Why Him? || Steddie

Chapter 24

As Steve made it to the top I couldn't help but take a sigh of relief. He was safe. They were safe.

"Come on Munson." Steve shook the bed sheet lightly.

I sighed before grabbing on once more. Had to climb this stupid thing once before and now I have to again? Why couldn't the first time just be successful?

The sheet felt more slippery this time as I climbed up. I couldn't tell if it was the sheet or my sweaty palms but it was way harder than last time.

As I got to the top I gripped the edges of the ceiling to pull myself up to be thrown into a backflip landing face first into the mattress below.

A chuckle came from up above. I looked up to see Dustin holding in a laugh.

I sighed as I got up to dust myself off. "God my back hurts what did I do to it?!" I tried to stretch out but with no avail it still hurt like hell.

"Might've ate it in the upside down too." Robin patted my shoulder lightly.

"Damn...never get a break." I sighed before plopping down onto the couch.

"We can't stay here...it's too risky." Dustin hit my shoulder to catch my attention.

"Then where do we go?" I mumble before covering my eyes with my forearm.

"Anywhere but here." Robin said before grabbing my arm and yanking me up.

"You're surprisingly strong, Buckley."

Robin shrugged before heading out the door at a quick speed.

"Let's go before Jason finds us again, yeah?" Steve smiled awkwardly before heading out the door close behind Robin.

I quickly followed suit.

As we made our way through the forest near the trailer, Steve looked over to me with a soft smile. "You scared the shit out of me back there Eds."

"Eds?" I laugh before lifting an eyebrow. I didn't take Harrington as the type for nicknames.

He shrugged "I dunno...thought it would be a nice nickname so I just gave it a go. Probably won't use it again though."

"I don't mind it...I mean...no one's called me that before... just not used to it is all." I smiled lightly. "So if you want to continue...you can."

Steve nodded before looking the other way. He was always pretty vigilant when it came to the kids' safety. When it came to himself though...he was pretty shit at it.

Whenever I feel like we're getting somewhere and he might feel the same it's like fate pushes me back. I've tried playing out hints about how I feel but he's just not catching on.

"Harrington...I need to-"

"How'd you make it out of Vecna's grasp?" Dustin popped his head between the two of us with furrowed eyebrows. "We didn't play music or anything."

Probably best he cut that off...

"I don't know...he just kinda...let me go." I shrugged "well...in exchange for a message."

"A message?" Robin joined in, curious to hear more.

"Yeah..." I awkwardly backed up. "He wants us to leave him alone or he's gonna do messed up shit... well...more messed up than what he's already planning."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Max jumped into the conversation with her usual angry face.

"Well...uh... he's gonna take over Hawkins."