Chapter Text
“Let me just set the scene. I just left a party at Blake’s and it’s Halloween…”
-Conan Gray
Hawkins; October 1984
Nothing said high school like loud music and the distinctly strong smell of overripe body odor. You regretted agreeing to come to this party the second you had stepped under the tacky cobwebs strung around Tina’s porch awning. Your costume itched as you wormed your way through the swarms of tipsy (and handsy) kids of Hawkins High.
You were never going to forgive him for this.
“Such a great memory for senior year,” you muttered under your breath as the force of a kid in a toga sent you stumbling into a door frame. “Great idea, Eddie. Just…great.”
“Just come with me,” your best friend had pleaded with you that morning. He had crowded against your locker before the first period, knowing you would be struggling with the stupid combination for at least a good five minutes; it made you the perfect hostage. “It’ll be fine. I’ll make a few sales, you get a few drinks… I’ll drive you home. Everyone wins!”
“I don’t know, Eds,” you trailed off as you fiddled with the lock. Even though you put in the combination, the shackle would not budge. Was it three to the left or two to the right first? “I have plans tonight.”
“Oh, really? Since when did you become a social butterfly?” He leaned against the blue metal of Carly Robert’s locker and raised an eyebrow in question. There was a glitter of light shining across his espresso-tinted irises. The tilted position of his head caused a section of curly hair to fall across his nose. Ever since he started growing it out over the summer, he could hardly control the wild mane.
The sight would have made you laugh under normal circumstances…just not in the middle of a time crunch. “Come on,” he tried again, gently nudging you with a ringed hand, “it’ll just be a few hours and then I can take you back to do whatever lame-ass study group you probably have to get to on the spookiest night of the year. I won’t leave until you say yes. You know that.”
You tried to ignore him; you really did. Your fingers pulled at the combination lock in frustration. Maybe if you tried the other combination…
”Par-ty. Par-ty. Par-ty.” Each repetition of the word was emphasized by a poke in the ribs. You had to hand it to your best friend; if there was something he wanted, he was relentless.
“Okay, okay, fine !” The combination hit against the metal of the locker with an incredibly loud clang as it slipped from your fingers. A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you ran your fingers through your hair, tugging slightly at the roots. “I will go to Tina’s stupid party if it means that you will leave me alone. Class starts in five minutes and you’re messing with my concentration.”
“You’re the best,” Eddie responded with a grin. “Has anyone ever told you that?” He gave you a quick side-hug and bumped his hip against your locker before he left. The impact was just enough to jostle the lock and the metal door swung open.
Go figure.
Truth be told, you really didn’t have any plans besides curling up on the couch while Dustin sorted his candy after trick-or-treating with the boys. It had almost become a tradition for Mrs. Henderson to hire you to babysit on Halloween. After Will’s disappearance (and reappearance) last Christmas, Claudia felt her son had needed some stability despite his protests on not actually being a baby. What better way to do that than have his favorite babysitter— sorry, companion — over for the holiday?
It broke your heart a bit to hear her voice waver when you called after your last period to tell her the change of plans. You explained you wouldn’t be able to go trick-or-treating, but should be back in time for the movie extravaganza. Dustin, on the other hand, was thrilled to be able to hit the town with his friends.
“Just remember,” he ordered. “Movie starts at ten—”
“Your bedtime is nine thirty—”
“Did I stutter?” God, you forgot how stubborn the male middle-school population could be, especially the curly haired genius. “Don’t forget the popcorn and milk duds!”
So here you were, standing in the corner of the mess which was Tina’s parents’ kitchen. Wherever they were, you were pretty confident there was no way they would be pleased if they discovered the chaos. Half-empty red cups littered the counter. There were sticky spots of what you were praying was beer or punch on the floor, which made walking around the room less than enjoyable. You picked up an unopened bag of chips, filled a glass with tap water, and attempted to find a more sanitary location to enjoy the snack. Eddie was still absolutely nowhere to be found; although, you swore you could make out the bobbing of his head to the music on the makeshift dance floor.
Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed an incredibly stiff Jonathan Byers attempting to make conversation with a girl in the most dramatic makeup you’ve ever seen. You couldn’t help but chuckle at how out of place his coat and orange knit sweater looked at a costume party. Your own outfit wasn’t much better, just a few random items from your closet strung together into what you had hoped would be a convincing makeshift costume — just enough to slip in under the radar. Jonathan, however, couldn’t look further than a fish out of water. His eyes flitted about the expanse of the hallway before he caught your gaze. Help me , he seemed to silently plead.
With a heavily exaggerated sigh, you changed directions and made a beeline to the eldest Byers to save him from his fate. “Hey there, handsome,” you “flirted” with a fake sweetness to your voice that made you want to vomit then and there. “Nice costume. Adventure Guy is really in this season.”
You committed to the bit with a short nod, which appeared to be effective enough to send the girl walking away.
The boy before you laughed and nodded, wiping his nose with a free hand. “Yeah, well, this really isn’t my usual crowd.”
“I really couldn’t have guessed. You know, with that costume and confidence and everything.” You felt your lips curl into a smirk as you teased him.
He rolled his eyes in response, a smile threatening to overtake his own features. “I’m only here because Nancy—”
Oh. Right. He was friends with Nancy now, too. It seemed everybody and their brother was friends with Nancy Wheeler. Sure, she was a nice girl, but you didn’t see the appeal. You’ve seen her class schedule once by accident in Chemistry; you still have no idea how she has the time to do all that she does in a day and still have the time to have a relationship.
“Oh, uh,” you rubbed at the back of your neck, “I think I saw her in the back…with Steve?” You gestured vaguely in the direction of the dance floor.
From your position, you could just about make out the view of Steve Harrington’s notoriously fluffy hair bobbing to the music. You were pretty sure he and Nancy were some couple from a Tom Cruise flick (which one? You couldn’t be bothered to remember). Harrington was wearing his stupid sunglasses indoors again, but it did nothing to mask the look of pure love on his face as he dipped Nancy. She squealed in protest and was quick to clutch the red solo cup back to her chest once she was right-side-up. You had to turn away before you were forced to witness another sickly sweet display of affection.
The Byers boy was silent for a moment as he took in the sight. If you hadn’t been paying close enough attention, you would have missed the clenching of fists at his sides. What was up with him?
“You know, Steve. Her boyfriend that she’s been with since last summer?”
“Yeah,” Jonathan cleared his throat and wiped his hands against his jeans, “yeah, I know who he is.”
“Oh…” That’s what it was. A smirk tugged at the corner of your lips. “Is that a hint of jealousy I’m detecting over there, Byers?”
“No!” It was a challenge to not burst out laughing at the sight of his eyes practically bulging out of his skull. The flush that crept up the length of his neck toward his already pink cheeks almost had you asking if he was switching into a tomato costume; almost, but not quite. “What are you talking about? No way!”
You raised and lowered your water cup in front of his form, mimicking the beeping sounds of a metal detector. “Mmm, survey says,” you drew out the last syllable, voice light with a playful teasing, “that is incorrect.”
“You’re really mature, you know that, right?” The flush still hadn’t left his face.
“Oh, relax, Byers.” You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your drink. “It’s all in good fun. Didn’t realize you’d be so touchy about your…feelings.”
“I’m not!”
“Sure. You’ve got me convinced!”
Jonathan rubbed his hands against his face and groaned. Leaning back against the doorframe leading out into the hall, he gave you a clear onceover. “What are you even doing here?” he asked. “I thought you hated parties.”
You gave a half-hearted shrug. “Was promised free booze and a way home. Seemed like a good deal at the time until my ‘date’ bailed.”
“Date?”
At that exact moment, a series of cheers erupted from the dance floor. You and Jonathan turned just in time to witness Eddie crowd surfing around the living room, hands up in the air and the dumbest smile you’ve ever seen plastered on his face. When he tilted his head, he caught your gaze and waved aggressively in your direction.
“This is it,” you somehow heard him shout over the bass blaring over the speakers. “Living and surfing the dream! ‘84, baby. This is so gonna be my year!”
“That’s your date?” Jonathan said with a chuckle.
A sigh escaped your lips and you had to lift a hand to your mouth to suppress an amused smile. “I guess you could call him that. He’s just my best friend.”
“Is he your ride back? Because he looks a little…”
You sent another look toward your best friend cackling up at the ceiling. Yeah, he definitely gave a few demonstrations about his product. Another heavy sigh escaped you as you pressed the top of your hand to your forehead. “As if this night couldn’t get any worse–”
Your voice trailed off as a heavy force pressed against your chest. Warm hands grabbed at your arms to steady you as you tried to regain your balance. A damp sensation sent a shiver down your spine and you soon realized your drink had dumped against your shirt during the impact.
“Shit…sorry,” a low voice spoke. “Can’t seem to do anything right tonight.”
Your head snapped up in recognition at the tone and you found yourself seeing eye-to-sunglasses with none other than the man of the hour: Steve Harrington. His body went rigid as he yanked off the facial accessory and you were met with red-rimmed hazel eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, eyes flicking up and down your form with furrowed eyebrows.
“I- I’m fine.” You cursed yourself for stuttering. He wasn’t worth the stutter. Better to just blame it on the overall shock of the collision . You stood there silently for what felt like hours. His eyes were locked onto yours and you could tell the little cogs were working overtime in his brain to make a connection. You wondered that if you sniffed, you would be able to smell the smoke that wasn’t nicotine or weed coming out of his head.
“Hang on,” he started to question, eyes squinting. “What are you–”
“Steve,” Jonathan pressed. “Where’s Nancy?”
Steve’s eyes were fixated on yours in a dead-eye stare. His jaw jumped a bit as he clenched it. “Bathroom.” He moved his right hand away from your arm for a second to gesture in a vague direction.
“And you were just going to leave?” Jonathan ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell is wrong with you, man?”
The grip around your arms tightened as you felt Steve flinch. “She was fine–”
“She was drinking, dude! How else is she going to get home?”
“Well, if you care so much, Byers,” the boy before you said with a huff, “then why don’t you just swoop in and save her? Be her knight in shining armor, huh? Bet she’d love that!” He mumbled something else that you couldn’t quite make out.
Giving Steve one last glance over, Jonathan sighed and started to make his way in the direction of which the older boy pointed. Now that it was just the two of you, you were increasingly more aware of how close you had become. His grip wasn’t harsh; it was almost grounding, although you weren’t sure for who.
“What are you doing here?” Steve questioned after a moment. “You hate these kinds of things.”
You couldn’t stop the chuckle as it tickled at your throat. “Seems to be the million dollar question of the night.”
Steve sighed and licked his lips briefly before looking around. He still hadn’t let go of your arms. “Look, I don’t know how you got here, but you need to go home.”
“Since when were you the boss of me?” you pointed out with a frown. You shrugged your arms free of his hold and took a few steps back from him.
The boy before you scoffed and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m just saying this isn’t your scene. You need to go before it gets out of hand.” As if to emphasize his point, the sound of glass breaking echoed from the kitchen. Steve rubbed his hand down his face with a sniff. His nose scrunched in frustration, and he gestured toward the sound’s origins with a brow raised in challenge.
“I’m a grown-up, Steve. I can handle myself. I haven’t needed your help in a long time, if you haven’t noticed.”
“If I can’t help my girlfriend tonight– if she still even is my girlfriend anymore after tonight…” He muttered that last part. “At least let me help you get back. It’s not that far of a drive.”
“Steve, I don’t–”
“ Please , starlight.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
You’re not sure what it was that made you say yes. Maybe it was the way Steve’s lower lip fidgeted slightly as he pleaded with you to follow him to his car. It could have been the fact his eyes seemed to grow softer as he reached for your hand, or the way the childhood nickname dripped off of his tongue like honey. Even hearing it again after what felt like centuries later, it still managed to spread a warm happiness through your body.
It was also possible that after a quick glance around the home, your original ride back was nowhere to be seen. Thanks a lot, Eddie.
The two of you sat in palpable silence as Steve drove down the streets of the Loch Nora community. Even though you had been in this position many times before; you were even the first official passenger when he got his license. Something about this drive just felt…different.
Your eyes drifted toward the steering wheel and took in the sight of Steve’s hands flexing against the smooth leather. His grip tightened and slackened every now and then in an irregular pattern, sometimes sliding down the slope of the wheel as he made a turn onto the next street. His lower lip suffered a relentless attack by his teeth, the light pink slowly transforming into a darker red with every back-and-forth slide.
“You haven’t been drinking, right?” you found the voice to ask.
A chuckle escaped Steve’s lips and he risked a glance in your direction. “You realize that’s probably a question you should have asked before you got in my car, right?” He glanced back at the road. One hand raised off of the wheel to rub at his nose as he sniffed. “No, I spent most of the night trying to stop Nancy from getting to the punch bowl.”
“Oh.” You dropped your glance back to your own hands.
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason really. You just seem…” You trailed off with a shake of your head. “Never mind, forget it.” You seem like you could use someone to talk to , is what you wanted to say but knew you couldn’t. That someone was usually you and that part of your relationship had ended three years ago.
Another lull of silence fell over the car. As you sat there, eyes now transfixed on the road before you, Steve cleared his throat. “You know, you uh,” he said, “you haven’t called in a while. Is everything okay?”
“You’re the one who is obviously having relationship problems and you’re asking me if everything is okay?”
“What?” A hand lifted off of the steering wheel to emphasize a shrug. “Can’t a guy worry about his friend?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we haven’t been ‘friends’ in a while, Steve.”
The stop light at the intersection bathed the car’s interior in a soft red glow. You purposefully stared straight ahead in an attempt to avoid the piercing stare coming from your left. Steve didn’t say anything else; he just…looked at you. Still, you wouldn’t back down. You feigned a particular interest in the chipped white paint on the asphalt even as you felt him stare. You heard a sharp intake of breath that indicated he was about to speak, yet nothing came. You sat there in silence once again until red turned to green and the thrum of the engine rumbled in your seat.
“You can always call,” Steve remarked after a few moments. “You know that, right?”
“Sure, Steve,” you maintained a flat tone as you gazed out at the road. “I’ll be sure to schedule it around all your late-night pool parties and date nights.”
The boy beside you bristled with rolled shoulders. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he clutched the steering wheel to the point where his knuckles turned white. “No, I mean it; you- you can.”
“...Okay.”
Without much else to say, Steve turned onto your street. He didn’t even bother with the slope of a hill your family called the driveway, seemingly knowing he wasn’t invited. He gave a little series of drum-like taps on the steering wheel and tried to give you his signature lopsided grin. “Thank you for choosing Harrington’s Taxi service. No tips, please.”
You bit your lip to hide the smile as you tilted your head down to find the seat belt buckle. Opening the passenger door, you stepped out in the cool and damp October night and glanced up at your front door. The eight steps up to the porch looked like a mountainous trek at this hour, but you knew it was only an hour before you were out the door again for your movie night.
“I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?” Steve asked with a smile as he leaned into the passenger seat to look out the window at you. It wasn’t one of his signature flashy grins usually reserved for giggly girls as he loitered around the halls. This smile lacked its oozing confidence; it didn’t quite reach his eyes, quivering slightly at the corners. He seemed shaken…maybe even worried.
You gave what you hoped was a reassuring nod. “Uh, yeah.” Shifting your weight side to side, you bit your lip before adding on, “I hope things work out…ya know, with you and Nancy.”
Whatever teasing light you thought you saw twinkling in his eyes was snuffed out almost instantly. Instead, Steve’s gaze drifted, and he pressed his lips together. You could have sworn you saw a glisten of something gathering in the corner of his eyes. After a moment, he nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh. Thanks,” he replied, leaning back into his seat. “H-have a good night.”
You took a few steps back while he adjusted the shifter before pulling away from the curb. There was a small tug at your heart as he inched further away. You felt bad for him, you really did, but there wasn’t much else you could do besides watch him reverse into his driveway across the street and walk up to his front door. You stood on the porch steps for a few moments before heading up into your home.
By the time you made it to your room, you could already see the warm glow from Steve’s bedroom light bleed out into the darkened streets below.