TRIGGER WARNING: SLURS, VIOLENCE

𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐔𝐊𝐄.

She sat upright on the couch, trying to put minimal stress on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she breathed shallowly, her head resting on the wall behind her.

In, out. In, out. In, out.

But nothing helped the pain.

There was a loud clattering and Olivia's eyes opened wearily. She stared in the direction of the noise to see Dustin tossing things out of her icebox, making a large pile of frozen juice, ice cream, and freezer racks on the tile floor.

Steve stood behind him, cradling the dead demodog in his arms.

"All right," Dustin sighed, tossing one last can out of the space. "It should fit now."

Steve stared at him in exhausted disgust. Olivia smiled faintly at how cute he looked. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes, it is, okay?" Dustin said, exasperated. "This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common... mammal, okay? It's not a dog!"

Steve groaned, cutting their little friend off mid-sentence. "All right, all right, all right... but you're explaining this to Ms. Byers, all right?" He moved forward, trying to shove the monster into the icebox, but to no avail. He glared at Dustin. "Christ- help me out."

Dustin waved his arms around. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Get the door, man!" Steve bellowed. Olivia watched him struggle with a small smile on her face.

"All right, I got the door-" Dustin held open the door and, with a final grunt, Steve shoved the monster in. They slammed it way harder than they needed to, and Olivia wondered briefly if they had broken it.

"Ew. Jesus," Steve whined, wiping his hands on his jeans. He looked at Dustin, who grinned at the freezer in glee. Steve patted his little friend on the head, sighing heavily before turning around to sit back next to Olivia.

He made an exaggerated eye roll as he approached, making her grin.

"Don't tell Joyce it was me," Steve sat down gently, smoothing Olivia's hair off her neck. "I kinda need her to like me."

"Why?" Olivia rasped, leaning into him.

His throat vibrated against the top of her head. "'Cause I like you."

Dustin's voice interrupted the sweet moment and Olivia bit back a groan. "Mike, would you just stop already?"

Mike was pacing in front of the sofa, his feet scuffing against the floor in panic. "You weren't in there, okay, Dustin? That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

As if on cue, a hot wave of pain flashed through Olivia's shoulder and she buried her face in Steve's side, trying to choke back her moan of pain. Mike gestured at her wildly, tears in his eyes, as if that explained his whole point.

"Demo-dogs!" Dustin hollered.

Lucas shook his head. "The chief will take care of her."

"Like she needs protection," Max grumbled, making a face. Her bright red hair hung in her face, hiding the flushed embarrassment in her cheeks.

"El is in control," Olivia assured them. The kids turned to her with hopeful eyes. Lucas narrowed his brows at her.

She wished he weren't so smart.

The plan was falling into place. Both sisters knew what they needed to do, and how to do it.

They also knew the outcome.

But it was a sacrifice Olivia was willing to make, now that she knew everyone was safe. She would gladly do it twice.

She just wished she and Steve got more time together.

His finger traced her back in a slow, calming pattern. She wondered how many times he had done this before, how many different girls had been in his arms

Steve stood from the sofa, heading to the kitchen to pick up an ice pack that had been tossed from the freezer. "Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?"

Olivia's lips parted in confusion.

Mike's face contorted in disgust. "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-"

Steve stammered as he wrapped the ice pack in a kitchen towel. "So my point is... Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh..." his speech slowed down and he looked up wearily. "There's... nothing we can do."

Dustin tilted his head. "That's not entirely true. I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind.  When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

"If we get their attention...," Lucas was starting to catch on.

"Maybe we can draw them from the lab," Max nodded fervently.

"Clear a path to the gate-"

Steve held his hands up, staring at the kids in disbelief. "Yeah, and then we all die!"

"That's one point of view," Dustin looked up at his friend, ever the optimist.

Steve gaped at him, one hand on his hip and the other hovering. "No, that's not a point of view, man. That's a fact."

"The tunnels," Olivia croaked.

Everyone turned to her again. This time she stood, keeping one hand pressed to her shoulder. Steve handed her the ice pack, his jaw clenched in concentration as he watched her walk to the dining room wall.

"This is where Hopper was lost," Olivia pointed at Will's drawing with her bad arm, holding the ice pack to her shoulder with the other. "This is the main site, where all the tunnels meet up."

"The hub," Mike nodded, chewing his fingernail.

"If we get down there," Dustin nodded at Olivia, admiring her idea, "we could set it on fire-"

Steve blanched, taking one hand off his hips to drive it towards the ground. "Oh, yeah? That's a no."

"The mind flayer would call away his army," Dustin continued, ignoring Steve.

"They'd all come to stop us," Lucas said.

"We circle back to the exit..."

Steve groaned. "Guys."

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

"El would be at the gate," Olivia finished. Max grinned at her and Olivia felt her heart soar.

"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Steve shouted, capping his hands in between each word. He quickly stopped when Olivia flinched away from him. He set his hands on his hips, looking very much like Joyce while she lectured the twins. "This is not happening."

Mike whined. "But-"

"No, no, no," Steve said loudly. "No, no. No buts. Olivia has already been hurt enough tonight, and I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe. That's exactly what I plan on doing."

Olivia watched him from across the room, her eyes narrowed slightly as he clenched his jaw at each of the kids. She had known he cared about them, but not this much. It was important to him, she realized, to have something to fight for, something to protect.

It was so very... Steve Harrington.

"We're staying here," Steve insisted. "On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand?"

Mike shouted suddenly. "This isn't a stupid sports game!"

Steve whipped the tea towel off his shoulder, his eyes blazing. He looked so much like a mother in that moment that Olivia had to bite back a grin. "I said does everybody understand that?"

The kids all glared at the walls, refusing to give him the satisfaction of eye contact.

"I need a yes," Steve pressed. His gaze drifted to Olivia and he stared at her pleadingly. "Liv, please."

Olivia opened her mouth to respond, her heart breaking slightly, before she stopped cold, hearing a loud noise coming from the front porch. A revving engine, obnoxiously loud, pounding heavy metal rock music coming from the stereo.

Olivia could only think of one person who fit that description.

"It's my brother," Max said in a scared, small voice. She had the living room curtains pulled back, staring out the window at the presence outside. "Its Billy."

Olivia felt the tiny bit of blood she had left drain from her face, suddenly feeling extremely dizzy. Billy's raspy voice rang through her head.

Come back to take me up on that date offer?

Oh, God, Olivia had screwed up big time.

"He can't know I'm here," Max said frantically. She stared pleadingly at Dustin, whose brown eyes were wide with concern. "He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

Olivia's lips were parted in fear. She quickly turned at stared at Steve, who watched her with wide eyes. Suddenly he clenched his jaw, his hair hanging tall over his forehead, and stared out the window with a kind of determination Olivia had never seen before.

"Steve," Olivia shook her head quickly, already knowing what he was thinking. "Steve, no..."

"Stay here," Steve growled, glaring out at Billy's car. Before Olivia could so much as blink, the front door was swinging open and Steve stood on the Byers front porch with folded arms and narrowed eyes.

"Oh, Steve..." Olivia moaned. She quickly ran to the window, the little kids making way for her quickly. Lucas put an arm around her waist and she smiled briefly at him in appreciation.

Billy took his sweet time getting out of his car, a cigarette dangling in his mouth as he stared down Steve on the front porch. "Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?"

"Yeah, it's me," Steve rolled his eyes, his arms folded and unshaking. "Don't cream your pants."

Dustin let out a snicker and the rest of the kids grinned. Olivia shot them a look of confusion before Billy loudly slammed his car door, making her flinch.

"What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy took a puff of his cigarette, steadily breathing out the smoke.

"I could ask you the same thing," Steve glared at him. "Amigo."

"Friend?" Olivia translated, bewildered. "They are not friends, are they?"

Mike turned to her with a look she couldn't decipher.

Billy's voice boomed through the front yard. "Looking for my stepsister," he said, "and I have a date to pick up."

"Huh, that's weird," Steve rubbed the back of his neck in mock thought. "I don't remember Mrs. Byers saying anything about a date tonight."

Olivia's thoughts darted to Bob, and she felt a horrible pang of grief in her chest.

"No, no, I'll leave that to you," Billy chuckled darkly. "It's the other one that I'm here for. Tall, dark hair..."

Then, an unfamiliar word that got a visceral reaction from the kids.

Lucas sucked in an angry breath as Mike's jaw dropped in horror.

"What?" Olivia stared at them. Her brain felt like it was underwater, feeling more nauseous by the second. "What does-"

"I'm going to kill him," Max hissed, her blue eyes widened in disbelief. "I swear to God, I'm going to kill him."

"I think Steve's gonna beat you to it," Dustin said, his face pale.

Olivia, still confused, turned back to stare out the window. Sure enough, Steve's shoulders had stiffened. Billy smirked, his insult clearly having the effect he had hoped for.

The next words Steve spoke were so dangerously quiet that Olivia felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Get back in your car, buddy." He stepped forward, closer to Billy, who just stood there with that stupid smirk on his face. "She's not home, and she's not going out with you, so don't think about coming back here. And I swear to God, Hargrove, if you ever bother again, your ass is grass."

Billy chuckled lowly. "Making her decisions for her now, huh? There's the King Steve I keep hearing about."

Steve stared at him, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "She makes her own choices. That's the whole point, asshole."

In that moment, Olivia made up her pain-hazed, tired, confused mind something she had never been so sure of in her entire life; she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Steve Harrington. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She makes her own choices.

"That's cute," Billy pulled his cigarette from his mouth. "But all seriousness... you know, I don't know, this... " he clicked his tongue. "This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know.  It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh, yeah?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day, and then I find her with you at my date's house," Billy rasped. "You try to keep said date from coming with me... and you lie to me about it."

Steve let out a scoff. "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?" His face was inches away from Billy's, a fire burning in his eyes. "I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. She's not here."

"Then who," Billy let out a huff of smoke into Steve's face, "is that?"

He pointed at the window with his cigarette, and Olivia felt the blood drain from her face. The kids cried out and scrambled to duck away from the curtains, but she knew before they did; it was too late.

Billy had seen them.

And as much as she hated to admit it, Olivia was scared of what he could do.

She whipped her head from the kids back to the boys outside. Billy's gaze drifted back up to the window dangerously, his eyes meeting with Olivia's.

They just stared at each other for a moment; Olivia's eyes terrified, Billy's filled with a dangerous kind of anger. Then she shook her head, just once, the most clear she could be without embarrassing him. She was giving him a choice, because if there was anything Steve Harrington had taught her, it was that everyone deserved a chance.

Olivia saw it in Billy's eyes: he understood. He could walk away right now, leave them behind, and accept the small bit of humbling and dignity Olivia was offering him. They could go their separate ways and forget this had ever happened.

But she should have known better. Billy Hargrove's greatest asset was his pride, just like her Papa's, and he wasn't going to give that up.

Before Olivia could so much as blink, Billy's fist came crashing into Steve's head, making him fall to the ground, groaning.

"Steve!" Olivia cried out. She stumbled to her feet, jolting her shoulder painfully. She heard Mike call out her her but she ignored him, panic tearing through her as she raced to the door.

The weather outside was almost the same as that night she had escaped from the lab, bringing back memories she wished she could forget. Her half-wet hair seemed to freeze as she scrambled onto the front porch.

"There she is!" Billy's voice was loud and mocking and dangerous, making her stop mid-step in fear. He stood between her and Steve, and she wanted nothing more than to run to Steve, hold him, make sure he was okay...

But she was also the only thing between him and the house, where the kids sat completely defenseless.

"Billy," she said in a careful tone, keeping her good arm out towards him, "I'm not coming with you. I know you're angry-"

"You have no idea what I'm feeling, bitch," he spat. She something like pain in his eyes before he was moved forward. "Maxine, you had better not be with that boy!"

"Billy, no!" Olivia grabbed his arm as he shoved past, crying out in pain as the skin in her shoulder tore apart further.

He merely shook her off like she was a bothersome insect. One, two, three steps later and he was in the house, Olivia shouting at him the entire time.

"Well, well, well," Billy seethed. His eyes were glued on Lucas, who stood with his arm out in front of his little red-haired friend protectively. "Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise. I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max."

Olivia couldn't understand why he hated Lucas particularly, but she didn't have time to give it much thought. She quickly darted in front of the kids, her arms outstretched, blocking his way to them. "You need to leave!"

"Billy, go away," Max said shakily.

"You disobeyed me," Billy's eyes were dark and dangerous as he stared at his little sister. "And you know what happens when you disobey me."

There was a flicker of terrified recognition in Max's eyes. "Billy," she pleaded.

"I break things," Billy finished. Then suddenly he was lunging forward past Olivia, eliciting a scream from the kids behind her. He shoved Olivia aside carelessly before picking up Lucas likes rag doll, pinning him up against the wall.

"NO!" Olivia shouted, grabbing the back of Billy's shirt. Lucas's eyes were wide and scared, looking desperately at her, begging her to do something. Tears burned her eyes as she weakly pulled on Billy's collar.

"Billy!" Max cried. "Stop! Billy! Stop!"

Lucas growled angrily, struggling against Billy's hold on his shoulders. "Get off of me, you-"

Billy shook him hard, letting the little boy's curly head slam against the wall again. His teeth were gritted as he spat in Lucas's face. "Since Maxine won't listen to me, maybe you will. You stay away from her-"

Olivia suddenly cried out in anger and kicked Billy in the back of the knee, one last desperate attempt to make him let go of Lucas. Billy quickly stumbled, grunting in surprise and pain, his grip on the little boy loosening enough for Lucas to get his footing again.

Lucas quickly kicked Billy in the crotch, making the teenager fall to his knees, before darting behind him into Olivia's waiting arms.

Olivia let out a sob of relief as her baby sister's boyfriend crashed into her chest, his trembling arms wrapping around her. She ignored the pain in her shoulder, instead laying a hand on the back of Lucas's head, letting him cry into her white T-shirt, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Are you okay?" Olivia pulled away and bent her knees slightly so she was eye-level with him. She cupped his dark face in her hands, her thumb rubbing his cheeks. He nodded in her palms, his lip trembling.

Olivia nodded in relief before standing once again, pushing him away from the area and into his friend's waiting arms. Dustin and Mike quickly grabbed him, patting him on the shoulders and pulling him into a bear hug.

Olivia watched them with a fire burning in her heart, a feeling of fierce protectiveness she didn't realize she could feel for anyone but Eleven. She would do anything for these kids.

Even if it meant getting hurt herself.

Her chest heaved and sweat dripped from her temples from pain and exhaustion. It wasn't worth the risk trying to use her powers right now; the venom was messing with things too much already. So instead, she curled her hands into fists and turned to face Billy again. "You need to-"

She barely had a second to see his red, angry face and wide blue eyes before his fist came into contact with her cheekbone with a roar of fury.

Pain erupted through her head and she fell to the ground, her vision going white as her body smacked violently against the wood floor. For a moment she just gasped in pain as the kids screamed in horror, her shoulder was bleeding from the impact, red rivets trailing down her arm and she felt something hot and stick trail from her cheek.

"What the FUCK?" Mike screamed at Billy. Lucas had to hold him back, his own little body trembling in anger as he shouted profanities at the teenager.

Dustin quickly fell to his knees next to Olivia, gently touching her shoulder as if he were scared he was going to hurt her. His curly hair and usually cheery face swam in and out of her vision as she cried out through gritted teeth, the pain in her shoulder unbearable.

Billy just threw his head back and laughed, a look of pure hysteria in his eyes as he held himself up against the kitchen counter. He looked at Olivia laying on the floor with tears streaming down her cheek, almost like he were satisfied.

"So dead, Byers!" He pointed at her with that terrifying grin on his face. "You're dead."

Olivia almost wished she were. For a single, heartbreaking moment, she wished she had just hit the water when she had jumped off the cliff. She would rather die than have to feel the pain exploding in her face and the venom coursing through her veins, rotting her from the inside out.

There was a flurry of movement from the corner of Olivia's vision and she gripped Dustin's arm as she tried to weakly lift her head. He quickly helped her sit up in his lap, cradling her head, just as Steve Harrington walked into the room.

He took one look at Olivia before his eyes widened in horror. Olivia watched as something snapped inside him, a kind of fury she had never seen before. He turned to Billy, his fists quaking in rage.

"You sick fuck," he seethed. Then he reared his arm back and plowed it into Billy's face with expert mechanism, knocking the other boy into the kitchen cupboards.

Dustin laughed in shocked delight and Olivia managed a weak smile of pride. Billy spat the blood out of his mouth and cackled as he pointed at Steve.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?" Billys held his arms out, taunting Steve. "I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about."

"Steve," Olivia choked out, feeling the taste of copper and something much worse on her tongue as she looked at him pleadingly. He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with a fiery rage. She dipped her eyebrows, silently begging him not to lose himself. He was going to hurt himself if he didn't control his anger.

Steve nodded just barely and turned back to Billy, gently tapping his fingers against his chest. His voice trembled in anger as he gritted his teeth. "Get out."

He pushed Billy's chest just barely, enough to try and nudge the boy from the violent rampage he had lost himself in. Billy grinned and licked his lips. For just a moment, Olivia thought it had worked, that he was actually going to leave.

Then he swung his fist towards Steve once again. Steve quickly ducked down before darting back up, his own fist nailing Billy in the face. Billy's head snapped backwards violently and Olivia clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Yes!" Dustin shouted over the chaos. "Kick his ass, Steve!"

Mike pumped his fist in the air. "Get him!"

Steve let out a grunt as he socked Billy again, with so much force this time that it sent him tumbling to the kitchen floor.

"MURDER THE SON OF A BITCH!" Dustin bellowed, his lisp sounding strangely ominous in Olivia's dazed brain.

Again and again, Steve hit him in the face, the kids screaming out encouragement and Olivia just trying to keep her eyes open. The whole thing felt like it were a nightmare.

"Now! NOW!"

"Get that shithead!"

Suddenly there was a crash of what sounded like breaking glass. Olivia's eyes darted up with a gasp of horror just in time to see a plate shatter into a million pieces over Steve's head. Steve's knees buckled and he tumbled to the floor, his eyes dazed.

"Steve!" Olivia wheezed. She struggled against Dustin's protective grasp. "STEVE!"

"You can't move!" Dustin shouted at her, looking scared.

"Billy!" Max shrieked.

But Billy was too far gone. He grabbed Steve's shirt and yanked him back to his feet before punching him again. Steve groaned in pain and Olivia couldn't hold back her tears, unable to help, completely helpless as she watched him suffer.

Billy gripped Steve's shirt, his face inches away. "No one," he growled. "Tells me what to do!" He threw his head back and suddenly slammed it back into Steve's, letting him fall to the floor.

The kids screamed at him again, Olivia crying out, as Billy flexed his muscles. "Whoo!" he roared at Steve, who lay unmoving on the ground. "Get up!"

"You're gonna kill him!" Dustin cried.

Billy ignored him, instead getting on top of Steve and straddling him. Then he sent a fist straight into Steve's head.

Time seemed to slow down as Olivia screamed out in horror. "NO!"

Billy's fists came down onto Steve like a madman, the fact that he was already unconscious making no difference to billy. The kids stood helplessly, Dustin still holding Olivia down as she sobbed. "STOP! STOP IT!"

Steve's head lolled from side to side, his gorgeous hair flying around him as Billy's fists destroyed his face, broke open his skin, split his lips...

Then, suddenly, Max was holding a syringe which she plunged into Billy's neck, making her brother stumble to his feet.

He looked furious and confused, the narcotic making its way through his system. "The hell is this?"

He stumbled towards Max, who stood there frozen and desperate. Olivia wanted nothing more than to grab her and pull her out of the way, to keep her safe, to protect her-

"You little shit," Billy gasped, his steps already slowing down. "What did you do? What did you do? "

"Shit," Mike whispered.

But before Billy could make it to the kids, the drug hit him. He fell to the floor onto his back, laughing weakly.

Max picked up Steve's nailed bat and stood over him, holding it back menacingly. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"

"Screw you," Billy spat weakly.

Max's face contorted in fury and she brought down the bat right between Billy's legs. "Say you understand!" Billy just stared at her. "Say it! SAY IT! "

Billy winced. "I... understand..."

Max tilted her head. "What?" she demanded.

"I understand," Billy spat, before his head rested against the floor, rendering him unconscious.

The room went silent, everyone gaping at the scene. The bat clattered to the floor, leaving a dent in the splintered wood as Max stood over her brother, her chest heaving. Dustin's hold on Olivia slackened just slightly, giving her enough room to reach out and grab ahold of Max's hand.

The little girl met her eyes as their fingers touched, her lip trembling and angry tears in her eyes. Her fiery red hair framed her face like a halo, looking so very hurt and so very scared for a person so very young.

Olivia knew what she needed to hear.

"I'm proud of you," she rasped. Something like relief flickered in Max's face.

Olivia's eyes drifted towards Steve, who lay on his back on the floor, out cold. His entire face was already swelling up, hints of blues and purples making their way to the surface of his skin. Even unconscious, his brows were still dipped in pain.

God, this was the last thing Olivia wanted; to see Steve hurt.

It broke her heart.

Ignoring the kids protests, she scooted towards Steve, mumbling his name desperately. She had just enough energy to touch their hands together before her head hit the ground.

The darkness came quickly after.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Hello beautiful people!! I'm so sorry Ive been inactive recently, i'm graduating soon and trying to keep my grades up. After this week, though, I should be updating a ton!

Drink some water!