Kate Hopper's life had seemingly fallen back into place.
After a year, her relationship with her family, new and old, had developed into something that truly mattered, and she had made a couple new friends since the catastrophe of last year.
Since t...
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AFTER STEVE, DUSTIN, Lucas, and Max had prepared for the night ahead, they sat on the bus that had been left in the junkyard, waiting for something to happen.
Steve, to pass the time, clicked his lighter on and off, flipping it in his hand as they sat in the dark.
He thought about Kate again. Even though it would've been helpful to have another close-to-adult person helping with the situation (or anyone that wasn't a middle schooler, really), he was glad she wasn't here. He couldn't risk her getting hurt or something because of these things, the "baby Demogorgons," or whatever Dustin had called them earlier. He wouldn't know what to do with himself.
Steve wished he would've told her sooner about his feelings, especially now more than ever. Maybe he should've done it whenever they were at the diner when they were filling each other in on their lives, maybe whenever they were at Melvald's. Maybe he should've done it whenever he'd thrown her into the pool and she had called him an asshole and told him that she hated him (lovingly, of course), maybe during a Miami Vice commercial break. He replayed what he wanted to say to her over and over again in his head, not wanting to screw it up. He didn't want to be too formal, partially because he thought she would laugh at him, but he didn't think she would like it either if he just said, "Hey, Kathy, by the way, I've been in love with you since before I can remember," because he didn't want her to think that he was insane. Besides, it was Kate. He had to make it perfect for her. She had such a way with words that he didn't, and he didn't want to come across as ingenuine or stupid. He couldn't screw things up again, not when he had a good chance of losing her for good this time if he did.
