Steve really couldn't catch a break. The hits just kept on coming, physically and otherwise. How many choices had he made to get to this point? Maybe if he hadn't taken Nancy to that Halloween party where she got drunk and broke his heart he could still be in blissful ignorance, thinking the girl he loved loved him back. Or he could've brushed it off and not argued with her, giving him no reason to have to look for her later to make up.

But then Dustin wouldn't have found him. And no matter what happened, he'd never want to change that. The universe had to have a reason for the two of them to cross paths like that. But that same universe thought it would be amusing for Steve to get his face smashed in. And maybe it wasn't fair to blame the universe, since the human culprit was sitting right in front of him, but it would be easier to forgive Billy if Steve could shake his fist as some unknown force. The same unknown force that decided to bring everyone back to the house at the same time.

And now everyone was looking at him, like he was the one in charge. Maybe he had kind of been, but kids were like a bunch of wild cats. The fact that they were all still here should've been enough for Steve's performance to be considered successful. And besides that, what was going on with Steve didn't really matter. But Hopper was still looking at him like he was expecting an answer. As if Steve ever knew what was going on.

"Neither of you noticed the headlights in the driveway?" Steve huffed, glaring at Mike and Lucas. They weren't doing anything important.

"Steve, what happened to your face?" Nancy asked worriedly, walking over to him to get a closer look. He saw Jonathan walking toward the bedrooms with his brother in his arms and Mrs. Byers right behind him.

"Is Will okay?" Steve mumbled, trying not to get caught up in the fact that Nancy was kneeling so close in front of him. If this had happened a couple of days ago, she'd be holding him and making everything better. But it wouldn't have been genuine, would it? More like obligation instead of actually wanting to do it.

"We think he's going to be okay," Nancy replied, flicking her eyes back toward where Billy was sitting. They were going to have to be careful with their words. "His fever broke."

"Good. That's good." Hopefully that meant the monster was gone. If Eleven was back, that was probably a safe assumption. "I'm glad you're all safe."

"Are you?" Nancy asked.

"The kids are safe. Good babysitter, remember?" Steve bragged, bumping his shoulder against Dustin, who was still sitting next to him on the couch.

"But your face."

"I think it looks the same as it did before you left."

"Steve."

"Hop, you can use my bed if El wants to rest," Joyce offered as she walked back into the room.

"Tired," El sighed, leaning even more into Hopper's side.

"I'll help!" Mike volunteered quickly, rushing over and looping his arm around her waist. They shared a look that told him more about their relationship than Mike's angry worry had earlier. Had Nancy ever looked at him that way? Had anyone?

"Nancy, I have some clothes you can borrow if you'd like?" Joyce proposed, gesturing to where Mike and Eleven had just disappeared to. She looked so tired and sad and it made Steve remember that they hadn't all come back alive during this fight. He hadn't met the guy she'd been seeing, but he heard the others talking about what happened earlier. And here Steve was, worrying about his stupid heartbreak. Everyone else had real problems and he needed to suck it up.

"Go on. I'm fine," Steve insisted, sending Nancy off again like he had earlier. It didn't take much effort. He was very easy to leave.

"We should check on Will," Dustin declared suddenly, hopping up from the couch and pulling Lucas with him as he left the room. Now that only left him, Max, Hopper, and the main source of confusion in the room. Dustin was such a traitor.

"I'll ask again, since by the look of your face, you may not have understood my question. What's going on?" Hopper said, standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Had Hopper always been that big and imposing? It was appreciated while they were fighting together, but now it was intimidating. Steve wasn't the only one noticing that, since Billy was starting to bristle. He had to smooth things over, fast.

"Just hanging out. Bench stuff, you know?" Steve shrugged.

"You don't really look like you're in any condition to be working out."

"Oh, I can do a lot in this condition," Steve chuckled. Nothing he wanted to mention though.

"Such as inviting over strangers while you're supposed to be babysitting?" Hopper asked pointedly, putting emphasis on the babysitting part.

"He's not a stranger. He's Billy. Everybody knows Billy." The look Hopper was giving him said that in fact, not everyone knew Billy. "He's Max's brother."

"I barely even know who Max is. So why did you invite him over?"

"I didn't!"

"Who did?"

"A birdie?"

"He came over to check on me. My mom was worried when I didn't come home earlier," Max interjected, thank goodness. Whatever he was saying was not working.

"Steve, could we talk in another room?" Hopper asked tightly.

"Um," Steve mumbled hesitantly, wiping his palms on the legs of his jeans. He wasn't quite ready to leave Billy with Max yet. He wasn't expecting him to punch her or something the second he got a chance, but there was still stuff that needed to be worked through before he would feel comfortable. Billy must've taken his reaction the wrong way though, because he stood up suddenly and squared his shoulders.

"Your problem is with me, not Harrington," Billy declared, eyeing Hopper with all his usual smugness. And Steve was starting to see things very clearly. Is this what Billy did at home in front of his dad, to draw the attention away from Max and her mom? And had Steve somehow joined the ranks of someone Billy saw worth protecting? Or maybe Billy just really liked to fight? That one was probably wrong, but Steve didn't want to find out either way.

"Billy, it's fine," Steve insisted, springing up to stand in between them. "Hopper and I go way back. He just likes to bust my balls sometimes." Steve actually wasn't sure if he'd ever exchanged meaningful words with the man, but Billy didn't need to know that. Billy was giving Steve a look like he didn't believe him, so he threw his arm over Hopper's shoulders and grinned as wide as he could, ignoring the burn in his ribs.

"We do?" Hopper deadpanned, shrugging Steve off without much effort.

"Classic Hopper!" Steve forced out in a laugh. He was so bad at this. The Tylenol was doing nothing and five minutes of sitting wasn't enough. But he couldn't crash yet. "We're just gonna talk for a second over here. Hold tight." Steve pulled Hopper away from where Max and Billy were, but kept them in sight. They needed to have their conversation before everyone came back into the room and brought all their chaos along with them.

"I want the whole story. I know, classic Hopper," Hopper said exaggeratedly, although thankfully keeping his voice down.

"It's complicated."

"What we just dealt with was complicated, which is why I'm not sure why it would be a good idea to add more on top of it."

"It wasn't planned. And he doesn't know anything about anything. The drawings and nail bat raised a few questions, but I handled it."

"Like he handled your face?"

"How do you know he did it?"

"My mistake. I should've assumed it was the new girl."

"She is pretty tough," Steve pointed out. Hopper may not know about her earlier threat, but Steve would never forget.

"Tell me how it really happened."

"I fell."

"Really?"

"Yes." Steve really did fall, it was just after being hit a lot.

"You look like you went a few rounds with Muhammed Ali."

"Don't say that too loud. He's cocky enough as it is," Steve grumbled.

"Hey, look at me," Hopper said seriously, setting his hand on Steve's shoulder. "If you need my help, you can tell me. I'll yell at you about all this stuff later, but right now all that matters is that you're okay. We've already lost enough." Hopper was so much better at this stuff than he was. Steve wanted to be Hopper when he grew up. And part of him wanted to tell Hopper all of his concerns about Billy and put the responsibility on his shoulders, but he couldn't. Protecting people was Hopper's job, but Steve couldn't see Billy being open to that idea yet. Steve was still mostly going on slipped details and hunches as it was. If Billy's story came out before he was ready, he'd probably never trust Steve ever again, if he even did at this point. He just couldn't risk it.

"There was a misunderstanding, but we handled it. And I'm sorry that it happened here and of all nights, but I can't change that now. The kids are okay and that's what matters."

"You're still a kid too, no matter what year is on your birth certificate. There is no shame in needing a little extra help, even after the chaos is over," Hopper said earnestly. Steve was pretty sure it was just his headache and exhaustion messing with him, but Hopper's words made him want to start blubbering like a baby. It made him think of all the things he wished his own parents would say to him, if they ever bothered to give a damn about him. Their lack of care honestly didn't hurt him as much as it used to, since it was all he knew and he'd become numb to it, but the reminders of what life could be always stirred up that longing. But his own plight was nowhere near what Billy had to deal with at the moment. Steve had taken care of the kids, but his job wasn't done.

"There's still something I have to do. But maybe we could talk later, once everything is settled?" Steve asked, still sort of expecting to be shot down. But Hopper just gave him a small smile and patted him on the shoulder again.

"Sure, kid. Anytime."

"Do you need me here anymore?"

"I think everyone's planning on crashing here for the night."

"So it's okay if I go home?"

"I guess. Will you have someone there with you, just in case?" Hopper questioned, gesturing to his swollen face. Steve grinned and nodded before moving around Hopper and walking back toward the step sibling duo. They were both staring at him in relief and surprise. Max probably because there hadn't been any yelling and Billy because there hadn't been any hitting. Now it was time to get back to dealing with their all too human problems.

"Grab your shit," Steve directed, jerking his thumb toward the front door. "We're going to my house."