THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT ｡ STRANGER THINGS

37 - RETURN OF THE DEAD

They waited; for hope, for help, for whatever happened next.

Daisy Lonsdale, face rubbed raw from the blood, her dirtied shirt exchanged for one Jonathan had found in the bottom of his closet, sat with her knees drawn to her chin on the front porch steps of the Byers' house alone. Voices flowed from inside, they were tiny, dim, broken, but the group had to keep fighting. In the backyard shed, Will Byers was in the middle of an interrogation, everyone hoping to find a way to stop the Mind Flayer (a term Dustin Henderson had coined). They were grasping at straws, but they had nothing else.

The sound of the front door slamming shut jolted Daisy from her heavy guilted thoughts, but her gaze did not move from the trees that stretched onto midnight. She had not cried; not for her grandfather, not for Bob Newby, not for the loss of their innocence again. Maybe she had grown used to the unfortunate war between the town and strange things now. "Here, take this," A blanket was placed over her shoulders sweetly. "You look cold."

"I look like shit," Daisy's sharp wit was drained tonight, her reply quiet against the blanket of shadows that drenched the Byers' property. She finally glanced to the boy sitting beside her, long legs tangled awkwardly to his chest. "But thanks."

Steve Harrington jerked his head, not quite sure how to explain his thoughts. His hands fiddled with the zipper of his jacket and he could hear the screams drifting from the shed around the back of the house. His stomached twisted. "Why do we always end up here?" He caught Daisy's eye and hurried his words. "I mean, at the Byers' house. Somehow, it always leads back to here. Why is that?"

Daisy had never thought about it. "This is where it all started," she replied, "It's only fitting it always ends here too."

They waited in a calming silence; remembering the events of last year that had unfolded right here with a bunch of Christmas lights and a circle of teenagers setting a monster on fire. Suddenly, Daisy started to laugh, her shoulders shaking with movement. Steve watched her, unsure why this all seemed so funny. "This is all total shit," Daisy choked out through her giggles. She felt unstable; drowning in a sea of murky waters. "We should have left Hawkins after everything that happened last year. Any sane person would have packed their bags and got the fuck out of this town."

"Where would you go?"

Daisy stared back at the stars. "Anywhere. Maybe Boston, or Chicago, somewhere really far away, where nothing like this happens." Her voice drifted off, her words reminding her about somebody else who once had the very same idea. "Marigold should never have come back. I shouldn't have dragged her and Duncan back here. They were safer gone."

A lot of strange things had happened in Hawkins and the idea of running away seemed like a fantasy, but that was about it. Steve Harrington knew that; he knew he would never leave unfortunately. He was not the kind of person to have big dreams. "Maybe," he said softly. He slipped his hand into Daisy's, holding onto her for the second time tonight. He felt safer with her skin against his own. "But if you never found her, never brought her home, we wouldn't be here. Fuck, we wouldn't even be friends. It's stupid, but maybe everything happens for a reason."

"Do you really believe that?" Daisy questioned, eyes trailing his face.

Steve thought about it, and nodded. "Yeah," He gripped her hand a little tighter. "Who else could go up against monsters and all this shit but us? Everyone inside has been through hell, but here we are again, saving the fucking town. Maybe it suits us."

Daisy felt her lips tilt upwards. "You're really sappy past your bedtime."

"And you're really cynical," Steve grinned.

Laughter bubbled in the back of Daisy's throat. "I'm always cynical."

Maybe that was true, but not always. Daisy Lonsdale had one power; the power to never give up hope. Anybody could see that if they pushed through her snippy attitude and fuck the world demeanour. "Nah," Steve replied, eyes searching the sky over his head. Inside he could hear voices growing louder, maybe a break through with Will. "You're okay."