Chapter Text
High school is supposed to be the best four years of your life. It’s the last years of fun and adolescence before you’re thrown into the real world. It’s when you’re supposed to party and make out and drink and fucking have fun. It’s supposed to be heaven.
In Hawkins, high school can be the worst four years of your life. In Hawkins, high school is where you go to get bullied. In Hawkins, you don’t drink and party and have fun; you run and hide and fight off monsters. It’s fucking hell.
Steve Harrington loved high school. They didn’t call him King Steve for nothing. He ruled Hawkins High. Until he didn’t. It all came crumbling down. The end of his high school career went to complete shit. Graduating was supposed to be this huge and happy celebration, but it was just a day to commemorate all the shit he had to go through to survive his final two years in school.
He stuck around after graduation. He always knew he was going to stay in Hawkins. He thought it would be because he was a deadbeat, not because he was staying around to watch out for all the people he cared about. These were his people. He needed to take care of them.
First, there was Robin, his best friend. She was new to all of this. Steve knew what it was like to be thrown into this ridiculous world, and he wouldn’t dare to leave her alone in it. Plus, he was the only person she was out to, and he wasn’t about to let her go through that alone either. He was her best friend, and he was going to stick by her side. Through anything. No matter what.
Then, there was Dustin. There were the other kids too (Max and Lucas and Mike), but there was mainly Dustin. Steve could groan and complain about being the babysitter until he was blue in the face, but he loved those kids. He especially loved Dustin. He couldn’t bear to think about anything happening to them and him not being there. He wouldn’t leave them. Not ever.
Finally, there was Nancy. Nancy was…well, it was complicated. He loved Nancy, and he figured he always would. He wasn’t in love with her anymore, despite what Robin and Dustin constantly said. She was his first real love. He was always going to care about her, and he certainly wasn’t going to leave her alone in that town, not after her boyfriend already left her.
Steve was never going to leave Hawkins. That was just a fact, but it could not be said about the people he was staying there for. Nancy already had one foot out the door, ready to go to Emerson in the fall. Robin had big dreams too. Steve knew she always dreamed of going to New York and playing in an orchestra. And the kids, they were all geniuses. Steve knew they were all bigger than this town.
It was the summer after Nancy and Robin graduated that all of this truly hit Steve. They were leaving him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted them to go. He wanted them to live their lives to the absolute fullest. However, he also selfishly wanted to live a little too. Even if it was just for the summer. Just one summer of fun to get back all the fun he had missed in high school. Just one summer.
So, he devised a plan. A plan that included all of his friends, even if they didn’t know it yet. He should probably get around to telling them about it. At Family Video, the door opened and the bell chimed, throwing Steve off his very deep train of thought.
“Henderson!” Steve exclaimed when he saw it was Dustin. “Just the person I was looking for.”
“Well, I am your only friend so that makes sense,” Dustin joked.
Steve scoffed. “I have many friends. All of whom you’re going to call on your little walkie-talkie thing and tell them to all meet at my house tonight. 8 o’clock. That’s when I get off.”
“Wait, wait,” Dustin spoke. “That was too much too fast. What are you talking about? Who am I inviting and why?”
“Everyone. Max and Lucas. And tell Mike to tell Nancy. And I’ll tell Robin,” Steve explained. He smirked. “As for why, you don’t get to know that just yet. You’ll find everything out tonight.”
Dustin furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you on something? Did the Russians get you again?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “What? No. Just tell them all to be there. Now, get out of here.”
“Excuse me? I came to rent something,” Dustin protested.
“Trust me,” Steve told him, “you won’t need to rent any measly movies to keep yourself entertained this summer.”
…
Everyone was called, and everyone came, even if they were very, very confused. In fact, they got there before Steve got back from work, which made matters so much worse.
“Fancy seeing you all here,” Steve said once he arrived. “Come on we have a lot to discuss."
Steve began leading them all to the backyard. Dustin immediately followed him. Robin was close behind. Max turned to Lucas and Mike. All three eventually followed suit. Nancy was the last one standing. She shrugged to nobody and headed to the backyard.
“So, I have invited you all here to discuss my brilliant plans for the summer of ‘86.”
“I didn’t know any of us were looking for summer plans,” Robin stated easily.
“That might be true, but once I tell you the plan I have in store, you’ll be begging to come with me.”
Max looked around at everyone. They all seemed intrigued. “Okay, we’re listening.”
“Mike,” Steve announced, pointing at the younger man.
Mike raised an eyebrow. ‘“Yes?”
“What’s the one thing me and you have in common?”
Mike stared at him. “Um.”
“That’s okay. I’ll tell you,” Steve supplied. “We both want to get the fuck out of this town. Don’t we all?”
“Yes?” Mike questioned again.
“Are you planning on kidnapping us?” Lucas asked.
Steve shook his head. “On the contrary. I am offering to take you all on a very consensual and magical trip.”
“Are you offering us drugs?” Max asked, smirking.
Steve’s eyes went wide. “What? No. What is wrong with you people?”
“Maybe if you gave us a little more context we wouldn’t have to make all these random assumptions,” Robing told him.
“I am trying to make this announcement fun,” Steve muttered to her angrily. “Fine. I’ll throw away all the theatrics and just tell you. You people are no fun.”
When Steve still didn’t explain, Max groaned. “We’re waiting.”
“We’re going on a road trip!” Steve announced. Everyone looked at him, questioning. “Well, if you guys want to that is. But, nobody came to the store today, so I had a lot of time to think about this. Just hear me out.”
Steve sat on the ground next to the pool and began pulling things out of his backpack. This was when everyone realized they were in for a long night. They all sat down. Max, Robin, and Dustin all sat with their feet dangling in the pool. Lucas and Mike sat on either side of Steve, looking through his stuff. Nancy sat as far away as humanly possible.
“So, my dad has a camper,” Steve began. “We haven’t used it in years, but we have it, and I know that it still works. It comfortably fits about twelve people. Not for sleeping, of course. We would have to bring tents for that.
“Speaking of bringing stuff, I was thinking that we could all be in charge of stuff. There’s a full kitchen with a fridge, so we could buy food here and cook it there and not have to worry about going out to eat. Someone could be in charge of drinks. Someone could be in charge of snacks. Someone could be in charge of meat. Stuff like that. We’ll figure it out.”
Steve pulled out a map he had clearly drawn on. “So, I was thinking that we could do Route 66 on the way there, and then a different way on the way back. I already mapped most of it out. We could see all the cool stuff that people always talk about. And, this doesn’t have to be binding. If we see something and want to stop, we can. Anything anyone wants to do is a possibility. Nothing is ruled out.
“We can make the trip as long or as short as you guys want it to be,” Steve explained. “I just figured it would do us all some good to get out of here for a little bit. See what else this place has to offer.”
“You’ve put an extreme amount of thought into this,” Robin told him. “It’s almost impressive.”
“It’s very impressive,” Lucas said, looking at Steve's maps. “You guys should check this out. He really did his research.”
“There’s just one factor that I didn’t know,” Steve informed them, looking at Mike. “When are the Byers getting here? I know they’re coming home for the summer, and they’re obviously invited.”
“Will and Eleven will be here Saturday,” Mike replied. Everyone turned to look at Nancy.
She made an expression nobody could quite place. “Jonathan isn’t coming.”
“Why?” Robin blurted out.
“We broke up,” Nancy said easily. Everyone got sad. “It’s really no big deal. Don’t make it one.”
“Okay,” Steve spoke, moving the conversation along. “So, Will and El get here Saturday. If we leave on Sunday, that’ll give us three days to get everything together. Does that work?”
“Nobody agreed yet. You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Dustin reminded him.
“Oh, right,” Steve responded. “Okay, if you want to go on the Steve Harrington Cross Country Roadtrip Extravaganza please say I.”
“I’m not saying I until we give it a better name,” Max told him.
“Yeah? Well, it’s not getting a better name until Steve Harrington isn’t the only one officially going on it.”
“I’ll say I if you stop talking about yourself in the third person,” Mike told him.
“Deal. So, we have one I.”
“Two,” Dustin said, “and we’re calling it Route 69.”
“We are not calling it that,” Lucas reprimanded. “Have some decorum.”
“Have some decorum,” Dustin mocked. He turned to Max. “Your boyfriend is such a dork.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Max corrected him. “Because I also would’ve called it Route 69. We are clearly not compatible.”
“Sorry I’m just more mature than all of you combined,” Lucas joked, causing Max to stick her tongue out at him.
“Max and Lucas? Were those I’s I heard?” Steve asked.
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
“I!” Robin shouted. “Another adult has to go on this trip. You can’t be trusted alone.”
“Hey!” Steve yelled back, offended. “Okay, so that’s everyone besides…Nance, what do you say?”
Nancy took a moment to think about it. Then, she smiled. “Highway Out of hell.”
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
Nancy’s smile widened. “I’ll come on your stupid trip, but we’re calling it Highway Out of Hell.”
“I see your name and raise you one better,” Steve told her. “Harrington’s Highway Out of Hell.”
“No!” everyone yelled at once.
…
Once everyone agreed to the trip and the name, assignments began being passed out. Steve was in charge of the camper and driving and gas, so he didn’t need to bring anything else. Nancy was in charge of all meal foods because “Nancy is killer at making sandwiches, and I mean that in the most feminist way possible”. Robin was in charge of drinks but “absolutely no alcohol; I am not getting arrested beyond state lines”.
Lucas and Mike were in charge of tents and sleeping bags and such because “I’ve seen the forts you’ve made”. Dustin was in charge of games and entertainment because “he’s a child”. Max was in charge of music because “she has the best music taste and she’s the most diplomatic and fair person out of all of us”. Okay, so Steve didn’t say that last part, but Max certainly did.
It was decided that Will and El would be in charge of miscellaneous items like batteries and flashlights and a first aid kit because those were easy things to acquire. This was decided without El and Will’s input as they were still not informed that they were going on a cross-country road trip.
“Hi! Welcome to Hawkins!” Steve greeted when he saw El and Will at the airport. They both looked at him with very confused expressions.
“Why are you here?” El asked.
Steve put a hand on his chest. “Ouch. That hurt.”
“Seriously, Steve,” Will said. “Where are our friends?”
“Your friends are off doing some last-minute pre-trip errands for me,” Steve explained. El and Will were left very confused yet again. “Let me tell you about a little something I like to call Harrington’s Highway Out of Hell.”
…
Saturday night, everyone met at Steve’s house to go over everything one last time and pack up the camper. Everyone, even El and Will,l showed up with their assigned belongings and packed them into Steve’s dad’s camper.
“Hey, dingus!” Robin called from outside the camper as Steve fixed some things on the inside. “You asked your dad if we could use this, right?”
“Duh, of course,” Steve lied. He exited the camper, and Robin gave him a look. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him?”
Robin shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “That is so not the answer I was looking for.”
“Look, it’s fine. I took it to the shop yesterday and got it all checked out. They gave me the go-ahead,” he assured her. “My dad is away on business until August. Everything is going to be fine. Trust me.”
“You make trusting you very difficult, Harrington,” she told him, walking away to join the rest of the group.
“Speaking of trust!” Steve announced to the group who was honestly already sick of him. “I have decided that we need a buddy system. And, as the leader of this journey, I have decided that I will give the buddies.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Before any of you start, they are subject to change if at least one party from each buddy system agrees. So, Nancy, you’re with Robin. Dustin, you’re with Lucas. Mike, you’re with El. Max, you’re with Will.”
“You don’t get a buddy?” Dustin asked.
Steve shrugged. “There’s an odd number. I’ll live.”
“Well, we can fix that,” Dustin told him, causing Steve to raise his eyebrows. “So, Mike, Lucas, and I were talking and we want to invite Eddie.”
“You want to invite who ?” Steve asked, setting his jaw.
“I told you he wouldn’t go for it,” Lucas mumbled. Dustin shot him a look.
“There’s no reason for him not to go with it,” Dustin stated. He turned back to Steve. “It’s not my fault he’s jealous of him.”
“Jealous?” Steve laughed. “You think I’m jealous of Eddie?”
“Yes,” Mike supplied.
Steve scoffed. “I’m not jealous. I just don’t see why you like him so much.”
“No, you don’t see why I have another cool older friend when I already have you,” Dustin told him.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Who’s Eddie?” El finally asked. Will nodded also wanting to know.
“Um,” Mike muttered, looking at Will and then at Lucas.
Lucas nodded. “He’s the leader of this D&D club at school. It’s called the Hellfire Club. We’re all in it.”
“You’re in a new party?” Will asked, bobbing his head up and down. He pointedly didn’t look at Mike.
“Will, it’s really not like that,” Mike promised.
Steve leaned over to Nancy and whispered, “What the hell is going on right now?”
“I think Mike cheated on Will,” Nancy replied.
Steve nodded. “That’s rough.”
“Oh, that is so not the point, and you know it,” Will told Mike, finally looking at him. “When I want to play D&D, I’m some loser who doesn’t like girls, but when this Eddie guy wants to play, he’s hot shit. I get it.”
“Hey, Nancy, is your brother homophobic?” Robin whispered.
“What?” Nancy gasped, whipping her head toward the other girl. “No. He’s just a fucking idiot.”
Robin nodded. “Solid.”
“I hate both of you,” Nancy said under her breath. Robin and Steve high-fived above Nancy’s head. “Be quiet. I want to hear this drama.”
“It’s literally happening ten feet away from you but okay,” Robin said, smiling at her. Steve gave Robin a knowing look which earned him a glare.
“Will,” Mike tried, but Will just shook his head.
“No.”
“Jesus Christ, dude,” Mike said, putting his head in his hands. “I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.”
“El, tell him he’s being ridiculous,” Mike begged.
She scoffed. “Excuse me?”
Dustin and Lucas looked at each other with complete horror. “Mike is going to die,” Lucas stated.
“Look, Mike, it’s very clear that you have issues with saying how you really feel. As Max would say, you’re emotionally stunted,” El informed him, causing Max to giggle. “You can’t tell me you love me, and you can’t tell Will that he’s your best friend. You need to work on that.”
“What are you talking about?” Mike asked. “I say that stuff all the time.” Everyone looked at him. “What? I do.”
“You don’t,” El told him, patting him on the knee. “And that’s why I’m breaking up with you.”
Everyone gasped. “What?” Mike questioned.
“I just think you need some time to find yourself and your true feelings,” El stated. “I love you, and I want what’s best for you. So, I’m setting you free.”
“Okay,” Mike said, nodding. “Um, thanks, El. I’m sorry for being a bad boyfriend?”
“No problem,” she supplied, kissing him on the cheek.
“Dude,” Max giggled again. “You just got broken up with by both Byers siblings.”
Mike glared at her. “I did not.”
“You did,” Lucas stated.
“ Ellllll ,” Max singsonged. “Do you want to be my buddy instead of Mike’s?”
“I would love to, Max,” El replied with a grin.
“Hey, wait!” Mike argued. “We have to agree.”
“Actually, according to King Steve's decree, only one party from each pair needs to agree,” Max reminded him. She pointed to herself. “One.” She pointed to El. “One.”
“I’m fine with it too,” Will spoke finally. “I’ll go with Mike. Call it my brotherly duty.”
“Will,” Mike tried for what felt like the thousandth time.
Will shook his head. “Nope. I’m doing this for El. Not for you.”
“Well, now that that’s sorted,” Steve announced, clapping.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Dustin interrupted. “It’s not sorted. You haven’t agreed to Eddie yet.”
Steve groaned. “Why are we still talking about him?”
“Because everyone likes him. Besides you.”
“I would argue that Will doesn’t like him,” Steve countered.
Will rolled his eyes. “I don’t have anything against him .”
“Just you, Harrington,” Lucas stated. “Come on, Eddie’s the best.”
“Please, Steve,” Dustin begged with those stupid puppy dog eyes that Steve hates so much. “It’s the summer after his senior year, too. Just like Nancy and Robin. He’s leaving, and we’ll never get to see him again. And, sure, maybe he never had to fight any monsters, but this town hasn’t exactly been the nicest to him either.”
“That is fair,” Robin told him. Steve shot her a look. “He’s never done anything wrong, Steve. You just hate him on principle.”
“And that principle is that you’re the only friend Dustin can have,” Nancy told him.
Steve looked at all their begging faces. He groaned. “Fine. He can come, and he can be my stupid buddy. But, and this is a big but, if he bothers me ever once, I’ll leave him on the side of the road.”
“Deal,” Dustin replied, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll call him.”
“Yippee,” Steve drawled sarcastically. “Let Harrington’s Highway Out of Hell commence.”
“We’re not calling it that!”