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Steve gasped, panic sending his thoughts spiralling as his nails scrabbled at the thick tail wrapped around his throat. His sight became fuzzy, the darkness of the Upside Down being replaced with the darkness that signalled a swift end. Red hot agony spread through his sides as the monsters continued ripping into his flesh, and Steve couldn’t even get a hand free to wave them away anymore. He was completely at the mercy of the monsters who were getting closer to their goal of killing him, and Steve was terrified. He spared a thought for the others who were likely still in the boat, and the kids who were safe on the shore. Steve hoped they could all take care of each other; keep Max safe from Vecna and defeat the Upside Down again, only this time without him.
Steve tried to pull in one last breath, but the monster’s tail prevented air from getting through his throat. The wheeze of his attempted indrawn breath rang loud in the empty lake.
I’m going to die. I’m going to die and I’m not even wearing shoes.
Steve squeezed his eyes shut, terrified to have his last memory be the sky of the Upside Down, and tried to think about Robin and Dustin and the others: anything that wasn’t the fear that consumed every atom of his being.
One of the bats let out a terrifying screech before it was silenced. Steve’s eyes shot open when he felt the claws and teeth disappear from his flesh. His vision was still too blurred to make out much beyond a broad shape looming over him.
The other bats seemed to notice they’d started to lose the upper hand, because Steve felt the hold of the one around his neck start to slacken as the second bat that had been chewing on him was knocked away.
Steve wasted no time, grip tightening on the bats tail and pulling it up to his mouth where he ripped into it with his teeth. With his throat free, Steve held tight to the creature and rolled to standing, feeling himself filled with a determined rage and desire to live that overshadowed the pain and the dots that still littered his vision.
He ignored shouts of his name as he drew his arm back and heaved the creature into the ground. Once, twice. On the third time, Steve stepped on the leathery wings of the creature and pulled with all his might until something gave way and it ripped in two. With heavy gasps, Steve spat out the creature’s blood, feeling it dribble down his chin and not caring in the slightest.
His vision was starting to clear and he turned towards where the shouts had come from, face-to-face with Nancy, Robin and Eddie, who weren’t even looking at him, but had expressions of confusion and horror.
Steve followed their gazes and found himself looking at none other than Billy Hargrove.
“What…the fuck?” Steve asked breathlessly.
Billy scowled back at him, hefting an axe onto his shoulder as his other hand planted itself on his hip. “You’re fucking welcome.” He said in that horribly confident snide way of his that Steve hadn’t missed.
Steve’s eyes wandered to the makeshift armour that covered Billy’s form and the dirt caked leather jacket and denim jeans he wore. Billy’s hair was tied up out of his face, but otherwise he looked strikingly similar to that fateful day at the mall.
There was no more time for contemplation before a series of loud screeches pervaded the atmosphere. Steve flinched at the sound, shoulders tensing as he span to watch a few approach from the distance. He almost made a comment about how they’d be able to take down the bats, but then they got closer and Steve realised there were so many more than any of them could handle. There was no way they’d survive an attack.
“Into the trees!” Billy shouted and none of them had time to wonder whether or not they should trust someone who was supposed to be dead.
Steve stumbled into the trees after the others, eyes on the ground as he dodged the vines - lord knows he knew what happened to anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with one of them. His back still burned from the scrapes that no doubt covered the surface.
When the group finally stopped to catch their breath, safe in the cover of the trees, Steve picked the one least covered in Upside Down vines and goop and rested his forehead against the surface. He brought a hand up to poke gingerly at his throat, hissing under his breath when the pain tripled at the touch. Steve nearly jumped out of his skin as a close - too close - voice broke his concentration.
“Gonna cry, princess?” It was Billy, looming at Steve’s side. Always looming.
Steve turned to him with a scowl. “Fuck off.” His voice was rough and consisted of a harsh wheeze that followed every ‘f’, and his throat was already sore. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead? I watched you die.”
Billy’s amusement faded at that, a dark look flashing over his face before he just looked annoyed. “Whatever. I don’t know what I am, just that I’m here. You don’t have to be such a little bitch about it.”
Steve clenched his fists, mouth opening to spit a cruel retort when Nancy interrupted.
“He’s got a point, Hargrove. How did you get here?”
Steve pushed off the tree, slow about it when he felt the world tilt on an axis. He folded his arms over his bare chest and watched the exchange with a curious disdain.
Billy shrugged. “Dunno. One minute that thing stabbed me, next I open my eyes and I’m here. Well, Max got snot and tears all over me in the middle of that, but you get the picture.”
Nancy’s nose wrinkled, a sure sign of annoyance. Whether that was aimed at the lack of a good enough answer, or Billy being rude about his step-sister’s upset at his presumed death, Steve didn’t know. “Well, are you dead?” She asked.
Steve felt a presence beside him and tore his eyes away from the pair who began bickering over if Billy was dead or not. His gaze met Eddie’s, who was glancing between Steve’s eyes and his wounds with concern.
“You okay?” Eddie asked, having been silent since noticing Billy’s presence out on the lake.
Steve shrugged and then winced, the movement twinging his wounds. He shook his head, throat smarting a bit too much to answer with words.
Eddie looked at them contemplatively for a moment, then ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of his hellfire club shirt. He held it up and then gestured down to Steve’s wounds. “C’mon, Ozzy, arms up. Let’s get your battle wounds wrapped before you die heroically of the dreaded blood loss.”
“Ozzy?” Steve whispered, sparing his throat from pain by doing so. He was glad the pair of them were standing close enough together that Eddie could hear him, because he really didn’t feel like speaking up in that moment. He put his arms up, swallowing painfully when Eddie kneeled before him. Steve sent his eyes up to the sky, content to watch the clouds, but then Eddie was replying and he looked back down.
“Yeah.” Eddie smiled, eyes crinkling. Steve’s heart beat hard in his chest and he hoped Eddie couldn’t hear it. “Ozzy Osbourne. He bit a bat onstage, kinda like you did. Which, by the way, was so metal man, totally badass.”
“Yeah?” Steve chuckled breathily, clenching his teeth and drawing in a hissed breath as pressure was put on his wounds. Eddie glanced at him apologetically and Steve resisted the urge to just… fill the awkward silence.
“Totally.” Eddie reassured him. “I should’ve believed Henderson when he all but insisted you were cool.”
“Henderson said that?” Steve whispered, groaning when Eddie tightened the makeshift bandage whilst tying the ends together.
Eddie muttered an apology under his breath and ran gentle fingers under the edge of the bandage, checking whether it was too tight. Satisfied, he stood, bringing the pair face-to-face. “He was very adamant.” Eddie said, a lilt to his mouth.
Steve muttered ‘adamant’ under his breath, brows furrowed, and Eddie’s smile softened at the edges.
Billy slapped firm hands on both of their shoulders, causing Steve to jump and wince once again. Eddie shot Billy an unimpressed glare, but Billy didn’t notice. “Enough with the queer shit, assholes. We need to move.” Steve glared at Billy, ready to give him the what for, but saw Eddie staring at him out of his peripheral and met his gaze. The pair shared a look that transitioned from confused anger to pure confusion.
“What were those things?” Robin chimed in, moving from Nancy’s side. Steve had noticed that ever since the pair had gone off together, they’d been all but gravitating to each other’s sides. He wondered if he’d have to start teasing Robin for that.
Billy glanced at Robin, eyes roving over her form with disinterest; the action causing Steve to bristle. He shoved Billy’s hand off of him, not minding that the action caused him to stumble slightly. Eddie stepped in Steve’s direction, hand on his elbow to help steady him, for which Steve was grateful. Billy turned to sneer at Steve, but was quickly facing Robin again.
“They’re like bats-”
“Demobats.” Nancy cut in, a considering twist to her mouth. Billy glared at her and Steve wanted to punch him in his stupid face.
“Whatever.” Billy said. He moved to pick his axe up from the ground. “They’re like bats, and they wanna eat you.”
“Eat us? But not you?” Nancy asked, ever the perceptive one.
Steve and Eddie’s heads swivelled between Billy and Nancy as they spoke, almost as though they were watching a tennis match in action.
“No, Wheeler, not me. You’re fucking nosy, you know that?” Billy scoffed.
“And you’re still a jerk.” Nancy retorted.
“Bully Hargrove.” Robin added with a big grin. Steve glanced at her fondly, then noticed Nancy doing the exact same thing. When Nancy met his questioning gaze her cheeks pinked and her lips drew together in a frown-like pout.
“Fuck off, Buckley.” Billy sneered, and Steve watched his knuckles turn white from where they gripped the axe.
“Whatever.” Steve spoke up, then coughed slightly and rubbed at his throat. He met Eddie’s worried glance and nodded as if to show he was fine. “Let’s just get out of here, okay?” He continued, quieter this time.
“What he said.” Eddie agreed, pointing towards Steve, though his hand was so close he was practically touching Steve’s chest.
Steve let out a quiet “oomph!” as fabric hit him square in the chest and had him nearly bowling over backwards - and he would have if it weren’t for Eddie holding on to him.
“Plant your feet, Harrington, and put your tits away.” Billy spat out with disgust.
Steve grimaced, feeling a little self conscious now that Billy had pointed out his comparable nakedness. He put the leather jacket on with minimal grimacing and grunting, Eddie’s hands hovering all the while.
“Whatever.” Robin began, drawing the attention away from Steve for which he was grateful. “We need weapons, right? One axe between the five of us is kinda useless… Offense meant, by the way.”
Billy rolled his eyes, but Nancy was quick to interject to spare them all from listening to another condescending comment. “I know where we can get guns.”
“The police station?” Eddie asked, adding his two cents into the conversation. Steve glanced at him, impressed by the forethought, and the two shared a smile. Of course, the police station would have guns they could use to fight the demobats, and maybe even tougher stuff for if they ran into Vecna.
“Already cased the place.” Billy interrupted, sneering at Eddie. “No more ammo there.”
Eddie’s shoulders began to hunch in on themselves, and Steve was starting to get really tired of how Billy had showed up from seemingly nowhere in the Upside Down after having been buried 8 months prior. He pushed at Billy’s chest with his hand, getting the new member of their recently formed quartet to back off with minimal fuss.
“Not like we could have known that.” Steve said, tone defensive. He pushed past the ache in his throat. “Given that we only just got here and apparently you’re a zombie now.”
Billy bared his teeth.
“Enough!” Nancy shouted, all heads turning her way as a pervasive silence overtook their little area in the trees. Steve glanced at the others, feeling mildly chastised himself, and was glad to see he wasn’t the only one. Eddie’s stared down at his sneakers as they kicked at loose dirt and grime, whilst Billy merely averted his gaze from the group, eyes trained on the dark clouds that blocked out whatever haunting sky Steve was sure encompassed the overall creepy atmosphere that lent itself to the Upside Down. Robin, however, was looking at Nancy like she had personally hung the moon - an expression Steve could remember giving to Nancy Wheeler on more than one occasion before Tina decided to throw a Halloween Party - and Steve had to school his expression into an apologetic frown to keep himself from grinning since he didn’t want to invoke more of Nancy’s ire.
“There are guns in my bedroom. A Russian Makarov and a revolver.” She continued once everyone had stewed for long enough in discomfort.
Billy whistled appreciatively. “Damn Wheeler, didn’t know you had it in you.”
Steve’s lips quirked into a little smile. “Didn’t you try and shoot me with one of those?”
Nancy returned the smile. “You deserved it.”
Robin cleared her throat, drawing Steve and Nancy’s attention away from each other as she looked at them with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, can we just address the fact that you admitted to almost shooting Steve? What- I-” She trailed off, baffled.
“I was in the way.” Steve admitted ruefully. “Never get in Nancy Wheeler’s way.”
Nancy shot him a glance that was all fond chastisement and Steve was glad they could do this now, could rib each other and be fond and have no strings attached or angst from the simple fact that they’d once dated. He was lucky to have a friend like her.
“Alright, cute talk, let’s move.” Billy demanded, earning himself four matching glares, which he easily ignored. He turned to walk in one direction, but Nancy grabbed his elbow and turned him around, removing her hand before he could do it himself.
“My house is this way.” She said, gesturing in one direction and beginning the walk.
Robin jogged slightly to catch up with Nancy and walk alongside her, the two beginning a happy chat about things Steve couldn’t quite make out.
Steve and Eddie started off after them as a pair, leaving Billy to bring up the rear.
They walked in silence for a few paces, then Eddie spoke. “How are the battle wounds holding up, Harrington?”
Steve glanced up from the floor where he was watching his step, the action causing him to stumble. Eddie’s hands were quick to hover as Steve righted himself and shot him a sheepish grin. He prodded gently at the bandage and grimaced. “Tender.”
“Yeah, I bet.” Eddie mused, rubbing at his own bared stomach with a contemplative frown, and Steve’s eyes followed the movement. When he drew his gaze away and to Eddie’s eyes, Steve found them already looking back, filled with mirth, and he stared resolutely at the ground once more.
“Sorry you’re a wanted man.” Steve muttered, eager to change the subject.
Eddie blew out a breath. “Not your fault, but I appreciate the sentiment.” He intertwined his fingers behind his back, stepping carefully between vines. “It’s no surprise the basketball dunderheads are out for my blood either, they were always so quick to vilify what they couldn’t understand.”
Steve grimaced for an entirely different reason than the pain inflicted upon him by the demobats, guilt consuming him for the way he’d acted throughout the majority of his time in high school. “Can’t say I disagree.”
Eddie noticed Steve’s glum expression and pulled his hands apart, throwing one arm casually over Steve’s shoulders. “Don’t worry Steve-o, I know you’ve seen the light since the old days. You’re no longer a basketball dunderhead.”
Steve huffed out a small laugh. “Gee, thanks.”
The pair walked in a comfortable quiet for a moment, Eddie’s arm still around Steve. They both observed their surroundings: the gnarled dead trees that were almost replicas of each other, and the frequent screeches that promised them the creatures of the Upside Down were never too far away.
“This place sucks.” Eddie remarked, happily turning his attention to Steve as Steve did the same.
“Aren’t places like this holiday destinations in Danger and Dragons?”
Eddie did a double take, nearly tripping over a rock as he stopped paying passive attention to where he was placing his feet. Steve had to grab hold of the hand on his shoulder and Eddie’s waist to keep them both upright. He let go of Eddie’s hand after, but the grip on his denim jacket remained.
“Okay, first of all,” Eddie already sounded mildly offended, and Steve found some amusement in that, unable to prevent a smug little smile. “I resent that you’d call Dungeons and Dragons… That, even though I am impressed with how close you got.” He lifted the pointer finger on his free hand. “Secondly, you may have a somewhat accurate take on just what D&D includes, but this is not the Hellfire club room and I am in fact a coward.”
Steve scoffed disbelievingly. “As if. You’re not a coward, man.”
Eddie looked at Steve in surprise. “Uh, yes I am? I ran from a… Murder scene. Twice!”
“’Cuz the police were after you. You’re totally forgetting the fact that self-preservation exists.”
“Would the great Steve Harrington have run?” Eddie’s arm left Steve’s shoulders and he kind of mourned the loss, letting go of Eddie’s jacket. They still walked side-by-side, but Eddie was turned inwards towards Steve to better see his face.
Steve returned Eddie’s look of derision with one of his own. “Obviously. Being arrested for a crime I didn’t commit isn’t how I want to spend my time.” Eddie’s mouth opened to reply, but Steve raised a hand and effectively shut him up. “Plus you’re not giving yourself enough credit. First time I saw all this shit.” Here Steve gestured wildly to their surroundings as an all-encompassing action. “I hightailed it too. Then I got involved. We’re not so different, you and I.”
Eddie’s expression turned equal parts considering and accepting at once, and Steve offered him a comforting smile.
Billy threw an arm over both of their shoulders, sandwiching himself between them and glancing at them with a wild grin. The previous atmosphere soured. “Could’ve been worse Munson, I didn’t get the chance to run. Would’ve killed for it. Did kill, in fact.” Steve scrunched his nose up at the casual way Billy referred to what happened with the Mindflayer.
Eddie shrugged Billy’s arm off of him and took a sidestep away. “You killed people?” He looked vaguely uncomfortable.
Billy’s grin grew and he squeezed Steve closer, almost choking him with his grip and sending a pang of panic through Steve’s body, instincts kicking in fast after only recently being on the receiving end of some pretty heavy strangulation. Steve clawed at Billy’s arm until he removed it with a frown, rubbing at the appendage. Served him right.
“The Mindflayer killed people.” Steve said since Billy didn’t seem prepared to answer anytime soon.
“Why does everything related to this have a D&D name?” Eddie asked, thankfully overlooking the murder - though Steve did plan to explain it all later, if they got out of the Upside Down.
Steve shrugged. “That’s all the shitheads man, I had nothing to do with it.”
Billy, bored of the conversation, cut in. “Where are your shoes, pretty boy?”
Steve spared a quick glance towards his feet, covered in grime, and was more than happy to not look at them again or think about what every step felt like barefoot. “They’re in the boat.”
Billy’s brows furrowed. “Boat?” He looked around at the trees mockingly until Steve shoved him.
“Yeah, asshole, the one on the other side of the gate.”
“What the fuck is a gate?” Billy asked, voice starting to grow flinty.
“Uh…” Steve stammered, Billy’s change from mocking to serious throwing him for a loop.
Eddie jumped in to rescue him, just like he’d done in Lover’s Lake. “The gate let us travel here from the real world. That’s what we’re getting the weapons for. Clear the gate, journey home, be heralded as heroes for generations to come.” Steve was starting to get used to the way Eddie spoke, the little dramatic twists and turns he’d add to what might otherwise be mundane - or as mundane as it could get when they travelled to other dimensions and fought interdimensional monsters for what was becoming a living - and found that he was entertained each and every time, even when he didn’t really understand what was being said.
Billy stopped in his tracks and the two followed suit, turning back to look at him. He mouth hung open and he looked like he’d swallowed a mouthful of sour milk before realising what he’d done. “You’re telling me… We can leave this place?”
Steve cringed. “Yes?”
Nancy hollered back at them. “Get a move on!”
They jumped in place and then hurried to catch up with Nancy and Robin, who stood waiting with folded arms.
“What’s the hold up boys?” Robin asked, gaze hovering disapprovingly over Steve and Steve got flashbacks to Robin finding out he’d spent all afternoon not sorting the tapes alphabetically onto the shelves.
“Was no one gonna tell me we can get out of this shithole?” Billy responded by not really answering the question at all.
Nancy’s lips pursed and she shared a glance with Robin. “The gates only appeared recently.” She explained, hoping that might chastise Billy.
It didn’t, not really, but Steve knew that not much could calm down Billy Hargrove. It did however shut him up, which Steve saw as a win.
They reached the Wheeler residence a short time after, Billy still bringing up the rear and silently seething loud enough that Steve could feel it, would probably be able to touch it if he seethed any longer.
The group began to head upstairs to Nancy’s room. Steve followed Eddie up the stairs, but slowed to a halt when he heard a familiar voice. Billy walked straight into him and let out a low “oof!” grabbing onto the banister to prevent himself falling.
“What are you fucking doing, Harrington?” Billy hissed in Steve’s ear, but Steve barely registered the words beyond their presence, too focused on the voice he heard for a second time.
Steve elbowed Billy out of the way, passing him to walk back down the stairs and into the dining room where the voice became clearer. Billy shot a considering glance upstairs where the rest of the group were talking before he sighed and followed Steve.
Resting against the doorframe, Billy watched as Steve frantically glanced around the room.
“Dustin?” Steve asked aloud, certain now that the voice he was hearing was that of the aforementioned boy.
Dustin continued speaking and Steve decided that maybe he’d been too quiet when he’d said the boy’s name.
“Dustin!” Steve shouted this time, then the voice moved to one of the walls and Steve followed it. “Dustin, can you hear me? Dustin!”
“What the fuck…” Billy muttered to himself, watching Steve with a creeped out expression.
The others heard Steve’s shouts and joined Billy by the door.
“What’s going on?” Robin asked, but Billy could only shrug in response, having no idea.
“Steve?” Eddie asked, gaining Steve’s attention.
“Can’t you hear him? It’s Dustin, he’s here.” Steve insisted, pointing at the walls.
Nancy and Robin’s expressions turned worried, but Eddie concentrated, brows furrowing momentarily before they stretched up towards his hairline.
“I hear him!”
The others took Steve a little more seriously after that and soon enough all five of them could hear Dustin, who, once he realised they were there in the Upside Down, directed them upstairs.
It was a relief when the others informed them of their theories on the gates and everything started making sense - even if Dustin was unnecessarily cocky as he expounded his knowledge - and before Steve felt like he’d blinked they were out on the Wheeler driveway, staring down at the four bikes and sharing tense glances. No one wanted to break the silence since the possibility of one of them getting left behind was starting to become a reality.
Steve gave his bandage another prod, pain slightly more pronounced than it had been the last time he’d done that. He looked down to see mottled blood on the fabric, heavy unease settling in his gut.
“I’ll stay behind.” He said, everyone’s attention zeroing in on him and then on his wounds as Steve’s own gaze never left them.
“What? No, you can’t” Robin replied, decidedly unhappy about the possibility of leaving Steve.
“I’ll walk to the trailer.” Steve offered.
Eddie shook his head, pulling his hand away from where it’d been pressed into his lips. “No way you’ll make it seven miles without being ripped apart by those things, man.”
“I hate to say it, but he’s right.” Billy added, ignoring Eddie’s gasp of protest. “No sense in killing yourself, pretty boy.”
Steve shot Billy a glare, who merely offered a ‘who, me?’ look in response. “I’m not killing myself.” Steve bit out. “I just don’t think I can bike that far and not… lose all the blood in my body.” He finished lamely, wanting to avoid stating outright that he could very well bleed out if he jostled his wound too much. Walking was one thing, but pedalling a bicycle for the time it would take to reach the trailer park would surely do some significant damage.
Billy hummed and pulled one of the bikes up from where it lay on the ground. “Hop on the back then.”
Steve looked at the bike contemplatively, wondering if that could hold the weight of two adults as easily as it could children. He decided it was worth the risk, but still turned his nose up at the offer. “You’re guaranteed to get me killed.”
Billy rolled his eyes. “How the fuck am I gonna manage that?”
“I dunno.” Steve admitted, frowning. “Doesn’t mean I trust you not to.”
Billy scoffed loudly, a bark of laughter escaping his lips. “Whatever you say, amigo.” He threw one leg over the bike, foot ready at the pedal. With an expectant glance at everyone else, they too chose a bike.
Eddie lingered beside Steve. “Ride with me?”
Steve glanced between Eddie and the girls, realising a little late that he’d be a heavy strain on Robin and Nancy if he hopped on either of their bikes. Not that he didn’t think either of them could do it, because they were both strong and determined people, but he’d rather Nancy be ready to fight, and he’d die before he slowed Robin down and risked her safety, and it wasn’t that he didn’t care about Eddie’s safety, but who was he kidding? At this point he was just making excuses to justify preferring a ride from Eddie than Billy or the others.
“If that’s okay…” Steve muttered, feeling a bit guilty now.
“’Course.” Eddie reassured him, smiling. He pulled up the remaining bike and gestured to the seat with a sweeping arm. “Your chariot awaits.”
Steve laughed softly, shaking his head before getting on the seat. He felt a little too close to the ground, but since there were no bars on the back wheels sitting was his only option. Eddie swept a leg over the bike frame, careful not to kick Steve, and began pedalling after the others who’d already taken the lead. Steve’s hands settled on Eddie’s waist and he took to keeping an eye out on their surroundings so he could quickly warn the others when the demobats got close.
Billy and Robin chatted during the trip, Robin filling Billy in on everything that happened after he’d been skewered by the Mindflayer with Nancy interjecting every so often. Billy seemed genuinely perturbed when Robin began recounting Max’s slow withdrawal from the group and into herself, and Steve could’ve sworn Billy’s hands tightened on the handlebars when he learned about Vecna’s focus on Max.
Steve was surprised. He had avoided Billy throughout the rest of their remaining time at Hawkins High together after that night at the Byers’, and had never had a reason to visit the pool during that summer, so he hadn’t seen whether Billy and Max had rekindled their relationship. He’d seen Max’s reaction to Billy dying - however untrue that turned out to be - and she’d been so genuinely upset and was still effected months after the event, so surely they had gotten closer, but that didn’t mean Steve had expected to see Billy act so… Different, when hearing about what Max was going through. Steve had never seen Billy look genuinely worried and not in that cocky ‘I’m definitely mocking you’ way of his, but genuinely, terrifyingly, worried.
“She’ll be okay.” Steve said, wanting to offer a bit of reassurance.
Billy shot Steve an unreadable look, then turned his gaze forward, jaw clenched. A new determination seemed to settle into his form, and Steve’s opinion of Billy Hargrove shifted ever so slightly.
The trailer park was in sight soon enough after that, something Steve was incredibly grateful for if only because Eddie’s breathing had been growing more laborious the further he pedalled, and they drew to a stop outside of Eddie’s trailer before long.
Eddie’s legs shook where they remained motionless after he removed them from the pedals, head hanging down to rest chin against chest as he breathed heavily. Steve stood, anchoring himself with a hand against the seat he’d just vacated, and moved himself to stand in front of Eddie.
“Hey.” He rested a hand against Eddie’s shoulder, waiting until Eddie looked up at him to continue. “You good?”
Eddie nodded, lips quirking into a tiny smile, and Steve took that at face value.
They ditched the bike and followed the others into the trailer.
“What a fucking state…” Billy remarked, looking around the trailer with unconcealed disdain. He poked an overflowing ashtray on a small coffee table with the butt of the blade of his axe, pushing it until it toppled over onto the floor.
Steve reigned in a comment since Eddie didn’t seem to care about the way Billy was treating his property, though that was likely due to them being in the Upside Down.
Another step forward and Steve was bumping into Robin who stood motionless in the middle of the room. He prepared to make a ribbing comment, then followed her dumbstruck gaze to the ceiling where a glowing crater identical to that of the one he’d discovered in the bottom of the lake lay in plain sight.
They’d found the gate. Not that they could’ve missed it.
Steve jumped, taking an aborted step back when something hit against the gate from the other side, momentarily struck to terror when his mind flicked back to the creatures that had lingered and then dragged him into the Upside Down the first time that had happened. He stepped on Billy’s foot and sent an apologetic look back. Billy must have seen the fear on his face, because he merely muttered a reminder to be careful instead of losing his shit.
Thankfully - though the banging against the gate didn’t stop - it turned out to be Dustin punching through the gate from the other side, so Steve could forgive it this once.
The group could barely exchange more than an excited greeting to one another before Billy was stepping forward, voice hoarse with unnamed emotion. Steve could see a smile on Billy’s face, so different yet again from what he was used to, and he almost missed the tears Billy quickly blinked away.
“Maxine?”
Max craned her neck up, tear-filled eyes glued to Billy’s face as she inhaled a sharp breath.
“Billy?”