Never Have I Ever [Steddie]✔️

Chapter 5

~4 Month Timeskip~

Steve woke up to his alarm at 6:50AM, just like it did every morning. He got up and showered and dressed like a robot, silently eating breakfast and driving to school. He kept his head down as he opened his locker and pulled out his books. He put them in his bag and shut the locker, walking to his first class. Like everyday, he moved through the day like a ghost, silent and invisible, not stopping to talk to anyone. He was doing better in school then he ever had, since homework was all he ever did. His parents weren't worried about him, or if they were it didn't show. He ate lunch alone in the bathroom, like always. When the day finally ended, he drove to his job at the grocery store. It was nearing the end of his shift when Eddie Munson walked up to the register. He didn't say anything, just scanned his items and bagged them, not looking up. "That'll be 14.99." "Ah shit, I only got 13. Take off the Mac and Cheese, I guess." he mumbled, pulling the money out of his pocket. "It's alright, I got you." Steve smiled, handed Eddie the bag of food. "Really? I can pay you back later..." he handed him the thirteen bucks. "Nah man, it's cool. It's a tough world out there, we could all use a hand sometimes." Steve blew a bit of hair out of his face. "Well... thanks." Eddie stared at him curiously for a moment, before turning and walking away. Steve watched him walk away, frowning.

The next day, Steve felt a little less numb than usual, and even smiled and nodded at a few familiar faces in the hall, who all smiled back in surprise, almost as if they'd all forgotten he existed. Maybe they had, to be honest. He wasn't sure why, but he walked into the cafeteria for the first time in months. He grabbed his food and scanned the room. He had gotten so used to blending into the crowd, he was surprised when Tommy waved him over to their table. He shrugged, walking over to them. "Hey man, haven't seen you in a minute. How ya been?" Tommy asked, offering him a seat. "I've been better." he chuckled, playing with his mashed potatoes. "Sorry I beat you up." he mumbled. "It's cool man, I deserved it. It was a real wakeup call, you know? Made me realize how much of a knob I was. I'm working on myself now, even going to therapy to deal with my anger issues." he sounded serious, and Steve raised an eyebrow. "Actually?" "Yup. I tried to quit smoking a couple of times. That didn't last long, but I smoke three a day instead of three packs." he grinned with pride, and Steve smiled. "Anything else I missed?" he asked. "Not much. Me and Carol finally called it quits, she's with Harry Young now, happier than I ever saw her." he looked down the table and smiled at his ex, who was clinging to a blonde haired guy beside her. She had a bright smile on her face, and so did he. For some reason, Steve felt a pang of jealousy. He wasn't jealous of either of the two, just of how happy they looked. He longed for that, to have someone to laugh and joke with, to hold hands and makeout in the bathroom. And for some reason, his eyes drifted to Eddie's table, where the familiar long-haired boy was laughing with his friends. It all seemed so long ago now, their time together. It almost felt like a fever dream, like a different time, a different world, a different reality. Eddie caught his gaze across the room and he quickly looked away, his cheeks heating up with shame. He'd been staring too long, way too long.

A few weeks passed, and he tried to forget about Eddie again, and fall back into his old routine, but something felt different. It was like the gears inside him had shifted, changed, and he no longer fit with the rest of the group, like trying to put the pieces together, but one piece is from a different puzzle. It might fit, but it will never look quite right.

Tommy had gotten a little better, and apologized for calling him and Eddie the F word, and being so shitty to him, but Steve still felt a deep resentment towards him, for reasons he wasn't sure of. Pretty soon the end of the school year came around, and the halls buzzed with excitement. Steve tried to be upbeat and enthusiastic, but it was hard because he had to work most of the break, and he remembered all the plans he and Eddie had spent hours making. Road Trips, parties, beach days, dates, picnics and other shit like that. But Steve shook off the sadness and reluctantly agreed to go to Danielle Collins' summer solstice party on the beach. Since their break-up, Tommy and Carol had stayed pretty good friends. Steve had a suspicion they were still sleeping together, and he felt bad for Harry, who was one of the very few actually decent people he hung out with, though they'd never really been that close. He drove as many bodies as his dad's brand new Jeep Wagoneer could fit, and parked it a block away from the peer, just in case. They had planned to have the party at Lake Michigan, but everyone thought that would be too far to drive. So they were having it at the quarry, on the strip of beach just off the road. Was it illegal? Maybe. Was it guaranteed that at least one person would get drunk enough to try and jump off the cliff into the water? Unfortunately. Was someone going to die before it hit midnight? Likely. Were they still going to do it? Yup. Was it going to be the most awesome party known to man? Fuck ya.

There was a ledge near the beach that was low enough to cliff dive, or, in their case, drunkenly stumble off or get pushed, and the water was usually pretty clean. When they arrived, there was a giant bonfire going on the beach, and loud music played from a stereo. They'd set up a makeshift bar out of someone's truck, and rolled logs to create benches around the fire. It was only 7 o'clock, but there were already kids swimming and cliff jumping, and people mingling around the fire with drinks in their hand. The group scattered, and Steve wandered over to the drinks. "2 bucks." the guy held out his hand. "Seriously?! Their charging for drinks? This is bullshit." he grumbled, pulling out two one dollar bills and snatching his beer. He took a sip of his drink and joined the crowd. After the sunset, the party kicked up a gear. 'Happy hour' started, and drinks became free, and a few people were selling weed and smokes. Steve wasn't as drunk as he usually got at parties like this, hoping he could sober up later and drive everyone home. He was leaning against the side of the alcohol truck when a group of kids ran by him. "You wanna come with us to the top of the cliffs? Bryson's gonna snort coke off Veronica's tits!" Tommy asked. His words were slightly slurred, and he was tilting dangerously to one side, and Steve was worried he was about to fall over. "No thanks, I've gotta guard the drinks, but you guys have fun." The guy had told him to watch the drink truck for five minutes, and then never came back.

But like every good thing, the fun had to come to an end. "Pigs!" someone shouted. Steve perked up, gasping. "Cop's!! Run!" Steve heard the sirens, but he didn't stick around to see how many cops had shown up. He just turned and sprinted, following the stampede of teenagers fleeing the beach. Eventually the herd scattered, kids running to get to their cars or disappearing into the woods to wait it out. Steve turned to look back for a moment, not even realizing he'd run right into the grasp of the police chief, Jim Hopper. "Where the hell do you think you're goin?" he asked, grabbing Steve by the back of the shirt. "I'm sorry! Please, my parents will kill me if they find out..." Steve was practically sobbing at this point, squirming to try and escape. "Sorry kid, the law excuses no one, not even you rich kids. Maybe, if you're lucky, your daddy'll bail you out, but for now, you're spending the night in the cell kid." he chuckled. Steve sighed in defeat, letting Hopper lead him to his car. He got in, and he fell asleep in the backseat as they drove to the station.