[REWRITING] When He Sees Me, Steve Harrington

028 What Else Is There To Do?

CHAPTER 028. WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?

STEVE'S SEEN A LOT OF MESSED UP SHIT IN HIS LIFE.

Far too much shit for a guy his age, if he's being entirely honest. The Demogorgon baring its teeth mere inches from his face while he swung at it with a bat filled with nails, the army of Demo-dogs racing past him and Henderson down in the tunnels while El closed the gate, the look on Nancy's face when she drunkenly called him bullshit back in '84 on Halloween.

He's felt a lot, too. Too much for him to even express. Steve thinks it has to do with how often he thinks more with his heart than with his head. And, sure, in any other circumstance, most people would probably deem this an admirable trait for someone to have. But, being him, living in Hawkins of all places; he knows it's not exactly the best characteristic to have.

Steve doesn't like showing his emotions. Well, okay, he did. Much to his surprise, he was particularly vulnerable with Nancy when they were still together. She was kind and she listened to him whenever he needed to rant about something — which, in comparison to what she'd gone through, meant nothing — and honestly? It felt nice to air out his troubles.

But that turned to shit— kind of like everything else going on in his life.

So, Steve swore to himself never again, and, so far, he's done a damn good job of it. He never lets this guard down long enough to warrant somebody to stare at him and ask, "Are you okay?", 'cause if anybody has to be strong and put on a brave face, it's him. Because if he falls, everyone else will, too, and then they're all as good as dead and every ounce of pain he went through would've been for nothing.

But tonight was different.

Sure, being beaten up is an annual thing Steve's become accustomed to, much to his dismay, but it's never been like this. He's never been locked down in a pit thousands of feet below the ground, threatened and interrogated by Russians and brought to the brink of death just because he and his friends were a little too nosy.