𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 - 𝐒.𝐇 (𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨

.•.•.•.•.•.

Steve watched Lea almost fall asleep while brushing her teeth at his bathroom sink.

After the whole Eddie situation, everyone decided to part ways for the night after tapping into the Hawkins dispatch to see if they were looking for Eddie. They were.

Lea didn't want to go back to the Wheeler's home so she and Steve dropped everyone else off and went back to his.

He got up from his bed and quietly walked over to her. He gently laid his hand on her shoulder and she jumped. Her bloodshot eyes widened and she nearly choked on the toothpaste.

"Holy shit, Lee," Steve said, holding her hair out of her face as she spit down the sink. "C'mon, we need to go to bed." He said, grabbing a tissue and wiping her mouth for her.

Lea shook her head as Steve wrapped an arm around her waist and led her towards his bed. "No... m'not tired." She told him, reluctantly getting under his thick duvet and scooting over so he had room.

"Says the girl who's practically replacing me with a pillow right now." Steve chuckled, watching Lea wrap her arms around his unbelievably soft pillow.

Lea let a sleepy smile stretch across her face. "I can't go to sleep." She said, lifting her head a bit.

"Why not?" Steve asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

The girl looked shameful as she answered. "I'm scared." She whispered. Steve tilted his head to the side.

"Why are you scared, Lee?" He asked, watching her tired eyed fall to his bed sheets.

She huffed and bit her lip. "I-it's just... the nightmares." She admitted. "I'm afraid to go to sleep because it's terrifying." Her eyes filled with tears. "Have you ever had a dream where you felt like you were falling?" She asked, looking up at Steve as a single tear fell.

Steve nodded.

"It's- it's like that. But it's constant. I- I can feel the hours go by but I can't wake up. It just feels so... so real."

He watched her shake her head and wiped her tears with sad eyes. He stopped her left hand and grabbed her wrist, scooting closer to her. He tucked half of his body under her and pressed a short kiss to her ring finger. "Lee," He started. "As long as I'm here, nothing can hurt you." He whispered. Lea's body got comfortably warm and she smiled up at Steve.

"I love you." She told him, grabbing his hand and kissing his ring finger.

"Forever," Steve replied. "Now get some sleep, Lee. We gotta go figure out the Eddie stuff in the morning."

Lea bit her lip nervously. "You promise you'll be here?" She asked quietly.

Steve nodded, pulling the duvet over both of them. "I promise. Nothing can hurt you."