Stranger Things - Steve Harrington X Reader

Episode 4: The Body

As I enter, Hopper looks up at me and asks, "How's your Mom doing?" I only shake my head and shrug in response. I sit down on the chair next to Jonathan's. "How long has this stuff been going on? With the lights and, uh... Will and the thing in the wall?" He shifts his gaze between me and Jonathan before settling on Jonathan, knowing he's not gonna get an answer out of me.

"Since the first phone call, I guess." Jonathan answers quietly. He speaks again after a moment. "You know, she's had anxiety problems... in the past. But this... I don't know." He sighs. "I'm worried it could be... Ugh, I don't know." He drops his head before sniffling and looking back up at Hopper. "She'll be okay. We'll be okay." He nods. "My mom... she's tough." He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she is." Hopper agrees as Jonathan looks down with a small smile. Hopper smiles ad puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. She is." Jonathan smiles with teary eyes and I smile too as I look up at them with my own teary eyes.

"Ma'am!" The medical examiner calls as Mom bursts though the set of doors I came out of not five minutes ago. "Ma'am, I need you to sign!" He tries handing a clipboard out to Mom as she storms away.

"I don't know what you think that thing is in there, but that is not my son!" She shouts as we stand.

"Joyce, wait a second." Hopper attempts to calm her in vain.

"No!" She leaves the office and Jonathan and I follow after her as we call to her to get her to stop.

Jonathan and I get in the car as she walks down the sidewalk. "Mom! Mom, will you get in?" Jonathan calls to her as we pull up beside her.

"I-I need to think." She answers as she continues to walk. "Just go on home."

"Mom, will you just get in, please?" Jonathan calls to her only to receive a dismissive wave. He parks the car and we get out and run to her. "Mom!" We catch up to her and Jonathan puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Stop."

"Just go home." Mom nearly shouts.

"No, this is not an okay time for you to shut down." Jonathan argues.

"Shut down? What..."

"We have to deal with this, Mom. We have to deal with the funeral."

"The funeral!? For- For who? For that thing back there!?"

"Okay, let me get this straight. Will, that's not his body, because he's in the lights, right? And there's a monster in the wall? Do you even hear yourself!?"

"Guys..." I say quietly, attempting to diffuse the situation, but if they heard me, they chose to ignore me.

"I know it sounds crazy. I-I-I sound crazy! You think I don't know that? It is crazy! But I heard him, Jonathan. He talked to me! Will is- is calling to me! And he's out there, and he's alone, and he's scared, and I-I don't care if anyone believes me! I am not gonna stop looking for him until I find him and bring him home. I am going to bring him home!"

At this point, a crowd has gathered around us and all three of us have dropped at least one tear.

"Yeah, well, while you're talking to the lights, the rest of us are having a funeral for Will!" Jonathan shouts as Mom walks away. "I'm not letting him sit in that freezer another day!" He looks around at the crowd that has formed. "Alright, show's over." He starts walking back to the car.

At this point, I'm shaking slightly as tears cascade down my face as I follow behind Jonathan to the car. We get in and head to the casket place to buy Will a nice bed to rest in.

I sit outside the room with the caskets and let Jonathan rule some out as I sit and think. Everything is just so messed up right now, I just want to go home and sleep. I don't have the strength to do anything right now let alone choose a casket for my dead baby brother. I see Nancy walk in. She gives me a look of sympathy and I only wave as she does.

"Hey, y/n, um... Where's your brother? I need to talk to you both if you don't mind." She says softly.

"It's fine. He's in there." My voice comes out hoarse from not taking all day and all the crying I did last night. I point to the open doors where Jonathan and another man are looking at caskets.

She steps in front of the door and Jonathan catches sight of her. He excuses himself and walks over to Nancy and I. "Hey." He greets quietly as he puts his hands in his pockets.

"Hey." Nancy greets back softly. "Your mom, um... she said you guys would be here." She looks between us. "I just... can we talk for a second?"

We sit on one of the benches in the hallway and Nancy shows us one of the pictures that were torn up by Steve and his gang. it was a picture of Barbra. Apparently she has gone missing as well. She points out something o the edge of the photo.

"It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion, but I wasn't using the wide angle." Jonathan says as he inspects the photo before he hands it back to Nancy. "I don't know. It's weird."

She takes the photo. "And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?"

"No. And she was there one second and then, um... gone. I figured she bolted." Jonathan explains.

"The cops think that she ran away. But they don't know Barb." Nancy shakes her head.

"Well, um, I'm not sure if this would help, but when I was walking back to where Jonathan was at the treeline, around the time he took those photos, I did hear something in the woods. There was someone out there I can assure you." I explain quietly.

"Did you- What do you think it was?" Nancy perks up.

"I don't know, but it felt... i-it felt-"

"Evil?" She finishes. I look at her and nod my head with a confused expression. How did she know? She got the hint and starts to explain herself. "When I went back to Steve's... I thought I saw something. Some... weird man or... I don't know what it was, but it felt evil." Jonathan and I look at each other before Nancy shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I... shouldn't have come here today. I'm... I'm so sorry." She stands up.

"What'd he look like?" Jonathan and I ask at the same time.

"What?" Nancy turns back around to face us with a confused look in her eyes.

"This man you saw in the woods. What'd he look like?" Jonathan explains.

Nancy furrows her brows as she tries to remember. "I-I don't know. It was almost like he... he didn't have-"

Jonathan cuts her off. "Didn't have a face?"

"How did you know that?" Nancy asks with furrowed brows.

Jonathan and I look at each other, recalling that our mother said the same thing. A faceless monster crawling out of the wallpaper.

...

We go to a photo shop darkroom because Jonathan said he had an idea. We explained to Nancy what Mom said about the wall.

I stand outside the darkroom, wanting to take a look around. Jonathan and Nancy come rushing out with the photo in their hands.

"I thought Mom was crazy, but..." Jonathan mutters as I inspect the photo.

"Holy shit..." I mumble as I look at the faceless monster Mom was talking about. Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all.

*2022 words