Charlotte's playlist (a Steve Harrington x OC fanfic)

014. You give love a bad name -Bon Jovi

We drove in silence for a while, not really sure what to say to each other. Steve got some food for us, and we drove to a park. We sat in silence and ate until Steve spoke up.

"Charlotte, I'm sorry. Tommy and Carol... I... We aren't friends anymore. You were right, they're bullies, and I was only thinking about how they treated me. I was selfish. I'm sorry, I should have listened." He looked at me sadly and started to notice the bruises and marks on my face.

"Geez, Charlotte. How long has he been doing that?" I looked up at him, not wanting to answer. He seemed to realize that it was a while.

"Fuck, why didn't you tell me? Tell anyone? That's not okay. You don't deserve that shit. You're amazing Charlotte, you don't deserve any of this shit." Steve sighed and looked down at his food. I finally decided to say something.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been roped into this. It's not your problem to deal with." I felt tears spill from my eyes and I sniffled, quickly wiping them away.

"Hey, don't apologize. This isn't your fault. I want to help you. I want to be here. I could've run. I could hear what was happening from outside, I chose to get involved. Why do you think I didn't knock?" Steve's tone had softened. I looked up at him and smiled softly through the tears. He reached out and pulled me into a gentle hug. We decided we both needed a bit of sleep. We drove to Steve's house. He promised to drop me home later when he knew my dad wouldn't be there so I could get my cat and take her to my aunt's trailer for safety. I knew Jett would likely be hiding under my bed, but I was worried about her. I took off my jacket and fell asleep in one of the guest bedrooms. Steve cleaned up the house for a while and then he too went to sleep.

I woke up just as the sun was setting. Steve was already awake, and I could smell pizza. I got up and walked down the stairs. Steve appeared at the bottom as if he was about to walk up. He stopped when he saw me and smiled.

"Hey, I was just about to come and get you. I ordered pizza. I didn't know what you liked so I got cheese, I hope that's okay." I nodded and we both walked into the lounge room. We sat on the couch eating the pizza and watching whatever was playing on the television. I was mostly zoned out, thinking about Jett and all my things at home. I sighed. Steve looked over at me.

"Hey Charlotte, do you want to watch a movie or something? Then we can go for a walk until it's time to get your cat." I nodded at Steve's suggestion. He got up to grab some movies. We ended up deciding on 'Grease'. It wasn't my favorite, but I liked the songs, and I needed something light right now. My usual movies, horror, didn't seem like the right thing for tonight. Steve pulled a blanket over our knees and shuffled closer to me to make sure it covered us both. I felt myself blush a little and my stomach felt a little weird. Like I was getting butterflies. As the movie played, Steve moved closer. As Olivia Newton-John sang 'Hopelessly devoted to you', Steve inched his hand closer. I looked down, noticing how close his hand was to mine. I pushed my hand closer to his until our fingers brushed slightly. I looked away but kept my hand there, pretending not to realize. Then I felt Steve's hand in mine. Neither of us said anything and we sat in silence for the rest of the movie. Holding hands, too scared to move in case we scared the other off and they let go.

As the movie ended, we sat in silence for a while. Then Steve coughed and stood up. I was disappointed that he had let go of my hand but as he muttered something about the bathroom, I understood why. I nodded and went to go get my stuff, knowing we were going for a walk soon. Steve returned and we both pulled our shoes and jackets on.

We walked through the forest next to Steve's house. We were headed in the direction of the Byer's residence. Not intentionally, I just knew it was there because I had dropped off a few things when Joyce was sick one time. Joyce was reasonably good friends with my aunt. They didn't hang out, but they helped each other whenever needed. Steve and I talked as we trudged through the forest. We discussed things that we had never spoken about before. Our family lives, personal things. I told him about how my parents didn't want me, but my mom tolerated me. Steve told me about how he always wanted a pet, but his parents wouldn't let him. I told him he could hang out with Jett whenever he wanted, and he seemed to like the idea. We were so absorbed in our conversation that we almost didn't notice the smell of gasoline.

"Hey Steve, do you smell that?" Steve stopped and smelt the air. He looked over at me with a confused look.

"Gasoline?" I looked around and realized we were very close to the Byer's house now. I walked in the direction of their house when I heard a voice call my name. Jonathan Byers stepped into view holding a bat, followed closely by Nancy Wheeler.

"You need to leave." I looked at Jonathan, confused. I could see his house just behind him. Then the lights started to flicker. Nancy and Jonathan turned around and ran to the house. Steve and I stood there, very confused. Then we heard a scream. I ran forwards, picking up an axe from the side of the house. We heard gunshots as I ran to the door. Then it was quiet. I slowly reached for the handle. The lights had stopped blinking, and everything was still. The door creaked open.

"Nancy? Jonathan?" I looked around the dimly lit room, whispering their names.

"Charlotte, we should go." Steve tugged on my jacket. Nancy and Jonathan appeared, quietly creeping around the corner.

"You should leave." Nancy agreed with Steve. Steve turned and headed to the door. He turned, waiting for me. I shook my head. He opened the door to go but the lights flickered again, and Nancy and Jonathan frantically looked around the room. Then everything was plunged into darkness. Steve slowly closed the door, turning around. We could barely see a thing until a dark shape rose from behind Jonathan and pushed him to the ground, his bat falling from his grasp and rolling to the ground. Nancy emptied her gun into the monster, and I stood beside her as it staggered towards us. I had so many questions but now was clearly not the time to ask them. Steve stood by the door, clearly in shock. Then Nancy's gun clicked. No bullets. I raised the axe and swung it at the monster. It lodged itself into the shoulder of the monster and stuck there. The monster roared as I tried to pull my axe free. It raised a clawed hand and swung at me. Tearing my shirt and scratching my chest. I had tried to dodge the swing which meant I was far enough away that the cuts weren't too deep. They might scar but they wouldn't need stitches. I winced at the sting and stumbled back as it advanced on me. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Steve swung the bat that Jonathan had dropped and hit the monster. He hit and dodged with skill. He was a jock so wielding a bat was something he knew how to do.

"Get him in the trap!" Jonathan stood up from where he had fallen on the floor. Steve looked around, spotting the bear trap in the hall and gave a small nod. He pushed the monster back with the bat and it stumbled into the trap.

"Get back!" Nancy grabbed Steve's shirt to pull him away and Jonathan threw a lighter at the floor in front of the monster. It ignited and we all covered our eyes as the flames lit the monster up. It roared and then it was gone. I moved my hand from my face to see Steve in front of me, one arm stretched out as if to protect me. I felt the butterflies again.