A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. For this one, Nancy and Steve broke up at the end of Season One. I hope you all enjoy it.
You stumbled as you pressed your body forward, forcing yourself to ignore the burning pain in your legs. It was still behind you; you could hear it letting out sharp growls as it followed, waiting for you to slow just enough for it to make its final move. Slowing down was definitely not an option you wanted to consider. But it felt like you had been running forever, your knees getting shaky as you reached a slight incline.
And then, just as you reached the top of the hill, the woods had opened up into a scrap yard, and you'd almost stopped in sheer relief, stumbling a few feet out into the open before your knees gave out completely.
There were muffled yells coming from a little distance away, voices that you couldn't quite make out, all crying out over one another. And then, the growling returned behind you. You dugs your fingers into the ground, dragging yourself along with the help of your elbows and knees.
You barely noticed the hurried footsteps coming towards you, so focused on keeping moving towards the safety of the voices that you couldn't hear anything else.
"Shit," a voice bit out, and when you glanced up you found none other than Steve Harrington staring down at you in horror. "Keep going; get to the bus," he told you, lifting his bat in his hands and moving past you, towards whatever was making those grotesque growling noises.
You really did try to do as you were told, tried to keep moving in the direction he'd told you, but your body was on the wrong side of exhausted and screaming out for a little bit of reprieve from the ache that just kept growing. You'd gotten within about 15 feet of the bus's door before you'd stopped moving, your entire body going limp as your head dropped into the dirt.
"Is she dead?" a girl's voice called out, and then the door creaked as it was yanked open.
"Holy shit," a boy's voice joined in. "Grab her arm," he pressed on.
*Time Skip*
You weren't exactly sure when you had passed out, only that you definitely had. You'd come to in the back of the bus, blinking at the light shining directly into your eyes and lifting a hand in an attempt to shade them.
"Jesus, get the torch out of her face, idiot," Steve grumbled, slapping away the light and letting you finally open your eyes properly. As everything came into focus, he was the first person you saw, frowning down at you so deeply that it was a little shocking. Steve didn't frown. Whenever you saw him around school he was always smiling and laughing, but now, he looked like a completely different person. "Y/N? You in there?"
You nodded, clearing your throat slightly and pushing yourself up into a sitting position with a deep groan. "I feel like death," you murmured, your eyes drifting to find the other three people on the bus with you. "Was that thing out there a bear? Or like a cougar or something?"
"It's a Demodog," one of the kids interrupted, offering you a bright smile. "I'm surprised you got so far without it catching you," he added, giving you a quick thumbs up.
"Dustin," Steve chastised lightly. "That's not the kind of information people like receiving after almost dying."
"What the fuck is a Demodog?"
The bus went silent for a moment, everyone glancing between themselves. "That's a long story," Steve sighed. "I promise I'll explain it all at some point, but right now, we need to get you home," he told you. "Dustin, can you put a call out on the radio? See if someone can come and pick us up?"
"No ones been answering-"
"Try again. Y/N can't walk right now. Especially not if those things are still out there," he pressed on.
"My car is parked on the other side of the woods," you uttered. "If we take it slow, we could make it in twenty/twenty-five minutes. I can manage that, no problem."
Steve stood up a little straighter, his hands resting on his hips as he considered your plan. "You passed out," he murmured. "You couldn't stand, let alone walk."
"Give me a couple of minutes to get my strength back and I'll be fine."
Dustin cleared his throat. "What if the Demodogs come back again?"
"Steve's got the bat," you uttered, gesturing to where he'd propped it up against one of the seats. "We'll be fine."
The girl scoffed slightly. "That's what they say in B-rate horror films before everyone gets slaughtered," she told you.
"No one is getting slaughtered," Steve told her, levelling his finger in her direction. "We just have to move as quickly as we can. Stay as a group. It's not like we have another option."
*Time Skip*
Walking had been a little tougher than you had been expecting and it hadn't taken long for Steve to wrap an arm around you, helping you along through the trees.
"So, how'd you meet the kids?" you murmured, your eyes focused on the path in front of you. "You babysit on the weekend or something?"
"No, I-" he paused for a moment, letting out a hum as he tried to figure out the right answer. "They're Nancy's little brother's friends. Met them through her before we broke up." He shrugged slightly. "We don't usually hang out, but Dustin needed help and couldn't find anyone else-"
You let out a snort of laughter. "So you were the last resort."
"Yeah," he murmured. "But he's a good enough kid." The two of you were quiet for a moment, listening out for tell-tale growls. "What were you doing out here by yourself?"
You scoffed slightly. "I wasn't by myself to start with," you sighed. "I was with Andy-"
"Andy? You mean Andy Maine?" He paused for a moment, letting out a soft whistle. "I didn't take you for the type to date assholes like him."
You rolled your eyes. "Well, I'm not," you paused for a moment. "I don't usually, but he was being so nice at school and Chrissy said that Jason was his friend and she was so excited about the idea of double dates. I just thought-" you let out a sharp sigh. "I don't know. I thought maybe he wanted to actually get to know me, but he got in the car with me and he started getting a little too touchy-feely and-" your words trailed off. "I freaked out; kicked him out of the car and waited till he'd finished cursing me out. I watched him drive off and I just needed to get out of the car and breath for a second, but then that thing showed up."
Steve gave your shoulder a light squeeze. "Andy's an asshole," he murmured. "I swear, if he wasn't one of our best players, no one would ever talk to him."
You let out a soft chuckle, shaking your head. "I feel like an idiot," you uttered. "I mean, I knew what he was really like and I just ignored it because I thought that maybe he was ready to grow up and quit being such an-" you paused, searching for the right word.
"Asshole," Steve supplied, offering you a small smile when you nodded. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to see the best in people."
You stayed quiet for a moment, letting him steer you around fallen branches until the trees opened up to reveal your car, parked comfortably at the side of the road.
"Can I have the keys?" Steve started, helping you lean up against a nearby tree as the kids caught up.
"You aren't driving my car," you uttered. "She's my baby."
"Yeah, well, you can't even walk, so putting you behind the wheel is out of the question," he told you, holding his hand out in your direction and wiggling his fingers until you began fishing in your pocket for the key. "I guess she's my baby now too," he teased as you placed the keys in his hand, watching you roll your eyes at the statement. "Everyone in," he called out, unlocking the car and helping you into the passenger seat.
*Time Skip*
"Why is Y/N asleep on the Byers' couch?" Nancy murmured, looking a halfway mix between confused and frustrated at the lack of communication in the group.
"A Demodog tried to eat her," Dustin offered up with a small shrug. "But Steve saved her from it."
"She couldn't even walk," Steve supplied, coming over to join the conversation. "And we were in desperate need of a car to get us here, so-" he paused. "I couldn't just ditch her out there and steal her car. God knows what would've happened to her."
"He definitely likes her," Max uttered, completely nonchalant as she joined the group looking down at you, completely oblivious to what was going on.
"I don't-"
"He does," Dustin agreed. "Should've seen the two of them walking in the woods; there was so much electricity."
Steve gave him a light smack around the back of the head. "She needed help and she was scared. It's not like I was hitting on her or anything."
You stirred at his raised voice, your eyes blinking open as they all dispersed, leaving Steve standing in front of you on his own.
"Hey," you murmured, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.
"Hi," he answered, moving to kneel in front of you. "Feeling any better?"
You hummed. "Just peachy," you grumbled, forcing yourself up into a seated position. "Although, my legs feel like they might be on the verge of falling off. That's normal, right?" you joked, a half-assed smile pulling at your lips.
"Totally normal." He paused for a moment. "Probably the most normal thing going on in this house, to be honest."
"I really should go home before my Mom calls the cops or something-"
"Come on then," he uttered, pushing himself up from the floor and watching as you stared at him with furrowed brows. "You just told me your legs feel like they're falling off and you expect me to let you drive?"
"I can get home on my own-"
"You live on Bower Street, right?" You nodded. "That's only two blocks over from mine. I can drop you off and go get my car before I come back." You hesitated for a moment. "Look, it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better to know you made it home in one piece, alright? Please just let me drive you."
"Okay," you breathed out, getting up on shaky legs, only for him to wrap his arm around you again, making sure you'd stay on your feet.
He led you over to the door, hesitating for a moment. "I'm going to drop Y/N home. I'll be back soon," he told Dustin. "Keep these lot out of trouble whilst I'm gone, would you?"
*Time Skip*
"Here we are," Steve uttered, pulling up outside of your house. "Home, safe and sound," he added, turning off the engine.
You stayed completely still for a moment. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
"Tell anyone what?"
You shuffled around in your seat for a moment. "That I'm an idiot. That I was stupid enough to let Andy trick me-"
"You aren't stupid," Steve interrupted. "If anything, it's him that's the idiot. I mean, he had a shot with the perfect girl and he threw it away because he was an asshole. That sounds like an idiot to me; does it sound like an idiot to you?"
You swallowed down the lump in your throat. "Yeah, I guess it does."
"I won't tell anyone about Andy, alright?" He paused for a moment. "And if he does start telling people, then he'll have me to deal with. I mean, you were out with me tonight. How could you have been in two places at once?"
"You don't have to do that-"
"No, but I want to. That guy deserves to be put in his place for once. I'd happily be the one to do it." He paused for a moment, turning in the driver's seat to look at you. "Besides, I'd like to hang out with you sometime, preferably when there isn't a monster trying to kill you and your legs are working properly."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
You nodded. "I guess we could make that happen."
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