Steve wound up leaving about an hour later, after sending his folks home. They'd been grateful for the time off; he'd told them to drive safely and then headed home himself. As he made his way carefully through the swirling snow, he caught sight of someone in the alley by the post office. Was that...oh, goddamnit.
Rolling down his window, he shouted. "Byers! What the hell are you doing out here? You know this is supposed to turn into a blizzard, right?"
Will didn't respond though, instead trudging alongside the car and staring straight ahead in that weird, spaced out way he'd had ever since...Steve parked and got out. "Will, hey, come here. Look at me for a second."
"What, goddamnit? What do you want?"
"You're using again, aren't you?"
"Fuck you, Harrington. Why don't you just go on about your business like everyone else in this god forsaken town, huh? Everyone else has gotten on with the rest of their lives. I'm just trying to get on with mine, in my own way. Leave me alone."
"Dude." Steve was pissed now. He'd gotten out of his car, in the freezing snow, to check on this little mini-me version of the guy who'd stolen the last woman he'd cared about, and this little shit wanted to be a complete prick about it. Nope. Not today.
He grabbed Byers hard enough to spin him around and yanked him close enough to see the pores on his cottage cheese colored face. "You listen to me, and you listen good. Enough people sacrificed their time, and in a lot of cases, their lives to save you. I don't know what kind of ptsd you got, but I will not sit here and watch you throw your life away on some stupid drug when I know you're better than that. Come on. Get in the car."
He shoved the much smaller man into the passenger seat and marched around to the other side. Looks like he was going to have to make a quick stop before he got home to his own house. Somehow, though, it felt right. Probably because it was what Hopper would have done in his cold, wet shoes. Some people were strays, and they needed watching out for, whether they wanted it or not.
He would regret this.