idiot - steddie

Seventeen

24 hours of endless fighting.

A long week of me and Eddie knowing each other, a week that ended in nothing but tyranny.

Vecna was killed, thank god. Robin and I lit the rags that were plunged into the openings of glass bottles. The same bottles that me and her had been filling up when we were as safe as safe could be, talking about me and Eddie's newfound feelings for each other just hours before this horrid situation took place. Nancy finished him off with her shotgun, which had the barrel sawed off. A felony in many states according to her and Max's conversation before we came here. He was burned by 1000 flames that caused a putrid smell to fill the air of the Creel's attic. A more putrid smell than what had already lingered there from when we entered the home. Glass shattered and screams filled the air as he continued to walk towards us, just staring our trio down with hatred in his blank, white pupils. He didn't seem to even die, it was almost like he was invincible.

But the final time her pointer finger pressed down on the trigger, he was thrown through the moldy wood that was boarding off a window frame, throwing him down to the dirt beyond the roof above the porch.

We all ran down the winding staircases and forced open doors that led to the front entrance, giving us just enough time to catch the sight of a body's indent on the ground, no Vecna, and just a few severed vines. Me and Robin looked at each other with worried looks, but Nancy's attention was focused on something that was rustling the leaves inside of the forest. She raised her gun slowly so it was pointed adjacent to her nose, aimed towards the overgrowth in front of us. Her eyes barely skimmed over the ammo barrel as she focused on the dark woods. Me and Robin followed her eyes, expecting to see a demogorgon or a bat pop out, but all that came through the bushes was the familiar face of Dustin Henderson. He had a terrible limp and a raspy voice, and as he screamed at us with incoherent yells, I knew that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

I focused on the space behind him as he came up the pavement to where we were, his feet stopping in front of the rickety porch steps, and judging by his state it was clear he couldn't walk up them. I expected to see Eddie trailing behind him with a smile and his shield waving in the air above him, yelling: "We did it bitches! We killed him!" Or some other kind of cocky victory cheer.

But there was no one. Just Dustin. Tears fell from his eyes at unhuman speeds, and he had blood on his palms, on his shirt, and on his chin. And it was clear that it was not his blood. It definitely was someone else's. "Guys, help! It's Ed-.." he choked out a sob as streams of warm tears fell down like waterfalls on his cheeks. "It's Eddie. He got caught by the.." Dustin looked up at me and I could see him wipe a tear from his bloody cheek. "T- The bats."

My eyes widened, and my fight or flight kicked in on impact. Robin and Nancy asked questions, stepping down the stairs to where he was, but their worries went through one ear and out the other. My breathing quickened and I began taking the steps two at a time until my shoes hit the gravel beside Dustin and I just ran. I ran past Robin's pleas for me to come back, I ran past the voices in my head telling me it was too late. Ran past the feeling of guilt sitting in the pit of my stomach, fermenting itself into my guts. It felt like if I quit running at any moment, or if I stopped once that itself would kill Eddie. I could imagine him sitting on the ground of his trailer park, bloodied and injured with bats swarming him. His long hair drenched with blood and sweat and shriveled into wet balls that laid just below his shoulders.

I finally made my way into the trailer park, my breath barely leaving my mouth by the time I had been running even faster towards his camper. I pulled through and did all of that despite my legs burning and my arms scarred with cuts from the branches I had sprinted past. My legs gave out the second I caught sight of Eddie. I had no idea if it was from how tired my calves were or at the shock that had coursed through me the second I saw his nearly lifeless body, but I crawled towards him, my hands caking with dirt and Upside Down goo. Though, even being the neat freak I am, couldn't care less. I could only care about Eddie in that moment. And I only did care about Eddie in that moment.

He barely even acknowledged me by the time I had wrapped my arms around him, setting his head on my left thigh and shaking him awake the best I could. I got deja vu from the last time I had been doing this, when he had been having the Vecna visions in the process of us traveling through the gate. The first time I had genuinely thought I had lost him. Now I was experiencing that same exact feeling, but on levels that no pain or hurt could ever exceed.

My tears fell onto his cheek, grazing his skin as the clear droplet slid down and landed on his hair, and his half-lidded eyes turned to me lazily, the corners of his lips turning into a dopey smile. Blood was smeared across his left cheek, opposite to the one my hand was cupping. "Oh, Eddie." I whimpered softly, brushing his hair out of his face and tucking it behind his ears. "Bad, huh?" He asked, choking on his words. My breathing slowly came to a halt, and I felt my tongue go dry at the sight of his expression. "No. No, no, no. You're gonna be fine." I reassured him, my eyes brushing against his wounds, and it was safe to saw they were much worse than the ones I had. Blood was seeping through the white fabric of his already ruined tshirt, making him look more vulnerable than he already had been. "We just gotta get you to a hospital okay?" I choked out, looking him straight in the eyes and brushing the few hairs that had flown back into his eyes away, tucking them with the rest. He looked up at me with a painful gaze. "Okay." He replied pathetically, blood spurting out of his mouth as he coughed again, slapping his fist down into the middle of his chest, making the red liquid land on his face and blend into his skin.

God, I needed him to pull through. Because if he didn't, I may aswell go down with him.

Author's Note
(Last one I promise.)

Short chapter with terrible writing, if you haven't already noticed that by skimming through this. Eighteen will be the finale, and after that this story will be concluded! I would like to ask for suggestions on future books after this one, what ships and what tropes you want to see with them. I would prefer if they were Stranger Things related, because that is what I base all my socials off of and what I am most used to.

Have a great night! Sleep well knowing that Eddie's fate may not be the one you wish for! 💋