Work Text:
this is being updated to my tumblr. you can find it here
Jonathan passes you a box from his trunk and you grunt at the weight, “Jesus, could’ve let me know it was gonna be this heavy, Byers.” You peer down inside and with the light of his car you manage to spot a can of gasoline, a couple of boxes of nails and bullets, and a bear trap.
You make your way inside after Jonathan and Nancy, kicking the door shut behind you and Jonathan disappears into the backyard. Nancy grabs the box of ammo and pulls out a gun from the waistband of her jeans; your eyes widen at the sight of her wielding a weapon.
“Have you just had that thing on you this entire time?”
“It wasn’t loaded!” Nancy shoots back as she opens the cylinder and starts to slide the bullets into the chamber. You toss Jonathan the baseball bat after he returns with a hammer, and he gestures for you to hand him the nails.
As he begins to slam them through, your gaze catches onto a lead pipe that got shuffled to the side. It’s fairly sturdy in your grasp - not entirely uncomfortable to hold either. A spool of wire resides at the bottom of the box and you snatch that too.
Your brain hatches an idea at the sight of the scissors sitting on the kitchen counter, and you go into the bathroom knowing that Joyce keeps another pair in there.
The table shakes as you throw your loot onto it and you collect the first pair of scissors, as well as the roll of duct tape in the drawer. You use the wire to strap the scissors to either side on the curve of the pipe and reinforce the bond with the tape. Realizing it’s not quite finished yet, you quickly unzip your backpack and snatch the medical gauze to add spots for better grip.
The weapon spins easily in your fingers and a slight smirk grows on your lips at the idea of the kids seeing you now; monster hunter.
“Hey, gimme a hand with these,” Nancy calls to you as she motions towards the coffee table littered in the bulbs of Christmas lights. Your hands work diligently to screw in each one a pocketful at a time, and the three of you finish the job in no time.
After the particularly nerve-wracking experience of helping Jonathan set the bear trap, you regroup in the living room.
“So, you’re saying that blood draws this thing?” You ask based on the information they’ve managed to gather.
“That’s just our theory, we’re still not absolutely sure,” Nancy answers, causing you to press a hand to your forehead in frustration, “You don’t even know if this is gonna work?”
“Barb cut her hand before she disappeared, and there was an injured deer in the forest last night,” Jonathan comments as he passes a knife to Nancy, “It’s been there both times.”
“I guess if there’s nothing else to go on…” You sigh and he extends the hilt of another blade to you. Your eyes flick between his hand and his expression before chuckling slightly, “You can’t be serious.”
“Y/N-” Nancy starts.
“At least one of us has to have both hands to work with,” You argue, raising your voice slightly for further emphasis. Jonathan nods at your logic and tosses the third knife onto the couch before turning back to the two of you, “Okay, the plan again. Once it comes-”
“Straight into Will’s room-” Nancy continues.
“Wait for the yo-yo to move and then-” You pull the lighter from your jacket before nodding. Nancy and Jonathan line up the sharp ends of the blades with their palms and your eyes squint with anticipation of what they’re about to do.
“On the count of three: One-” Jonathan begins. He watches Nancy’s face intently and she’s spaced out with her gaze somewhere on the carpet in front of her.
“Wait wait wait,” You interrupt, concern starting to show, “You guys don’t have to do this.”
“Y/N, stop talking,” Nancy responds, clearly growing exasperated with you.
“Two-”
“We can find another way-”
“Three!” Nancy’s voice falters as they slice their palms open and you suck in a breath through your gritted teeth, cringing at the sight.
The first drop of blood falls onto the carpet, then another. You rush to the kitchen and grab a couple of dish towels and the gauze you left on the table, unwrapping it in your hands as you come back, “Here-”
Nancy snatches it out of your grasp after you offer to help, leaving you stunned and still as she goes to sit on the edge of the sofa. Jonathan sends you an apologetic glance as he takes the towels from your hands, silently thanking you for your assistance.
Nancy’s actions just remind you of how she shut you out and how she’s willing to do it again - even with the stakes hanging over your heads.
“Fine, Jesus Christ,” You mutter to yourself. Jonathan joins her and you turn away, eyes practically rolling into the back of your head. Your heart rate starts to pick up as your feet carry you to the other side of the room, waiting anxiously for something - anything - to alert you of the monster’s presence.
The silence is deafening. It sets your teeth on edge and at every rustle of the leaves, every crunch of a branch, you snap your attention to your weapon; you don’t know exactly what you’re preparing for.
Jonathan and Nancy’s mumbles are interrupted by a loud thumping at the door, effectively startling the three of you. You turn to them with the shock on your face mirrored in theirs, “Monsters don’t knock, do they?”
They stand up and you catch Nancy’s hand moving to the grip of the revolver. You follow her instincts and grab the pipe, tensing your arm to bring it up to an attack position. The knocking happens again, but this time a voice accompanies it, “Jonathan? Are you there? It’s Steve!”
“ Harrington ?” You whisper harshly, “Steve Harrington?” You spin your head to side before exchanging a weary glance with Jonathan as you wait for an explanation, “What the hell’s he doing here?”
Nancy runs over and unlocks the chain, only opening a gap just enough to sneak her head through.
“Steve, you need to leave!” She exclaims. You hear him fumbling on the porch, “I’m not here to start anything, okay? I just wanna talk!”
“I don’t care about that, Steve-”
“No, Nance, I messed up!” His outburst effectively shuts her up, and confuses you even further. Steve Harrington wasn’t the type to admit when he had done something wrong.
“I messed up, okay? I just-” Steve pleads with her and his voice is soft, softer than you’ve ever heard it. Your breathing hitches at the idea that maybe he’s been much different than you ever thought he was.
The grip you have on the pipe loosens slightly as he continues, “I just wanna make things right.” Nancy shakes her head, “Please, you-”
“Wait, wha-what happened to your hand?”
“Nothing, it was an accident-”
“Come on, just lemme in, what’s going on?” Steve speaks more powerfully, beginning to press against the door in an attempt to move her away to let him through. Nancy forces herself onto it even further, “No, just leave-”
Steve manages to push himself past her and he stumbles in before taking in the situation at hand. His beaten face moves between the scrappy weapon in your grasp, the can of gasoline, and the spiked bat.
“What-what the hell is going on here? What’s Henderson doing here? Why do you have that?” He gestures to you before you start to get ready to force him out, “Believe me, you don’t wanna know, Harrington. Get out while you can.”
“For Christ’s sake, somebody just explain to me what’s going on!” Steve starts to shout as you attempt to shove him away, much to his frustration.
“Listen, man, we’re not asking, we’re telling you,” Jonathan comes over to try and help you, “Trust me on this one-”
Your peripheral vision manages to see Nancy pull out the gun, pointing the barrel right between Steve’s eyes.
“Wait, wait, what?!” Steve exclaims before putting his hands up in defense and your eyes grow wide, “What the hell, Nancy?”
“Steve, you have five seconds to get out of here!” She says, her aim unwavering and strong, “One-”
“Point that thing somewhere else! Jesus Christ, Nance!”
You take a step forward as you try and approach her, hands in an identical position to Steve’s. You’re careful to make sure you keep a level head, “Nancy, put the gun down.”
“Two!” She pulls down the lever at the top and the cylinder rotates.
“Easy with that!” Steve raises his voice again before he starts to back away.
“Nancy put it down!” Your calm demeanor begins to crack as you try and reason with her, taking another step closer. Her focus doesn’t draw away from Steve, “Three-”
“Nancy-” Jonathan starts.
“Four!”
“Woah woah woah, calm down!” Steve stutters.
“GIVE ME THE GUN!”
“NANCY!” Jonathan shouts and she finally moves her attention away, turning to him, “The lights!”
You and Nancy were so invested in your confrontation that you hadn’t noticed that strings of colored bulbs were flashing violently - and your stomach flips, swallowing the lump in your throat, “It’s here.”
“What’s here?” Steve asks as you turn around and your eyes start to scan the room, blinking furiously to try and see through the chaos. Both hands clutch onto the pipe as Jonathan’s back bumps yours, “Where is it?”
“I don’t know!” Nancy exclaims.
“Where’s WHAT?” Steve desperately tries to pry an answer from one of you, “Could someone please-”
A booming crash causes you to spin in its direction and your eyes get drawn upwards - where something is crawling its way through the Byers’ destroyed ceiling.
The Demogorgon lands on top of the coffee table and snaps it in half with its weight. Its grey skin is slick with God knows what and it straightens itself to tower above you; the face opens like a delicate flower, but your expression contorts in horror at the sight of the rows upon rows of sharp teeth. It takes a step towards you before a ferocious roar rips from its mouth.
“Holy shit-”
“Oh my god!”
“What the fuck is that thing?” You and Steve start to ramble to each other under the stress of the situation, and you feel like the wind got knocked out of your lungs when the Demogorgon moves closer, “I know about as much as you, Harrington!”
Nancy lands three shots on the monster before Jonathan pulls her away, “We gotta get to Will’s room!” He pushes her down the hallway and grabs your jacket, moving you with him.
“Steve, Jesus Christ - COME ON!” You’re barely able to get a grip on his arm before yanking him with you. You both scream as you just miss jumping over the bear trap and practically throw yourselves through the threshold into the room.
Jonathan slams the door behind Steve and raises the bat in preparation; Nancy reloads the revolver.
“Holy shit, what the fuck is it?” You ask as your hands wildly gesture to the door.
“Why the hell did it come through the ceiling?” Steve shouts, his fear matching yours.
“Does it look like I know-”
“SHUT UP!” Nancy and Jonathan turn in your direction, before Jonathan continues, “The lighter!”
“Shit! Shit, shit-” Your fingers shake as you reach into your pocket to grab it, and it drops to the ground once exposed; Nancy scoffs. You fumble with the lighter further after picking it up and are just able to ignite the flame in your current state.
It’s gone quiet except for the sounds of the groups’ ragged breaths. Jonathan and Nancy’s attention moves away from the door to give each other a quick glance before Nancy speaks, “Do you hear anything?”
“No,” Jonathan mutters as he glances at you. The lights stop flickering and you close the lid of the lighter to snuff out the flame, tossing it back into your pocket.
You gulp as you shift your balance to your front foot and grab the handle before cracking the door open slightly. The hallway is empty and you reach for both hands to be tight around your weapon before peering your head around the corner, “We’re all clear.”
Raising the pipe a little bit higher, you take the first step onto the gasoline-soaked carpet, followed closely by Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve.
Nancy relaxes by your side before rolling out her shoulders, “Where did it go?” Jonathan’s head shakes as he pushes past you both and moves to the living room, confusion over his features, “I don’t know.”
You lower your arms after Jonathan confirms it’s disappeared, your heart thumping rapidly against your ribs.
“This is crazy, right? This is crazy,” Steve mutters to himself, clearly still in denial. Your forehead creases as you witness him come to the realization of what just happened. He laughs lightly, hands moving animatedly through the air, “This is crazy, this is CRAZY!”
“Steve!” Nancy shouts to catch his wandering eyes, “It’s going to come back! So - you need to leave.” Steve looks between the three of you briefly before rushing to the front door and whipping it open; the force with which it bounces off the wall slams it back shut.
You huff as you roll your eyes, slinging the pipe over your shoulder, “Jesus Christ - what a surprise.”
Jonathan goes to peel back the curtains but the lights start to blink again before his fingers can wrap around the fabric.
“That was a lot quicker than I thought it was gonna be!” You say as you pull your weapon back to an offensive position, head-spinning again at the mayhem surrounding you.
“Where is it?” Nancy asks and you scoff, “We never know where it is, Nancy!”
The power surges and your heart skips a beat as darkness covers you, silence spreading rapidly over the trio. You force a couple of deep breaths through your nose and you stay light on your feet, prepared to dodge at any second. The next thing you know, the lights have switched back on - and Jonathan’s thrown across the room, being separated from the bat.
Your body turns around to see the Demogorgon stalking over to where he lays on the floor; Nancy takes action first and pulls the trigger four times - only half of her shots hitting the target.
It swivels abruptly to face where you two stand before it roars in your face, slime landing on your cheeks and your hair gets blown back.
You plant your feet on top of the hardwood floors and you swing; the scissor blades pierce the monster’s side and you have to pull back harder to dislodge them. The Demogorgon’s painful groan mixes with the surprised laugh that bubbles from your lips in disbelief before rearing up for another go. The strike lands in its chest and you go to pull away, but the weapon is caught between something.
“Come on, come on!” You shout in frustration before the Demogorgon grabs you between its massive hand and yanks, shoving you against the wall and your weapon clatters onto the ground next to you.
The gunshots from Nancy vaguely reach your ears as you try to catch your bearings; the headache that’s beginning to form is not helped at all by the sensory stimulation you’re receiving.
Your eyes cast up and much to your shock, where you discover Steve Harrington - wielding the spiked bat.
He came back.
Jesus Christ - he actually came back.
Everything that you had heard in the halls between classes - the rumors, the gossip, the stories - are erased from your mind in a split second as you watch Steve land blow after blow on the creature’s flesh. You were right before; he’s not at all like you thought he was. Not anymore.
As it turns out, you’re just as much of an idiot as Nancy Wheeler.
“Oh, fuck ,” The soft words trip over your tongue as you watch him help turn the tide of the fight. Steve looks over to you briefly and your skin feels like it’s on fire, “If you’re up Henderson, mind giving me a hand here?”
“I’m working on it!” You scramble to your feet and grab your weapon as Steve hits the Demogorgon particularly hard and it tumbles backward, crying out once an ankle gets caught in the trap. The lighter is between your fingers almost instantly and you throw it onto the carpet once the flame’s ignited.
The carpet has caught fire within a few short moments and the monster screams out in agony. Steve and Nancy cover their faces with their arms while you opt to pull the collar of your shirt up around your nose. Jonathan reappears with the red canister in hand and extinguishes the hallway, leaving the four of you stunned with what you find.
“It’s gone?” Nancy asks and Jonathan throws the used extinguisher to the side. The clattering it makes draws your attention back to your pulsing temples and your eyes squint at the pain. Your fingers wipe away the monster’s saliva from your skin, shaking your hand to get rid of it, “Gross.”
Steve catches the word and turns his focus to you shortly; he exhales beside you and you’re suddenly overwhelmed at the proximity to him, your arms just grazing each other.
Your gaze dances over his face; you don’t want to look away but you can’t help the way your heart hammers as you study his profile. The slope of his nose, the line of his jaw - it’s all overwhelming you at once.
Of course, it had to be him .
The ache in your chest grows as you finally drag your eyes away from Steve and you begin to move your way down to where the bear trap resides, curious to get a closer look and get the hell away from him.
“Woah woah,” Steve says, “What are you doing?”
Your eyes cast between him and the trap, “I wanna get a look at it.” His brow furrows at you and you motion with your head, “You know, for science?”
You huff at him when his expression doesn’t change and you turn to kneel down to the ground. The metallic scent of burnt blood causes your nose to crinkle slightly as you get in closer. It’s coated in the thick red liquid, but what sets you on edge is the fact that it moves - almost like foam on the top of a bubble bath, “God, I can’t believe it. We did it; we beat the shit out of it.”
“It has to be dead, right?” Jonathan says before coughing into his sleeve as he leans against the wall. You glance back at them, “I can’t imagine it walking away from that.”
You rise back up to your feet and the four of you take in the damage you’ve managed to inflict onto the home - the hallway’s charred, the carpet stained with blood, broken furniture and a smashed in ceiling.
Steve just sighs as he sets the bat on his shoulder, “Your mom’s gonna kill us.”