Vampire Sammy!Reader (aka Vampire!Reader)

Hell of a summer (2025) (My personal fan art)

(It’s just a sketch, hope I did great)

~Season 5 Byler~

When you finish saving the world… (Ziggy Katz moments over and over)

Some quotes that I thought of by myself and tells something about me…

First Quote…

“It’s not about your imagination…it’s about how far your willing to prove your devotion to it’s existence…”

Meaning…

It’s a powerful declaration of devotion. My quote emphasizes the value and importance of taking action beyond mere thinking or dreaming…My quote highlights the idea that true success or achievement is not merely a product of creative thoughts or wishful thinking it is about the unwavering determination to transform dreams into reality by taking the improbable possible…

My quote emphasizes the importance of not just imagining, but also being willing to work hard and prove your dedication to turning your imagination into reality. My quote suggests that idea’s without action and commitment are meaningless and empty. It encourages personal responsibility and persistence in achieving one’s goals or ideals. The word “devotion” adds a layer of passion and dedication to the pursuit of one’s imagination…it’s incredibly accurate, with strong implications to the way we should live our lives. As humans, what we imagine will never become reality until we actually do something to make it our reality…A very powerful quote, very philosophical. The idea of devotion to imagination, as that is what creates dreams and ideas. It is what drives humanity forward…

My quote is profound. It’s not about just about dreaming or imagining something but about the action steps taken to bring it into reality. My quote captures the importance of perseverance and dedication is pursuing something, no matter how intangible it may initially seem. It’s a reminder that idea’s can become real when backed by consistent effort and a willingness to invest oneself fully…

Second Quote

“Love is like a road…the scenery is beautiful…but can eventually be destroyed with one false action or emotion…You can only drive for so long before it becomes twisted…and love crashes into nothing else but painful regret…”

Meaning

My quote compares love to a road highlighting both its beauty and the potential for things to go wrong. The idea of love becoming twisted after driving too long on the road suggests that eventually, we can be hurt and regretful. The symbolism of driving on this road of love. It’s a thought provoking comparison, adds a twist of sadness…

My Quote acknowledges the fragility of love and how it can be destroyed with a single mistake or false action. This adds a sense of urgency and the importance of being careful and mindful in relationships. My language is also emotional and the use of the word crashes implies a sudden and painful end to the relationship…

Third Quote

“Love is limitless…but emotions are not…”

Meaning

My quote is simple..Love is limitless indeed, but our emotions can run away from us, causing chaos and pain. This quote of mine captures the complexity of love. Emotions add depth, but they can also overpower us…

(A/n: I hope this helped you very much and these quotes are indeed from my own mind…I thought of them and thought I should write this down…I hope my quotes make it far…it’s also what I have learned throughout my own life…and experiences of what I’ve been through…)

Stancy X Reader (Steve Harrington X Nancy Wheeler)

STEVE HARRINGTON X NANCY WHEELER X READER

Stancy X Werewolf!Reader

Stancy X Vampire!Reader (inspired by Abigail from Abigail 2024)

Stancy X Demon!Reader

Stancy X Yandere!Reader

Stancy X Succubus!Reader

Stancy X Siren!Reader

Stancy X Russian!Reader (you don’t speak English but you understand it)

Stancy X British!Reader

Stancy X Cryokinesis!Reader

Stancy X Mute!Reader

Stancy X Blind!Reader (inspired by Toph beifong from avatar: the last airbender)

Stancy X Bisexual!Reader

Stancy X Female!Demogorgan!Reader

Stancy x Famous!Singer!Reader

Stancy X Tourette’s!Reader

Stancy X Chorokinesis!Reader

Stancy X Scarlet Witch!Reader

Stancy X Pyrokinesis!Reader

Stancy X Escape Lab!Reader (you have scarlet witch powers but dark blue not red)

Stancy X Echinda!Reader (you half-human half-snake)

Stancy X Transgender!Reader

Stancy X Egyptian Goddess!Reader

Stancy X Captain Marvel!Reader

Stancy X Deaf!Reader

Stancy X Ashnikko!Reader

Stancy X Electrokinesis!Reader

Stancy X Daki!Reader

Stancy X Nezuko!Reader

Stancy X Jennifer check!Reader

(A/N: Hi! I hope you liked this make sure to go see my other posts it’s recommended if you run out of ideas for x readers I have inspiration for you YOUR WELCOME! :)

Mileven X Reader(Mike Wheeler X Eleven) idea’s for you!

MIKE WHEELER X ELEVEN X READER

Mileven X Maleficent!Reader

Mileven X Wednesday!Reader (Jenna Ortega version)

Mileven X Raven!Reader (inspired by Rachel Roth from Titans)

Mileven X Scarlet witch!Reader (you have the scarlet witch outfit from Wanda vision, you have found the Darkhold and started using it not knowing it’s corrupting you slowly)

Mileven X Amethyst witch!Reader (Scarlet witch powers but purple, you have the scarlet witch outfit from multiverse of madness, you have the Darkhold and it has corrupted you)

Mileven X Captain marvel!Reader

Mileven X Demon!Reader

Mileven X Succubus!Reader

Mileven X Siren!Reader

Mileven X Mermaid!Reader

Mileven X Yandere!Reader

Mileven X Dragon!Reader (inspired by Siveth from DragonHeart: vengeance)

Mileven X Sapphire witch!Reader (Scarlet witch powers but dark blue, you have the scarlet witch outfit from multiverse of madness, you have the Darkhold and it has corrupted you)

Mileven X Escape Lab!Reader (you have Aang’s powers and tattoos from the last airbender)

Mileven X Enchantress!Reader

Mileven X Ahmanet!Reader

Mileven X Pyrokinesis!Reader (you can manipulate and make Red fire instead of normal fire)

Mileven X Hydrokinesis!Reader (inspired by Aang from the last airbender)

Mileven X Angel!Goddess!Reader

Mileven X Chorokinesis!Reader (plant manipulation)

Mileven X Mute!Reader

Mileven X Blind!Reader (inspired by toph from avatar: the last airbender)

Mileven X Zombie!Reader

Mileven X Flayed!Reader (you were flayed along with Billy but it effected you worse)

Mileven X Deaf!Reader (your 100 % Deaf so you use sign language or a notepad)

Mileven X Cryokinesis!Reader (ice manipulation)

Mileven X Tourette’s!Reader

Mileven X Na’vi!Reader

Mileven X Bisexual!Reade

Mileven X Ghostface!Reader

Mileven X Famous!Singer!Reader

Mileven X Emerald witch!Reader (Scarlet witch powers but Green, you have the scarlet witch outfit from wanda Vision, you don’t quite know what the darkhold is but you’ll figure it out)

Mileven X Insane!Reader

Mileven X Female!Ghostrider!Reader (instead of normal fire it’s dark blue fire instead)

Mileven X Cruella!Reader (2021 cruella version)

Mileven X Daki!Reader

Mileven X Nezuko!Reader

Mileven X Werewolf!Reader

Mileven X Vampire!Reader (inspired by Abigail from Abigail 2024)

Mileven X Possessed!Reader (instead of will getting possessed by the mind flayer it was you)

Mileven X Jennifer Check!Reader

Mileven X Russian!Reader

Mileven X British!Reader

Mileven X Zombie!Reader

Mileven X Female!Alastor!Reader (your Alastor from hazbin hotel but female, you have a human disguise to blend in.)

Mileven X Harley Quinn!Reader

Mileven X Agatha Harkness!Reader

Mileven X Veronica Mayday!Reader (your Veronica mayday from helluva boss)

Mileven X Golden Witch!Reader (Scarlet witch powers but golden, you have the scarlet witch outfit from Wanda vision, you haven’t found out about the Darkhold…yet)

Mileven X Darkness Witch!Reader (you have scarlet witch powers but black, you have the scarlet witch outfit from multiverse of madness, you have the darkhold and it’s corrupted you)

Mileven X Rose Witch!Reader (scarlet witch powers but dark pink, you have the scarlet witch outfit from Wanda vision, you don’t know about the Darkhold…yet)

Mileven X Male!Eacape Lab!Reader (you have pyrokinesis, you can control and manipulate or make dark blue fire not normal fire)

Mileven X Chronokinesis!Reader (time manipulation)

Mileven X Heamokinesis!Reader (blood manipulation)

Mileven X Female!Sonic!Reader (you have Sonic’s powers Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog movie)

Mileven X Half-shark!Reader (you have shark teeth because well your half shark)

Mileven X Echinda!Reader (your half snake and half human)

Mileven X Electrokinesis!Reader (electricity manipulation)

Mileven X Tulemkinesis!Reader (weapon manipulation)

Mileven X Animankinesis!Reader (life manipulation)

Mileven X Photokinesis!Reader (light manipulation)

Mileven X Atmokinesis!Reader (weather manipulation)

Mileven X Ergokinesis!Reader (energy manipulation)

Mileven X Omnikinesis!Reader (Reality manipulation)

Mileven X Tarrakinesis!Reader (element manipulation)

Mileven X Mensio-Ergokinesis!Reader (quantum energy manipulation)

Mileven X Aerokinesis!Reader (air manipulation)

Mileven X Maleficent!Reader (Maleficent but with blue powers not green)

Mileven X Mean!Psychotic!Bully!Reader (you are a part of Angela’s gang, you get high off the sadness and pain off others, you have a ‘I don’t care attitude’, your completely sane your sanity is at a 38% and that’s a bad thing)

Mileven X Deadite Elle!Reader

Mileven X Femboy!Reader

(A/N: Hey! Umm.. well I hope you love this and this inspired you if you wanna see more stuff like this go ahead and see my other posts! Your welcome :)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt Garetty X Reader idea’s for you and me to write.

ANDREW DETMER X STEVE MONTGOMERY X MATT GARETTY X READER

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X ashnikko!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X inraged!Reader (instead of Andrew going inraged and losing his sanity at the end of the movie it’s you. Andrew, Steve and Matt have a very very hard time trying to convince you to stop)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Escape Lab!Reader (You have Scarlet witch powers but dark blue not red, you act like eleven from stranger things season one but you know privacy, your number is ‘000’)(this idea will take place when they are testing their powers and then throughout the entire movie, your more stronger than all of them combined)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X scarlet witch!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X ghostface!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X ghost!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Maleficent!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X captain marvel!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X werewolf!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Amthyst witch!Reader (Scarlet witch powers but purple not red)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X vampire!Reader (inspired by Abigail from Abigail 2024)

Andrew Detmer Steve Montgomery x Matt garetty X Maleficent!Reader (Maleficent but dark blue powers not green)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X celebrity!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X pre-teen! Detmer!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty x blind!Reader (inspired by toph beifong from avatar: the last airbender)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X mute!Reader (Your 100% mute)

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X lesbian!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X deaf!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X demon!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X siren!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Stripper!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Daki!Reader

Andrew Detmer X Steve Montgomery X Matt garetty X Jennifer Check!Reader

Y/N’s

My Beloved Monster and Me.

eddie munson x cryptid!reader

cw: smut, blood, wounds, death, inhuman!reader

a/n: just a little something i’ve been wanting to write for a while. figured why not make it my come back post.

Eddie felt the life draining from his body. Sure, it hurt. But it was merely an afterthought with the way you were making him feel as you rode him with reckless abandon.

He knew better than to venture out in the woods alone with all the mysterious deaths that happened in Hawkins over the last few years. Wayne always told him there was otherworldly things lurking around this town.

Eddie wasn’t afraid, though. Nothing anybody could say to him would keep him out. He knew nothing would come after him in the woods. And if they did, they wouldn’t last long enough to know what hit them.

“Uuuugh, fuck,” Eddie moans, voice horse from the way your teeth grip his throat. He could feel himself slowly slipping away, his climax reaching its impending peak at the same pace.

The thrill of dying in such a way is what kept Eddie coming back here. Back to where he knew you would be, in this clearing.

He didn’t know exactly what you were, mostly because you didn’t speak to him. The most he got out of you was a few chirps and expressive gestures. But if he had to guess, he’d say you were some kind of vampire.

He knew you’d killed others before him. Stumbling upon a fresh kill of yours by pure accident being the reason you’d even cross paths. And even after this whole…situation, became a reoccurring event.

But, one thing Eddie was certain of, was that he was the only one you were giving this “special treatment” to. It even seemed that you’d been excited to see him here recently.

The moan that vibrated against the skin of Eddie’s neck sent chills down his body. He could tell you were getting close to cumming, knowing the signs tour body gives him now after all of your times together.

Eddie musters his strength and does his best attempt in slowing your movements. Thankfully you give in without much fight, and Eddie is able to adjust himself just enough to where he can thrust up into you.

The crunch of forest floor under his shoe is barely audible over the sound of your wails of ecstasy. Removing yourself from Eddie’s neck, you let him bounce you on his cock, the hot blood dripping down his neck from the wound.

Everything becomes a sensation overload to him, Eddie speeding up briefly before all movements come to a halt. His grip would be bruising on a normal human, but it’s wouldn’t leave a mark on you.

His hot cum fills up your now warm cunt, the blood from his body flowing through your veins and bringing you back to an almost alive state of bodily function. Eddie didn’t understand it, probably never would. But, something about his blood pumping in your veins made him feel special.

Your body slumps, arms wrapping around his neck as you lay onto top of him. He can feel your tongue gliding across the wounds you gave him, the punctures closing at an unnatural rate that he’s learned to accept. No scars either, thankfully. That would be hard to explain if they did, considering how often he comes to see you now.

Eddie wraps his arms around you tight, to which he is met with more happy chirps from you. You look up at him, mouth bloody, but still as beautiful as ever. He leans in and lets his lips meet yours, the irony taste of his own blood stinging his tongue.

“Missed you, sweetheart,” Eddie says with a dimpled smile. You nuzzle into him and Eddie beams, hopeful that it meant you were staring to understand him. He’d been trying his best to teach you to communicate, but teaching the english language was even harder than learning it yourself.

“Eddie.” His name coming from your otherworldly voice would send chills of fear down his spine in any other context. Instead he feels his heart flutter in his chest, practically beaming with joy.

thanks for reading 🖤

Madwheeler X Reader (Max Mayfield X Mike Wheeler) ideas for you!

MAX MAYFIELD X MIKE WHEELER X READER

Madwheeler X Vampire!Reader (inspired by Abigail from Abigail 2024)

Madwheeler X Na’vi!Reader

Madwheeler X Werewolf!Reader

Madwheeler X Siren!Reader

Madwheeler X Raven!Reader (inspired by Rachel Roth from titains)

Madwheeler X Maleficent!Reader

Madwheeler X Demon!Reader

Madwheeler X Succubus!Reader

Madwheeler X Flayed!Reader (you are flayed along with Billy but worser than him)

Madwheeler X Cruella!Reader (inspired by the Cruella 2021 version)

Madwheeler X Scarlet witch!Reader

Madwheeler X Captain marvel!Reader

Madwheeler X Blind!Reader (inspired by Toph beifong from avatar: the last airbender)

Madwheeler X Mute!Reader

Madwheeler X Enchantress!Reader

Madwheeler X Mermaid!Reader

Madwheeler X Escape Lab!Reader (you have scarlet witch powers but dark blue not red)

Madwheeler X Amethyst witch!Reader (scarlet witch powers but purple)

Madwheeler X Bestfriend!Reader

Madwheeler X Airbender!Reader (you basically have Aang’s powers, Aang from the last Airbender)

Madwheeler X Russian!Reader

Madwheeler X Pyrokinesis!Resder

Madwheeler X Hydrokinesis!Reader (inspired by Aang from the last Airbender)

Madwheeler X British!Reader

Madwheeler X Bisexual!Reader

Madwheeler X Ahmanet!Reader

Madwheeler X Tourette’s!Reader

Madwheeler X Bully!Reader

Madwheeler X Harley Quinn!Reader

Madwheeler X Zombie!Reader

Madwheeler X Ghostface!Reader

Madwheeler X Sinclair!Reader

Madwheeler X Harrington!Possessed!Reader (you and will are possessed but your possessed worse than he is, and your Steve Harringtons sister)

Madwheeler X Henderson!Reader

Madwheeler X Buckley!Reader

Madwheeler X Daki!Reader

Madwheeler X Nezuko!Reader

Madwheeler X Dragon!Reader (inspired by Siveth from DragonHeart: Vengeance)

Madwheeler X Deadite!Reader

Madwheeler X Femboy!Reader

(A/N: Hope you love this and make sure to go and check out my other posts there important, interesting and inspiring there’s more stuff like this and more your welcome! :)

Weak Spot

Part 1 | Part 2 - Interview With the Vampire

Pairing: Nancy Wheeler x vampire!fem!Reader

Summary: When there are some suspicious deaths that seem to be traced to some unknown bloodsucking monster, Nancy obviously has to investigate. What happens when she finds out the culprit is her girlfriend?

A/N: This was such a passion project for me so I really hope people like it! TW: slight mentions of period-typical homophobia and very slight suggestion of SA.

The most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard was Nancy Wheeler’s heartbeat. It thudded inside her chest with rhythmic purpose and ingrained itself in your mind so that you would relish it for hours even after you’ve kissed her goodbye for the day.

It was all you could focus on that particular day when she was surrounded by towers of books from the occult section of the library. Her nose was buried in one with stern concentration as she sat across from you on the picnic bench, her focus only being torn away from the book momentarily to scribble notes down in her journal.

You pretended to be reading your own book but your brain was too consumed with the calming thumping of Nancy’s heart. It was starting to make your throat burn with thirst. When Nancy reached up to scratch her throat, you had to stop yourself from physically whimpering and retracted your fangs that threatened to emerge.

It wasn’t your fault, really. It was a flaw in your biological design. You were thirsty and only one thing was going to quench it. Blood.

Sheer instinct meant that if you didn’t have any ounce of self-control, then you would have bitten Nancy and taken her blood long before now. It wasn’t as if you didn’t have such easy access to her neck. Often when you were kissing it, her heartbeat quickened with excitement and she’d let out whiny moans, forcing your fangs to protrude and graze against her skin teasingly. But then you stopped yourself. You couldn’t let yourself become so much of a monster that you’d hurt Nancy. Despite your transgressions and centuries of drawing blood from countless victims, there was nothing in this world that would let you kill Nancy and drink from her.

Frequently, you were ridiculed by your vampiric peers for your infatuation with your little human pet. They mocked you for your inability to cause her harm and your insistent protection of her. If any of them tried to get a rise out of you they knew to dangle the idea of them paying Nancy a visit in front of you and suddenly you were ready to kill for her.

She was your weak spot.

“You’re doing it again.” She warned, snapping you out of your daze and allowing you to meet her doe eyes which stared back at you with innocence and humanity.

“Doing what?” You asked, trying to shake the fixation on her thudding heart.

“Staring at me.” She smiled cheekily, clearly proud of herself.

“Can’t help it, baby. You’re just so beautiful.” Your response was sharp and witty because you were a predator who was centuries old and had mastered the art of acting normal around humans. It made Nancy’s cheeks flush which she attempted to hide with her curls. Then, it was your turn to be proud of yourself.

“Anyway!” Nancy announced, moving on from the sweet embarrassment you’d caused her. “You need to listen to this.”

You cringed a little in anticipation of what was to come next. Hawkins had been haunted in recent times by a mysterious killer who had left their victims drained with blood and with peculiar bite marks on their neck. Naturally, your inquisitive and curious girlfriend - who had fought and won against monsters - had to investigate. She was spurred on even further when the police took nothing to do with it due to the victims being wanted for horrific crimes.

If anything, her tenacity should have made her more endearing to you. She reminded you of a young woman you’d known while in Salem whose sharp wit and intelligence had earned her a cruel and fiery fate; condemned before you had the chance to turn her into an immortal.

Nancy’s enthusiastic thirst for knowledge was one of the many things that had made you fall in love with her. The difference in these circumstances was that you were the culprit of these hideous crimes and your girlfriend was researching into ways to put a stop to you and your kind.

“It says here that vampires are undead creatures who feed on the vital essence of humans, generally by drinking their blood. They cause mischief and deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabit and are thought to be highly intelligent, allowing them to hide in plain sight.” Nancy explained fervently, looking up at you with bright eyes in hopes you would see this as much of a eureka moment as she did.

Rather, you stared back at her with feigned apathy. It was painful to do this to her since all too often, Nancy was told to stop being so bossy or had been mocked with the nickname “Nancy Drew”. The last thing you wanted to do was dull her enthusiasm but you had to in the interests of self-preservation.

“Nance, vampires? Really?” You replied with a slight smirk, as though her conclusions had been completely ludicrous.

“I know it sounds crazy but up until a couple of years ago I would have thought that the very idea of the demagorgon was ridiculous and look what happened there!” She rationalised with you, clearly set on this idea. You couldn’t argue with her logic and more frustratingly, you couldn’t even deny that she was right. Once again, Nancy Wheeler had cracked the case with her absurd cleverness and determination.

“I mean, when you think about it, all of those bodies were found the same way! Bite marks in their neck and completely drained of all of their blood. It’s too clean! Human teeth wouldn’t leave the same indent and an animal would have mauled the person to death. Likewise, neither a human nor an animal would suck the blood out of someone. It has to be vampires; it has to be.” Nancy continued in her attempts to convince you, oblivious to the fact that she was actually preaching to the converted.

For the first time in decades, you were actually nervous. None of your human companions had ever become suspicious about vampires before. Admittedly, your family had been careless in littering bodies in a town that had been ravaged with monsters in recent years. Even then, you’d never met anyone as smart or determined as your girlfriend.

“You seem to have it all figured out.” You laughed, conveying confidence but with dire hopes of changing the subject soon. But Nancy was on a roll with her research and was about to present you with a horrifying revelation.

“It says here, you need to stake them in the heart to kill them.” She said with a stomach-churning glee and it was hard to not lose it then and there. Swallowing thickly, you focussed on the anxious bouncing in your leg or the squeeze in your hands as you clasped them together, hoping to distract yourself. You looked down at the table in front of you to avoid Nancy’s gaze. She had already pieced together quite a lot of this puzzle, if she could see the terror in your eyes, you were sure that you’d be exposed too.

Your girlfriend wanted to murder you and you could do nothing about it.

“Nancy, I’m not sure I’m in love with the idea of you getting a wooden stake and going on a vampire hunt.” You eventually offered as she furiously scribbled down more notes. The protective girlfriend angle was the safest bet to try and throw her off your scent. Sadly, it was incredibly futile.

“Baby, I’ve fought monsters and won, I’ve been to the Upside Down and made it out alive. And I had no head start on them. I had to figure it out myself. At least now I have some leads!” She exclaimed.

If it wasn’t so gut-wrenching that your girlfriend was making plans to stake you in the heart, you might have found some humour in the fact that Nancy believed herself to be so prepared but had inadvertently been sleeping with the vampire enemy.

“Okay, be careful. I know you’ve done your research but if vampires exist, they may be hiding some tricks up their sleeves.” You muttered, standing up to leave as you couldn’t take this anymore.

“Oh, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Nancy replied with a wink. “See you tomorrow.”

You nodded slightly in response and gave her a quick wink, something you both did in order to show affection in public to keep yourselves safe. Not only were you hiding your vampiric self from your girlfriend; you were hiding your queer self from 1980s Indiana.

As you walked away from her, you lamented that one of those identities was going to have to be revealed soon. You were going to have to outsmart Nancy before she sent herself on a suicide mission trying to hunt you down.

She would have found out about you eventually; whether that be observing the fact you are not aging or she identified in you vampire traits from her books and figured it out. The thought of losing her was unbearable. But you had lived long enough to know that the truth always comes out.

***

You decided that when you revealed your identity to Nancy, you were going to have to catch her off-guard rather than be in a situation she might have prepared herself for. Hence, you found yourself standing in her garden in the early hours of the morning while your girlfriend was sound asleep in her bed.

Rolling your eyes back into your head, you walked into Nancy’s dream to seek permission to enter her home. You took a minute to adjust to your surroundings and quickly realised she was having a nightmare. Her beautiful heartbeat was thudding angrily and irregularly which rung out in your ears.

The sky was crimson and dark thunderous clouds settled over a dreary Hawkins. Nancy stood with an assault rifle, aimed at a hungry demagorgon that made its approach to her with ease. Your poor girlfriend was trembling with fear and unable to action any plan that she did so with ease when she was awake. She pulled the trigger multiple times but no bullets fired from the gun. Panicked, she started to stumble back to get away from the beast and tripped over a rock on to her back. Her little whimpers as she tried pathetically to push herself backwards away from the monster broke your heart.

Tampering with people’s dreams was a curious ability you had. Whilst your counterparts had used it to enslave their victims, creating in them a false sense of security and establishing a bond of loyalty from human to vampire; you were about to use it to fight off the demons in your beloved’s head.

Nancy cowered from the demagorgon by covering her arm over her eyes. All of a sudden, its hungry growls and towering shadow disappeared and when she dropped her arm, you had taken its place. She looked up at you with relief and stood up to come face to face with you. Her heartbeat began to regulate itself, now being in the presence of the one she loved.

Before she could say anything, you put your hands on her shoulders and asked, “Nancy, can I come in?”

She furrowed her eyebrows in response to the peculiar question, “what do you mean?”

“Please, let me into your house. Tell me I can come in.” You pleaded with wide eyes and an ever tightening grasp on her shoulders.

“Of course, you can come into my house. You’re always welcome.” She said with a confused expression.

It was all you needed; you would explain everything to her cognizant self. You stepped out of her dream and into your own vessel again. You climbed the tree next to Nancy’s window with ease and entered her bedroom where she was starting to stir from her strange dream.

You set about turning her lamp on so she wouldn’t rouse to you lurking in the darkness and took your place leaning your back against the wall with your arms folded.

When Nancy did eventually waken, her eyelids fluttered as she took a quick scan of her room and then landed on you. At first, she seemed happy to see you and gave you a lazy smile. Then the realisation set in that you weren’t supposed to be there and she shot up from her place on her bed and stared at you in stunned shock.

“H-how did you get in here?” She asked with trepidation. You could tell by the rhythm of her heartbeat that she was nervous.

“You let me in. You told me I was always welcome.” You explained calmly, looking back at her as though nothing was wrong.

“Yes, in my dream!” She exclaimed and her lip started to quiver. It was endearing really, for once Nancy wasn’t understanding something on her first attempt. You were going to put her out of her misery soon enough.

“Did your books not tell you about vampires being able to control the dreams of humans? Or that they need permission before they enter a dwelling?”

Again, your words were calm and your posture was relaxed. Unlike some of your peers, you didn’t feel the need to make a dramatic spectacle when revealing yourself. Especially not to Nancy. You didn’t want to mock her, you just wanted her to understand.

Nancy did eventually understand and she recoiled in horror. She scrambled backwards from you, getting off her bed at the other side and backing against the opposite wall in fear. It was hurtful really, she looked at you with extraordinary dread and her chest rose and fell dramatically. Little whimpers escaped her lips, just as they had done when she faced the demagorgon in her dream.

“Nancy…” you began, taking a step forward towards her but she cut you off.

“Don’t come any closer!” She yelled and you obeyed her wishes, staying planted in your spot and raising your hands in surrender.

“Okay, I’m staying here.” You tried to assure her but it was fruitless. Nancy’s desperate eyes darted between you and her closet as her body made tiny movements to inch closer to it. Suddenly, it became obvious to you what she was doing.

“Nance, your guns aren’t going to work on me.” You sighed, dropping your hands to your sides. “You can’t kill the undead.”

“I can with a stake, remember?!”

Nancy’s breathing became ragged as she became frighteningly aware of her own humanity or rather, your lack thereof. That, and her heartbeat were the only sounds that filled the room. She swallowed thickly and pressed her back further into the wall as if she would be able to pass through it if she pushed hard enough.

You tried not to take her death threat too personally, she was terrified after all. Perhaps she thought that you’d intended to do with her what had been done to those victims she had been investigating. How was she to know that you’d never do that to her?

“Would you kill me, my love?” You asked in an unnervingly sweet tone which made Nancy gulp. She took in your calm frame and tried to identify the monster in you from those books she’d read earlier. The vile illustrations from folklore depicted bald and gaunt creatures, with pointy ears and sunken eyes. Their arms were long and awkward, with knuckles that dragged along the floor. Their sharp teeth sat in an overbite horribly over their bottom lip. They were ugly, soulless beasts.

You looked nothing like them. In her mind, you were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. You made her nervous and embarrassed but at the same time you validated her and made her giddy. You were the sophisticated and elegant vampire that was borne out of fiction. She loved you and she knew she didn’t have it in her to kill you.

“Are you going to kill me?” She choked out, still staring at you in fear. Whilst she knew of her own limits when it came to you, she had not yet ascertained yours with her.

The question struck you like a blow to the head. The fact she had thought you capable of such a thing was a harrowing reminder of your true form. Nancy had made you feel human and grounded you to the earth like your time on it was limited. She had instilled in you a new appreciation for life and had made you savour every moment.  

Often times, she’d make you forget what you really were until you felt the need to feed again and the agonising burn returned to your throat giving the sensation of dehydration and desperation. When the hunting instincts set in, you were Nancy’s human no more.

Except, when it came to her, you could control it. It was the only time you were able to suppress that deep desire for warm blood. Usually, the sound of a thudding heartbeat was enough for you to attack but hers was different. Despite how hard it was to refuse your natural instincts and endure the scorching thirst, when you heard the beating of her heart you swore to protect it.

“No.” You answered her question firmly. “I’m not going to kill you.”

“You killed those people though, didn’t you?!”

“Yes,” you sighed. “But they were bad people, Nance. Scumbags. One of them was that guy who tried to grope you at the Hawkins Post. He’d done even worse things to other girls! I couldn’t let him get away with that!”

Nancy’s face softened a little at your admission. Whilst she did still believe that you had no right or authority to make decisions on who gets to live or die, the fact that you had at least a fraction of a moral compass confirmed to her that you weren’t a lost soul. The girl she’d fallen in love with was still stood before her.

“What is this then?” She gestured between you both with her hands, trying to gather all the evidence she could before she was to decide what she was going to do.

“It’s love, Nance. I love you. You’re my soulmate.” You explained and your voice reached a higher octave. Although you had been calm before, when it came to expressing your feelings for Nancy you got a little more desperate. You needed her to know that there was nothing untoward when it came to your relationship. It was pure and organic, unlike anything else you’d ever been used to.

Nancy’s shoulders fell like she was giving up on something. On what you were not quite sure of but you gave her a pitying look and resisted the urge to take her in your arms so as to give her the space she needed.

“I don’t wanna be a vampire.” She whispered. “I don’t want to be a monster.”

She instantly regretted her words as soon as she saw how wounded you were by them. You sighed, looking down at the floor to try and collect your thoughts.

“People in this town would call you a monster if they found out you liked girls, baby.” You muttered and it sent a sharp pain through Nancy’s chest when she realised you were right.

“But don’t worry, I wouldn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to do. I just wanted to tell you what I am before you tried to murder me.” You were mumbling now, confidence shattered by Nancy’s verbal attack.

At this, she inched forward towards you, taking tiny reluctant steps but still finding her way to you, nonetheless. She took your hands in her own and softly caressed your knuckles with her thumbs. In this moment she realised she couldn’t hear your heartbeat or see the pulsing of the veins in your neck or even hear you breathe.

Nancy wondered why she had never noticed any of this before, having fallen asleep on your chest many times. She’d never seen you sleep either. In fact, she tried to remember if she had ever seen you eat.

She stared into your eyes, trying to understand why none of this seemed to occur to her while she had been researching your kind. It seemed so obvious and she had explored every line of thinking. How could she overlook that which was staring her in the face the full time?

Nancy’s head ached with the amount of ferocity she put into trying to conjure up a memory of you doing something that she could distinctly say was human. The only thing she could think of was the love you showed her. You provided her with stern protection in public, always looking over your shoulder to keep your identities safe. Then in private, you showered her with affection so that she was left in no doubt you loved her.

With great tenderness, you’d pepper kisses all over her face, whispering “you’re mine, I love you so much,” and Nancy would return the words to you with the same vigour. She meant it every time she said it to you and she meant it now.

Despite now having years of monster hunting experience and being armed with the knowledge of how to kill you, she was unable to do it. The huntress’ mind refused to categorise you with the beasts she had fought previously. Her love was not the same as them and suddenly she found her own sense of protectiveness over you.

Just as she was your weak spot and you had sworn to never hurt her, you were hers and she was unable to see anything monstruous within you.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re a monster.” She whispered as your foreheads met and her nose brushed against yours.

“I’m sorry for not telling you.” You responded, reaching up to brush some hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. You kept your hand lovingly on her neck, tracing your thumb along her cheek.

“I love you.” She said and pecked your lips delicately, as if anything firmer would shatter you. Maybe it would have.

“Still?” You asked, being bruised and vulnerable by her earlier consternation towards you.

“Can’t help it, baby,” She giggled, thinking back to your conversation earlier that day. “You’re just so beautiful.”

Part 2 of 2: Pagtingin (Feelings) [Steve Harrington x Reader]

a/n: hello. it me. i definitely did not forget to post part two. if you would believe it, i was actually getting sick every week the past month because of the insane hours and workload of my new job. so, umm, probably not lasting long there... i wanna be pretty again and lose all the stress hives all over my body.

summary: based on this blurb on a hanahaki au/flayed!reader

word count: 12k words (big boi over here; i definitely bullied our girl throughout this entire chapter)

warning: barely proofread, only edited twice; no use of y/n; steve is an oblivious himbo (but i'll excuse it because he was the ultimate bbg in s3); ANGST TRAIN, hurt no comfort; moms of hawkins summer '85 (i have 911 on standby); billy "walking red flag" hargrove; unrequited feelings / pining; minor violence; body horror (it's hanahaki, what'd you expect?); writer's torture of a self-insert character; stranger things season 3 canon, but Alexei lives fyuck canon actually; metal goodboi cameo

You despised summer. You didn’t used to hate summer, but working in the summer heat when your recently recurring childhood asthma gets triggered by intense heat wasn’t the best option for you. While you couldn’t pass off as a lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool, your neighbour and acquaintance, Heather Holloway, pulled some strings to have you manning the snack bar.

It wasn’t ideal, but it certainly opened up the opportunity to listen in to a lot of gossip all around town. Not your favourite pastime, yet Heather enjoyed the very juicy ones, something you noticed she most likely inherited from her father, the chief editor for the town’s paper. Every time her shift ended, so did yours and either you share interesting stories of the day while you drive home or to the newly opened Starcourt Mall.

“Ew, those women are either married or divorced,” your nose wrinkled in disgust at Heather’s favourite gossip topic, Hawkins group of moms. Specifically, their scheduled visits to the pool whenever Billy Hargrove would be on duty as lifeguard.

“He likes the attention, I guess,” Heather shrugged, “and the moms get to ogle eye candy.”

“Still a minor, Heather.”

“Uh-uh, he turned 18 a few months back,” Heather argued, though the distaste was apparent on her face. “The term is barely legal.” Then she suddenly giggled. “I’m still calling the police when they make a direct move,” she half-joked. “I know they call me a bitch behind my back.”

“You’re a menace.”

“And you’re a sissy,” Heather shot back. “When are you going to ask Steve Harrington ou— JESUS!” She clung at the grab handle when your foot landed too much on the gas pedal. “No need to take me with you to hell just because you can’t get a date.” Then with a cheeky grin, she added, “I heard Steve can’t get a date either, and he talks up anyone at that ice cream place.”

You slammed the brakes. “That’s it!” you exclaimed. “You’re walking the rest of the way to Starcourt!” The only reply you had was Heather’s maniacal giggles at getting you so riled up.

You and Heather parted ways when you arrived at Starcourt after telling you that she’d be getting a ride home with her date. You waved her off and headed to Scoop’s Ahoy. A group of girls were giggling as they were leaving when you got there. You also noticed the whiteboard that Robin, Steve’s co-worker, held up, adding another tally on the “You suck” scoreboard.

“See what I have to deal with?” Steve immediately ranted, jerking a finger at Robin’s direction. “If you worked with me, I don’t have to be subjected with workplace abuse.”

You and Robin snorted in sync. “You poor baby,” you cooed teasingly while pinching Steve’s cheek. “How can I ever live without the longer shifts, ridiculous uniform, and being your wingman?” You earned another laugh from Robin while Steve scoffed before shooting you a pout.

“Well, you certainly miss me since you constantly visit as soon as your shift ends,” Steve shot back.

“Sure, I’m definitely not here as Heather’s chauffer to her movie date,” you said, “or just hanging out at the comic book store.”

“You want me to come wi—?”

“Bye, Robin!” you ignored his offer yet still blowing Steve a raspberry to which he rolled his eyes at. Exiting the ice cream shop, you made you way to the pharmacy first before the comic book store. It was mostly empty when you got there, so it was a breeze in getting your prescription inhaler.

It’s been forever since you had asthma, the last one during your elementary days. Your wheezing fits had only come back since that occurrence in those tunnels that you still see in your nightmares. However, after the countless tests and screening from military scientists, they cleared it to just “your body shifting from all the trauma.”

You’d think after opening gates to other dimensions with monsters, they’d be able to create a cure for asthma.

The thought was highly amusing to you that you almost missed the fiery redhead that just entered the pharmacy. Your eyes watched Max Mayfield carefully as she walked through the aisles with her head low, trying to be inconspicuous. Grabbing your bag of prescription, you slowly followed where Max wandered off, which happened to be a shelf of bandages.

You almost let it go, knowing that her skateboard hobby always led her to a number of scrapes and bruises. But when she reached for the bandage wrap on the high shelf, her shirt sleeve revealed a hand-shaped mark wrapped around her pale wrist. Trying to be nonchalant as possible, you approached her and grabbed the bandage for her, ignoring how Max quickly put her arm down and tugged at her sleeve.

“Skateboarding mishap again, red?”

Max’s signature cocky smirk covered the surprise on her face. “It’s one of my better falls,” she said. Then her eyes wandered to the prescription bag in my hand. “Still have those? They said you’d be better in a couple of weeks since the incident.”

“Well, I didn’t, so here I am,” you shrugged. “Hey, listen, I’m heading out to the comic book store if you want to tag along. My treat.”

Once you were at the community pool. Though you resorted to buying your carefully as she skimmed through the new arrival stack. You didn’t really have anything worth buying since most of the comics you read are from Dustin’s collection that he recommends and lends to you every other week. Sometimes you get the appeal, sometimes you didn’t. Still, it was a great way to pass the time when things are slow from working the snack bar at the comic book store if you want to tag along. My treat.”

Maybe you should’ve offered to buy Max a cone from Scoops Ahoy instead.

“You got any good recommendations?” you randomly asked the guy who just walked in. You seem to have caught him off-guard, the look of surprise that you were talking to him. “Munson, right?”

“Yeah, Eddie,” he said after a brief pause. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to read comics.”

You thought so too. But you also didn’t think that monsters that live in an alternate dimension exist.

You shrugged. “I read almost anything to pass the time,” you said. “Henderson lends me a lot of X-men.”

Eddie was about to reply when Max approached you with two Wonder Woman comics. “I can pay for the other one,” she offered.

You scoffed lightly and ruffled the top of her head. “Don’t be ridiculous,” you said. “Didn’t I say it was my treat?” Before she could argue, you snatched both copies from her hand and headed to the counter with her trailing behind you. “See you around, Munson.”

You and Max wandered aimlessly around the mall. You offered to go watch whatever movie was in the cinema, but Max turned you down, saying that she had plans with the party later that week once their campaign planning was through. After you ran out of things to do, you offered to drive her home, which she sheepishly accepted.

Before you could even pull out the parking area, Max said, “I know you saw the bruise. You didn’t have to do all that to make me feel better.”

A surprised smile tugged at your lips, impressed on how quickly she caught up on your intentions. “I don’t really have any sisters to dote on,” you said, “so it isn’t entirely on pity. I know you can stand up for yourself, red.” You continued, “But promise me one thing?”

Max nodded.

“You tell me when anything gets too much, okay?” You held her hand to show your support. “I’m always going to be here for you.” Trying to lighten up the mood, you added, “Billy is a prick anyway.” Then you pulled the car into drive.

“He has it worse than me.”

You tried to hold in your composure, but you couldn’t help your eyebrows rising up at the unexpected information. You always suspected something going on with Billy. No one suddenly becomes an asshole overnight. That you knew from being friends for a long time with Steve. Aside from the horrible friends he used to have, Steve grew up with his parents barely around, and even if they were, his father was always either hard on him or emotionally absent.

“Well, it doesn’t give him the right to take it out on you.”

“I know.”

Later that week, you were at your usual spot at the snack booth. The heat was especially brutal that day at it almost felt that your lungs were constricting every time you tried to breathe out. Not even ice water seemed to help, and when the thin clouds cleared, the blaring sunlight only made it worse, even though you were under the shade of the booth.

“Hey, watch the stand for me?” you said to your co-worker who mostly just tried to look busy by restacking cans of soda and rearranging the chips as a way to avoid kids yelling out their orders. He sighed but nodded, getting up to man the counter. On your way out of the booth, you pulled out your inhaler out of your backpack and staggered into the searing sunlight to make your way to Heather.

As you took a blip of your inhaler, you didn’t notice the person near you and collided into them, sending your inhaler flying. “Shit,” you muttered, picking up the plastic case. “Sorry about that.” You looked up and paled upon the realisation that you bumped into Billy Hargrove.

Billy didn’t seem to mind and just grunted before brushing past you. If anything, he looked as disoriented as you, dishevelled and profusely sweating. He had an obvious stumble to his step on his way to the locker room to what you assumed was to get ready for his shift.

You had half a mind to approach him when you heard “Hey! No dunking, Curtis!” from the pool area. You were suddenly reminded of your current task and shrugged off the Billy’s concerning state. For all you know, he was still probably drunk from whatever party he was at last night. It was summer break after all.

You carefully avoided being splashed near the poolside as you circled over to where Heather was stationed at the lifeguard post. Unfortunately, you almost tripped from another dizzy spell again and collided with another person. Just your luck.

“Oh, dear,” a woman this time voiced her concern. “Are you okay, hon? Maybe you should stay out of the heat.”

You steadied yourself and stared into the eyes of Karen Wheeler. “I’m okay, Mrs. Wheeler,” you wheezed. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Drink some water!” Mrs. Wheeler called out before walking off.

Finally, you were able to tell Heather that you were cutting your shift short and that you couldn’t drive her to her dad’s office as you agreed on earlier that day. She waved you off and told you to drive carefully, assuring you that she could always call her mom to pick her up later.

On your way out, you noticed Mrs. Wheeler coming out of the locker room looking distressed and teary-eyed. She didn’t seem to notice you staring at her as she made her way back to the pool area. A few moments later, Billy came out of the same room, still looking as physically uncomfortable as before.

For the past weeks of working at the pool, it was no secret that one of Billy’s favourite moms was Mrs. Wheeler. But was there really some illicit affair between them? You probably wouldn’t put it past Billy, but the woman had three kids, for goodness’ sakes. You made a mental note to ask Heather what she knew about it tomorrow.

After a gruelling half hour drive while cranking your A/C up to full blast, you finally got home. You barely got a mouthful of ice water when your door rang. You wondered who it could be when the neighbours knew that you and your parents were usually at work during the entire day.

“Hey, can you drive us to Starcourt?”

You stared into the wild grins of El and Max, standing excitedly on your doorstep. Fifteen minutes later, you were back in your car, playing chauffeur for the two girls giggling from the backseat of your car.

“I’m telling you, El, boyfriends lie,” Max insisted. She poked you. “Tell her.”

You chuckled dismissively at their tween antics. “I wouldn’t know.”

Both El and Max paused and focused their attention on you.

“You haven’t dated anyone?”

“I’ve been on dates,” you clarified, “but I never really dated anyone.”

“Why?” El asked. It was more inquisitive than mocking or accusatory. She was very curious, that one.

“Because she has the biggest crush on Steve.”

“Oh, my God!” you exclaimed. “Does everyone just know about that?”

“Well, anyone with eyes, yeah,” Max said, rolling her eyes for good measure. “The only reason why he hasn’t caught up is because boys are dumb.”

That made you laugh out loud despite the discomfort in your ribs.

When you arrived at the mall, you expected to have them run off to who knows where while you hung out at the waiting area, taking advantage of the air conditioning, but those two dragged you to every clothing outlet at the mall. You tried to not exert yourself, but it was hard not to match their energy when they were clearly having so much fun. It was even so endearing to see El emerging from her shell, trying out outfits that she genuinely liked and not those lumberjack fits that Chief Hopper had her on all the time.

By the third store, you insisted to sit that one out and merely watch them try on a bunch of different hats. You giggled at them posing at the mirror as if they were at a fashion show. However, you only had a moment of peace before Max approached you with a sundress that looked way too close to your size.

“No,” you stood your ground.

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Yes, then we’re going to Scoops Ahoy to get cones after this.”

“Ask Steve out on a date,” El urged, smiling encouragingly.

“What happened to ‘boys are dumb?’” you said, raising your brow.

“He’s not going to ask you out first, so you will do it for him!” Max said. She and El both grabbed each of your arm and pulled you to your feet and into the dressing room then tossing in the dress and pulling the curtain shut.

You stared at yourself in the mirror and the dress you held in front of you. You hated to admit it, but it was a pretty dress. Even if you couldn’t score a date with Steve, at least you had a great addition to your wardrobe. With that positive thought in mind, you pulled your shirt over your head and hung it on one of the clothing hooks.

You carefully pulled down the zipper on the dress when you noticed something odd on your reflection. Peering closer on the mirror, you stared at your ribs, noticing the almost black veins that almost seemed to be moving underneath the skin. What the…

“Are you done?!” Max called out from behind the curtain.

You snapped out of it and quickly pulled on the dress. All your initial worries faded once you saw yourself in the mirror. For good measure, you pulled your hair out of your scrunchie and let your tresses fall out in waves over your shoulder.

“Wow,” El and Max chorused.

You didn’t even notice them pulling the curtain open.

When you made your way to Scoops Ahoy, Max and El apparently had already made plans that you don’t come in with them. “Let it be a surprise,” Max had said. It was almost ridiculous that you were letting 14-year-olds dictate you on how to get a date from your crush.

“Okay, here you go, you got a strawberry and then a vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream.” Steve paused and looked at the two girls suspiciously, especially at El. “Wait a second,” he thought out loud, “are you even supposed to be here?”

The two girls giggled, and El said, “A pretty girl drove us here.”

The words ‘pretty’ and ‘girl’ caught Steve’s attention. Predictable. “Yeah?” he grinned, leaning forward as if asking for more details. “She still with you?”

“You know her, silly,” Max giggled before running off with El. On their way out, they both flashed you a thumbs up and mouthed, “good luck.”

You stepped inside Scoops Ahoy with a newfound confidence. It was definitely the dress, and you hope it paid off. When Steve caught sight of you, his eyes brightened up and flashed you his charming smile.

“Hey, stranger,” Steve greeted. “I see the girls made you their babysitter and chauffer.”

You tried not to let your smile falter when you didn’t get the reaction you hoped. You laughed, trying not to give off the fact that your confidence was quickly crumbling. “Yeah,” you said, “my shift ended early at the pool.”

“That’s great!” Steve cheered. “Listen, Dustin just caught Russians on his new radio thing, and we’re trying to translate it. Spy shit and all.”

You blinked. “Dustin’s back?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded animatedly, “he’s at back with Robin translating the tape. Well, mostly Robin. Didn’t even know she’s amazing at languages.” He continued, keeping his excited energy, “She already knocked down a couple phrases. Isn’t that cool?”

Then it clicked.

Steve liked Robin.

Too late again.

“Listen, we can use your help because there’s this music at the end that I couldn’t remember where it came from,” Steve said. “Robin and Dustin say it’s stupid, but you can back me—”

“Um,” you breathed out. You cleared your throat, wondering why you started to get out of breath again. “I still have to drive the girls home before dark,” you said, gently turning him down.

“Oh.”

“Um, call me if you find something cool?” You didn’t wait for him to reply and turned your back on him. As soon as you left Scoops Ahoy, you pulled your inhaler out your pocket and took a blip, but it seemed to only make your lungs angrier and cramp even more.

As agreed upon earlier, you found the girls at the main doors of the mall, but they were in a heated conversation with Mike and the rest of his party. You sighed and quickly approached them before it turned into a full argument.

“I dump your ass!” El declared, making you stop in your steps. Lucas and Max were flabbergasted at the outburst, except Max looked somewhat proud. Mike just looked lost and was clearly at a loss for words. Will just looked uncomfortable enough to be witnessing the entire thing.

“Okay, that’s enough,” you interfered. “We’re leaving, come on.” You looked at Will who seemed to be the most aware among the boys at the moment. “You guys need a ride?”

He shook his head.

“You take care, okay?”

Will nodded.

The walk to your car between you and the girls was quiet. Though Max decided to break the silence when you pulled out of the mall compound. “What happened?” she asked.

You simply shrugged, ignoring the burning in your ribs from the simple motion. “Boys are dumb.” Then the car ride was silent again.

Later that evening, you laid in your bathtub in cold water, finally relaxing when you can breathe easily again. The summer heat fatigue really got you today, you thought. Suddenly remembering what you saw in the fitting room, you looked at your ribs again and was relieved when all you saw was nothing but your usual skin.

You were pulled back to your thoughts and remembered the beautiful sundress that was now laid discarded on the bathroom floor. You groaned at the memory of what just occurred this afternoon. You sighed and slid down to submerge the rest of yourself in the almost freezing water, leaving all your worries for the few seconds you had underwater.

Don’t be afraid. It’ll be over soon. Just stay… very… still.

You were scared. You couldn’t open your eyes, and the water suddenly felt too thick. The searing pain that was becoming too familiar in your lungs felt like it was begin to crawl out of your chest and into your throat.

But it was all gone in a split second.

Panicked and scared out of your wits, you immediately crawled your way out of the bathtub, not caring if you were curled up naked on the bathroom floor. You reached for the first thing you could grab to cover yourself, until you realised that it was still the same damn sundress. Suddenly, all the air just left your body, and you were starting to wonder if it was still an asthma attack.

You hoisted yourself up on the sink, both coughing and wheezing, trying to do everything you can to get yourself some oxygen.

“Sweetie? What’s going on?” the familiar voice of your mom came muffled from the other side of the door. When you replied with nothing but aggressive and painful coughs, the knocking became incessant, and her calls turned to worried cries. “Open the door!”

The same sensation of something crawling out of your throat came back. This time, you were more aware than your paralyzed state a few minutes ago. You stuck your fingers in your throat, feeling for any obstruction.

And you did.

With one forced cough, you were able to pinch out something smooth but foreign. You yanked it out, clenched it in your fist, and spat whatever fluid it brought out. You were initially worried that it was blood, but as you looked at the white ceramic of the bathroom sink, it was black.

When the bathroom door burst open, you quickly opened the faucet, flushing down whatever it was. Your mom rushed over to you and covered your hunched figure with a bath towel before pulling open the medicine cabinet behind the mirror to fish out your emergency inhaler.

“Come on, sweetie,” she carefully urged the inhaler in my mouth, pressing down to dispense a dose, but you could barely bury it down. “Let’s go to your room. You’re freezing.” She led me step by step to my bed and laid me under the covers, but the warm blankets only made me feel worse. “Your dad is coming with the nebulizer. Don’t worry. Just careful breaths.”

You didn’t remember how long it took for you to fall asleep that night, but you woke up the next day to your mom entering your room, already dressed in her office attire. She must’ve seen the panic on your face when you realised that it was way past your alarm.

“I called you in sick at the community pool,” your mom said. “Your dad will be picking you up after work to bring you to the hospital. In the meantime, just rest, okay?” She pressed a kiss on your forehead before she left the room, and you were alone again.

Then you felt the soft thing that you had in your fist the entire night. You raised your hand and held the foreign object over your head.

A black petal.

Panic bubbled up at the base of your spine, and you wasted no time in getting out of bed and getting dressed. You needed to tell Chief Hopper or Mrs. Byers. Or even just any one in Mike’s party.

And Steve.

Suddenly, it hit you. Dustin would still be around Steve decoding whatever Russian code they were on. The kid can easily call a code red for your situation. You grabbed your keys with the intent of going to Starcourt.

Just as you locked the front door, Max and El came rushing in their bikes, looking as alarmed as you are. They rushed to you, especially El who gave you a pleading look.

“It’s Billy.”

~

“As much as I appreciate you calling a grown up to investigate, this seems highly unnecessary.”

You were clearly uncomfortable as you turned the corner to Cherry Lane. You already gave them an earful when they admitted that they were spying on random people during their sleepover last night. Personally, you didn’t think that Heather would suddenly go for Billy when she just went on a date with someone else the other week, but maybe Billy was just that convincing.

“But the screams,” El reasoned.

“When Billy is alone with a girl, they make, like, really crazy noises,” Max argued, making you laugh at her words. Case in point.

“That’s surprising,” you noted. “I assumed that because he’s such an asshole he doesn’t…” you trailed off when you caught El’s clueless look from your rear-view mirror. “Never mind.”

“They scream?” El voiced out her confusion.

“Yeah, but, like… happy screams.” Then Max turned to you. “Oh, just that house right there.”

Your laughter came out in breathless snorts at this point. You pulled the car in park around the curb. “Okay, that’s enough,” you interrupted. “You don’t need to know about that yet, El.” You watched the house and hummed in thought. “His car’s not there. This’ll be easy.”

The three of you went inside the house and headed to his room. You knew that their family was very far from a loving one, but you tried to wrack your head for a reason as to why Billy’s bedroom door had a hinge lock from the outside. You barely had any thoughts about that little detail before Max pushed the door open.

“Why do I get the feeling we’re gonna find all sorts of wrong here?” Max said.

“Well, his tastes in music aren’t half bad,” you commented, flicking through his stack of cassette tapes by his stereo. You pulled open his bedside drawer and laughed at its contents. “Jackpot.”

Max rushed over to peek, only to see his collection of ‘printed ladies.’ “Ugh!” she exclaimed. “Gag me with a spoon.”

Then we heard El calling us from the bathroom.

We followed her to see empty ice packets around his tub. The unsettling feeling crept in again as you remember that you were also trying to keep yourself cold last night. But you weren’t the only one who was unsettled.

El, who was breathing heavily, stared off into the corner, and when Max and you followed her line of sight, there it was. Blood. You carefully opened the trash bin and pulled out a utility bag from Hawkins’ Community Pool.

“Let’s go.” You didn’t waste any time leaving the house and getting into the car.

Despite the darkening skies and thunder rumbling, you got there in record time. You ran to see a co-worker of your closing the pool area. Protocol. But he definitely wasn’t pleased to see you.

“Didn’t you call in sick?” he said, sounding annoyed. “You’re the second person to bail today.”

“Heather didn’t come in?” Max asked.

“Obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing thi— Hey!”

The three of us ran back to the car to figure out what to do next.

“We can go back to my place,” you suggested. “Wait out until Heather comes home next door.” Then you remembered. “Shit,” you cursed, turning on your car before the girls agreed. “My dad is supposed to pick me up for a doctor’s appointment.”

Luckily, your dad wasn’t home yet when you got back. Probably due to the storm. However, the girls already had their own plans in mind when they walked over next door to the Holloway’s.

“Shit, shit, shit,” you hissed, jogging over to them. “Don’t go running off without me.” You looked at the now open front door. “Did you just unlock the door? This is trespassing!”

“She’s inside,” El whispered. She and Max entered the house, and you had no choice but to follow.

The three of you carefully treaded towards the voices in the dining room. There you found Billy with Mr. and Mrs. Holloway chatting away. The sight of your three by the hallway halted their conversation.

“Um, hey, Janet, Tom,” you greeted. “We tried to knock, but you probably didn’t hear us over the storm.”

“What on earth are you doing here?” Billy cut in, his eyes trained on Max and El.

“Where is she, Billy?” you asked firmly, staring straight into his eyes.

“Where is who?” Billy smiled innocently, but it didn’t give you any ease.

“Well, they’re a little burnt! I’m sorry.” Heather walked in from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies. “Oh, hey, girl! Is your shift over?”

“Heather!” Billy called. “This is my sister, Maxine.” He gestured to Max before his eyes landed on El. “I’m sorry. I did not quite catch your name.”

“El.” Eleven responded with her eyes pointedly trained on Billy.

“El,” Billy echoed, his polite smile turning into something menacing.

It definitely unnerved the three of us. Your hands held onto their shoulders and pulled them behind your back, leaving you to face Billy. “You guys weren’t at work, so we got worried,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

“Heather wasn't feeling so hot today, so we thought we'd take the day off to nurse her back to health.” Billy turned to Heather. “But you’re feeling just fine right now. Aren’t you, Heather?”

“I’m feeling so much better,” Heather smiled, but there was something about it that didn’t seem right to you.

Max and El tugged at your hand. You looked at them to see them silently pleading at you with their eyes. You gave a brief shake of your head before turning back to Billy. “I’m sorry to disturb you,” you said carefully. “I’ll take the girls home.”

“Thank you for looking out for my sister and her… friend.”

You made sure that the girls walked ahead of you, and right before you passed the front door, Billy pulled you to him. You barely could get a noise out as he pressed his hand over your ribs.

“You’re one of us,” Billy whispered before he shoved you out and shut the door.

It all happened in a split second that the girls didn’t even notice the exchange. The fear stabbed you deep in the gut that you basically dragged them back to your house, forcing them not to look back. Only when you got inside your house that the tension released from your body but only just.

“I’m taking you guys home, and tomorrow, we’re meeting up with the party, okay?”

“You’re not going anywhere, young lady.”

You winced and found your dad staring you down with his arms crossed.

Damn it.

~

“As soon as we’re done here, you’re grounded for a week.”

You groaned and held back the urge to roll your eyes. You were in the hospital waiting area for your family physician, but because there were a handful of minor accidents because of the storm, the wait was a bit long, especially when you were not priority. It was fine during the first ten minutes, but after half an hour, you were starting to get cranky.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

Your dad made a move to get up, but you stopped him. “There’s literally a storm out there, and you drove me here,” you pointed out. “Where else can I go?”

Your dad just scoffed but leaned back in his seat, waving you off. “Bring me back a coffee then,” he said.

You walked down the hallway but turned to the payphones instead of the restrooms. You dialled in the number you were so familiar with and hoped that he’d be home by this time.

“Hello?” Steve’s voice rang through the speaker, sending relief through your body.

“Pick me up at the hospital,” you said.

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, and do it in half an hour.”

“There’s literally a storm outsi—”

“I’m also staying at your place tonight.”

“Hey! What is going—”

“Thanks, Harrington.”

Steve arrived at the hospital in twenty, still dressed in his sailor uniform. With your dad still busy with his coffee and a random medical pamphlet, you cocked your head to the side and sent Steve a signal where to wait while you made your escape. For the second time, you got up to your feet.

“I think I want a coffee actually,” you said. “Be right back, daddy.”

Your dad hummed, not even lifting his eyes from the pamphlet.

For a split second, your heart seized at the sight of your clueless father. You wanted to tell him and mom about the monsters and how they were this close to taking you, but they were better off not knowing. It wasn’t worth risking their lives when it could be just you.

With a heavy heart, you kissed the top of his head and walked down the hallway, heading for the exit and into Steve Harrington’s getaway car.

“Okay, but what the hell is going on?” Steve asked, pulling the car in drive.

You didn’t answer and just hugged your knees to your chest while crying silently. You’re one of us. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to level your breathing, which now felt like such a laborious task. Now that you knew the truth, it was almost like you could feel it all inside you. Taking every piece of you.

You were quickly pulled out of your thoughts by a warm hand clasping yours. You raised your head and looked at Steve, who kept his eyes on the road, but continued to squeeze your hand. You managed to stop crying and thread your fingers through his and bask in his warmth.

You knew it was just temporary. You knew who he really liked. And as if the universe was aware of your feelings, they decided to cut the moment short by sending your chest squeezing and blocking your airways again. You dropped Steve’s hand and clutched at your chest as you exploded into another coughing fit.

Steve panicked and quickly glanced between you and the road. “What’s happening?” he asked frantically. “Should I take you back to the hospital?”

You violently shook your head. “N-no,” you managed to wheeze out. “Dr-drive.”

“Where’s your inhaler?” Steve asked to which you left unanswered.

Finally, you managed to cough out a chunk of something, freeing your airways. You quickly shoved it in your pockets without checking before Steve noticed it. You exhaled in relief and leaned back in his seat.

“It didn’t use to be that bad,” Steve pointed out.

“Yeah.”

“Was that why you were at the hospital?”

“Mm.”

“We should go back.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re near your place anyway.”

By the time you got to Steve’s house, he rushed to his parents’ room to find you something to wear from his mom’s closet. “Go take a shower and warm up!” he called out from the second floor.

You dragged your feet into the downstairs bathroom and rinsed your mouth. As you spat out the water, swirls of blood and black goo circled around before disappearing down the drain. You pulled out the clump that you hid in your pocket and teared up at the sight of a fully formed flower.

It was cruel that something as hauntingly beautiful as this was killing you from the inside.

When you flipped the flower over, you noticed thin tendrils from where the stem should be. You were horrified that the tendrils were actually moving like tiny tentacles. It reminded you of that day when you were in the tunnels under the pumpkin farm.

Without any more thought, you dropped the flower in the sink. Remembering that they were susceptible to heat, you immediately turned on the faucet to its hottest setting. As the water hit the flower, your lungs were suddenly set on fire.

Out of instinct, you turned the faucet off, relieved that the flower immediately dried out and broke off into ashy flakes. The burning stopped as well but still lingered under your skin. Almost tripping over your own feet, you staggered over to the shower, stripping yourself of your drenched clothes and turning on the water to its coldest setting, and only then did you find relief.

You’re one of us.

It took over almost half an hour to compose yourself and figure out what to do from here on out. You put one of the fluffy robes in the bathroom and headed out to the living room where Steve was already lounging on one of the sofas, shirtless but with a towel hanging over his neck. He only seemed to notice your presence when the sofa dipped beside him under your weight.

“You okay?” Steve asked when you rested your head on his shoulder, not minding that his hair was still dripping wet. “Jesus, you’re freezing.” He moved to grab the throw blanket and pulled it over both of you then rubbed his hands on your arms to warm you up.

Meanwhile, you wrapped your hands around his waist and just closed your eyes at the sound of his heartbeat. You were mad that his was steady when you couldn’t even control the fast drumming of your own heart whenever you were near him. Still, you held Steve as if you were afraid to let go, as if he was your only reminder that you were still you. But why did it hurt, even physically, so much to hold on?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Steve whispered, stroking the back of your head. “I don’t think we held each other like this since middle school,” he chuckled to himself at the memory. “When Vicki Carmichael took stole your partner for the Snow Ball and kissed him in front of everyone? You slept over and cried in my bed, telling me you hated her for it and me for going with Tammy Thompson.”

You wracked your head trying to remember what Steve was talking about. Maybe because it was a long day, but you couldn’t remember him holding you like this in middle school. Still, it must have been a beautiful memory if even Steve remembered it.

Sometimes it felt like you were the only one holding on so tightly in this relationship with him.

“Don’t you remember?”

You just hummed and snuggled closer to Steve.

“Okay, how about when Lewenski and I got into a fight because his girlfriend tripped you up and you skinned your knee pretty bad?”

This one, you remembered. “Your dad grounded you for a month, and you got benched for two games,” you chuckled softly.

“And you still cheered for me in the sidelines,” Steve said, sounding relieved that you were finally talking. After while a long pause, he said, “What happened? You used to tell me everything.” He continued, “I know I joke about it a lot, but I was really worried when you didn’t sign up with me at the mall. And you being sick all the time now?”

“Steve, just drop it,” you said, almost in a plea. “We’re okay. You never have to worry about me.”

Steve scoffed playfully. “That’s never going to happen,” he argued. “I’m always gonna worry about you. You don’t even notice how much trouble you get yourself into without realising.”

You tried not to think about it, but for the rest of that night in Steve’s arms, you almost felt like the vines were moving inside you, growing and taking up what was left of you that you haven’t already given to Steve.

~

“So, basically you’re a fugitive now?”

You chuckled and tiredly patted Dustin’s back. “Man, I missed you, kid,” you said. “And to answer your question, technically yes. I’m facing a lifetime of being grounded if I’m caught.”

“Let me get this straight,” Dustin began, his eyes trained on your plain black shirt that obviously belonged to Steve, “Steve snuck you out of the hospital, and you stayed in his house the entire night?” He leaned close to you. “And nothing happened?”

“Jesus, Dustin,” you wrinkled your nose at him. “People serve food here.” You gestured at the small cup of ice cream you were eating as breakfast slash brunch. Though you were wallowing your sorrows in cold, cold sweets, it did make you feel like a kid again.

“Steve is so stupid sometimes it amazes me,” Dustin thought out loud.

“I’m surprised you caught on. Seems like everyone in the world knows except him.”

“That’s because I’m me,” Dustin grinned proudly. “I bet the rest of the party doesn’t even know.”

“Who doesn’t know?” Steve entered the backroom with Robin in tow.

“Probably that you’re a dingus,” Robin snickered. Then her eyes trailed over to you. “So, we have another addition to the team,” she pointed out. “Who’s bringing her up to speed?”

“Dustin,” Steve said the same time that Dustin also said, “Me.”

Of course, it was Dustin.

While Dustin explained to you that the Russian military was most likely running a secret base right in the Starcourt Mall, you worried about El and Max, especially with not-Billy on the loose. Though they probably were already with the rest of the party right now and alerted Chief Hopper and Mrs. Byers. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Right?

“Got it?” Dustin finally said before narrowing his eyes at me. “Were you just zoning out the entire time?”

You snorted. “What do you take me for?”

“Fine, what did I just say?”

“Okay, I probably zoned out halfway through,” you admitted. “But your problem is pretty simple.”

Steve, Dustin, and Robin waited for you to continue.

“You just need the blueprints for the mall.”

“Why haven’t you called her the moment we were cracking the code?” Robin said, rushing outside and grabbing the tip jar. Ignoring Steve’s calls for her, she was off leaving us three at Scoops Ahoy.

~

“Touch my butt! I don’t care!”

“Can we keep it PG in here?” you frowned at the ridiculous show Steve and Dustin were putting by trying to get into the air ducts. “Just pull the boy down before someone gets hurt.”

“He can’t get hurt. He’s missing bones like Gumbo.”

“Like what?” you tilted your head.

“He means Gumby,” Dustin corrected, grabbing hold of Steve’s shoulders as he got hoisted out of the vent, “and that’s not how cleidocranial dysplasia works, Steve. I’m missing collarbones, not nerves.”

“Whatever,” Steve said. “We just need some else who could fit in there.”

Just as Steve said those words, Robin burst in the backroom, looking like she had an epiphany for the second time today. You were beginning to think she was the reason how Steve and Dustin had gotten this far. Behind her stood Lucas’ younger sister, Erica. Ah, the epiphany.

It only took the rest of the day of convincing her. The kid knew how to play hard ball. You’d give her that. She wouldn’t take anything less than ice cream for life. Frankly, you’d do the same.

You waited until the mall closed, though Robin and Steve cleared up Scoops Ahoy a few minutes early. So far, your parents were a no show, though you assumed that they didn’t think you would be hiding in the backroom of a very crowded mall. Frankly, they probably wouldn’t even believe you that you were infected with a monster from an alternate dimension and would rather help your friends with a Russian invasion than go to the hospital.

“Free ice cream for life,” Erica smirked smugly as soon as the thick sliding doors – actually odd for a simple storage room – slid open for us.

It didn’t take much snooping to find vats of glowing neon green vats of unknown substances hidden in regular delivery boxes. Without much thought, you grabbed one and made your way to the door. “Let’s just go before someone catches us.”

Again, the universe… just hated us.

“Uhh, which one do I press, Erica?” Dustin asked, insistently pressing the “OPEN” button.

Panic began to rise among all of us as mechanical whirring buzzed between the walls. Between that and the fact that we were trapped, we definitely knew we were screwed. While all of them fussed over the buttons that were no longer working, you stepped back, feeling something prickle under your skin.

“Just open the door!” Robin cried out, echoing into someone… something different.

Open the door.

Open the door!

Open the goddamn door!

Suddenly, you were on fire. You barely noticed your screams rising over everyone else’s. You fell to the floor, convulsing in agony as flashes of different people appeared in your head as if you were them. An old lady in a hospital bed, Heather, her parents, so many people who barely even knew in Hawkins… then Billy.

It was quiet with him. You saw flashes of a beautiful blonde woman calling out to him, her face concealed in a sunhat, then the beach with sand in between your toes. There was a moment of peace and tranquillity, and like someone playing a sick joke, you were in a dark place, standing in Billy’s place in front of people who were lifelessly standing still right in front of something. Something that you didn’t recognize but was so familiar to you, inside you.

He made me do it. It’s like a shadow, like a giant shadow. Please believe me, Max.

“Billy, it’s gonna be okay,” Max’s voice echoed in his head as if it were yours.

“It’s gonna be okay,” a different voice filtered through from all the noise.

“She’s unconscious. How is her inhaler going to help?” “I’m pretty sure that’s a seizure, nerd.” “Check for a pulse, Steve.”

Your consciousness fell right back on you like a pile of bricks. Your eyes fluttered open to see Steve hovering over you with your inhaler tucked between your lips. Once your eyes locked with his caramel ones, a huge wave of relief washed over his face as he pulled you into his arms.

“Oh, my God,” Steve gasped, clutching on to you for dear life. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Get… out.”

Steve tensed and pulled away to look at you. “What?”

You weakly pulled up your – actually Steve’s shirt up to your ribs, revealing angry black veins that were now crawling over your torso. You cried out and clutched at you. “Get it out!”

“Holy sh– what the hell is that?!”

You rolled to the side and fell into a coughing fit, your back hunched over. Your nails clawed at your throat, feeling something trying to crawl itself out. Whatever happened somewhere in Hawkins pissed off the plants inside you, and you can feel them twisting and curling throughout your torso.

With much straining and the remaining oxygen in your lungs, you managed to pull out the parasite from your oesophagus. The action made Dustin and Robin gag in the corner, while Steve and Erica warily looked at the slithering vine with a fully bloomed flower you dropped on the floor, leaving a trail of blood and black goo.

“You guys, by any chance, have a lighter?” you panted, pressing your cheek against the cold metal floor for any cool relief you can take.

Silence told you no. You hoisted yourself up with much difficulty and leaned back into the crate then immediately had an idea. Albeit, a bad one. With shaky knees, you got on your feet and lifted the vat of green goo that rolled away when you dropped unconscious. You looked for the right twist to open the container when Dustin stopped you.

“What are you doing?”

“We have to kill it,” you said nonchalantly. “I mean, I could just drink this to get it over with, but I don’t want to die that quick.”

“Are you…?” Then Dustin’s eyes widened. “That day. You were… because you saved me.”

“Wait, wait, are any of you nerds explaining what’s going on?” Erica interrupted.

You sighed. “Monster,” you pointed at the vine. “Infected,” you pointed at yourself. “Must kill monster with something. Preferably fire.”

“You killed one of those before?” Robin asked.

“It was smaller last night,” you shrugged, finding the latch to open up the vat. “Hot water took care of that sucker easily.” Twisting the lid a certain way, it clicked and released. “Aha!” you exclaimed. “This is gonna hurt.” You eyed the goo apprehensively.

Then Steve snatched the lid and sealed back the vat. “There has got to be a way to do this without you in pain,” he said.

“We don’t have time, and we’re stuck here in a metal box with a monster crawling towards Erica’s sneaker!”

“Why are you yelling?!”

“I’m not yelling!” you shouted. Then you turned to Dustin with a much softer voice. “How did Will get rid of his the last time?”

“Space heaters, a lot of them,” Dustin answered. “Anything from the Upside Down hates the heat, including D’Art.”

“Well, we’re not waiting until you cough all the flowers out, so I say we dump you into a hot tub and crank the heat to full,” Steve suggested, keeping the vat out of reach. “Once we get out of here, of course.”

“Boiling her alive,” Dustin scoffed. “That’s genius, Steve.”

“Or,” Robin interrupted, “we just use the same space heaters. It worked before, so it might work again now.”

“Thank you,” you said, pointedly looking at Steve. “At least someone is trying not to kill m—” Suddenly, your lungs were set aflame as you dropped into a heap on the cold floor, convulsing in agony with your mouth open in an open scream. You briefly heard Erica speaking before ultimately passing out.

“What? You only kept one of that green acid away from us. At least the monster’s dead.”

After passing out for the second time that night, you seemed to be sleeping much longer, but when you woke up, it wasn’t much of a surprise to hear Dustin and Steve still bickering. You opened your eyes to see Steve’s legs hanging from the ceiling. Again, not a surprise.

Probably nothing else would surprise you at this point.

“Shh! Jesus Christ!” Steve hissed before disappearing entirely to the top of the elevator.

Now that spiked your curiosity.

Robin was preoccupied with Erica, and both of them didn’t even notice that you were awake. You sat up and climbed on the stacked boxes leading up to the opening on the elevator ceiling. The burning in your ribs and your shortness of your breath was easier to ignore now that you were too lightheaded to actually feel the discomfort. Still, you managed to poke your head out the opening, accidentally ending up eavesdropping.

“I heard you guys talking all night,” Dustin whispered to Steve before his eyes landed on you. He winced and shot you an apologetic look.

Steve turned and saw you by his feet, making him jump in surprise. “What are you doing up?!” he scolded. “You scared all of us last night. I thought Erica killed you.”

“Gee, your welcome!” Erica called out from inside.

“’Last night’? It’s morning?”

Dustin smiled emptily. “Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve been trying to reach anyone on the radio since the mall is open. I think we’re too far down though.”

“Okay, take Dustin down with you please,” Steve said, facing the wall. “I’m gonna take a leak.”

“First of all, ew. Second, good morning,” you said, hopping back down with Dustin right behind you.

“This is one looong sleepover,” Steve called out before the sound of a stream hitting the ceiling echoed inside the elevator. “Two nights of being your personal pillow!”

“Two nights?” you muttered to yourself. “Was I with Steve the other night?” you turned to ask Dustin, who gave you a weird look.

“You stayed over his place, and he drove you to the mall, remember?”

“He did?”

“Hey!” Robin called out. “We have company.”

One fight with a Russian later, which Steve won – finally – you and the rest of the group snuck into the comms room of the secret Russian base and found out why your lungs had been reacting different once you walked further down that tunnel.

“The gate.”

You, Steve, and Dustin looked at each other in horror before turning back to the machine that was trying to pry open the gate that El had shut down last year. It was your first time seeing it, but the same dark familiarity was tugging from the deepest part of your mind. There was no reason to dwell on it, so you tugged Dustin and Steve, urging them to leave and quickly warn the others as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, leaving was harder than getting in. Guards were alerted, and all of us were sent into running. It ultimately sent us to the direction of the gate itself with Dustin almost running into the laser machine that was opening the gate if it wasn’t for you tugging the back of his shirt collar.

You didn’t like being that close to the gate. Between the soldiers yelling and Steve barking which way to run, a louder voice was whispering crystal clear voices inside your head. You surrendered to the voices for one second to try and understand what they were saying, which proved to be your mistake.

In that one second, you were teleported to an incredibly vivid memory of meeting Steve for the first time.

“Sweetie, say hi to Mrs. Harrington and Steve.”

Your hand curled into a fist on the hem of your mother’s dress. It wasn’t the first time you saw Steve Harrington. Your classmate pointed who Steve was when he passed you at the hallways of Hawkins’ Elementary. She boasted that her older sister was Steve’s “girl friend” after he kissed her during recess yesterday.

You didn’t know what any of that meant, but when you glanced at Steve Harrington, you thought he was the prettiest boy you ever seen. Steve Harrington was exactly what you imagined the princes looked like that your mother read to you at bedtime.

And now, you were at their front door because your mom worked with his mom, and Mrs. Harrington thought it would be nice to have her and you over for tea.

And Steve was still the prettiest boy you ever seen.

You were catatonic while staring up into the gate opening.

While the rest of the guards were chasing after Steve and the others, the scientists urged that the guards don’t touch you, seeing that your pupils had turned entirely black. Your exposed neck revealed raised veins that they could tell were black even under the dim, unsteady lighting in the lab.

Your blank state was finally broken when the Russians took you in a secluded room, further away from the gate. Your mind was wildly fuzzy as if you were in the middle of sinking badly in your own subconscious. You inner daze didn’t last long when the door opened again, and Steve and Robin were dragged in and also cuffed like you were.

“What happened to you there?” Steve said in a low tone. “You just froze.”

The soldier didn’t like the chit-chat and struck Steve across the face. The sound was loud enough to echo in the room that you winced upon impact. “No talking!” he spat in a thick accent. “Now, who do you work for?”

“I’m confused,” Steve said, trying to sound unphased from the hit. “Do I not talk or do I tell you who I work for?”

That earned him another hit.

~

“We have many stories of monsters from where I’m from.”

“So do we,” you groaned at the man pacing the room. “You’re not that special, dude.”

Robin and Steve were taken away over half an hour ago, mostly likely for their own interrogation. So far, on your end, this soldier has done nothing but talk your ear off about stories from where he grew up while you were strapped in an examination chair.

“I suppose you know about flowers that grow on lungs?” The surprised look on your face told him everything he needed to know. “No one knows where they come from,” he said, “… until now.” He leaned in close to you. “You are very important test subject.”

“Not for long,” you said spitefully. “I’m dying anyway.”

“Well, I suppose you will be buried in Russian soil by then,” he said, sending chills in your spine. “But now, I need to see the flowers itself.”

Your breathing quickened at the thought being sliced open.

But…

They wanted you alive enough to bring you to Russia. That meant…

“Steve!” Your eyes widened at the sight of him as they dragged him inside the room and dropped him in a heap on the floor. Your heart clenched at the blood streaked all over his mouth and his eye swollen shut. “What did you do to him?”

The soldier and the rest of the guards merely looked at you struggling from where you were restrained while Steve remained unresponsive on the floor. The soldier looked displeased at the results before him and barked out another order. Soon enough, Robin was also dragged inside the room, and similar to you, she was as distraught at the sight of him beaten up.

Then… they just left the three of you in the room alone.

“What do they want?” Robin asked. “We told them everything, and you’re the only one not strapped with us.”

You gulped. “They, uh, they know what’s wrong with me.”

That gained Steve’s attention. With much difficultly, he raised his head and slurred out, “They’re not taking you, and we’re getting out of here.”

“Right,” you snorted. “Unless you have a way of getting to those scissors and cutting yourselves free, I’m on the next flight to Russia by the end of the day.”

“Those morons. They left scissors here?” Steve scoffed.

“I think that if we move at the same time, we could get over there, and then maybe I could kick the table and knock them into your lap,” Robin said, her voice rising with desperation. “So, on the count of three, we’re gonna hop.”

You smiled as hope bubbled when they succeeded the first two swivels. But on the third, the chair legs slid, knocking them both on the floor. Robin, who had her back to you, began shaking. At first, you and Steve thought she was crying, until her quiet giggles turned into full-on laughter.

“I’m sorry,” Robin laughed, trying to contain herself, “but I just can’t believe I’m gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, while his girlfriend gets shipped off to another secret lab in Russia.”

“We’re not gonna die,” Steve huffed, “and she’s not my girlfriend, okay?”

“Gee, we’re tied up and have no hopes of escaping, and you choose to correct that?” you snarked at him.

There was a moment of quietness, mostly just to collect our wits, but Robin was the one to speak up again. She talked about Mrs. Click, our history teacher. Turns out she had been in the same class as Steve for the longest time, remembering every detail about him.

Just like you.

“Do you even remember me from that class?” Robin said, her voice lowering into a whisper. “It didn’t matter that you were an ass.”

And her next words just crushed you.

“I was still… obsessed with you.”

There was nothing else to do but watch as Steve’s eyes — well, eye — softened. In that moment, you felt like you were in someone else’s moment, just an audience. But wasn’t that what you always have been in Steve’s life?

“You know, I wish I’d known you in Click’s class,” Steve said, a fond smile growing on his lips. “Maybe instead of being here, I’d be on my way to college right now.”

Last semester, you wrote two of his history papers just so his grades would be high enough for him to play during the basketball playoffs.

“And I would have no idea that there were evil Russians beneath our feet,” Robin chuckled, “and I would be happily slinging ice cream with some other schmuck.”

“Gotta say, though, I liked being your schmuck.”

And there it was…

The burning in your lungs intensified, sending you in a painful fit of coughs. It was hard enough not to curl over because of the restraints on your chest. There was no way to claw at your throat or to grasp at your chest from the twisting pain.

You were too engrossed in trying not to choke from blood and black goo that you didn’t notice the door open. A different scientist came in, this time more sinister-looking, and leaned over you. “I knew it,” he smiled. “He feeds the flowers inside you.”

“W-wha…?” you managed to gasp out. “P-please… can’t… br-brea-eathe… In.... inhal-er.”

In the midst of the black spots tinting your vision, you barely made out a jet injector and something bright blue before you heard Steve yell out and everything went dark.

“… up. Wake up!”

You opened your eyes to see Dustin’s face. “Am I dreaming?”

“Come on! We have to go!”

You were so groggy that you followed Erica and Dustin to a hijacked mini-truck with Steve and Robin giggling along. Both their antics only heightened when we finally ascended back up to the mall. Steve couldn’t stop booping Dustin, while Robin was saying stuff about food and death.

“Did they give you something too?” Erica asked me.

“They probably took something instead,” you rasped out, feeling your throat. “They baited one out and pulled it out while I was trying not to choke to death.”

“Where is it now?” Dustin turned to me, smacking away Steve’s finger from booping his nose again.

“How the hell should I know? I was tied up!” you scowled at him.

“We just saved your asses!” Erica and Dustin chimed back at your tone.

The bickering didn’t end until you were all forced to be quiet as you hid in a cinema that was showing ‘Back to the Future.’ Once upon a time, it seemed to be a fun movie to watch with the kids, maybe even with El, but now, you could barely keep your knees from fidgeting as your eyes constantly watched between Michael J. Fox and the cinema doors for any evil Russians.

It wasn’t long when your lungs began burning again. You didn’t feel the need to cough this time, but it didn’t stop for a metallic taste bursting in your mouth. You grabbed an empty popcorn bag nearby and spat into the paper. Even under the dark theatre, you could see that it was mostly blood now.

You were out of time.

~

“Jesus, you look far worse than El.”

You shot Max a very unfriendly look. “The girl who just pulled a monster out of her leg using your mind powers?” You glanced at El who was cuddled up with Chief Hopper while Mrs. Byers attended to the open wound on her leg.

“Well, both you are bleeding out of your noses, and you are also growing monsters inside you.”

“ERICA!” you screeched while furiously wiping your nose.

“Just the facts!”

“What?!” Everyone else in the party, including the adults, chorused.

“You’re dying,” Will said as if he could still tell. He gave you a look of empathy and a little bit of familiarity. You knew he went through a similar thing last year, and it somehow made you less scared that he was here with you.

You nodded solemnly. “I don’t have much time,” you admitted. “It grows faster the closer I am to the gate… or when I feed it.”

“’Feed it’?” Max asked.

“We don’t have to talk about that,” you waved her off. At this point, you were just desperate to stay alive. All of you were so, so close. “If we close the gate, we can cut off all connections, right?”

“Theoretically,” Lucas added.

Since there was no other option but that, we all based our plan on that ‘theory.’ A man named Murray, who also got into a tiff with Erica, came in with a map of the underground Russian base from a guy named Alexei. With the goals in place, everyone began splitting off into groups.

“You’re coming with us, right?” Steve asked.

You bit your lip as you shook your head. “I’m staying with the girls,” you said. “You go with Dustin and Robin to Cerebro.” At the sight of his worried look, you added, “I’ll be okay.”

Steve shot you a scowl. “Don’t die without me.”

“Hard promise to keep,” you smirked, smacking his hand away from ruffling your already messy hair. Your fingers tangled with Steve’s, and he ended up holding your hand completely. “Don’t die first, Steven.”

Steve chuckled and was about to pull away when you tugged his hand back.

“Hey, Steve.”

“Yeah?”

“I know you and Robin…”

When you trailed off, Steve raised his brows at you, urging you to continue.

You shook your head, waving it off. “You guys just got drugged,” you reminded him. “Drive safely.”

“You say that as if I don’t have any experience from partying.”

“That isn’t comforting at the very least.” Then... you let go.

~

Turns out that it wasn’t just the gate that was triggering the growth.

When the Spider Monster burst through the glass ceiling for Starcourt Mall, the flowers in your lungs reacted the same way when Billy had grabbed you at the Holloway’s. It was one thing to lead the monster away from El, but it was another thing to be hunched in the trunk space of the Wheeler’s hatchback with said monster chasing you down the road.

“The answer to a never-ending story…”

You laughed at the song number from the radio in between coughs. “That definitely takes the sting out of dying,” you said. You can only imagine Erica’s face during this whole ordeal.

“Don’t say that.”

You looked at Steve in deadpan. You kept eye contact as you spat blood and body matter into an empty soda cup you found discarded in the car. It was a low-blow towards him, you knew that, and he didn’t deserve it.

But you were so tired, and you were so mad at yourself for always being late, for being cowardly.

So, when Jonathan turned the car to follow the Spider Monster that turned back to the mall, you immediately hopped off and went looking for El instead of going with them to set off the fireworks. Steve, as expected, put up a fight, insisting that you all stick together.

“I won’t go near it,” you reasoned. “I’m finding El and getting her out of here, while you keep it distracted.” When he looked unconvinced, you added, “The fireworks will also distract Billy. It’s going to be okay.”

“That isn’t comforting at the very least,” Steve said, making you laugh at your early words being thrown back at you.

“Hey!”

You turned to see Nancy Wheeler toss a bundle of fireworks at you. At your raised brow, she shrugged, “Just in case.”

Following a broken gate not too far from where Steve rammed Billy’s car, you found an employee’s corridor where Max and Mike passed out nearby with angry bruises on their faces. You rushed over for Max and shook her awake. Her eyes immediately shot open.

“Billy, it was Billy,” Max said, panicked. “He took El. You have to go. I’ll take care of Mike. Go!” She staggered to her feet, gripping the pipes for stability.

“I can’t go near him or that thing.” You hesitated leaving Max, but when she yelled at you again to go for El, you turned your feet and broke off into a run. Then the fireworks began…

“Fuck!” you screamed, falling to your knees. Every corner of your body was set ablaze. You cried out as the flowers inside you constricted with every blast.

Max and Mike quickly caught up to you, pulling you to your feet. Suddenly, it was quiet, and a wave of calm washed over you. You saw a beautiful woman in a sundress and a hat by the beach. It wasn’t your memory, but it was being returned to someone after being taken away. Billy.

“She was pretty,” you could hear El cry in your head. “She was really pretty.”

Taking advantage of the situation, you sped through the corridor and into the mall. You found Billy beginning to stand up to the Spider Monster. “When I make a run for it, you grab El and get her out of here, okay?”

“What? You just said you can’t face that thing!” Mike told you.

“Just do it!” You pushed your feet as fast as you could to face the monster.

“No!” Billy roared, grabbing the monster’s tentacle mouth to stop it from reaching El.

Seeing your opportunity, you quickly pulled the taped matchstick from the bundle and ignited the fireworks. Swinging your arm back, you flung it as hard as you could into the monster’s mouth. Right as soon as the explosive left your hand, you caught incoming smaller tentacles headed for Billy’s side, slinging two of them to your side from the crook of your elbow.

“I got you,” you said out of breath, seeing Billy’s surprised face. However, your fight had the monster targeting you, sending two other tendrils to your side instead. You barely felt it, even as its sharp tongue stabbed into your abdomen.

Touching the Spider Monster was as worse as looking straight into the Gate. You cried out as flashes of memories of you and Steve, growing up through the years, bombarded you, while the flowers inside you began crawling outside your ribs instead. You barely heard the last firework go off as you felt the vines throbbing under your skin.

An arm wrapped around your waist and pulled your unmoving feet, dragging you away. Your spotted, blurred vision could only see a head of dark blonde curls with a massive dark mass in the background screeching in agony.

“It’s over. It's supposed to be over!" you heard Max’s muffled voice say. “What’s wrong with her?!” You felt hands on your shoulder, shaking you to snap out of it.

“Steve,” you breathed out. You tried to focus on Max, but with a blink, you were trapped back in your memories. Steve telling you to go home every time as he led a different girl up the stairs to his room. Steve dropping you off while thanking you for picking out a gift for Nancy. Watching him smile ever so fondly at Robin. Seeing the smile that you so desperately desired every time.

All the memories of Steve breaking your heart, you felt all at once.

You continued to unconsciously call out Steve’s name. Even when the paramedics began wheeling you out in a stretcher. You vaguely saw them cutting your shirt open, exposing the gore that was concealed by the fabric.

The black vines had reached out on the surface of your skin. The outline of your ribs was exposed, threading black and purple angry bruises over your torso. The right side of your ribcage had completely sank, one rib twisting outwards and leaking a mix of blood and black goo. The damage was extensive, but the monster you grew and fed inside you seemed to be finally lying still, only remaining dormant once the gate was sealed once again.

“… -eral broken ribs and possible internal bleeding!” a paramedic called. “One of her lungs has collapsed. She's in shock!”

Then Steve was there. You couldn’t tell if it was a memory or if it was happening at that moment. He was struggling against two firemen, trying to get to you with one hand reaching out. With the last bit of energy left, you raised your hand, reaching out towards him too.

“Steve…”