𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harrington

ᶠ ⁱ ᶠ ᵗ ʸ ⁻ ᶠ ᵒ ᵘ ʳ

March 28th, 1986

THEY'D DONE AS MUCH AS they could. After shooting the final shot, the group of four in Vecna's lair had run outside only to find that the monster had disappeared. They didn't know if he was alive or dead, running away or planning his next attack - they could only assume it was over.

The group had only just entered the Trailer Park when they heard the boy's ricocheting sobs. Steve and Aven immediately sprinted towards the noise, Nancy and Robin not too far behind once they came across the gruesome sight. Right outside of Eddie's trailer, Dustin was kneeled over said boy's dead body with tears streaming into a puddle beneath him. Eddie was dead, all because of the preying bats in the Upside Down world.

Steve and Aven had to pry Dustin's fingers off Eddie's arms, the teen screaming and jerking in their grips as they dragged him back to the surface. Whilst Steve, Nancy and Robin tried to calm Dustin down, Aven ran outside to the bush outside of the Munsons' trailer. She didn't leave Eddie's body without muttering a few thankful words and placing the freshly picked flowers beside his peaceful frame, choosing to ignore the bloody wounds bursting from his abdomen and the liquid that had once seeped from his mouth. That was the last time she'd been in the Upside Down, and what she'd hoped to be the last time forever. 

Later that evening, they made their way towards the Creel mansion. Aven burst into tears once again upon seeing her sister's limp body hanging from Lucas' arms. She instantly took her hand as the boy carried her to a stretcher, took her hand as they rode together in the back of the ambulance, and took her hand as they laid her on her hospital bed. Her sister was in a deep coma, and had been for the last two days. And for those whole two days, she hadn't left her side.

It was only when Lucas forcefully pushed her out of the room that she ventured into the morning air, the bright sunlight making her squint as she walked towards Steve and his open car door. He'd occasionally stopped by to greet Lucas and the two girls, even if one of them couldn't reply, before he was off to help the town deal with the consequences of Vecna's horrific attack.

Steve drove her to Nancy's house to help pack things for donations, but the girl just lazily sat on the boot of the car. By the time they'd got there the group had almost finished packing anyway, and she couldn't find the energy within her to help when she knew her sister was laying - stuck in her head - in a hospital bed with the Sinclairs by her side. She just couldn't get the image of Max's broken body levitating in the air out of her traumatised head.

Suddenly, when a bright yellow pizza van drove up to the front of the Wheeler residence, she was shaken from her thoughts. Because, out of the car stood Mike, Will, Eleven, Jonathan and another guy with long, dark hair. Her friends from California were back.

She instantly pushed away from the vehicle as Nancy ran up to Jonathan, Dustin ran up to Eleven and Will, and Karen ran up to Mike. Mike's eyes weren't on his mother, however. His eyes were on her.

When Eleven had journeyed back into the void, she'd seen her. The girl that had disappeared in front of her very eyes had been sitting on the couch beside a distraught Nancy Wheeler, holding her hand as she rubbed her back. The girl in the darkness had stumbled back, and as soon as she was out, had told the group of the amazing news. 

Will and Jonathan had shared a thankful hug, Argyle had stood to the side with a small smile - because even through his high mind, he could remember how highly Jonathan, Will and Eleven had spoken of her - and Mike had almost fainted. He couldn't believe Aven - the girl whose death he had mourned - was actually alive.

Out the front of the Wheelers' house, no one had laid eyes on her but him. As soon as his mother had pulled away, he was running towards the girl, not listening to what his parent was saying as he sprinted towards Aven. She stifled a dry laugh, the last of her tears slipping out of her eye as she leapt into his arms. She leapt into his, because he was finally taller than her.

"Oh my god," he muttered, laughing into her shoulder as she buried her head in his. "You're alive. I mean, how? After all this time . . ."

"I know how it sounds," she mumbled as she pulled away, wiping one of the tears slowly trickling down his cheek away with a smile. "I'll tell you everything. It's- It's crazy."

"I just can't believe it. You're actually here. I mean, Eleven saw you in the void but, I still couldn't believe it," he shouted with joy as he shook her shoulders lightly, both of them smiling for the first time in days. The effect Vecna had on everyone was massive. It had taken a toll on everybody that was a part of it, even the people in the different state of Nevada.

"I told you I'd always come back, didn't I?" Aven questioned him with a grin, watching as his face softened the slightest.

"You did," he chuckled as his eyes glistened in the sunlight, his jawline capturing the sun. "and I'm finally taller than you." He took a step back with a laugh, waving a hand between their faces to illustrate their height difference. All she did was teasingly roll her eyes.

"Aven!" Will shouted from beside Dustin, Eleven immediately turning her head to stare over at the pair as well. The siblings instantly ran towards the girl, who already had her arms out wide with a grin. Steve walked over from beside Robin, leaning his elbow on Mike's shoulder as the two boys watched Aven wrap the younger Byers siblings in a warming hug. He'd missed seeing her bright smile and light laughter - she wasn't herself without it.

Aven had missed the teens, but thankfully, they were finally there. They were all together, excluding the adults and the Sinclairs, but two others were missing. One was dead - clinically dead - but one was alive - barely, yet breathing. Aven watched from afar as everyone else reunited, sharing smiles and laughter for the first time in what felt like forever. They were all forgetting about it, moving on from the lurking, underground world beneath them. 

They thought they were safe, but the goosebumps trailing up the back of Aven's neck said different.

1172 words