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He hissed, eye squeezed shut against the pain as he dabbed a alcohol soaked cotton ball on the cut above his brow. He’d known when Billy pulled up that he was going to regret walking out that door. He just hadn’t expected that amount of damage the other boy was going to do: and gleefully at that. The kids had done a half decent job with their bandaids and peroxide stolen from Ms. Byers bathroom but it wasn’t enough, especially after crawling through the Upside Down. He’d gotten Mike and Lucas home first, taken Max to the end of her street with a quiet good luck and awkward pat on her shoulder - Billy’s car wasn’t in the driveway either and Steve didn’t feel too terrible about sending her back in through the window - and then he dropped Dustin off. He had hesitated, tapping his fingers against the dash before saying ‘you okay?’.
“Go home, Henderson.” His face ached and the adrenaline was quickly leaving his body but he was okay. “I’d like to take my car home and make sure Max didn’t hurt her on your joyride.”
“It wasn’t joyriding! It was a rescue mission!” It was joyriding and there’s a dent in my damn fender. Steve said none of that. They were alive, he’d take the car to the shop on Monday, and his dad would probably just tell him to be more careful without digging deeper.
“ Go . I’ll see you brats later.” Dustin scrambled out of the passenger seat, adjusted his grip on his radio and then paused.
“We’ll get you a radio man.” Dustin promised before shutting the door.
It was sweet. The little shits almost seemed to like him and he didn’t know why that made him feel warm inside. Tomorrow he would enjoy it, then he just wanted to go to sleep.
His parents were home when he arrived, already in bed and asleep. When he’d crept inside his mother woke, cracking open the door with yawn and a quick, ‘don’t forget to lock the door’ before going back to bed. It wasn’t upsetting, really, and it was better that she didn’t see him dirty and disheveled with blood on his cheek. They were so happy he was graduating and applying for colleges, he didn’t want to disappoint them with another instance of getting his ass handed to him.
He’d saved the world. Actually saved lives. He just wished his face didn’t hurt so badly for it.
The cut on his jaw didn’t need stitches but it was sort of nasty and tender. The water running in the sink covered the sound of his curse as he fumbled the neosporin cap and it was promptly washed down the drain. Shit. Well, he’d probably use the rest of the tube this week anyway. He used his pinky finger to dab the ointment on the cuts as steadily as he could.
You’ve really got to stop getting into fistfights with guys who have nothing to lose, man.