Twilight on Cornwallis

Casey McPhee has always stayed in the shadows. Smart, responsible, and quietly fierce, she's spent years navigating life in Hawkins while carrying burdens most people don't see. A brother lost too soon, a mother who left when she was barely a teenager, and a father who measures her every move against impossibly high (and often cruel) standards. Babysitting the town's kids has become her anchor.

But Hawkins has a way of turning ordinary nights into something unrecognizable. When the upside down begins to seep into her world, Casey is pulled into a reality she never imagined, forced to confront dangers that don't just threaten the town, but threaten her in ways that shake her carefully controlled life.

Amid chaos, strange creatures, and secrets that could unravel everything, Casey finds unexpected bonds. With kids she's watched over for years, schoolmates who finally see her for who she is, a chief of police lacking subtly, and a certain older boy whose charm she can't quite ignore. Slowly, dangerously, she discovers that being responsible for herself might be just as important as protecting everyone else, and that survival alone isn't enough to make a life worth living.

The classic Steve Harrington x fem!oc
Written primarily on ao3!!