Love isn't fair // Steve Harrington

Love isn't fair

a/n: my first stranger things one shot. It's a short one but I hope you like it. Feel free to comment on parts you like and vote if you liked it.

cw: talk about loss

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Thursday night. Another day of homework, fake friends, and mum's pasta. Charlie wasn't even surprised there wasn't a change for once. And that pasta...ugh, she hated that pasta. But what else could a mum, so unstable and broken as hers, do? Charlie was already used to it as much as she was used to getting called names in high school or getting made fun of because her name was the same as Charlie Smith's. That boy could grow up as much as he wanted, but he still wouldn't leave the 5 '4.

Charlie lay in her bed, still in the clothes she wore today in school, and stared at the ceiling. The little glowing stars her dad had put up were looking back at her. It reminded her of her dad. When she looked at the stars on her ceiling, she didn't think about the cancer. She thought about all the good times she was able to have with him.

Five years had it been. She really missed him. She was 18 now and though she had friends, she felt alone. So fucking alone.

In the silence of her bedroom, she heard a car creaking coming from outside. Without even looking, she knew it was her neighbor Steve Harrington.

Steve and she grew up together in this neighborhood, but they've never really been friends. It was still a mystery for her when he said hello to her in the school hallway from time to time. But now that he's graduated, they don't see each other that often anymore. Just a few times he came back home in the middle of the night - just like today.

Charlie sat up in her bed to have a look at what was going on outside and wondered which kid he was having over this time. His parents weren't home much, and for some reason, Charlie always had the feeling that he felt lonely - just like she did.

Stepping outside the car, she saw that he was alone, wearing a dirty jeans jacket. Getting a better look at it, Charlie saw that there was blood on it. She gasped. Without thinking she opened the window and called him.

"You okay?" she called, not really giving a shit about the time or that most of the people living here had to get up in less than five hours to get to work.

Steve looked up. He looked surprised at her, not expecting that she was watching him or even still awake at this time of day. He gulped and Charlie could make out his red strained eyes. He was crying.

"Yeah, yeah...everything is..fine" he looked down again but she knew he was crying. His voice didn't hide it well.

"Are you sure?"

He sniffed and put his hands on his hips. He had one of those nights again where he was all alone. His parents were on a cruise ship or somewhere else. He didn't know. They didn't make the effort to tell him or call him once in a while to make sure he was okay. And god, he wasn't. After losing Eddie in the Upside Down, he hadn't had one-night spending alone. Whether it was at Robins, Dustin's, or even Nancy's place. He was never alone. Until today. Robin was at her girlfriend's house, and Dustin and Lucas had this Hellfire Club thing. He didn't want to be alone, but he also didn't want to be a burden. Nancy was visiting Jonathan in California, so there was nowhere he had to go but home. At least Eddie's jacket was there to cheer him up. He wore it every time he felt sick or sad. He hadn't washed it yet, because the smell still reminded him of him.

He sniffed and looked to his right, "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Charlie took a small breath, "You know, whatever you are going through...it gets better."