#byers!reader

[bookshelf-dust]

how people can change

steve harrington x gn!byers!reader

word count: 4,427

warnings: swearing, like one use of y/n, mentions of season one steve's bullshit, mentions of death, enemies to friends to more type beat

a/n: my very first *full* steve fic. look at us. who woulda thought? not me. i've been working on this since february. don't look at me, i know. i know. but i think i've gotten some sort of hold on how i'd like to write steve. some of the dialogue (season 2) isn’t mine. (also the title is a lyric from strange by celeste!) let me know what you think, okay? i love you. steve loves you. don't tell me if it's bad.

————

November 1984

The door slams behind you with a deafening thud, and you take the extra five seconds to lock it. You know, that action no one else in your family seems to be capable of performing. 

The house is quiet, and you step over the map of Hawkins sprawling over the hardwoods, careful not to damage Will’s work.

Your keys clang against the table, knocking into your mother’s ashtray. It’s dead quiet again, and you freeze at a subtle interruption in the silence. There’s a muffled sound coming from somewhere else in your home, and frankly you’ve had enough of everything the last couple of days. Which is why Joyce sent you home to get some sleep, to clear your head. 

There’s no denying that you have a soft spot for Will. He’s always been your buddy. And you love Jonathan, you do, and he’s got this sick ability to know what you’re thinking or feeling before you do, but he doesn’t need your protection like Will does. 

Will is your best friend. And he’s got one hell of a support system with you, Jonathan and your mom behind him. He deserves the world. You’ve always thought that. 

You quickly infer that it’s a walkie making the sound, based on the staticky crackle, the slightly muffled voice of whoever’s trying to get through from the other side.

Yours is off—you know it is—so it has to be Will’s. Jonathan was too good for a walkie-talkie.

You step down the hallway, pushing your younger brother’s bedroom door the rest of the way open. You scan the small area for it, listening.

“Code red! This is a code red! I repeat, this is a good red! Shit, is anyone there?”

You snatch up the device, extending the antenna.

“Dustin? Is that you?”

“Jesus christ! Where have you been?” Dustin exclaims, and you swear you can hear someone else interfering with his words.

“Sorry! I wasn’t home. What’s wrong?” You sit on the edge of Will’s bed. It’s so much comfier than yours. 

“It’s Dart! He’s, he’s just…you know what? It’s a long story. Where are you right now?”

This time you definitely hear another voice, and maybe even music.

“Dart? You kept him, right? I fucking knew it, Henderson! You’re so not a good liar.”

“That’s for sure.” You can’t place the voice, not over the walkie and over Dustin’s rambling, but you do catch that and it’s enough to leave you curious. 

The boy starts to argue back, but you cut him off. “Dustin, who are you with?”

“Uh,” he coughs, “Well you see, um…Steve Harrington. I’m with Steve Harrington.”

Dustin gets a severe eye roll from said partner-in-crime, but he brushes it off. 

“What?” You’re so confused. How did that even happen?

“I know! But everyone’s been MIA!”

“Oh my god,” you say, and Dustin can practically see you face-palming.

“Look,” he shoves a handful of rogue curls back under the brim of his hat. “Can you just meet up with us? The old junkyard?”

You push off of Will’s bed, and start walking through the house again, retrieving your things. So much for a nap or eating anything other than hospital Jell-O. What are you gonna say? Fuck no? 

“Yeah, yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank god,” Dustin breathes. “See you then. Over.”

You make sure to check the batteries in Will’s walkie before you go, and then you’re back in your car again, backing out just as aggressively as your mother (something you said you’d never do). 

————

“Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that, and your ass is grass you’re dead, Henderson. Do you understand?” 

“Yep.”

“Okay.”

Dustin goes quiet for a minute, watching each step he takes. The train tracks are old, and there are one too many loose nails for his liking. “So what’s Y/N got against you, man?”

Steve adjusts one of the gloves he’s wearing, trying not to think about the fact that he’s gonna smell like raw meat for who knows how long. “Uh, I don’t know, exactly. Never really talked to them before. But I’d assume it’s the–”

“The assholery?” Dustin interrupts. 

“Dude.”

“What? It’s true.”

“No, yeah, you’re right.” 

Dustin catches the slip in Steve’s attitude almost immediately. “Hey, they’re good, okay? I don’t think you’re a total dick, if that means anything. You’re trying and that’s what matters, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, we will. Thanks, Henderson.”

Dustin gives Steve a winning smile. This kid could rule the world, he thinks. 

“Anytime,” Harrington. He lifts his hand up, awaiting a fist bump that Steve returns without a second thought. 

————

You wander down the trail of raw meat you’ve found, not bothering to even question what's happening or where the meat came from. Frankly, you don’t really want to know. 

At the end of your path, you catch a glimpse of familiar curls, even if they are crushed under the red brim of a hat. 

“Dustin?”

The boy practically gives himself whiplash turning around to face you. 

“Holy shit, I’m so glad you’re here. It’ll be nice to have someone older than me who’s not a total pain in the ass.”

“Hey, I heard that.” 

The voice pulls your attention away from Dustin. When you look up, Steve Harrington is walking out of the biggest vehicle in this abandoned lot: a school bus. He’s wiping his hands on his jeans and pushing the ends of his sleeves up.

Dustin looks at you. “You guys have to be acquaintances at the least, right?”

You nod at him, feeling your face burn. If there’s a word for a less-than-acquaintance, you don’t know it. But that’s probably where your relationship with this boy lies. King Steve isn’t really someone you just miss. 

But yeah, you know him. You know he’s a dick. 

“Hi.” Steve pushes his sunglasses up into his hair and crosses his arms. 

“Hi.”

You only look at him for a moment before your eyes are back on Dustin. The younger boy notices the tension radiating from you, and honestly, he gets it. Steve Harrington wasn’t exactly the person he’d planned on spending his day with, but here he was. Desperate times call for desperate measures or whatever.

“So what are we doing?” You ask.

Dustin puts his thumbs underneath the straps of his backpack, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little. “It’s a long story. Best if we talk while we work.”

You roll your eyes at him, but follow the thirteen-year-old wherever he wants to go. You’re not sure you could deny Dustin Henderson anything. 

————

You watch as Max, a young girl you’ve just met, stomps up the steps of the ladder you’ve rigged inside the mess of a bus that you’re camped out in. 

Your chest aches because what Dustin just said to her was rude, it was rude, and you can’t believe the two of them. You sit, arms crossed and leg shaking up and down, glaring at Steve.

You find it hard to believe that after everything you’ve learned tonight, about Dart, about Mews—which you’re never going to get over because you only visit Dustin’s house for his cat, never him—that this is what they’re doing now.

“That’s good,” Steve says. “Just show her you don’t care.” 

Dustin is pacing, hands deep in his pockets. “I don’t,” he breathes.

Steve winks. Watching the two of them is like watching a tennis match. You don’t even like tennis.

“Why are you winking, Steve?” 

You drag your hand down your face, sick of hearing this stupid ass conversation. When Dustin sits, the constant clink of metal where Steve keeps flicking his lighter open over and over starts to give you a headache. 

“Fuck, Steve, would you quit it already?” 

He scoffs, snapping the lid to his Zippo closed harder than he had been before. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re pissing me off, that’s my problem.”

Steve’s brow furrows. He doesn’t really understand the sudden need for aggression. 

“Is this really the time for you to be yelling at me?”

“Is this really the time for you to be a dick?”

Dustin jerks the antenna on his walkie down, clearly sick of the two of you. “Would you children stop bickering? This is a life or death situation we have going on here.”

“I’d prefer death,” you proclaim. 

Dustin glares at you. “I can arrange that if you’d really rather die, than act civil for one evening.”

“I think all of the civility,” you gesture vaguely with your hands, “went out the window when you asked me to come help fight demo-dogs.”

Steve snorts at your words, and you glare at him, an “oh, is that funny?” look on your face. 

Dustin rearranges the hat on his head, stuffing his curls underneath it once again. “Alright. I’m gonna go check on our status, you two…work shit out, okay?”

“Dude,” Steve starts, “I’m older than you. I don’t have to listen to your instructions.” He gestures vaguely with his hands.

Dustin flips him off, and that’s the only response Steve receives, leaving the two of you alone in the bus.

You remain quiet, hoping that if you do you might just disappear or dissolve into the cracked leather of the seat you're sitting on. Then there really wouldn’t be any form of confrontation.

Steve starts flipping the lid to his Zippo open and shut repeatedly again, but this time it doesn’t annoy you. In fact, it gives you something to focus on, and you know that if you had one you’d be doing the same exact thing. 

You wonder if he’s nervous. Or just bored. 

Your knee begins to bounce when you realize that he’s looking at you, that he’s stopped messing with the lighter. But you refuse to look back, staring instead at the way the moonlight glints off of the metal in between his fingers. 

“So what’s your problem with me?”

The way Steve says those words is so unlike the way he’s spoken the rest of the day, the way he’s behaved with Dustin, that you feel a pang in your chest. 

He sounds like he used to. 

“Did you even hear that? How conceded you just sounded? Like it’s funny that I might have a problem with you, king Steve?”

Obviously the use of his nickname hits a nerve. He shoves the lighter back into his pocket and sits up, tucking his hands under his knees. 

“Would you just cut the shit and tell me what your problem is then?”

You sit up, matching his stance. There’s a part of you that wants to piss him off. You ache for it. 

“You’re a dick, that’s my problem.”

Steve scoffs. 

“That’s it? Like I don’t already know that?”

You roll your eyes, oblivious to the fact that all three of the younger kids you’re with have their heads hung over the escape latch in the top of the bus, listening eagerly. 

“You think I’m just gonna put up with you, Harrington? I’m sorry, did you forget the slut shaming you and your shitty friends did publicly last fall? Because I sure as hell didn’t. I didn’t forget that you walk around like you fucking own the entirety of Hawkins because you’re swimming in daddy’s money. I didn’t forget that your girlfriend took my best friend away from me.”

You stop, and Steve just looks at you. You realize how heavy you’re breathing and subconsciously watch the steady movement of his chest, trying to match the pace and calm down. You hadn’t meant to get worked up like that. But sometimes…sometimes shit just happens. 

Steve sighs. Honestly he feels a little sick. And he could argue with you some more, say that you don’t know what you’re talking about, that that’s the past, that he’s getting better. But that feels shallow. It feels meaningless. Because he knows it’s true. That in worrying about only himself or getting the girl or impressing whoever, he hurt loads more people than he realized. 

It’s such bullshit, he thinks. This life he’s been living.

“You know, I’ve gotten plenty of earfuls about my actions from Dustin, I promise you that much. He can be very mean.” 

You snort, considering there’s absolutely no denying that. “He’s a smart kid.” 

Steve nods. He’s trying to think of a way to respond. He’s not good with words. 

“Look, I-I know I’m a dick, okay?” he starts. You decide to be brave and look at him. He seems to like that. The eye contact. It’s like it lets him know you’re paying attention. He doesn’t get a lot of that, not away from school. 

“The thing with Nancy,” he gestures with his hands, looking away from you and at the wall of the bus, like it hurts him to talk about or something. “I don’t know. My solution to not getting what I wanted was apparently to take it out on her. Tommy H. proposed the idea, and I didn’t stop it.”

“You know I cleaned it off, right?” he continues. 

You uncross your arms and sit up, criss crossing your legs instead. “No. I didn’t know that.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I broadcasted the information across Hawkins. Tommy and Carol don’t even know.”

Oh. The fact that they didn’t know tells you that he did it without needed recognition. He did it because he wanted to.

“I just—she saw it. And then there was the whole thing…”

You start to grin before you catch yourself, but he sees it. 

“It’s okay, you can laugh. I got the shit beat out of me.”

“You deserved it.”

He can’t argue with that. He won’t argue with it. “You’re right. I did. I said and did a lot that day that I regret.”

You nod, and then you’re both just looking at one another. It’s quiet out here, the same quiet you get at home, where you can hear the crickets, where you know there will be lightning bugs in the warmer months, free to roam uninterrupted by human activity. 

Steve pushes his hair from his forehead, and though he sees you track the movement of his hand, he doesn’t point it out.

“What did you mean about your friend?”

If you’re being honest with yourself, you hadn’t intended for that to come out, but being in such close proximity to Steve in this moment had just made everything spill out. 

You try to wave him off. “That was a whole thing. I didn’t mean to spill my guts like that.”

“No, it’s okay, I want to know. If you want to tell me, that is.”

You nod, chewing at your thumb nail now. Steve has the urge to reach forward and pull it free so you won’t hurt yourself, but he doesn’t. Instead he stays still and quiet, watching you contemplate a while. 

Eventually he decides to keep going. 

“I’m trying, you know,” he tells you. You look up and it gives him that little push to continue speaking. “To be better. I know you think I’m a total dick, and you’re not wrong, I know that, but I really am trying to be better. To be a good influence on those little shits.” He quirks his head upwards where he knows all three of his charges are eavesdropping, without a doubt. 

You take a second and look at him. Really look at him. He seems to carry himself differently, though it’s not something you’d notice if you weren’t looking. He’s not dressed like his mommy picked out his outfit. He looks messy. The mess draws you in. 

“I believe you. And I-I know I shouldn’t stereotype you, but it’s just—”

“I am a walking stereotype,” Steve grins. So do you.

“Yeah. I guess so. But I believe that you’re working on it. I suppose some people don’t remain assholes forever.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, though a little distracted. You still haven’t told you what you meant, but that’s not what’s really bugging him. 

There’s this pull inside him. This longing for a friend. A real friend. Not someone he knows just because their dads were up each other's asses, or someone he just sits with at lunch because they’re of the same status quo. 

And he just feels so alone right now. What with Nancy, this girl he thought he was in love with and everything, but clearly she doesn’t feel the same. What’s he even supposed to do with that? Did he ever actually know anything about her? 

It doesn’t matter. 

What matters is that he’s sitting here with you, hanging out with thirteen-year-olds and hiding from creatures Steve’s brain can’t even begin to decipher. 

“Barb,” you say. Steve panicked a little internally at the mention of her name, considering. But he keeps his eyes on you, focused on each word that leaves your mouth. “She was my best friend, in middle school that is.”

He nods. Oh. Oh. 

“We were still close when we got to high school, had a little group and everything, right? And even though high school kinda fucks everything up, I didn’t want to believe that would happen to our little partnership, you know?” 

He nods again, trying his best to pay attention. He’s trying harder than he ever has in school. He probably shouldn’t ever say that out loud.

“Anyways, she was my best friend. She was all I knew, and then we got to lovely Hawkins High, and she met Nancy. Nancy and I never really clicked, even when we tried. I guess it’s because I’ve always thought she was a pretentious bitch—sorry, Steve—but I don’t know. We just fell apart after that.”

“So Barb had Nancy and I had…no one. And the way my brain saw it was Nancy took my best friend from me, and then Nancy started seeing you, and so I saw those two from across the cafeteria, lounging with the popular kids. With you. And then she died.”

Steve is looking at you in a way he’s never looked at you before. Like he’s in awe of you. And it’s not anything negative. It’s warm. Understanding. Like something you’ve said has straightened something out in his brain, sorted something he couldn’t figure out on his own. 

“S-so it was like we took her from you, in a way?” he asks. 

“Yeah. And you didn’t. God, you didn’t. But it just felt like this…” you trail off, searching for the right words.

“Domino effect?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Exactly. And it’s not your fault, not at all. But I guess I already saw you as some dickish rich kid and that gave me another reason to stay the fuck away from you. And now that I’m saying it out loud I realize how awful it sounds because people change, you know?”

“No, I get it. I’ve been an asshole, and I’m sure I still am—Dustin can attest to that—but there are rich assholes that don’t change or probably won’t ever change. I know a few of them.”

You go quiet again. Steve doesn’t want you to stop talking. He’s starting to think he likes the sound of your voice. 

“It’s good that you’re changing, Steve. I’m sorry I said you were such a dick.”

A breathy laugh leaves his throat. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m sorry for…everything.”

“Maybe we can make a truce or something. Start over. It’s not like we really know each other that well anyhow.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s cool. Whatever you want.” He means that. He thinks he’d do whatever you wanted him to. 

“Okay. Maybe we can just try and figure it out.”

“I’d like that,” Steve says. He stops himself from proclaiming that he wants to try and fix this with you. Because you’re listening to him. You’re not mad. He doesn’t want you to disappear on him after this. 

You give him a small smile and he swears he might cry. Not that that feeling lasts. 

“Hey!” Dustin is leaning down into the bus, hands clasped together. “I’m so glad we’ve got this handled, but we’ve got a code red, so let’s get this show on the road, yeah?”

————

June 1985

The door to the back room swings open, a frazzled boy rushing in. You drop your candy wrapper on the table, and Robin keeps talking about the girl that you missed coming in this morning. She was “such a babe.”  

“Hello?” Steve stands in front of the both of you, hands on his hips. You have to fight back a laugh. 

Your eyes find Steve’s immediately, and you swear they soften, but maybe you’re imagining it. You nudge Robin’s leg where your foot is propped up on one of the supports under her chair. 

She stops flailing and looks up, seeing Steve’s hand raised where he’d been about to snap to get her attention. She quirks a brow. “Don’t you snap at me, Harrington! This is important shit.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Could you two come and help me? I’m dying out here!”

It’s one of the hottest days of the year, and Scoops has had a line since it opened at ten. 

You look at your watch. “My shift doesn’t start for…fifteen minutes.” He rolls his eyes at you, though the gesture is void of any malice it could possibly hold. 

“Yeah, well this is supposed to be my break, so get out there, Buckley!”

She stands, though she’s pouting. “Come on.”

“You took the job,” he says, shoving her through the door. Robin gives him a look that you can’t see, but you can practically feel it from across the small room. 

Steve lets out an exaggerated sigh, ripping off the hat he’s been wearing and throwing it on the table in front of you. 

You watch him rummage through a bag before he emerges from its depths with a banana and throws himself down in the chair across from you, lifting your leg up from where you’d moved it to occupy the seat Robin had abandoned. His hand is warm on the bare skin of your calf, and he shifts the chair some, laying your leg across both of his. 

“Steve.”

“Huh?” He peels the banana, aggressively fast actually, and rips off a chunk, popping it into his mouth. 

“Why do you have a banana?” 

He meets your eyes. “Snack, duh.” He chews, and then gestures at the closed window. “Been working up a sweat out there I think I deserve a break.”

You grin at him, and he feels like he might hit the floor. 

“Want some?” Steve pulls off a chunk and holds it out to you. 

“Did you wash your hands?”

He gasps, mid-chew, and forces himself to swallow. “D-did I—yes, I washed my hands, mom, I’m not four.”

“Eh,” Robin’s voice breaks your little bubble. She’s pulled the window open–that way she can eavesdrop– propping herself up on her elbows. 

That makes you laugh, and when you smile your cheek is full of banana and Steve swears something is breaking inside of him. 

“Gang up on me then why don’t you,” he says, handing you the last piece he’s got left. He tosses the peel in the trash, “what do you want anyhow, Robin?” 

“Your break is up, and her shift has started. Let’s get to slinging ice cream, shitheads!”

You wipe your hands on your shorts and hop up. Steve doesn’t move, just looks at you. 

“C’mon, Steven. It’ll be lunch sooner than later.”

He grins. His eyes look tired and you wonder if he slept any last night. He told you once recently that he doesn’t always sleep well, that sometimes he has to listen to tapes in order to keep his head from being so busy, to keep the thoughts from being so loud. 

Steve has told you a lot since last fall. There’s a significant bit more that you know that’s more than what he’s given Robin, but you know he’ll let her in. He just needs the time. 

Though sometimes you think he might be giving you everything. The parts of himself he’s never shown anyone else. Because you’ve been such a good listener, and Steve’s never really had that before. 

He wishes he had the balls to tell you more. But he can’t fuck it up this time. Not with you. You’re too good.

Steve is your best friend now. You know that. He knows it.

If yourself from a year ago could see you now, she’d probably knock your fucking teeth in. But he’s just so much more than you thought. You’re not sure you’ll ever forgive yourself for not thinking there could be more in him, though he’s told you not to be upset. You’ve told him the same when he berates himself for not having paid you more attention in school.

It’s the past. You can’t live there. And today, you’re scooping ice cream for pre-sticky kids, for shitty pay, but it doesn’t matter because you have him. You have Robin. 

You stick out your hand, and Steve takes it without a second thought. His palm engulfs yours, skin warm and a little calloused. 

“We can watch whatever you want tonight.”

He squeezes your hand. You and Robin are supposed to have a sleepover with him tonight. He suggested he sleep in a guest room and you two have his bed, but Robin said she needs to be cuddled. You said you’re not letting him sleep anywhere but his bed. 

“I thought you wanted to watch Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

“I always wanna watch that. But you can pick first, Stevie.”

Stevie. His stomach flips at that. You don’t let it out often, but when you do it’s like Steve might just die right there. 

He straightens, deal clearly made, and you pull him up–not that you need to. 

You push through the door with him, and immediately regret it. It’s like the soccer moms can smell your fear, and you know it. 

“Breathe,” Steve says. “Dustin’s here.”

He is. The entire party. That you can deal with. 

You think you could deal with an absurd line and angry mothers for the rest of your life if it meant assembling Dustin and Lucas’ weird orders. Even if you have to endure Will’s questioning looks and his pleas that you bring some ice cream home. If you have to listen to Robin’s word vomit.

If it meant spending time with Steve, you’d do it. 

God, how shit changes.

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x gn!reader #steve harrington x gender neutral reader #steve harrington angst #steve harrington comfort #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fluff #dustin henderson #steve harrington x byers!reader #byers!reader #robin buckley #savannah’s fics

[queenimmadolla]

there will never be a better depiction for what it feels like to read a 🤚🏻 last name!reader fic thank you victorious lmao

#so I simply don’t but this was just too funny 😂 #harrington!reader #munson!reader #buckley!reader #wheeler!reader #byers!reader #Hargrove!reader #Cunningham!reader #stranger things #stranger things fanction #black!reader #poc!reader

[kaylawritesfics]

can you write some headcanons where you're johnathans twin sister or something and your dating Steve?

Dating Steve Harrington and Being Jonathan’s Twin Sister

headcanons

summary: what it’s like to date steve “the hair” harrington while being a byers kid

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader (byers!reader)

WARNINGS: mentions of canon typical violence, plot inconsistencies bc i have the memory of a goldfish

note: gonna try not to make this one as annoyingly long as my steve x henderson!reader but we will see !! this has no spoilers for stranger things 4 bc truthfully i don’t remember it enough to write the plot out

You and Steve definitely did not get off on the right foot at first. “King Steve” and his obnoxious friends relentlessly tormented your brother, going as far as breaking his camera.

Tommy H and Carol teased you sometimes, as well, but your friendship with Nancy Wheeler protected you from receiving the same torment that your brother received.

When you found out your younger brother, Will, had gone missing, you and Jonathan found comfort in each other, both of you recognizing the horrible and frankly, insane state your mother was in.

Steve had even (reluctantly) brought over a casserole, which he claimed was from his mother, but in reality, he and Nancy spent hours looking for recipes and had multiple trial casseroles waiting at home to be eaten.

After seeing how caring and sweet Steve really was, your feelings for him began to change. You really appreciated his help and support while things were going to hell in Hawkins.

After Will was finally home and things were relatively back to normal, you and Steve had even started a small friendship, much to your brother’s distaste. However, even Jonathan didn’t hold much of a grudge against Steve after they reconciled.

You were especially thankful the following year, when Steve had taken the party under his wing, protecting them when things started to go to hell again.

Around the same time, Steve and Nancy’s relationship came to an end. You noticed Jonathan and Nancy had been spending more time together as well.

While Will was possessed by the Mind Flayer, Steve became a support system for you. While Jonathan was seeking comfort from Nancy, you found yourself frequently wrapped in Steve’s arms.

Obviously, in a purely platonic way. Steve was a great friend, a fantastic friend, even.

These new relationships greatly confused you and Jonathan.

“What’s up with you and Nancy?” “What’s up with you and Steve?”

Even though the situation is a little confusing, Jonathan is the biggest Y/N and Steve supporter. No matter how many times you explain that your relationship with Steve is completely platonic, Jonathan still doesn’t believe it.

“Yeah, right. You don’t see the way you look at him.” “Jonathan, I swear to god”

Even Will joins in, teasing you about your “nonexistent” crush on Steve.

“I drew this picture for you. There’s you, me, and Jonathan, and then over here is Steveholdingyourhand” The words rushed out of his mouth and he held back a laugh as you grumbled but still took the drawing.

Steve loves coming over to your house. His house is so quiet and cold. He thinks your house feels more like a home. Even though it’s small and sometimes a little messy, he thinks it’s cozy and warm.

He also loves Joyce and Will. Joyce has this need to take care of any kid who walks into her house and Steve is absolutely at the top of the list. His mother isn’t like that at all so he definitely basks in the attention.

Will makes Steve wish he had a younger sibling. He tries to spend as much time as he can with Will. Next to Dustin, Will is the kid in the party that Steve is closest to. Will loves Steve and appreciates that Steve listens to him and lets him ramble on about DnD, his favorite TV shows, etc.

The next summer, Steve takes a job at the new Starcourt Mall. You like to visit him at work, coming to order ice cream at least 3 times a week. Sometimes, you take Will with you.

Robin bugs Steve about you for weeks, encouraging him to ask you out.

Of course, right when he finally builds up the courage, things start to get bad in Hawkins again.

You and Steve don’t reunite again until after the Battle of Starcourt. While the Scoops Troop were infiltrating secret Russian bases, you and the party were focused on whatever the hell was going on with Billy Hargrove.

You’re sitting outside the burning mall when Steve approaches you. Your mom, Will, and Jonathan are all okay and everything feels like it could relatively go back to normal.

You notice the cuts and bruises littering his face and the bags around his eyes. His hair is falling in front of his face and you tenderly push it back for him. His arms wrap around your waist and he pulls you in for a hug that lasts suspiciously longer than usual.

“I love you.” He spits out quickly before his adrenaline rush wears off. He’s frozen and it feels like it takes centuries for you to respond.

“I love you, too” He releases a breath, leaning down to kiss you softly.

A few feet away, Will nudges Jonathan, pointing to the scene in front of them. Jonathan groans, squinting his face up in disgust at the sight of his sister locking lips with Steve Harrington.

“You owe me $20.” “Yeah, yeah, I know” Will smiles proudly, glad that at least something good came out of this disaster.

Jonathan and Steve weirdly become pretty good friends after this. While Jonathan is still fiercely protective of his baby sister (who, in reality, is only 3 minutes younger than him) and would kick Steve’s ass for a second time if he had to, they find out that they actually have a lot in common.

Steve fits right in with your family. He’s very respectful and kind and they all love him so much.

#adding a read more tag later don’t worry #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x byers!reader #dating steve harrington #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington #steve stranger things #steve harrington imagine #stranger things headcanons #stranger things imagine #stranger things #jonathan byers #jonathan byers x sister!reader #jonathan byers platonic imagine #jonathan byers imagine #will byers #will byers x sister!reader #will byers platonic imagine #will byers imagine #byers!reader #joyce byers #byers family #stranger things byers #robin buckley imagine #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler imagines #nancy and jonathan #nancy and steve #steve and jonathan

[davidsons89]

I hope you feel better soon💕 How about one with a Byers!reader and she finds out she’s pregnant and has to tell Joyce, maybe Billy or Eddie is her bf ?

addicted — b.h & e.m

pairings ; eddie munson x female byers!reader billy hargrove x female byers!reader

summary ; you’re friends with benefits with both billy and eddie when you suddenly get pregnant and have a hard time figuring out who the dad could be. you decide to have a talk with your mom joyce to figure things out.

warnings ; fwb, mentions of teenage pregnancy, crying, panic attack, mentions of past unprotected sex (idk if there’s anymore)

authors note ; i couldn’t decide between billy and eddie so why not do both?😉 — reader is single ps this was kinda rushed so idk if i like it but anyway hahaha

Billy and Eddie do not know about each other. Billy doesn’t know you’re having sex with Eddie, and neither does Eddie know you’re having sex with Billy. You’re keeping them both a secret from each other and everyone else, mainly for the reason you don’t want to be labeled as a slut.

You’re far from a slut. You’re the sister of Jonathan and Will Byers. Two of the weirdest boys in Hawkins. Or so everyone says. But you’re different from them. They’ve always wanted to stay out of the crowd whereas you always try to fit in.

And you did fit in. You’re super pretty, you get lots of attention from the guys at school, but no one compares to Billy Hargrove. Or so you thought different when you met Eddie Munson a few months later.

Let’s cut to the chase. You started sleeping with Billy not long after you met him, but neither of you were looking for a relationship. You meant nothing to each other but sex. You became friends with benefits and fucked at any given chance you could. Whether that be at school, in his car or at home when nobody’s there. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

Then three months later you met Eddie Munson. A nerdy metal head who played D&D with your little brother and his friends. You two got along pretty well, and it wasn’t long before you took an interest in each other. But again, you made it clear that you weren’t looking for love.

He felt the same way. He was in it for the sex just as much as you were. And before you knew it, you had two of Hawkins High’s prettiest boys wrapped around your finger. Nobody else deserves the title of being friends with benefits with Y/N Byers. Nobody.

And in no time you were fucking them both behind their backs. Neither Eddie or Billy knew about each other. That’s just how secretive you are. Weeks keep going by of you sleeping with both boys back and forth, taking it in turns to fuck them then go to the other one. You couldn’t help it. You’re practically a sex addict at this point.

And they’re both so good. You just couldn’t decide who’s better. They’re both amazing at sex and know what to do at all times to keep you pleased. That was mainly the reason you couldn’t leave any of them. Having two friends with benefits is better than one, right? There’s no shame in that.

But Billy is super protective. Even though you’re not in a relationship, he still claims you as his. He doesn’t want you to fuck other boys, he doesn’t want you to look at another boy. You don’t get it, but he’s just like that. This is why you had to be extra careful with Eddie otherwise he would beat the crap out of him.

Weeks of unprotected sex keeps going by. You’re going strong and you’re confident that everything is fine. You’re too focused on your pleasure to worry about using condoms or birth control. This was one of your biggest regrets to this day.

You woke up one morning feeling sick as hell. You thought it was just period cramps, until you went to the bathroom and saw no blood. Checking the date, you realize you’re late for your period. You start to panic and rush to your room to grab a pregnancy test.

You kept them hidden from your mom in the bottom of your closet underneath your clothes. You’ve had them ever since you started having sex with your first boyfriend. Now they’re there for emergencies. Such as right now.

Rushing back to the bathroom, you take the test and wait a few minutes for the results to show. You pace around the bathroom, feeling like you’re drenched in sweat but it’s just fear taking over your body. What the hell are you supposed to do if it says positive? How can you take care of a baby? You’re just 17 years old.

After waiting long enough, you take a deep breath and reach for the test. Picking it up, you close your eyes for a split second to calm your nerves, only to widen them when you see the results. Positive. You throw the test on the floor and put your hands on your head. Shit. What are you supposed to do now?

You sit in the bathroom and cry by yourself for a little while. Some minutes go by and you hear the door knob rattle and turn. Someone is trying to get in. Your eyes glare at the door in panic until you hear your mom speak. “Y/N, are you in there?” She says. You sigh, unsure whether it’s of relief or fear.

She’s your mom. She’s there for you, but this is one thing you don’t know how to tell her. “Yeah” sniffling, you wipe your tears and unlock the door. “I need to use— sweetie, what’s wrong?” She frowns when she notices you crying. You don’t reply, you sit back down on the edge of the bathtub and she makes her way over to you, shutting the door behind her.

“Oh honey, is everything ok?” She asks, sitting down beside you on the bathtub, putting her arm around your shoulder as you sob into your hands. How are you supposed to tell her? You threw the test on the floor somewhere, but Joyce hasn’t noticed it.

You’re too shaken up to answer her. It’s almost like you’re hyperventilating, making yourself worry with tears. “I’m- I’m sorry” you cough. You’re working yourself up. Joyce is trying to calm you down by shushing and comforting you. “Sorry? What are you sorry for, Y/N?” She rubs your back, concerned by your level of sadness.

“I- I messed up” you cry, rubbing your waterfall of tears away with your hands. Joyce is confused but she’s trying to figure it out. “What? What do you mean sweetie?” Her voice is as calm and soothing as ever. She’s your mom, she’s amazing at comforting you.

You didn’t want to use your words, but you’re too far into it to back out of it. She needs to know. You point to the floor, sniffling as more tears roll down your cheeks. “What?” She frowns, looking down to where you’re pointing to notice a pregnancy test on the floor. She says nothing but widens her eyes. She doesn’t want to make the situation any worse.

She reaches down to pick it up, reading it. Positive. “Oh, Y/N sweetie” Joyce sighs as you drop your head in your hands, crying and panicking at once. “I’m sorry mom” you cry it out as she continues to comfort you. This isn’t easy, it’s not something that can be dealt with in the snap of a finger. It’s a huge thing and your mom is here for you.

“It’s ok, shh, shh” she tries her best to calm you down with her hand rubbing your back. You’re over worked up at this point, you can barely breathe properly. You’re panicking and hyperventilating like crazy. “Come on, let’s go to your room” Joyce softly says, standing up and grabbing your hand to guide you to your bedroom.

You sit on the bed and wipe away your tears as your mom closes the door, sitting down beside you after doing so. “Do you have a boyfriend?” Joyce asks, grabbing your hands and holding them in your lap to comfort you. She wants to know you can feel comfortable talking to her about anything.

You hesitatingly shake your head. You don’t want to lie but you don’t want to admit that you’re sleeping with two guys behind everyone’s backs. You don’t want to put a bad name to yourself even though nobody would care as much as you think. “No- no boyfriend” you sniffle, fiddling with your moms hands in your lap to distract yourself.

“That’s ok sweetie, you don’t need a boyfriend to get pregnant” Joyce speaks in a supportive tone. She is always there for her kids, she wouldn’t dare raise her voice at you. She knows what teenagers are like, she was one herself once. “I’ve just- I’ve been… fooling around I guess” you shrug, not knowing the right way to approach it.

“Who with? I’m sure you can have a talk with him about figuring things out” Joyce rubs your hands. “That’s the thing… it’s- it’s not just one guy” you put your head down to avoid looking your mom in the eyes. “Oh- uh” she stammers. Now she’s the one who doesn’t know what to say.

You suddenly felt like the room got awkward as hell. “It’s two guys from school” you say to fill in the silence. “Why don’t you talk to th-” Joyce asks but you are quick to cut her off. “No” you shake your head.

“I don’t want either of them to know… and I kinda don’t want anyone to know about them…” you shrug. To Joyce it seems like you’re hiding something, maybe your feelings or how you feel about yourself in general. “Why? Who are they honey?” She asks. She’s trying to talk to you in a supportive manner.

“Um- well uh- Will knows one of them… Eddie. He’s in that Hellfire Club thing with him” you explain and your mom nods to show her understanding. “Okay… and the other boy?” She asks. Suddenly you didn’t want to tell her. You would much prefer to keep Billy a secret until the day you die. Billy is one of the worst people you could ever associate yourself with, and Jonathan would agree, being the same age as him at school and all.

“Oh- he’s just- his name is Billy. He’s Max’s older brother, you know, Will’s red head friend” you try to explain and Joyce nods to show she understands who you’re talking about. She doesn’t want to make you feel any more upset or uncomfortable than you already are, so she tries to cheer you up.

“You go for a lot of Will’s friends, huh?” She chuckles which makes you smile, wiping away your old tears as you slowly stop crying. “I wouldn’t necessarily call Billy a friend, he’s- well he’s- not really a good guy. He’s just a ladies man, and I clearly fell for that” you chuckle and Joyce smiles. She isn’t disappointed or mad at you. She’s one of the best moms in the world.

“As long as you’re happy. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll be by your side every step of the way. I know you’re young and probably not ready to be a mother yet and it’s not too late to back out of it. I’m here for you, sweetheart, and your brothers are, too” Joyce’s hand slides from your hands to your back to rub it.

After rubbing your back, her hand holds onto your shoulder to pull you close to her. Pulling you into a side hug, your head rests on her shoulder as you sniffle. Your tears have stopped but your eyes and cheeks are stained red.

“Oh god, those two? Don’t tell those two” you make a joke. “You don’t want your brothers to know?” Joyce asks and you quickly shake your head. “Definitely not. Jonathan will probably team up with Nancy and Steve to kill Billy. I wouldn’t be surprised” you laugh and your laughter makes your mom smile.

“And what about Will?” She asks, curious to see how you think Will would handle the situation. “Oh, Will? I can totally see him and El torturing Eddie with her powers” you giggle, making Joyce laugh. She loves how you use your imagination, oh, and how you think of your brothers.

Joyce stuck by your side for the rest of the day. You were far too stressed to do anything, so the two of you watched movies and ate junk food together. Joyce respected your wishes of wanting to keep this a secret between you both, so Jonathan and Will wouldn’t find out. She will support you through whichever decision you decide to make for yourself.

And you’ll do your best to make sure Eddie and Billy never find out that you got pregnant. After everything that’s happened, it will not stop you from fucking them both. Maybe next time you’ll be careful. Maybe you won’t. But you’ll never stop fucking them. You’re addicted.

#stranger things 4 #stranger things #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargove imagine #billy hargrove #billy stranger things #eddie munson oneshot #billy hargrove one shot #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson x reader #eddie stranger things #byers!reader #eddie munson x byers!reader #Billy hargrove x byers!reader #joyce byers

[thetargaryenbride]

Nail To The Coffin - Prologue: Introducing Y/N Byers...

Summary: Y/N Byers wondered what would end up being the death of the small town she lived in. She never expected that the last nail on the coffin would be hammered by monsters from another dimension who would end up hunting down her friends and family one by one...

Warnings: None

Pairing: Steve Harrington x fem!Byers!Reader [potential Steddie x Reader]

Word Count: 4K

AN: I’m not sure what came over me suddenly but I really wanted to write this story. It’s not perfect by all means, a bit chaotic, but I hope you like it. I’d love to hear what you think and I’d be grateful if you leave reviews. Thank you~ <3

➤➤ You can find this story on my Ao3 if tumblr glitches  - Pipess G

Masterlist || Chapter 1

It was just another dull day for everyone in Hawkins, Indiana. A day filled with your typical daily routines.

A dull day in a dull, small town where nothing ever happened…Right?

Hawkins School was bustling with students, the hallways filled to the brim as everyone gathered in groups for a chit chat before the beginning of the next period, exchanging notes, makeup, whatever you can think of that teenagers of the 80’s do during recess.

“I swear to God Steve, I’m sick and tired of your little minions,” you grumbled as you opened your locker a bit more sharply than you intended to, making the boy in question cringe.

“You know that I can’t ditch Tommy. He’s been my friend since I can remember myself,” sighed Steve and you rolled your eyes as you hastily grabbed your biology books and notebooks before shoving the locker closed.

“If he calls my brother a freak one more time, I won’t hesitate to beat him up... I’m only holding back because you’re my frien-“

“Stop trying to lick his balls, Byers,” called out a voice from behind you. “This whole ‘Oh, I’m doing this because you’re my friend’ and ‘I’m doing that because I cherish you’-” the tone heightened mockingly before dropping back to its low, condescending baritone “- bullshit isn’t going to soften up King Steve and make him crawl into your bed. He fancies Nancy Wheeler,” Tommy strolled casually past you, lowering himself a bit, annoyingly entering your personal space just so he could bite out the last words into your ear before he went to stand next to Steve and throw you a mischievous grin. The grip on your books tightened so much you thought it would break through the hard covers and wrinkle the pages.

“Funny, for a moment there it seemed as if you were describing yourself,” you smiled tightly and his face fell. Before he could utter another scathing remark you pushed past him, knocking him a bit into Steve as you briskly walked down the hallway and towards your next period classroom.

“You know, you don’t always have to be a dick,” frowned Steve but Tommy just shook his head.

“And I don’t understand why you always take her side. You became friends with her since we started high school. But you’ve been friends with me since before. I’ve always had your back but you’re beginning to annoy me… “King” Steve,” spat out Tommy as he draped an arm over his girlfriend’s shoulder and began walking towards the classroom. Steve stood there, one hand rubbing the bridge of his nose as he wondered what he was supposed to do with the two of you before Tommy’s voice snapped him out of his mulling. “You coming or what?”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said, nerds?” spat out James as he shoved Mike’s shoulder. “I’m feeling like having extra lunch today, so empty. your. pockets!” he accentuated each word, accompanying it with more shoves. They have been at it for quite some time now, impishly pestering the group of four, having cut off their way at the entrance of the school.

“Why do you always gotta be like that, man? Leave us alone,” groaned Dustin as he took a step forward to try and stop the boy but Troy got in his way instead and pushed him back.

“Who asked you to speak? We can’t understand a word you’re saying, toothless!”

“You know very well that this is cleidocranial dysplasia!” raised his voice the boy and Troy rolled his eyes as he grabbed Dustin’s jacket and brough him face to face.

“Oh yeah? Open your mouth then!” when Dustin tried pulling away, the two boys got into a tug war situation until Dusting managed to shake off Troy, making him stumble a bit into James. Dustin’s eyes widened when the two glared and growled before they lunged at him. Mike, Will and Lucas cringed and tensed as they saw their friend getting attacked and immediately went to pull him and the others away from each other.

“What the hell is going on here?” a male voice boomed and everyone snapped their heads to look at a group of older guys approaching them. It was Troy’s brother and a couple of his friends – all Juniors/11th graders.

Troy and James smirked as they backed away and let their brothers and older friends come closer.

“So you are the little nerds who are trying to pick fights with my brother,” huffed the boy as he dropped his backpack on the ground and strolled closer to the group of four.

“Y-you got it all wrong…sir!” Mike raised his hands in defense.

“With all due r-respect but we were simply trying to defend ourselves. Maybe we can forget about it all and be on our way,” decided to reason Lucas.

“Oh, shut up, kid,” huffed the boy as he pushed Lucas. Dustin was able to catch him before he hit the ground while Mike and Will stood in front of them protectively. As brave as they were, they weren’t able to do much against their bigger opponents. One guy shoved Mike, sending him to the ground, and another closed in on Will, looking him up and down.

“You look familiar,” he said as he hit the boy’s shoulder roughly. “I’ve seen you hang around with someone. Can’t put my finger on who though,” he tilted his head pensively before pushing him again.

Just before he was about to push Will for the third time, he felt two hands latch onto his shoulders, shoving him so hard that his body hit the wall, head bouncing off painfully. The others turned to face the intruder who did it and their eyes widened.

“With me…you’ve seen him hang out…with me,” you drawled as one hand went to take the cigarette from between your lips, eyes glaring into the soul of the guy you just pushed before you shifted them to glare at the rest.

“B-Byers? This is your brother?” stuttered one of them and you closed your eyes, lowering your head and nodding as you exhaled the smoke, your foot drawing patterns on the floor before tapping twice on it.

“Do you remember the fantastic beating you received two years ago for bullying my other brother?” you asked with squinted eyes as you took a drag. When the boy’s friends, who were helping him get off the ground, nodded, you sent them a tight smile, exhaling the smoke through your nose. “Here’s what’s gonna happen… Unless you want to become my personal ash trays for the rest of the year, you’re gonna leave my brothers and their friends…alone,” you chirped sweetly as you drew closer and closer to the group with each word, staring them down menacingly. “Do we have a deal?”

They muttered their agreements before taking off as if the devil himself was putting hot coals under their feet.

You took a final drag of your cigar before putting it out and throwing it in the nearby bin before you turned around to face your brother and his companions. They looked at you with the most adorable, starstruck expressions and you couldn’t help but smile widely, eyes filling with adoration as you neared them and crouched down in front of Will who immediately wrapped his arms around your neck.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” you whispered as you hugged him tightly and placed a soft kiss on the crown of his head before pulling away just slightly in order to look at him.  

“I didn’t want to bother you,” he muttered and you caressed his cheek, brushing away his bangs before pinching his cheek lightly, leaving your hand to rest there.

“I’m your big sister, Will. I shouldn’t find out about things like that in such a way. You should always tell me when something…or someone…is bothering you. Who am I if I can’t protect you, hm?” you smiled gently at him and he returned it before hugging you again.

You outstretched your arm and beckoned in the other three and they gladly joined the warm hug.

“The same goes for you, ok? The three musketeers,” you nodded and threw them a knowing look as you ruffled Dustin’s curls, squished Mike’s cheeks and bopped Lucas’ nose, making them all giggle before the bell rang, interrupting the moment.

“Now go. Don’t be late for class,” you stood up as you grabbed the backpack you had discarded on the floor.

“What about you? Are you skipping last period?” asked Will and you hummed.

“It’s history. You know I’m the top student and my knowledge on history is far above the material we’re studying at school. Even Mrs. Click knows that. She doesn’t get worked up when I skip classes. I promised Amy I’d go to work earlier today because she needs help at the diner so… here we are,” you explained.

“If you’re starting work early… it means you’ll get home early too…right?” asked Will expectantly and your face fell, shoulders sagging. The trio looked at you and at their best friend and decided to give you some space so they began walking slowly down the hallway.

“Listen, I’ll be staying until the diner closes,” you said and Will looked dejectedly at the floor. “I told Jonathan to pick you up if he finishes work early but if he doesn’t make it on time, will you be ok to ride the bike home on your own?”

“Yeah…”

“Hey…heey, listen baby, I know that…me, mom and Jonathan haven’t been…spending much time home these past months but,” you shook your head as you squeezed his shoulders. “We are trying our best. Please…I know I’m asking a lot but…be patient with us just for a little while more, ok?” you asked gently and he nodded. “Besides, you have three amazing companions who are always with you! In fact, don’t you have a DnD campaign to go through today after school? I’m sure that’s gonna be a lot of fun!” you nudged him and shot him a grin and were happy when he smiled at you.

“Yeah! We’ll be at Mike’s house. We’ve been preparing for a long time.”

“And you’ll tell me all about it when I get home, ok?” you ruffled his hair before bidding him goodbye. You watched with a smile how he ran to catch up with his friends and your mind drifted to Steve and Tommy, smile faltering.

You had to admit that sometimes you got jealous with how Will had such smooth friendships, no drama whatsoever surrounding them. Meanwhile you couldn’t even begin describing the mess that were yours.

Everything began when you were fourteen of age, just beginning high school. People were familiar with you since before high school, aware of your troublemaking reputation, so they strayed away from you. But you weren’t exactly a troublemaker. The only thing you would do was protect your brother from bullies. They would attack him and you would simply attack back. What goes around comes around right? But many didn’t see it that way, especially because you ended up at the police station on a couple occasions, so they avoided you, thinking you were some kind of bloodthirsty gal who looked to pick a fight when in fact you were actually a sweet and caring person who simply got overprotective sometimes.

Besides, after going to the stations a couple of times, Hopper got tired of you and decided to sort of take you under his wing and teach you some basic ways to disarm an opponent without actually hurting them seriously so you don’t end up in the station ever again.

And it worked.

But as I said, people tend to stick with certain perception of others and don’t bother trying to leave their comfort zone and learn the truth. And so, you were alone. The only person you had by your side since the first day at school was Jonathan. A couple of girls like Chrissy, Nancy, Barb treated you decently. They didn’t actually believe you were a barbarian but you weren’t sure if you could call them friends just because you had a couple of pleasant interactions with them. Jonathan was your rock and you didn’t mind him being the only person you could truly count on.

Then one day, things changed. You had been cornered by a group of guys, angry at you for beating up their friends or brothers before, who wanted to get back at you. You really didn’t want to fight them. When it came to defending your brothers, your protective nature immediately kicked in and you didn’t hesitate to throw the first punch. But when it came to defending yourself you were kind of…lost.

It may be because you never cared too much about yourself or because when it came to you, you simply showed more tolerance and patience to insults and people hurting you before you lashed out. You didn’t fight back right away. You let them push you around, telling yourself that you would retaliate after another push…and another push…and another push.

Until someone else did it instead of you.

You were shocked to say the least. Not only because someone cared enough to stand up for you but because it was Steve Harrington himself – a boy who had quickly become popular, was athletic and handsome, who seemed to be kind of arrogant and sometimes had a brutish sense of humor but at the same time didn’t give off the vibes of a shitty person like many other jocks did.

Since that moment, Steve kind of began spending more time with you, coaxing you into conversations, sharing things about himself and prompting you to share things about yourself. And before you knew it, you were friends. Sometimes he acted like a jerk and you berated him for it. You knew he had his issues that brought out the worst in him and you tried your best to help him realize that and work on himself. But there was a factor in his life that prevented him from doing that and always managed to reverse the work you’ve done – Tommy Hagan and by extension his girlfriend and the crowd of people who came along.

Unbeknownst to you, Steve liked you. He liked you since the moment he laid eyes on you during your first class together. You were pretty, you were smart, you didn’t really follow the trends, never stuck to specific aesthetics or style, you made your own trends, your own rules, your own aesthetics – a bit of everything.

He wanted to get to know you but didn’t know how to approach you. He thought that if he appeared out of the blue and asked to be your friend, you would think he was dared to do it and brush him off. So when he saw those brutes ganging up on you, he half wanted to not intervene and watch if you would really beat them up like the rumors said, and half wanted to immediately rush to your help and use this as an opportunity to start a friendship with you.

The second one won.

From then on he began spending more time with you which always led to him learning new things about you, like how you absolutely loved history, how some of your favorite movies were the Indiana Jones ones because of the amazing adventures he would go through as a historian and archeology professor, how much you wanted to be just like him which is why you always studied extra hard – history in particular, or how you loved sketching impressive historical artifacts and Egyptian drawings in your notebook during a class that was boring, or how you could listen to rock one minute and then switch to bubblegum pop the next. He loved observing the way you would be focused on doing something, all peaceful and quiet, and then would look at him and give him a wide smile or a teasing wink, throwing in a joke here and there. You were…different…unique…complicated…multilayered…flexible…Even for your age.

He was smitten.

And you happily allowed him to worm his way into your life.

Tommy was another story altogether. He had been incredibly annoyed when he found out that Steve was infatuated with a “weirdo” like you but he didn’t intervene when Steve became your friend. He begrudgingly accepted it at first but with time things began getting worse and worse.

You disliked Tommy’s personality; you disliked him as a person. He infuriated you the majority of the time. Especially when he bullied others, your brother Jonathan included. He loved showing dominance and spitting on others who he believed to be weak and unworthy. It was disgusting.

He, in turn, disliked you because you weren’t the typical girl he was used to being surrounded with and that was irritating and confusing him. He also took you for a party pooper because you didn’t drink, make out with boys or participate in stupid games. Most of all, he disliked you because you always called him out on his behavior, insulted him when he was “messing around” with the nerds, and you were an “insufarable know-it-all”.  

And just like that, he didn’t want you to hang out with them anymore but he also didn’t want to talk to Steve about it because he knew how much he liked you. Surprisingly, this was the only time you shared the same sentiment with the bully – you didn’t want him to hang out with you and Steve anymore but at the same time you didn’t feel like you had the right to kick him out of the group considering he was friends with Steve long before you were. On another hand you were thinking if it was really worth it for Steve to keep being friends with a horrible person like that just for the sake of “I know you since childhood”. But you knew that one day Steve would be shaken and would have to make a choice. So you just kept quiet and tolerated Tommy and his… horrible girlfriend.

There were times when it all became too much though, so you would just ditch them and go take a breath by yourself. You found comfort in a place not far from school, on an abandoned picnic table next to the forest – a place where nobody went to. Or that’s what you thought until one day you were eating your lunch there and felt presence behind you, making you turn around in alarm only for you to come face to face with a boy who you’ve seen getting bullied – Eddie Munson.

That was last year, your Sophomore/10th grade.

You would occasionally meet after that and over time you became friends, bonding over rock and metal and fantasy books and board games. He was…just as complicated a person as Steve. Sure, he was very funny and outgoing and sweet – a total golden retriever. But you knew that deep down he struggled with trauma. And you didn’t know what to do to help him which sometimes gave you anxiety. Even on the few occasions when you managed to put some of his bullies in their place you still didn’t believe that it changed anything because the whole school thought he was a freak and hated him and you couldn’t possibly beat up the entire school as much as you wanted to. This precious boy did not deserve the treatment he was getting. That was the first time in your life when you truly felt weak and powerless and the guilt of not being able to do anything to help was eating at you. Bless him, he was just happy to even have you, Gareth and Jeff in his life.

You let out a sigh as you finally stopped in front of the cozy 50’s style diner where you worked at. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t even realize your feet had carried you all the way to your work.

If you had to be honest with yourself…you didn’t want to work. You wanted to focus on history, Egyptology and other languages. You wanted to study because next year one of the most prestigious universities in USA was going to launch a competition for young adults – a competition where you would be able to participate in multiple tests to prove what knowledge you possess which would then determine if you’d be able to be a part of an extremely exclusive and intensive program that would allow you to study and train under some of the most prestigious teachers – which for history and archeology were Professor David Brion Davis, Gordon Willey  and Robert John Braidwood – for a whole summer. And depending on your performance you could be given the chance to get an instant spot in the university and a stipend. All in a chosen of you field. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that you didn’t want to miss.

But you were the oldest sibling and you had to take care of your family.

Family always comes first is what you told yourself every time you felt the familiar dread of the possibility of never accomplishing your dream filling you.

Jonathan seemed to have picked it up too because he wasn’t even thinking about getting in college or participating in programs or courses. You fully believed it was your fault that he developed this kind of mindset and you hated it because you were ready to give up all your desires to send him to college before you so he could get a great education, a great job, and have that white-picket-fence apple pie life he deserved.    

“Good afternoon, sweetie! Ready for work?” asked Amy – the elderly, sweet woman who owned the diner – and you gave her a bright smile.

“More than ever!”

“Shit,” you whispered as your eyes constantly flickered between the road and your watch. It was late. Very late. You had stayed up later than you thought you would but you couldn’t really help it, it was a busy day today, filled to the brim with people, surprisingly for the small town you lived in, and half of them had been rowdy teenagers who made an absolute mess that you were stuck cleaning until now.

You just wanted to go back home and rest because your back and legs were killing you. No, scratch that, your whole body was killing you. You hoped that Will was still awake because you promised him you’d see him before bed to hear of his day. You hated breaking your promises, especially to him. He was a sweet, gentle child who was smart beyond his age and way too considered than he should be. He showed an astonishing patience and understanding when it came to you, Jonathan and your mom being absent more than usual this past year – something that many kids his age lacked.

You were just about to park your car when you saw Jonathan exiting his. He sent you a two finger salute and you smiled at him as you parked and got out as well, giving him a hug and exhaling deeply.

“Long day?”

“You’ve no idea,” you grumbled in his shoulder before releasing him and both of you walked in the house.

A strange sensation washed over you, making you shiver. For a second you felt unsafe in your own home. The unsettling sensation disappeared the moment you heard your brother opening the fridge and you rushed to get one of the sandwiches you had made this morning. Both of you simultaneously let out a moan after biting and chewing. You had been so hungry. Without even having the strength to wash the dishes you plopped on the coach, immediately drifting off. Jonathan smiled sadly before he grabbed the nearby blanket and covered your form with it, lowering himself to give you a kiss on the forehead before dragging his tired self towards his room.

None of you were looking forward to the next day.  

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#stranger things x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve x reader #eddie munson x reader #will byers x reader #jonathan byers x reader #stranger things #reader #reader insert #byers!reader

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Eddie the Banished

Eddie Munson x Byers!fem reader

Word count: 6k

Summary: Eddie helps you have a great time with your little brothe

Part 2 Part 3

A/N: this idea had been in my mind for a long time, because I love Will and I hate how his friends treat him, lol

There's no Vecna incident here at all, it's just the Byers going on vacation back to Hawkins.

You were still looking toward the entrance with slight nervousness, waiting for the night bus to arrive at Hawkins. Everything had been very difficult since the Starcourt mall fire and it had taken you a long time to find a decent rhythm of life again. Your mother, brothers, and your now new sister had gone to live in California, but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't leave your life in Indiana. Jonathan had no problem with changing schools, but for you it was very difficult; You were in charge of the literature club. And I mean, to a lot of people it might seem silly, but you'd been fighting hard for that position since you entered high school and you weren't about to give up. Besides, that same passion for writing had gotten you a job at the Hawkins Post (now without those awful men who mistreated Nancy so badly) and you couldn't deny that the pay was decent.

You don't even know how you convinced your mom, Joyce Byers herself, to let you stay in town for the rest of your year of high school.

Although she would never admit it out loud, Joyce took pride in you. From a very young age you had been independent, hardworking, and great support for her, so when you asked her to let you stay in the house, she couldn't say no. After all you were 18 years old and the sooner you got used to adult life the better it would be for you.

It was difficult, more than ever, because not only did you have to study, work and take care of the home, but also because now you were alone every day. It used to be comforting to come home and get a hug from your mom, fight a little with Jonathan, or watch movies with Will.

But hey, everyone had to grow up at some point and you were no exception.

“Y/N!” you heard in the distance You saw four people waving at you in the distance and almost fell on your face as you ran to meet them, completely excited.

"Will!" you laughed, looking at your little (not so little anymore) brother. He hugged you tightly as soon as he saw you and you reciprocated.

“I missed you so much” he confessed. You felt like you might cry at that, happy at the thought that, at least for a few days, you'd have your adventure partner back.

"I missed you more"

"Hello! Do you remember that you also have another brother?” Jonathan sneered from his place, annoyed that all your attention had gone to the minor. He wasn't going to admit it, but he had missed you too. You laughed and broke away from Will to punch your older brother in the shoulder, followed by a hug. Your mother saw the three of you with a smile and it didn't take long for you to surround her in a hug as well, now feeling a couple of tears slip down your cheeks.

"I'm so happy you're here" you exclaimed. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a shy girl and noticed that it was none other than Eleven, who, like Will, had grown and changed too much. You also pulled her in for a hug and asked her if she minded being called her sister, to which she said no. She was happy to have a feminine figure like you in her life.

"Mike didn't come?" she dared to ask, with that tone that still sounded a little different.

"He promised to come to the house tomorrow to see us, today it's too late" you explained "And Nancy too" you added. Your two brothers smiled at that, after all he was supposed to be his best friend and his girlfriend who you were talking about "But well, we have to put the luggage in the car and go home"

“Do you have a car?” Will asked, quietly, a little surprised. You winked at him.

"It's my dear Steve's car, but don't tell Johnny I borrowed it from him" you laughed and he did the same. You walked next to your mother while carrying some bags and you smiled again when you realized that your family was indeed with you.

Finally your house would feel like a home again.

Frankly, Joyce was shocked when she got to the house. The house wasn’t remodeled, but there was no apparent damage either. It was still clean and tidy, with just a couple of your belongings. It didn't look like the place someone your age and on your salary would live, but in some extraordinary way you had made it work.

You agreed to let Eleven stay with you in the room, claiming that you could start getting along like sisters at last, and there was hardly any time to chat the night they arrived, as they were so tired that they went straight to sleep.

The next morning you found that your mother had gone down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and you couldn't have been more grateful to her.

"So you have two jobs?" Jonathan asked once you sat down to eat breakfast at the table.

"That's right. Hawkins post in the afternoon and I'm a waitress at night. During the holidays I will also work in the mornings”

"And isn't it dangerous to work at night?" Joyce asked, to whom you had never told about this second job. Well, technically you had three jobs, but you were going to save yourself any illegal details for now.

"Not yet, the owners are good people and pay well, so I can't complain," you said, while you shrugged your shoulders.

"And do you study at school too?" she asked, now Eleven, dumbfounded by your occupations. You kindly nodded and she gave a soft 'wow' at that. At some point the conversation turned to them, as expected, and you found out about everything they had been doing both at school and work. You knew a thing or two from your weekly calls to Lenora Hills, but there was nothing like discussing it in person.

The doorbell rang as you were finishing your second course and then all chaos broke loose. It was, of course, the Wheelers, along with Dustin, Lucas, and Max. Everyone was there to greet your guests and you took advantage of some point in the confusion to go up to your room and change into the uniform of the bar where you were going to work.

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"Duty calls, mother" you joked, approaching her and kissing her "I'll be here by meal, I promise"

“Take care of yourself,” she asked you, worried, like any good mother, that someone in that bar was disrespectful to you. But hey, after facing a monstrous threat of death a couple of drunks seemed like a simple thing.

You quickly said goodbye to everyone and walked out the front door, ready to go about your daily routine.

“Welcome to The Hideout, how can I help you?” you hummed as you did with all the customers lately. It wasn't until you looked up that you realized who it was. Pretty smile, curly hair, and sparkling eyes "Oh our beloved rising rock star" you exclaimed, watching Eddie Munson sit across from you "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to have a beer and say hi too," he replied, his flirtatious grin never leaving him for a second.

It was funny how you met Eddie. You were in the literature club and previously had your own room for meetings, but due to cost cuts, you had to share space with the drama club. So it was that, at the beginning of the year, you found out that another club was operating in the prop warehouse, one called the “Hellfire Club”. You had heard of that before, but you thought it was just a prank to annoy the teachers, but it turned out that it was something formal and that it was a club where they met to play Dungeons and Dragons. You almost screamed when you found out and you were extremely sorry that due to time and availability issues you could no longer join that club. Still, you didn't avoid running into the guy a couple of times in the classroom, and soon after you got the job at The Hideout and found out he had a band that played there every Tuesday. How small the world was.

Thus you established a solid friendship with the boy, and as you got to know him you liked him better. One day you found out that he was selling drugs and Eddie was so worried that you might say something that he offered you to go into the business. You were surprised that he considered this the best decision, but that had been a difficult time and it suddenly seemed like a good idea. It was then that he went from being a complete unknown to being your co-worker and business associate.

You didn't even want to think about what your mother would say if she found out that you were keeping drugs in your house for the city freak.

"Dark beer, right?"

"You know me well," he exclaimed, with a goofy grin. You and Eddie had kissed a couple of times (nothing formal) when you found out it was a great stress reliever and he just because he was fascinated by you. Those encounters hadn't disturbed your friendship in the least, but sometimes you couldn't run away from those heart-eyed looks Eddie gave you. "I heard your family is here."

"Where did you hear that?" you asked amused. It was obvious that your family wasn’t famous and Eddie was only justifying his excessive attention to everything you said to him since you had only commented on it last Tuesday.

"A little bird over there" he exclaimed, brushing it off. You put the beer in front of him and leaned against the counter to finally see him properly.

"Well, it's true, they're here" you replied happily "And I'd still like to collect that favor you owe me"

“You just say the day and time, doll. I am available to you whenever you want,” he said politely. You smiled widely when you heard it and nodded, hoping that your day off would finally come.

You were just hoping the surprise would be nice for your little brother.

"What do you say we have fish for dinner later? I have some in the refrigerator and we brought vegetables"

"We just ate" he complained "Besides I don't like fish, you better order a pizza"

"Willam Byers, if we keep eating pizza like this, we're going to end up dead from diabetes or some shit" you laughed, as you maneuvered to open the door with shopping bags in hand.

"Diabetes is because of sugar, silly" he replied between laughs. There was nobody at home; Joyce had gone to whoever knows where, Jonathan was with Nancy, and El, obviously, with Mike.

Perhaps it was very childish behavior on your part, but you could tell without hesitation that you had contempt for Mike Wheeler. You weren't the best of friends from the start, but your feud was cemented a year ago, when he turned out to be a complete jerk to your little brother. You knew that maybe it was just adolescence and hormones that forced him to leave Will aside to dedicate his attention to Eleven, but it didn't justify the hostility with which he had treated him either.

That's how you built up that resentment and it ended up to the point where you practically couldn't stand to see it.

"Did you leave the light on?" he asked, looking around the room in confusion. You kept your composure and imitated the boy's face.

"I don't remember" you lied. Suddenly there was a crash and Will jumped in his place, almost dropping the bags that he had in his hand. You took them off and placed them on the kitchen counter, moving with mock wariness to check the living room, followed by Will.

You almost let out a genuine scream as you see a cloaked figure standing right in the middle.

"I finally found you two!" the person yelled, pointing a finger at you. His voice sounded slightly desperate "I've been looking for you for so long"

"Who are you?" you asked, looking him up and down; completely black clothing and his cape were bright red. You had always thought that red-suited him wonderfully and today you were checking it out.

“My name is Eddie the Banished and I am a poor exiled warrior who comes in the hope that you will help me save a home that disowns me” he explained to you. Will, who you hadn't seen until then, looked surprised rather than confused "Y/N the Lost" he called to you, approaching and gently taking your hand while looking at you with pleading eyes. Not for nothing was he at the drama club. "And of course, Will the Wise," he continued, now turning to your brother.

“No way,” he exclaimed, his gaze alternating between you and Eddie. For a second, you both grinned at him and it was only then that he thought to look further, only to notice a table neatly laid out with D&D items.

"What's the matter, Eddie the Banished?" you asked, stepping into character and grabbing the boy's cheeks as if you were genuinely concerned and he was devastated. Will was looking at you with a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and surprise.

"A disciple of Nuitari has been consumed by dark magic and wants to kill as many as he can to strengthen his powers and offer their souls as a sacrifice to his God," he said. You were amazed at the creativity that Eddie had to create the most wonderful plots and you fought not to smile. You were supposed to be in character, it was a time to worry "You have to contain him before it's too late and he manages to gather more of his people"

“But even I who am a good warrior cannot fight against dark magic.”

"I can," Will interjected, looking at both of you. You felt like you would scream with excitement.

“It will be dangerous”

"We have to do this, sister, we can't leave these poor people unprotected," he argued. He was in the story, as you had seen him so many times when you were little "Eddie the Banished, guide us to your village"

"Praise all the Gods, I knew that a couple of heroes like you wouldn’t deny a call for help" he thanked. You were about to say something else when he spoke again "But you can't go dressed like that" without giving explanations he went to the table and picked up a basket in which you used to put dirty clothes but now it contained something else: your old green cape and a robe full of stars, as well as a hat with the same print. Will's eyes glazed over a little at the fact that you had so carefully guarded that costume your mother had made for him so long ago, thinking that as he got older those games would become a thing of the past and he would have to 'mature' as everyone told him to do.

And then there was you and that crazy stranger you had acquired, both of you offering him one last adventure that would remind him of the happiness he lived when he was just a child.

“You don't have to do this if you don't want to,” you said, suddenly feeling fearful. Perhaps you had misunderstood everything and Will had changed his tastes and hobbies.

But he simply took both pieces of cloth and held yours out to you, making you see dark green velvet and purple satin with silver stars shimmering in the artificial light.

“This man has come looking for our help and that is what we are going to do; help him”

Eddie saw the most beautiful and brilliant smile of all on your face while you looked at the boy and he did not hesitate to hold your hand and Will's to pull you to the chairs.

You started listening to the backstory carefully, watching Eddie make all sorts of signs and lost yourself in his voice after a few minutes. It wasn't supposed to be such a complex adventure, but still, the world was down to the three of you in that room for the next few hours.

You had to admit that even though you knew his campaigns were good, you didn't think they would be that good. He was creative, taking it upon himself to give you challenges that only made you care more, but always keeping just the right amount of fun to continue an entertaining game.

“Garzag has Y/N!” Eddie said to Will after you tried to attack your opponent and failed monumentally; a fucking 1 in D20 got you there. The atmosphere had already heated up and by that point you were yelling, flailing, and making all sorts of complaints “He's lifting her off the ground without even touching her, putting all his effort into casting enough magic to squeeze her body to death. She whimpers, gasping for air to breathe, blood dripping from her wounded forehead, as she looks up at you” There was a dramatic pause and you could see real concern in the boy's eyes. "You're tired and hurt; you can just walk away and leave her to die. Or you can continue fighting and risk dying too… What do you want to do, Will the Wise?”

"Garzag's hurt too and he doesn't have many points left," Will mused. He shared a brief look with you, the kind that tells you that he won't leave you alone "So I'm going to send him back to hell where he belongs and save my sister"

"I'm warning you; you need the highest score to land a powerful enough blow," Eddie exclaimed, looking at him and then back at you. "If not... then it's all over for you two”

“Didn't you hear me? I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Will half-shouted, ecstatic on the adrenaline of the moment, making Eddie laugh out loud. He took the D20 without thinking twice and shook it for a few seconds in his hands, before throwing it on the table. You would swear that time stopped for an instant, as did your heart, and then the dice finally rolled out the score.

Twenty.

"That's it!"

"Will managed to cast a spell on Garzag!" Eddie announced, totally shocked “He doubles over his abdomen at the feel of it and carelessly drops Y/N to the floor. He is feeling how all the magic escapes from his body…” the boy began to imitate the movements that Garzag was supposed to be doing, holding his stomach in desperation “This is impossible! he yells, incredulous that anyone could have beaten him. He falls to the floor on his knees…” Eddie did it “and he begins to feel how little by little all the vitality of his body leaves him. The spell would leave only the pure parts of his soul and with nothing left he begins to turn to smoke, screaming in pain and writhing from the sensation” again, Eddie exemplified what he was saying “Curse the people and curse the heroes who have managed to defeat him, promising to return in another life and collect their revenge. Everything becomes a mess of screaming and the smell of putrefaction as he disappears, leaving only a black stain on the floor in front of the two of you. The irrefutable proof that you have managed to eliminate the evil and that now the village is safe”

When he finishes, you can't help but clap your hands. And by consequence, Will does too. You really do feel like a couple of heroes who have just fought one of their worst battles and it's all thanks to the brilliant and imaginative mind of the person you're acknowledging.

"That was amazing!" he says happily. Eddie gives a mocking reverence that causes his hood to fall off, exposing his pretty, crazy hair.

“You did all the work”

"Yeah, we kicked that asshole really good," you complimented, giving Will a high-five.

"Why didn't you tell me you had all this planned?" he said, now towards you. You just shrugged with a smile.

“Well, I thought it would be nice to surprise you. That's why I took you out shopping and let Eddie do all his magic."

"No offense, but how did he convince you Y/N to do this?" he insisted. There had been no time for introductions before playing and he was extremely intrigued to meet who had just put together the shortest and best campaign he had ever played.

"I'm the biggest nerd when it comes to D&D, so she barely had to say a few words to drag me here" replied Eddie, smiling at him "She wasn't lying when she said you have spirit, I've never had a couple of players that enthusiastic"

"The part where Garzag started attacking us with those flying demons was crazy, I never expected it" you confessed, getting back into the conversation.

“But did you see how we took them down? Just for one point…” Suddenly you found yourself involved in a heated discussion of the tensest moments, as well as occasional re-enactments of said events.

You were screaming and laughing so hard you didn't even notice when the front door opened.

"Okay, but hear me out: the way Will escaped Garzag’s finger of death was a miracle, I thought he would die and we would finally be done!"

"It takes more than a simple spell to kill a Byers!" you laughed out loud, watching Will do the same.

"Eddie?" someone behind you asked. From the corridor your mother, Eleven, Jonathan, and (the most surprised of all) Mike were looking at you "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello! I came to play a bit with Y/N ​​and Will” he answered as if he was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's good that you're back," you said nervously, towards your mother and brother who were looking at you confused. You got up from your chair and yanked Eddie out of his, practically pushing him to face Joyce. "Mom, this is Eddie, my…" What was the correct term? Friend? Partner in the sale of drugs? Buddy I make out with occasionally when we're both stressed? “Co-worker” you ended up saying, but the downtime while searching for the term did not go unnoticed.

“It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Byers. Y/N has told me a lot about you” He smiled. You and Mike looked at Eddie in amazement, for he had never displayed such manners before.

"Hello! Nice to meet you too. I see they were playing a bit while we were gone”

"You should have been here, mom, it was a super crazy and cool thing," said Will, excited. It had been a long time since he had smiled that way and Jonathan smiled the same way when he saw him "Eddie is the best dungeon master and he has an official edition of the game, with figures and everything"

"I'm so happy to hear that, my love" Joyce replied, just as happy as her eldest son for the joy that suddenly invaded the environment "You also dusted off your robe and your hat"

"Y/N kept them all this time, can you believe it?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to play?" a different voice asked. It was Mike and he seemed really offended, but you couldn't feel any empathy. You knew that he wasn't interested in being with your brother but with Eddie, for whom he seemed to feel an exaggerated kind of admiration "He could have come"

"Oh, come on. When I still lived here you were never in the mood to play, we were spared the pain of you saying no” replied Will, his voice firm and even a little venomous. Everyone remained silent and you held back from laughing widely amid the awkward moment, happy that your brother had finally given the black-haired boy what he deserved.

"Besides, you're not that good, Wheeler," you added, with a smirk. You didn't want to get into a fight with a teenager, so you spoke again before he could, "Mom, sorry, but I lost track of time and I haven't made any dinner yet..."

"We'll order pizza," Jonathan informed you, causing you and Will to share a look before bursting out laughing. “What?”

“Nothing, Johnny. Pizza sounds great”

“I… I think it's time to go,” reported Eddie, who had been watching the scene in silence as he fiddled with his rings. You had learned that he did that when he was nervous and personally you found him most tender.

"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" your mother chimed in, kind as only she was.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother"

"Nothing of that! We'd like to meet you, Y/N doesn't introduce us to many friends."

“That's because she doesn't have any friends,” Jonathan scoffed and you took a couple of steps to punch him in the arm, hearing him groan. Most of those present laughed at the exchange.

"Huh, well..." Eddie hesitated. You had never seen him so shy and the reason why he was like that intrigued you "if it's no problem, I guess I can stay"

“Wonderful,” Joyce smiled, looking at you and then back at him. “Y/N, clear the living room table so we can have dinner there, please,” she said and you nodded. You grabbed Eddie's wrist and you could almost swear you saw him blush.

"Come on, we have to save your pieces"

"I help!" Will muttered and for a second you heard again that happy 12-year-old boy you thought was gone forever.

He didn't even care about Mike's angry look and you were too busy to notice the knowing smiles your mom and older brother shared.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay?"

"Of course, Ed" you answered, taking the figure of a warrior to put it in the box “Jonathan's right, I don't have many friends” you joked, hearing Will laugh at your side.

The three of you continued to chat for a while and when the rest joined in you sat down on a couch. You noticed that you were still wearing your costumes and blushed, offering to leave them in the laundry basket they had been in earlier.

"So you work with Y/N?" your mother asked, in the boy's direction. She wasn't a prejudiced woman, but you understood her reasons for doing some research on the metalhead you had brought into the house and with whom you seemed to have a bond.

“Something like that. My band plays at the bar where she works and we met there”

“He ordered a beer and I told him I liked his music and that's why we started talking”

"And what instrument do you play?"

“The guitar” he replied, again with that shyness that wasn’t natural to him “Y/N told me you guys live in California now, right? How is it over there?" he asked politely. You knew Eddie well enough to realize that he was looking to make a good impression and it made you smile.

The four of them began to tell a few things about Lenora Hills, which Eddie listened to carefully, feeling comfortable after a while. When the pizzas arrived and dinner went on nicely, with the two of you (and occasionally Mike, who seemed to be in a terrible mood) telling each other the latest about Hawkins and the rest talking about a town you didn't know.

"And Will still has no one to exchange saliva with?" you asked at some point, hearing a scolding from your mother for the term used to refer to a couple.

"I ask the same, oldie,” he said with a mocking tone, while he crossed his arms "You'd better get a couple of cats”

"Shut up!" you laughed, hitting him gently.

“Don't you want to take her, Eddie? She doesn't eat much and doesn't snore at night, we can give her to you” said Jonathan. Contrary to what you expected, he laughed out loud and looked at you while he licked his lips, as if he was really considering it.

“What a pair of brothers I have” you complained, pretending to be hurt “El, you are the only one who will receive a gift from me this Christmas”

"Now, don't fight" warned your mother, with a smile, but knowing that things could get violent from one moment to another. It was better to intervene when you were still joking in a good way "Better clear the dishes so you can go to sleep, it's late"

"I can help you before I go," Eddie informed him, taking the plate from your mother's hand and taking the rest into a pile. He took care of that and Will followed him to put the cups and pizza boxes in the kitchen trash.

“Your boyfriend is a real gentleman”

"He is not my boyfriend!" you hissed in Jonathan's direction. It wasn't because you didn't like the idea, but because you didn't want him to have a reason to bother you.

“And you don't want him to be? He seems to be a good boy."

"Mom!" you complained now, smiling out of sheer nervousness. You liked Eddie, a lot, but it was different kissing him a couple of times than now your mom and brother were trying to match you.

“And think about it, if you become his girlfriend, he will also be Will's friend. You kill two birds with one stone” argued Jonathan. You didn't have time to answer him, because Eddie and your little brother were already in front of you again. They seemed to have had their own conversation and proof of this was the blush that appeared on the curly-haired boy's cheeks.

"I say goodbye, I was very pleased to meet you and I thank you for dinner"

“You can come anytime, we were glad to meet you too,” Joyce said kindly, hugging him to say goodbye. My God, your mom was doing her best to embarrass you or maybe she just wanted to secure her new son-in-law.

“See you, Will the Wise,” she said, now towards the aforementioned, while extending her fist to bump him “Goodbye, Jane. And my condolences”

"Why?"

"Because a girl like you has a boyfriend like this," he answered, hearing Mike blurt out a swear word and hearing you laugh. Even Eleven laughed at the joke "Hope I don't see you soon, Wheeler."

"I'll walk you to your van" you exclaimed with a smile. The two of you walked to the exit and then to where the van was parked, where Eddie turned to look at you.

“Here we say goodbye”

"Thank you very much for coming"

“Are you kidding? I had a great time. The pizza was delicious and your family is very nice” he said happily. The truth was that he had enjoyed everything, but what caused him the most happiness was having spent an entire afternoon with you. 

"Everyone liked you very much, especially Will," you confessed. Eddie giggled that didn't seem to be because of what you just said and it made you curious.

He wasn't going to tell you, but when Will walked him into the kitchen, he joked that he wouldn't like to become his brother-in-law and that hadn't left Eddie's mind ever since. I hadn't been in a serious relationship in a long time, and the warm reception from your family (even without knowing him) only confirmed that you were a pretty good fit.

"I guess I'll see you around"

"On Tuesday, don't forget" you smiled "I'll even treat you to whatever you want to drink, as a thank you"

“First of all, remember that this was to pay you a favor and I think I ended up owing you. And secondly, better reconsider that because I can drink like I'm a bottomless barrel when I put my mind to it” he warned you, making you laugh “What do you say we better have dinner together that day? French fries are okay,” he suggested. All your brain heard was 'date'.

"I'd love to"

"Cool," he smiled, trying not to look more excited than he should.

"Have a good trip, Eddie the Banished" you said gently, as you put a hand on his cheek "May the gods protect your path and arrive safely wherever you go"

"Does this mean a goodbye?"

"A see you later" you answered, while both of you laughed at the slip towards the interpretation of your characters. Then you noticed the short distance between you and the evident tension that had been installed, especially because you were holding his face and he had accommodated a hand on your waist.

You saw him lick his lips, another habit that you had begun to know about him, and you also felt his gaze diverting for just a second to your mouth. But that was enough for you to understand what was going through his mind.

“Can I?” he asked, knowing that you already knew what he meant. You didn't think the day would end like this, but you let him lean into you a little and brought your lips together in a gentle kiss. It was different from what you were used to, because the times you had kissed had been between smoke, sweat, and the influence of beer. But although it was different, you could get used to it.

One of your hands managed to get tangled in his hair and bring him closer to deepen the kiss just a few seconds before letting go.

“Come on, go home,” you said, not because you didn't want to kiss him but because you knew that you wouldn't be able to stop if he was still there. Eddie smiled and stole another kiss, shorter and louder, before pulling away and climbing into the driver's seat.

"We'll meet again, Y/N the beautiful," he murmured goodbye, starting the car and heading down the road in the dark.

When you returned to the house, with a huge smile and the most obvious blush of all, you noticed that Jonathan was taking five dollars out of his wallet to hand it to Will reluctantly.

"Why is that?" you asked confused. Eleven and Joyce shared an amused look that made you uneasy.

"We bet five dollars that you and Eddie would kiss"

"And I lost," Jonathan groaned. Your face only turned redder than it had already been upon arrival.

“You guys were spying!"

“I didn't see anything," your mother defended herself, but your three siblings roared with laughter and even Mike cracked a smile.

“We have to take care of our sister” Jonathan justified himself.

"Ugh, I can't wait for all of you to go to California again," you complained, flopping back against the couch and crossing your arms in a fake tantrum.

But honestly, you loved having your family in Hawkins.

TAG LIST: @sweetdayme4427

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things 4 #joseph quinn #will!sister #byers!reader

[jvblood]

sneaking out

pairing: argyle x byers!reader

wordcount: 1.4K

summary: Usually Argyle comes late at night to sneak Jonathan out to smoke, but tonight he knocks on your window.

WARNINGS: just cussing <3

a/n: i literally was smiling throughout writing this while things to the point where my cheeks hurt :/. I hate being delusional. Also, I don't really know how fluff works so if this gets your feet kicking, let me know.

Ever since you and your family moved to California, you’ve always had each other. If someone needed help in a subject, you guys would confide in eachother. Jonathan though was the successful one and actually made a friend. Argyle. You thought he was super nice and honestly wanted to get to know him more. Yet, those two were inseparable sometimes. The only time you didn’t see him is when it was time for bed. Yet, in the morning you knew they were together at night when Jonathan would wake up smelling like pot. Poor Will had to wake up to Jonathan sneaking back in yet again. 

Except for tonight, Argyle knocked on your window. El fortunately didn’t hear it. You were up studying for some test you had on Monday. You walked up to the window opening it, coming face to face with him. 

“Hi.” He whispers, he looks nervous. Argyle was just staring you down not knowing where to go from here. 

“You know Jonathan’s room is the other window right?” You as you mindlessly point to whichever side it is. 

“I’m not here for Jonathan, dude.” He says rubbing his hands together. This whole encounter is starting to get weird. You cocked your head to the side like a bird waiting for an answer.

“I want to take you out.” He mumbles. This was surprising to say the least. You beam to the thought of him coming all this way for you. You look at El, sleeping in her bed. Then it hit you. 

“I’m still in my pjs though!” 

“Dude, don’t worry about it. We’re probably gonna pick up something to eat and then just chill.” He reassures. 

“But–”

“Don’t. Worry.” He says putting a hand on your shoulder, trying to calm you down from this 

“Give me a second.” You tell him, you went to grab your bag filled with essentials and turned off the lamp light. Argyle was patiently waiting for you on the other side of the window. You reach the window and stealthily go through, hoping to not make much noise. He helps you as much as he can. Once out you straighten yourself up, patting down any sort of dust off of your sweat pants. Argyle watches you swat the dust off and waits for you. 

“Let’s go, dude!”

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

If there is one thing about Argyle, it’s that he’s true to his word. The two of you went to go pick up some greasy burgers and as soon as you guys got your food, he took you to a beautiful scenery. It was in the mountains, watching over the little town of Lenora. It was breathtaking. The two of you sat in comfortable silence watching the streets from a far. The van side door was open, allowing the two of you to sit next to each other to watch the tiny town.

“Argyle,” You say, taking a sip from your drink, “what was the purpose of all of this?” 

“What? I can’t hang with my favorite Byers?” He says, giving you a little push. “Favorite? Yeah, right.” You give a little chuckle to show your amusement. 

“Yeah, my favorite!” 

“Argyle, you barely know me.” 

“This is me trying to get to know more of you, man.” He says as he tosses his wrapper in the car. “Is it working?” He asks, drinking the rest of his drink. 

“Well, tell me. What do you know about me?” You say putting down your cup and face towards him. 

“Well, I know that you have a family—”

“Really? Do I!” You kid.

“Hey! I wasn’t finished,” he says as he playfully pushes you again “, as I was saying, before I was interrupted. You have a family, a kind one. The kind of family that will take anyone in, no matter the situation. You love your family too. It’s like a little creepy how far you would go for your family. Like this one time, Jonathan told me this story about how you fought some sorta dog with this one dude to protect something, I don’t really remember.” 

“To be fair, that wasn’t a normal dog!” You quickly shout. 

“Yeah, okay, well someone should get PETA on you, asap.” He huffs. It was your turn to playfully slap him. 

“Hey, man. I’m just saying! If I heard you, dog, and bat in the same sentence, obviously I’m gonna be worried. That’s like grade-a psycho behavior.” 

“So, I’m a psycho too?” 

“Dude.” 

“Okay, I’m sorry– I’ll stop with the accusations.” You say pulling your hands up. 

“Good! Okay, back to what I was saying! You have this sorta at-home vibe.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” You say tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“Well, when I’m with you, I feel calm. Like I’m at home.” He says, turning towards you. The air around the two of you feels euphoric. It’s calm and sweet and you honestly had your breath taken away. 

“Or something like that, I don’t know. It’s just an observation or something like that, I think.” Argyle stutters out. You smile from ear to ear, watching Argyle trying to play it off. 

“Well, can I tell you what I think about you?” You say placing your hand over his. Argyle looks down at the hand touch and nods. 

“I think you're super sweet. I’m happy my brother got to meet such a nice guy and I’m happy that our family was able to make you feel comfortable. I also love your hair, by the way. It’s like super pretty and each time I see you i just want to play with it but, like, I obviously stop myself because that’s an invasion of privacy and I totally understand–”

“You can play with it, I don’t mind.” He cuts you off. You smile up to him and blush a bit.

“I also think that you're hilarious. I hate to say it but your dumb jokes always put a smile on my face. Ugh– it’s so dumb sometimes!” You say covering your eyes, thinking about the stupid fart joke he cracked.

“Hey, my jokes are not dumb! They’re perfect!”

“Yeah, perfectly stupid.” You laugh out loud. Argyle sits there, showing how his ‘feelings are hurt’.

“This sucks, I come over to try to give you a good night and I’m getting bullied. You know what, Will might be my favorite now.” He says crossing his arms trying to not let the smile on his face show even more. 

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding,” you say grabbing your side “, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it, it just came out.” You’re hunched over trying to breathe, that’s when Argyle takes you by surprise. 

“I also think you look pretty.” He whispers. For some reason, he thought he said that in his head but it came out by surprise. You blush at the comment and look up at him. 

“What?” You say smirking. 

“I said you look shitty.” He blurts out. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much, that one sends you over. You're gasping for air trying to breathe from laughing. You could even feel tears forming. Argyle watches you laugh and decides to join in. 

“God, I fucked up big time, didn’t I?” He asks as the two of you finally calmed down. 

“Fucked up, majorly. It’s okay, though, it’s sweet.” You say wiping a tear or two. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I think you look shitty too.” 

“It makes me feel amazing.” 

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

As the night finally came to an end, Argyle finally took you back home. As you reached your window, you turned back to him. The cold chilly air surrounds the two of you so you need to get this out of the way. He helped you climb back through the window and waited for you to be comfortable. 

“Thank you for the night, Argyle.” You whisper, holding yourself to get a bit warmer. A rush of confidence fills your veins and you kiss his cheek. Argyle stays there completely still like a board. “Get home safe, Argyle.” You say as you finally close the window. 

“Yeah, of course, I’ll get home safe. I’ll get home super safe, you don’t have to worry about me.” He stutters as he watches you close the window. Through the closed window you wave him goodbye and he finally makes his way back to his van with a smile that won’t leave his face until he’s knocked out. As you watch him leave, you hear the lamp light click. 

“Well, what do we have here?” 

Your eyes wide open as you turn around to see your mom sitting next to a very worried El.

#argyle x reader #argyle fluff #stranger things argyle #argyle #argyle fan fic #argyle fan fiction #argyle x reader fluff #byers!reader #i hope you all like this <3 #jvblood

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

Until The End

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Female Byers!Reader

Genre: follows show plot lines, but will diverge from canon at times.

WC: 16.2K

Warnings: curssing, my writing not making sense at times, that should be it (let me know if theres something i missed)

Summary: The end is here. Will they win the fight against the ferocious monster? Will they find the lost boy? Will Steve Harrington stop being a dick? We shall find out.

A/N: I’ve somehow managed to finish all of season1 within like two weeks or something, i’m shocked i’ve been able to write all these installments back to back. I would like to also let you know that i start my new job, so my writing is definitely going to be less consistant when uploading. I’m gonna try and make sure I continue writing, i’m just a little worried about burn out, but we’ll worry later.

previous chapter  next chapter

You heard some commotion and then a hand shaking your shoulder. You slowly opened your eyes and saw Hopper standing before you. Your neck was aching and your butt felt numb, your whole body felt stiff as a board. You sat up, arching your back and throwing your arms out to try and loosen up the muscles.

“Is mom here?”

“Yea she’s with Jonathan and Nancy.”

You nodded your head to Hopper and stood up to walk over to the desk. Joyce was looking frazzled, but at least she looked more rested and put together. She was talking to Jonathan and then she saw the cuff on his wrists.

“Why is he handcuffed?”

“Because he assaulted a police officer ma’am,” Officer Callahan spoke up beside you.

Joyce looked to Hopper who was still standing near you, “Hopper do something!”

Hopper sighed then looked at Callahan.

“Can you take the cuffs off?”

“No can do Chief.”

“And why is that?” Hopper was starting to get annoyed because his order wasn’t being followed.

“Well, you should see what he had in the trunk first.”

“What?”

‘Oh crap’

Hopper, Powell, and Callahan all left the four of you in the bullpen to check the trunk. Joyce turned to you when they left and pulled you into an embrace. She smelled strongly of cigarettes and it made you crinkle your nose, but you didn’t pull back from her hug. Her arms wrapped around your shoulders and one of her hands went to your head, holding you in your place with your face squishing into the crook of her neck. Your arms wrapped snugly around her waist and you squeezed her.

She pulled back and held your face between her hands. You loosened your arms and they held her waist gently.

“How you doing honey?”

You gave a quick chuckle and just shrugged your shoulders.

“Holding up, you?”

Joyce gave a tiny smile and shrugged her shoulders as well.

“Holding up.”

The sound of the front door opening along with footsteps pulled the both of you out of your moment and saw Hopper coming back with the box filled with everything. He placed the box down and Joyce moved to look through the contents. Her brows were furrowed and her lips pursed. Jonathan was looking between Hopper and Joyce while Nancy kept quiet and just looked at the box.

“What is all this?”

“Why don’t you ask your son? We found it in his car.”

Hopper spoke to Joyce while looking at Jonathan. Callahan and Powell just stood behind and watched. Joyce turned to Jonathan with a shocked face.

“What?”

“Why are you going through my car?” Jonathan questioned.

Hopper leaned forward, his hands flat on the desktop and closing in towards Jonathan’s face, “Is that really the question you should be asking right now?”

He then leaned away turning his body then turned back looking at your little group. He looked at Jonathan then Nancy and finally you.

“All of you, my office, now.”

“You won’t believe us,” you piped up from the back.

Hopper leaned back in, looking at you, and softly said, “why don’t you give me a try?”

And then he walked away leaving all of you behind, Jonathan turned his head to you and the both of you just made eye contact. Callahan came over and finally unlocked the cuffs. Jonathan rubbed the sore rings circling his wrist from the friction. He and Nancy slowly rose from their seats and made for Hopper’s office, you and Joyce followed with her behind you and a gentle hand on your back.

…

The five of you now sat in Hopper’s office.

You, Jonathan, and Nancy sat on the seats by the wall. Joyce was in the seat by the desk, and Hopper was half sitting on the front of his desk. Jonathan pulled out the photograph he showed you at the funeral and handed it to Joyce. She took the picture and gasped at the image. Her eyes were darting to every inch of the paper, a slight shake now present in her body. She then handed the picture off to Hopper who took it.

You just watched this interaction in complete silence. Saw the way Hopper looked at the picture then to Joyce, then to Jonathan, and back to the picture. Jonathan was biting his nails, Nancy was just hunched over a bit, and you were bouncing your right leg up and down. You were waiting for someone to say something. Finally, Hopper looked up at the three of you.

“You say blood draws this thing?”

Jonathan and Nancy looked to each for a moment then Jonathan said, “we don’t know.”

“It’s just a theory,” Nancy spoke up.

Hopper looked back at the picture. Joyce gave a slight shake of her head. She stood up from her seat, tapped Jonathan on his knee and pointed to the door. She walked away and he looked to you then followed her out the door. With a quiet click of the door, it was now just you, Nancy, and Hopper. You looked at Nancy and she had a worried expression spread across her face, you wanted to comfort her, but after earlier, you think better of it.

You look at Hopper and see he was already looking at you. You shrunk a little into the cushions to make yourself smaller. His gaze was very intimating, even if it wasn’t meant to be. He was still holding the picture in his grasp, though it was held very loose now. He cleared his throat.

“So your mom tells me you saw Will?”

You gave a small nod, “yea in-in the wall.”

Honestly, if you keep saying it like that someone is for sure going to throw you into a loony house soon. You don’t know what Hopper knows, but he seems to be more open-minded about this whole situation. The last time you saw him was at the morgue looking at a fake Will. Something between that time and now must have convinced him something wasn’t right.

It went back to silence in the office. With you being the closest to the door you could just barely make out what Joyce and Jonathan were talking about, but it was muffled by the walls. But then you heard someone yelling. It didn’t sound like Joyce or Jonathan, so someone else came into the station yelling about something. Hopper must have heard it too because he got up from his desk and threw the door open leaving.

You stood up from your seat and walked to Joyce and Jonathan outside the door. The three of you could hear the commotion happening in the bullpen. Some lady was yelling at an officer, sounded like Callahan. Then you heard Hopper’s booming voice yell out, “what the hell is going on!”

Then the conversation was a bit quieter, barely able to make out a full sentence. You walked a bit closer to the corner and peeked around to look for the scene. You saw Hopper, Callahan, and Powell standing with an older well-dressed woman and her son. It looked like his right arm was broken, he had a sling over his shoulder. 

You heard Powell say, “there was a fight chief.”

The older woman yelled at that, “a psychotic child broke his arm!”

Callahan was speaking again and the lady apparently didn’t like the tone he was giving. Hopper looked stressed at this whole interaction.

“Will you please take a statement,” Hopper spoke out.

He then made a hand gesture probably signaling to get her out. He then started to walk back in the direction of his office when he heard something the lady’s kid said that made him stop in his tracks.

“She had no hair and she was bleeding from her nose.”

Hopper then turned back around and walked back over to them. He began to question the kid about her appearance and then the kid said the child could do things.

“Like make you fly, or piss yourself.”

That got a snort from you, even Powell seemed shocked at the comment.

Hopper held a hand up and asked if she was alone, the kid said ‘those losers’. That got your interest.

“What ‘losers’?” Hopper asked.

The boy scoffed, “Henderson and Wheeler.”

Your eyes widened, ‘What the hell was going on!’

…

“We got to go.”

Hopper rushed back over to his office to grab his coat and keys. Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy looked confused, but you heard their conversation. Dustin and Mike got mixed up in something that Hopper knew about. You all rushed out and ran over to Jonathan’s car. Hopper at the wheel with Joyce riding passenger, and the three of you in the back.

Hopper drove to the Wheeler residence with urgency. When he pulled up a few houses away he got out and pulled some binoculars up to his eyes. You were squished in the middle so you couldn’t get out of the car, but you could just barely make out a bunch of cars and people. Nancy got out and looked at her invaded home.

“I have to go home.”

“No, you can’t,” Hopper said with the binoculars still up to his eyes.

Nancy didn’t like that answer, “my mom…my dad are there.”

“They’re gonna be okay.” Nancy started to walk away back to her house, Hopper followed just behind and grabbed her upper arm.

“Let go. Let go!”

“Hey!...”

You couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation, but you watched them. Hopper pointed to the sky and you saw a helicopter. They were still looking for them. He then started to pull her back to the car and pushed her to the backseat. Joyce and Jonathan got back in their seats as well. All of you in Jonathan’s car just sitting, waiting for the next move. Hopper looked at Nancy in the backseat.

“Look, we need to find them before they do. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

Nancy looked frazzled, “no, I don’t.”

“I need you to think,” Hopper said sternly.

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked a lot. I mean, lately…” she sighed and slid down the seat.

“Is there any place your parents don’t know about that he might go?” Joyce asked with urgency.

“I don’t know.”

An idea came to mind, “I might.”

Everyone looked at you.

“Well not exactly where they are, but I know how they communicate. We need Will’s walkie.” 

Hopper rushed to the house and when you arrived everyone filed out. You lead the way to Will’s room with everyone following behind. You opened his door and started to look everywhere possible. He never kept it in one place, always throwing it around when he was done. Joyce checked under the bed and found it. You took it from her quickly and checked to make sure it was on the right frequency and then you spoke.

“Mike, Dustin, Lucas, anyone?”

No answer.

“It’s (Y/n), Will’s sister. Your favorite older sibling.”

Still no answer.

Hopper held his hand out and indicated for you to pass it.

“Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you’re there, pick up. We know you’re in trouble and we know about the girl. We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over.”

With no immediate reply, Hopper sighed and set the walkie on the dresser and now you would just have to wait. Hopper looked at your group.

“Anybody got any other ideas?”

You all looked at each other and then you heard static, then a voice.

“Yeah, I copy. It’s Mike.”

You breathed out a sigh. They were safe.

“I’m here. We’re here.”

Hopper picked the walkie up, “where?”

“Junkyard.”

Hopper gave you the walkie then ran out of the house.

…

It was dark by the time Hopper came back with the kids.

You, Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy were all in the living room. The three of them were on the couch, Jonathan biting his nails again and Nancy looking around nervously. You were seated on the chair with your legs pulled up. The silence was suffocating with no one having said a word in the last hour.

The sound of tires on gravel broke the silence and lights shining into the living room told you that Hopper was back. You all stood one by one and then Joyce led the way outside. You were the last one out so you saw Nancy as she rushed away and shouted, “Mike. Oh, my god. Mike!”

She rushed to Mike and pulled him into a hug. They stood in the middle, the Byers at the house and Hopper with the kids by his truck. Mike just stood in the hold like hugging isn’t something they usually do, it was a bit funny, but it made you miss Will.

Nancy pulled back from Mike with her hands on his shoulders, “I was so worried about you.”

Mike still seemed shocked by the hug, but replied.

“Yeah, uh… me, too.”

You looked at the group of kids and saw Dustin and Lucas, but you noticed the girl was their new mystery friend. She was wearing the same outfit you saw her wearing last time, misuse the blonde hair.

“Is that my dress?” Nancy asked while looking at El.

…

“Okay, so, in this example, we’re the acrobat. Will and Barbara, and that monster, they’re this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space.”

“A gate.”

“That we tracked to Hawkins Lab. With our compasses.”

“What is this, Doctor Who?” you murmured.

When all of you regrouped in the living room the kids sat you all down so they could try and explain how the Upside Down works and what they found. They were explaining with a piece of lined paper that was marked in red ink. There was a straight line horizontally down the middle, a stick figure on top, and a dot for the flea with an arrow pointing below the line. Basically saying the monster was able to move between the two planes while you couldn’t, not exactly.

Now the kids were a bit smarter in this field so they understood these certain things better than you, so you needed them to baby talk you through this situation. Dustin must have noticed everyone’s confused faces because he sighed and then explained.

“Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle.”

‘Okay, sure’ was all you thought.

“Is this gate underground?” Hopper asked.

The girl, Eleven, El for short, spoke. 

“Yes.”

Everyone turned to her. She was looking at Hopper and he was looking back.

“Near a large water tank?”

She nodded, “yes.”

You looked at Hopper wondering how he knew that information. Luckily Dustin asked the question for you. “How do you know all that?” with a slight stutter to the words.

Hopper didn’t say anything, just breathing in and out. Mike spoke for him.

“He’s seen it.”

Joyce spoke up, “is there any way that you could…that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this-”

“The Upside Down.”

“Down. Yeah,” Joyce whispered.

You were just watching this whole interaction from the sidelines. Seeing the way the boys were looking at each other, how Hopper and El would stare at the other. How Jonathan was holding Joyce’s hand tightly. How Nancy was looking at her brother and then to her clasped hands.

El nodded to Joyce. And then Nancy spoke up, asking a question to El.

“And my friend Barbara? Can you find her, too?”

She gave a subtle nod of her head. Nancy looked relieved at that silent answer. She pulled a piece of paper out of her coat pocket and handed it to El. You looked over her shoulder and saw it was the ripped photo of Barb sitting on the diving board at the Harrington home. El stood up, walked into the kitchen, and sat at the table, placing the photo in front of her. Everyone stood up and followed her. Mike pulled his walkie from his backpack, turning it on into a static frequency. You watched as her eyes raced behind her lids, the lights flickering above the table. She then opens her eyes and looks solemn. 

She says, “I’m sorry.”

Joyce, with Jonathan’s hand resting on her shoulder, looks scared. She starts stuttering.

“What? What’s wrong? What happened?”

Your heart breaks the way that El’s voice cracks with her reply, “I can’t find them.”

Joyce releases a tiny try and Jonathan walks back into the living room. Your arms are crossed over your chest and you close your eyes. ‘Just because she can’t find them doesn’t mean they’re dead’ you had to remind yourself. You open your eyes again and look at El, she’s looking at everyone or the table. You barely know this child, but you could already tell she’s had a shitty life before she was found. You walk up to her by the table and squat down with a hand on the table to steady you. With you closer to the ground you were closer in height to her. She turned her head at your presence. You gave her a closed-mouth smile.

“Why don’t we get you cleaned up? How does that sound?”

Her eyes darted around, she was searching your face, maybe looking for something. When she seemed satisfied with her findings she gave a small nod. You stood up and held a hand out for her to take. Her hand was so tiny, just like Will’s in your much larger grasp. You felt the tears coming back but they didn’t fall. 

You walked her down the hall and led her to the bathroom. You opened the door and looked at her, she was just staring. “Do you want me to stay with you? I could clean your face?”

She turned her head up to look at you while you looked down at her. She gave a nodding of her head. You lead her inside, closing the door behind you. Closing the toilet lid you motioned for her to sit down, while you grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and ran it under the lukewarm water. You looked to the side of you and saw El with her head down and just picking at her skin near her nails. You walked over and squatted again to be just below her chin, placing your hands on hers to stop the fidgeting. You looked at her face, she had smears of dirt covering her nose and cheeks.

“May I?” you asked while holding the washcloth up.

She just nodded again. Slowly placing one hand under her chin and with the other holding the cloth you gently wiped away the dirt and grime. You noticed her eyes starting to water and you didn’t know if you should say something or pretend to not notice. With both her cheeks cleaned you started on her nose. Again you were slow and gentle, not wanting to hurt her even just a little bit.

“Why do they call you Eleven?” you asked, the question having been on your mind for a bit.

El just slowly pulled her sleeve up and showed you her wrist. There on her wrist, in black permanent ink, was a tattoo with the number 011. You smoothed a delicate thumb over the marked skin and then looked at her.

“I’m so sorry sweetie.”

You could see the tears rolling silently down her cheeks. You ran your knuckles over the wet skin and then placed them on her knees. The two of you are just looking at each other. You saw her leaning forward and then placing a finger below your eye in a similar fashion you did to her. You touched a hand to your face and realized your tears were falling as well. You laughed, you don’t know why, but you just did. Maybe you were going insane.

“The bath.”

You looked at El and her eyes were lit up by an idea.

“What?”

“Bath,” You looked behind you at the empty tub and back to El. 

You just furrowed your brows and said, “okay.”

…

You all drove to the school in your two cars. Jonathans and Hoppers.

Apparently, the school holds about 1,500 pounds of salt. 

You decided to go with Jonathan and Hopper to help with grabbing all the needed salt for the bath. Hopper’s in the shed throwing the ice to Jonathan who throws it to you so that you could put it down. A working line is always faster.

“Hey, wait. It’s not gonna snow next week, is it?” you grunted with each bag of salt Jonathan threw at you.

Hopper just gave a breathy exhale, “worst case, no school.”

“Even if we find Will in there…” Jonathan asked as Hopper continued to throw salt bags.

“What are we going to do about that thing?” He finished his sentence.

Hopper grunted, “we’re not gonna do anything. I don’t want you anywhere near this, all right?”

More salt was coming, it felt like it wasn’t gonna stop.

“Your mom’s been through enough already.”

“But he’s our brother,” you outspoke.

The salt stopped being thrown. Hopper stepped out of the shed so the both of you could fully see him. He was looking intensely at the both of you, he was serious. 

“Listen to me. The both of you. I’m gonna find him. All right?”

He placed both of his hands on each of your shoulders and held the both of you in place. His gaze looked back and forth between the two of you trying to make sure he was conveying his urgency. He was trying to make sure the both of you got his message through your thick skulls.

“You gotta trust me on this. I am going to find him.”

He released the hold on your shoulders and went back into the shed and threw a bag of salt into Jonathan almost making him fall backward. He then threw the bag at you. The cycle of throwing continued as before. When Hopper had thrown pretty much all the bags of salt, the three of you trudge your way into the middle school gymnasium where the kiddie pool was filled with water. You, Hopper, and Jonathan each cut open a bag of salt and poured it into the full kiddie pool.

When almost all the bags were full Dustin placed an egg to see if it was buoyant enough for El to float freely. It sank so you had to dump more salt into the water, second time the charm, right? Dustin placed a new egg in the salt water and it floated perfectly. Relief filled you because you were tired of cutting open bags of salt, your arms felt like they were gonna snap off.

Mike set up his walkie and tuned into a static frequency again. When everything was pretty much ready for El she took off her coat and socks, she also took off the watch she was wearing and handed it to Mike. Joyce handed her the taped-up goggles and placed them over her eyes before stepping into the pool. Hopper and Joyce both had a hold of each of her hands and gently guided her body into the water. All of you sat around the outer edge of the pool watching as El sat down and let the water hold her weight.

The fluorescent lights started to flicker above you, everyone looking up with an air of amazement surrounding them. El was floating with her arms stretched out beside her and her dress billowing around her. She didn’t speak for a few minutes and then she did.

“Barbara?”

Nancy perked up at the name of her friend. El started to breathe heavily like she was seeing something she didn’t want to. Breathing picked up in its already fast pace and the lights started pulsating and then they blacked out.

“What’s going on?” Nancy whispered.

“I don’t know,” Mike replied.

Nancy started to worry when El didn’t say anything more about Barb.

“Is Barb okay? Is she okay?”

El started whispering, “Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.”

Nancy started to cry hearing El say that Barb was gone. She leaned against Jonathan for support and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder pulling her in. Joyce tried shushing her and reassuring her, “it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Her breathing was still coming in harshly and she was starting to yell, “gone!” Joyce and Hopper reached into the water and held her arms trying to ground her instead of wherever she was in her head. Joyce was giving her reassuring rubs while Hopper was rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand.

“It’s okay, we’re right here.” 

She kept rubbing her hand up and down, “We’re right here, honey. It’s okay, I got you. Don’t be afraid. I’m right here with you. It’s okay.”

Her breath eventually evened out and she was back to her normal pace.

“Castle Byers.”

Joyce looked at you and Jonathan with hope in her eyes. You were gnawing on your bottom lip with worry, if you kept it up blood was sure gonna be drawn. Your hands were grasping the edge of the pool, giving you something solid to keep you level-headed. You don’t know what you would do if after all this time she says that Will is ‘gone’. All this time of searching for him, getting your hopes up after seeing him alive.

“Will?” El said.

You and Joyce both gasped.

“You tell him…tell him I’m coming. Mom is coming.”

El was talking to Will, telling him Joyce was coming for him, to hold on. You then heard the walkie crackle with life and then a voice, his voice.

“Hurry.”

Just the one word brought tears to your eyes. He was alive, but barely holding on. You don’t know the effects of staying in this Upside Down for a week, especially on Will’s fragile and small body. Joyce started to speak to Will through El again, her voice giving a stutter to her words.

“Okay. Listen, you tell him to…to stay where he is. We’re coming. We’re coming, okay? We’re coming, baby.”

You could hear whimpering coming through the walkie and then El sat up and pulled the goggles off her eyes. Her breathing was heavy and jagged. Joyce pulled her in close and held her over the lip of the pool.

“Oh, okay, okay. I’ve got you.”

She was giving her reassuring kisses on her temple and kept murmuring, “You did so good honey. I got you.”

She began to cry and it broke your heart into even smaller pieces at the sound and look on her face. You looked at Nancy and her face was pulled into a frown, her eyes glassy. She just stared into the water, watching the ripples, probably thinking about Barb. 

When El calmed down you grabbed a towel and with Joyce, the two of you helped pull her up and out. You wrapped the fabric tight around her small frame and tried to rub warmth into her body. You squeezed her in a firm hug, a hand going to the back of her head to keep it pressed to your shoulder.

“Thank you El,” you whispered in her ear.

You released her to the care of Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. The three of them sat together on the bleachers, El leaning on Mike with Dustin sitting beside him and Lucas a seat above rubbing El’s arm and making sure the towel was tight around her.

‘Good kids’ you thought with a smile on your face.

You turned to your group of older adults. Hopper was throwing his coat back on in a hurry. “So this fort. Where is it?”

“Uh, it’s in the woods behind our house,” you stuttered.

“Yeah, he used to go there to hide,” Jonathan said.

Hopper with his coat and hat began to rush out of the gym and down the abandoned hallways. You, Joyce, and Jonathan looked at each other and then hurried after Hopper. Hopper pushed open the door heading for his truck, you three still following. Hopper turned around to the three of you where he heard your rushed feet.

“Hey, get back inside.”

“What, are you insane? No, I’m-” “Look, if something happens to me, I don’t make it back-”

“Yeah, but then I’ll go. You stay. Are you kidding me? He’s my son, Hop. My son.”

You and Jonathan stood behind just watching this argument. You didn’t want either of them to go into the Upside Down, especially your mom, but Joyce seemed firm in her decision on going with Hopper. She turned around to both of you. Your arms wrapped as a security blanket and a frown tugging your lips.

“Now, listen, I need the both of you to stay here..”

“No.” “Mom, please-”

“No, you guys need to stay and watch the kids.”

“No, mom,” Jonathan pleaded.

She hugged Jonathan as he kept pleading, “I can help.”

“Please, I need you to stay, Jonathan.”

She released him and then grabbed you in an embrace, the both of you holding each other tightly.

“Please don’t go, mom,” you whimpered out.

“It’s gonna be okay honey,” she cooed.

“Joyce!” Hopper yelled from his truck.

Joyce reluctantly removed herself from you, sending you off with a kiss on your forehead. You and Jonathan just watched as she hurried over and got into the passenger seat. Hopper backed out then sped off into the night leaving behind his taillights until they faded completely.

…

The both of you walked back into the gym after staying outside long after Hopper’s truck disappeared into the distance. You were greeted with the sight of Nancy sitting in front of the tiger's mural with her knees up. Jonathan walked up to her and slid down the wall beside her. 

You walked over to the gym doors for a moment to see how the kids were doing. The three boys were talking amongst themselves while it looked like El was taking a nap after using all her energy.

“We have to go back to the station.”

You whipped your head at Nancy’s words. Even Jonathan was surprised.

“What?”

“Your mom and Hopper are walking in there like bait. That thing is still in there. And we can’t just sit here and let it get them, too. We can’t.”

Jonathan was nodding his head at her reasoning. You understood as well, but you still didn’t like the idea they were falling towards.

“You still wanna try it out?” Jonathan asked.

Nancy held her voice firm, “I wanna finish what we started. I want to kill it.”

“Okay, cool, yeah, but what about the kids?” you spoke to the side of them.

They looked at each other like they forgot about that part. They got up from the floor and looked through the windows like you did earlier.

“They’ll be safer here, away from everything,” Nancy stated firmly.

You didn’t want the kids to be by themselves, but you didn’t want to leave Jonathan and Nancy behind so you joined them as they rushed out the doors and towards Jonathan’s car.

…

“Jonathan, you go.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re a guy and breaking into the police station is very gentlemanly.” Jonathan just huffed a sigh and got out of the car. You knew he was gonna do it anyway, you just wanted to annoy him a bit. You and Nancy watched as he slowly opened the front door and crept inside. Suddenly Nancy rushed out of the car in a hurry.

“Wait, Nancy-”

Your protests were hushed with the closing of her door.

You flopped against the backseats and sank low in case someone came by. The minutes felt like an hour before the both of them were back in the car. Jonathan was holding the box, but Nancy had something new in her hands.

“Whatcha got there Nancy?”

“An idea,” a fire extinguisher. She grabbed a fire extinguisher.

And with that, the three of you drove off to your possible death.

…

Jonathan was speeding down the empty highway going thirty over the speed limit. You were gripping onto the leather seats with such force that you thought claw marks were going to be left behind.

“Jonathan I know we’re in a hurry, but can you slow down just a little!”

“Seriously (Y/n)!” “I don’t want to possibly hit a deer!”

You could see Jonathan roll his eyes in the rear-view mirror. You wanted to say something about this sudden attitude about you caring if you got into an accident, but it fell off the tip of your tongue. Jonathan took a hard right turn into your driveway and in the process, you slid into the door, your head making contact with the window with a smack to the temple. You cradled the small wound with your hand as Jonathan turned the car off and he and Nancy got out of their seats heading to the trunk. You got out a second after, just slower.

“What the hell, Jonathan!”

Your cry fell on deaf ears as Nancy and Jonathan grabbed the supplies and headed inside. You stood by the car for a moment just watching this whole scene almost from an outside perspective. You threw your arms out in an exasperated gesture.

“It’s like I’m not even here,” you muttered.

You walked into the house and saw Jonathan and Nancy already working on stepping the house up. They were screwing in the bulbs that for some reason were off their strands. You began to do the same process as them since the house was pretty covered in them so it wouldn’t take a while. Once that part of the plan was done Jonathan grabbed two giant nails, the mallet, and a bear trap. He brought the items into the hall and hammered the nails into the ground so the bear trap was kept in place. Nancy was watching him do the whole process, and while they did that you took Nancy’s baseball bat and some nails from the cupboards. 

A regular wooden bat wasn’t gonna do anything, but a bat with nails… now that could do some damage. Satisfied with how it turned out you looked at Nancy and saw she was loading the revolver up and Jonathan was pouring gasoline in a line down the hall.

‘Your poor house was about to be wrecked…even more’ you sighed.

You looked around for the rifle but saw it nowhere in sight. You turned to Jonathan and Nancy, “Did either of you see the rifle?” 

They both shook their heads. You huffed a sigh, ‘cops probably took it’. You’ll have to ask Hopper if he could get it back for you later. Realistically the rifle isn’t the best gun for this type of close contact ‘hunting’, but damn did you want a shot at it.

With the bear trap set, the gasoline to Will’s room set, the revolver loaded, and your new nail bat, you were ready. Well not like ready ready, you think you might throw up soon if you kept thinking about that monster coming to get the three of you. 

You were pacing the living, the bat leaning against the wall so you didn’t accidentally stab yourself with a nail. You were wringing your hands together and rubbing them on the side of your thighs trying to rid them of the sweat being produced due to your nerves.

‘You were doing this, you were really doing this.’ you kept reminding yourself.

You felt Nancy’s eyes on your nervous form. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her getting up from the couch and walking over to you. You stop your motions and she stands before you. You could tell she was just as nervous as you, but she was doing a better job of keeping it contained. Her hands were gripping your upper arms and she gave a quick shake of your body.

“Everything is going to be okay, (Y/n).”

The way she said it was like she was trying to convince the both of you that your half-cocked plan was gonna go smoothly. You know any plan ever made never goes smoothly or even accordingly, it’s a common movie trope you’ve seen plenty of times. But you just gave a nodding of your head for the both of you and she smiled at you. 

She dropped her arms when she heard Jonathan walking back into the room from the kitchen, he was holding two sharp kitchen knives. He handed one to Nancy then turned to you with the other, you shook your head no with a grimace on your face. The three of you stood in a triangle, Jonathan and Nancy facing each other and you with your back to the ouija wall.

“Remember…” Jonathan started to remind y’all of the plan.

“Straight into Will’s room. And-” 

“Don’t step on the trap,” you finished for Nancy.

Nancy nodded, “wait for the yo-yo to move.”

“Then…” Jonathan flicked the silver lighter on giving the message.

You were gonna set that bitch on fire.

“All right, you ready?” Jonathan asked Nancy.

“Ready,” with a nod of her head.

They both raised a hand with the other holding the knife. You had to look away not wanting to see the blood. “On three,” Jonathan said. With your head turned completely away from the scene you could only hear them speak.

“One…two…”

He hesitated going into three, “you don’t have to do this-”

And the comment made you turn your head a bit to look at Nancy. Her face was screwed up tight, getting herself prepared for the slice in her palm.

“Jonathan, stop talking.”

“I’m just saying, you don’t have to-” “Three.”

You didn’t have enough time to turn away so you saw as they sliced deep into their palms, their blood spilling out. A shiver ran up your back at the impending thoughts in your head.

“Christ,” you whispered.

…

You grabbed a piece of cloth and ripped it up and handed a piece to Nancy and Jonathan as they tightly wrapped it to stop any bleeding. You looked at your ruined carpet and saw the dark red of their blood already seeping into the fabric, it’ll be coming. The two of them went to sit on the couch and you went back to your pacing. You were gnawing at the skin of your thumb when you heard creaking. You stopped in your tracks to see if Nancy or Jonathan noticed as well.

“Did you hear that?”

The three of you stayed quiet to see if there were any more noises. There was nothing for a few seconds, “it’s just the wind,” Jonathan supplied. He was probably right, but still, you were on alter.

“Don’t worry. My mom, she said the lights speak when it comes.”

“Speak?”

“They blink, kinda like how El’s powers manipulate the lights,” you added.

“Just think of them as alarms.”

“Just without the blaring noise.”

Nancy and Jonathan looked at you with your comment and you just shrugged.

“What?” They both just turned their attention back to each other.

They started to have a quiet conversation, hushed whispers. You just ignored them and continued with your pacing and nail-biting. You grabbed the bat and swung it around to see how the weight felt in your hands, not bad.

Loud banging shattered the tense air, your heart jumping in your chest and a gasp escaping your lips. The three of you stood still to see if it would happen again, your bat at the ready in case it was a trick of sorts. The banging continued and then a voice shouted from the other side of the wood door.

“Jonathan? You there, man? it’s…it’s Steve.”

‘Steve!’ your brain went alert.

“Listen, I just want to talk!”

He continued to bang on the door and because the other two were taking too long you went to it. You leaned your bat on the other side of you and opened the door just a crack. He was there, leaning against the house in the dark with just the porch light illuminating his features. 

His hair was a bit unkempt, probably running his fingers through the strands or tugging the roots. You could fully see the damage that Jonathan landed upon his face earlier. A cut on the upper bridge of his sculpted nose, a cut on his plush kissable lips, and the left side of his eye and face were covered in dried blood and broken skin. 

Steve looked taken aback at the sight of you. His eyes were a bit wide and if the circumstances were different you would have felt nervous under his dark brown gaze.

“(Y/n), hey, what are-”

“Well, one, I live here, and two you should go, Steve, it’s for your safety.”

“What, safety? Just- I’m not trying to start anything, okay?” You would have loved for him to come into your home and see before you Steve Harrington apologizing to your brother and, maybe you as well. 

You just saw as he squeezed his eyes and licked his bottom lip, wincing as he touched the dirty cut. You badly wanted to clean off his blood and fix his wounds, try and kiss him until he felt better, or kiss him until he was dizzy and couldn’t feel any ounce of pain, but you couldn’t. Not now, probably not ever.

You looked behind you in the house making sure everything was still okay. You sighed out and looked back to Steve through the crack, “I understand Steve, it’s just now isn’t the best time.”

You heard footsteps coming behind you and saw Steve shift his gaze to the person standing behind you, “Nancy?”

Of course, this was your cue to let her handle the situation. You stepped away from the door, grabbed the bat, and then walked further into the ruined home. You could hear their conversation in the doorway. Steve pleads with Nancy and Nancy tells Steve to leave, maybe he would listen to her instead of you. His words came out rushed and stuttering, trying to convey that he was sorry and that he messed up.

“Hey, what happened to your hand?” he now sounded concerned with Nancy’s state.

He started to sound protective and worried. You saw Nancy’s arm get yanked forward, and then she pulled it back into the house.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

A beat of silence and then Steve spoke again with the noise of protectiveness overtaking.

“Wait a sec. Did he do this to you?” “No,” Nancy stated firmly.

Steve started to push against the door making Nancy’s feet slide across the wood flooring, they started to argue.

“Nancy, let me in!” “No. No! No, Steve!”

With Steve being taller and stronger he was able to stumble into the home. His head was whipping around, looking from the string of lights, to the tarp covering the wall, to you and Jonathan. You saw his eyes look down to the bat you were holding in your grasp and a questioning look took over his face.

“What is…what the…”

“You need to get out of here,” said Jonathan as he tried to push Steve back to the door.

Steve was pushing back against Jonathan, “Whoa. What is all-”

“Listen to me, I’m not asking, I’m telling-”

“Steve, it’s better if you just leave, now,” you tried to reason with him.

You didn’t want him mixed up with this whole mess.

“What is that smell?” ‘Gasoline’, you supplied the answer in your head.

Jonathan and Steve kept pushing at each other, both of them trying to get the upper hand. You stood back, the bat raised high above your shoulder ready when needed to swing. You looked over to Nancy and saw she grabbed the revolver and turned to point it at Steve.

“Steve, get out!”

“Nancy!” you yelled.

Jonathan backed off Steve and Steve was holding his arms out to show he wasn’t any threat. His confusion probably just grew tenfold, what with Nancy holding a freaking gun at him.

“Wait. What is going on?” he stuttered.

“You have five seconds to get out of here.”

You were looking between Nancy and Steve. Nancy was holding herself firm, not a single waver in her body as she was pointing the gun. Steve was looking between Nancy and yourself, the two of you holding the weapons in the room.

“Okay, is this a joke? Stop. Put the gun down,” Steve said to Nancy slowly.

“I’m doing this for you.”

Your heart took a hit at the words, but you ignored it. Now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for yourself, all you wanted right now was for Steve to leave here in one piece. You don’t know when the monster will come, but if Steve doesn't leave soon he’ll be in danger.

“Steve, please leave, please,” you whispered the last word out.

He looked in your direction when you spoke and you saw the way his brows furrowed and flared his nostrils. You saw the way his chest was moving with his breathing, it was steady but was coming in hurried. You just kept looking at him as he was doing the same, your surroundings blurring just leaving the two of you.

You didn’t even notice the lights blinking, you didn’t hear Jonathan call Nancy, you didn’t hear what Steve was saying when he tore his gaze from yours. You didn’t hear anything for a whole minute, didn’t see anything outside your tunnel vision. You didn’t notice any of that, not until Jonathan shook your shoulder and was yelling your name. 

Nancy was still pointing the gun at Steve and she was counting down, Steve getting jumpy with each number she counted to.

“Three…”

“Whoa, wait! Wait!...”

“Two…”

“Nancy just put the-” “Nancy! The lights,” Jonathan yelled over everyone.

You looked above you and saw the lights blinking furiously. It was here. You turned around in any direction trying to gauge where it might come from. Jonathan pulled you closer with him, Nancy, and Steve. You now held the bat low in front of you with your back to Steve as he stood behind you.

“What is going on!” “Steve, shut up!” you yelled.

Jonathan and Nancy were back to back, Nancy with the revolver and Jonathan holding the mallet. The three of you were moving around like you had ants in your pants, not staying still in one place. With all the lights blinking you didn’t know the exact location of the monster. You saw Steve out of the corner of your eye, he was just watching the three of you.

“I don’t see it!”

“Where is it?” “I don’t know!” “Where is what?” Steve yelled over the noise. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going-”

A loud crashing broke off Steve’s sentence and all four of you turned at the noise. A spot in the ceiling just above the hole in the wall was cracked, the plaster falling to the floor. You could see underneath was something moving, something was trying to push itself into the room. Your grasp starts to get sweaty again and the bat clatters to the ground behind you, forgotten in your mind. 

Your breathing was coming in too quickly for it to have a steady rhythm. Unconsciously you gravitated toward Steve and grasped onto his wrist that was beside you. You weren’t able to see Steve turning his head to look at your panicked face, you were too busy watching as Nancy held the gun and shot at the hole, she kept shooting at whatever was making its way through. She only stopped when Jonathan wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her away and down the hallway. Your brain kicked into fight or flight mode and it chose flight, so with Steve’s wrist in your hold, you pulled the both of you away. You followed just behind Jonathan and suddenly remembered the bear trap.

“Jump!” you yelled to Steve behind.

“Oh, my god! Oh, my god!” he was screeching from behind.

When Steve got into Will’s room Jonathan slammed the door shut.

“Jesus! Jesus! What the hell was that?”

“Shut up!” Jonathan and Nancy yelled.

…

When the lights stopped flickering and the yo-yo wasn’t snagged, the four of you slowly left Will’s room and looked into the hall. The monster didn’t fall into your trap. You could just barely feel Steve’s body pressed close to your back as you crept down the hall and closer towards the living room. Jonathan led the way with Nancy just behind him. You weren’t sure if it was your mind playing tricks or what, but you felt Steve lightly grasp the back of your jacket keeping you closer to him in the back. You turned your head to look at him but he wasn’t paying attention.

The four of you stood in the living room looking at the damage. You sighed through your nose and closed your eyes, a moment of peace. You opened your eyes when you could faintly hear Steve muttering behind you. His hands wouldn’t stay still, whether they went to his hair or slapped the outside of his thighs, tugging at his dark green sweater, they didn’t stop.

“This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy! This is crazy! This is crazy!” He just kept repeating the words like a mantra.

He jumped to the landline in the kitchen and started to dial a number, presumably nine-one-one. Nancy stormed over to him just as he held it to his ear, she grabbed it and threw it onto the floor. Steve threw his arms out and asked with a bit of a higher pitch to his voice, “what are you do- What are you doing? Are you insane?”

“It’s going to come back!” Nancy yelled at his face. “So you need to leave, right now,” she held firm.

Steve, with an expression rivaling a puppy’s face, looked from Nancy to Jonathan and then his eyes landed on you. Your bottom lip pulled in between your teeth, arms crossed over your chest with your hands in fists. A sullen look was displayed across your face, you wanted him to stay, so so badly. You wanted to pretend to live in a fantasy dream with Steve where there was nothing wrong and the two of you were happily in love, but that wouldn’t happen, and it especially wouldn’t happen today.

“You should go, Steve,” you quietly stated.

With a distorted expression Steve ran off into the night, and for your sake, you hope he drove off far away from this mess. 

Just a few minutes after Steve slammed the door behind in his departure the lights started to pulse again, it was back for round two. Swinging your body around like you did the first time, you were looking around trying to pinpoint the entry point. You also then realized you haven’t been holding the nail-studded bat this entire time. With the strobing of the lights, it wasn’t easy to look around you without your eyes starting to water.

“Where is it?” “Come on, you son of a bitch.” “You see it?” “No, Where-”

“Anyone seen the bat?” “(Y/n)!” “What? I can’t see-”

And then the lights burnt out, shutting the three of you in complete darkness. Your heart was jumping out of your chest, your legs shaking so much they could give out at any moment. You could probably only see a step in front of you, but your ears were on high alert. Then the growling came, that sick, hungry growling of the dangerous predator. You turned in the direction of the noise and saw it looming over the three of you.

“Jonathan!” you cried.

Jonathan turned a second too late and the monster lunged at him, pinning him to the ground, its monstrous mouth opened and drool was pooling from the mouth onto Jonathan’s face. Your fear kicked even higher with Jonathan in danger. “Jonathan!” you and Nancy screamed in terror. The monster leaned in closer and fully opened its mouth over Jonathan's face, it was just like your dream. Its mouth opened like a flower, Jonathan peering into the rows of teeth before being consumed.

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch!” Nancy said while pointing the gun.

She shot a few rounds to get the monster off Jonathan. When it stood on the ground it stood to the full height it possessed, it almost touched the ceiling. You were still looking around for your bat or anything at this point to hit it with. Nancy continued shooting until the gun clicked, no more bullets. The monster was roaring, its mouth fully open now.

You grabbed Nancy and pulled her into you, the two of you slowly walking back into the dining room. This was probably it, you were going to die similarly to your dream. At least it was distracted, Joyce and Hopper searching for Will without worrying about the creature getting them. They’ll find Will, bring him home, he’ll get to be a kid again, it brought just a once of peace to your screaming mind.

With your distracting thoughts, you weren’t able to see the figure moving in the dark with a bat running at the monster. With a grunt, Steve swung the bat at the creature. He started to lure the monster away from the two of you, giving you a moment to catch your breath. You saw the way Steve effortlessly was twirling the bat and landing hits on the body. He was pushing it further into the hall until you heard the sounds of the demonic screaming. It hit the bear trap.

“He’s in the trap!” yelled Nancy.

“He’s stuck!” Steve yelled out.

“Jonathan, now!”

The three of you watched the monster thrash in the hall, lights going berserk through the house again. Jonathan came up just beside you and flicked the lighter and threw it onto the gasoline trail. Your hallway caught on fire along with the demon stuck in the flames. You held your arm over your face to block out the heat wafting your way. Its screams were like those of a T-rex dinosaur, something loud and booming. Not wanting your house to burn to the ground you ran for the fire extinguisher Nancy took from the station and opened fire.

“Get back!”

With the fire out, and the lights off, the only thing surrounding you was the smoke wafting into the cramped space. All of you were coughing from the inhale. When it cleared you all crept slowly toward the trap to see the damage. With the smoke still clouded it was a bit hard to see, but you didn’t see a single trace of the monster behind.

“Where did it go?” Nancy coughed out.

“No, it has to be dead,” reasoned Jonathan. 

Steve held an arm out to keep you a few feet back from the bear trap. You grabbed his arm and just leaned forward to try and see anything. All you could see through the smoke was the burnt spot and what looked to be bubbling flesh on the closed trap.

You heard Jonathan gasp in front of you and saw he was looking up. You followed in his action and saw the trail of string lights, slowly this time, lit one by one. The four of you followed the trail, Jonathan and Nancy in the very back with you still behind Steve who was in front holding the bat. You watched as the lights stopped before the trap and then went back out of the hall. Following in its path you all watched mesmerized as the trail led to the front door.

“Mom?” you gasped.

If this was your mom and Hopper, they were in the Upside Down looking for Will right now.

“Mom, is that you?” Jonathan questioned the open air.

“Mom!” you cried.

Jonathan walked to the door and you pushed yourself forward to be beside him. With all four of you standing on the dark porch, you looked at the flickering street light, and then it stopped. “Where’s it going?” Nancy asked, “I don’t think that’s the monster,” Jonathan quietly said.

“What does that mean?” Steve asked.

“It’s our mom,” was your teary reply.

…

Finally having dealt with the monster and helping Joyce and Hopper, you were allowing yourself to have a breakdown, a moment alone, whatever you chose to called it. 

You walked back into the house and made for your room, shutting the door behind you. You sat on the floor and leaned against your bed. With your knees pulled in tight you wrapped your arms around them and threw your head down. 

You could have died, Jonathan and Nancy, and Steve could have died. You weren’t of any help, you froze, dropped your weapon, and couldn’t find it when needed. If Steve didn’t suddenly come in with your bat the monster probably would have killed you. You wouldn’t have been able to see Will again, and you would have caused Joyce actual grief.

The tears fell silently at first, just slowly and quietly falling from the seams of your closed lids. You felt their coldness as they ran down your cheeks like raindrops falling from the sky. When your tears started to fall a bit faster your breathing started to become more panicked, harsher. You couldn’t breathe, it felt like you were choking. Your vision was blurring, your surroundings felt like smoke slipping through your fingers, and a terrible headache was starting to pulse at your temples.

You didn’t even hear the knocking at your door or see it open to Steve peeking his head through. You didn’t even notice as he hesitantly walked to you and crouched before you and dropped a gentle hand onto your shoulder. Only when you felt the comforting squeeze on your shoulder and the feather-light touch of fingers moving your hair away from your face were you able to be grounded back into the present. You lifted your head from your protective cage and looked at Steve who was leaning forward. He drew back a bit when he saw your face was now in view and dropped his hands.

“Uh…I could- I could leave if you want.” With a shake of your head and a grip on his wrist, he stayed with you. Steve nodded his understanding. He moved to sit beside you as you both leaned against your bed. Turning your head you looked at Steve as he was looking around your room with a ghost of a smile on his bruised face.

“You should probably clean your face or something.” “Huh?”

He turned his head in your direction when you spoke and at his confusion, you pointed out his bloodied face. He made an ‘oh’ with his mouth, lifting a hand to his face and lightly touching the wounds. He was looking over your face, his eyes zipping across your facial structure. You didn’t know if you had any injuries, you didn’t feel any pain. Lifting a hand to your face you touched your temple, your cheek, and your nose. Didn’t feel anything.

“Do I have any bruising?” you asked Steve while he was still searching for something.

Steve shook his head ‘no’ and that was it.

The both of you are just sitting in the growing silence, neither of you knowing how to have a proper conversation. You were a grade below Steve in school so you didn’t share any classes, not even extracurriculars. All you knew was that he was on the swim team and the basketball team, he probably didn’t know anything about you. Like how you took drawing so you were able to do the activity with Will, or how you helped with the photography club because of Jonathan. You even tried out for the volleyball team but you didn’t make it past the second round of tryouts.

The two of you were strangers to the other, two different classes. That’s why it’s not much of a surprise he took a liking to Nancy, and it won’t be a surprise when you never get him if you even got the chance.

“You okay?”

That one question broke the silence. You looked to Steve and saw he already had his sights on you, it probably never left when you turned yours away. With a shrug of your shoulders that was the only answer, you gave for a moment, and then you spoke.

“I’ve just been having a shitty week.”

“I can see why…I mean, what the hell did we just fight?”

You chuckled. Yeah, what the hell did you just do? The four of you did something out of a horror movie or something. A group of rogue companions fighting a fierce evil to save someone they care about, like a D&D campaign the boys would do.

“You’ve been pretty out of the loop until tonight. Kinda why I didn’t want you to stay,” you whispered the last part.

You hoped Steve wouldn’t hear it, but he did. “Well if I wasn’t here, something bad could have happened to Nancy, or you.”

“What about Jonathan? you kinda still have to apologize…for earlier.”

His face screwed up when you mentioned earlier today at the theater alley. It got a bit tense again when you mentioned it, but it was something that Steve had to face if he wanted forgiveness and to show he understands his mistakes. You wanted to see Steve change and show his true character, not this fake ‘King Steve’ persona.

“I’m- I’m really sorry about all that. I shouldn’t have said any of that about Jonathan or your family. And I’m sorry for what Carol did at Lenny’s and what she said…about Tessa Anderson. Nicole said she heard that rumor about you and so Carol used it. I thought it was fake, but when I saw the way you froze and everything…I’m just- I understand if you can’t forgive me. I’ve been such a shitty person and I know it’s late to try and change that, but I want to try, for myself and-and for Nancy.”

You hated that you felt the twitch of jealousy in your bones. You wanted Steve to change for himself, just himself, but if Nancy is a reason for him wanting to be a better version of himself, you’ll take it. 

“Well, I’ll accept this apology, but you’re gonna have to work each day to prove you’re changing for the better. And I would like for you to apologize to Jonathan, as soon as possible.”

Steve nodded his head as confirmation.

Then it went back to silence, but it was a bit more comfortable now. He knows you forgive him, and you know he’s working on being a better person. Maybe, because of this weird situation, only a few of you are stuck in, it’ll make you closer. Maybe this will give you a chance to be closer to Steve than you’ve ever been. It gives you a bit of happiness in your chest at the thought of finally getting closer to Steve, someone who has always just been out of reach.

The silence was broken when you heard footsteps coming down the hall and stopping before your room. The door swung open and Jonathan was at the entrance. He looked between you and Steve with a pucker to his brows. He looked shocked to see Steve beside you, but he didn’t comment on it.

“We gotta go to the hospital.” “What? Why?” “Will,” that was the one word to get you up and moving.

…

When Jonathan stopped at the hospital the two of you sprinted so fast to the desk asking about Will.

Joyce was in the lobby with Hopper and when you saw her, the happiest of tears sprung to your eyes and you had the biggest watery smile. You hugged each other like you’ve been separated for a month and not just a few hours. You parted from her, allowing for Jonathan to get a rib-crushing hug. 

You turned in the direction of Hopper and threw your arms around his waist in an unexpected hug. It probably was weird to hug someone you weren’t exactly close with, but Hopper was someone you felt you could trust in this crazy situation. You felt how his body tensed when you slammed into him and how he hesitated to move his arms, but then they fell to your upper back and he gave a comforting rub.

“Thank you, Hopper.” “No problem kid.”

You pulled away from Hopper and looked at Joyce.

“Is Will okay?”

She nodded her head, “yes, they say his breathing is stable.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. You looked to the hospital doors when you heard footsteps, you saw Nancy and Steve walking. Then suddenly you remembered an important thing, “where are the kids?”

“They’re in the waiting room, but El…she was gone,” Hopper answered.

“What do you mean, gone?” Nancy questioned.

Hopper sighed, “they say she was fighting the monster and then, vanished.”

Your tears returned for the missing girl. You were starting to get a fondness for her, she deserved to be able to live a normal life. Not whatever she had before. Your thoughts of El were cut short when a nurse called for Joyce, “you can see Will now, follow me.”

Joyce, Jonathan, and you followed the kind nurse as she weaved through the crowded hallway and stopped just before a door, and held her hand out. You peered into the room from the doorway and saw him. Will had tubes attached to his nose and a needle sticking out his arm for the fluids. His eyes were closed and you could see the faint rise and fall of his chest. You cupped your hands over your mouth as you walked further into the room, you didn’t want to make a noise to wake him. Joyce and Jonathan sat on one side of his bed and you sat on the other. 

The three of you now just waited until he awoke from his deep slumber.

…

Will woke up a few hours later.

You were laying your head on your crossed arms that rested on his bed, trying to get some much-needed sleep. You felt someone shifting around and noises in the room, then a gentle pat on the top of your head. You squeezed your eyes against the harsh hospital lighting when you looked up and saw Joyce and Jonathan standing beside the bed. You looked to Will, he was already looking at you and had a smile on his face.

‘You’ve missed that smile so much’ 

“Hey buddy, I’ve missed you,” said quietly with tears in your eyes.

“Where…where am I?” Will asked with a cracked voice.

Joyce sniffled and looked at Jonathan, “you’re home. You’re home now.”

“You’re safe,” Joyce whispered.

“Jonathan,” Will said his name like he was remembering.

Jonathan had tears falling from his eyes and running down the side of his nose. He grinned at the sound of Will saying his name again and the moment brought the waterworks for you.

“Yeah, it’s me, buddy. We missed you.”

“We really missed you,” you added to Jonathan’s sentiment.

“Are-are you okay?”

You saw as Will pointed to Jonathan’s bandaged hand. Even when he was in danger for a week the first thing when he woke up was to make sure Jonathan is okay. In just that small moment, you made a promise in the back of your mind. You will be protecting Will from any future danger that comes his way, nothing is going to be taking him from you ever again, not if you can stop it.

You tuned out the conversation they were having and when you refocused the three of them were smiling at each other.

“Oh, hey, uh…”

You bent down to the side of you and grabbed a box and placed it on the bed in front of you. Will was looking at you and then into the box you grabbed. You smiled his way and he returned a twitch of his lip.

“We, uh…we brought you some stuff…so you don’t get bored in here.”

The box was full of different things that Will could use for drawing when he was back in his regular state. Right now he couldn’t do too much moving around.

“Also…uh, I made you a new mixtape. There’s some stuff on there I think you really might like.”

Jonathan grabbed the tape from the box and held it out for Will to take. The two smiled at each other, and then Will turned his head up at Joyce. She was just stroking his hair this entire time, a smile was imprinted on her face as well. Will turned his head to look at you and you grabbed his hand that was close to you. Your family was whole again, and your heart never felt fuller.

…

When the four of you had been talking with Will for a few hours you thought it was time to let the kids come and visit him. You kissed Will on the forehead and left the room, leaving Joyce and Jonathan with him. You walked to the waiting room and through the glass, you could see everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler with Holly, Hopper, Steve with his face still busted, Nancy checking her watch, and then the three boys. Mike was leaning forward on his thighs while Lucas and Dustin were sleeping, Dustin resting his head onto Lucas’ shoulder, if only you had a camera right now.

You opened the door to the waiting room and looked at Mike, giving a nod of your head. He jumped from his seat and started to shake Lucas and Dustin from their nap. He was yelling, “guys. Guys, he’s up. Will is up. Guys, Will’s up.” Dustin and Lucas pushed at each other when they woke up and the three of them were off. 

“Guys, down the hall, third door on the right!” you yelled to their departing figures.

You turned to Steve and he was already looking at you. You gave a tilt of your head out the door, then headed out. You heard Steve follow a second later and walked beside you. You stopped at the vending machines and pulled a few bills you had in your pockets. You were taking your time looking for something that you could snack on, you haven’t eaten in a few hours or something. You finally just selected some M&Ms.

“You know you can get your face checked out, we are in a hospital.”

You bent down to grab the candy and then stood up and looked at Steve. 

“Yea, probably should. I mean it’s not like my parents are gonna ask about it, they’re out of town right now.”

“Are you sure you want to go home to an empty house, after what we saw?”

Asking the question felt like you were trying to invite him to your house, well back to your house, just under better circumstances. You know that, personally, you're gonna be having nightmares for a while. That creature, the Demogorgon, something the kids called it, will be haunting you for months.

You didn’t realize that you stopped talking or zoned out. The feeling of Steve’s elbow hitting your waist caught your attention. He had a delicate smile brightening his darkened features.

“You trying to invite me over, Byers?”

You smirked and rolled your eyes at his comment, “you wish Harrington.”

Then you thought about it for a moment, “just…if you need someone to talk to…our number is in the phone book.”

The two of you stared at each other after that and it just felt…nice.

“Well I’m gonna- I’m gonna head back to Will. So, see ya, Steve,” you said while walking backward in the direction of Will’s hospital room.

“See ya, (Y/n),” a wave of Steve’s hand.

You turned forward and continued on your walk, the butterflies in your stomach not settling for a second after the conversation. Maybe something good came out of this terrible thing.

…

The next few weeks were quiet, a good quiet.

Will had to stay in the hospital for two weeks, so you would visit him almost every day and stay until you weren’t allowed anymore. They only allowed Joyce and Hopper to stay overnight, them being the adults and all. When school was over you and Jonathan would make your way to the hospital and entertain Will. He was in better condition each passing day. 

Sometimes the boys would come with the two of you after school and stay until their parents picked them up or they left with you and Jonathan. They would talk about stuff that happened at school, or a new D&D campaign they were preparing for when Will was back home. Seeing them interact together made you so happy, they were back to being normal kids, and not kids who witnessed terrible things before their own eyes. Sometimes Mike would mention El and the mood would dip a little with the mention of the missing friend.

Nancy and Steve even would drop by once or twice. At first, it kinda shocked you, you thought Nancy only visited because she was picking Mike up, but she stayed for a little and would keep you and Jonathan company when Steve wasn’t with her. When Steve came by the first time your heart picked up pace. You saw the way Jonathan’s jaw tensed at the thought of Steve being there. He told you that Steve talked with him the following day after Will was back, Jonathan said he accepted the apology but told Steve it would be fine if they didn’t try to become friendly. They were civil around each other, but neither of them went out of their way to be friends. Honestly, Steve and you were becoming a bit closer, and with you becoming closer with Steve you noticed how Jonathan was becoming more protective.

-

You were having nightmares almost every night. 

Sometimes it was you being chased by the Demogorgon and then it would eat you. Other times it's a dream where you witness someone being ripped to shreds from the sharp talons of the creature. Sometimes the person was Jonathan or Joyce, sometimes Hopper, and a recent one involving Steve. You and whoever was with you in the dream would be running away and then the monster would grab them and you would just stand frozen in fear. You would just be helpless and watch as they released a blood-curdling scream from the depths of their lungs, blood seeping from their wounds where the claws seeped into. They would cry out your name, a plea for help, and you would just shake with fear and fall to the floor. When the monster was done destroying their body it would just drop their body to the floor and it would start its way towards you, its next victim.

You would awake in a sweat, your heart feeling like a hummingbird trapped in a cage. The darkness of your room felt like shadows were watching you, enjoying the torment you were suffering from in your sleep. Sometimes you would go to Jonathan’s room and crawl into his bed, or just check to make sure he was completely safe and alive. Sometimes you would just sit in your bed and cry yourself back to sleep or not even sleep at all, you would just move through the day in a zombie-sluggish state until your body collapsed in on itself. One time you passed out in school and awoke in the nurse's office. 

Sometimes when the dream involves Steve you would walk to the landline in the kitchen, pick it off the receiver, and with a finger hovering over the numbers ready to dial his house, you would then decide against it and go back to your room. You would find relief when you saw him walking the halls in the morning, sometimes he was with Nancy, and other times he would visit you.

-

You were starting to distance yourself from people, well, not like you had many people to distance yourself from anyway. You started to keep your distance from people even more, you would spend your lunch on the bleachers by the track field. Now you said to yourself, ‘keep your distance, distance equals fewer people getting hurt’. Now see that worked for a little until you became friends with a girl one day. 

The two of you just minding your own business, you were reading a book for your English class when you heard a voice speak up beside you.

“You a Charles Dickens fan?”

You looked up from the pages of your book, A Tale of Two Cities, and peered up at the girl standing before you. Her shoulder-length brunette hair with blonde highlights, her face splattered in freckles, and her eyes were shining with a friendliness behind their sea green color. She wore a couple of silver chains that rested against her collarbones, a simple maroon sweater, and black denim jeans covering her body, and she wore red converse that looked to be covered in scribbles.

You looked back to the book and then at her again.

“Um, not really, school assigned.” “Ah, you in Mrs. Welshes' class?” You were taken aback by her question, “yea, fourth period.”

“Oh cool, I have her second period.”

You nodded your head with a closed mouth. You didn’t want to try and get friendly with her, better she stays away from you, for her safety. You began to subtly pack your belongings into your bag and grabbed your lunch. 

“Hey, you think we could study after school some day? I kinda need help with English,” the girl asked out of the blue. Again you were taken aback by her forwardness to someone she just met. You were getting ready to decline her, but then when you looked at her something in you said, “yeah, I would be up for that.”

“Cool, you free tomorrow?”

“Uh, yea, I can clear my plans.”

You were planning on just going home and locking yourself away, but one day wouldn’t hurt. Plus, you know Will would be happy to know you were hanging out with someone other than Jonathan, “do you two have friends that aren’t each other?” he asked one day. It was funny, but also kinda true, maybe distancing yourself from people wasn’t the right idea when trying to overcome your trauma. 

Before the girl could leave you remembered you didn’t ask for her name.

“Um, I didn’t get your name?”

“It's Robin… Buckley, Robin Buckley, that’s my name.” “(Y/n) Byers. So I’ll meet you at the library after school tomorrow?”

“See you then, Byers!”

-

Now, with your nightmare consuming your mind every time you close your eyes for more than an hour, you aren't sleeping. So, because you were starting to get desperate you resorted to…drugs. Not hard drugs or anything, just weed. You knew a kid at school who was a dealer, so you approached him one day during lunch. 

Munson was sitting at his table with his group of friends and they were talking away about something. You approached from behind and tapped Eddie on the shoulder. He looked surprised that it was you, but it washed away and was replaced with a charming smile.

“Byers, what can I do for you?”

You leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “I was hoping I could buy something, you know?”

He pulled away from your close contact and lifted his brows. You were biting down on your bottom lip and waiting for some type of reply from him. He looked conflicted at your request, but when you turned your eyes on him, he looked sad. He could probably see the redness in your eyes from all the rubbing you did with the palm of your hands, or the dark purple circles growing each day under your eyes. Maybe also the way you were holding yourself, you were swaying to a nonexistent breeze, your legs feeling like they could give out any minute.

“Yea, just give me a minute.” You nodded your head and backed away from the table while he talked with his friends. They looked from Eddie to you and then at each other. Munson stood from the table and walked to you with a hand held before you. “Shall we?” he asked, that charming charisma still in place. You slapped a palm onto his and with a tug, the two of you left the lunchroom. 

If you felt eyes watching your back as you departed you didn’t bother checking to see the culprit.

-

You quit Lenny’s Pizza.

Actually, you were fired because of how many days you called off or just didn’t even show up for your shifts. You weren’t too upset at the loss of the job, you hated it anyway. 

Yea, you weren’t making any money currently, but you had enough saved up that you were able to buy small Christmas gifts for everyone. Also, the thrift store was a close friend of yours so you were able to find a majority of things that you knew everyone would like when you scanned up and down the many aisles. Although when you thought about getting something for Steve, you faltered. You wanted to get him something, but you weren’t sure if that was crossing some type of line. Sure the two of you were getting closer, but were you close enough to get him a gift? You held off, for now, maybe for his birthday, you would get him something.

One day, a week before Christmas, there was a knock at the front door. With you being the only one home, Joyce and Jonathan working, and Will at the Sinclairs, you were a bit spooked. You trudge up from your seat on the couch in front of the TV and walk to the door. Slowly you opened the door a crack and then all the way when you saw who was on the other side.

“Steve?”

Steve was standing in a dark brown coat to fight off the winter chill, his hands stuffed into the pockets of the coat. His cheeks were flushed with a rose tint that slowly was kissing the tip of his nose and ears. The wind swishing caused the strands of his hair to be pushed and pulled into different directions, it still held its shape though. He was grinning at your surprised face and his eyes drifted over your body.

“Cute pants.” You looked down and saw that you were wearing a pair of Star Wars pajama pants and a giant oversized t-shirt. You blushed when you become self-conscious about your appearance before Steve. Pushing hair behind your ear you let a chuckle out and stood aside with an arm out.

“Would you like to come in?”

“Thought you would never ask.”

With the door shut and Steve inside he removed his hands from his jacket pocket, and he was holding something within his grasp. It was a small white box, something like a jewelry box. You heard your blood rushing in your ears and your heart beating a second faster. It was kinda like that one dream you had. ‘Are you psychic?’ you questioned for a second.

Steve cleared his throat and it drew your attention away from your thoughts. He was fidgeting with the small box and he kept a darting gaze from you to anything else in the room. He was leaning from the balls of his feet to his heels. You took two steps closer and the gap between the both of you shrunk. Steve looked up from the box and held your curious look.

“I- I, uh, I thought I would bring you your gift early. I wasn’t exactly sure if you would even like it, but I asked your mom and even Will if they thought this was something you would be interested in so, so if you don’t like it, just blame them.”

You giggled nervously at his rambling and at the idea of him talking with Joyce and Will, trying to see if the gift he got for you was something you would enjoy. You took the box from his hands, a subtle shake in the hold, and you held the box like it was made of glass. You slowly opened the box and inside was a ring. It was silver all around and hugging the band was roses etched into the metal. It was something subtle, but so beautiful in its design.

“It’s stunning,” you looked up at Steve with a smile over your lips. 

He looked relieved at the comment. He released a small breath he must have been holding in, along with the tension leaving his shoulders. His face lit up in a similar smile as yours. You pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto each finger to see if it fit. It fit the most comfortably on your index fingers, ‘a new ring to wear everyday’ you thought with a grin.

“I feel bad, I wanted to get you a gift, but I wasn’t sure what you might have liked.”

“It’s fine, maybe for my birthday you could get me something, you know when we get to know each other more.”

Just the whole sentence sent butterflies swarming into my stomach. He had the same idea as you, waiting for his birthday. And the fact he said “when we get to know each other more” made you so ecstatic, he wanted to be around you. But you had to remind yourself that he just wants to be friends, and he’s still with Nancy. At least Steve Harrington was now within your grasp, something that was always just seen as a dream.

…

It was Christmas day and everything was great.

Will had been at home now for almost a month. His health was great, with no visible side effects of the Upside Down, but know he’ll probably be haunted by the memories. Will has been going back to school, but once a week he has to visit Hawkins lab so they could make sure his brain and body are doing okay. Sometimes you join him and Joyce when they go, the doctor, Dr. Owens seems nice enough. You don’t trust the lab though, they made everyone sign NDAs so you couldn’t mention anything. It’s not like people would believe you if you explained the series of events and how they actually unfolded.

You and Jonathan were on your way to the Wheeler’s home where Will stayed since early morning so the boys could play their new campaign. You wanted to drop off your gifts for Dustin, Lucas, and Mike. Joyce doesn’t want Will riding around on his bike anymore, well, mostly during the night she doesn’t. You looked out the passenger window and watched as light drops of snow fell from the sky, barely starting to coat anything within its reach. When you reached the big home, you rushed to the front door hoping to fight away the cold creeping in.

Mrs. Wheeler opened the door and had a welcoming smile gracing her stunning features. She ushered the both of you in the front door. “The boys are downstairs,” she said with a smile and headed to the kitchen. You opened the basement door with Jonathan behind you and you could hear the boys talking loudly about something having to do with their game.

“Jeez, what’s that smell?”

“Smell like prepubescent boys, you gotta air this thing out, Mike.”

“Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?” You and Jonathan joked with the boys.

Lucas chuckled, “Oh, that’s just Dustin. He farted.”

Dustin’s smile fell when Lucas started to make fun of him, “Dustin farted,” and he blew some raspberries his way.

“Okay, very mature, Lucas.”

You grinned at the boy's interaction. You walked to the table and held out a bag to Dustin and Lucas, then you handed one to Mike. You watched as they opened the gifts and smiled at the trinkets you found at the thrift. Happy with the items they recevied, they jumped from their seats and hugged you around the waist which you reciprocated with pleasure, and a head ruffle. Jonathan nodded to Will and you watched as he collected his stuff and followed behind him up the stairs.

“Bye boys, stop by the house soon,” you said while walking up the basement stairs.

With a chorus of tiny voices and “okays,” you closed the door. You stopped through the kitchen to wish Mrs. Wheeler a ‘Merry Christmas’ and met up with the boys near the stairs. You saw Nancy coming down as you turned the corner and gave her a wave. She smiled back and called out to Jonathan. You stood beside Will at the door and watched as Nancy stopped before Jonathan. She was holding a wrapped box in her grasp.

“Uh…” “Merry Christmas,” she said with a smile on her lips.

“Thanks, um…I…I didn’t get you anything.” You watched as Jonathan stuttered during the exchange. A tug of your lips was all you showed to your amusement at this moment.

“I…I feel bad.” “No. No, it’s, uh, it’s not really a present.”

That piqued your interest.

“It’s, um… Well, you’ll see.”

And then you watched with widened eyes as Nancy leaned forward, a hand on Jonathan’s chest, and a delicate kiss placed upon his cheek. You turned your head down to Will and saw he looked just as surprised as you with the interaction. You ruffled his hair at the look on his face. 

Looking back at Nancy and Jonathan, Nancy held a shy look on her face, and you could see a smile playing on Jonathan’s lips.

“Merry Christmas,” was all he said to her.

He turned around to you and Will, “you ready?”

“Yeah,” Will nodded his head.

“Let’s go.”

“I’m starving,” you spoke.

The three of you walked back out into the snowfall winter air, Will in the back with you and Jonathan up front. “All right. Buckle up.” Will leaned his head forward and pointed to the wrapped box sitting in the middle, “can I open it?”. Jonathan smiled at him and nodded his head, “yeah, sure.” With excitement Will grabbed the box and began to tear through the neatly done paper. You looked down at the box and a smile appeared on your face. It was a new camera.

“Wow. Pretty cool,” Will said.

“Yeah, pretty cool,” Jonathan chuckled.

When you got back home Joyce was almost done with making dinner. You all decided to just open your presents right now since there weren’t many. Jonathan was testing his new camera out, taking photos of anything at the moment that captured his attention. He took some photos of you and Will as you opened presents. You grabbed one that was labeled with your name and gently, but still with excitement you ripped the paper off the item beneath.

“Holy shit!” you screamed.

Under the wrapping paper were three new vinyl albums that you haven’t been able to buy. You were smiling ear to ear and looking at Jonathan just as he snapped a photo of you, the flash blinding you for a moment. He pulled the camera away and was smiling back at you.

“You like them?” “Are you kidding, of course!” you beamed down to the records.

Super Trooper by ABBA, The Game by Queen, and Rumors by Fleetwood Mac were placed delicately onto your lap and you just gazed upon them. You’ve been wanting them for a while, but the record store a town away was always out of stock.

“What you got there?”

You looked up at Jonathan thinking he was talking to you, but then you turned to Will as he was pulling a big box from under the tree. “That one of yours?” you asked curiously. “Yeah,” Will said while looking at the box.

“Looks pretty big,” Jonathan faked curiosity.

He took another picture, this one of Will, and the flash caused another moment of black spots in your vision. You tried blinking them away and saw Jonathan walk away. “Be careful. You’ll break it,” you warned Will as he was shaking the box to hear the contents inside. You felt overjoyed as you looked between Will, as he ripped a small hole trying to peek within the contents, and looked at Jonathan as he was snapping photos of Joyce in the dining room placing the food onto the table. You placed the albums on the couch and walked to the table.

“They’re so runny.” “Mom, it’s gonna be great,” you said while she criticized her potatoes. “It’s definitely an Atari,” Will stated as he sat down.

“An a-what-i?” Joyce asked.

“The green present. It’s an Atari. I felt Dustin’s today, it’s the same exact weight.”

“What are you, Batman? Why such a detective?” you giggled.

“Really, well…we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Joyce played coy.

Just as you were about to eat Will stood up from his seat,

“Hey, no more snooping,” called out Joyce.

“No, I forgot to wash my hands. I’ll be right back.”

The three of you looked at each other for a moment and then dug into the food. You grabbed some potatoes, green beans, some turkey, and ham, when suddenly, “oh I should get my polaroid.”

You stood from the table like Will and walked down the hall into your room searching for the chunky camera. When you found it hidden under a pile of stuff you checked if there was film already inside, when nothing came out you checked your drawers for a new pack. When a new pack was inside and the top layer was spat out, you left your room.

Just as you left your room you could faintly hear coughing from inside the bathroom. You stepped in closer and leaned your ear against the wood door. You could hear Will coughing and then the sink water running. You waited until the water was turned off and saw the doorknob turn. Will stepped back when he saw you in front of the open doorway.

“You okay?” you whispered.

He hesitated, but then he quickly smiled and said, “yeah, I’m good.”

He walked back to the dining table, but you stood in your spot a moment longer. You weren’t sure if he was telling the truth or what, but you didn’t want to be pushing him on the matter. You walked back to the table and sat down.

“Mmm. Hey, mom. Did Will tell you about, uh, the game?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“No. What game?” “I threw a fireball at him and…” Will imitates an explosion with his mouth, “dead.”

“Wait, what is… You mean, this is…”

“It’s just Dungeons and Dragons, mom,” you quelled her nerves.

“Dungeons and Dragons, right.”

“It’s fun. (Y/n) you should play sometime.” “I would love to Will, it’s just that I think the boys wouldn’t like an inexperienced player ruining the game flow.”

“That’s just an excuse to not play,” Will retorted.

“No, I would love to play, it’s just very complicated.”

As you all continued in the easy and cheerful dinner conversation, the snow outside continued to fall fast and cold. It covered every inch of the surface that it could find. The warmth of your home being able to block out the coldness from outside, keeping the four of you in your quaint jolly cheer. Everyone with a smile taking control of their facial features, not a single one of you thinking of the events that took place a month prior. 

If someone were to see the scene from outside they wouldn’t know about the horrors the four of you have seen and wouldn’t know that some of you can’t escape them. They wouldn’t know about the destruction this house has seen and the damage done to it so you could defeat a demon. They wouldn’t know that the young boy was trapped in another world for a week and was on the brink of death. No, all they would see is a happy family of four eating at the table, talking about their friends, talking about ideas on their gifts under the tree, talking about anything.

The family wouldn’t even know about the impending horror looming in the back of the forest. Watching with its evil eyes, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and ruin the happy image it’s currently watching. No, it’s biding its time. You won’t even know it's there until it’s too late.

But that’s something to worry about later.

------------------------

taglist: @heartyhope​ / @preciousbabypeter​ / @dessmxsworld​ / @piper3113 / @animiacorn​ / @burn1ngw00d​ / @drxwstxrkxy​ / @m-rae23​ / @noisyeggsmoneystatesman​ / @yournan69​ / @thats-s0-ravenn​ / @ameliabs-world​ / @mayonesavegana​ / @oohbabyyeahh​ / @gengen64​ / @alecmores​ / @choclate32 / @stvrdustalexx​ /

#steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fic #steve harringing x reader #steve harrington x byers!reader #steve harrington x female reader #stever harrington fanfic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve the hair harrington #stranger things series #stranger things imagine #stranger things fic #stranger things self inster #byers!reader #female reader #The Byers Harrington Story

[gracelupinxx]

Time After Time - Steve Harrington x Byers!Reader

A/N: Steve Harrington x Byers!Reader is my kryptonite tbh. Also I had the hardest time naming this one, but while trying to name it I saw Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper in my playlist and the chorus reminded me of Steve and the reader in this so I just went with it. I hope you enjoy!

Summary: (Y/N) Byers, has always had a complicated relationship with her dad, and when he shows up unexpectedly, she finds comfort in her boyfriend, Steve. (Ft. Jonathan and Will as supportive and loving brothers.)

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It was a peaceful autumn morning, a soft wind blowing outside like a sweet lullaby, and all three Byers kids in a deep sleep. Unfortunately, the peaceful atmosphere was broken when (Y/N) was woken up by hostile voices coming from the living room. Her room was closest to it, so it wasn’t unusual for voices to drift in. What was unusual was hearing people whisper-yelling at each other out there at 6 am.

With slight hesitation, she pulled herself out of bed. Her whole body shivered as she left the comfort of her bed, so she threw on a flannel and slippers before walking slowly towards the door. She cringed every time a floorboard creaked, hoping that she could get a glimpse of whoever was in the living room without them seeing her.

She slowly opened her door which, luckily, made no noise when she did so. She crept out into the hallway, but she froze before she could peer around the corner, hearing the voices again.

“You need to leave, now.” (Y/N) heard her mom say insistently, not speaking too loudly. Probably for fear of waking up the kids.

“C’mon, Joyce,” Another voice said. (Y/N) heart pounded in her chest upon hearing it, feeling a million emotions course through her all at once. Fear, anger, pain, sadness, confusion… 

Without thinking it through first, (Y/N) rounded the corner, seeing what all the commotion so early in the morning was about.

“Dad…?”

(Y/N) mentally scolded herself for how timid she sounded. It reminded her of her voice when she was five and tried to get her parents to stop fighting.

Lonnie and Joyce both instantly looked over at the girl, Joyce looked worried while Lonnie smiled.

“(Y/N),” he took a step towards her, to which she responded by taking a step back. Seeing this, he stopped, frowning slightly as he looked at her. “You’ve grown up so much.”

“Yeah, well, it’s been two years,” She remarked, remembering that the last time she saw him was when Will went missing… And what a visit that had been. She shuttered at the thought before she brought herself back to reality, letting the memory of what her father has done fuel her. “What are you doing here?”

“I can’t come see my kids?”

“Considering the last time you were here was when one of us went missing and all you truly wanted was money? Yeah, I’m a little shocked that you’re here.” She snapped back. “So is there something you want?”

Lonnie just looked at her for a moment, thinking of what to say. Finally, he smirked slightly.

“You’ve gotten confident, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, now that you’re not around to drag me down.” She stood her ground, standing up straight, her chin tilted up slightly. “It’s amazing all the things that have changed for the better now that you’re gone.”

Joyce stood off to the side, smiling to herself, proud of her daughter.

“Nice shirt,” Lonnie sneered.

(Y/N) glanced down at the t-shirt under her flannel. The Clash: Guns of Brixton written on it with the band's logo. Jonathan had given it to her for her birthday the previous year. She knew her dad was never a fan of her style, or the fact that Jonathan was the one who introduced her to it.

“Thanks,” She said despite knowing he was being sarcastic. She was doing whatever she could to keep her strength.

“Heard you work at the video store now,” he said suddenly.

“Yeah,” she nodded in confirmation. “I know you probably are thinking of an insult to go along with that, but I don’t think there's anything wrong with where I work or what I do.”

“It’s just, why a video store? I know you’re smart, you’re my kid.” He laughed. “I just don’t understand how you ended up working at a video store.”

“I’m working there to save for college. I bet you don’t even know where I want to go, do you, dad?” She spat, venom laced in her words.

There’s a moment of silence where Lonnie stares at (Y/N), trying to figure out what to say next. Joyce breaks the silence.

“Actually, you have to work today so why don’t you go get ready and let Steve know that I’ll drive you today.” She said, knowing (Y/N) didn’t have to be to work for four more hours, but trying to get her out of this conversation.

“Steve?” Lonnie questioned. “Who’s Steve?”

“My co-worker…” After a moment of hesitation, (Y/N) added, “and my boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend? You never told me.”

“Well, maybe if you were here you would’ve known.” (Y/N) shrugged.

“I’m here now.”

“Too little, too late.” She hissed. “You left when I was still a kid, and every time I’ve seen you since, all you’ve done is make me feel bad about who I am. Maybe if you hadn’t left, and you accepted who I truly am, then things would be different, but they’re not. Mom, Jonathan, Will, and I don’t need you. We’ve got along just fine without you and will continue to do so. Actually, I think we’re better off without you. So just fuck off, would you?”

Joyce and Lonnie both stared at her, shocked. Joyce covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hide her smile.

“What happened to you?” Lonnie asked, a frown on his face.

“Lonnie, don’t,” Joyce warned.

“No, seriously. You used to be my sweet little girl. What happened?”

“I grew up,” she said, though her voice started shaking slightly. She felt her heart rate speed up at her dad's comment, worried about where he was going with this and that it would be the thing that got to her.

“You think you're being confident right now? Think you’re standing up against something, protecting yourself? Well, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you’re not confident, you’re just a bitch.”

And that it, that’s what breaks (Y/N)’s hard exterior, causing her confidence to diminish and her walls to crumble.

Her eyes were beginning to well with tears when suddenly she heard a voice behind her.

“Dad?”

(Y/N) lowered her gaze at this, not wanting her older brother to see how their dad was affecting her.

Jonathan walked closer to her, and despite her best efforts to hide it, noticed her cheeks were red and her sad eyes.

Instinctively, Jonathan stepped in front of (Y/N), facing his father.

“What do you think I’m gonna do Jonathan?” Lonnie asked with a roll of his eyes seeing how his son was protecting his sister.

“Nothing, because you’re gonna leave. You don’t belong here. Not anymore.”

“You can’t kick me out. This isn’t your house.”

“It’s much more my house than it is yours!” Jonathan started raising his voice, but quickly quieted down, be careful not to wake up Will. “It’s our home. And you don’t get to come into our home, the one you left behind, and make us feel like shit.”

“Wow, look at you two. What did you brainwash them with, Joyce?”

“Leave mom out of this,” Jonathan demanded, still standing in front of (Y/N) who felt at though she was shrinking into herself.

“Well, clearly you’re getting all this nonsense from somewhere!”

“Be quiet! You’ll wake up Will.” Jonathan scolded.

“Good!” Lonnie raised his voice even more. “He should be a part of this too, since all my kids are gaining up on me!”

“Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe the problem is you?” Jonathan asked. “Maybe we’re upset because you left us, every time we see you you’re a huge asshole, then you show up unannounced and you’re still being an asshole?”

“Fuck you, Jonathan,” Lonnie spit, not knowing what else to say at that point.

“No, fuck you. We’re out of here.”

Jonathan turned around, placing a hand lightly on (Y/N) shoulder and guiding her to her bedroom. They sat on her bed when suddenly they heard the door slam. (Y/N) finally letting out her tears. Jonathan held her, her tears staining his grey shirt.

“God, I feel so weak,” (Y/N) cried.

“What? Why?” He asked pulling away from her. He was confused as to what could’ve possibly made his sister feel that way.

“I shouldn’t have let him get to me. I always let him get to me! I was doing so well this time too. I was standing up to him, I thought I didn’t care about his opinion anymore, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Hey, he’s a dick. He always has been. That’s not on you.” Jonathan reassured her, a comforting hand squeezing her shoulder.

A soft knock on the door caused Jonathan to get up to open it while (Y/N) wiped her eyes.

Will walked in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Dad was here?” He asked.

“Yeah,:” Jonathan nodded. “How’d you know?”

“I saw him drive away.” He answered before walking over to the bed. He sat down next to (Y/N), wrapping his arms around her. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

(Y/N) felt her heart melt at her younger brother's actions, hugging him back tightly.

Jonathan watches his siblings, appreciating the moment of love and comfort between them, but unable to ignore the sad feeling overcoming him, knowing what events led to his sister's heartbreak.

“Come on, we’re gonna get out of here,” Jonathan said, catching their attention. “Go get your stuff, Will.”

Will nodded, jumping up and running to his room.

“I’ll be right back,” Jonathan reassured (Y/N) before heading back to his room.

(Y/N) spent a few moments gathering some of her things, tossing them into a small backup. She didn’t ask where they were going and frankly, she didn’t care. She knew her dad was gone, but also knew that it would be best for her not to be home right now to try to get her mind off of everything.

Jonathan and Will come back a few minutes later.

“I have to be to work in a few hours so I just packed my uniform and figured I could changed later,” she informed them, explaining why she was still in her pajamas. “So I hope we’re not going anywhere fancy.”

“Well, I think that might depend on your definition of fancy,” Jonathan laughed slightly. “But I think you’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” (Y/N) said in a small and quiet voice, though she was unable to stop the voice crack she let out when she spoke. Another tear slid down her cheek and in a second, both brothers were by her side.

“Hey, everything's gonna be okay,” Jonathan whispered to her, an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder. Will grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s go, alright?”

(Y/N) nodded, and they all walked out to the living room where Joyce was sitting on the couch, a lit cigarette in her hand.

“Will you be okay?” Jonathan asked her, worried for his moms well-being as much as his siblings.

“I’ll be just fine, don’t worry.” She gave a reassuring smile. “I’ll see you guys soon.”

(Y/N) was silent as her and her brothers walked towards Jonathan's car, the fallen autumn leaves crunching under her feet.

She chose to sit in the backseat, allowing Will to have the passenger side.

Jonathan pulled out of the driveway and they started making their way down the streets of Hawkins. David Bowie played softly on the radio, softening the atmosphere of the car a bit.

“Where are we going?” (Y/N) asked in a horse voice.

“You’ll see,” Jonathan said, keeping his eyes on the road, In any other situation, (Y/N) would push for an answer. But she was too exhausted to do so, despite waking up less than an hour ago, and she trusted Jonathan. She leaned her head against the car window, closing her eyes and finding comfort and relaxation in the soft hum of the car and the voice of Bowie.

It was less than three minutes later when (Y/N) felt the car slow down, turning and coming to a complete stop seconds later.

She slowly opened her eyes, recognizing her surroundings immediately.

They were at Steve’s house. His BMW was in the driveway, his parent's car gone as usual.

Jonathan opened his door, stepping out of the car. (Y/N) quickly followed him, grabbing her bag while Will stayed put.

Jonathan wrapped his arm around his sister as they walked towards the door. He knocked while she looked down at her feet.

When nobody answered, Jonathan knocked one more time. There was some rustling in the house and as soon as (Y/N) heard the door open, she looked up once again.

“Jeez, do you know what time it is?” Steve asked before his eyes landed on Jonathan, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Within seconds, his gaze shifted to his girlfriend, his expression fading into soften eyes and a slight frown. “What’s going on?”

(Y/N) slipped out from underneath Jonathan's arm, running into Steve's chest and wrapping her arms around him. He quickly wrapped his around her, pulling her tightly into his chest.

Steve glanced up at Jonathan, a look of question and concern on his face.

“Our dad showed up unexpectedly this morning…” Jonathan explained.

Steve knew about (Y/N)’s complicated relationship with Lonnie. They had bonded over their horrible dad experiences multiple times because although they’re not the same, they both affected them in major ways, and having someone to go to for comfort helped significantly.

Steve nodded, staying quiet as he gave (Y/N) a squeeze. One that said I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.

“Thank you,” Steve said after a minute. 

Jonathan simply gave a short, soft smile.

Jonathan and Steve didn’t have the best relationship. After Steve apologized for the way he treated Jonathan and replaced the camera that he broke, they became civil with each other, but not close. But then Nancy left Steve for Jonathan, and eventually, Steve started dating Jonathan’s sister. Although the two never reached the low point they been at when Will went missing, the events that followed created a tension between them. However, Jonathan knew that Steve was the person his sister needed right now. She loved Steve, and even though he hated to admit it, he knew that Steve loved her, and that she found a comfort in him that she couldn’t in anybody else. So, that was his first thought once he saw his sister's tears, and it led them all the way here, standing outside of the Harrington household.

“Will and I are going to be at the Wheelers if you need us,” Jonathan said.

“Okay,” Steve said, pulling his girlfriend gently into the house as Jonathan walked back to the car.

After Steve shut the door, he led (Y/N) upstairs to his bedroom, both of them sitting on the bed where she immediately shoved her face in his neck, breathing in deeply.

The scent and feel of him calmed (Y/N) racing heart, giving her a feeling of security and peace.

After a few minutes, (Y/N) pulled away, looking up at her boyfriend.

“Hi,” Steve smiled at her.

“Hey,” she said in a small voice. “I’m sorry, I-”

“No,” he cut her off. “No apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But it’s so early and we woke you up and the first thing you saw this morning was your crying girlfriend.”

“First of all, any morning where I see you is a good morning. I don’t like seeing you upset but I’m happy I get to see you. Second, I don’t care how early it is. I’m always here for you, and I’m really thankful Jonathan brought you here.”

(Y/N) lip quivered, making Steve feel slightly panicked.

“Oh fuck, are you okay? Please don’t cry again,” he said desperately, worried about his girlfriend.

“I’m okay,” she said with a sniff. “I just love you so much and I’m really emotional this morning and I can’t help it.”

Steve gave her a soft smile, pulling her in once again and kissing her forehead.

“I love you too, sweet girl. So much.”

They remained in each other's embrace for two minutes before Steve hopped up from the bed.

“So,” he said, walking over to a stack of VHS tapes, pulling out three tapes. “I say we have a movie marathon. What do you say? The Breakfast Club, Grease, Back to the Future? All of your favorites?”

He held up the tapes he had pulled out, all the movies he had just mentioned, causing her to sigh.

“That sounds like so much fun. But we have to be to work in three hours.” She reminded him with a frown.

“Why don’t we call out today? You’ve had a rough morning, you need to have some fun. Robin can handle it today.”

“Are you sure she won’t be pissed?” (Y/N) asked hesitantly.

“Well, she might be. But she’ll get over it,” Steve approached (Y/N), sitting next to her on the bed. “Come on, let's have a day just for us. No work or parents. No sadness or anger. Just us together, as happy as those couples in those cheesy movies we can’t stand.”

(Y/N) giggled.

“Sounds great,” she finally responded after a minute.

“Great.” He gently kissed her lips. “I know it’s early, but no movie marathon is complete without popcorn, candy, and soft drinks. So I’ll be right back.”

He gently kissed her forehead before jumping up once again and running out of the room.

(Y/N) couldn’t control the wide smile that spread across her face.

The rest of the day was spent just like Steve promised: watching movies, eating junk food, and simply being together, ignoring the outside world and all the pain that came with it.

#steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x byers!reader #steve harrington imagines #steve harrington #jonathan byers #will byers #byers!reader #stranger things imagines #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things

[dumbfuck-mojave]

Stills of Our Lives (Willow’s Wonderful 10K Celebration)

Prompt: Byers!Reader-  “Y/N and Johnathan started a photography club. Y/N goes into the woods to take some nature pics and finds Eddie there. He’s his usual self and says “let me be your muse” and poses dramatically. He’s surprised when Y/N laughs and actually starts taking pictures of him.”

Franchise: Stranger Things

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Reader

Also Featured: Jonathan Byers my beloved

Warnings: None :DDD

A/N: My obsession with butterflies lately? IDK they’re just cool. Anyways, this is a fic for the follower celebration @loveronlineee​ is holding!! Everyone go check out Willow’s blog, it really is a treat!! The Byer’s reader prompt just called to me, especially since I’ve been wanting to write a Byers!Reader for awhile. I know siblings fics can be a bit specific in terms of who can relate but, like all my other fics, this is written as vague in regards to the reader as possible!! So you can absolutely picture this as an adopted or found family scenario, Jonathan is referred to as “your brother” but aside from that yeah! I hope you enjoy, and if this isn’t your thing I hope you come back for the next one! Have fun!!

Word Count: 1,3333

@kaylawritesfics @skeletonsinthebasement @horrorstolemyheart @loveronlineee @f1nalboys @frogus <33

Support a disabled, queer creator here!

The fall leaves crackle and crunch under your feet as you make the treacherous journey into the woods that half-circle the schools of Hawkins. 

Well, treacherous in the way of you forgetting your coat in Jonathan’s car, only to realize it was locked once you were already outside, and then almost getting hit by some idiot sophomore as you turned to go back into the school. That was enough for you to decide you could survive without it, a little cold wouldn’t hurt you, right? Now it was a decision you were starting to regret as the wicked breeze picked up, cutting into the skin exposed by your t-shirt like a thousand microscopic needles. 

Jonathan and you had started the photography club the school year prior, his junior year and your “should-have-been” senior year. There had been a photography club previous to yours, but at some point during your freshman year, it fizzled out; most of the members were juniors and seniors, who had long since graduated at this point, and what remained of the club slowly morphed into part of the yearbook committee. It made you a bit sad when it happened, you knew Jonathan would have adored the whole thing and the unique way it was being run, but he hadn’t seemed too bothered by it. You felt that was the introvert in him peeking through. 

What was now referred to as “Photography Club 2.0” came to be half out of you wanting to do something big for your senior year, and half Jonathan's own yearn to create a space that his interests could truly thrive in. He had really come out of his shell the past year or two, and while it was wonderful to see your brother blossom into a more confident individual, it also made you feel a bit stuck in time.

 During Will’s disappearance, your grades may have…slipped a bit, causing some lost credits as a result. Something the school did not think to inform you of until a few months before you were scheduled to graduate. So while Jonathan was growing into the best version of himself, you were a 19-year-old being forced to repeat senior year when you should have been in college, making questionable choices or stressing out over college level homework, not highschool level. 

Yeah, you were still a little pissed off. 

But it did give you an excuse to longingly stare at the other highschool holdback, so it may not have been so bad. 

The sunlight became spotty as you entered a particularly thick patch of trees, stopping occasionally to play around with the shadows and get a few diverse shots. You had been following a butterfly for awhile, having been able to get a few photos as it glided through the air, but you were really just passing time while you waited for it to land. Finally, your wish came true. With a new pep in your step, you slowly inched your way towards the rotting stump the insect had chosen to rest on, coppery wings fluttering to a stop. You just had to raise your camera and…. 

“Byers, fancy seeing you here!”

You whip around to face the voice behind you with a scowl. 

“Edward, I’m a bit busy at the moment.”

“Aw c’mon now, none of that.” Eddie laughed, plopping down beside you without much tact. 

“Listen, I will happily talk to you in a minute but right now I really need to get this shot.”

Eddie held up his hands in surrender as you turned back to the stump, ecstatic your precious muse hadn’t been scared away by the loud boy next to you. A few quiet shots later, you were sated with the quality of your photographs and straightened back up, holding a hand out to Eddie, who had taken to lying fully on the ground. You almost fell forward, having miscalculated his dead weight, but Eddie had jumped up to steady you and led you over to a different area, where tiny wildflowers dotted the ground, forming a ring around a pile of rocks. 

“Sorry about almost scaring away your bug, thought this would make up for it.”

“It’s alright, but I’ll play along if it means we get to stay here longer.” You smiled at him, readying your camera once more to capture the new scenery. 

Eddie kicked at the ground behind you, spraying up dust and staining the tips of his sneakers brown. 

“So, why that one?” He asked in a flat tone.

You raised an eyebrow, looking over your shoulder, “Why what one?”

“That butterfly, why did you like it so much?”

“It was a Swamp Metalmark, you don’t really see them around here, especially not this late in the year.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you knew that much about butterflies.”

“I like to know about the things I’m shooting.” Your brows furrowed, hands pulling away from the small plants as you turned to fully face him, “Dude, are you okay? You’re acting really weird.” 

Eddie seemed to panic for a moment before quickly regaining himself, striding towards you.

“Well, the real reason is…I want to be your muse!” His voice boomed as he leapt up onto the largest rock, a joking grin on his face as he struck a pose reminiscent of Hercules. You couldn’t control your laughter as you squinted up at him, a bright beam of sun casting down around him like a gift from Helios himself. You tilt your head, with the right composition-

“Alright, show me what you’ve got then, yeah?” You raise the camera up to your eye, the frayed strap rubbing against your skin as Eddie looked at you owlishly.

“Really?”

“Of course!” You replied, giggling, “You should really turn a bit though, so I can get you clearly.”

Eddie took a moment, still wide-eyed and seemingly frozen, but his mobility returned and he did as you asked, smiling with flushed cheeks. 

You didn’t bother keeping track of time after that, too caught up laughing and snapping Eddie as he came up with increasingly absurd poses. Back against the rock as he lolls his head back, acting like he’s dead with his tongue poking out, carefully crouching amongst the flowers and holding up the sign of the horns (that was your personal favorite), all the way up to where you are now, watching him jump out of a tree and land with a thud beside you. 

“That was fun!” He stated, huffing a little as he tried to catch his breath. You felt heat in your own cheeks as you looked at him, messy mop of hair and white pullover dirtied with leaves and small twigs. 

He looked lovely.

“Agreed, we should do it again sometime.” You responded, holding a hand out to him and wiggling your fingers as you backed up towards the entrance of the woods. Eddie’s eyes lit up as he took it, tightly holding on as he all but skipped ahead. 

By the time you had made it out of the woods, the sun was plunged deep into the sky, painting it with oranges and yellows. Jonathan sat against his car, looking down at his feet. 

“Shit.” You hiss out, having finally decided to check your watch. 2 hours. 2 hours since you were supposed to be back to get a ride home from Jonathan.

Eddie glanced over at you nervously until he deciphered what you were upset about, and then he laughed.

“I wouldn’t be too upset.”

“Why?” You ask as you start walking faster towards the car, Eddie struggling to keep up with you.

“It was his idea for me to follow you out here.”

You stopped immediately.

“It was what?”

“I mean, I was the one who asked him how to spend time with you, but the idea of suggesting ~wood photography~? That was all him, sunshine.”

Eddie beamed at you as you sighed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

“You’re a menace, Eddie Munson.”

“Your menace?”

“Yeah.”

#My writing #original writing #willowswonderful10celebration #willow's wonderful 10K celebration #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x you #byers reader #byers!reader #stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #stranger things fic #sibling fic #gn fic #gender neutral y/n #prompt challenge #celebration

[bookshelf-dust]

the ache

billy hargrove x gn!byers!reader

word count: 625

warnings: grieving, mentions of death, post the battle of starcourt

a/n: um, so…i just wrote this in thirty minutes, give or take. it’s a bit of dialogue that i’ve been kind of toying with in my head for a few days, and here i am, at one in the fucking morning, writing this. i’m sorry in advance. (also for context, none of the season three hopper death shit happened.) i love you all. <3333

————

When you don’t show for dinner, Joyce knows exactly where you are.

There’s no guesswork, or calling around. She knows.

She knows because she’s been where you are. And she knows you shouldn’t be alone.

She remembers when Hopper had come and sat on the floor in front of her without a word. It had settled something inside of her, that small gesture. Sure, it hadn’t soothed the ache—nothing could do that, nothing but time—yet it had helped. It felt like a breath of fresh air.

Joyce parks the car, and makes her way to where she stood all those months ago as they lowered him into the ground.

You’d been silent then. She wasn’t sure you were breathing, really. And when they’d finished, when the funeral was over, you’d just stood there. And she’d waited until you made your way to the car, and she took you home. Anything for her baby.

————

The grass is chilly under your palms, where you’re desperately ripping the blades up and flinging them to the sides. There might be two sparse patches left by the time you’re finished, but that’s okay. It’ll grow back.

Your face is wet. You gave up on wiping it dry long ago.

When you hear footsteps behind you, you don’t even have to turn because you know exactly who it is. Who’s come for you.

You start to cry again, but this time it’s worse. This time you’re sobbing.

Joyce sits down beside you, settling on her knees.

You look up at her, but you can’t really see her because your eyes are filling with tears and blurring your vision.

“Oh, baby,” Joyce says. She runs her hand over your leg.

You cry out. You’re practically wailing. It hurts, you’ve noticed. It’s like an ache, and it won’t leave. It stays.

You look away from her and at his headstone. William Hargrove, it reads.

That’s all he is now, a plot. A marker. A memory.

“Mama.” Joyce never takes her eyes off of you. Seeing you like this fills her with an immense grief, and she wants nothing more than to make it all go away. To fix it. To kiss it better.

“Mama, I miss him.”

A sob wrenches free from your throat, and you’re wiping desperately at your face again because now she’s here and she can see you at your weakest. But it’s no use, so you let it come.

“My baby,” you cry.

Images of Billy flash through your mind: sitting with him in the staff room while it rained one day at the pool and no one could swim, helping him get a tangle out of his hair, kissing him on the cheeks just to see him blush.

He’s gone. He’s never coming back. Your Billy is dead.

“Mama, please.”

You don’t know why you’re begging, but you are. And you keep begging, like it’s going to fix something. It’s not.

Please what? Please bring my boyfriend back. Please undo what happened that night. Please let him be safe. Please.

Joyce wraps her arms around your shoulders and you cling to her like you’re afraid she’ll disappear too. Like she’ll be in the ground and you’ll be sitting and crying out for her just as you are now.

You’re not sure how long you cry for, but she lets you for as long as you need.

And when you’re done, you go home and lay in bed. You slip on one of his shirts, and you think about him.

You cry some more, and try to remember something Hopper told you after he’d taken you out of the mall that night.

“That feeling never goes away. But everyday it does get a little easier.”

You hope he’s right.

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x gn!reader #billy hargrove x y/n #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove x gender neutral reader #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove ficlet #billy hargrove angst #billy stranger things fic #billy stranger things #billy hargrove x byers!reader #billy hargrove x gn!byers!reader #byers!reader #joyce byers #jim hopper #savannah’s fics

[bowieandqueen11]

Being Part Of The Byers Family Would Include...

Request: Hiiiiii I love your writing so much! May I please request a fluffy byers reader who si the youngest and just some sibling headcanons and parents (Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, Will and Eleven) My brothers are getting deployed and im really going to miss them so i was in great need for some fluffy siblings

This is such a sweet idea @macaronimoose, I really hope this can bring you some sort of comfort, and if you ever need a friend to talk to I’m always here <3

(I do not own Stranger Things or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @clumsycapitolunicorn.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°

You’re such an integral part of the Byers family!! I mean, its the Byers right?? They all love and care for each other so much; being in this family feels like walking through the front door and immediately being wrapped up in a warm, fuzzy blanket straight out from the dryer. It’s incredible, and heartfelt, and so full of true kindness and understanding and hope. Every single person in this family just feels like a piece of home, and so when you’re with anyone one of them you’ll never be too far away from where you belong. 

As soon as your school bags are dumped at the front door and shoes kicked off, you usually end up collapsed down onto Will’s bed for a well deserved after school nap. You wake up with blurred vision to see Will standing in the corner, biting the corner of his lip in concentration as one of his sable brushes dabs at his easel. Ever since he learnt that Mike was due to visit for the Spring Break, he’s spent most of his afternoons painting some mysterious painting he won’t let anyone else see in his room, listening to the mixtape Jonathan made him in Hawkins all those years ago. As you yawn and stretch, you manage to stumble up and grab his wrist, dragging him away from his concentrated work with only a slight eye roll and grumble before the two of you end up having a massive dance party.

Jonathan likes to cook you breakfast each day; the early morning sunrise watch has become an integral part of both your days. Since he likes to wake up a little earlier anyway, mainly because after everything that’s happened to his family over the last couple of years, he appreciates the company of his younger sibling during this quiet solitude. It’s so peaceful and haven-like in comparison to the wild hurricane that is Hawkins: he gets up around 5:30 a.m. to make pancakes, and that’s where you find him when you wander into the kitchen bleary eyed a little while later. With a smile, he gathers up the two plates in his arms while you handle the glasses of orange juice, and the two of you climb out to sit on the porch for a while before school. Between chews, he enthusiastically fills you in on all the drama that’s been going on behind the scenes of the photography department at school, looking more content than he ever has against the flaxen threads of the sun’s clambering reach. He makes sure to always give you an extra tight, bone crushing, lifting you off the ground kind of hug before the two of you go back in to pack your bags and wake your siblings up for the day: just to let you know that he’s always there to talk as your big brother, and that love will never change or disappear.

Jane’s favourite thing to do when the two of you are off school for the weekend (and Will has managed to sneakily call Lucas and convince him to invite Mike round to his) is to have a ‘sleepover’ extravaganza! Just two days chock to the brim of Will banging on your shared wall to keep the noise down as you blare ‘Madonna’ and ‘Blondie’ tapes; you ignore him, choosing instead to wipe off the shadow from Jane’s furrowed face and try out the next eye colour in the palette. The amount of time Jim has come swinging the door open to try and call the two of you (for the hundredth times, he adds with an amused huff) to the dinner table, only to find the two of you splayed over her bed with comics over your eyes and heavy groaning. It doesn’t take him long to put two and two together: the empty candy packets littered around the rug and the way you’re gripping your stomachs still isn’t enough to stop the two of you sharing a chocolate whipped cream ice cream sundae after dinner though, even if your dad is shaking his head at the two of you every time you scoop your spoons.

Movie nights are always the best at the Byers’ house, especially with Joyce as your mother! It’s always an event: Will and Jane spend half the time arguing about which movie to watch, before they eventually play rock paper scissors to agree on one and clamber down next to each other on the sofa. Jonathan invites Argyle round, and the two of them squash up to share an armchair together; they’re already comfortably settled by the time the decision’s made, Argyle explaining his new theory on the concept of alien life between mouthfuls of shoved popcorn, and Jonathan’s nearly asleep as he nods along from time to time. Jim and Joyce are happily reclining back on the other settee, and as soon as you come running in before Will switches the television set on, Joyce is beaming at you and thumping the cushion next to her: the spot she always leaves reserved for you. The night always ends with you falling asleep curled into Joyce’s side, and bless her heart she’ll just stroke her hand down the side of your cheek and not move a muscle until Jim comes to pick you up and carry you back to bed.

Hopper, one spring, decided that you and Will needed to upgrade your little 'Castle Byers’ hideout in the wood; he decided it would be a much safer option to build you a treehouse by the desert cassia trees in the backyard. You and your brother spend so much time playing D&D up in your little bubble away from the rest of the world, managing to even convince Joyce to get a couple of bean bags and a new easel to put up there too. Plus, it’s always makes you laugh when Will sticks his head out the trapdoor like a meerkat and rolls up the ladder anytime Jonathan’s sent out to try and bring the two of you back in at night.

Speaking of hugs - Jonathan may give the nicest ones at the start of the day, but boy does Hop gives the greatest hugs ever. He always makes sure he’s back home on time now: no more staying late at the police station, he now realises his family is where his greatest priorities, and greatest joy lies. As soon as you’re in the front door and have sagged your backpack down the ground with a thump, Jim’s waiting there with a huge grin and open arms for you to run into his chest. With your face smushed up against his t-shirt, and his strong arms wrapping you up in cherishment, all the stress of the day just melts away as you sag against your dad.

Just - when you’re sitting round at the dinner table, the laughter and mirth and conversation whipping about and flowing easily between all of you - everything manages to feel alright again.

#stranger things #stranger things imagine #jim hopper #joyce byers #eleven #will byers #jonathan byers #jane byers #argyle #stranger things headcanons #jim hopper imagine #joyce byers imagine #eleven imagine #will byers imagine #jonathan byers imagine #byers!reader #jim hopper headcanons #joyce byers headcanons #eleven headcanons #will byers headcanons #jonathan byers headcanons #jane hopper headcanons #st #st imagine #st headcanons #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction

[moonlit-imagines]

warnings:

a/n:

not requested

“No offense, y/n,” Jonathan pulled the gift wrap out of your hands as you sat criss-cross on his bed with him, “but you suck at this.” Your jaw dropped at his insult, but when you looked at your workmanship, you got it. “Maybe you should stick to the gift bags.”

“Fine by me.” You started shoving tissue paper into one of the bags. “Think Mom’s gonna like her present?” You held up the necklace you and Jonathan picked out for her, which took a lot of extra shifts to even be able to afford.

“She likes anything we give her, don’t worry about it.” Jonathan pointed over to another box on the corner of the bed. “Can you hand me Will’s gift? I want to wrap it myself.”

“Oh, because you’re just so good at wrapping.” You sarcastically remarked as you handed it over.

“Better than you.” Your brother chuckled and made you crack a smile as well. “You gonna tell me it’s the thought that counts?”

“Well, duh.”

taglist: @locke-writes // @ripoffadora // @mrs-steve-harrington // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @thereagles // @imaginesbymk // @randomawesomeperson102 // @spideyandtheboys // @brutal-out-here // @swanimagines // @randomfandomimagine // @zoeyserpentluck // @augustvandyne // @summersimmerus // @azazel-nyx // @xoxobabydolls // @ruvaakke // @simp-legend // @evilcr0ne // @retvenkos // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @prettysbliss // @sapphireplums // @beth-gallagher22 // @ravenstrueluv // @your-local-questioning-agender // @rqmanoff // @you-bloody-shank // @amirahiddleston //

#christmas imagine #holiday imagine #jonathan byers #jonathan byers x reader #jonathan byers x sibling!reader #byers!reader #jonathan byers imagine #stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine

[strangerblurbs]

Being a Byers sibling and coming out to your family.

Gender neutral Byers reader

• You're the middle Byers child. Just in between Jonathan and Will in age.

• You're really close with your family. You all share a lot, but there was one thing you couldn't quite tell them.

• Part of you always knew that you were gay. Unfortunately, rural Indiana in the 80s wasn't the healthiest environment to come to terms with this.

• When Will disappeared, you had to face some hard truths about yourself. When he came back, you knew you wanted to come out to them. You realized if something were to happen, you wanted your family to fully know who you are.

• You told Jonathan first.

• He took it well! He was surprised, but not overly shocked.

• He knew you weren't interested in dating, but assumed there were just too many other things going on for dating to be a priority. He hadn't assumed it was because you couldn't safely date who you wanted.

• He had already been protective of you before, taking his older brother status very seriously. Knowing your sexuality made him extra protective. He knows how cruel the town can be to anyone considered different.

• Telling Joyce was easy.

• Joyce Byers is a loving woman. She cares about her kids above all else.

• You being gay makes her worry a little harder, since she wants nothing more than for you to be safe and happy. She wants you to be comfortable as your authentic self, but knows the risks.

• Telling Will was a more delicate situation.

• You knew he would be accepting. The issue in telling Will is that you wanted to stress the positive things over the negative.

• Your conversations with your mom and older brother were largely about the dangers of being found out. They were protective, and wanted to make sure you're safe but happy.

• With Will, you wanted to make sure he knew that despite what the townspeople may say, there's nothing wrong with being gay.

• As Will's older sibling, you didn't want him to worry about you. You also wanted to make sure he knew he could talk to you about sexuality should he ever have any questions or concerns of his own.

• The conversation with Will went well. It was emotional, but sweet.

• In homophobic Hawkins, you managed to have a bubble of love and safety.

• Not only is it a relief to know you have an accepting family, it's comforting to know they are fully supportive.

#this meant a lot to me to write because I'm not out to my own family yet #I think everyone deserves the supportive Byers family experience #I made this pretty general but I'm happy to write a more specific coming out experience if anyone requests one! #requests are open! rules in my pinned post #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #byers!reader #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #stranger things x reader #platonic reader

[thetargaryenbride]

Nail To The Coffin - Chapter 1

Summary: Y/N Byers wondered what would end up being the death of the small town she lived in. She never expected that the last nail on the coffin would be hammered by monsters from another dimension who would end up hunting down her friends and family one by one...

Warnings: None

Pairing: Steve Harrington x F!Byers!Reader 

Word Count: 4,695

AN: I hope you like the first chapter ^^ I accept constructive criticism so if you don’t like something or think I could’ve executed things in a different/better way, please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts~ I’d love to hear what you think and I’d be grateful if you leave reviews. Thank you~ <3

Masterlist || Prologue || Chapter 2

“Morning sleepyhead,” sounded the voice of your brother, making you groan as you rolled to the other side. “Come on, we gotta get ready for school,” he nudged your shoulder and you heard him shuffling away from you and into the kitchen. Even if you wanted to sleep for another ten minutes you gave up when he began taking out plates and pans and products from the fridge, all the cluttering invading your ears annoyingly.

“Where the hell are they!?” you heard your mother exclaim from the living room while you were busy applying some light makeup. “Jonathan!?”

“Check the couch!”

“Morning, ma,” you sang out as you strolled into the living area and approached the counter, grabbing a piece of bacon and shoving it in your mouth, disregarding Jonathan who tried to slap your hand away.

“Morning, honey,” she called over her shoulder as she looked for her keys. She let out a triumphant shout as she found them and she made her way to you, wishing to give you a hug before leaving. “Ok, sweeties, I will see you tonight.”

“See you later.”

“Bye.”

“Wait, where is Will?” she asked suddenly and you and Jonathan stiffened, sharing a look that screamed ‘fuck’.

“I-I didn’t get him up yet. He’s probably still sleeping,” answered the boy as he arranged the plates for breakfast.

“Guys! You have to make sure he’s up!” exclaimed your mother in exasperation as she hastily rushed to Will’s room and you cringed. “I’ve told you this a thousand times. Will! C’mon, honey! Time to get up!”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve woken him when I went to the bathroom,” you apologized and Jonathan simply smiled and shook his head, brushing you off.

“He came home last night, right?” your mom returned, face filled with confusion and you furrowed your eyebrows.

“He’s not in his room?”

“Did he come home or not?”

“I…I don’t know,” stuttered Jonathan as he put the plates on the table. Suddenly, that gnarly feeling you had gotten last night returned full force.

“You don’t know?” asked Joyce incredulously and you and Jonathan hurried to explain.

“W-we got home late. Uhm, Y/N had to stay extra late because she had a lot of work and nobody to cover for her or help her out a-and I was also… at work-“ he explained and his voice faded more and more with each word, already knowing how his mom felt about this and what she was going to say.

“You were working!?”

“Erik asked if I could cover for him and I agreed. I just thought we could use the extra cash.”

“Y/N, Jonathan, we’ve talked about this! You can’t take extra shifts and work till the wee hours of the night while I’m also at work!”

“Mom, it’s not a big deal. He was at the Wheelers all day and probably stayed the night.”

The following conversation you drowned out as you drowsily dressed up for the day, your focus now entirely taken by this horrible sensation in your gut and the fact that you completely forgot to check on Will when you got home last night. You always checked on him, you always talked before bedtime and you always tucked him in – a routine you had developed since he was a toddler and your mom was late most of the evenings due to work so you had taken it upon yourself to read to Will, tell him stories or listen to him babble about things, and it just stuck with you two until now.

“Will didn’t stay the night at the Wheelers,” your mother’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts and you looked at her with wide eyes. “Karen said the boys sent him off.”

“What? What does that mean?” you asked as your nails began picking on the skin of your fingers. Your mother shook her head as she buried her hands in her hair and Jonathan looked at the kitchen counter in confusion and worry.

“I don’t know but I don’t have a good feeling about this; at all! I’m going to the police station!” announced Joyce and you hurried to the front door, already putting on your shoes.

“I’m coming with yo-“

“No, no. You kids go to school. I’ll deal with this, ok?” she waved her hands before patting your shoulder. “M-maybe I’m just being paranoid. Mothers are like this. Maybe he-he came home after all and left early for school. But just in case, I’ll go speak to Hopper,” she didn’t waste time to grab her belongings and rush out of the house, leaving you and Jonathan filled with anxiety.

Suddenly, the breakfast he had spent so long preparing didn’t look that appetizing anymore.

The moment you reached school and got out of your car, you didn’t waste a second as you stormed into the building and began searching every nook and cranny, hoping to find your brother. You checked every classroom, every bathroom, the room where Mr. Clarke sometimes let the four boys hang out and brainstorm. People were throwing you weird looks as you ran from place to place but you couldn’t care less.

You ran out of the school and into the courtyard, panting as you put your hands on your hips, eyes scanning the crowd of students as you hoped to see a familiar head. You didn’t. But you did spot Dustin and the others getting off their bikes and beginning to walk toward the entrance. Their path was crossed by Troy and James and you groaned as you rushed to get to them.

“Do the arm thing,” you overheard Troy order and noticed the three boys look at each other. They were so done with this.

“Do it, freak!”

“Hey!” you called out as you neared them, the bullies’ eyes widening as they snapped to look at you. “Wasn’t I clear enough yesterday when I told you to scram? Your older friends aren’t here to protect you now. Not that they’d be able to anyway. So, go! I don’t have the patience or high enough morals to stop me from roughing up a couple of brats,” you spat out and they hurriedly walked off. You tsk-ed as you watched them rush past you before giving your full attention to the children in front of you. “You guys alright?”

“Yeah, thanks Y/N/N!” smiled Dustin and the others mirrored him.

“Will’s not with you?” you asked and they glanced at each other before shaking their heads. “So you didn’t decide to meet up somewhere and come to school together?”

“We do that most of the time but not today. We thought he came to class early today,” offered Mike and Dustin joined in.

“Yeah, he’s always paranoid that Gursky’s gonna give him another pop quiz.”

You let out a sigh as you bit your bottom lip, hand coming to scratch at the back of your head, making the three boys fidget with uncertainty.

“Is there something wrong?” asked Mike cautiously and you hesitated before nodding. You didn’t want to worry them but they were Will’s best friends and they deserved to know the truth and to be caught up on what was happening.

“I searched the whole school, guys. He’s not here, he wasn’t at home, and apparently, he didn’t stay the night at any of you. We thought he just left early but-“ your eyes widened suddenly.

No. He couldn’t have left early… when he didn’t even come home.

You wanted to punch yourself for realizing it just now. Last night when you got home you didn’t even see Will’s bike in its usual spot. He hadn’t made it home at all. And that led you to believe that something must have happened to him on the way home. The thought sent chills down your spine and you felt as if someone poured a bucket of cold water over you.

“I’m sorry boys, I gotta go. I’ll catch up with you later, promise!” you called out as you broke into a sprint, leaving them more worried and confused than ever.

Your ears were ringing as you ran and you didn’t even hear your name being called until someone grabbed your arm, drawing you to a sudden halt that shook you up and brought you back to your senses. You whirled to face the person, and the words on the tip of your tongue that you were ready to spit out died as your eyes met Steve’s.

“What’s wrong? You were running as if the devil was chasing you,” he joked as he let go of your arm and you sighed.

“My brother is missing. I’m going to the police station,” you muttered before turning away from him and walking briskly towards your car. He furrowed his eyebrows as he stood there in a stupor before following you.

“What do you mean missing?”

“Check the dictionary, Steven! What does the word ‘missing’ mean exactly?” you snapped and Steve raised his hands in defense.

“I’m sorry? You just…caught me off guard when you blurted that out.”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m just a little…snappy,” you grumbled as you stopped in front of your car and turned to face him awkwardly.

“Look, I’m sure that he’s just entering that teenage rebellious phase and decided to ditch you all for the day,” he smiled as he shrugged and you folded your lips, shaking your head in disbelief.

“No…that’s not Will…He wouldn’t pull off something like that. The most rebellious he’s been was when he refused to come home for dinner because he was too immersed in the game he and the others usually play.”

“Well, boys at that age are unpredictable. You never know when the idea might hit them,” he offered and the corner of your lip twitched.

“Why? Are you talking from experience?” you raised an eyebrow and he chuckled, not giving you an answer. “Alright then, keep your secrets. One day I’ll pry them out of you,” you promised and he smirked, now his turn to raise an eyebrow at the challenge as you opened the door and got into the car, keeping your eyes on his as you drove off.

You drummed your fingers against the wheel as you drove as fast as possible to the police station, mind going over the multiple possibilities of your brother’s situation, teeth gnawing at your lip that at this point was so broken that the meat was peeking under the skin, causing you pain every time you ran your tongue over it but that didn’t stop you from biting the flesh over and over again. You were a nervous wreck but you kept repeating in your head over and over again that you had to stay calm for your mother’s sake. It was like a mantra, grounding you.

Your eyebrows furrowed when you saw Hopper and your mother exiting the station and you stopped the car right then and there, the tires screeching, drawing their attention. You got out and slammed the door shut as you rushed to them and Hopper threw you an exasperated look.

“I thought that I taught you how to park properly,” he huffed and you rolled your eyes, certainly not in the mood for his remarks.

“I think that Will never got home,” you blurted out, not waiting for them to say whatever they wanted to say and they looked at you as if you’d grown two heads.

“W-what do you mean, honey?” asked Joyce incredulously and you sighed, running a hand through your messy locks.

“We thought that Will simply left early for school, right? Well, I went to school and I searched the whole goddamn building. He wasn’t there. So I thought that maybe h-he did leave early but decided to skip school and go somewhere else, that, I don’t know, maybe he wanted to be alone or make a statement or something because we’ve been kind of neglecting him for the past months, but the thing is that last night when I got home, Will’s bike wasn’t in its usual spot and he always leaves it there, like, there’s no reason whatsoever for him to leave it anywhere else and that leads me to believe that he didn’t make it home at all. O-obviously he didn’t spend the night at any of his friends either, b-because I met the boys at school and they were just as confused as me, so obviously Will wasn’t with them since last night, which in turn makes me think that something must have happened to him on his way home-“ your voice trembled as you rambled and hyperventilated and for a moment there you felt like you couldn’t catch your breath, hand flying to rub your chest as you felt tears welling up.

The mantra that kept echoing in your head was not helping at all as you finally blurted your horrible suspicions out loud. It was one thing to keep it all to yourself – in your head. It didn’t feel as real. It only felt as a simple thought, a suggestion, a suspicion. But by voicing it all out, piecing it together…it began to make too much sense. It began to feel way too real. It was real. It was your current reality and you realized it but you didn’t want it to be real because you didn’t want to think about what could have happened to your baby brother if your suspicions came to be true.

“Kid…Hey, hey!” Hopper’s voice and his hand roughly shaking your shoulder snapped you out of your panicked state and you took a sharp breath, eyes shifting to your mom who looked beyond worried as she looked at you. You closed your lids, rubbing them with shaky hands and taking a few calming breaths before you faced the two again.

“I’m sorry, I just,” you muttered and Joyce cupped your cheek and placed a soothing kiss on your forehead.

“We’ll find him. No matter what!”

You could only nod before the three of you came to the arrangement that it would be for the best to separate. Hopper said that he would go to the school to speak to the three boys and you and your mom decided to take Jonathan and head out to check the forest around your property and the spots where Will would usually hang out at.

Before you knew it you were already parking your car on the outskirts and getting out. You checked many places – like the hills where you would take your brothers for a picnic during the warm holidays or that one giant tree where you had tried to build a tree house on and failed miserably – but there was no sign of him. Of course, you also checked his favorite fortress.

“Knock, knock!” you chirped as you rammed your knuckles against the wood and waited to hear your brother’s voice.

“Password!”

“Gandalf the Gray!” you answered and smiled when he pushed aside the piece of clothing serving as door, head peeking through, and let you in. The two of you plopped on the cushions and blankets and you outstretched your hand that was holding a colorfully wrapped present. You had to go to work extra early today, having woken up while it was still dark outside and everyone else at home had still been sleeping so you weren’t able to wake up your brother with a silly song or prepare him your special pancakes for his birthday but you hoped that the present you had prepared would make up for that.

“You didn’t forget?” he muttered softly and you gasped dramatically.

“Me? Forget your birthday? How dare you!?” you exclaimed as you put a hand over your ‘wounded’ heart and he chuckled, grabbing the gift and gently tearing the wrapping off. His eyes widened as he came face to face, well, face to cover actually, with The Hobbit, deluxe edition. It had the most beautiful cover he’s seen and when he flipped through the pages, he gaped at the gorgeous illustrations.

“That’s part one of the gift. There is something else waiting for you at home,” you smiled and he gently put the book aside before throwing himself at you, toppling you over. You let out an ‘oof’ as you laughed and your arms encircled him, both of you locked in a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!” he chanted happily and you chuckled as you kissed his temple.

“Happy Birthday, kid.”

The once filled with warmth castle was now empty and cold. You stood there unmoving as the others spread throughout the forest, screaming Will’s name, hoping that he would hear them and come out. But for some reason you thought that it wouldn’t be that easy. The gnarly sensation from last night, that had returned, didn’t leave you for a second since morning, your nails pinching, picking and plucking at your skin.

Eventually, you and your family decided to head home and try calling your father. You didn’t think he’d pull something like kidnapping his own child but one never knows. You were hoping he would at least pick up but his tramp of a girlfriend did it instead. Your mom lost it and almost broke the phone when the bitch cut her off. You couldn’t blame her.

“Mom, you have to stay calm,” said softly Jonathan and your mom let out a huff as she tried dialing Lonnie again.

“How is she supposed to stay calm when this shithead and his cunt of a girlfriend are acting like this,” you snapped quietly with a scrunched-up in anger nose and curled up in disgust lips as you harshly grabbed the photo album, having to look for a suitable picture for the goddamn Missing Posters you were currently making.

“Not you too, Y/N/N,” he tilted his head in a ‘seriously?’ manner and you didn’t even say anything as you bitterly flipped through the pages.

Your attention, however, was drawn by the sound of cars and the three of you immediately ran to the door. It was Hopper and a couple of other policemen. He was carrying Will’s bike. That just delivered another punch to your already twisted with worry gut.

“It was just lying there?” asked Joyce as Hopper and the others strolled inside and began looking over the room, expecting to find some clues. As if you haven’t checked your own house already.

“Yeah…”

“Did it have any blood on it or-“

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” murmured the man as he went to the kitchen, looking out of the window.

“If you found the bike out there, why are you here?” asked Jonathan and Hopper hummed.

“Well, he had a key to the house, right?”

“Yeah?”

“So…maybe he came home,” he spoke out his suspicion as he looked at your mother and she threw her hands in the air.

“What, you think I didn’t check my own house?”

“I’m not saying that,” he muttered as he went to inspect a dent on the wall, next to the door that leads to the backyard. “Has this always been here?” he asked as he pointed at it and your eyebrows twitched. You did not remember seeing this. You did not remember anyone being in such a rush to go to the backyard that they would slam the door with such a force as to leave a dent. Then again, your brothers did play tag sometimes so maybe one of them caused this. 

“What? I don’t know. Probably! I mean, I have two boys! Look at this place!”

You didn’t hesitate to follow him when he went outside and headed for the shed. You got the chills when you entered the dark space and the door closed behind you with a creak. He walked to the table and grabbed an empty box of bullets. Your eyes squinted as you took it from his hands.

“Hang on a minute, this box was full of bullets. It was brand new,” you exclaimed before leaving it back on the table and began looking around for the rifle you kept here, only to find out it was gone, leaving you and Hopper with more questions than answers. And when the light flickered and turned off, your breath caught in your throat. The man turned on his flashlight as he moved around the shed, crouching to get a good look at the corners and the furniture lying around. You followed his movements and noticed that some things were a bit displaced and dare you say, trashed.

Then suddenly the light turned back on at the same time someone opened the door, scaring the living daylights out of you and Hopper.

“Jesus!”

“-fucking Christ!”

The two of you exclaimed at the same time and your hand flew to your chest as you took a deep breath and exhaled. The policeman looked weirdly at you and the chief.

“What are you, deaf? I’ve been calling you…What’s going on?” he asked but Hopper didn’t answer and immediately left the shed, with you hot on his tail. “Are you sure you’re ok, chief?”

“Listen, I want you to call Flo. I want to get a search party together, all right? All the volunteers she can muster. Bring flashlights too,” he ordered as he headed back into the house.

“Hey!” you called as you ran after him.

“You think we got a problem here?” asked Phil but he didn’t say anything.

“Hey!” you screamed again and that finally drew his attention to you and made him stop and look at you. You shook your head as you threw your hands in the air before dropping them down at your sides in defeat, looking to the side before back at him.

“What are you thinking?”

After the short but heavy conversation you had with Hopper about the possible kidnapping of your brother, you and your family went back to looking for a suitable photograph that you could put on the Missing Poster. Your leg bounced and your fingers shook slightly as you flipped through the pages.

There were also photos that weren’t in the album but simply stacked together in a pile – photos that Jonathan has taken over the years, not only of Will but of landscapes and other people. They were beautiful. It really seemed as if creativity was in your genes. Jonathan was amazing with photography while you and Will were great at art, the three of you were very much into literature and you also knew how to play the guitar. Your mom was great with knitting. She had knitted the sofa cover and your most beloved blanket but that was ages ago. She hadn’t picked a needle ever since with all the work she had to deal with on top of raising three kids.

“Wow, look at these. They are amazing…They really are…” she breathed out. “I know I haven’t been there for you. I’ve been…working so hard and I-I just feel bad,” she sniffed and you grasped her hand, giving her a smile as to tell her it’s alright because you couldn’t blame her for working in order to feed you. She was a wonderful mother who loved you to the moon and back and would die for you.

“I don’t even… I barely know what’s going on with you. I am sorry about that,” she squeezed your hand and grabbed Jonathan’s too. “Hey, what is it?” she asked when she felt your brother’s trembling. “What is it, honey?”

“Nothing,” he let out shakily, lip trembling and you leaned on his shoulder, rubbing his back soothingly.

“Tell me.”

“No…It’s just…I should’ve been there for him,” he whispered brokenly and Joyce shook her head.

“No. Oh, no. You can’t do that to yourself. This was not your fault. Do you hear me?” she looked at the two of you and you simply lowered your gaze because whatever she said didn’t change the fact that you should’ve been more responsible. Even though you needed to work for all the extra money you could get, even though Hawkins was a safe town, Will was still a child. He was only twelve. And you were supposed to look after him, not let him wander alone in the dark, especially considering that your house wasn’t exactly in a populated area.

“He is…He is close. I know it! I…I can feel it; in my heart. You just have to trust me on this, ok?”

“Yeah…”

The three of you huddled closer together and hugged each other as tightly as possible. You were a strong family. You were going to get through this.

“Oh, look at this,” Joyce said abruptly as she fished out a picture from the pile. “Look at this one,” she smiled wobbly as she held a photo of a smiling Will. “That’s the one, yeah? I think that’s the one.”

Suddenly, the phone rang, making the three of you jump. Your mother immediately went to answer and your mood got even sourer, if that was possible, as you thought it was your father calling.

“Hello?...Hello? Lonnie?”

“Dad?” whispered Jonathan and you raised an eyebrow. Did the bastard actually care enough to call? You would be surprised if he did. It was more realistic for angels to pop out of your ass than your dad giving a shit about any of you.

“Hopper? Who is this?” your mom’s confused voice drew your attention and prompted you and your brother to stand up and slowly approach her. “Will?!” she called out and your eyes widened.

“It’s Will? Mom, is it Will?!”

“Who is this? What have you done to my boy!?” she screamed over the phone and you and Jonathan looked at one another then back at her terrified.

“What!?”

“What!?”

“Give me back my son!” she kept yelling when the craziest thing happened – the phone burned out as electricity buzzed through the handset, making you all jump away frightened as your mother dropped the phone and placed her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.

“Hello!? Who is this!?” asked Jonathan after he grabbed the phone but the line was cut off and the device damaged. “Who is this!?” he screamed as he hit it multiple times until you took it off his hands and let it rest. You grabbed his face and made him look at you, trying to keep yourself calm and steady so he could also keep his calm and steady. Then the two of you looked at your mom and you grabbed her hand.

“Mom, mom, look at me,” you instructed as you grabbed her face the same way you did Jonathan’s. “Who was this? What did they say?” you asked calmly as she tried to reach for the phone again, still sobbing and stuck in complete panic. “Mommy, please, I need you to calm down. Who was it? Was it, was it Will?” you asked again and she nodded. You didn’t know how to feel about this. A million questions ran through your head. Was he ok? What did he say? What did she hear before the phone went down? It was Jonathan who voiced your question though.

“What did he say!?”

“He just breathed. He just breathed,” she hiccupped and you felt needles pricking all over your skin.

“W-was someone else there? Mom, who was there? Who-“ Jonathan kept asking but she just shook her head as she broke down completely and hugged the two of you.

“It was him. I know it was his breathing! I know his breathing. I know it!” she sobbed and you hugged her tightly.

“It’s gonna be ok, mom, it’s gonna be ok. We’ll find him! And I swear to God, whoever did this is going to pay tenfold once we find them,” you glared at the wall as you bit your lip to the point of bleeding.

Oh, there would be hell to pay, all right…

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #will byers x reader #will byers #jonathan byers x reader #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #byers!reader #reader #reader insert

[thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles]

Teaching El about the family at Christmas

Eleven Hopper x gn!Byers!reader

Byler, Elumax, Jancy, Steddie, Rockie

Warnings: N/A

WC: 0.6k

The First NoEl Masterlist

“Kids! We’re leaving soon!” Joyce’s voice floated up the stairs. “Are you ready to go?”

“Almost!” You and Will called back simultaneously from your bedrooms. There was a gentle knock on your door, “Come in!”

El opened the door and stood in the doorway, almost bashfully, with her arms folded across her chest.

“Lemme see,” You said, moving a bit closer. She moves her arms, revealing the glitter-smothered Santa. “Oh, El! It looks so cute!”

“It is not ugly?”

“No, it is, but it’s an ugly sweater. Everyone else is gonna be wearing them, too,” You reassured her.

“Even Lucas and Max?”

“Especially Lucas and Max. It was Lucas’ idea, actually.” 

Will came into the room tugging at the bottom hem of his sweater. “It’s so itchy. How could you do this to me?”

“It’s ugly-sweater-party solidarity. USPS.”

“But the tinsel--”

“At least it’s not painted, little brother, now grow up.”

“I’m grown up. Get off my back. And you’re barely older than me!”

“Keyword, barely.”

---

El got out of the car and bounded up the Wheeler’s front walk, knocking sporadically on the door, closely followed by you, Will, and Jonathan. 

Mrs. Wheeler opened the door, “Hi, guys! Come on in, the kids are in the basement.”

The three of you filed down into the basement, only to be overcome with the scent of pizza and your friends, swamping you with hugs.

El and Lucas immediately complimented El’s sweater, to which she replied, “Y/n made it for me. She made Will’s and Jonathan’s, too.”

Mike met Will halfway and shyly took one of his hands, to which Will responded with a bashful kiss on Mike’s cheek.

Dustin sat on Mike’s couch, plastic ornaments glued to his shoulders to make fancy, over-the-top shoulder pads. He sipped moodily at a soda and plastered on a fake smile when you sat next to him.

“What’s with the sour face, Dustin? It’s a Christmas party.”

“Eleven and Lucas and Max. Will and Mike. Steve and Eddie, Nancy and Jonathan, Robin and Vickie! I just… I miss Suzie.”

“Good Lord, Dustin. Go call her. I’m single and all these couples aren’t bothering me.”

 “She’s busy at church.”

“Well… maybe you can call her after. And I’ll tell the others to tone down the PDA.”

Dustin smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Y/n.”

“Sure, Dustin. Merry Christmas, you weirdo.”

---

You had been at the Wheeler’s for almost five hours. El was starting to get a bit tired, you noticed, as she nodded off on Max’s shoulder, who had fallen asleep on Lucas’ shoulder. You, yourself, were getting a bit drowsy. Will had fallen asleep a half hour ago, despite the how-not-to-carol home video playing on TV. Jonathan quietly came downstairs and gently roused El.

“Time to go,” He said, pulling her off the couch. Then, he slipped over to Mike and Will, extracting Will from Mike’s arms and starting back towards the stairs. “Y/n, come on.” He hissed as El went upstairs, rubbing her eyes.

--- 

Jonathan got the three of you situated in the car, leaning on each other, fast asleep, but buckled up. 

Joyce started the car and backed down the driveway, “Aren’t they so sweet?” She asked, looking in her rearview mirror. “Takes me right back to when Y/n and Will fell asleep on you, Jonathan.”

“You had better have a picture of that, Joyce,” Hopper grinned, peering back over the seat at the three of you. “They look so little. El especially.”

“We should go to the Wheeler’s Christmas parties more often,” Jonathan mumbled, on the verge of falling asleep in the back of the station wagon.

#will byers #eleven hopper #el hopper #platonic!reader #byers!reader #el hopper x reader #eleven hopper x reader #jane hopper #el byers #willel fanfiction #elumax #byler #rockie #jancy #steddie