my girl, forever and always || steve harrington

the spy

part two

there were no thoughts in lydia's head, for the first time in days. she stared at the black tv screen and watched as her reflection slowly disappeared as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon took it's place. it was the most serene she had felt in so long. the awful cacophony that usually plagued her mind was replaced by static. it was the calm after the storm.

~

she kept running. from what? she was unsure. all she knew was that she had to keep going. her legs screamed at her to stop but her brain knew what would happen if she did. the cold stung her cheeks and nose and the red sky was the only thing that illuminated the dimly lit path through the forest. she screamed at the top of her lungs for help over and over, even with the knowledge that she might alert the creature following her. no weapons, no backup, no way to call for help. lydia felt absolutely helpless at this moment. hot tears streamed down her cheeks and blurred her vision, causing her to trip and fall. but it felt like the ground below her feet suddenly disappeared and she was about to free fall before something caught her ankle and slowly brought her back from the edge. her screams went silent and her attempts to crawl away were useless. finally, she grabbed the biggest branch in her reach and went to swing at the creature but stopped when she saw familiar eyes.

"what's wrong shortcake? it's just me." lawrie pulled her in and held her tightly and she buried her face in his chest, a certain weight lifted off her shoulders as she sighed in relief.

"i thought you were something else. i thought something was trying to kill me. i was so scared." lydia whimpered. lawrie's hand rested on top of her head, but it felt larger than she remembered it.

"oh lydia, you don't have to be afraid. not when i'm here." the grip that he had on her grew tighter with each passing second and it began to hurt more and more.

"lawrie, you're hurting me," but there was no response. "lawrie, stop." she looked up to push him away and saw the open mouth of the demogorgan as it slowly descended.

"NO!" she shoved herself out of it's grip and fell off the edge.

"NO!" she screamed and sat up covered in sweat and tears, shaking like a scared little puppy. touching her forehead to the shag carpet in her living room, she tried to calm down and remind herself that it was all a dream. just a dream.

"it was-wasn't real, it's not real. i'm safe. i'm in m-my house. this is m-my house. this is my carpet. i'm okay." she silently begged for someone to come save her from herself, to get her out of her own head.

"i'm back, lyds. i brou-" dustin burst through the door, shocking lydia and causing her to shriek and cover her ears. "lydia? what happened? it's just me, it's dustin. you're safe." he crouched down in front of her and attempted to calm her down without touching her. if he tried to hold her now he might just worsen her panic attack.

"i saw him, i-in my dream." the grip she had on her ears was so tight that her knuckles began to turn white.

"who, lydia? who did you see?" he spoke low and slow. the way his mom told him to when she was like this.

"lawrie, the demogorgan. h-he was gon-gonna get me, an-and then i-i fell off the edge and it was so cold and i was alone." more tears began to fall freely as she remembered her dream.

"you're safe. you're with me, dustin. i'm right here for you, sis. i'm not going anywhere." he opened his arms, before she engulfed him in a hug.

~

this was not how steve had intended to spend his night. at first, he had gotten a bouquet of flowers together to try and talk to nancy and perhaps forget about what happened with lydia. yet here he is again, at the henderson house. dustin wanted to go in alone to check on his sister, but he had been in there for almost 10 minutes now and steve's patience was running thin. he repeatedly checked his watch as he waited for the siblings to emerge.