A/N: And here we are, the end of season 3. I am going to include a few filler chapters that bring us to the three months later. I don't know how many I will have but I do have ideas for three already. Steve and Ty's first date, Their third-ish date, and then the sleepover one and maybe a D&D chapter or that could even be apart of the sleep over chapter. We will see. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! Also I don't know if the military would do something like that but I'm just taking guesses honestly.
There was a pit in my stomach as I was worried about the others. What was happening and were they safe? Whatever that roar was from, scared me and I had hoped it wasn't what I thought it was. Steve was speeding his way to the mall,
"Max is gonna be okay." He reassured me as he kept his eyes on the road,
"If she's anything like you, she's gonna be totally kickass." Robin added, I looked back at her and smiled.
In the distance I could hear gunshots and as Steve was driving towards it, Billy was speeding and going to hit Nancy. Steve ended up T-boning Billy, I looked to see that his car was on fire.
"Are you guys okay?" He asked as he looked to us,
"Ask me tomorrow." Robin spoke before we heard inhumane sounds. My eyes went wide as we all looked to see what I assumed was the Mind Flayer on top of the mall.
"Fuck." I breathed before John beeped the horn.
"Get in." Nancy spoke as we all got out of the car and into the back.
It was very cramped with the three of us in the back. Sure it was uncomfortable but it was a lot better than being mind flayer food. I sat in between Steve's legs and watched as it started to chase after us.
"Where's Max?" I asked as I saw that she wasn't in the car,
"Still in the mall. She's with Mike and El." Lucas replied, then the walkie that Robin had went off,
"Dusty-bun, do you copy?"
"I copy Suzy-poo."
The three of us looked at eachother, "Suzy." We said in unison as we listened to the conversation over the walkie until Dustin started singing Never Ending Story. It was certainly weird and horrible timing-wise as we were being chased by the Mind Flayer along with Joyce and Hopper needing the sequence to plank's constant. When they were done with their ballad she said the sequence and the Flayer had turned around.
"It's turning around." Steve called,
"What?" Johnathan asked,
"It's turning around. Maybe we wore it out." Steve shrugged
"I don't think so." John spoke, "Hang on." He warned before doing a complete u-turn. My body went forward as John turned the car around. The plan now was to go back to the mall and help the trio as the flayer was going back.
I was absolutely terrified to be throwing fireworks at this thing that could probably kill me with one swing of its tendrils. I was with Robin and Steve on the second floor. We started lighting the fireworks distracting the flayer so El could get away. I took a glance to see Billy on top of El and how she touched his cheek. When I saw Max and Mike stop just outside the Scoops entrance, my attention turned to Billy who was standing in front of the flayer.
I watched in silence as Billy was trying to stop it from getting El. I watched in horror and then saw Max's expression. Then I started running to find a safe way to Max as the flayer was sticking more of its tendrils in Billy. Steve had called out but all I cared about was being down there with Max. By the time I had gotten down, the flayer stabbed Billy in the heart before it died. Billy collapsed and his shirt was covered in blood. Max ran over to him and I followed behind her as I couldn't believe what I saw.
Billy and I really never got along ever since our parents introduced us to each other. Just watching her beg him not to go, made me cry because I hated seeing Max hurt like this. He took his last breaths and said "Sorry." before he died. I burst into tears as did Max. I pulled her off of him and wrapped my arms around her as we both were crying on the floor.
Just seeing someone die, hurt. I had never witnessed something like this and Billy sacrificed himself to save El. The next few moments were a blur. We were all escorted out by paramedics as firefighters and the military went inside the building.
I stood near Max as she was sitting on a gurney with Mike and El. There was a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Steve with a blanket over him. My eyes started to water as we made eye contact. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close,
"I can't go home." I cried as he held me tight, "It's just going to remind me of him."
"You can stay the night. My parents are out." Steve offered as he started to rub my back,
"Really?" I looked up at him,
"Of course." He said softly,
"Can Max come too?" I asked him as I didn't want to ditch her right now. I just couldn't be at home right now.
"Yeah." He spoke as he started to wipe away my tears. I looked over to her as I pulled away from Steve and did my best to stop crying,
"Steve said that we can spend the night at his house." I told her,
"I think I'm going to go home with El." Max said as El had gotten up, "We can come by for breakfast in the morning." She added,
"Okay." I nodded,
"I can come get you guys in the morning." Steve offered,
"We'll be okay." She nodded, I could tell that Max was still hurting. She had always had this guard up when it came to her emotions but I always saw through it. I would talk to her about whatever was bothering her when it was just the two of us.
"Are you sure you don't want to come spend the night?" I asked her again,
"Yes. Go to Steve's and let him take care of you." She hopped off, "We'll be by in the morning." She gave me a hug,
"Okay but if you need me, call Steve's. I'll leave a message for mom and Neil if they don't pick up." I paused and thought for a minute, "I'll tell her that your with El and that I'm at Dawn's." I told her, even though they would be woken up by the cops to be told that Billy was dead. I had hoped that they wouldn't call or show up at Dawn's but just in case I was going to have to call them in the morning.
"I will." She nodded. I gave her a tight squeeze before pulling away.
After we gave our statements to the military we were able to leave. Steve ended up taking my car back to his house as the military was looking for his keys, hopefully when they found them they would drop the keys off. Steve had offered to let me use his shampoo and conditioner as I wanted to take a shower. I followed behind Steve as we went upstairs,
"I'll get you clothes. The bathroom is through there." Steve pointed. I went and found a towel in the bathroom closet. "Here." Steve placed his clothes on the toilet.
I thanked him before he shut the door and left. During the shower I broke down and silently cried as his death was still too fresh. I couldn't even think about how Max was feeling, it just made me cry more. Once I was done I changed into the clothes Steve gave me. His clothes were a little snug but not to the point where it was uncomfortable. I went to his room,
"Do you have a first aid kit? I want to put more ointment on your cut." I spoke, Steve turned around and I watched him look me over,
"You don't have to, Ty." He spoke,
"I want to." I told him. I watched him nod as he walked over to mem
"I'll bring it after I shower." He kissed my forehead before leaving the room. I walked over to his phone so I could call my mom.
"You've reached the Hargrove's. Leave a message and we'll get back to you." At the sound of the beep I took a deep breath to keep my composure,
"Hey mom. Sorry I haven't called, I've been with Dawn and Max all day. Max is spending the night at El's and I'll be at Dawn's. I'll call you in the morning. Love you." I spoke into the phone. I hung up and sat on Steve's bed.
While waiting for Steve to come back, I started to think about school. What was I going to do? I didn't want to be away from Max when I know she would need me the most. Maybe I should take a year off and get a job...so I could be there for her whenever she needed me.
A few moments later Steve came back in with the ointment. He handed it to me and sat next to me,
"What are you thinking about?" He asked,
"Max." I started, "I don't want to be away from her when I go off to school. She is going to need me and I don't want to be away from her." I told him as I put some ointment on his cut.
"Are you sure, Tyler?" He asked, "I can be there for her, when she can't get a hold of you." Steve told me,
"Yeah." I nodded, "I know you would be there for her and watch over her but you don't know her like I do." I looked into his eyes, "I know when she isn't fine, even if she acts like she is. A year isn't going to hurt and I can get a job in the meantime." I explained.
"Whatever you do, I'll be there for you." He grabbed my hand, "I'll always have your back, Mayfield." I smiled as Steve was just so sweet,
"Thanks, Harrington." I touched his cheek before handing him the ointment and went to go wash my hands.
When I came back into the room Steve was laying down under the covers. I shut the light off and went to climb in next to him.
"What am I going to tell, Dawn?" I asked him,
"What do you mean?" He asked as he stretched out his arm so I could rest my head on his chest,
"How can I tell her that we planned a date without telling her about the Russians." I looked up at him, "She's gonna ask about what happened to Billy when she sees that on the news." I spoke,
"I don't know." He started to rub my back, "We'll figure it out. Let's just worry about breakfast tomorrow." Steve shifted so he could kiss my head, "We'll reschedule our date when your feeling better." He added.
When I woke up, Steve still had his arms wrapped around me. I woke up a few times in the middle of the night because I had nightmares of what had happened hours before. Steve would stir a bit and mumble a few words before pulling me close to him. As I was laying next to Steve I started to think about the past year. Like I was grateful to move here and befriend Dawn, Robin and Steve but was Billy's death worth all of this? His death hit me but I was mostly upset because of Max. I hated seeing her upset because being the older sister, I was supposed to protect her. Max was smart so when I was trying to protect her, she would figure it out and want the truth. The truth always hurt but no matter what, we always got through things. With Billy's death I wasn't sure if we were ever going to get over it, watching someone die was something entirely different.
"You up?" I heard Steve ask,
"Yeah." I turned over to look at him
"How are you feeling?" He asked me as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear,
"Tired." I answered, "What happened still doesn't feel real. Like it was just a bad dream…" I paused, "But I know it's not." I shook my head. Steve pulled me close and hugged me.
"You'll get through this." He reassured me, "And Max will too. I know it." He added,
"We should figure out what to make for breakfast." I sighed,
"We can stay in bed for a little while longer." Steve told me. I looked up at him and smiled,
"I need to call my mom anyway." I told him as I started to pull away from him. Steve grabbed my hand and made me look at him,
"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" He paused, "Especially in my clothes." He complimented me.
"You did with your eyes last night Stevie." I leaned over and kissed him, "But thank you." I stared into his eyes. In this moment, I was so thankful for meeting Steve and that he was there for me. "You should also see if your car keys are in the mailbox." I added. As Steve got up, I moved to his side where his phone was on the bedside table.
I dialed my number and my mom picked up after one ring,
"Tyler?" I heard her ask,
"Hi mom. Sorry I didn't call you yesterday." I did my best to act normal,
"It's okay sweetie." I heard her take a deep breath in, "I'm glad you're safe but I have something to tell you." She started,
"What is it?" I asked playing dumb
"Billy...died." I heard her trying not to cry,
"Oh my god." I breathed, "Does Max know?" I asked,
"No." She answered,
"I'm picking her up so I'll tell her." I told mom,
"Thank you, sweetie." She cried,
"I'll be home later tonight, okay?" I asked her,
"Okay and please be safe." She told me, "And make sure Max is safe." She added,
"I will mom. Love you." I told her,
"Love you too." She said before I hung up. I took a deep breath in before I got up and went downstairs.
"They found them and towed it here." Steve called from the kitchen
"That's good." I called back as I made my way there, "Figured out what to make?" I asked him,
"Does pancakes and bacon sound good?" He asked,
"Yeah." I nodded as I leaned against the counter before hearing the doorbell ring. I turned to get the door as Steve rushed up the stairs to put on pants. When I opened it El and Max were on the other side. They were holding an old shopping bag,
"We stopped at home to get clothes." Max spoke. She looked tired and that she had been crying. I felt my eyes starting to water a little bit,
"Thanks. Steve is upstairs." I spoke before I stood to the side to let them in.
"I figured if you were going home, you would want a change of clothes." Max added,
"Pancakes and bacon sound good?" I asked. I heard a yeah from the two girls.
Max had pulled me aside to tell me that Hopper was also dead. They must have found out after Steve and I left. After being told that, I noticed that El's eyes were puffy too. The girls offered to help with breakfast and it made me forget about what had happened last night. Steve put on my favorite song (and I think it was the first song we ever danced to) so I was singing into a wooden spoon while Steve took over cooking.
"You know what would be fun?" I looked to Max and El, "If we had a sleepover again soon. I could invited Robin and Dawn too." I told the two, El looked to Max,
"Dawn is pretty cool." Max told her. El nodded,
"Sounds fun." She smiled,
"We'll plan it soon." I smiled, "Maybe you should have one with the boys." I looked to Steve as he had a mouthful of pancakes in his mouth. He nodded as he was chewing,
"What are you going to do after?" El looked to Steve and I,
"I haven't decided." I shook my head, "Probably call Dawn. Stay and watch a movie." I shrugged as I really didn't know what I wanted to do.
"You guys can stay and hang out with us." Steve offered. I looked over to him as I wasn't expecting him to offer. He looked over to me, "What?" He asked
"Nothing." I shook my head before placing a hand on his knee,
"Yeah." Max nodded, "Maybe the boys could come over so Steve isn't outnumbered." She shrugged
"I'll be just fine." Steve spoke.
When Steve said Max and El could stay, it made me happy. Even though Max and El knew Steve, him offering to stay proved to me that he was going to be here for us, no matter what.