Chapter Ninety: Steve Harrington Saves The Day

~~~Steve~~~

Riley led us through the minefield again, and the led us on a trek through the woods, with Nancy and Robin not far behind her. I kept my eyes trained on her, taking in the grime that dulled the bright colors of Nancy's sweater as well as the bandage that now covered her hand.

To be entirely honest...being here was difficult. Being in that shed, seeing the place where Riley spent an entire year, alone. It makes sense to me now why Hopper said he was proud to call her his daughter after seeing it. This place is a nightmare, and she navigated it completely on her own for three-hundred and sixty-five days. And yet all she really had to show for it once she got back was a bunch of idiots like me and my friends making jokes about her pain.

If I had been in her shoes, I have no doubts that I would be dead by now.

"Couldn't we have tried a road, or just something slightly less creepy?" Robin asked. Riley shook her head, turning around to face her.

"Roads, houses, everything that is a notable landmark for humans is just as notable for Monsters. Traveling by road is a death sentence, even when you haven't just been attacked." She explained, turning around and shining her flashlight forward again.

"I think we're getting close," Nancy added, "We're almost out of here, don't worry."

Eddie moved past me to follow after them.

"Eddie," I called, "Eddie, hey man, uh...listen, I just um...I just wanna say thanks. For saving my butt back there."

"Crap, you saved you're own butt, man," He replied, "I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there."

"Ozzy?" I asked.

"When you took a bite out of that bat." He clarified. "Ozzy Osborn? Black Sabbath? He bit a Bat's head off on stage-"

"I don't-"

"No? You know, doesn't matter. Its very metal, what you did, that's all I'm saying."

"Thanks."

"Henderson told me you were an action hero. Insisted on the matter, in fact."

"Wait, Henderson said that?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. Its kind of annoying, to be honest. I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but uh...I guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually...a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him, not a douche? No way man, that like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine." He leaned close to my face. "Still super jealous as heck, by the way."

"Ok." I laughed, pushing him away from me.

"Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your butt. Not under any uh...normal circumstances." We heard a branch break beside us and stopped, shining my flashlight into the woods before continuing to walk again. "Nope. Outside of D&D I am no hero. I see danger and I just... turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week."

"Give yourself a break man." I said, tapping his arm with the back of my hand.

"See," He stopped walking, gesturing up towards the girls and turning to face me, "The only reason I came here was 'cause those ladies...came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind, but Hopper, right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know how you managed to pull that off, because Riley Hopper was one of the only nice, genuine people that I have ever met in my stint at Hawkins High, but if I were you, I would hold onto her as tight as you possibly can, because that...was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen." I nodded.

"You know...the whole running thing you were talking about?" I asked, continuing my steps in order to keep up with the girls. "I used to be like that too."

"Seriously?" He asked skeptically. I nodded.

"Oh yeah, for sure. That first year that this all started, after Riley escaped from here, they had hunted down this monster we call the Demogorgon and she, Nancy, and Jonathan Byers had set up this trap for it at Jonathan's house. I was dating Nancy at the time-"

"Whoa, wait hold on," He stopped me, putting the back of his hand on my chest, "You've been with Hopper and Wheeler?"

"Yeah?" I said, furrowing my eyebrows. He shook his head.

"I can't tell if you make it really hard, or really easy for me to hate you." He stated. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Well uh...anyway, I showed up at their house, trying to make amends because I'd kind of screwed everything up with all of them, and uh...I stumbled upon this trap. I was freaking out, obviously, and they couldn't have been less bothered, so Nancy pointed her gun at me and demanded that I leave, and...I did."

"But?" He asked. I nodded.

"But..." I continued, "As I got to my car and ripped the door open, fully prepared to peel out of there as quickly as humanly possible...I saw the lights start to flash, which meant that the Demogorgon was there and...the idea of, obviously, leaving my girlfriend to fight this thing, but also...seeing the sheer amount of bravery and willingness to protect everyone around her that Riley had shown in that few minutes that I was in the house, it...something about her and that example that she set made me turn around and run back inside."

"Yeah, she's...she's a beast, there's no doubt about that." He agreed, glancing up at her. "So what happened?"

"Well, I went back inside," I continued, "They'd basically lost all of their weapons, they'd dropped this," I held up the bat, "And there was Riley, fully prepared to attack this seven-foot creature with her bare hands, so...I picked up the bat and I backed him into the trap."

"Steve Harrington saves the day." He said dryly. He nodded.

"I was a douche back then, I'll be the first to admit," I agreed, looking up at Riley again, "But...something about her...both what I observed about her and what I learned once I actually go to know her, she...she made me believe that I could be a better person. She made me want to be a better person, and every day since she has pushed me and believed that I could accomplish things that I never would've thought possible. So... basically, whatever Henderson told you about me, its...its all because of her. Without her, I...I don't even want to imagine who or where I would be right now."

"I believe it," He said, "You know, she used to be the only person at school-"

His words were cut off by another rumbling shake, making it difficult for all of us to stay on our feet.

"Gosh dang it!"

"Here we go again!" Eddie shouted.

~~~Riley~~~

"Ok, second on my list of least favorite things; Earthquakes. Seriously, I'm unsteady enough as it is."

"Is this normal?!" Nancy shouted, as both of us clung to a tree for balance. I shook my head.

"I mean, obviously the Upside Down could've changed in five years, but I never experienced anything like this!" I called back, turning my head to check on Eddie and Steve.

"Nancy!" I looked up at Robin shouting her name to see that she had let go of the tree and was attempting to walk forward into the clearing. "Where are you going?! Nancy!"

"Her house is right up here!" I shouted, attempting to follow after her as the shaking started to die down. I stumbled shakily behind her, collapsing to a stop beside her and grabbing her shoulder for balance as the earthquake stopped, revealing her house on the other side of the open clearing, surrounded by overgrown trees and bright red lightning.

"Riley, Nancy!" Robin shouted as she, Steve, and Eddie ran up behind us. Robin and Eddie flanked Nancy, looking at her house in the distance while Steve stood beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him and he looked back, smiling slightly before we both turned to look at her house along with the others. 

"Come on."

We all began walking towards the house as a group, with Steve sliding his hand into mine as we headed across the expanse of spindly trees and toppled powerlines the the dirty, decrepit, suburban house that we'd been using as our camp for the past several days. 

"Keep an eye out," I caused, "Like I said, houses are dangerous."

Nancy opened the door first, with Steve and I following after her with the flashlights and Robin and Eddie bringing up the back. The entire place was covered in vines.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler." Robin joked.

"Come on," Nancy said uncomfortably, "I don't want to stay here longer than we have too."

"Agreed." I said, following her up the stairs towards her bedroom. Once we got there, she headed to her closet, ripping it open and pulling a white, grimy shoebox from her top shelf before carrying it over to her desk. She pulled it open, surprised by finding tissue paper inside. She pulled it aside, revealing the white heels that she had loaned me for our trip to the asylum.

"Those aren't guns." Eddie said.

"These heels are pointy, but I was hoping for something along the lines of a deadly projectile." Robin added. 

"I-I don't understand."

"Maybe you left them somewhere else."

"There's a six-year-old in the house, I know where I keep my guns." Nancy argued.

"I left those at the hospital." I pointed out. "So clearly, this...rendering of Hawkins isn't entirely up-to-date."

Nancy glanced down at her desk, her eyes zeroing in on a pile of dingy notecards. I recognized them instantly, and I know that she did too.

"When Alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..." Barb read.

"Unoccupied space." I said, stepping up beside them. They both looked at me with wide eyes.

"Um excuse me! Calm down there Riles, you don't need to shout!" Barb exclaimed. I smiled.

"You're talking!" Nancy said. "Does that mean today is a good day or..." I shook my head.

"Nope, I guess it just means...I'm tired of being afraid." I said. She smiled, sympathetically.

"Well I'm proud of you. Its nice to hear your voice again."

"Thank you. Its nice to be using it. Hopefully after some time it will stop sounding like I swallowed a rose bush." I said, tightening my ponytail. "But anyway, you were studying?"

"Right, yes, 'A molecule that can-"

Barb's words were cut off by Steve Harrington running around in front of us, snatching the notecards out of Barb's hand.

"Hey!" Tommy H. and Carol came up behind us, Tommy H. Sticking his finger in Barb's ear and tugging at my ponytail.

"I think you've studied enough, Nance."

"Steve-" She started.

"I'm telling you, you know, you got this. Don't worry." He said.

She picked them up, flicking through them. 

"I get that grades are important to you, but perhaps studying can wait until we get out of here?" Robin asked. 

I picked up the card that read 'Unoccupied space' on it, holding it up.

"This was the first time I spoke to you since I escaped, " I told Nancy, "That was-"

"Sophomore Chemistry." She finished for me. "And this...this wallpaper, this is old wallpaper. And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And you," She picked up a dirty stuffed dog toy, "You're not supposed to be here. No, I gave you to Cousin Joanna two years ago."

"You were a Sophmore in '83," I pointed out, "That's the exact same year-"

"That Will was taken." She agreed, rushing over to her bedside table and picking up her journal, flicking through it.

"Don't tell me," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, "The last entry in that diary is November 6th?" She nodded, looking up at me.

"What is it?" Eddie questioned.

"I think...the reason that my guns aren't here....is that they don't exist yet."

"They don't...exist?"

"November 6th, 1983 is the day that Will went missing," I explained, "So basically, its beginning to look like the Upside Down hasn't changed since he was taken into the Upside Down. Like, its been frozen...we're in the past."

"Dustin! Dustin!" Steve's voice sounded from downstairs and I took off running, bolting down the stairs with the others not far behind me.