To Catch a Falling Star (Steve Harrington)

(1.9) Together Again

The man called Hopper was a good choice, he knew exactly what to do and acted fast. In under an hour I was okay. Well, as okay as okay could be. My shoulder still burned and everything hurt but I wasn't as tired as I was. Steve got another shirt for me and both him and Hopper put it on (making sure to cut holes in the back for the wings), and once I was sitting up straight with a shirt on and a drink that Steve called 'Orange Juice' Hopper started asking his questions. I expected the usual ones, the ones that Steve asked when we first met, but I didn't get those.

"Do you know Eleven?" The man sighed as he spoke, rubbing his face with his hand and adjusting his belt.

I nodded.

"Did you come from the lab?"

I nodded again.

"And you're Zero, which makes you first right?" Nod again.

"And those are real?" He pointed at my wings, and I nodded. "You got anything to say kid?"

I shook my head, and Steve piped up, "He can't talk. It's something the people from the lab did to him."

Hopper looked upset at that, but didn't say anything about it. We all stood there in silence for a few minutes before Hopper told us to follow him. Steve helped me put on a different jacket (as the first was covered in blood) and helped me out the door.

A car sat in the driveway, and that is what we climbed into. It was different than Steve's, not as fun. It was brown in color, and had words written on the side. When we got in, Steve got in first and sat in the back, which left me in the front seat next to the man called Hopper. Once I was in, Steve buckled me, and rolled down the window, explaining to Hopper as he does.

"Zero doesn't like the window closed, I think it's cause he feels trapped or something." Hopper just grunted in response, tires squealing as we left the Steve's house. The drive was silent for the most part, and I was still working on waking up as we went. I was still in pain, and in some way that helped me in staying awake the throb of it all. The light was fading, but there was still just enough to see the area around us.

The drive was longer than any of the other ones that I had been on, and I spent most of the ride leaning back in the seat. Every now and then, Steve leaned forward and poked me to make sure that I was still awake. I was, every time he poked me, I was already awake which made him happy. When we arrived, I didn't know where here was. It was a house, smaller than Steve's, but still a house. Hopper got out of the car fast and was nearly to the front step by the time Steve told me how to open the door. Steve led the way to Hopper, and I followed a few steps behind him, looking around at the house with nervous curiosity, more nervous than anything else.

Hopper knocked three times, and the door was ripped open, startling me just a bit at the speed. A small woman inside grabbed Hopper's arm, and Steve's who in turned grabbed mine and together we were all pulled inside.

"Hopper! Where the hell have you been?" The small woman spoke sharply, smacking Hopper as she did. She suddenly seemed to realize that she had a bit of an audience, and her tone changed instantly. "Oh, you brought people," this was loud, before she grabbed Hopper and started to whisper at a volume that she believed we couldn't here. "Hopper you know I can't talk to anyone right now, and besides El found-"

"Joyce, Joyce, hang on. Let me introduce you to Steve, Steve Harrington," Hopper smacked Steve on the shoulder, who quickly shook the woman called Joyce's hand. "And this is Zero."

The small woman suddenly looked shocked, she looked me up and down before talking to Hopper again, like I wasn't there. "Wait, like, another patient from the lab?"

Hopper nodded once, and suddenly the woman's whole feeling changed. Sure, she was still high strung, and jumpy. But she suddenly came at me very quickly, and for a moment I was afraid, but then she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. I stood there, as stiff as a board as she carried out what she was doing. When she pulled away, she muttered the word 'sorry' and motioned for us to follow her.

She walked through the room we were standing in, and when we stepped into the next the word 'kitchen' sprang to mind, and I remembered Steve teaching me about the kitchen. I nudged Steve and smiled, I said the word kitchen a few times and he smiled reading my lips as I mouthed to word. It was exciting, I actually knew something about this life, and I remembered it. There were four kids sitting at the table, and two standing behind them, and when we walked in they all stood up quickly turning to face us.

"Zero!" The voice startled me, it belong to Eleven and I nearly cried when I saw her. She ran forward and I met her halfway, wrapping my left arm around her tightly. We stood there for a few minutes, her head buried in my chest and my arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She sighed as she released me, taking a step back. "You are alright?"

I nodded, and she smiled at me, turning around and walking towards the others at table. I looked over my shoulder at Steve who smiled at me and nodded, waving me forward. Hopper had a sad smile on his face, and Joyce was nearly crying.

"Mike." Eleven's voice brought me back to looking at her. She had pulled a boy closer to me, and touched his shoulder, repeating his name. The boy was a little bit bigger than Eleven, with dark hair and eyes. He smiled and gave me a little wave.

"Dustin." She pulled the second boy next to the first. His hair was lighter and curly, and his smile was bright, he was missing his front teeth.

"Lucas." The third boy to join the line was different than the first two, he had the darkest hair and eyes. He nodded at me, but did not smile. The other two, the older ones smiled and said their names. 'Jonathan' belonged to the tall boy, and 'Nancy' belonged to the girl.

I touched my chest, and mouthed my name, "Zero." My feelings dropped when I remembered that they couldn't understand me. That's when Steve stepped forward, I felt his hand on my elbow, his fingers splayed across the elbow.

"This is Zero." His voice was soft as he spoke, expressing the emotions in his voice that I only wish I could express myself.