Steve saw Dustin sitting on his porch step. Thank god the little shit was ok. Steve wasn't sure what he'd do if he wasn't.
And that's when Steve noticed Dustin was the only one sitting there. No Erica, Lucas, or Max. No Eddie. Eddie was supposed to be with Dustin.
Steve sprinted the rest of the way to his porch, ignoring the wounds stinging in his side and Robin and Nancy yelling after him.
As he got closer he saw the tears streaming down Dustin's face and the black bandana clutched in his hand.
Steve collapses on his porch next to Dustin and hugs him. Dustin says something about Steve crushing him but he hugs back anyways.
"He was a hero, Steve. He saved me, saved all of us."
Steve shakes his head. "No. No one was supposed to die."
And it's then that Lucas and Erica come into view. Max is there but she's in Lucas's arms. Her eyes are while and blood drips from them. Her limbs lay in ways they aren't supposed to, broken. Vecna.
Something inside of Steve's heart breaks. Breaks for the girl in Lucas's arms who is barely breathing, for the look of anguish and love on Lucas's face. His heart breaks for the sobs that teaf from Dustin's chest, for the man who should be sitting next to Dustin. His heart breaks for Robin and Nancy who are crying into each other's shoulders. These were his kids, his friends. He was always the goddamn babysitter and he was supposed to protect them. That day he fought Billy Hargrove he vowed that he would never let anything hurt those kids. But he hasn't been able to protect them and now one of them was gone and one looked like she wasn't going to make it.
Steve pulled himself together as best as he could. Max wasn't dead yet. He ran to his car. "LUCAS AND MAX ONLY! COME WITH ME!"
No one protested. Lucas piled into the back of the car with Max, not saying anything.
Steve pulled out of the driveway and drove as fast as he could to the hospital.
Everything after that was a rush of adrenaline and pain he couldn't remember. He came up with some kind of lie to explain Max's situation and sat in the waiting room, letting Lucas have his time with her.
At some point Nancy had driven Robin, Erica, and Dustin there and all four of them hugged him. They sat there and cried and waited and dreaded the news they would receive.
YOU ARE READING
I got to be the hero
FanfictionContains spoilers for Stranger Things 4, vol 2. Eddie Munson dies and he tells Dustin to give Steve his bandana. Robin explains to Steve what it means. Steve realizes he had feelings for Eddie all along but it's too late. Hi so this really sad idea...
