A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION
Ryan Fordman has lived next door to Steve Harrington her entire life. Her entire life, he'd always been a window away, occasionally shouting across the space between their houses. They were inseparable... at least, they we...
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Steve pulled up to the sidewalk outside his and Ryan's houses, putting the car in park. In the driveway that was usually empty, his father's car was parked in his typical spot. He was home earlier than he thought he'd be. He was hoping he could just walk in, grab his things, then head back to Hopper's with Ryan without a problem.
"Are you sure you don't want to just borrow Aaron's clothes?" Ryan asked, eyes on the car in the driveway. "He has some at the cabin."
"I'm sure." He nodded. He was going to have to see his dad eventually. "I really need to stop stealing your brother's shit, Sunshine."
"If you say so."
"My dad is going to hate this." Steve sighed, hanging his head low with a small laugh. "I'm all beat up, covered in blood and dirt- I mean, the last time I came home like this, he lost it and I mean lost it."
"Then I'll go in with you." Ryan shrugged, opening the passenger door. "I mean, we're only going to be in there for a few minutes. In and out, no biggie."
Steve followed her up to his house, taking her hand. They opened the door, taking the stairs up to his room two at a time, ignoring the calls from his parents downstairs. Apparently, his mother had made it back from her trip as well.
For a second, Ryan was worried that Steve's parents would follow them into his room. The last thing they needed was Steve to get into it with his father at that moment. After all, they'd fought enough people and monsters for the night.
"They haven't come up here in a year." Steve said, practically reading her mind, just like usual. "We'll be ambushed on our way out though."
"Fine, we'll deal with it then." She shrugged, digging through Steve's closet for clothes for the next day. Her eyes fell on an old sweatshirt in the back, looking over her shoulder to see if he was paying any attention before shoving it in her bag. "Do you have your pajamas?"
Steve held up his clothes for her to see, throwing them over his shoulder, "How many clothes did you grab?"
"Enough for you to have options." She shrugged, catching his pajamas as he tossed them over to her. "Come on, maybe we'll get lucky and beat your parents to the front door."
They walked quickly down the stairs, coming face to face with Mr. Harrington blocking their exit strategy. Ryan took Steve's hand in hers, looking down at her feet. In hindsight, they probably should've just crawled out the window.
Mr. Harrington took one look at Steve's bruised face and let out a loud, annoyed sigh, "Another fight? Really? Did you actually win this one?" Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Mr. Harrington just kept talking. "Let me guess, no you didn't. Do you know how bad this makes our family look? You walking around like you're fresh out of juvenile hall?"
Steve clenched his jaw, looking anywhere but at the man in front of him. Ryan squeezed his hand, turning to look at his father, standing tall, "He did it for me."
