𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 - [𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻]

𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐢𝐱. 𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦

𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 - elves, dwarves and cake

update one, 25/12/2022

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 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 never been one of those teenagers to love fantasy stories. It might have been down to the fact that his father had scorned them, that his mother would tut as toss away comic books all the while telling him to go and play outside even amidst winter afternoons.

 Either way, Steve hadn't been somebody to read about proud knights wielding weapons of old, or wizards with staffs shooting fireballs. Thing is... Steve had then made himself believe he didn't want to know about those things, rather than being forced out of them.

 So as the California sun was setting behind the windows of the new Byers and Hopper abode, Steve had found himself trying his utmost to scour the words written on the pages that had been before him. They were tea-stained, and almost every page was torn at the edges. The Fellowship of the Ring had clearly been very well-loved.

 The only problem was that even with Steve's squeaky clean glasses perched atop the bridge of his nose, he still couldn't quite digest the words. This Tolkien guy had a knack for long-winded descriptions of beautiful landscapes. He liked to use a lot of detail... and a lot of very big words.

 Steve had gotten through four pages in twenty minutes and had been growing incredibly frustrated. With every word, Steve had only grown ever more confused... what in the world was a Harfoot? Were they the same as a Brandybuck? Or were those names? It was hard to keep track when he had to pick up another book by his side just to decipher the meaning of the descriptions laid before him.

 Steve was determined to finish it. Not for himself, but for Will. For Dustin and Lucas. The kids were relentless with quoting the damned things, they sprouted about elves and dwarves and Steve just wanted to understand them; having Lucas to gush about basketball with had filled him with a happiness unlike any other... he wanted something else to share with them. Especially Will, who was still struggling to make friends at his new school.

 It had been strange to start living with the Byers, vising every weekend and whenever their classes were cancelled or cut short. Jonathan had... changed. Steve made an effort and received effort in return, but even still, the two of them had yet to become friends.

 Will, however, had welcomed him graciously; not that Steve had expected anything different.

 So it was quite strange for Steve to peek over the page he'd been stuck on for well over ten minutes as Will strolled in. The boy paused for a step, and then, pretending as though he hadn't seen a thing, Will carried on.