Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Holding hands as the walls kept crumbling down

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and suddenly the Vecna incident seemed insignificant. After the group had recovered (minus Eddie and Max who were in the hospital at the time), and the adults came back to help them, they managed to actually stop Vecna. El pulled max back into her body, and Eddie woke up after a week in bed. Eddie was cleared of his murder charges, the Byers moved back into Hawkins, and the town slowly started to rebuild. And as summer break rolled around, everything was returning to normal once more; and Steve hated it.

He couldn't go back to pretending like it didn't happen, like it wouldn't come back to bite them in the bud. His nightmares and paranoia had become almost constant, yet he was a thousand miles way from his own head. He felt everything and nothing at the same time, he was stuck in his own personal hell. But he couldn't bring himself to tell anyone, couldn't bare to put the burden of his problems on anyone else. His hearing on his right side had been completely shot, and now he was having trouble hearing out of the other. His injuries healed into some pretty gnarly looking scars and his body was always constantly achy and sore, making it hard to even get out of bed some days. But he did it anyways, cause he wouldn't let anyone else suffer in silence.

He was always checking in with the kids, always making sure they were happy and comfortable. Dustin had returned to his normal self pretty quickly, same with Lucas, Mike and Erica. But the others weren't having such an easy time. Will was still paranoid, and Steve had to help him through a few panic attacks whenever he got the chills or the lights flickered. El was still trying to process everything that had happened with Brenner, and Steve encouraged her to talk about it. But max was arguably having the worst time of them all. She had completely lost her vision, and was paralyzed from the waist down. She was stuck in a wheelchair, having to rely on others pushing her around.

She hated it, so much; Steve felt his heart ache for her. She was so used to being independent that she didn't know how to ask for help. Steve knew the feeling all too well, and put it upon himself to make sure she didn't feel like a burden. Max and her mom temporarily moved in with him, since her mom was having financial troubles with the earthquake and his parents had permanently moved to their vacation home (he pointedly chose not to think about it for too long). It was nice to have other people in the house, to be able to care for them. He took max wherever she wanted, explaining everything in a soft tone in her ear. He bought her aviator sunglasses, because after they watched the movie "Top Gun" all the guys said she should get them. He wanted her to feel like the most special girl in the world.

Eddie was also having a very difficult time. With all the nerve damage from the bats, he couldn't walk without assistance. He and his uncle also moved into the Harrington household, since their trailer had been destroyed and they didn't have anywhere else to go. The more the merrier, Steve supposed. Eddie took over Steve's room on the first floor, Steve took over his parent's, and the three guest rooms were given to the others. Steve moved his stuff to his new room, which took all of 1 hour since he barely owned anything. His parent's room was blank anyways, so it was easy to move his clothes and belongings from one room to another. He bought the others clothes as well, since his family already had enough money as it is, he might as well use it for something useful.

It gave him a sense of purpose, made him feel like he was actually doing something good in his life. Wayne and Susan told him it wasn't necessary anymore, since they had both found jobs and could pay him back, but he wouldn't let them, insisted on it. Cause deep under all that hair he needs to feel needed, like there is someone out there that actually wants him here. They eventually came to an agreement, the adults would get anything the house needed (food, toiletries, etc.) but would continue to live with Steve.

It was nice, all in all, but Steve couldn't chase that sense of dread away. It was like the world was crumbling around him, like his lungs were caving in. He refused to turn to alcohol again, he needed to take care of the kids and Eddie, and he couldn't do that properly if he was drunk all the time could he? And he distanced himself from drugs, too scared it would remind him of that night under starcourt. So he was stuck, with no escape from his own nightmarish thoughts.