𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒, steve harrington

09 | the mind flayer

Chapter Nine
🎲
The Mind Flayer

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

            Everyone met up at the Byers home. Hugs were shared between everyone, relieved to know everyone was safe, at least as safe as they could be at the moment. Olivia was informed by Hopper that Bob had sacrificed himself for them. She didn't know Bob too well, but he was so kind to her in the small time they knew each other. He didn't deserve to die. Joyce's happiness being taken away from that awful lab and those terrifying creatures fueled Olivia. In the mean time, Jonathan was comforting Will who was out cold on the couch, with Nancy putting a tender hand on his shoulder. Steve looked at them with a heartbroken expression.

            Olivia walked to over to him and patted him on the shoulder. She could relate to how he was feeling, it had shattered her heart to see Jonathan growing closer to Nancy. "I know how you're feeling." She confided in him. "You okay?" She asked softly.

            "I will be," Steve nodded and snuck both of his arms around her. He towered over the petite girl who was at least a good two heads shorter than him. "Guess we can call ourselves the heartbroken club," He joked, trying to lighten the mood (it didn't really work though). It made her kind of sad at how true it was. However, she supposed it was how her and Steve were able to bond and connect so quickly, through their shared heartbreak.

            "Hey, you need to rest," Steve told the girl gently.

            "I can't," Olivia shook her head and leaned in closer to him. "N-not with everything going on," Steve just held the girl tighter.

            Meanwhile, Hopper was exasperated as he tried to recruit more help on the phone with unfortunately no luck. He slammed the phone with frustration.

            "They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asked Hopper.

            "We'll see."

            "We'll see?" Mike huffed, who was sitting at the kitchen table impatiently. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

            "We stay here, and we wait for help," Hopper demanded and made his way over to Joyce's room.

            "Mike, Hopper's right," Olivia finally said. "I know it's hard to just sit here and do nothing. Believe me, I know. But this is the safest place to be right now."

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The party was sat around the kitchen table in sadness, taking a moment to remember Bob. Olivia leaned her head on Steve's shoulder as tears started streaming down her face. Steve gently held her close to him as if she were about to break.

            "Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" Mike acknowledged, breaking the silence. He was fiddling with Bob's blue rubik's cube as he spoke. Olivia smiled softly as Wheeler boy reminisced good things about Bob.

            Lucas widened his eyes. "Really?"

            Mike nodded with a small smile. "He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fundraiser for equipment. Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?"