Steve drove aimlessly through the streets of Hawkins, killing time as he waited to pick up the kids from the first Dungeons and Dragons campaign of the school year. It had been a week since school started, two weeks since Joyce permanently took Steve in as her own. His parents expressed no interest in returning into Steve's life, as revealed in a harsh phone call that even had Hopper fuming. Steve couldn't forget his own parents, his own mother, calling him a curse, but he was overwhelmed by the kindness Joyce and her family gave him. They had converted the guest room into his room, and had already moved his things from his old home into his new one.

It felt nice, but his heart still clenched at the thought of his own parents not wanting him. He usually pushed that feeling down, along with the rest of his discomfort and worries. Everyone told him that he was allowed to feel, and he knew that, he just didn't want to. Not only would the kids begin to ask questions if they noticed how he was feeling, questions he didn't want to answer, but he would begin to drown in it, like the way Brenner stuck him in the glass cage, water rising higher and higher until he couldn't breath. He didn't want to experience that again.

Robin was helping him where she could. She always held his hand whenever he told her what was going on, and she never needed to read him to know exactly what he was feeling, or thinking. He was grateful for her, and couldn't imagine doing any of this without her.

She was a lot happier now, and tended to only read minds when she wanted to, yet still struggled to stop feeling others emotions. She could manage it, but sometimes let her emotions bleed into others, her own parents beginning to get frightened when she was, or silently crying when Robin couldn't stop sobbing. Steve suspected that part of it was her powers, the other part being her parents' concern for her, but he constantly told her that it was okay. She wasn't hurting anyone, just confusing them, and she would get control eventually.

That's what it all boiled down to. Control. They had lost it for too many months of their lives, too many hours of experimentation and existing only as a puppet on strings, having no say in where they stepped or what they said. Their powers controlled them, a muzzle trapping their old selves in their throats, controlling them until they could control it.

It was the hardest thing to do, sometimes. Winning it back, fighting to regain their "normal" while commanding their powers, was tiring, consuming time and energy, but it was needed. They needed to cut the strings, become the master of their lives once again.

Steve was grateful for El, because, without her, they wouldn't be able to. She had been coaching Robin, and helping Steve understand how to use his powers to his advantage. He was a slow learner, but he was trying.

As the school came into view, he pulled into the parking lot and parked his car, turning the music up as he waited for the kids to be done. He smiled when he thought of their beaming faces as they would talk animatedly to him, telling him about what happened even though he wouldn't really understand it. He told himself to make sure he focused on what Dustin said especially, ever since the coffee spilled on his hands in the diner things between them had been…strained.

Steve didn't need empathic powers to know that Dustin didn't trust Steve anymore, and why should he? Steve had lied to him, and the kid easily saw through it. And, ever since the younger boy started high school and started talking about how Eddie Munson didn't lie, that the older teen didn't keep anything from them, Steve could basically see their relationship blow up in front of him. He just wished that Dustin would understand that he couldn't share what happened, that he didn't want to, but the kid was stubborn.

His eyes flicked to the school doors as he heard them swing open, Will, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin walking out with huge smiles on their faces, Eddie and his friends walking beside them leisurely. Steve sighed, wishing that the older teens had stayed inside, who knew how this would go? He was a jerk to them in high school, and now he was picking up the kids who played D&D with them.

He chuckled, realizing that he might get a fist to the face but not even be hurt by it.

Steve stepped out of the car, waving the kids over, and Will ran over to him, wrapping him in a big hug.

"Hey, Steve. Thanks for coming. It…it means a lot."

"Of course, Byers, I'm happy to."

"I'm sorry, your ride is Steve 'The Hair' Harrington? Are you serious right now?" Steve heard, and he turned to see Eddie talking to Dustin.

The young boy shrugged. "Yeah, he gives us rides sometimes."

"You know who he is, right?"

Lucas frowned and stepped in, but Dustin shook his head, hinting that Lucas shouldn't step in.

"Yes, I do. He's changed a bit, he's a good guy now. Sort of. He's still working on a couple of things, like honesty."

Dustin raised his voice as he spoke, clearly talking to Steve now instead of Eddie, and Steve swallowed hard. Guilt and shame burned in his stomach, and he was tempted to let it die away, but he knew that if he did he wouldn't feel anything at all. He didn't want that. He wanted to feel, just not the emotions that he was feeling now.

Honesty. Of course Dustin was still upset about the lies that Steve was telling.

Tears burned in his eyes, and he swiped them away.

"Hey, Henderson! Wheeler! Sinclair! I'm driving away in five seconds and if you're not in the car I'm leaving you here!" He said, trying to keep up the strong facade that he always kept, and that got their attention.

Mike and Lucas rushed to the car, giving the rest of the Hellfire Club a quick goodbye, but Dustin was slower to do so. He shared a few whispers with Eddie and then came, throwing his backpack in the backseat harshly. Will had snagged the front, and Steve began driving away in silence.

"That wasn't cool, Dustin." Will said softly, and Dustin scoffed.

"Well, it had to be said. Can't you guys see that he's lying to us? It's ridiculous! He's supposed to be our friend."

"He has to keep secrets! We don't know what happened, and what if we can't find out for good reasons?" Will replied, his hands in fists.

"Guys, I'm right here!" Steve exclaimed loudly. Seeing Will's concerned expression, he sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Listen, I understand why you're mad, Dustin, but I can't say anything. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"If you can't say anything about what happened, why can't you just be honest? I know that that coffee didn't hurt you, Steve! But you lied about it right to my face!"

"Dustin, can we just drop thisー" Lucas interrupted, and Mike nodded.

"We had to keep El a secret and lied about her, repeatedly. How is this different?"

Dustin turned harshly to Mike. "And why are you defending him? You hate him!"

"I don't hate him! I'm just happy that he's home! Remember how desperate you were to get him back? But now he's home and you can't stop complaining, can't stop badmouthing him behind his back!"

That shut Dustin up. He opened his mouth, no doubt a snarky remark on his tongue, and then he closed it. Steve didn't say anything either.

The silence was only broken by Will's radio crackling in his backpack.

"Will? Will, come in, please!"

Steve stiffened at the desperate tone in Robin's voice, and Will quickly dug it out of his bag.

"Robin? I'm here, what's wrong? Over."

"Is Steve there? I need to talk to him, like right now!"

Will gave Steve a nod and held it in front of Steve's mouth.

"Robin, what's going on? Are you hurt? I'm with the kids, do you need me to swing by your place?" Steve asked, and Dustin kneeled forward, trying to listen in a bit better.

"No, I…I don't know. Something's wrong. Something's really really wrong and I don't know what!"

"Talk to me, Robs."

"There's so much anger. I can't…I don't know where it's coming from, but all it wants is blood! I can't calm it down, I've done all of the tricks El taught me, but it wants to kill!"

"What does? What are you feeling?" Steve could feel panic rising in his chest, and everyone else in the car was as still as a stone.

"Anger, hate…it's coming. It's coming but I don't know, I don't…"

"Breathe, Robin. Just calm down! It'll be okay, I'll be there soon!"

"No, you don't get it! It's horrible! It wants to kill!"

"Steve!" Will yelled, and Steve slammed on the brakes as a figure jumped onto the road ahead of him, all of their bodies slamming forward against their seatbelts as he did so. The figure had tall, lanky limbs, and it towered over the vehicle, its head not even visible. But he would recognize it anywhere.

A Demogorgon. Standing right in front of his car. Its petal-like face bent down to look at them through the window, teeth bared.

"What? What is it?" Robin asked from the walkie, and Will's arm shook as he took the device back to his mouth, his eyes wide as the Demogorgon watched them.

"D…Demogorgon." He whispered, shuddering, and he turned down the volume, not wanting to alert the monster of their presence. They all knew that it already knew of them, though.

Once the shock of the situation diminished, Steve jumped into action. As the Demogorgon screamed, Steve threw Will into the backseat, rushing to unlock the door.

"Stay in the car!"

"Steve, you can't kill that thing! You'll die!" Dustin yelled, but Steve shook his head desperately, grabbing his lighter and a bottle of rubbing alcohol he kept in the glovebox.

"Stay here!"

The car shook as the Demogorgon threw its body into it, its claws scratching the paint, and the kids screamed. Steve jumped out of the car, weaving around the creature with as much agility as he could, and quickly poured the rubbing alcohol on him, all over his arms, his clothes, and his neck. He began breathing heavily as the Demogorgon focused on him, saliva slipping from its mouth and onto the road beneath it.

The alcohol soaked through his clothes, made his skin slick, and he dropped the empty bottle to the ground, wishing that he had his bat, but it was in the trunk, unreachable unless he could distract the monster for a precious minute or two.

"Come and get me, loser!" He yelled, and the Demogorgon screamed again, reaching for him.

Steve opened the lighter, flicking it until a flame burst forth. With one swift motion, he put the flame to his clothes. He felt heat spread over his body as the alcohol caught fire, immense, burning heat, until he couldn't feel it at all. He grunted as the Demogorgon's clawed fingers dug into his chest momentarily, until the fire caught up to it. The monster shrieked in pain as the fire consumed Steve's clothes and his skin, pulling its lanky limb away, and it began cowering from him as Steve stood taller. Through the flames Steve could see it shrink further back, and he felt a strong sense of power. Flames consumed him, consumed everything he was, everything he had until he was a man covered in fire, the monster not even daring to come close.

With the Demogoron distracted, fire flickering off of him and into the night, he ran to his trunk, where he kept his nail bat, and he could hear the kids tell him to stop, drop, and roll, to get in the car and run.

He wanted to, for the kids. But he couldn't let this thing get out alive. And he was done running.

He grabbed the bat, made sure he had a sturdy grip on it, hoping that it didn't catch fire from the flames on his hands, and jumped back into action.

He could tell that he was losing some of the fire that resided on his skin and clothes, the alcohol burning up faster than he wanted. So, he ran towards the Demogorgon with as much strength as he could, swinging the bat at its head as soon as he could. Blood splattered on his clothes, quenching the fire, and he didn't stop his attack.

His arms throbbed momentarily as he swung, hitting the Demogorgon over and over again, not willing to let up until the monster was dead.

"Die, die, die!" He yelled, and with one final swing the Demogorgon fell to the ground, blood lazing oozing from the injuries that Steve gave it. Its petal-like mouth closed, and it stopped moving.

Steve dropped the bat, stepping away from the body with a shaky breath. He could hear the kids hop out of the car, their panicked voices echoing around him, and he closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He fought a Demogorgon. He fought a Demogorgon and won. But at what cost? Did he blow up his secret? Robin's secret?

It only took him a second to realize that it didn't matter. He had saved the kids. He saved them.

He looked down to see most of his clothes in tatters, his shirt and jacket basically gone, reduced to stings of fabric draped around his chest, the sleeves barely hanging on. His jeans were in a bit better of a condition, but it was littered with holes that were still smoking, small flames remaining that he easily patted out. So much of his skin was visible, but he didn't find it in himself to care.

As he looked over himself, he noticed dark lines on his chest. He wondered what it was, until he remembered sharp claws digging into his skin. He didn't even feel the pain from it anymore. The wounds from the Demogorgons attack had already begun to heal, and now was scabbed over instead of bleeding out. Thankfully

"Steve!" Dustin exclaimed, running up to him, and Steve turned to him, giving him a small smile.

"I'm…I'm okay."

All of the kids stared at him with wide eyes, and he quickly scanned them for injuries. Other than their terrified faces, and Will's pale and shaky complexion, they all seemed okay.

"How…what..?" Lucas asked, and Steve sighed, knowing that there was no way that he could lie about this.

Under the light of the streetlamp above them, he took off his watch, which was thankfully unharmed, and walked closer to them. He showed them his wrist, the 019 exposed for everyone to see, and held his breath.