She had lost Dustin again after they got home funeral, but she let it happen, knowing he would come to her when he needed to or wanted to. He came home late that night and left early the next morning, and she had gotten a call on Saturday, telling her that he was going to be spending the night at the Wheeler's and not to worry. She accepted the obviously bullshit excuse and told him to be safe and call if he needed anything.
She focused her energy on cooking instead of worrying, making a casserole for the Byers. It wasn't much, and they probably had a freezer full of them, but she felt like she needed to do something. Which is how she had ended up at the Byers' on Saturday night. Alone. At the door. With a breakfast casserole and cookies. She heard muffled voices float through the door and she swallowed her nervousness, raising a hand to knock. The voices quieted, and the door cracked open, Jonathan's face peeking through.
"Oh, hey, Maddie." He sounded nervous, and a blood-stained cloth was wrapped around his hand as he held the door open.
"Hey. Is everything okay?" She narrowed her eyes slightly at his skittishness. "You look like hell."
He let out a breathy laugh, turning his head to look at something inside the house. "Yeah, no, I'm good. Great. Not to be rude, but why are you here?"
Maddie shook her head, suddenly remembering her reason for coming. "Oh! I, uh, brought you a casserole. And some cookies. I know it's not much, but I figured your mom wouldn't feel like cooking or anything, and you probably wouldn't have time with school and everything, so- "
He cut her off, reaching an arm out to take the food. "Yeah, it's great, Maddie. Thanks so much, I really appreciate, but you should probably go now." With that, he closed the door, leaving Maddie on the front porch.
She blinked, confused, before taking a step back towards her truck. She fumbled with the keys for a moment before the sound of a car approaching stopped her, lights coming around the corner right as she looked up. The car stopped next to her, the engine cutting off before Steve got out.
His eyes met hers and the surprise was hard to stop from crossing her face. The left side of his face was completely covered in blood, most of it dried. There were several cuts littering his cheekbone and the bridge of his nose, and the skin underneath was yellowing and swollen.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Steve laughed humorlessly. "I was a dick, what else is new?"
Maddie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she leaned a hip against the hood of her truck. "Why are you here, anyways? Last I heard, you weren't exactly friends with Jonathan Byers."
Steve scoffed. "What do you care? I barely know you," he said, moving around her to walk to the front door. He rolled up his sleeves before banging on the door, calling for Jonathan. To both Steve and Maddie's surprise, Nancy opened the door instead of Jonathan. Steve's voice became quiet, and he spoke to Nancy before pushing his way in. Rolling her eyes at the action, Maddie made her way to the porch, hoping that she wouldn't have to break up a fight between her friend and the boy that kept showing up.
Her eyes involuntarily widened at the sight of Nancy waving a gun at Steve. "Holy shit, Nancy!"
The other girl turned to her, eyes wide. "Maddie, what the hell are you doing here? You know what? It doesn't matter, you both need to leave now!"
"Nancy! The lights!" Jonathan yelled, motioning to the flickering lights. Nancy turned, finally hearing him, and immediately went to stand with him.
"Where is it?"
"Where is what?!" Maddie asked, her confusion and panic rising each time the lights flickered, the worried looks on Nancy and Jonathan making her feel even more uneasy.
"What is going one?" Steve asked, his fearful tone echoing Madeleine's confusion.
"I don't see it," Nancy said, ignoring both of them.
Cracks spidering through the ceiling silenced all of them, white dust falling as something crawled its way through the gaping hole. Nancy lifted the gun, firing off several rounds at the creature before Jonathan grabbed her, pulling her towards the hallway.
"Go, go!" He grabbed Steve's wrist, Steve grabbing Maddie's arm, as they all ran towards the hall. The lights were flashing rapidly now, and Maddie nearly tripped over herself trying to get to the end of the hall and look at whatever the hell was following them.
"Jump!" Jonathan called, Steve obeying and Maddie following in turn, narrowly missing the metal trap in the middle of the gasoline-soaked carpet.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Steve muttered as he flung himself into the room, Maddie close behind as Jonathan slammed the door shut.
"Jesus, what the hell is that! What the hell- "
"Shut up!" Nancy and Jonathan cried in unison, turning to face the door with their weapons at the ready. Maddie looked around frantically, hoping to find something that she could use to defend herself, but stilled as she heard thumping coming down the hallway.
"What's it doing?" Nancy whispered to Jonathan as he shook his head.
"I don't know," he replied before the electricity jolted, a sparking sound echoing through the house as the lights finally stopped flickering. The group ventured out of the room at the silence that now filled the hall. The bear trap remained untouched, and the ceiling in the living room looked as if it hadn't been caved a few minutes ago.
Maddie shifted, chewing on her lip nervously, halfway expecting something to grab her and drag her down the hallway they had just exited. Steve was muttering underneath his breath next to her, gradually getting louder as the reality of what just happened settled in.
"This is crazy, right? I mean, this is crazy. This is crazy!" He lunged for the phone, starting to put in a number before Nancy snatched it from his hand. Maddie stepped into the living room, leaving the two to argue quietly. Jonathan had loosened his grip on the bat slightly, his face still displaying the nervousness that she felt. She caught his attention, waving slightly.
"So, what the hell just happened?"
Jonathan shook his head. "If I knew, I would tell you. Look, Maddie, it's not safe here. You really need to go."
She scoffed, shaking her head. "You think I care? I'm not leaving you and Nancy here. Not alone."
The words had hardly left her mouth before Steve burst out of the door, closing it behind him. Nancy turned to Maddie, her face slightly cold as she set her jaw.
"You too, Maddie. You need to go." Maddie looked at her, mouth slightly open.
"Seriously? That thing is going to come back, I'm not-"
The lights flickered before she finished speaking, and the three teenagers gravitated towards each other, sticking together as they waited for the reappearance of the monster. The lights flashed rapidly, and they circled around each other nervously, waiting for the creature to burst through the ceiling or the wall.
"Does anyone see it?" Maddie asked quietly, her voice shaking slightly.
"I don't know, I don't see anything," Nancy replied, both girls falling silent as the room went dark. A strange rumbling sound came from behind them, and they turned.
"Jonathan!" they cried in unison, but the monster leaped before they got his attention and knocked him to the ground, his bat falling from his hands and rolling to the side. Maddie watched in horror as the monster's face opened up, growling as it hovered above Jonathan. Nancy got a few rounds off, her screams distracting the monster slightly until the gun clicked, signifying its emptiness. Maddie felt behind her as she backed against the wall, her hand wrapping around a porcelain bowl that she flung towards the monster, shattering as it hit the monster's head. The thing opened its mouth, and Maddie squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for a bite that never came.
She opened her eyes in confusion as the monster roared again but didn't lunge for her. Steve was standing in front of her, swinging the bat Jonathan dropped wildly, warding off the monster. He landed a few blows, driving the monster back away from Maddie and back towards the hallway they had been chased down. He swung the bat and landed one last hit, causing the creature to stumble right into the bear trap.
Jonathan saw this and grabbed the lighter he had been wielding earlier, tossing it into the puddle of gasoline that soaked the carpet. Flames licked up and the monster screeched in pain, wriggling as it tried to escape the trap. Jonathan pushed them all back, grabbing a fire extinguisher as he doused the fire. Maddie brought a sleeve to cover her face, coughing heavily as clouds covered the room. The fog cleared, leaving the four feeling slightly strangled as they all panted, watching the hallway for movement.
"W-Where did it go?" Nancy asked, her voice thick from coughing.
Maddie shook her head as she leaned against the wall, squinting to try and see through the still-clearing fog.
"No, no it has to be dead," Jonathan said, his voice cracking slightly at the sight of the empty trap, goo bubbling where the monster once stood.
Maddie sighed, shifting again as she tried to get comfortable in the incredibly uncomfortable chair. They had been waiting for at least four hours, hoping to get word of Will's waking soon. She sighed again and accepted the fact that this was as good as it was going to get and settled into her chair once more. She smiled at the sight of Dustin snoring on top of Lucas, the two boys exhausted from the events of the evening.
The thing had never reappeared after the fire had gone out, and the teenagers had decided to take it as a sign of safety. Johnathan and Nancy had insisted they return to the school, where they had been greeted with the flashing lights of police cars and ambulances. Panic had risen like bile in Maddie's throat, and she hadn't even taken the time to close her truck door before rushing towards the swarm of EMT's and police officers surrounding the group of children. She pushed the hovering adults away, searching frantically for her brother's capped head, crying out in relief when she found him sitting in the back of an ambulance, seemingly unharmed. She pulled him into her arms, squeezing him to her tightly.
He wrapped his arms around her just as tight, and the two siblings remained in an embrace for what felt like hours, only breaking apart at the appearance of some sort of federal agent. He had practically forced Dustin and Maddie to sign non-disclosure agreements after finding out that they had both experienced a "demogorgon", and instructed them not to tell anyone, even their mother.
Of course, Maddie had been furious with Dustin after learning about the danger he put himself in, and he was equally upset after hearing about the fight she went through at the Byers' house, but both siblings relented to let each other off the hook, glad to have survived the incident. She had even volunteered to drive Dustin and Lucas to the hospital to wait for Will, where they had found Joyce and Hopper already waiting, the rest of the group arriving soon after.
She crossed her legs, checking her watch once more as she waited for Jonathan to return from Will's room. She laid her head back against the wall, closing her eyes while she tried to get some much needed rest. She cracked one open as she felt the heat of someone staring at her, her gaze landing on Steve. He looked much better with all the blood cleaned off, and she opened her eyes fully, returning his stare.
"What?" She said softly, not wanting to wake Mr. Wheeler, who was dead asleep next to her.
"We never officially met, you know. And I think you kind of owe me your name," he said resting his chin on his hand as he leaned forward, trying to see her better.
She chuckled lightly, leaning her head forward as well. "Oh yeah? How do you figure?"
He smirked and shrugged, "I mean, I did kind of save your life."
She laughed that time, loudly, and Mr. Wheeler started awake for a moment before returning to his slumber. The teenagers giggled before falling silent again.
"Madeleine. Henderson," she said after a pause, sticking her hand out towards him.
"Steve Harrington," he responded, shaking her hand.
She rolled her eyes, a soft smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, Steve. You can call me Maddie."
A/N: And here's the second chapter! I know it's not much, just kind of a recap of what the last episode of Season 1 would look like if Maddie was there, but we got some Steve/Maddie interaction. I'm going to try and go outside the show for a few chapters and then move back towards the plot of Season 2. Please review and leave me your feedback and follow/favorite for update notifs! I'll try to have Chapter 3 up as soon as I can, so I'll see you guys next time!