Delirium

Chapter Eight: The Pizzeria

Steve had, piece by piece, been losing his mind. Every time he looked in the mirror he was reminded of that night. Though a week had passed and his cuts began to scab over, they were still a fixation on his face. Every smile, squint, turn of his head reminded him of Billy's ruthless beating and the Demogorgons, the tunnels... Liv. 

He couldn't pretend it didn't happen. Not when the evidence was clear on his face. Sure, everyone at school knew he had his ass handed to him by Billy. But they didn't know the rest. They didn't know that a scrawny redheaded girl tackled Billy to the ground to get him off of Steve. They didn't know she bit Billy and received one of his brutal punches for trying to protect Steve. Billy forgot to mention that part, even though he sported a nice wrap of gauze around his forearm. 

Steve wished he could see the mark. He wanted to see the aftermath of Liv's ruthless destruction. He wanted to see what it looked like to get on the wrong side of Liv Bilton. He saw the damage she could do to a Demogorgon with a gardening tool. He wanted to see her pain when all she had was bared teeth and clipped nails. He was sure she was just as menacing. 

He rubbed at the fading bruise under his eye. The swelling had gone down which allowed him to see more, but it still hurt to the touch. He gently coaxed the skin as he looked at the third college application he had filled out. Just like the last two, this one didn't feel like a winner, but he had to put in the effort. How could he go to college and get away from Hawkins if he didn't turn in any applications?

He reread his essay, mouthing the words as he checked for punctuation and spelling errors. He tried to be diligent, but how was he going to catch any spelling mistake if he was the one who misspelled them in the first place? He could ask Dustin to proofread it. A thirteen-year-old could do a better job proofreading than him. 

He was interrupted from his reading by the chime of his doorbell. He welcomed the distraction as he walked to his front door and opened it. 

On the other side, as though he had summoned him, was Dustin. 

Steve cocked his head to the side. "Hey man..." he ducked out the door to make sure there were no other kids with him. "Uh- what are you doing here?"

"I need to borrow your car."

Steve's brows flew up as he looked down at Dustin. Dustin wore a similar outfit to what he wore last weekend- the same red and white hat that allowed his curls to fluff out underneath, a zip-up jacket that he zipped up to his chest, and a pair of blue jeans. 

"Uh, yeah, sorry man, you have to be at least 16 and this tall-" he lifted his hand to his head. "-to even think about touching my car."

Dustin rolled onto his toes as he blurted out, "It's to visit Liv."

Steve's lips pursed at the thought of seeing her again. He hadn't seen her since their adventures. He could still remember the rosy tint to her cheeks as he promised he would kiss her when he was better. The bruises were still in full effect on his face, meaning he'd have to wait longer to fulfill his promise to her. 

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the spastic ball of energy before him. "Why do you want to see her now? I thought you guys talked every night this week."

He nodded, then said, "I think she's having bad dreams. She asked me if I was, then said I could tell her about them. She- she does this thing where she asks if you're okay when she's not feeling okay. She also asks if you're okay a lot because she needs the reassurance that she's not upsetting you... it's-uh-it's something she's learned from being around her parents."

Steve held up his hand. "Hold up, wait, you lost me."

Dustin's shoulders slumped as he left out a long, dramatic sigh. "Liv asked me if I was having nightmares because she is having nightmares. She's not doing good, Steve, and she's away from everyone else here who has the same baggage as her. She needs us."