ALL YOU HAVE IS YOUR FIRE.

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STARCROSSED (book one).
°•        CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE        •°

"        THOUGHT I SMELLED
YOUR RANK MULLET.       "

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ONCE AGAIN: Elijah really hates kids. Sure, they weren't supposed to be heroes. Yeah, he was legally considered a kid himself (sort of, it didn't feel much like it), but hey, he also hated himself so he liked to think that his feelings were valid, especially when he was glaring directly at Dustin Henderson as if the snotty kid had personally offended him by requesting that they gather up the baby-demogorgon that El had maimed so they could shove it in the open fridge. It's a wonder how Dustin had made it as long as he had. Steve too, for that matter, since he gathered the limp monster with minimal protests that only earned more glares from Elijah who was surrounded by too many white boys with, apparently, no brains.

"It should fit now," Dustin declared once he tossed aside the last condiment he dug out to make room. Elijah couldn't wait to see the look on Joyce's face when she went to get some morning breakfast only to be met with the gnarled body of a demogorgon.

Steve finally had the decency to shoot Henderson an exasperated stare. "Is this really necessary?" He asked flatly.

Dustin, however, had the nerve to act offended by their reactions. "Yes, it is, okay? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery! We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog!"

"I can tell you where you can put it," Elijah went to snap back.

Before Elijah could directly suggest where Dustin could shove it, Steve interrupted, "Alright, alright," he huffed. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?" He struggled to shove the thing into the now-empty fridge. It was wrapped in an old quilt that didn't do anything to help the grip Steve had on its slimy, green skin. "Christ," Steve grunted. "Help me out."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Get the door, man!"

Elijah was less than helpful as he watched Steve struggle to keep the demogorgon inside long enough for Dustin to shut the fridge door without moving a muscle to assist. It was, despite the spark of fear for the demogorgons even if the one Steve cradled was dead, quite amusing after everything.

Steve slapped his hand over Dustin's cap and ruffled his head before panting at Elijah, "Thanks for the help."

"Any time," Elijah promised, shooting him a sarcastic smile.

The other kids, who were supposed to be cleaning up the mess in Joyce's living room, voices raised as they started to argue with one another since Mike was just as helpful as Elijah. Dustin overheard him call the monsters dogs and made a point to stick his head in, correcting in a shout, "Demodogs!"

Elijah heard Steve sigh before following Dustin into the living room, knowing he wouldn't have a choice but to go after them too. If they were going to keep making stupid choices, he wanted to be there for that. Besides, Steve had already started using his firm voice on them.

"Listen, dude," he started, wiping the sticky demodog gunk off his hand. "A coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. Alright?"

An angry look crossed Mike's round face. "Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game. And second... We're not even in the game. We're on the bench," he reminded Steve in a cold voice.

For once, Steve was actually stunned. Elijah suspected he probably didn't think that one of the kids would have the nerve to stand up to him and put him in his place. "Right... So, my point is..." He paused to swallow while the group looked at him with impatient stares. Steve seemed flushed as he tossed the dishcloth he was using over his shoulder. Then finally, "Right, yeah, we're on the bench. So, uh, there's nothing we can do."

"That's not entirely true," Dustin piped up. Everyone's eyes fell on him. "I mean, these demodogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

Lucas leaned on the broom he had stopped using to sweep broken shards of glass, interested. "If we get their attention..."

"Maybe we can draw them from the lab," Max finished, lifting her head to meet Lucas's eyes.

"Clear a path to the gate," Mike added.

Too many of them were throwing out death as an option, at least, that's what Elijah was hearing. He rubbed his temples. "Clear a path for our deaths, sure!" He mumbled.

For once, Nevaeh actually agreed with her brother and so did Steve. Knowing better than them, she bobbed her head, as Steve exclaimed, "Yeah, and then we all die!"

"That's one point of view," Dustin said with a tilt of his head.

"No, that's not a point of view, man, that's a fact."

A lightbulb seemed to brighten above Mike's head who perked up in excitement. Any signs of him having moped were thrown out the window. "I got it!" He ran to the corner of the room and observed one of the pictures Will had drawn that was taped to the rest. "This is where the Chief dug his hole. He raced back to the middle of the living room where a bundle of papers was stuck together to create one blue blob of Crayola. "So here, right here, this is like a hub, so you got all the tunnels feeding in here." Mike's eagerness grew as he placed both palms of his hands over what he called the hub. "Maybe if we set this on fire - "

"Oh, yeah?" Steve quickly pointed down, trying to shut him down. "That's a no."

But all the kids were hurling in ideas now, their voices on top of one another. It started with Dustin eagerly adding, "The Mind Flayer would call way his army..."

"They'd all come to stop us!"

"We circle back to the exit - "

Steve tried again, "Guys - "

"... By the time they realize we're gone - "

"El would be at the gate!"

"Listen here you little shits!" Elijah shouted. "I've had it, this isn't happening!"

His anxiety and annoyance were growing at the way they were spewing out these ideas after they just barely made it out alive. Mike and Nevaeh could've been devoured at the Lab. Elijah, Steve, and the three they had been stuck with could've been ripped apart too. If the army ascended on them after they waved some bait in their face by setting their hub on fire... Well, it wouldn't matter if they were together.

An angry flush filled Mike's cheeks at Elijah's order over them. "You can't tell us what to do!" He accused, sounding like a frustrated kindergartener who lost their animal crackers to some jerk in the sandbox.

A very equally furious feeling washed over Elijah who fought the urge to throttle said little shit, but before he could, Steve clapped his hands repeatedly. "Hey! Hey! Hey!" Once he successfully had their attention, Steve placed both hands on his hips. "We both have the final say that this is not happening," he declared firmly.

Mike's shoulders fell. "But - "

Steve rushed to repeat the word "no" as if they'd listen to him. "No buts. We promised we'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

"I didn't promise anything," Elijah interrupted with a finger to his chest, still reeling from the anger when Mike talked back to him. Let them be fresh bait if that's what they wanted.

"Okay, well, I did. So, we're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job," Steve retorted.

"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike hurled back furiously.

"I said - " Steve raised his voice and ripped the dishcloth off his shoulder to jab it in frustration in Mike's direction, "Does everybody understand that?!"

Silence filled the air as Mike huffed and puffed while Max rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Elijah wondered if all parents felt like this at one point or another, the urge to strangle their kids just a little bit whenever they gave them sass, but then immediately shoved that thought out of his head. He wasn't these kids' parent. He wouldn't even be their authority within the next few hours. Elijah was here to make sure they were still breathing when the adults came back. In one piece was a bonus, not a requirement. He couldn't allow himself to get too close to them.

"I need a yes," Steve cut the quietness short with his usual firm tone.

Nevaeh gave him a mocking two-finger salute before throwing her middle finger in the air. She still hated how Steve was bossing her around even if she agreed this was stupid. "Yes, sir."

Like brother like sister, Elijah supposed.

Any further protests that would explode from the kids died down at the interruption of a car's machine rumbling, nearly drowned out by heavy metal blaring from speakers, loud enough that Elijah could hear it through the shattered window. The last time he heard the familiar noise was when the new kid, Billy Hargrove, drove straight through Hawkins High School parking lot as if he already owned the place. His heart started to sink as Max dove for the window and confirmed their fear.

"It's my brother," she whispered. Max turned her head and Elijah noticed the fear in her wide blue eyes as she shared a grave, frightened look with Lucas. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

Elijah noticed that Max didn't say so to the rest of them. Her eyes had mostly been locked on Lucas who, he realized with a burst of anger that overpowered the slight fear, was the only one among them who was black. Elijah wasn't surprised as it hit him - he wasn't sure if it was something Steve, or even Nevaeh, noticed. He's just pissed.

The tires came to a screeching stop at the front porch. There's something furious in Steve's eyes as he held his hand out. "I'll handle this," before heading for the door.

Elijah's gut clenched at that. It was with something less to do with hate and more to do with adoration. The Steve Harrington he knew was a coward who locked the door behind him when his best friend's biggest secret was exposed to light. Who rolled with the popular crowd and ran the school to keep him out of the secret. Who took off when the demogorgon attacked them... And then came straight back to beat the shit out of it, genuinely apologize to Elijah, and now offering to take care of a little girl's racist, abusive, bully of an older stepbrother.

The engine cut off and the car lights died as Steve stepped outside, quick to shut the door behind him. Elijah took a few quiet steps closer to the door so he could hear, signaling behind him for the shitheads to shut the fuck up for once.

"Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?" Billy's annoying voice drawled across the Byers's yard.

Steve's nonchalant voice followed. "Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants."

The car door slammed shut. Elijah could hear the slowly growing anger in Billy's voice since it was something he was vaguely familiar with, even when it was simmering. "What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy spat.

Whereas Steve was calmer and collected. Elijah heard the gravel crunch as Steve stepped off the porch slowly. "I could ask you the same thing... Amigo," he challenged.

"Is it something to do with Wolfhart?" Billy sneered, so quiet Elijah almost missed it. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. God dammit. He missed Steve's scoff of a reply, but Billy continued, "Oh? Is that not his car, then?"

A hand clasped around Elijah's wrist. He looked over his shoulder to see Nevaeh, a bit of fire behind her brown eyes, but also the silent pleading: don't.

Whether it was out of fear of what would come, that Elijah couldn't handle it, or Steve could, he gently pried her hand off of him. He sent her a look of his own: Sorry. Stay put. Before swinging open the door with a loud huff that Billy caught, his steel-cold eyes landed on Elijah. He could see the hate behind the glare immediately and knew why. He was everything he discovered Billy hated.

"Thought I smelt your rank mullet. I guess I just assumed someone tossed roadkill in the trash," Elijah snapped at him with newfound cockiness as he stormed after Steve who shot him a stare. He ignored it, refusing to break any eye contact with Billy. "What's got your panties in a twist, Hargrove?" Elijah challenged with the memory of Billy called him queer with a look of disgust and the fear in Max's eyes when she realized her stepbrother may see her with a black kid.

The hate directed toward each other was so tense it could've been cut with a knife. It was something more intense than what was simply between Billy and Steve because Elijah was out, proudly, and he wasn't white either. Steve, he could stand to be in the presence of.

"I'm looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here," Billy muttered back, a lit cigarette dangling from his lower lip. He clearly wanted to get this over as soon as possible.

Steve immediately jumped the gun by playing dumb. "Huh, that's weird. We don't know her."

"Small?" Billy pinched his fingers together. "Redhead?" He pointed to his mop of hair and then dropped his hand. "Bit of a bitch?"

"That's a hell of a way to talk about your sister," Elijah spat in repulsion.

He's called Nevaeh plenty of names - to her face, during arguments - even a handful of times behind her back when he was upset with a dozen words or insults he didn't mean when his anger had hold of him. Elijah would apologize in regret and they'd make up. Nevaeh had her moments too. But they never, never, talked about one another the way Billy seemed so shamelessly to talk about Max who wasn't just his stepsister, but a child.

"It doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy," Steve cut in dismissively.

Billy slowly nodded, his lips curling around the stick, before ripping it out of his mouth. "You know, I don't know... This... This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies," he said accusingly.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

He took another long drag. "My thirteen year old sister goes missing all day and then I find her with you - " He jabbed the cherry-lit end in Steve's direction, "In a stranger's house with this..." Billy paused, his eyes cruel and unforgiving as they dragged across Elijah's form, "Little flamer. And you lie to me about it?"

It wasn't the first time someone, Billy at that, had called Elijah a slur so he wasn't surprised despite the way it still was a soft blow. He doesn't think hearing them would ever get easier. But he doesn't let it show. Elijah made sure his features were kept blank and uninterested, wiped clean of any hurt he may have felt from the stab.

However, Steve's shoulders broadened and he released a bitter chuckle through gritted teeth in a very I'll kill you if you say that again tone. His next words were a warning and said slowly.

"Don't. Call. Him. That."

Steve's fury was merely amusing for Billy whose lips spread into a taunting smirk as he dragged his tongue back and forth across his lower lip. Steve recoiled at the sight. He made it clear Billy had long over welcomed his stay. "Were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don't know what you don't understand. She's not here."

Their enemy took a small step toward them until Billy's torso almost bumped Steve's. He pointed his cigarette over his shoulder. "Then who is that?"

Those shitheads, Elijah thought angrily before he even turned his head. Just as he thought, the kids's small heads were poking above the couch, peeking out the window. They immediately dove away in shame when they noticed the three staring back at them.

"Oh, shit," Steve cursed quietly. He swiveled to face Billy again. "Listen - "

Suddenly, Billy's hand came down flat against Steve's chest, with a force strong enough that send him tumbling to the ground. Elijah nearly fell with him, startled, and shouting, "Hey!"

Billy ignored Elijah like he wasn't there. He glared directly down at Steve. "I told you to plant your feet." Then his heavy boot swung toward his ribcage.

The groan of pain Steve made snapped Elijah's back straighter. His hands, once trembling at his sides, curled into fists. He shot one out and grabbed Billy by the collar of his red shirt, yanking him towards him, and snarling, "Don't fucking touch him!"

He doesn't expect Billy to cackle in his face at the brave act. Nor does he expect Billy to bring the cigarette he had been smoking to the back of his hand either.

It didn't hurt at first. The touch was like ice as it met Elijah's skin before the ash dug past the skin and the scent of burnt skin reached his nostrils with a wretched cloud of smoke, and then, oh shit, that really fucking hurts! And Elijah hissed loudly, yanking his hand away, and letting his guard down. Billy didn't hesitate to seize the moment.

The next thing Elijah knew, he was eating gravel as Billy wiped his legs out from underneath him, and a racking pain shot through his body. He heard the guy bark a cold laugh again and watched through a blurry vision as he flicked his cigarette onto him. Elijah could hear Billy storming past him but his head was cloudy from bouncing off the ground and he was struggling to brush the stupidly hot cigarette off of him with heavy limbs.

Elijah slowly rolled onto his side, blinked a few times, and saw Steve in the same state as he fought to stand. He said a few simple words.

"I'm going to kill him."

Elijah shot down any help that Steve may have tried to offer him and pushed himself to stand on his own two feet. The back of his hand burned as he forced his hand into a fist again, but this time, he welcomed the pain as if it was meant to be there. It reminded Elijah of who caused it. Of who had raced into a house of defenseless kids that Elijah may or may not have promised he would take care of.

The pair arrived just in time to see Lucas, having been pinned to a bookcase by Billy, deliver a swift kick to the guy between the legs with a scream of, "I said get the fuck off me!"

Billy, his back turned to the others, nearly fell to his knees, but his head shot up. Elijah didn't have to see his face to know he was out for blood. "You're so dead, Sinclair! You're dead!"

"No." Steve's rage was growing as he shoved Billy's shoulder and forced the asshole to face him. "You are."

Even Elijah didn't see the fist coming until it was too late and Steve's knuckles met Billy's face, forcing the other to stagger back. He surely must have been stunned at first, hunched over from the power behind the punch, but Billy released his usual vicious fit of laughter. The sound of it made Nevaeh shudder but she reached her arms out as Lucas passed her to spread them over the kids as if to block them behind her. Blood was spilling from Billy's nostrils as he shot back up.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?! I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about!" He boasted.

Steve, although anyone could see him boil with fury by the flush filling his face, remained cool despite how Billy was clearly attempting to keep pushing him over the edge. He placed two fingers over Billy's bare chest, exposed from the open buttons of his shirt, and delivered him a soft shove. "Get. Out," he whispered.

A part of Elijah prayed that would be it. That Billy would listen and allow this to end here, take off in his stupid car, and find somewhere else to blow off any steam. Despite how much rage Elijah was used to, it wasn't something he enjoyed. It was never something he allowed to make him violent. He wasn't like Billy, the ability Elijah had to be gentle and hold compassion was what differed between them.

The silence died just as fast as the hope. Billy had swung, Elijah saw red with his earlier threat, but Steve had ducked and punched him again just as fast. Elijah didn't have to help him. He stood there, stunned, as the kids started cheering him on. Red was filling Billy's mouth that he didn't even have time to spit out as Steve pounded on him, again, and again, and again, throwing him onto the kitchen counter.

And Billy was laughing. It was a cruel insult without words, that despite bleeding and bruising, Steve's beating wasn't enough for him. It was just amusing him like he didn't feel anything at all.

Nobody was prepared when Billy snatched one of the clean dishes from the rack and lifted it with a bloodied hand. Elijah didn't notice it until it was too late. The plate was brought down over Steve's head, sending it to shatter into pieces, slicing their way down his skin. A scream burned in Elijah's throat but he swallowed it behind clenched teeth so he could catch Steve when he stumbled into him.

There was a deep cut across Steve's hairline where the plate ripped into his skin. His eyes were barely open and his skin had already started to pale. Elijah kept one arm around him while the other lifted to cover the wound all while struggling to keep him upright, dragging him back when Billy stormed to them furiously.

A chunk of spit flew from his lips in their direction. "I knew it - you disgusting pieces of - " Billy cut himself off by pitching another hit at them, but Elijah managed to yank Steve away just in time, causing Billy's hand to smash directly into the wall, splintering it.

The movement made Steve slip from Elijah's hold, but it was probably for the better. Billy had a deadly-tight grip on his arms the moment he lifted them into a fighting position and he snarled, inches away from Elijah's face, "No one tells me what to do - not even your queer little boyfriend - "

"Fuck you!" Elijah spat back, bits of his spit splattering Billy's bloody cheek, as he managed to lock his hands together behind Billy's neck and bring his left knee up. It made direct contact with his ribs and he released an awful gasp as if all of the air had been knocked from his lungs.

It only lasted for a moment - Billy seemed to be fine struggling to breathe as he took on Elijah. He barreled right for him like a bull, twisting both arms around his waist, and tackling him to the ground. The ache in the back of Elijah's head reappeared as it hit the floor again.

The punch Billy brought down didn't help. Elijah's head spun as it met his jaw, snapping his head to the side. He vaguely heard Nevaeh screaming behind him, the kids either begging with her or shouting at him, he wasn't sure. His ears were ringing after the next hit. Elijah slowly found the strength to shoot one hand up, although he didn't have the energy to punch him back, his hand slapped the side of Billy's face. He could feel the hard shell of his ear and dragged his fingers down the skin until they met cool steel.

Bingo.

Elijah pinched his fingers together and used the last of his stability to swiftly yank. He felt something wet and sticky pour onto his hand, but the pressure on his stomach lifted when Billy released a pained cry, and he stopped punching Elijah long enough to throw his hand up, realizing in horror he just had his earring ripped out of his lobe.

The last whisper Elijah heard was, "You're so dead."

Yeah, Elijah weakly thinks. Maybe.

Elijah wasn't sure how long Billy was off him or how long he lay there like an idiot that just had the lights punched out of him again and again. It should have only been a minute or so, but to him, it felt like hours as he fought to regain full consciousness. Shit, Billy hit hard. Elijah hoped that ripping his piercing out had slowed him down a little bit, but no. Elijah could hear skin meeting skin coming from somewhere, Dustin crying out, "You're gonna kill him!", and Billy's maniac laughter.

No more rest. Elijah's knees shook as he forced himself on them. He blocked out the cries coming from the kids huddled in the corner and Nevaeh's insistent shouting, locking his raging gaze completely on where Billy had Steve completely immobile beneath him, delivering punch after punch to his face even when he's clearly had enough - like a wild animal incapable of doing anything but violence.

He was worse than a monster.

Worse than a demogorgon.

Elijah's statue wobbled as he raged straight for Billy's back. He took one short, clumsy jump, landing on his back, and fling both of his arms around his neck. He started squeezing. Elijah shook with fury from the passion it took to strangle Billy like this, releasing all of his wrath into the pressure of the attack, refusing to allow anyone to ever make him feel like a victim again.

Billy became wild as he struggled to breathe. His hands clawed at Elijah's arms, he tried bucking him off, he gasped and chortled, but nothing worked. Not until he realized how weak Elijah was from their fight earlier. He didn't have it in him to actually knock him out, and the biggest issue was, that they were both filled with one thing: rage that stemmed from hate. It was what kept them on their feet.

All of a sudden, Elijah's world was flipped upside down, and he had no choice but to loosen his grip on Billy's neck if he didn't want his arms to twist out of their sockets. Billy had reached behind him to grab Elijah by the back of his neck and shoulders, hunching over, and flipping him as if his weight was nothing with a burst of adrenaline.

The last thing Elijah saw was the murderous glint in Billy's eyes before most of his vision started spotting with black. The last thing he felt was the cold feeling of Billy's rings pressed against his neck as his fingers laced around his throat.

All of the air was slowly leaving Elijah's lungs and felt as if flames had been lit underneath the organs. He couldn't breathe no matter how much he wheezed for it and every time he tried, the fire grew bigger. Elijah's brain started to feel numb at the pressure from the smoke, he thought, why isn't someone putting out the fire? It's burning his throat. His chest. How was he supposed to breathe like this?

He can't.

He can't breathe -

And then he can. Slowly, but surely. The oxygen wasn't fresh as it passed Elijah's burning throat and it did nearly nothing to put out the fire inside him. He tried to take small breaths at first, but instinct took over, and he allowed it to out of fear he was going to die like this. He could still hardly see, let alone think clearly. However, Elijah did feel the gentlest of touches wrap around him as if another was propping him up.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay," a soft voice repeated. They sounded like they were underwater. "I'm right here, Eli, you're okay."

A soothing hand was pressed against Elijah's cheek and the sigh he slowly exhaled didn't burn as much. He could barely hold onto consciousness, dots of stars sprinkling his midnight vision. Just like the stars, Elijah thought. His head pounded as the words appeared.

"Eli? Come on, you gotta stay with me!" The same voice repeated. "I'm here for you."

Hope swelled in the ashes of fire inside Elijah's chest. His lips twitched as they struggled to make words. He hoped, and he prayed, fighting to manage to whisper in a wish of, "Mom?"

The touch Elijah craved didn't disappear and it brought him comfort, just like the stars he saw did. His head limply fell back and he started to slip away into it.

And this is how, Elijah wonders before he surrenders to the black stars, he believes he's going to die.

.

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author's note:

don't mind me, i'm just enjoying trying to kill eli at the end of every act, but don't worry he's fine there's still like twoish chapters left in this act !!

also that was nevaeh at the end, eli was just hazy and scared and wanted his mom 🥹 and the kids were holding her back, that's why she didn't jump in, which i know would've made sense but i wanted the ✨drama✨. anyway, writing eli's monologue is so fun, he's SUCH a bitter dad. also steve's protectiveness over eli was so CHEF'S KISS, we're so getting there guys 🤩

i'm not sure what else to cover other than i'm sorry for my lack of updates in, like, everything !! my life has been insanely wild these last few months. i'm slowly recovering and doing better though. i really, desperately want to get back into writing. i didn't realize how much i missed eli and my other oc's till now. i'll still try to be active in my other stories as well, i just ask for patience ❤️ it anyone remembers this fic and reads it, thank you so much for reading !!

- koda

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