Surrender // Steve Harrington x Reader

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

Once Steve is sure you'd calmed down, which you absolutely had after your kiss, you return to the others inside. Eddie was crouched on the floor, the others huddled around him. He glares at you as you enter and you return the favor, though he otherwise says nothing. 

"Hey, guys." Steve mumbles in greeting, hand resting on the small of your back as you walk over to the group. You lean against a wall, Steve close-by. 

"Hey. Eddie was just filling us in." Dustin explains, and when you look at the man in question, he was still glaring at you. "I'm not apologising to you." You begin, met with a protest from Eddie. "Yeah, well good 'cause I don't want your fuckin' apology."

"Let me finish." You cut him off, a hard stare level in your eyes as you pin him with it. "I don't hold a grudge. I get that you're scared, but that doesn't excuse you attacking Steve. So long as you don't do it again, we're good."

Pools of dark brown narrow at you, considering your words. Thick brows furrow a moment before relaxing once more, eyes darting from you to the floor. "Fine." Is all he says, grumbling it like a petulant toddler. 

"Carry on..." Dustin urges him, wanting to find out the rest of the story.

Eddie sighs, blinking a few times before continuing. "Her body just, like... lifted up into the air and uh... And she just hung there. In the- the air. And her bones--" His eyes close against the agonizing memory as he hums low in his throat, trying to say words that wouldn't fall easily from his lips. But you didn't need to hear it. All he was saying was textbook in terms of Henry's murders, and you knew what came next. "Her bones started to snap. And her eyes, man. It was like there was something inside her head, pulling. I... I didn't know what to do... So I-- I ran away. I left her there."

You'd seen him do it before. At the time it had been thrilling to you, watching him siphon the energy from others like it was nothing more than swatting a fly. Now it filled you with dread. A disgusting pit of bile that rose into the back of your throat.

Eddie's eyes shone with wetness and he blinks the tears away, pulling free of the distracting memory and realising once more that he was in a room full of people; most of which he'd never even interacted with before.

"You all think I'm crazy, right?"

"No... We don't think you're crazy." Dustin wore an expression of pure pity as he spoke to his traumatised friend. 

"Don't bullshit me man, I know how this sounds!" Eddie fires back, frustrated.

"We're not bullshitting you. We believe you." 

"Look..." Dustin steers back the conversation to himself, trying to keep things as calm as possible. You simply watch the encounter, arms folded over your chest as you listen to Dustin's words. "What I'm about to tell you might be a little ... difficult to take. You know how people say Hawkins is cursed? They're not... Way off..." 

Eddie gapes at him, bewilderment creasing pale features.

"There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins." A chill runs over your spine and you briefly look to your feet, blinking away tragic memories. "Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

"Like... ghosts and shit?" Eddie asks.

"Worse." Max seemed lost in a memory of her own and it wrenches your chest yet again. God, you missed the days when you felt nothing for anyone. 

"These monsters from this other world ... We thought they were gone, but they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you, because if they're back again then we need to know."

If they only knew, you think, watching them ponder over which fleshy monster had slipped through the veil to slash and claw and bite their way through Hawkins. The truth was far worse. You wanted so badly to tell them, to cut in and share your devastating truth, but you just couldn't form the words. Couldn't find your voice. So you just listen; listen and hope they could figure it out for themselves.