• X • || Steve Harrington

• It's too late, 3 •

| pairing: Steve Harrington (duh), x fem!reader.
| warnings: angst, romance.
| summary: Y/N turns out to be Vecna's next target.

Steve & Y/N survived together, recovered together. They experienced things normal teenagers will never have to deal with. And somehow, they always managed to protect each other. But this time, Vecna's curse seemed unstoppable, and it was torturing Steve. He couldn't do much, it made him feel powerless.

"Listen, Steve. I'm really–" Y/N paused. She looked at the houses around the streets. "Wait a second– What's going on– Where are we going?" She turned back to him. "Steve." He pretended to focus on the road. "Steve!"

He breathed in. "I'll tell you– But first, don't be mad at me. I'm just trying to– I don't even know." He glanced at her. Y/N was already furious. "I talked to Dustin. Something happened, they're all waiting for us. We are going to the Wheeler's house."

"Steve Harrington..." Y/N mumbled. She laughed through the frustration and tried to unlock the door, but it was closed. "Shit–"

"Please– Don't be so dramatic. You're not seriously thinking about jumping off the car, Y/N." Steve was still driving, and with one hand, he touched her. "Hey–"

"You lied to me." Y/N groaned. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone about this." She pushed him away.

"I didn't say anything to them, yet." He replied. "It has nothing to do with you. We are going there only because Dustin asked us to come. Apparently, he has some important things to tell us." He glanced at her. "And you shouldn't hide it from them anyway, they're your friends. Did you even try to call your parents–"

Steve didn't even finish the sentence. He sighed deeply, then looked at her, overwhelmed by worry and guilt. Obviously, she was disappointed, hurt. She never had a good relationship with her parents, especially her mother. And Steve knew all about it.

"It wasn't meant to–" He hit the wheel. "Dammit– I forgot. It just went through the conversation– I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I can't even imagine how you're feeling about them at the moment."

"I don't wanna fight with you anymore." Y/N said. "I've been thinking about you, about us. I've been revisiting our memories for the past few days. And–" They looked at each other. "We might both be exhausted, stressed out. But if we keep fighting over this over and over again, until..."

"It's gonna ruin everything." Steve concluded. "Because, unlike some other arguments we've had in the past, it might be impossible to reconcile after this one." She nodded. "Okay, well– We don't have to do this. We don't have to meet them. I shouldn't be forcing you–"

"No– You were right, I shouldn't hide it from them." Steve parked in the Wheeler's driveway. "They're our friends."

"We'll tell them." Steve's hand went searching for hers. "Together."
Y/N loved this man more than anything. She smiled as happiness emerged through the darkness.

Mrs. Wheeler opened the door with a smile. They walked in, still holding hands as they briefly talked with her. Dustin was waiting for them, standing by the basement's door, arms crossed and visibly annoyed.

"Hey, Henderson–"

"It's been almost three days!" Dustin whispered, looking behind them to make sure Mrs. Wheeler had left. "You guys are irresponsible–"

They took the stairs. "Don't be mad at Steve." Y/N interrupted. "It's all my fault."

"Gross." Dustin mumbled. "I don't wanna hear about it." Steve & Y/N glanced at each as they both raised their eyebrows. "We are in deep shit."

They arrived downstairs, everyone staring at them. Max and Lucas were sitting down on the couch, Nancy and Robin standing by their side. They all seemed concerned.

Nancy was the first to react. "What happened– Are you guys insane? It's been days since the last time we heard from you." Lucas nodded. "Y/N, what happened? We were supposed to meet at the school. Max told us, you guys were in Ms. Kelly's office reading files–"

"She had to leave the room." Steve explained, urging to defend his girlfriend. "She didn't feel good. It happens, Nancy."

Nancy frowned. "Bullshit." Steve didn't say anything, even though as soon as he heard the b-word coming from Nancy's mouth again years later, he wanted to comment. "I just–"

"Everyone, shut up." Dustin said. "We don't have time for lies and stories. In case everyone suddenly forgot about it, Eddie is still very much in danger out there. The cops are still looking for him." He turned to Steve & Y/N. "You guys were too busy making out to–"

"We weren't doing anything..." Y/N lied. Everyone was now looking at Steve & her, waiting. "We– Well..."

"I mean– Technically we were making out." Steve admitted, both hands raised in the air as Y/N gave him a disapproving look. "Just saying–"

"Dumbass..." Robin whispered, leaned against the wall.

Steve started to mess around with Robin. Lucas, Max and Dustin were captivated by Robin's comebacks against every single attack coming from him. It wasn't anything serious, just a brother & sister teasing each other.

"Guys–" They weren't paying attention to Y/N anymore. She wanted to tell them the truth, to finally say it out loud in front of everyone. But, they were laughing and screaming. "I'm cursed." Y/N laughed. "Yeah– I've been dealing with the symptoms for about a week. I didn't want to say it, to face it. Max–" She looked at the redhead. "When you read the symptoms to us... I lost it."

Y/N started hanging out with them as she became friends with Steve. She was pushed into this mess, unexpectedly. She had to fight on occasions, to see things that kept her up at night. But, she never regretted any of it, not even a little bit. Because the friends she had made over the past few years made it all worth it.

"We've been hiding at my parent's house for the last 48 hours." Steve said, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist to bring her closer to him.

"Oh man–" Dustin said. He sat down on the couch, head hidden between his palms. "No, no, no..." he whispered. "Not you." Y/N's heart ached.

Nancy sighed. "Now– We need to find a solution."

"Chrissy & Fred went through the same thing and they both died." Y/N said. "I'm afraid they might not be one."

"Fuck this– We are not giving up on you, Y/N." Robin said. Everyone agreed. "We're gonna investigate and–" She shrugged. "We– We'll find something."

"I have an idea." Nancy declared. "We talked about it earlier today. It's about Victor Creed. However, it might be not very–"

"Let's do this." Robin didn't even let the girl finish her sentence. Just like the others, she was determined to save Y/N from Vecna's curse.

A/N: the next part will be the last! I've been extending the chapters to make this story last longer. I hope you guys are still enjoying it. :) I'm so excited to watch the finale but also extremely worried lmao. It's gonna be emotional...