STEVE PACED BACK AND FORTH IN FRONT OF THE DOOR, biting back tears as he listened to Olivia cry on the other side.

Why did it always have to be her?

She had suffered enough. The shit Steve knew about was barely surface level- he knew it, too. Every time he looked at her, he could see it. She was hurting, and she probably would be for a long time.

But this was different. This wasn't just mental torment. It was physical. Steve didn't have PHD's like Liv did, but he knew that a bite that bad wasn't something she could heal from on her own. He wanted to help her... he just didn't know how.

"Fuck," he whispered, his eyes burning with tears of frustration.

"You okay?"

Steve's head shot up, hastily swatting at his eyes. He could barely contain himself when realized it was Jonathan.

The last person he wanted to see.

"What do you want, man?" Steve groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was on the verge of a breakdown, and he didn't need his ex's new boyfriend there to see it.

Jonathan watched as Steve slumped down against the door, sinking down to the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose with trembling fingers. There was something very strange about seeing the king of Hawkins High so broken and vulnerable.

"Just waiting for Ollie," Jonathan said quietly. He sat down next to Steve, a few feet away, so they were on either side of Olivia's bedroom door. He rested his elbows on his knees, watching as Steve struggled to breathe.

"Fuck," Steve whispered again, his chest heaving. His eyes were wide and bright with tears as he looked around, incredulously. "How did I get here? I mean, seriously, what the hell am I doing here? Because I have no idea."

His hands were trembling and he ran them through his hair, trying to keep himself from breaking down completely. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? I'm completely lost here, man, I- I don't even..."

"Hey," Jonathan sat up as the blood drained from Steve's face. He was close to hyperventilating now. "Breathe, man."

They could hear Nancy's muffled voice on the other side of the wall, sounding panicked. Jonathan wanted nothing more than to go in there and help his sister, but he knew Nancy had it under control. He trusted her. 

More than he trusted most people.

Olivia let out a horrible sob, ringing out from her bedroom, and Steve moaned, shoving his face in his hands.

"You need to breathe," Jonathan reminded him. He sat up, a lot more alert now. "Harrington."

Steve let out a strangled gasp, his hands falling from his face and gripping the carpet floor. A tear had escaped, trailing down his cheek. He looked terrified.

Jonathan had seen it before. He knew what a panic attack looked like; Caroline had gotten them since she was little, after their father. It was just so weird seeing Steve Harrington get one. For the longest time, Jonathan had believed his crush's boyfriend was invincible; an otherworldly force of charm.

But now, after getting to know him, it became a lot more clear that Steve was just a guy.

A guy who needed a little extra comfort right now, when no one else could possibly understand what was going through his head.

A guy who needed a friend.

"Listen," Jonathan said quietly. He knew he needed to distract Steve, and this was the perfect excuse to get this conversation out of the way. Neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room, but it had to be done. "I know you don't like me-"

Steve barked out a hysterical laugh, his eyes wide. "That's what you think?"

"What else would it be?" Jonathan asked, slightly frustrated.

"I don't hate you," Steve breathed out. Jonathan shot him a look. "Okay, maybe a little bit," he admitted. "But it's just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, man. My girlfr- ex-girlfriend- ditched me to be with you, and you've got your entire family, and Liv trusts you more than she'll ever trust me..."

Jonathan stared at him incredulously.

"You've got everything, man," Steve groaned. "You've got everything under control, and you know what to do, and I'm flying by the seat of my fucking pants here-"

"Steve," Jonathan interrupted. "None of us know what we're doing."

"But you've all got each other," Steve's voice broke.

Jonathan watched in stunned silence as Steve huffed out a few tears, hastily wiping them away. It suddenly all made sense. The clinginess to Nancy, why he always hung out with them even though they weren't in his old friend clique, why he tried so hard...

Steve felt alone.

"Yeah, we do," Jonathan said quietly. He watched as Steve rubbed at his eyes. "But you're part of that, man. You've been a part of this shit show almost since the beginning."

Steve huffed out a breathy laugh and leaned his head back against the wall. "I... I don't know how I'm supposed to be there for her. I don't know anything about this shit, I don't know how to help her..."

Even without names, Jonathan knew Steve was talking about Olivia. There was a small pang of hurt for Nancy, knowing that Steve had never loved her like he had Olivia, but they had moved past that now. The lines had been drawn and they were with who they were meant to be with. 

"She's had it rough," Jonathan admitted. "She doesn't like to talk about it- not that I can blame her- but it's obvious, you know? She deserves someone who's going to care about her like she deserves. And as much as I hate to admit it, you might actually be the guy."

Jonathan expected Steve to laugh a little bit at that, but he didn't even get a smile. Instead, the king of Hawkins High just ran his hand through his hair and stared at the ceiling, a new kind of pain spreading across his features. 

"Liv's hurting," he said quietly. 

Jonathan smiled sadly. "I know."

"No, man, you don't," Steve sank deeper against the wall, tearing at his once perfectly gelled hair. "She... a few days ago, when you and Nancy took off..."

Jonathan could hear the accusation in his voice, but stayed silent. 

"Caroline and Lucas called me, all scared. Liv... she had taken an entire bottle of vodka and downed it. She told the kids it was because she was sad. But she lost control of her powers. That's why her door is all cracked."

Jonathan's eyes widened and he tilted his head to look behind him. Sure enough, the wooden door was slightly splintered, set roughly back on its hinges.

"At first I was kind of mad, you know?" Steve went on. "Like, Hop had gotten stuck in the Upside Down and she was drinking... but when I got in there, it was even worse. She was shaking and crying and she wouldn't let go of the bottle. She'd shattered a lamp and she sliced up her hands pretty bad, but she didn't even care. She said she deserved it. She said... she wanted it," his voice cracked.

Jonathan's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. 

"She said she wanted to die," Steve whispered brokenly. "She was all drunk and crying all over me. She was just so sad. And she said... she said she wanted to die. I just... I didn't know what to do."

"Oh my god," Jonathan whispered. He felt sick. How did he have no idea she was hurting that badly? He stared at the door and then back at Steve, who looked thoroughly miserable.

"And then later that night..." Steve swallowed- hard-  "when Caroline started having a seizure, we took her to the lab, and Liv ran away... I knew where she was going, so I grabbed Hopper and told him that... that I was scared she was going to kill herself. And then I just took off, into the woods. I didn't even wait for Hopper to drive me, I just ran.

And then I got to the cliff, and she was standing on the edge, and she just looked so sad... I've never been so scared in my life."

"Shit," Jonathan was horrified. "She... she what? "

"Jonathan, she jumped," Steve choked out. He paused, not trusting himself to speak for a moment. "I begged her not to, and she said she had to, but she was crying... and she jumped."

"How..." Jonathan felt a tear trail down his cheek, his heart aching. He quickly wiped it away, feeling so sick with himself. He hadn't been there. How could he not have been there?  "How is she?..."

"She got a new power or some shit," Steve waved his hand around as if that would explain it. "She jumped off the edge and I ran to see if... if she was... you know..."

Jonathan did know.

And he hated it.

"But she was floating... right above the water. She started to glow purple- freakiest shit I've ever seen- and she sort of... flew?" Steve sounded like he could barely believe it himself. "She flew back up to the edge and fell on top of me. I caught her, but she broke her arm. I didn't really register what had just happened, though. I was just..."

"Happy she was alive," Jonathan finished. Steve looked at him almost gratefully.

"I kind of... I was angry at her," he spoke so quietly that Jonathan had to lean forward to catch what he said. "I held on to her really, really tight for a couple minutes and Hop had to pry her away from me to check on her. But after we started to head back to the hospital, I couldn't even look at her. I mean... she tried to leave. On purpose. She jumped off a cliff and tried to leave us all behind, to deal with this without her. I just... I don't know what to do. I don't know how I'm supposed to make her see herself the way we do."

"It's gonna take time," Jonathan murmured. "It's not your fault, man. She's had it ingrained in her her whole life. She's carrying a lot of guilt around. It piles up, you know? She's got to love herself before she can get love from other people."

"That's the only thing I know how to do, man," Steve let out a breathy laugh. 

Jonathan was slightly surprised at the confession.

"Literally the only thing I'm good at is being head over heels for Olivia, and she's way out of my league. She's impossible not to love. I literally... I can never stop thinking about her. I just want to be there for her, and I don't know how to do it."

"Just be you, man," Jonathan shook his head. "You're like Hawkins royalty. I mean...no one's ever going to be good enough for Ollie. Maybe I'm just biased, cause I'm her brother, but... you're as close as it can get to it. I've seen the way she looks at you. Trust me. You make her happy. She... she loves you too."

Steve huffed out a breath and stared at the ceiling. "I never in a million years would have thought I'd be having this conversation with Jonathan Byers."

Jonathan laughed hoarsely. "Right back at you, Harrington."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just mulling in their own thoughts. It was strange. They had hated each other for so long, but... they hadn't realized how much they needed a friend.

"Hey, Harrington?"

Steve turned to look at Jonathan. "Yeah?"

"If you hurt my sister, I'll kill you."

Jonathan's face looked deadly serious. Steve almost wanted to laugh, but he had no doubt that the guy wouldn't hesitate.

"Trust me, Byers," Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I'd kill myself first."

Jonathan looked satisfied enough with that.

"You're not out of the loop either, man," Steve warned.

Jonathan stared at him. "What?"

"Nancy," Steve clarified. "Same goes for you. You hurt her, I'll kill you. Because I might have been a shitty boyfriend, but she's my sister."

A slow, incredulous smile spread across Jonathan's face. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a new found respect for Steve Harrington. "Yeah, man. I got it."

"Sex!"

Steve blanched, eyes widening at Jonathan in bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

Jonathan shook his head wildly, leaning forward and staring at the door. "I didn't-"

"Sex!" It was louder this time. Steve recognized Olivia's voice. He relaxed for a moment, the awkwardness easing away...

before sitting up and choking on his own spit, staring at the door in horror.

"The fuck?" he squeaked, staring at Jonathan. 

"Don't look at me!" Jonathan said indignantly. 

"Sex!"

"SEX!"

"SEX! "

Steve launched to his feet, so very lost at why the girls were screaming the word at the top of their lungs in a house full of children and a cop and Olivia's mother-

He threw the door open and stared in bewilderment at the girls, who just stared back. Nancy's curls were wet and stuck to her forehead and her cheeks were flushed and she was smiling, her dimples shining. Olivia wore one of Jonathan's white t-shirts, looking way hotter than she had any right to look.

Until Steve noticed the red seeping through shoulder, despite the plethora of bandages beneath the fabric.

Then... he felt nothing but pain.

Until Nancy and Olivia burst out laughing.

Steve felt his shoulder relax, pure confusion soaring through his veins.

"What the fuck?" he whined.

"I second that," Jonathan muttered from behind him.

Olivia quickly stopped laughing and clutched her side as her shoulder started to burn again. "Oh, ow..."

"Are you okay?" Steve rushed over to her. His hands hovered near Olivia's hips, not daring to touch her and risk hurting her more.

"I'm fine," Olivia breathed, steadying herself by gripping his upper arm. She couldn't help but notice that the muscles were rock hard. "Is everything okay? What are the others doing?"

Steve stared at her for a moment longer before brushing a strand of hair from her face, his eyes soft. "They're doing something out in the shed. They could probably use some help, if you're up to it."

"Yeah," Olivia croaked. Her eyes flickered between Jonathan and Steve. Something was different about them. They weren't as... aggressive.

Angry.

Jealous.

In fact, they were standing relaxed and close to each other. Steve's eyes were red and splotchy and Jonathan had a single tear staining his cheek. They must have spoken.

Olivia was glad. They deserved that. They owed it, to each other and themselves.

SLAM.

The front door burst open in the living room, and the teenagers quickly exchanged looks. Without another word, they turned and ran out of Olivia's crowded bedroom.

Steve kept a hand on the small of Olivia's as they took in the scene. Hopper was desperately searching for a piece of paper and a pen, slamming them down on the kitchen table.

"What happened?" Dustin demanded.

"I think they're talking," Hopper said gruffly as he tapped his pen. "Just not with words."

"Morse code," Lucas confirmed. "I saw it too."

Hopper finished writing. "H-E-R-E."

"Here," the boys read together.

Hopper set the pen down, staring out the window at the shed. A million thoughts were racing through his mind. Olivia could practically see the gears turning. "Will and Caroline are still in there. They're talking to us."

The room started to disperse and Olivia just stood there, confused and in pain. She felt Steve's hand gently rubbing her back.

"Let's sit you down, 'kay?" Steve said. He pulled up a chair and helped ease her down at the kitchen table. "I'll be right back."

He disappeared for a moment and Olivia screwed her eyes shut, her breath hollow. She really didn't know how much longer she could hold on. The venom in the bite was spreading; she could feel it. 

She couldn't say it out loud, but she was scared.

She was trying to keep her breathing steady when Steve returned, holding a fluffy pink blanket Olivia recognized from her room. She'd never used it before- it was a little bit too soft. She couldn't explain it, but she hadn't grown up without any blankets on her cot in the lab. Now it felt wrong.

"Thanks," she croaked as Steve draped the blanket over her shoulders, carefully laying it just around the bite. He stood behind her and started rubbing her back. Olivia closed her eyes and leaned back into his touch. 

"What can I do?" he murmured, leaning down next to her ear. His breath tickled her ears. 

"I'm okay," she assured him. Her shoulder pulsed with the lie and she sucked in a breath, making Steve snatch his hands away like they had been burned.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "Shit, I'm sorry-"

"No," Olivia said weakly. "It's not you. That... actually feels good."

A slow smile grew on Steve's face at the confession. Olivia had gotten so much more comfortable with him. He started rubbing her back again in slow, calming circles, helping her keep her breathing under control.

The next few minutes were a blur. They came up with a system; Hopper headed back to the shed and sat with the twins and Joyce and Jonathan continued to talk to them. He copied the Morse code with taps on the walkie talkie, where the kids, Nancy, Steve and Olivia sat on the other end, translating.

"Dash, dot, dash, dot," Dustin repeated, listening closely to the tiny beeps of the machine.

Lucas stood side by side with Max, following the chart of Morse code.

"Yeah, got it."

One by one, the letters flooded in.

C.

L.

O.

S.

E.

G.

A.

T.

E.

And then they had a sentence.

"Close gate," Olivia read quietly. The group turned to her. Her skin felt clammy and flashed between hot and cold as the venom ate its way through her shoulder. 

Suddenly, the phone on the wall broke through the silence, ringing loudly. The entire group looked up in horror.

"Shit," Dustin scrambled to stand up, the only one not frozen in fear. "Shit!"

He picked up the phone and slammed it back down, but it kept ringing. Olivia wanted to get up, but she was in so much pain that at this point, she didn't even trust herself to move.

Nancy was the one to act; she picked up the entire machine as it continued to blare, ripping it off the wall and throwing it towards the floor, watching it shatter in half.

"Do you think the twins heard that?" Max asked in a hushed whisper.

"It's just a phone," Steve said desperately. He stood in front of Olivia, pausing his back rub and staring at the phone as if he expected it to attack her. "It could be anywhere. Right?"

There was a few seconds of tense silence. Then a faint screeching filled the air from far in the distance, and Olivia felt the blood drain from her face.

No.

"That's not good," Dustin whispered. Max reached over and grabbed his hand, looking terrified.

Jonathan burst through the front door, followed closely by Joyce and Hopper, who carried both Callie and Will over his shoulder. "They're coming!"

No. Please, please no.

"Hey. HEY!" Hopper set the twins down on the couch, gesturing wildly towards the party. "Get away from the windows!"

The kids scrambled backwards. The sight of her siblings made a sudden urge of adrenaline coarse through Olivia's veins and she forced herself to her feet, her own pain forgotten.

Nancy was handed and gun and Steve ran to get his bat as the kids hurried to hide behind them. Olivia stood in the front lines, her heart beating slowly in her ears, and she raised her hands for one last battle.

The monsters cries were shrill in the air and Olivia couldn't fight back her nausea. Everything was moving in slow motion. God, she didn't want to die like this. 

At least with the bite and the venom, she would have time.

Time to say thank you.

Time to save them- these people that had given her a family, a community, a home.

Time- another minute, another second, another eternity with Steve Harrington.

"I love you," she breathed into the chaos. She didn't know if he could hear her, but she needed to say it.

If she was going to die tonight, she wanted those to be her last words.

But Steve's head turned towards her, his hair illuminated in the yellowish light of the Byers living room. His reddened lips and flushed cheeks gave him an unearthly beauty. His big brown eyes, darkened from the trauma they had shared, softened as they met hers.

He understood.

She knew he did.

I love you too, he mouthed. His voice was carried away into oblivion, amidst the whimpering of the people behind them and the shrieks of demogorgons right in front of the house now.

There was something so beautiful, so indefinite about "I love you"- it was better than a goodbye. Because Olivia knew she wouldn't be able to do that. Goodbye was too permanent, too sad. 

And he love between Steve Harrington and Olivia Byers was so much bigger than anything that could be contained by an ending.

Inevitable death or not, this was not a goodbye.

There was a thud against the front porch and everyone's weapons quickly changed course, aiming towards the window. Olivia changed her aim with narrowed eyes and steady feet, her shoulder barely throbbing with the adrenaline dominating her mind.

"What are they doing?" Nancy whispered.

The screeching stopped abruptly.

Then the window shattered open and a demodog came flying into the living room.

The entire group screamed, Olivia letting out a strangled gasp as Steve lay a hand on her waist, pulling her backwards. He held on to her tightly, as they stared at the demogorgon laying right in front of them.

"Holy shit," Dustin whispered.

"Is it dead?" Max demanded.

Hopper crept forward, dangerously slow, his gun still aimed between the monster's eyes. He nudged the thing's head with his foot.

Nothing.

Then there was a creak form the door, causing everyone to aim their weapons towards the entrance of the house.

Something was trying to get in.

One by one, the locks became undone. The handle turned, painstakingly slow, and the door swung open.

Then the impossible happened.

It started with a white shoe. Mismatched socks. Cuffed, white washed jeans. A black leather jacket. Slicked back hair.

Please.

Big brown eyes, filled with a soft, grieving sort of hope that Olivia had seen every time she looked in the mirror.

Please, god.

Then the face of a little girl, so very small in this big, cruel world. The face of a little girl who Olivia had ingrained in her mind for the twelve years.

The face of her baby sister.

Please. I'll do anything.

Mike slowly walked out in front of Lucas, his mouth open and his eyes filled to the brim with tears of hope.

Hopper's gun lowered.

And Olivia felt her entire world, all the walls around her heart and knives in her eyes, come crashing down.

Until there was nothing left but the vulnerable, scared girl she had been shoving back.

Olivia felt a sob rip itself from her throat and tears of exhaustion blur her vision. Her legs failed her and her knees buckled, leaving her to fall to the ground in a heap. A million different emotions tumbled through her in a storm of grief and regret and joy and sadness and hope. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

She felt Steve's arms holding her up, but it was no use.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

There was only one thing on her mind right now, the only thing that Olivia Byers could see. 

The face of someone she loved.

El had returned.

IT HAPPENED YALL

EL IS BACK BABY

I'm so excited to write them and their dynamic. El and Olivia are real sisters, and they are going to be a massive part in each others lives. Jonathan and Steve got to talk too, sort out their problems with each other. They're gonna be good friends too.

Drink some water and get some sleep!