Hargrove's Secret (Steve x Y/N)

Chapter Eleven

      I was kicked out. I ripped my blindfold off. I was breathing heavily. I walked out.
       Steve and Robin were sitting. They took a drink as I walked out. He was okay. I sighed in relief.
       I sat next to them. They were making these bomb things. Steve handed me a bottle that still had alcohol in it. I took a drink.
       "Whoa, what happened?" He asked.
       "Nothing." I said. I forgot to get the blood off of my nose.
        "You visited them, didn't you?" He asked.
        "Yeah." I replied. "They're okay, I think. I didn't see El."
        "You visited someone else, didn't you? You visited him." He said. I nodded. "What happened?"
        I thought of how he lay there dying. "Nothing. I uh.. he was just sitting there." I said, obviously lying.
        That didn't matter right now. Everyone was finishing their weapon. Once we were all done, we piled back in.
       "Okay, Lucas, Erica, and Max will go to the Creel house." Nancy said. "We'll lure him into trying to attack her. Eddie, you play the guitar for the bats, then get out of there."
        "Y/N, Nancy, Robin, and I are going in. We'll attack him." Steve said.
       "We meet at the rocket slide. Right?" Erica asked.
      "Yeah. That's where you tell us that you're ready." I replied.
      "Okay." She said.
      I sat with Steve again. He watched me for a decent amount of the ride.
        I looked out of the window. We reached the house. Max, Lucas, and Erica got out, then we drove off. Once we reached the spot, we ran through the plan one more time.
       "Phase one." Nancy said.
      "We meet Erica at the playground." Robin said. "She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."
      "Phase two." She said.
      "Max baits Vecna." Steve said. "He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance."
      "Phase three?" Nancy asked.
      "Me and Eddie draw the bats away." Dustin said.
      "Four." Nancy said.
      "We head into Vecna's hopefully newly bat-free lair, and... flambé." Robin said.
      "Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied. Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?" Nancy asked.
      "Got it." We all said. We got out of the RV and walked to Eddie's trailer.
       Steve went through first, then put a mattress under. We all came through.
       We walked out of the trailer. Steve told them to be safe.
      "Hey, Steve? Y/N? Make him pay." Eddie said.
     We continued on. I walked next to Steve.
      He grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance.
Once we got closer, Robin started to jog.
"Robin, hey! Watch out for the vines! Hive mind." Nancy yelled. "Remember?"
"Don't worry about her." He told her. "She's just stressed. You know, scared."
"Yeah. I know. It's just..." Nancy started.
"She's a super klutz?" He asked. We all laughed slightly.
"She did tell us that it took her longer to walk than most babies, so..." I said. Steve chuckled.
"I really shouldn't laugh. When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards."
"Crawled backwards?" We both asked in disbelief.
"You know, I'd push with my hands like this." He said, demonstrating while standing. "Beep. Beep. Always in reverse, you know? I mean, come on, it makes sense. You push to move, right?"
"No. No it doesn't make sense." Nancy laughed.
"Well it did to my tiny Harrington brain. That is, until I reversed my baby butt down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good." He said.
"That explains so much." I told him. He smacked me playfully.
"I think, like, right out of the gate, like, I'm super confident. But I'm also, like, an idiot. Which is just... I mean, it's a brutal combination." He said. "But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on the head, I can change, you know? I can learn. I can.. crawl forward."
He and Nancy stopped. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you." He said.
"Thank me?" Nancy asked. I continued walking, but could still hear them.
"For giving me the biggest thump on my head. Two years ago." He said. "I needed it. It changed my life. And now.. I'm crawling forward. Slowly."
"You seem to be doing well. You have Y/N now." She said.
"Yeah.. she's somethin'." He said. "Thank you. Again. Without you, I probably wouldn't still have her."
"Of course." Nancy said.
"You know, I was telling Y/N about my six little nuggets.. and uh, I left out on detail. It's the most important part. Almost ever since we've met. She's been there. I think maybe.. she's always been there. I just couldn't see her." Steve said. I smiled.
"You guys! Awesome news!" Robin said, panting. "Looks like we weren't going the wrong was after all. Come on!"
She took of jogging again.
"Slow down! Ro- Robin!" Steve yelled. We made it threw the woods and walked to the light in the playground.
We touched the light. "Okay." Erica said. She went quiet for a second. "Okay, the lovebirds have copied. Max is moving into phase two: distracting Vecna.
"So far so smooth." Robin said.
"Yeah, we're not even at the hard part yet." Steve said.
"Take the bait, you son of a bitch." Nancy said.
After a few minutes, Lucas signaled Erica and Erica told us it was time. Eddie and Dustin had done their thing which led the bats out.
We walked up to the house, careful of all the vines. Steve and I went first. The vines were everywhere. Nancy and Robin followed. We worked our way up the stairs.
Then, it was time for the attic. We grabbed our weapons and started up the stairs. The ground rumbled. Steve grabbed me as I almost fell. We were able to stay up.
But Robin touched one. It grabbed her by the ankle, soon enough, we were all being attacked by them. There was nothing we could do. I tried to fight them off, but one wrapped around my neck. We were against the walls.
They were slowly killing us. My body went unconscious from the lack of oxygen. But I wasn't just unconscious. There was something else. I was back there. Back in the void.
"Come join us, Y/N. It'll be fun." Vecna's voice rang out. I was thrown into a memory. It was a memory of us meeting.
I watched. "Look for something out of the ordinary." A voice echoed. I started to look. I walked around, and saw it. It was a table from the SnowBall.
I touched it, and was immediately put in the gym where the ball was. I saw Vecna about to kill her.
"No." I said. I raised my hand and that threw him off of her. Then, he was ripped out of the room. Max fell.
I ran to her side. "Max." I said, getting her up. "Max are you okay?" I asked
She looked at me, then passed me. I looked behind me to see her. Eleven.
She was keeping him up. I stood up and walked out. She spun him around.
"You." He said.
"Hi." She said. She threw him against the wall. She ran toward us. Max hugged her, then I did to. I ran out to where Vecna was. He climbed out of the bleachers he had fallen in to.
"Stay back." Eleven told Max.
She and I stepped forward. "Stay the hell away from my sister." I said.
"If you touch her again, I will kill you again." Eleven said.
"Is that what you did? Did you kill me? I am so glad you are here, Eleven. This.. is going to be beautiful."
He started to raise things. Broken bits of wood. He threw them, and I redirected them away from us. Eleven was thrown. I pushed Vecna away. Max stood back.
He threw me, which was good, because Eleven was able to sneak up on him. But he started to choke her. I got up and threw a table at him as she started to levitate.
He growled, but lifted her back up again, then me. He made us go toward him.
"Before I kill you two... I want you to watch." He said. He threw us both into some portal. We hit the ground. The vines grabbed us and pulled us in separate directions. They held us upa and restrained us. I heard the flock.
I saw Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick. All dead. Vecna carried Max in. He laid her down, then the vine picked her up.
"No.." I said.
"Papa is dead!" Eleven yelled. "I know what he did to you. You were different. Like me.  And he hurt you." Vecna started to walk toward her. "He made you into this. He is the monster, Henry. Not you. Not you."
      "You're right. You, Y/N and I are different. And he Papa did hurt me. But he was no monster." Henry/Vecna said. "He was just a man. An ordinary, mediocre man. That is why he sought greatness in others. In you. And me." He touched her face. "But in the end... he could not control us. He could not shape us. He could not change us. Do you not see, Eleven? He did not make me into this. You did."
       "At first, I believed you had sent me to my death. To purgatory. But I was wrong. I was somewhere new. I became an explorer. An explorer if a realm unspoiled by mankind. I saw so many things. And one day, I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential. To transcend my human form. To become the predator I was always born to be."
      "It was you.. it was always you." Eleven cried.
      "All I needed was someone to open the door." He said. "And you did that for me. Without even realizing it. Didn't you? And when you did realize, you chose to resist. So I sought a means to open my own doors. I sought your power. So don't you see? Once again, you have freed me."
      "No.. you don't have to do this." She said. "You can still stop this."
      "It is over, Eleven." He said. "Your friends have lost. There is nothing you can do to stop this now. Hawkins will burn and fall and the reat of this senseless broken world. And I will be there to pick up the pieces when it does. And remake it into something.. beautiful. There was a time.." he looked at me. "When I had hoped to have the two of you by my side. But now.. I just want you to watch." He walked back to Max.
      "No.. No!" I yelled. Something wrapped around my throat. "No!" I strained. "Please..."
      "Don't be afraid." He told Max. Try and stay very still. It will all be over soon."
      "No!" I yelled again. "Max!"
      I tried to break free. Eleven screamed. She fell and threw Vecna off of Max. The vines gave out. I joined her, throwing him off. Max fell.
      And just like that, I was back. I was on the ground, lying there. I could see the world around me, but I could also still see what was going on with Max.
      Steve helped me up. I was hysterically crying. Blood ran down my nose. We walked up the stairs. We couldn't risk the chance of missing him.
      "You and your friends believe you have won." Vecna said in my head. "Don't you?" Robin got the bombs out. "But this is only the beginning. The beginning of the end." They lit one."You have already lost."
      "No. You have." Eleven said. Steve threw it.
      It hit him he vanished from my head. The world crumbled inside my head. I watched him burn. I was in Max's mind still. They lit another one, and threw it at him. It was Nancy's turn. She took her shotgun out and shot him three times. Then it was my time.
      "Burn in hell!" I yelled. I threw him out of the attic.
      We ran down the stairs. He was gone. Then, I was back inside my head. Out of Max's mind. In the void. Eleven was there too.
      I saw Lucas. He was holding her. "No!" I said.
     "I don't want to die! I'm not ready." She said.
     "Max!" I sat over her.
     Lucas pleaded for her to stay.
     "Max.." I cried. "No!"
     She stopped responding to him.
    "Max! Stay with me! No!" He yelled.
    "Max!" Eleven yelled. I heard a clock chiming. I was kicked back out.
      Steve grabbed me and pulled me toward him. The world shook.
      He held me. "Max.." I mumbled. I don't remember much about what happened afterward, I just remember finding out Eddie had died too.
      Once we got back to the normal Hawkins, we found out officially what had happened. Jason came in and ruined the whole thing.
      "Max isn't dead, but.. she's not fully alive." Lucas said. "Her heart stopped for a whole minute." We walked through the hospital. "They just got done fixing her up. She's blind."
      We walked into her room. There were two nurses in the room. I looked at her lifeless body. Steve walked up with me and held me.
      "Oh God.." I cried. I turned my body into his so I couldn't see. He helped me out of the room and sat me in a chair in the lobby.
      He squatted in front of me. "I'm so sorry.." he said. "Y/N I am so so sorry." He touched my face. He wiped my tears.
      Once everyone walked out. Lucas stayed at the hospital, but the rest of us went to the Wheelers. The road to my trailer was out, so I stayed with Nancy.
      Steve helped me up to her room. My brain has been slightly out of it since the fight with Vecna.
      Nancy set out some clothes for me so I could change. "I'll bring you a few thing's from my place, if you want." He said. "I don't know if any of it hit any of the roads to my house or not, but if I can get there, maybe you could stay with me.
      I nodded silently. He looked at me sympathetically. I stared at the ground.
       "Clothes? Uhm.. any of your things?" He asked.
      "Yeah.. all that." I said.
      "Alright. I'll leave so you can change. Okay?" He asked.
      "Yeah." I said.
      "I love you." He told me. He left the room and I put on the sweater and sweatpants she left out. I sat on the floor for awhile. Just staring. I felt like a zombie. Mindless. Useless.
      I had failed her. I had failed my sister. And now, she was practically dead. She was blind. All because I couldn't get the hint. They warned me. Told me. And I still failed.
      I barely even tried to save her. I was a failure. Nancy came in with some dinner.
      "Hey.." she said. "How are you doing?"
      "I'm okay.." I told her. She set the food down and sat next to me on the floor.
      Her presence was actually kind of helpful. I ate a few bites of the meal her mother had cooked. Her mother came up and took it out, apologizing as she left. Nancy and I talked for a few hours. Mindless stuff.
      It was getting late, and we were both tired. "I'll sleep on the floor." She said.
      "No. I will. I'm fine. It's kind of your room anyways." I told her.
      "Are you sure?" She asked. I nodded. She handed me a blanket and a pillow.
      I barely slept. Not because of the floor.
      The next day, Steve brought some of his clothes and my items I left at his house. I was in the living room when he walked in. He set the stuff down and sat next to me.
      He kissed my cheek. "How are you doing?" He asked.
      "Fine." I said. "Just tired."
      "Y/N, I want you to remember this isn't your fault." He said. I nodded. "You look tired. Come here."
      I laid my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. Steve always made things better. Always.
      The next day, everyone was gathering things to donate. Hundreds of houses were destroyed or deemed unsafe. So many people were injured. I was yet to hear about Susan.
      I wondered if she knew.
      I grabbed a box and brought it out to the car. Helping also helped me. Kind of. I was still really tired. A pizza van pulled in.
      "Someone order a pizza?" Mrs. Wheeler asked. It honked, stopping right in front of the house. The door opened, and they came out.
      Eleven, Mike and Will. Jonathan came out next with another guy. The guy I had seen.
      I smiled. Some ran up to them to greet them. I stayed back.
      "Where's Lucas?" Will asked. I lowered my head.
      "He's at the hospital." Dustin responded.
     "Was he hurt?" Eleven asked.
      "Uh, no.. no.. he's uh.. Oh God.. you don't know." Dustin said. Eleven looked worried. Steve came over to me and put his hand on the small of my back.
      "Come on." He said. "We should get going." Steve, Robin, Dustin and I got in.
      We drove to the school. We unloaded everything. Once I got in, I put stuff on the donations table. I got distracted while walking out for another box. I looked at the missing person's flyers.
      I looked at the one put up for Eddie. They had put demonic symbols on it. I scoffed. "Idiots." I whispered under my breath.
      I put one up for Susan. I looked around at all the hurt people. I made eye contact with Ms. Kelley. She walked over to me.
      "Y/N, can we talk?" She asked. I nodded.
      "That sounds great." I said, sniffling.
      We walked back to her office. She sat me down in a chair. "How have you been.. since.." she started.
      "Max was labeled brain dead?" I asked. "Fine."
      She pursed her lips slightly. "It's good that you have support through this. Mr. Harrington seems to have really taken a liking to you. He looks at you.. so.. passionately. It's sweet." She said.
      "That's Stevie Boy for you." I said.
      "Y/N.." she said. "We really should probably talk about this truthfully. No jokes. How are you."
      I paused. "Not great." I said with a slight laugh. "Uh, within the last week, I have lost my best friend, and my sister. This week kind of sucked."
      "Chrissy..." she said. "I'm sorry."
      "It's fine." I said.
      "I saw you with her that night. Before.." she started. "Well, nevermind."
      "I'm going to be 100% truthful." I started. She smiled. "Ms. Kelley.. it was my fault." I said. "I should have protected her. Saved her. I could've saved her.."
      "Y/N.. I'm sure that isn't true." She said. "You couldn't have known the earthquake was going to hit. You couldn't have known any of it."
      "But I could have!" I yelled. "My sister is lying in a hospital bed, practically dead! I could have stopped this! I should have! But I didn't. I failed. Just like how I failed my mother. And Billy. You wanna know something?" I asked. "I could have saved both of them! I didn't! I let them all down! All of them! I'm a failure."
      "You are not." She said.
      "You wanna know something else? I actually tried this time. But I still failed! I'm just not good enough. It's me. I can't save them." I said. I stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go." I said. I walked out of the room and back to the cafeteria. I walked over to Steve, who was folding laundry.
       "Look at this.." he said, pointing at Robin and Vicky. He looked back at me when I didn't respond. My face must have given away my feelings.
      "What happened?" He asked.
      "Nothing.." I said. "Nothing, I'm fine. Just uh.. thinking."
      "You aren't.." he said. I looked out the window.
      "Holy shit.." I said. It was dark out. White particles fell.
      "What?" Steve asked. He looked out as well. "Shit." It looked like the particles in the upside down. He grabbed my hand. "Something tells me, this definitely isn't over."
      That's when it hit me. He told Eleven we had lost. He meant it. He won. Not only had I failed my sister, I failed the world.