ENDGAME | STEVE HARRINGTON

( CHAPTER THIRTEEN )

( CHAPTER THIRTEEN )

In the Byers' hose was Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Hailey, and Steve. Hailey was sleeping on the couch peacefully while everyone was kind of doing their own thing.

Steve approached Jonathan's bed where Hailey was sleeping, gazing down at her softly. After this entire mess, he was going to tell her, as Nancy had said. Carefully, Steve had removed a strain of hair that fell on her face and wrapped a blanket over her.

Hailey had shifted awake, she was a light sleeper. She could easily wake up with the slightest movement. She opened her eyes, squinting, seeing a blurred Steve in front of her. "Steve?" She mumbled.

"Hey," he speaks gently, bending down in front of her and she sits up slightly. He couldn't help think that she looked adorable like that. "Go back to sleep."

"No point," her sleepy voice turned him on - he had to contain himself and he shifted uncomfortably. She cleared her throat. "I'm awake now." She sits on the edge of the couch and he takes a seat next to her.

Taking the blanket with her, she stands up. Steve sighed gently and stands up with her and they walked into the lounge, leaving Jonathan's room.

The kids' voices filled the teenager's ears as they walked into the lounge. "Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas had demanded his friend who was pacing around, annoying him.

"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike had snapped, looking over at his friend. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demo-dogs!" Dustin called from the kitchen; coming into the lounge. Hailey rolled her eyes.

"The Chief will take care of her," Hailey assured Mike.

"Like she needs protection," Max muttered under her breath.

"Listen, dude," Steve speaks behind Hailey. "A coach calls a play in the game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?"

"Okay, first of all," Mike begins, turning to him. "This isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench."

Steve stammers. "So my point is..." Dead silences were followed a few seconds later. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do."

"That's not entirely true," Dustin speaks who stands a somewhat close to Hailey and Steve. Steve and Hailey looked over at him. "I mean, these Demo-Dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away,"

"So if we get their attention..."

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab," Max speaks, looking up at everyone.

"And clear a path to the gate," Mike nods.

"Yeah, and then we all die," Steve speaks loudly, rolling his eyes.

"That's one point of view," Hailey had said, turning to Steve.

Steve narrowed his eyebrows at her in disbelief, he couldn't believe she's going with this. He wasn't going to let her go throw her life away like that. "No, that's not a point of view, Hailey. That's a fact."

"I got it!" Mike rushes to the tunnel drawings on the fridge and everyone follows him, he points at the tunnel drawings. "This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So..." He shows them another section of the drawings. "Here, right here. This is like a hub. So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire..."

"Oh, yeah?" Steve questioned loudly, looking down at Mike who was bent on the floor on a section of the tunnel drawings in the lounge. "That's a no."