The Losing Game

ii. the older brother

TW - Abuse, Underage drinking.

NOTE - I won't usually write notes about the chapter before hand, however, please acknowledge this is a fanfiction. I love canon Steve Harrington. Please do not be rude about me destroying his character. I swear in season 2 I will heal and fix him so we have our normal mother of 6 back.

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

AFTER 40 MINUTES OF AIMLESS wandering, Theo found himself stumbling across a random road. He glanced back to the darkened tree-covered area before stepping onto the concreate, which stood before him. His unheard screams for the young girl, he had previously been walking with, had gone unanswered for too long. Theo knew his throat was becoming sore, and being soaked from the heavy downpours in the cold November air was not doing anything to help. His nose was already running, and his sleeves wouldn't be able to hold much more snot.

Forcing his legs to move, the boy pushed ahead. He could sense his whole body ache with each step he took. The pounding of his feet striking the hardened ground made its way throughout every single inch of his bones. If he hadn't had an intense training session this afternoon, his stamina would be a lot higher than it currently was.

Approximately one hour had passed before Theo came upon a familiar street. He knew his house was only a few miles down the road, which would only take around 40 minutes if he was fast enough. No one was going to be home, so sneaking in would not be an issue. Steve was going to be out all night, probably with Nancy Wheeler, and Mr. and Mrs. Harrington had left for business one night early. He would be completely undetected going into the house.

Theo had eventually reached his home, carefully going in through the back, as to not be detected by neighbors or any passing cars. After sneaking onto the porch, the rear door gradually crept open while Theo tilted the handle. He stepped inside, bringing the rain in with him, and stood in a small pile of water that was dripping from his clothes and hair. He reached over a stack of mail and flipped on a light switch to reveal a vacant, silent house.

Slowly, Theo began to peel the wet clothing from his body, one item at a time. This left him shivering in nothing but damp underwear as he gathered up his attire and waddled toward the laundry room. There, he set said items in the washer before turning around and dashing up the stairs.

Theo enters his room and quickly changes into more comfortable clothes; an old pair of pajama pants, black briefs, and an old Hawkins Middle wrestling sweatshirt. He slammed down onto his train-themed sheets before he could turn the ceiling light off or reach his hands entirely through the holes of his sleeves.

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THEO PROCEEDED TO SLEEP for sixteen hours. However, it wasn't a sound, dead log, type of rest. He would wake up every so often as Benny's death replayed inside his mind. How the hell was he supposed to explain that to someone? Was it not the government who had come and killed Benny? They were just going to cover this up, and probably kill Theo in the process.

These thoughts occupied Theo's head as he would attempt to go back to sleep, over and over again. Eventually, time had completely lost itself on the boy. He had finally woken up for the final time at 6 pm. Steve didn't bother to wake him up on his way to school. For the first time in the history of ever, Theo had missed a day of school, and he was going to be in so much shit.

Mr. Harrington had always been a terrifying man. His father had been very strict since Theo could remember. Both Harrington boys were required to partake in at least one sport and one other school activity. When he was younger, Theo had chosen boxing. He switched to wrestling in 6th grade after an incident that happened with Steve.