end zone | STEVE HARRINGTON

prologue

P R O L O G U E

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ANASTASIA WAS STILL GRIEVING. She didn't know why, considering that it had been a year since Hopper's tragic death, but she couldn't get over the fact that he was never coming back. She replayed the final words he said to her, they were always on her mind and no matter how hard she tried to put on a brave face, she couldn't forget.

Everyone else around her seemed to have grieved. Which angered her even more. Did they even care that Hopper was gone? Or where they simply just 'moving on'? It infuriated her more that she was left with an ache in her heart with no one around her to understand her grief.

Steve had been patient with her, but it seemed like he was done with the mysteries of Hawkins. He moved on, quicker than most considering he had been through so much with the others. Anna understood, and she never openly blamed him for it but when he would question her as to what was wrong, or why she would have off days she would grow even more angrier at the world for making her turn out that way. Still, Steve was always loving to her and would admit that he had fallen in love with the girl, despite her being a little less open about her feelings.

Anna kept in contact with Eleven, hearing all about the new friends that she had made and that Will was doing good too, he was currently in the middle of painting and El assumed it was because he had taken a liking to a girl. Jonathan was always high, because of his new friend Argyle, and him and Nancy were currently going through a rough patch but it was nothing they couldn't get through.

Still, Anna and Steve had taken a further step in their relationship. They had been dating for almost a year and found it as the time to take that next step in a relationship. Because Hopper had left Anna and Eleven a large sum of money, she had bought herself a small apartment where she resided. The teens were already visiting her, and she grown even closer to them all.

Anastasia always remembered to lock her house door. Until one morning. She believed that nothing could have been more embarrassing than being caught in the 'act' with Steve by their much younger friends.

"Holy shit!" Dustin screeched, as he slammed the girls bedroom door closed. Anastasia yelled, covering herself over with her duvet as Steve remained frozen. Outside the door, they could still hear all of the kids spitting out curses at one another which made her laugh momentarily.

She quickly got dressed, tossing Steve his clothes as he stumbled over his own two feet. Anna calmly walked out of her room, seeing Dustin and Lucas standing over the sink rubbing their eyes harshly while she grabbed some candy out of the fridge, Steve looked at the ground as he walked over to them all.

"What are you guys doing here?" Anna questioned, she wasn't surprised that Max wasn't with them because she had broken up with Lucas after Billy died and had changed. She became quieter and more reserved, pushing herself away from everyone.