looked down, feeling brave. "i was jealous. jealous of you and nancy. and, i thought billy was hot, so when he asked me out, i.. i said yes. but i couldn't get my mind off of you, steve. not when he took me to lovers lake, where we went. not when he kissed me, not when we..." i hadn't realized i was crying.
"y/n.."
"yes?"
he kissed me.
"woah." i said, when he pulled away.
"i.. this should have happened sooner." steve said, making us both laugh.
"why'd you go out with nancy then?" i teased.
"because i was scared. to lose you, if we became serious. and i never meant it to hurt you, of course. and i did, i really did fall in love with her. and i thank you for helping with that. but i never loved her more than you, y/n. i never loved anyone more than you. ever since i saw you smoking that day."
"oh, my god." i laughed, leaning in for another kiss.
the tape exposing the lab was released and barb got a proper funeral. nancy and i held hands, who was connected on her left to jonathan, and steve on my right. as much as it hurt, it felt so good to finally have the semi-truth out there.
i went to meet dr. owens with my dad, who had called to meet with us.
"chief-o" owens said. "and junior, nice to see you again."
i smiled.
"how's the leg?" dad asked him.
"better. pretty sure my football career is over." we all laughed lightly.
"want some? no way i'm gonna finish it." he tried to pass his sandwich over and i declined.
"no thanks. i'm on a, uh, diet." dad said.
"you're a better man than me. hey, got a little something for you." he pulled the file out of his bag.
dad opened the envelope and i leaned in, both of our eyes widening when we saw what it was.
a proper birth certificate, solidifying eleven as my sister.
"i thought..." dad trailed off.
"sometimes i even impress myself." owens smiled.
"thank you. so much!" i told him.
"no problem. still, i'd let things cool off for a while, if i were you."
"how long is a while?" dad asked.
"want to be safe? i'd give it a year."
"a year?" i exclaimed.
dad grabbed the sandwich.
"what about one night out?" he asked.
"one night?"
"yeah, how risky that'd be?"
"what's so important about one night?"
well, if it was the night that i thought it was...
on december 15th, i was chaperoning the snow ball. i was helping my sister get ready.
i had helped her pick out a dress from a catalogue and picked it up at the store earlier that week. i did her hair and makeup, too.
"you look beautiful, el." i told her, smiling.
"beautiful. you are too." she said.
"well, thank you. you ready to go?" she nodded. we walked out to the living room where dad saw us.
"wow, looking good, ladies." he smiled. "let me take a picture of my girls." he grabbed my camera.
el and i posed funnily and then we all got in the cruiser, driving to hawkins middle.
we got out and i told el to hold on for a second before we walked in. i said bye to my dad and gave him a hug before he walked over to joyce. i took el's hand and brought her over to steve, who i saw sitting in his car.
i knocked on his window and he jumped slightly.
he cranked it down.
"hey, you scared me." he smiled.
"sorry. what are you doing here?" i asked.
"oh, henderson wanted a ride. helped him with his hair and stuff." he shrugged.
"that's so sweet. i'm chaperoning, wanna come in for a dance?" i asked him.
"oh, uh yeah, yeah, i'd love to." he got out of the car. "i don't look too formal though."
"don't worry about it."
"oh, hey, eleven." steve smiled, causing el to say hi.
we walked in together and el ran up to mike.
time after time was playing and i took steve on to the dance floor.
"i thought she wasn't allowed out?" he asked me, placing his hands on his waist.
"this is her one special night. for now." i explained.
"oh, makes sense." he pointed to her and mike dancing. "they look cute. and happy."
"like us?" i smiled.
"exactly like us, obviously." he twirled me.
"wow, harrington. you have a way with words."
"yeah, yeah, well, i still won you over in the end."
a/n: ahhhhh they're together, they're together!! hooray hooray hooray!! also, i am so excited that we finally made it to season three! my favoriteeee. sorry that this chapter is so freakin long, but i love it so much so i am very happy with it. thx so much for reading, guys! i love you!
let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist or if you found and errors in this chapter! and ofc, let me know what you think!!
