Ahoy? | Steve Harrington

chapter nine: The Piggyback

The four of us made our walk to the Upside Down version of the Creel House. Ready or not, here we come.

.

We were walking through the creepy, dark forest when Robin's voice echoed.

"Uh... I don't mean to freak anyone out, but I swear we've seen this tree before."

"That's impossible," Nancy shook her head.

"That would suck, right?" Robin shone her flashlight on the tree. "If Vecna destroyed the world because... 'cause we got lost in the woods?"

"We're not lost, Robin," Nancy tried to reassure the girl.

"Besides, I don't think he'll be able to destroy the world even if we run late by, what, five seconds?" I tried to think positively

It's hard to be positive in a situation like this.

"Robin, hey. Watch out for the vines! Hive mind," Nancy reminded Robin who nearly stepped on a vine.

"Thank you!" Her voice wavered as she changed her footing. I stood back with Steve, laughing as Nancy tried to redirect Robin with every step she made.

"They're entertaining to watch," I shook my head.

"I think they're just stressed, and scared," Steve shrugged, "But I mean, who isn't?"

"True," I nodded. "It's just... Robin's so clumsy."

"Like a super klutz?" Steve asked.

"Exactly!" I looked at him, "She did mention to Nancy and I that it took her longer to walk than most babies." Steve chuckled then stopped.

"I really shouldn't laugh," Steve looked down, "When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards."

"Crawled backwards?" I questioned.

"You know, I'd push with my hands like this," He showed me, "Beep. Beep. Always in reverse, you know?"

"I wonder if our kids would crawl backwards like you, or skip the crawling stage entirely like me," I shrugged.

"You skipped crawling?" He asked.

"Mhm. It was no movement on my own until one day," I made a false explosion with my hands, "Boom! I was walking."

"Let's just hope they don't do the Harrington backwards crawl down a flight of stairs, like I did," He sighed, "Got a nice bump on my head, too."

"That actually explains so many things," I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I think it kinda does," Steve agreed, "I think, like, right out of the gate, like, I'm super confident. But I'm also, like, an idiot. Which is just... I mean, it's a brutal combination." I nodded.

"But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on my head, I can change, you know? I can learn. I can... crawl forward," He paused and turned to me, "Listen, I guess what I'm trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way is, um... is thank you."

"Thank.. me?" I asked.

"Yeah," He nodded.

"For...?" I trailed off.

"For giving my head the biggest thump of its life the day I met you, two years ago in the hall before Jones' class," Steve smiled, "I needed it."

"Really?" I looked at him.

"Really. It's changed my life. And since then, I've been crawling forward," He grabbed my hand, "I just wonder if another girl had given me a good thump on the head before we met, that I could've been a better boyfriend. Like, I feel like we wouldn't have broken up as much as we did and we wouldn't have had that on-off thing."