PUZZLE , steve harrington

chapter five: 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭

CHAPTER FIVE
SURVIVOR'S GUILT

Steve didn't know if he was asleep or awake or somewhere in between. All he knew is that he was lying next to the girl he was truly, madly and deeply in love with.

He couldn't quite believe it, still not sure if it was a dream or not, but Mavis was asleep in his arms, her head lying on his chest as his arms were wrapped around her waist.

However, there was something he was sure of: he wanted to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of his life.

Steve let out a content sigh, tightening his grip on her frame slightly as he closed his eyes again. He felt so at peace...

If only that peace hadn't been disturbed by Eddie's voice echoing through the basement.

"Hey, Wilson, this is Eddie the Banished. You there?"

Mavis opened her eyes slowly, looking at her surroundings to make sure of where she was, and that's when she remembered the group had decided to stay another night at the Wheeler's. She wanted to stretch, but she somehow couldn't move. Someone was holding her.

She looked to the person that was next to her, and her heart stopped when she saw it was none other than Steve. He was sound asleep — he was actually awake but he decided to let her believe he was still sleeping — and his arms were wrapped around her.

Had they slept like that throughout the whole night? Maybe... maybe that was the reason she hadn't had any nightmares.

"Wilson, are you there? Earth to Wilson... Wilson!"

Mavis let out a groan before she freed herself from Steve's grip — not noticing the small pout that had appeared on his face — and stood up, walking over to get her walkie-talkie and answering it.

"Eddie, can you please shut the fuck up?" she ran a hand through her face, trying to help herself wake up.

"Wilson! It is so nice to hear your voice."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah... What do you want?"

"Um, I'm gonna need a food delivery, like, really soon, unless you want me going out into the world."

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want that," she said sarcastically before letting out a sigh. "Just stay there, okay? We'll be there soon."

"Perfect. And, uh... can you pick me up a six-pack? I know, it's stupid as shit, drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves."

She was about to deny his request when she saw Nancy wake up from the corner of her eye. The Wheeler girl looked around the basement, something making her eyes widen. She turned to face Mavis, mouthing Max's name. Mavis looked around herself: Max was nowhere to be found.

"Eddie, I need to go."

"What? No! Don't you dare hang up on me, Wilson–"

"I'll call you later! Over and out."

While she was hanging up on Eddie, Nancy went over to Dustin, shaking him awake.

"Dustin! Wake up."

The boy in question opened his eyes slowly, hitting his head on the TV that was behind him. "What?"

"What happened to you watching Max?" Mavis asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Uh," he yawned. "I swear I'm watching her, I just needed to rest my eyes."

"Oh really? If you were watching her, then where is she?"

He glared at Mavis. "She's right there," he pointed to the armchair where Max had been sleeping. Except it was now empty. "A second ago. I swear, I just dozed off for..." he looked at his watch, his eyes widening. "An hour."

Nancy's eyes widened as she stood up quickly and walked up the stairs. Mavis followed her, but not without hitting Dustin's cap off his head.

"Hey!" he complained before he followed the two girls upstairs.

Once there, the three of them came to a halt once they saw Max sitting at the dining table next to Holly, the youngest Wheeler. And they all let out a relieved sigh. Thank God she was okay.

"Morning, guys," Nancy's mom Karen spoke from the kitchen. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's... okay," Nancy answered.

"I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this."

"Could try sticking together at a different house for a change," Ted Wheeler countered, earning a glare from his wife, who turned to look at Dustin and Nancy while Mavis walked up to Max.

"You know you're welcome anytime."

"Totally. You're like family," he smiled, turning to look at the just-made-pancakes. "May I?"

"Absolutely," Karen answered.

"Yeah, why not? Take us for all we're worth," Ted snickered as he looked up from the newspaper he was holding.

"Okay," Dustin said cheekily as he proceeded to place a bunch of pancakes on his plate.

Meanwhile, Mavis sat down next to Max, who stopped her record player to look at her, placing the earphones around her neck.

"Hey."

"Hey," Mavis smiled softly. "Are you okay?"

"Just couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason," she answered sarcastically, a small smirk in her face, and Mavis couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "But Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having a fun morning, right, Holly?"