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˚⋆ ┊ ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING ┊ ⋆˚
☆⋅⋆ ─ act i. don't you want me, baby?

CHAPTER EIGHT - two sides of the same coin
( episode four ; will the wise )

❀

⠀ ⠀ IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR WILL TO BE SHAKEN FROM HIS NIGHTMARE. Waves of shock settled into a terrorizing silence as the November wind whistled through empty branches. Peyton had stood herself s few steps down from the frightened kids, watching as Joyce guided her son into the passenger seat of her car.

"Okay, that totally freaked me out," Max admitted, with a lack of understanding that made her admittedly more confused than fearful, much in contrast to her newfound friend group, "Did that not freak you guys out?"

Honest answer? Absolutely.

Sure, she'd dealt with interdimensional, face-opening beings (which, in all seriousness, was not something ordinary people found ordinary), but the kid looked... possessed. Peyton didn't deem herself an expert in the happenings of Hawkins Laboratory by any means. But she'd heard stories. She'd witnessed an eleven-year-old with superpowers and yet, still, the idea that there was something... some... thing out there capable of not only harming you from the outside, but from the inside.

"Two episodes in two days..." Lucas trailed off, anxiously holding his walkie as the Byers prepared to leave

"It's getting worse," added Mike, all while Peyton closely monitored their words in fear they might reveal something Max absolutely shouldn't hear

But Lucas had yet to catch on, "You think it's True Sight?"

"What's True Sight?" piping up once again, Peyton whirled back with a stern, warning glare. The last thing they needed was to involve yet another innocent kid in their fight against the supernatural.

Realizing his mistake, Lucas's eyes met the ground, "It's nothing," although Max seemed less than convinced.

Palm pressing into the roof of her car, Joyce had gotten halfway in before calling out to her would-be step-children, "Peyton, Parker, let's go," confused glances exchanged between the siblings were enough to reveal they had no expectation of being invited back to the Byers home. Weekdays usually meant waiting around for their father to finish up the late shift. Cooking something edible on the stove and kicking their feet up to watch re-runs of The Price Is Right.

"Oh, Joyce, you don't have to..." but Peyton cut her sentence off short. She could see the heartbreak in the mother's eyes. Mind wandering to the words she'd promised only a few nights ago. That she'd be there for the Byers, no matter what happened. And she didn't have to beg, or convince any further. Gripping her younger brother down the shoulder, she encouraged him down the entrance stairs without another word to the increasingly concerned tween boys

"Parker, let's go," no reason to protest, Parker followed, moving around to the opposite side of the car to park himself in the backseat behind Will. With one last look toward her brother's friends, Peyton pressed her forehead into the glass, warm breath fogging the already cooled window as the loud engine rumbled beneath them.

❀

⠀ ⠀ FED AND CHANGED, THE NEWBY SIBLINGS FOUND THEMSELVES situated on the Byers' freshly vacuumed hallway floor. Mirroring one another, they tightly gripped their knees toward their chests, simply listening in as Joyce pleaded with her son to be truthful with her about all he'd been through that afternoon.

Peyton was so stunned she found herself half-listening anyway. Mind wandering to just how unsafe her beloved hometown was becoming. Will had seen something on Halloween, that they were sure of. And, somehow, Joyce figured out it was more than just a flashback.

Within moments Will was crying. And Parker had tears in his eyes too. He confessed everything. Every feeling, every fear, every doubt and uncertainty.

"It's almost... more like a feeling,"

"Like the one you had that night at the arcade?"

Anger seeped deep within her upon realizing just how long Will had been telling everybody something was wrong. But all Hawkins lab cared about was covering their asses, whether that meant saving a poor kid's life or not.

And they were the ones to blame. For everything that happened last year. For the little girl that hadn't even seen the light of day before escaping their prison of a laboratory. And now, whatever it is they'd promised to contain, they were doing a pretty piss poor job.

But seething rage dimmed when the sound of Will's heartbreaking sobs echoed through the empty halls. Trembling hands reached up to cover Parker's ears, only then did Peyton force herself to tear her attention away from the words exchanged between mother and son, wrapping a protective arm around her little brother's shoulders.

"I just want this to be over,"

Will didn't know he was begging for the four of them. But whispers of 'it's okay' and promises of protection were for him alone.

"I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again,"

Assured Joyce; a confident promise to her son.

"Whatever's going on in you, we're gonna fix it. I will fix it,"

Will's soft cries continued as Parker squeezed his sister's arm for comfort.

"I promise. I'm here..."

It was another few hours before Jonathan got home. Before that, Bob had stopped by with his signature soup for a sick kid. Although the eldest of the residents felt rather reluctant to share anything further than Will was simply 'feeling unwell'. In fact, they were legally obligated to not share anything further than that.

And by the time the eldest Byers boy found himself creeping through the door, Bob had taken his son home, rewarding his daughter's willingness to stay behind with her beloved car keys. Yet to let herself change into her pajamas let alone fall asleep, Peyton had tightly gripped a cup of lukewarm coffee, staring into space for god knows how long.

Jonatha greeted her, like normal, although could sense that something was extremely off. And his suspicions were soon proved right. Creeping hastily from his mother's bedroom door, the sight of his sleeping brother held protectively by his mother was reason enough for his paled expression

"What happened?"

"I d... I don't know," confessed the anxious blonde, "He said... he's been seeing things. Will. And now he's... different,"

"Different how?"

"Different..." Peyton trailed off, brows knotted in through as she stared harshly into the ground. Bottom lip chewed harshly between her teeth, Peyton thought over and over in her mind for a plausible explanation, as if saying what she thought to be true would make it so, "Staring into space, talking about... visions or something," Thankful the room was barely illuminated by the dim lamp across the room, the Evans girl grew evermore helpless as her glassy eyes threatened to spill hot tears down her cheeks, "Jonathan I don't... I don't think this is over," voice barely a whisper, the Byers boy leaned forward, heart visibly sinking in the pit of his stomach, "The lab... they can't control the mess they made and I... I am trying to put on a brave face but, shit..." the ever dissimulating blonde shocked even herself when she heard the tremor in her voice, "Jon, I'm... I..."

"Peyton," wanting now more than ever to comfort his friend, "It's okay to be scared,"

Scared.

Hearing someone else use that word to describe her felt... wrong.

Peyton didn't get scared.

Not at least for anyone else to see. She was the brave one. The rock. The glue that held everybody together, telling them it was going to be okay even when she had no idea if it was true.

"I'm not scared," but even that felt wrong to insist upon. What they'd been through. What they might be about to go through again. Anyone could understand why she'd find that frightening, "I mean I... I am scared I just... mostly I'm so... mad. All the time. And it just won't... stop or go away and it never... I can't-" reaching across the table, Jonathan tightly gripped his would-be-sister's hand, a sense of mutual understanding settling over the both of them. She took another deep breath, finally looking the equally amalgamated angered-scared Byers boy in the eye, "It's gonna be okay, right?"

Even then, with tearful eyes, the Byers boy was at a loss for words. Truthfully, he had no idea. Peyton was already sure of it. But, Christ, if she didn't, for once in her life, want to be the one getting humored for once. Even so, she knew damn well putting that kind of pressure on Jonathan was unfair. Especially when she knew he was seeking reassurance too.

But there were no more words to offer. Only glances, and silent promises. That no matter what was about to happen, they'd have each other's backs.

They had each other.

❀

⠀ ⠀ BILLY HARGROVE'S NEVER-ENDING QUEST TO PISS PEYTON OFF had not gone unnoticed by their eagerly spectating peers. His outlandish behavior and childish remarks to not only her but whoever came to her defense were irritating enough without the violent outburst and emotionally manipulative tendencies.

Peyton found herself rather grateful that neither Joey nor Jacob were anywhere to be seen that day. Especially since the last time they'd been present during phys-ed, they'd all ended up in detention and Peyton had, rather embarrassingly, shared far too many insecurities with "King Steve" for her liking.

And yet, she was drawn to him. But the more drawn she was, the less interested she'd act.

"King Steve!" Billy taunted, as though reading Peyton's thoughts whilst she watched the two, like wild animals proving dominance, "King Steve, everyone," walking toward him, Billy continued to sloppily dribble, showing just how little effort he had to put into upstage the so-called king "I like it. Playing tough today,"

But Steve had yet to learn not to take Billy's bait. And the more Hargrove boy, the more angered Harrington got.

"Jesus! Do you ever stop talking, man? Come on!" eyes narrowed as she paced the court, Billy's eyes flickered toward her as a laugh escaped his smug lips

"What? You afraid the coach is gonna bench you now that I'm here, huh?" sneakers squeaking against the glossed wood, Billy took a step back, although his tormenting was far from over. Charging full speed, he crashed half his body into Steve's. He fell to the ground with a deafening slam, grimacing in more shame than pain as he helplessly watched Billy toss the ball through the basket with ease. Lying back in defeat, Peyton almost found herself rushing toward him.

But why the hell would she do that?

They weren't friends. In fact, up until a few nights ago, she upright despised the guy. And what? A few words of kindness and she's weak in the knees? No. No fucking way. She was better than that. She deserved better than that.

Which then raised the question:

Why the hell was she still with Billy?

Steve was in no way worse than Billy. Not that she'd admit it aloud, but she truly was beginning to prefer Steve in many ways. Whether that had anything to do with her own internal battle of self-worth or the fact that the king of Hawkins High had actually started to grow as a person still remained to be seen. In any case, Peyton had suddenly spent far too long staring at rather than helping the poor Harrington boy, because the next thing she knew Billy had half pulled him from the ground, face all too close to utter something mean-spirited before, eyes landing on Peyton's, he slammed Steve back into the ground with his palm.

The whistle blew to set them free, and Peyton finally decided to swallow her pride. Although, Steve had mostly gotten up himself by the time her hand bet his shoulder. Still, he seemed glad to accept, arm falling across her shoulders as he looked toward Billy with an expression Peyton couldn't quite read. But she could tell from the look the angered Hargrove shot back it could only have been some kind of smug and triumphant look who's got her now asshole look.

A million thoughts raced through her head in that moment. Questioning how she could be so stupid because of course he would use this moment as a way to get back at Billy.

Steve Harrington hadn't changed.

Steve Harrington was no different from the countless other boys just waiting for their chance to get into Peyton's pants. Rather than cause a scene, however, Peyton settled upon at least leading him to one of the many benches surrounding the court and ditching his ass there.

✮

⠀ ⠀ AT FIRST, STEVE WAS JUST UTTERLY CONFUSED. Left alone to wonder why Peyton stormed away without another word. It seemed that no matter what he tried to do or say, no matter how hard he tried to be her friend, she'd continuously shoot him down. To the point where he'd actively begun to wonder why he cared so much about being her friend in the first place.

There was no plausible explanation for it. A few days ago, the last thing he wanted was to be her friend. Hell, he did a pretty piss-poor job at even tolerating her attitude and continuous remarks when he was forced to spend time with her simply by being 'Nancy's boyfriend'.

By now, he wasn't even sure if he was Nancy's boyfriend. And if he was only forced to be around Peyton because of that, why did he still feel like he needed to be around her?

In truth, Steve hadn't a clue.

A fact that had very much started to bother him.

Not only had she relentlessly tormented him for years (they'd both had the immense privilege of attending not only Hawkins Middle, but Hawkins Elementry together), but he'd probably done just the same, if not worse, to her. And yet now, the torment had become moments spent without her. Inexplicably, he wanted not to irritate her but to befriend her. And yet his stubbornness left him stuck in a seemingly inescapable state of a little boy pulling on the pigtails of the girl he likes.

A feeling that came with a sense of unfamiliarity. Steve had never found himself working so hard to win someone over. Not even Nancy. Nancy Wheeler, who he once truly did love. Who he fell for and who broke his heart. Yet he did little to earn her affection. His status as most popular boy in school won her heart. And her kindness and ability to see through his overly confident facade is what kept them together...

Steve froze, towel slung over his shoulder as he stared deep into his locker. When did he even get into the locker room? He'd been so deep in thought he could hardly recall the last moment he felt conscious of his actions.

Deep in thought about what exactly?

He'd utterly confused himself. What use was there in comparing Peyton to Nancy? Whatever had changed in the way he looked at his former enemy certainly wasn't replicated in the way he'd once adored Nancy Wheeler. The way he still adored Nancy Wheeler.

Wasn't that his goal in all this? Winning her back?

"Don't sweat it, Harrington," piped a bemused Billy, clearly able to get some kind of read on the chaotic thoughts racing through his mind, "Today's just not your day, man,"

"Yeah. Not your week," agreed Tommy, ever trying to get a rise out of him since the day Steve declared them no longer friends, "You and the princess break up for one day, she's running off with the freak's brother,"

Now that was a shock to the system. Steve had started to wonder where Nancy was. Jonathan's whereabouts, however, hadn't once crossed his mind. And with the supernatural part of their lives over and done with, what reason did Nancy have to ditch school with Jonathan Byers of all people?

Sure, they'd made amends but they weren't friends...

Come to think of it, Steve didn't know nearly enough about Nancy's relationship with Jonathan to even make that claim. But the dumbfounded look on his face was enough to send Tommy H into a frenzy of laughter, "Oh, shit. You don't know! Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven't shown," mocking tone ever-present, Tommy leaned into the cool metal as he flipped the lever controlling his shower, "But that must just be a coincidence, right?" Steve had yet to formulate any kind of remark to save his fragile ego. And although moments ago he was praying for Tommy to leave, now that he had Steve was left alone with Billy.

The very last person on the planet heart he wanted spending one on one time with, much less rather exposed in the locker rooms,

"Don't take it too hard, man," the Hargrove piped up smugly, "A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea. Am I right?" but when Steve still refused to take the bait, Billy continued with a smirk, "Hell, you seem to got your eye on mine," eyes darting around the room, Steve forced himself to take a deep breath. Billy's disrespect truly knew no bounds. Soapy water an excuse to wipe his hands across his face, Steve surprised himself in finally uttering the first sentence of their increasingly uncomfortable altercation

"Peyton's not your bitch," he venomously spat, although Billy seemed more amused than fearful at Steve's low, warning tones.

"Who said anything about Peyton?" shrugged the Hargrove boy, smug assholery all the more evident as he cockily ran his tongue across his teeth.

But something felt different this time.

Something in the way his smile didn't quite meet his eye. A calm kind of anger that Steve found himself rather regretful at being at the other end of. Swifty, Billy reached across to straighten the lever of Steve's shower, noisy waterflow coming to an abrupt halt that made the awkwardness in the air even more unbearable, "Stay away from her, Harrington," Billy's tone had grown quiet. Scarily quiet. Steve could barely decide on a point to fix his eyes to, anywhere but Billy's complacent glare, "If you know what's good for you," playing it off as light-hearted, Billy seemed amused at the very idea of Steve being even remotely interested in the same 'kind of girl' as himself, "Not like you could handle that kind of crazy anyway," Steve was beginning to shock even himself at his continuous silence. But he was determined to have at least learned something from his post-dumped-by-Wheeler days. Nancy always begged him not to throw the first punch. Not that any kind of brawl would commence considering their lack of clothing and how deeply fucking weird that experience would be.

Harsh slap awakening him from his angered thought train, Steve's infuriated gaze finally landed on Billy's as he made his shit-eating exit line, "Like I said, plenty of bitches. I'll be sure to leave you some," and with that, Billy walked away.

Oh, fuck you.

Steve wasted no time in rather aggressively smacking the shower back on to rid himself of the bubbles frothing up his pristine hair. He'd only wanted to rid himself of any non-platonic thoughts toward Peyton. Even his own subconscious had been too busy suppressing anything but pure friendship as his motive in spending as much time with her as he could get away with, without raising suspicions.

But somehow, Billy knew. Whether that was through his fragile ego wanting Peyton to want him and him alone. Or his desperation to steal not only Steve's popularity but his friends, his secret crushes.

Then again, Steve wasn't even sure if there was anything for Billy to know. If the petty Hargrove boy hadn't simply hit those thoughts of Peyton in his head simply by telling him he couldn't have her.

Steve Harrington didn't like to be challenged. Not that Peyton was in any way an inanimate prize to be won. And Billy certainly wasn't going to be the reason he'd decide to peruse Peyton in any way other than platonic. Left in a permanent state of confusion, the lack of certainty whirled like butterflies deep in his stomach.

One thing was for certain, however.

If this were to go on much longer, Steve would surely lose his damn mind.

lol remember when i said i was getting better at frequent updates ?? 😅

sorry if it's super borning lol i forgot early s2 is just heaps of dialogue but i'm trying to have fun w it (especially cause the next chapter should hopefully be more interesting??)

ignore that the last few sentences make no sense is literally 2.30am i'll change them later i just rlly want this chapter published n it's mostly written pretty well i think! anyway pls lmk if h spot the spelling mistakes i know they're there lmaoo

sorry its been ten years I hope the long-ish chapter n the fact that u got multiple povs this time is enough to make up for it :)

what do we think about writing from multiple character povs just to make it more fun for me from a writing standpomt (hence the steve pov content)

i think the next chapter (which is half done yay me) is gonna be entirely from parker's pov (I'm v excited for that!) so please lmk if this is something I should continue with!

if so may change this book from a 'steve harrington' book to just stranger things cause that way I can include all my characters in one book instead of a multi character book series that will take wayyyy too long to write I'm literally a student i would like to graduate lmao

ty for reading and voting
and commenting it really does make my day!

<3