𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐡
❝ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ, sᴛᴀʏ, ᴘᴏʟʟᴏ.❞
𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 house that the halloween bash was being hosted in. he hadn't dressed up as anyone, not seeing the point of doing it as a teenager. he was in his usual attire; jean jacket, white a t-shirt underneath, jeans, and his boots. he had a black bandana tucked into his back pocket, catching the attention of a few guys, making the boy smirk. he combed his fingers through his gelled hair, showing off the black nail polish that was painted on. he pushed through the crowd to get to the kitchen, wanting to pour himself a drink. he earned some looks, a lot of them being glares from guys who had been judging them, others being from guys who found him intriguing. some were even from girls who were checking the boy out. girls on film had been blasting through the speakers, apollo bopping his head slightly as he walked into the kitchen.
he grabbed himself a cup before he walked over to the punch, dipping the cup into the bowl. he pulled it up and took a sip of the punch, smiling at the taste. it was sweet but he could tell that if you had more than a few cups, you would definitely be drunk. he stayed in the kitchen for a few minutes, sipping on his drink as he scanned the party for anyone that he had cared about in the slightest. his eyes landed on the new kid, billy hargrove. he hadn't liked him because of the fact that he had almost hit arlo with his car, but the two hadn't exactly gotten along the day before. he started to scan the crowded house once again, his eyebrows shooting up when he saw jonathan byers.
"that's new." he mumbled as he brought his cup back up to his mouth. he realized that jonathan was staring at someone, following his gaze to the hawkins high's it couple; nancy wheeler and steve "the hair" harrington. apollo couldn't help the ache that appeared in his chest as he watched steve dance with nancy, a big stupid smile on his face as he did so. apollo stepped forward to get some more punch, but realized that nancy was stumbling her way towards him. he quickly took a step back, his eyes following the girl as steve trailed behind her in an attempt to stop her.
"no, no, no." steve hissed, stopping the girl from going to get more punch.
"get off." nancy spat, her words slurring as she shoved steve's hand off her. apollo watched with eyebrows, leaning on the counter as he concluded that nancy was drunk.
"no, you've had enough, okay?" steve tried, grabbing at nancy's arm again to try and pull her away.
"screw you!" nancy exclaimed, once again shoving steve's hand off her. she then finished her journey to the punch bowl, dipping her cup inside to fill it up. her eyes flickered up at apollo, a smile pulling at her lips. "pollo! hi!"
"uh, hi, wheeler." he greeted awkwardly, his eyes going up to where steve was. "harrington."
"yeah, hi, apollo." steve mumbled, rolling his eyes as he stepped forward to grab nancy again. the wheeler girl was struggling to fill her cup up, a small pout on her face. "nance, i'm serious. hey, hey, hey. stop. no, i'm serious." he told her as nancy pulled her cup from out of the bowl, it being completely full. steve grabbed at it. "put it down."
"no!" nancy said.
"nancy, put it down." steve tried.
"steve! stop." nancy scolded, still pulling at the cup. the couple continued to fight over the cup before steve lost his grip on it, nancy pulling extra hard. the pull caused the red liquid to splash all over nancy's front, ruining her white blouse. the whole room gasped at that, apollo's lips forming an 'o' shape as he watched closely. "what the hell?" nancy let out, placing the cup down on the counter before she walked towards the bathroom.
"nance." steve called after her, not making a move to follow her.
"well, don't be an idiot, harrington. follow her." apollo told him, making the taller boy look at him. "follow her, idiot!"
"yeah, i know, apollo. shut up, jeez." steve muttered as he went after nancy, making apollo roll his eyes at the boy.
"if you knew, you wouldn't have to be told." the williams boy mumbled as he dipped his cup back into the punch bowl.
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𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 bash for about an hour now, playing a few party games. billy hargrove had came up to him to try and start a problem, but jonathan appeared out of thin air to pull the boy away. the byers boy knew that apollo was a major hot head and would explode at every little thing. he was known around the school for winning almost every fight he had gotten in. jonathan and apollo weren't all that close, but apollo watched out for the quiet boy whenever anyone tried to fuck with him. they were considered the outcasts of the school, so they tried to stick together. jonathan had told apollo to look for steve and that he was driving a very drunk nancy home.
he hadn't seen any sign of steve inside of the house, searching every room for the boy. he had even walked in on a few teens having sex, quickly apologizing. he had given up, assuming that steve had left, probably after him and nancy had some kind of argument. he took out a box of cigarettes, slipping one out and between his lips as he walked through the hall of the house. he then pulled out his zippo lighter, flicking it open and making a flame appear. he brought it up to the cigarette, lighting it. he took a pull, grabbing the tobacco stick from his mouth as he walked over to the sliding door that led to the back yard. he let the cloud of smoke escape his lips, surprised to see that no one was outside. he slid the door open before he slipped outside, closing it behind him. he sighed in relief, finally being able to breathe in fresh air and not the smell of sweaty bodies.
"it's all. . . bullshit. i'm bullshit." apollo heard faintly, making the boy pause. he looked around, placing his cigarette between his lips as he took another pull. "bullshit. bullshit. bullshit." apollo followed the voice, walking around to the side of the house to see steve sitting on the ground with a nearly empty bottle of vodka. "she doesn't love me. . ."
"harrington?" apollo questioned, taking his cigarette from his lips. "what's wrong? why are you out here all alone, man?"
"it's. . . bullshit." steve slurred, waving the bottle in his hand around as he looked over at apollo. the william's boy was shocked to see tear trails on steve's cheeks. "i'm bullshit."
"i don't know what that means, bud." apollo mumbled as he made his way towards steve. he dropped his cigarette onto the ground before he stepped on it to put it out. he then crouched down in front of steve, his chest aching at the sight. "what's bullshit?"
"everything! everything is bullshit." steve repeated. "she doesn't love me. nancy said she - she doesn't love me. that it was all bullshit." he explained, his voice cracking.
apollo sighed, looking down at the long haired boy. everybody knew that steve was hopelessly in love with nancy wheeler. i mean, he basically changed his ways so that he could be with her. although he still cared about his popularity, he wasn't as much as a dickhead like he used to be. and if it was anyone else crying in front of him, complaining about how their significant other didn't love them, he would laugh right in their face. but this wasn't anyone else, this was steve harrington. a person that he cared about, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone.
"where's your keys, steve?" apollo asked. the harrington boy continued to mutter things under his breath, not even paying attention to what apollo had just asked him. "steve! hey, hey." apollo called, gently slapping steve's cheek to get his attention. the older boy looked up at him. "you drove here right? i need your keys so that i can drive you home."
without another word, steve reached into one of the pockets of his blazer, pulling out his car keys. apollo grabbed them, looking around to make sure that no one was around to see him being a caring person. he wrapped steve's arm around his shoulders, picking him up from the ground. he dragged the boy from the side of the home, praying that steve would at least try and use his feet. apollo walked over to steve's car, knowing exactly what it looked like. he unlocked it as he walked around it, struggling to open the passenger door. he grunted as he tried to place steve into the passenger seat. "all right, bud. you need to help me."
steve did as told, basically throwing himself into the passenger seat, a loud thud echoing through the air. "owwww!"
apollo rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut. he then walked around the car, opening the driver's door before getting in. he stuck the key into the ignition, turning it so that the car could come to life. he then took it out of park, pulling off and heading towards loch nora. he would look over at steve every few minutes, hearing him sniffle and mumble incoherent things under his breath about how nancy had hurt. apollo sighed, feeling his chest ache for the boy once again. he pulled up front of the harrington household, not seeing another car in the driveway. but he did see that the light was on inside, meaning that arlo was awake, probably devouring all of the candy she had gotten that night. apollo put the car into park before he took the keys out of the ignition. he got out of the car and walked around to get steve. he carefully took him out of the passenger seat, the taller boy somehow hitting his head on the ceiling of the car. he walked steve to the house, having a firm grip on the harrington boy's waist. once they were at the front door, he rung the doorbell a few times.
the door flew opened a few seconds later, revealing arlo with smeared chocolate all on her face. her eyebrows raised once she had seen apollo holding up a very drunk steve. "uh, hi, apollo."
"hi, little harrington." apollo greeted, a small smile on his lips as he took in her appearance. "uh, you went as a greaser?"
"yeah." arlo nodded, her eyes going over to her brother. "is he - is he drunk?"
"yeah. . . i don't know what exactly, but something happened between him and nancy. he keeps saying that he's bullshit. that everything is bullshit." the older boy explained, tightening his grip on steve when he felt him slipping. "w - where can i put him?"
"can you carry him upstairs, or is he too heavy?" arlo questioned, placing the chocolate bar that she was holding onto the table that was by the door.
"i should be able to carry him." apollo nodded. arlo stepped back and opened the door more, letting the two boys enter. apollo walked over to the stairs, hoping that steve would get the memo and try to use his feet. "come on, harrington. help me out here." he mumbled to steve.
the taller boy looked down at him before he looked at the stairs. he then started to go up the stairs, apollo holding most of his weight. arlo followed behind them just in case steve decided to trip and go tumbling down them. once they were at the top, arlo walked around the two boys and over to where steve's bedroom was, opening it. she flicked the light on, revealing how much of a mess was inside. apollo guided steve over to his bed, dropping him once he was close enough. the williams boy made sure that steve was on his bed properly before he started to walk away. he froze when he felt steve grab at his arm.
"stay." the older boy mumbled. apollo looked over to steve before his eyes went over to where arlo was standing, his eyes almost the size of saucers. the harrington girl shrugged, not knowing what to say, biting back a smile. "please, stay, pollo."
"i, uh. . ." apollo muttered, not exactly sure of what to say. "is it okay if i stay, little harrington?"
"i don't care." the younger girl shrugged. "he has, like, ten blankets in his closet. and yes, they are clean. use them to make a pallet on the floor or something."
"okay." apollo nodded.
"pollo?" arlo called, making the older boy look up at him. "thanks for making sure he got home safe. when he's drunk, he's, uh, he's extremely reckless. so. . . thank you."
"no need to thank me. just - can i call percy to let him know where i'm at?" the junior boy asked. arlo simply pointed to where steve's phone laid on his nightstand.
"i would let you use my supercomm, but the connection isn't strong enough to reach the trailer park." arlo told him.
"it's okay. this'll do." apollo nodded. arlo nodded back before she went back downstairs to finish the movie that she was watching. "shouldn't you be sleep, or something?!" apollo then called after her, making steve groan from his bed.
"i don't sleep!" arlo shouted back as she went down the stairs.
apollo raised his eyebrows but didn't question it. he turned around to face steve's bed before he moved the taller boy over. he then sat down on the edge of the bed, taking the phone from off the hook to dial his home number. he brought it up to his ear, hearing it ring a few times before he heard a click.
"hello?" the raspy voice of percy appeared. apollo smiled slightly, assuming that he had woken the boy up from a sugar coma.
"hey, buddy. uh, i'm not gonna be home tonight, okay?" apollo mumbled into the phone, trying not to wake the drunk boy behind him.
"wha - why?" percy questioned.
"taking care of someone who really needs support right now." apollo simply answered.
"okay. i'll see you in the morning?" percy asked.
"yeah, i'll be there before you wake up."
"okay. love you, pollo."
"love you too, percy."
with that, the williams boys hung up, apollo placing steve's phone back on the hook. he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. he got up and went over to the closet to get the blankets that arlo had told him about, grabbing two. he laid one out on the floor before he dropped the other one. he then walked over to steve's bed, grabbing one of the pillows. he went over to the light switch, flicking it off before he threw the pillow down on the blanket. he then grabbed the other blanket, placing it over his legs. before he laid down, he quickly slid his jean jacket off, throwing it onto to steve's chair. he finally laid down, pulling the blanket up and over him.
"you better not give me anymore shit, harrington." he mumbled as he turned over onto his side, letting sleep take over him.
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𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 his alarm clock blaring in his ear, making a wave of pain shoot through his head. he groaned, turning over so that he could smack the stop button on the clock. he laid like that for a few minutes, keeping his eyes shut because of the headache that was starting to get worse and worse. he sat up, his eyes narrowed into slits as he tried to block out the sun that was shining through his window. he looked around, seeing the familiar walls of his room. his eyes then landed on the figure that was on the floor, realizing that it was apollo. he let his eyes scan over his sleeping figure, seeing the tattoos that was sprawled out on his arms, some hidden underneath the sleeves of his t-shirt. his usually slicked back hair was no a mess, the dark brown strands going in every direction.
"what the hell are you doing here?" steve mumbled to himself as he stood up from the bed, feeling the world around him spin. he grabbed one of the pillows that was on bed, quickly beaming it at the sleeping boy.
apollo jumped awake, a glare appearing on his tired eyes as he looked up at steve. "what the fuck, harrington?! can't you see i'm sleeping here?!"
"yeah, in my room! why the hell are you here?" steve spat back, wincing slightly at the headache.
"you got drunk last night, so i drove you home! you're welcome, by the way." apollo explained, starting to get up from the floor. he combed his fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it, looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "actually, thank you for waking me up. i gotta go." he grumbled, snatching his jacket from steve's chair before he walked over to the door. "now i know to leave you the next time you're drunk and heart broken."
"whatever, apollo." steve mumbled, waving his hand at the boy in annoyance.
"can you two shut the hell up?!" arlo's voice boomed from somewhere in the house. steve let out a sigh, hearing the grumpiness in her voice, probably from lack of sleep. he heard apollo bid goodbye to his sister before the front door slammed. steve decided to go downstairs, making sure not to make any sudden movements to increase the ache in his head. once he was downstairs, he entered the kitchen, seeing arlo sitting at the kitchen island. "morning."
"aspirin and gatorade." arlo said instead of greeting him, pointing over to where the two bottle laid on the counter. "take them to make your hangover go away."
"thanks." steve mumbled, opening the aspirin bottle and pouring two pills into his hand. he popped them into his mouth before he opened the gatorade and chugged the liquid down. "why was apollo here?"
"you asked him to stay after he brought you home." arlo answered, stuffing a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "he said he found you drunk after something happened between you and nancy. you remember any of that?"
"yeah. . . yeah, the thing that happened between nancy." steve nodded, the ache in his head quickly spreading to his chest as he remembered what nancy had said to him in the bathroom the night before. "she got really drunk and said that everything's bullshit between up. 'like we're in love.'"
"drunk minds speak a sober heart." arlo told him, looking at her brother with a look of sympathy. she knew that he really loved nancy and that he was really hurting. "i'm sorry, steve."
"nah, it's okay. it's not like you made or say it on anything." steve mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "um, you should get going, you know. don't want you to be late."
"yeah." arlo agreed, sliding out of her seat. "take things easy, okay? don't turn your hurt into anger and do anything stupid like last year."
"that was tommy h's idea!" steve quickly defended.
"but yet, you still did it." arlo reasoned. "love you, brother!"
"love you, too, sister." steve muttered, shaking his head.
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daij speaks!
apollo having a soft spot for steve warms my heart, honestly. i'm gonna love writing them together because they're gonna be so fucking chaotic, omg. but here's a chapter for apollo, because it's been like three-four chapters where we haven't seen him. also, the way the chapter are getting longer because i'm starting to go more into details with things 😗😅
i hope u guys enjoyed🫶🏼