Don't Blame Me ➵ Steve Harrington

nine

Dylan held back an eyeroll—he was, in fact, ignorant to her current dilemma.

She stomped back it into the living room and while pacing back and forth the carpet, she remembered something Billy had said to her. 'Harrington's girl was seen leaving with that loser. They totally skipped and haven't been seen since—I bet Steve is losing his shit.' At the time, Dylan had scoffed at his useless gossip and proceeded to make-out with him but now it had come in handy. Nancy was with Jonathan Byers. Nancy would help Dylan find Steve and his band of children.

Dylan flicked off her heeled boots and switched them for sneakers, heading out the door without as much as a goodbye for her parents. She paused in the driveway and debated whether or not to walk or drive. Barb and Dylan had shared a Volkswagen but after they had retrieved the car from a random bus stop post-Barb's disappearance, Dylan hadn't once been behind the wheel. But the Byer's residence was all the way across town.

Sucking in a breath, Dylan fiddled in her purse for her keys and hopped in the car. It was littered with her and her sister's things: forgotten lipgloss, Barb's spare glasses, old receipts, et cetera. She ignored those things, not wanting to become nostalgic and blared the radio before pulling out of her driveway.

She pulled up to the Byer's place and noticed Steve's BMW already parked. While he was officially the last person she wanted to see, he was the person she needed to see—Steve had been right when he said this was Dylan's fight. This thing killed her sister and now it was back to terrorize Hawkin's again—she couldn't let that go, no matter how hard she tried. She needed the closure.

Slowly, she walked up to the front door and knocked. The door swung open almost instantly, Max standing on the other side.

"Dylan!" She said nervous yet excited. "You came back—thank god! Come in."

Inside the Byer house was the team she had left behind earlier—Dustin, Lucas, Max, Steve, and also Mike Wheeler—but no Nancy and no Byers in sight.

"Hey, guys." Dylan greeted almost timidly.

Dustin grinned wide at the sight of her. "Dylan! You'll never believe it—it's Will who's in control of them! Its possessed him."

"Wait. Slow down," she chuckled, "Will is what called them away, the leader? He's a kid."

"His possessed by this darkness, a shadow monster, a mind flayer," Dustin explained but it never rid Dylan of her confusion. "The others left to go drive it out of him. It hates heat."

"The others?"

"Nancy, Jonathon, Joyce, Hopper...Eleven." Dustin listed them off. Dylan wanted to ask who Eleven was but was already feeling overwhelmed with information since she walked in less than a minute prior.

"Okaaay," she drawled out. "And what are you guys doing?"

"Holding down the fort." Steve informed her. "Babysitting, practically."

"You are not babysitting us," Mike butted in. "We're thirteen. And we're not staying here. We're going into the Upside Down."

"No, no, no," Steve protested. "How many times do I have to say no until it sinks into your rugrat skulls?"

"We're going into the Upside Down." Mike repeated. "And we're going to burn them down."

No one said another word, all conversations came to a halt as a car screeched its way through the Byers' driveway. The young teens went to peek out the window and Max turned back with a worried expression.

"It's Billy."

Dylan frowned. "So he can come here but stands me up?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Not important right now! He'll kill me if he knows I'm here."