Love Is A Battlefield (A Stranger Things/Steve Harrington Fanfiction)

Chapter Ninety: Steve Harrington Saves The Day

~~~Steve~~~

Riley led us through the minefield again, and the led us on a trek through the woods, with Nancy and Robin not far behind her. I kept my eyes trained on her, taking in the grime that dulled the bright colors of Nancy's sweater as well as the bandage that now covered her hand.

To be entirely honest...being here was difficult. Being in that shed, seeing the place where Riley spent an entire year, alone. It makes sense to me now why Hopper said he was proud to call her his daughter after seeing it. This place is a nightmare, and she navigated it completely on her own for three-hundred and sixty-five days. And yet all she really had to show for it once she got back was a bunch of idiots like me and my friends making jokes about her pain.

If I had been in her shoes, I have no doubts that I would be dead by now.

"Couldn't we have tried a road, or just something slightly less creepy?" Robin asked. Riley shook her head, turning around to face her.

"Roads, houses, everything that is a notable landmark for humans is just as notable for Monsters. Traveling by road is a death sentence, even when you haven't just been attacked." She explained, turning around and shining her flashlight forward again.

"I think we're getting close," Nancy added, "We're almost out of here, don't worry."

Eddie moved past me to follow after them.

"Eddie," I called, "Eddie, hey man, uh...listen, I just um...I just wanna say thanks. For saving my butt back there."

"Crap, you saved you're own butt, man," He replied, "I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there."

"Ozzy?" I asked.

"When you took a bite out of that bat." He clarified. "Ozzy Osborn? Black Sabbath? He bit a Bat's head off on stage-"

"I don't-"

"No? You know, doesn't matter. Its very metal, what you did, that's all I'm saying."

"Thanks."

"Henderson told me you were an action hero. Insisted on the matter, in fact."

"Wait, Henderson said that?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. Its kind of annoying, to be honest. I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but uh...I guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually...a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him, not a douche? No way man, that like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine." He leaned close to my face. "Still super jealous as heck, by the way."

"Ok." I laughed, pushing him away from me.

"Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your butt. Not under any uh...normal circumstances." We heard a branch break beside us and stopped, shining my flashlight into the woods before continuing to walk again. "Nope. Outside of D&D I am no hero. I see danger and I just... turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week."

"Give yourself a break man." I said, tapping his arm with the back of my hand.

"See," He stopped walking, gesturing up towards the girls and turning to face me, "The only reason I came here was 'cause those ladies...came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind, but Hopper, right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know how you managed to pull that off, because Riley Hopper was one of the only nice, genuine people that I have ever met in my stint at Hawkins High, but if I were you, I would hold onto her as tight as you possibly can, because that...was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen." I nodded.