He was standing in the driveway looking up at his house, only to look down a ways to where Sheridan lived. Big Red had been gone for a fucking while now, because of a fucking step dad, and now Park was the one hurting. A small tendril of pity flared in Steve, to think about his weird sometimes-a-friend being the mess he was now since Big Red had made a run for it. Steve didn't really blame her for leaving, her stepdad was a prick of a human being too. If the only way to protect Tina was to let her leave him behind, he'd probably do it and help her go. Then he'd be just like Park.
It had been a fun night of hanging with his friends when that stupid bastard Frankie? Or was it Richie? Had driven through the neighborhood like a bat out of hell looking for Big Red, nearly hitting his dad's mailbox. It was only because of that he took the time to ask Tina if any of them had seen Eleanor, that him and her mother were worried about her. Yeah fucking right. Like the smart ass that she was Tina taunted the drunk until he had drove off. Steve still hadn't cared at that point until Tina turned around and he saw the raw fear lighting up her eyes. The same kind of fear he had seen a handful of times when she'd come to his house at night in tears.
Tina pulled him aside and told him, how he looked like her step dad when he was watching her, how she was worried about what would happen when the greasy git found Eleanor. And Park. The both of them. It was sheer luck that Big Red had stumbled into their party a little while later, her fear rolling off of her in giant crashing waves. Even being high as a kite by this point and tipsy, Steve could sense it and once learning, again, that it was a STEP FATHER causing shit that ha his anger boil over the edge. He was serious when he told Red that he'd kill her step dad along with Tina's, the less of them the better in his opinion. Red was pretty weird, but no one should have to deal with that shit.
He never saw her again after that, no one did, not even Sheridan who was staying pretty fucking mute over it. His dad however had told Steve's father a bit of what had happened so Steve had a faint idea what Park had given up to ensure Eleanor would be safe.
Balling his hands into fists as he walked into the garage and flopped his too large body down onto the couch he started to realize it was time for him to go into action to protect his girl. His Tina.