Steve Harrington is Aurora Henderson's person. When he saves her from the Upside Down, he is on a mission to help her heal. That is until a new danger arrives in Hawkins and his only want is to keep her safe.
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Aurora watched Steve talk with Nancy and Jonathan, filling them in on the situation.Marco followed her gaze, trying to connect the dots between her and Steve. All he'd known about Steve was from the long talks he and Aurora had in the Upside Down. From the way she'd talked about him, Steve meant an awful lot to her. "You love him, why?"
Aurora lifted her head, watching Marco stare at Steve. "That's a loaded question," she chuckled, nudging his side a bit, "What do you know about it anyways, weren't you stuck on the other side for years?"
It was Marco's turn to chuckle a bit. "Not my whole life. My dad lost me in there when I was twelve. Five years is a long time but it hasn't affected my intelligence," he looked down at her. The way her green eyes sparkled in the light of the setting sun sent butterflies loose in his stomach. Aurora was the only thing he'd thought of for the past year and she hadn't changed a bit. Besides the fact that she looked a little more mature, her eyes didn't shine like the did when she spoke of Steve in the Upside Down. He wondered if the part she left with him was her sparkle.
"Five years? It must have felt like an eternity," she gave a soft smile, the week she'd spent was hell, how did he survive five years? "Well, we are going to help you find out exactly why you're here," Aurora put her hand on his arm. The act of reassurance lighting Marco's skin on fire.
Steve watched Aurora and Marco, their faces lighting up as they talked. In the last twelve hours she hadn't even given him as much as a smile, so what was so special about Marco? The only thing he had to offer was baggage and Aurora liked simplicity.
"Steve, I don't Mike or the others here. Those kids have gone through enough in the last year. They don't need to be dragged into this," Nancy spoke, her eyes resting on the six kids grouped around their bikes. With all that continued to happen in Hawkins, the least she could do was let Mike be a normal kid. "This is our problem, let them be kids,"
Steve nodded, "Of course. It won't be easy to convince them but maybe Aurora can talk some sense into Dustin and you can work on Mike? Jonathan, do you think Will would listen to you?" When both of his friends nodded, they seperated. Pushing thoughts of Aurora and Marco gazing into each other's eyes into the back of his mind, Steve approached the pair. "Can we talk for a moment, Aurora?"
Aurora pulled her hand away from Marco, stepping towards Steve slowly, "Are they going to help?" Steve couldn't help but think of her touch. It consumed his every thought. All he wanted to do was kiss her, right there, in front of everyone. He wanted them to know how he'd felt about her and how she felt about him. But that raised the question, what did she feel about him?
"Yeah, they want to help but only if the kids take a step back from this," he grabbed her hands, his face falling when she glanced around to check if anyone was watching. "What was that?" he furrowed his brows.
Aurora returned his look before softening her face, "Steve, I don't want to talk about this right now. You told me that if I needed time, you would give it to me. All I want to do right now is tell my little brother that I'm going to do everything I can to keep him and his friends safe from the next alien trying to invade Hawkins," pulling her hands from his, she cupped his face in her hands. "I want this, I do, but we have to talk about it when my brother isn't ten feet away scheming about how he and his friends will save this town,"
The feeling of her hands on his face felt good. It all seemed so unfair to him, that just when he gets his girl, the universe throws another hurdle at them. "Okay, but the second we find the source of this, we are talking. I don't care how much you want to avoid it," the words hurt him. Steve wanted to believe she wasn't avoiding it but when there was no denial, how could he not face the truth?
Aurora pulled away from him, walking towards her little brother. The smile that decorated his face lit the night sky. It was all she wanted from him, to smile as if they hadn't fought off two crazy monsters in the last year. His bravery was his greatest attribute but it was also his greatest flaw. If the people he cared about were in trouble, he would run into the fire, not a second thought in mind. It warmed her heart.
"Dustin, I need to talk to you," she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side, "We don't know what this is or what it could mean. You have been such a great help in the past but I want you to stay out of this, just this once,"
Dustin shook his head, "No, we found it and we are going to help you figure this out," he spoke, stepping away from his sister. There was no way in hell he'd let his sister figure it all out on her own. If he could help, he wanted to. Especially if it meant his sister would be in less danger.
"You want to help us? Stay out of it, that is how you can help. None of us can focus when we have to worry about you guys every step of the way. The four of us can figure this out faster when we don't have to look over our shoulders for the six of you," Aurora lowered herself so that they were eye level. "Dustin, I love you and I just don't want to see you hurt. The thought of you getting wrapped up in this again sickens me, you're a kid, act like one,"
Dustin stared at his sister for a moment. Normally, he would fight back a little harder, but this time was different. Aurora never asked him to stop being who he was, she was the only one to really accept him in all his whiney weirdness. If she was asking him to back off, he wanted to do that for her. "This is bullshit," she let out a sigh, "but I'll do it," he finished. "As long as you promise not to be a hero and get yourself killed,"
Marco glanced over at Steve, "We should get going, it's already dark and the sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can return back to normal," folding his arms, "I meant you, there isn't a normal for me,"
Steve scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "You may have Aurora fooled into thinking you're some damaged freakazoid kid who needs help but I think there is something weird about you. There is no way you were stuck there for that long, you would be dead. Watch your back, Marco," Steve stepped closer to him, a threatening look on his face. "Tonight we figure out who you really are,"
Marco chuckled bitterly, "Go back to being a big headed jock. You really think Aurora would choose you over me? I didn't let her rot in that place because I was too busy sleeping around with girls who clearly aren't interested. I mean, seriously, what does she see in you?" he looked the guy up and down. "I'll be around a long time. We could find nothing and then what? You think she'll let me go without a home? Food? Shelter? Soon enough I'll be sleeping just a room over and who do you think she'll run to when she gets lonely?"
Steve balled his hands into fists, trying his hardest not to react. If Aurora wanted to be with Marco, who was he to stop her, but until then, he would do his best to keep her. "You boys okay?" Aurora stood between the two, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
Steve put his hand on her shoulder. This earned him a small smile from the girl, "We're fine. Let's find a monster," he gave Marco one last look. A look that screamed, try me, bitch.
a/n; hey! so, slow chapters, i know! but these next ones are going to be a little more filled with action/drama/fluff and i'm excited to write it! who knows, hawkins high may have a new student!!!
