THE TIME OF OUR LIVES ▷ Steve Harrington

SIXTY-TWO: IT DOESN'T LAST FORVER

"And if I really love him, then I can't ask," Penny frowned. "I can't be the person who holds him back."

"It's up to you what you want to do. But just know, I'll support whatever decision you make. I'm always on your side."

Penny smiled at the blond and put her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Frankie."

"You're welcome." Frank let out a deep sigh.

"Are you okay?" Penny questioned, noticing his uneased state.

"I guess. I'm just worried about the kids. I mean, they're all alone in those woods. Who knows what'll happen to them."

Penny nodded at his words, but before she could say anything, the ground began to shake again. Frank quickly pulled Penny to his side, but the both of them were swept off their feet from the movement.

"Fuck!" Frank shouted loudly, landing hard on a stick. Penny looked over and noticed her friend's wide eyes. Then, she looked down and saw his arm which happened to be as red as Max's hair.

"Frank, please tell me you didn't fracture your arm again," Penny spoke calmly, remembering what happened in their junior year.

"Sorry," he said groaning, trying not to cry from the pain.

Penny rolled her eyes, holding on to him so he wouldn't hurt himself even more. "Now we really have to get out of here. Are you alright?"

Frank just shook his head. His brows furrowed as he watched Nancy run. The group decided to follow her. They stopped behind the girl as she looked toward her house, which was illuminated by the red and blue sky of the Upside Down.

"Nancy!" called Robin, clearly out of breath.

Penny looked at her confused, holding Frank up—the blond was busy biting his tongue to suppress his pain. "What's going on? You good?"

Nancy ignored those talking to her and went straight toward her house. "Come on."

The six trudged through the dark forest. Steve came to Penny's side and looked over at Frank.

"What's wrong with him?" questioned Steve, wrapping an arm around Penny's waist.

"Sprained his arm... again," Penny said, annoyance clear in her tone.

Frank rolled his eyes, as Nancy opened the door (which was covered in vines) to her "house."

"Listen, it was a mistake. And I sprained it trying to protect you, so a thank you would be much nicer than your judgment," defended Frank

Eddie laughed from behind the three. Penny narrowed her eyes at him and Eddie knew to stop.

"Frank, we really need to get you to a doctor," Robin observed, carefully examining his arm. The group began to make their way into the house, shining flashlights throughout.

"Rob's right. We do," Penny agreed, as Steve removed his hand from her waist. The Hopper girl decided to walk around and to say she was disgusted was an understatement. The bright home of the Wheeler family, which she became very familiar with for the past few years looked completely unrecognizable. It was and dark and it smelled like mothballs, which reminded Penny of Flo from the police station.

"Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin joked.

"She's gonna need more than that," added Penny guiding Frank along. Frank winced slightly and rubbed his good arm. "You're gonna be okay. Just hold on."

Nancy looked around the house for a second before heading towards the stairs, "come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to."

The teens went to follow after her, but before Penny and Frank could get to Nancy's room, Steve stopped right in front of them mid-step and turned around, wide-eyed.