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Max vanishes and the football pitch goes dark and silent. The three of them stare at the place where Max once was in stunned silence. After a moment, Grace steps away, readjusts her shirt, and leaves. She doesn’t say a word or spare the two of them a glance as she walks back the way she came.
Pete and Steph watch her go, then turn to each other. Pete’s shoulders slump as the events of the day start to catch up to him. His wrist starts to throb and he winces. Steph reaches out to lay a careful hand on his uninjured arm and looks up at him worriedly through her lashes.
“Are you okay?” Her voice is quiet and scratchy. He tries to smile but it’s weak. He clears his throat.
“Yeah, I- yeah. I’m fine.” Steph furrows her brow and steps closer.
“Are you sure? I heard something crack.” He feels suddenly sick as he remembers Max grabbing his weak fist, forcing his arm back. Steph swears. “Shit, you’ve gone grey. Let me-” she looks around frantically, then carefully guides him over to the bleachers, as far away from where Grace and Max… were as they can get. He smiles shakily at her.
“It’s fine, it’s just been a, uh, long night.” She snorts a laugh and sits next to him.
“You can say that again. Here, does this hurt?” She gently lifts his injured arm and he hisses as a sharp pain shoots up it. Steph winces. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” His fingers are numb. Is it his blood sugar or his wrist? He groans suddenly. “Fuck, do you think it’s broken?”
“Well,” she starts slowly, “I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think it’s good.” She carefully places his arm back on his lap and shrugs off her flannel. “Okay, uh, I think you need to elevate it. Are you okay if I do that?” He swallows hard and nods. He has to bite back a yelp as she accidently jostles it when sorting out the makeshift sling, but as she ties off the sleeves he relaxes slightly. It still hurts, but it’s more of a steady, dull pain now. Steph eyes him worriedly and he smiles at her.
“That’s better, thank you.” She smiles back, relief flooding her expression.
“Good, that’s good. Although, you should still go to the hospital.” Pete winces again at the thought of the hospital bill but sighs.
“That’s probably a good idea.” He pauses, then slowly reaches out with his good hand to entangle his fingers with hers. “Will you come with me?” He doesn’t want to be alone yet. She squeezes his hand softly.
“Of course.”
Pete flexes his fingers experimentally as the nurse finishes off his cast. She smiles kindly at him.
“You got lucky, it’s only a fracture.” She winks. “You should be all set to get that cast off for homecoming.”
“Is Steph okay?” Her face softens.
“The girl you came in with? She’s just outside. Let me finish up here then you can see her, okay?” He nods. Steph’s flannel is laying on his lap and he runs a hand across the soft fabric.
Before long, red hair appears in his vision and he looks up to see the nurse back, still smiling.
“Alright, Peter. All done!” He stands slowly and smiles back. She guides him to the doorway and points down the hall to the waiting room. “Just wait out here for now, okay?”
The waiting room is mostly empty. There’s an older couple, a teenager he thinks he recognises as graduating the year before and there, on the other side of the room, hunched forward and bouncing her knee impatiently, is Steph. His shoulders relax and he quickly heads across the room. Her head snaps up as he nears and her eyes meet his, relief flooding her expression as her face breaks into a wide smile. His cheeks heat as she jumps to her feet.
“Pete!” Her hands hover above his shoulders for a moment before she sets them down. Her hands feel cold even through his jumper and he frowns, gently pushing her back to the seats. Steph looks him up and down as he sinks into the seat next to her.
“It’s fractured, my wrist.” He holds up his arm to show her and she nods.
“Okay. Okay, so you’re okay?” Pete nods, then remembers her flannel under his arm. He unfolds it and places it over her shoulders and she blinks in surprise. “Oh, thanks.” He tips his head, eyeing her as she shoves her arms through the sleeves.
“Are you okay?” In the harsh hospital light he takes her in properly for the first time since what he thought would be the last time. Her face is pale and drawn and she can’t seem to sit still. Granted, the latter isn't unusual for Steph, she always seems to be fidgeting in some way, but the franticity to her movements is new. He reaches over to retake her hand and she immediately turns it over in hers, entwining their fingers.
“Yeah I’m- I’m fine.” He raises an eyebrow and she sighs. “It’s all just starting to hit me, I think.” She glances around and lowers her voice, a quiet hush that he has to lean in close to hear. “I mean, Max came back from the dead. We summoned these, like, fucked up demons. People died. Fuck, I nearly-” she breaks off with a sob, covering her mouth with her free hand. His face softens and he tries to shift closer.
“Oh, oh Steph. It’s okay.” She jerks back, eyes wet.
“No, Pete, it’s not okay! You nearly died! Fuck, I can’t believe I-”
“Hey. Hey, it’s okay.” He lets go of her hand and raises it to her face, using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. “We’re okay. It’s been an awful day - hell, it’s been an awful week - but it’s over now.” He puts his arm over her shoulders and she rests her head against it.
“God, what the fuck are we supposed to do now?” Pete laughs.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m planning on sleeping for a week.” He looks down at the top of her head, feeling her soft breaths against his collarbone, and swallows hard. “And then, uh, I guess we’ll have to figure out our homecoming outfits.” She stills against him and he tries not to flinch. Hopefully she wasn’t just placating him earlier.
“You still want to go with me?” Her voice is quiet and he can’t help the shocked noise he makes in reply.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I did just point a fucking gun at your head.” She hisses, looking away. He frowns at her.
“Only because I begged you to.” He places his hand on her cheek and gently turns her head to face him. “Christ, Steph, I’m not going to hold that against you.” She forces a laugh.
“I know I’m hot, but I didn’t think I was that hot.” He raises his eyebrow.
“You’re deflecting.” Steph shrugs. He contemplates pushing further but he doesn’t want her to close herself off. He smiles instead. “Does that mean you don’t want to go to homecoming with me?” She laughs softly and rolls her eyes.
“Yes, Pete, I still want to go with you.” His fingers trail up her face to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and she shifts in closer to him. His eyes drop to her lips and she smiles, leaning up. Just as he's about to press his lips to hers, he hears footsteps approaching and glances over to see Nurse Barnes heading their way. He sighs and Steph laughs, dropping her head back to his shoulder. The nurse smiles at them both, clipboard in hand.
“Okay, Peter, you’re almost ready to go.”
“Almost?”
“Well, because you’re seventeen, we need a parent or guardian to check you out.” Pete winces as he tries to think of an explanation for his wrist and her face softens. “Do you want us to call or do you want to do it yourself?” He sighs, letting go of Steph to dig through his pocket for his phone.
“I’ll do it.” She nods and turns back the way she came. Pete taps his phone against his leg and Steph turns to look at him.
“What are you going to tell your parents?” He shrugs.
“Don’t know. They’re not exactly-” he pauses. “They might not even pick up.” He avoids looking at Steph, instead scrolling up and down his admittedly short contacts list. Shorter now. She sighs.
“Well shit. Is there anyone else?”
“My brother, maybe. Depends if he’s busy.” She tips her head to the side, brow furrowed. “He’s older. By a lot. You wouldn’t know him.” Ted is many things but he doesn’t make a habit of hanging around highschoolers. On a Friday night, it’s likely that his brother is out, drinking or hooking up with his coworker again. Still, he’s the best bet Pete has so he presses the call button.
“Do you want me to give you some privacy?” Despite her words, Steph stays pressed close to his side. He shakes his head.
“No, it’s okay. He might not even pick up.” Pete pulls a face as the voicemail message plays and calls again. The same result. He sends a string of texts and Steph laughs as she peeks at his screen.
“Does this happen a lot?”
“He’ll ignore me until he can’t anymore. I’ve just got to annoy him into checking his phone.” He looks back over at her and she meets his eyes. She looks exhausted, and her eyes are still sad, but she smiles up at him. He turns off his screen and puts his arm back around her. She still feels cold and he thinks about how late it is.
“Did you want to go home?” She shakes her head, her eyes distant. With a wince he remembers the last they heard of Mayor Lauter.
“I’ve got nowhere better to be.” He squeezes her arm gently.
“I appreciate the company.” Steph’s expression softens.
“Well, I”ll stay as long as you want me.” Pete smiles back at her just as his phone starts ringing.
Forever, then he thinks as he presses accept.