~ Our Forever ~ Steve Harrington

*S3 Chapter One*

I sat on a cold, tiled floor, the space around me nothing but black. A sudden gust of cool air brushed my arm, forcing goosebumps to cover my body. I shivered in the darkness, reaching a hand out to try and feel anything around me. When my hand came out empty, a clutched it to my chest.

The overwhelming sense of fear and vulnerability was the only thing keeping me from exploring my surroundings any further. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was aware that I could stay in this curled up position forever, but that logic was currently being ignored.

Instead of finding a way to fix my predicament, I let a small tear roll down my cheek, allowing myself to succumb to the fear around me. How did I even get here? What was I doing... who was I with?

Where is everyone? Why am I alone?

These questions swirled around in my thoughts, blurring anything that could make sense of this situation. I clutched my hands to my ears, trying to drown out my worries, when suddenly a deep grumble made my mind clear of every thought but one.

"I'm fucked"

My head whipped around in a desperate attempt to locate the sound, but the familiar alien-like growl felt like it was seeping through the darkness all around me, making it near impossible to track.

More helpless tears rolled down my cheek as I felt around for some sort of weapon. Where is one of those pipes when you need one? There has to be something among all of this darkness...

Just when I thought I would be stuck here forever, helpless and terrified of death, my fingers brushed something. I gasped, letting out a relieved laugh as I gripped whatever I had just touched.

However, when I tried to pull the object towards me, it stayed put, as if it were glued down. Frowning, I wrapped my other hand around it and pulled harder, but it didn't budge.

I was starting to grow anxious, my face now wet with sweat and tears. Come on, move!

And then, it did move. Only, I wasn't the one to move it. I stumbled back, my body shaking with realization as the monster emerged from the dark. It's faceless face looked down at me, seemingly intrigued, until the flaps that blossomed into its flower face opened, preparing to shred me in seconds.

I screamed, and the monster took in a breath, as if about to roar. However, the only sound the came out of its mouth was a familiar, very annoying beep.

My screaming stopped, and the creature before me looked confused. It opened its mouth again, only to produce the same beeping sound. The beeps grew louder as my surroundings grew dimmer, the demogorgan fading to the depths of my mind.

***

I woke with a start, turning my head to face my alarm clock, which was going off excessively. Groaning, I slammed my hand down on it to shut it up, only then realizing the time.

Cursing under my breath, I jumped out of bed, grabbing my Starbucks uniform from my dresser and running into the bathroom to change. I had always been a coffee drinker, and they had an opening, so I applied right away. The only downside? My shift starts at 6am.

I pulled the green T-shirt over my head, tied my hair into a tied ponytail, then threaded my hair through the opening in the back of the company hat. I splashed some water on my face, a desperate to get rid of the dark circles under my eyes. When they wouldn't go away, I grabbed some concealer and threw some on. Once I looked less dead, I stepped out of the bathroom, preparing to wake up my brother.

I guess there was one other downside to this job. Because of Billy's absolute refusal for me to drive his car, that meant that I had to rely on him to get me to work. My dad absolutely refused to drive me so early, and Susan couldn't ever wake up before 9, so Billy was stuck with the task.