Steve couldn't help but hate what Brenner did to him as Robin and the others traveled further on the lake, further and further away from him.

He had always hated what Brenner had done, from ripping El's mother away from her, giving her powers, torturing Robin and himself, but in this moment he hated it even more. Because of what Brenner had done, he had to be left behind, all because Brenner stuck him in that glass cage, filled it with water, making all of the breath seep from his lungs, leaving him thrashing一

Let me out let me out let me out!

Someone gently grabbed his arm, and Steve looked up, seeing Dustin's concerned glance.

"Hey. We're going to hide behind those bushes, alright? There's no need to be out in the open right now."

Steve felt himself nod without thinking, and let the smaller boy lead him away from the water, water that lapped over his bare ankles, water covered his mouth, his nose, making it impossible to breath, covering his eyes, making him scream.

He couldn't breathe. He could breathe and he was going to dieー

"Steve? Steve!"

He didn't even realize that he had fallen to the ground until the dew from the grass made his jeans wet, his hands grasping his throat, choking. Dustin knelt beside him, rubbing his back soothingly, whispering soft words of assurance, and Steve tried to listen to him, but nothing could quench the thirst for air that consumed him.

Strong hands swapped with Dustin's, and Steve felt himself fall into someone's open arms.

"It's okay, Steve," Lucas said softly, "Just keep breathing. In…and out."

Steve couldn't help it. He held onto Lucas desperately, taking in panicked gasps of air that didn't seem to slow down. His body was shaking, that much he knew, but he continued to breathe.

He didn't know how long he couldn't breath, how long the kids around him watched him with concern, but eventually his lungs didn't feel as if they were filled with water, and he could finally take in a deep breath, one that managed to quench more of the fear that had been choking him.

Dustin and Lucas pulled him to his feet and helped Steve hide behind a bush, where Will, Mike, and Max were already waiting. Steve sat down on the ground with a huff, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Two panic attacks in two days." He muttered quietly, covering his face with his hands. "I can't believe it. I'm sorry."

Will gently wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry about it. None of us are mad. And, now that you're staying back with us you can relax a bit."

The other nodded along with the words, and Steve felt a wave of relief crash into him, relief that, this time, didn't go away. He was relieved that he had the kids by his side, kids that didn't care if he was hurting, panicking, crying, or worse. Kids that cared for him more than his own parents. Kids that were smart, caring, and who would never back down from a fight.

They all fell into silence, a silence that was more comforting than it probably should've been, and Steve watched the silhouettes of the other teens on the boat, rowing away from them. Nancy and Jonathan appeared to be standing up and arguing, and Steve didn't have to wonder why. They were probably discussing who should go into the water and see if there was a gate down there or note. Robin wouldn't want to, she had told him that she wasn't a huge swimmer, and Eddie…Steve honestly had no clue if he liked water or not. Nancy was always the one that was willing to get dirty in the Upside Down situations, so she would've obviously wanted to go, but Jonathan, being the knight in shining armor that he was, would've wanted to dive in, too.

"Don't feel bad, Steve." Dustin said, as if anticipated where Steve's thoughts were headed. "You may have been the perfect man for the job, in theory, of course, but you still could've had a panic attack while under there, and Nancy would've had to save you anyways. Besides, nothing beats being dry and cozy here, right?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Dry and cozy? We're hiding behind a bush, in the wet grass, in the dark. There's nothing cozy about this."

"Max is right." Mike said with a huff. "This does suck."

Will nodded silently beside him, and Steve sighed. "Yeah, but…it's what we have to do. We've all done weirder things when it comes to the Upside Down, right?"

"Like the caves." Lucas added distantly. "Trekking through the woods over and over again. Fighting demodogs."

"Thinking a demodog was a lizard."

"Finding a telepathic girlfriend in the woods."

"Getting powers."

"Being possessed."

Everyone turned to Will at the last words, and the quiet kid frowned. "What? Being possessed was weird."

"And traumatic!" Mike said, throwing his hands in the air. "That was terrifying! I thought it was something you never wanted to talk about, too!"

Will shrugged, managing to smile. "We were trauma bonding, weren't we?"

Steve patted him on the back. "Yup. We've been trauma bonding for a while, I think."

Lucas took that moment to point at the boat, picking up a pair of binoculars that Steve didn't even know that they had.

"Woah, are they stopping? Why are they stopping?

A radio crackle cut through the silence, and Dustin held the walkie-talkie to his lips, pressing his finger to the button Steve always had a hard time finding.

"Guys, what's going on?" He asked, and Robin didn't take long to respond.

"Dustin? Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital uh…ahh!"

Steve managed to chuckle. Of course that was how Robin would describe it.

Again he wished that he was on the boat with them, beside her, but he knew that him being on the shore was the best option for everyone.

In the distance, Steve watched Nancy dive into the water, knowing that Jonathan must've lost the argument from before, and hoped that she would be okay. She had appeared to be carrying a flashlight with her, and Steve hoped that it would work well under the water.

"Hey, Will? Apparently Robin likes talking to you more, could you just keep a mindーearーwhateverーopen or something. Just in case something goes wrong." Steve said, worry building into his stomach before dying down, and Will smiled sadly.

"Of course."

"You know, technically, if there is a gate under there, it's considered a watergate." Dustin said, and Steve had a witty response on his tongue, a response that he couldn't even say, as a beam of light disrupted his thoughts. Like a light from a flashlight, but not any of theirs.

"The cops!" Max exclaimed, and everyone stiffened, Mike and Dustin giving Steve a concerned glance.

"You guys stay here." Steve said urgently, "I'll distract them, and you guys run the other way!"

"Are you crazy?" Dustin said, grabbing Steve's hand to stop him from leaving. "The cops are looking for you! We'll distract them, and you have to run. Run as far as you can!" Dustin shoved the walkie-talkie into Steve's hands, and Steve nodded hesitantly.

He didn't want to leave the kids, to put them in danger like Dustin's plan suggested, but Dustin was right. The police were after Steve. They were looking for him. He was the murder suspect. Not the kids.

"Okay. Okay."

"We'll double back to get the others." Dustin continued, pointing to the lake quickly. "And then we'll radio you when it's safe."

"But what if you're caught?"

"We'll figure it out! You just have to trust us!"

Robin's voice cut through the franticness, but Dustin turned the radio on silent.

"Go, Steve! Run!"

Steve didn't waste another second, and ran away from the lights, branches hitting him in the arms as he ran. He heard Max get the attention of the cops from behind him, and ran even faster. He could hear the kids running the other direction, and a quick glance back showed the lights following them.

He continued running, bordering the lake yet making his way up the small incline, not wanting to be out in the open on the shore. Trees began blocking his view of the boat, and panic filled his heart, yet he pushed it down, numbing him. All he had to focus on was running.

Steve wasn't tired, and probably wouldn't be for a while, but he could tell his clothes were getting ruined, branches and bushes cutting into the fabric, nicking skin that wasn't affected by it.

"Hey! Stop!" He heard someone scream, someone beside him, and Steve could see another beam of light shine on him, the figure holding the light hidden by shadow.

The voice was the only distraction needed for Steve to trip on a root that sat above the ground, sending him careening to the ground, all of his breath leaving his lungs in seconds, the walkie talkie he held onto so desperately falling with him. He didn't have any time to recover before the light came closer, and someone pinned him from behind, holding his hands together and keeping his back on the ground with a knee.

"Steve Harrington, you have the right to remain silent." Officer Powell said, and Steve sighed, letting his head rest on the ground, knowing that there was no fighting back now.

"You're a fast runner." Steve managed to say, and the officer pulled him to his feet, clicking handcuffs around Steve's wrists.

"I took track in college."

"You know I'm not the killer, right?" Steve said, ignoring Powell's words, "I would never do that!"

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions, alright? I'm not saying you're the murderer or not."

"Then why am I in cuffs? If I'm not the killer?"

"Just a precaution, Harrington."

Steve frowned as Officer Powell began dragging him away, to the street where more lights were flashing, blues and reds more evident than before.

"Why is there any need for a precaution if you're just asking me questions? I'm fully capable of walking by myself."

"If I can trust you, Harrington, shouldn't you trust me?"

"I do trust you!"

"Then why were you running?"

Steve couldn't say anything to that, and let Officer Powell lead him to where three cop cars were waiting, many policemen milling about, Officer Callahan dragging Dustin and Will to the cars. One quick glance told Steve that Mike, Max, and Lucas were already in the vehicles, all looking as defeated as ever. He forced himself to take a deep breath. It would all work out. It would. It would be okay.

Will met his eyes, and Steve gave him a nod, hoping that Will understood what Steve was trying to say. Try to stay in contact with Robin. Tell her what was going on if she ever reached out.

As soon as Dustin saw Steve, the young boy started fighting, ripping his arm out of Callahan's grip and began to try and free Steve, pulling Powell's hand away from the older teen.

"Get away from him! He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Son, step back, and let me do my jobー"

"No! Let him go!"

"Dustin, Dustin! It's okay!" Steve urged, and Dustin looked at him, his eyes wide and frantic. "It's okay. Let's just let them do their jobs, huh?"

"We're just going to ask him a few questions, son." Powell said, giving Dustin a tight smile. "We won't hurt him, I promise. Now, please get in the car so we can get you back to your mother, she's worried sick."

Dustin's eyebrows furrowed, as if he was preparing to attack the officer again, but Steve gave him a sharp look, gesturing with his head to the police car. Dustin sighed, reluctantly getting in, and Steve went to follow him. But Officer Powell held him back, pointing to the police car in the front, one that none of the kids sat in.

"You're with me, Harrington."

"Okay." Steve said, breathing out shakily, not willing to argue despite his hope to be able to sit with Dustin, to be able to comfort him, to tell him that it was only a setback. He had to listen to the authorities, or else things would get worse for him. He knew that.

Powell helped Steve duck his head into the back of the car, the iron bars in front of him a glaring reminder of what he was accused of, and tried to sit comfortably with his hands still bound behind him. Eventually the car began moving, taking them who knows where, and Steve's mind wandered with it.