OLIVIA WAS DEFINITELY NOT OKAY.

She knew that from the second she got back home. Steve had to help her walk up the front steps of the house, stopping every few feet, because her feet wobbling so hard under her that she couldn't even stand on her own. Sobs bruised her from the inside out, her throat torn from crying.

Max, Dustin, Lucas and Mike were running back and forth between the adults, trying to help somehow, but just ended up getting in the way.

"She okay?" Hopper called to Steve as he helped Joyce into the house, carrying Will over his shoulder. 

Steve didn't get a chance to answer before Jonathan pushed past him, holding Caroline in a bridal carry. The second little Lucas Sinclair saw his girlfriend, he changed course and rushed after her, leaving his friends in the driveway.

Olivia's stomach cramped and she leaned over, dry heaving. Her shoulder pulsed painfully, and her knees gave way suddenly, leaving Steve holding the entirety of her weight.

"No, come on," Steve panicked, trying to readjust as Olivia started to sink to the floor. "Liv, you need to get inside, you need to get warm-"

"Steve." Nancy Wheeler stood behind them, her short curly hair pulled back in a ponytail. She nodded at her ex boyfriend, whose lip was trembling from anxiety and concern. For a split second, Steve considered turning her away, letting her run to Jonathan like she always did...

But one more sob from Olivia, and he knew he couldn't do this on his own.

So Steve swallowed his pride and allowed Nancy to duck under Olivia's shoulder, taking half of her weight. Together they got her inside the house and to the bathroom, where Olivia immediately collapsed over the privy, her legs tucking under her.

Nancy snapped  her rubber band out of her own ponytail, pulling Olivia's hair back as her best friend shook uncontrollably. The poor girl's face was slightly green, sweat coating her bare shoulders as she cried into the toilet bowl, occasionally spitting up bile. 

Looking pained, Nancy turned to Steve, opening her mouth to say something, when her eyes widened.

"Is that blood?" she gasped, grabbing Steve's shoulders. "Are you bleeding?"

Steve looked down, bewildered. For the first time, he realized his hands and parts of his shirt were stained with dark red. He shook his head, staring at Nancy with shock. "No! I... I don't think..." 

He did a mental checkup, his brows furrowed for a few seconds as he ran his hands over his chest, feeling for a wound. "No, it's definitely not me."

"Then what..." Nancy's words trailed off before her eyes grew larger.

Steve realized at the same time. He brushed past Nancy and dropped his knees next to their friend, gently putting his hands on the small of Olivia's back. "Are you bleeding?" he spoke softly.

Olivia closed her eyes shut, a tear slipping down her cheek. Her lip trembled and she wiped her cheek with an unsteady hand. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Liv..." Steve sounded like he wanted to cry. 

His eyes trailed down her body, falling on the shirt she had pressed over her shoulder. Gently, he pulled it away, letting out a small "shit" when he saw it.

A massive bite wound, dug nearly half an inch into her flesh at every tooth mark. The skin around the wound was bruised purple and blue, the bite itself bleeding profusely with no sign of stopping anytime soon. The second Steve removed the extra layer, a line of blood dripped down her shoulder towards the small of her back.

The most frightening part, however, was the slight black edge around the laceration, as though the skin had started to rot.

"Oh, god!" Nancy clamped a hand over her mouth, turning away for a moment. She ran a hand through her hair before she looked back at her best friend, looking pale. "Oh, god..."

"I'm sorry," Olivia whimpered again.

"Hey, hey, hey," Steve held his hands on her waist as she started to lean to the side. "Stay with me, okay?" 

Olivia fought back butterflies, feeling his finger on her hips, but the feeling quickly transformed into nausea. Her stomach cramped again and she leaned into the toilet bowl, vomiting pure liquid; her body had nothing else to possibly surrender.

"What do we do?" Steve turned around desperately, looking at Nancy for help.

"I don't know!" Nancy stared at the wound with wide blue eyes, her slender fingers trembling over her mouth. "We need to tell Hop or something. He's a cop, right? He's got to know basic first aid-"

"No," Olivia said weakly. Steve stared at her, still holding her steady. "It's not important."

"Your skin is rotting, Liv," Steve said quietly. He brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes, trailing his thumb down her cheek. She leaned into his touch for a moment before inhaling sharply as another wave of pain hit her shoulder. "We don't have another choice. You're not seeing what we're seeing. It's... it's bad."

"Callie and Will," Olivia insisted. Sweat beaded her temples and forehead, from both the pain and the nausea. "They need help, not me. That's what's important."

Steve opened his mouth to argue but Nancy nudged him with her foot. She shot him a look he couldn't decipher. 

"Okay," she told Olivia slowly. "We'll do it ourselves then. But first, we have to wash it. It's going to get infected, it if isn't already."

"Not hydrogen peroxide," Olivia winced. "It won't clean a laceration. The skin... it has to be cleaned adjacently. It could turn into Necrotizing fasciitis."

Steve smiled sadly, rubbing her back in slow, small circles. "I keep forgetting you have a PHD."

"Two," Olivia mumbled, her face still in the toilet bowl.

Steve chuckled in spite of himself. He turned and looked up at Nancy, who stood in the doorway. "Can you translate whatever the hell she said?"

"We need to start a shower," Nancy nodded. "It needs to be washed with regular soap and water. I'll go get some from Jonathan's room; he's got to have some unscented stuff. You start the water and help her get in, okay?"

Just then, Mike walked into the room. "What's going?-"

Nancy quickly stood up, shielding Steve and Olivia as she nudged Mike towards the door. "Nothing. Ollie's just feeling sick."

"But-" Mike craned his neck over his sister's shoulder. His eyes widened. "Holy SHIT-"

"Shut up!" Nancy squeaked, clamping her hand over his mouth. Mike glared at her and she removed it. She spoke in a quiet, frantic voice, her eyes begging Mike to understand. "She got bit by one of those demogorgon things, okay? We've got it."

"Can I do something?" Mike asked desperately, shoving Nancy out of the way. "Can I help?"

"We're fine," Nancy lied through her teeth. "Just... can you get Jonathan, if you see him? I might need his help in a minute."

"Yeah," Mike's eyes were wide. "Yeah, I'll get him. Just... I'll get him."

"Thanks," Nancy pushed him out of the doorway. "Bye."

She slammed the door in his face, running her hands through her curls. She stared at Steve. "What are you doing? Get her in the shower. I said I'll grab the soap."

Steve's eyes got wide. "I can't give her a shower!"

"She'll be in her clothes, idiot," Nancy said irritably. With that, she turned and left the small, crowded bathroom, leaving a very confused Steve and a very sick Olivia.

"Okay," Steve said. He stood up from his crouch, making sure Olivia was steady. "Okay. We got this, right?"

Olivia just moaned. 

"Yeah," Steve said awkwardly. "Uh... yeah. Okay... I can do this."

He turned the shower head faucet on, letting out a small yelp and jumping back when cold water splashed the front of his shirt. Olivia lifted her head, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes, and he swallowed thickly.

He stuck his hand in the water again, waiting until it was warm. "Should it be hot? Or is it better cold?"

"Warm," Olivia was panting slightly. "Cold will cause tension and hot will just burn it."

"This is good, then," Steve nodded. "Ready?"

"No," Olivia whimpered, holding her stomach with one arm and using the other to grip the toilet bowl as if it were her best friend.

"I'm sorry," Steve said grimly. "But Nancy told me to, and she's kind of the boss right now. 'Kay, on three."

"Just do it," Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, another tear making its way down her green-tinged face. Steve's heart shattered a tiny bit more.

He knelt down next to her again, putting one arm under her legs and the other secured around her back. As quickly and gently as he could, Steve moved her from the floor to the bathtub, ignoring the steady stream of warm water that drenched his shirt and arms. 

The second the water hit the wound, Olivia let out a horrible sob. She clamped her hand over her mouth and leaned her forehead against the wall in front of her, making sounds so guttural and painful that Steve abandoned any attempt to stay dry. 

He looked desperately towards the door, wondering what could possibly be taking Nancy so long, before taking off his jacket. Without a second though, he removed his shoes and socks and climbed into the shower tub behind Olivia, his feet on either side of her hips. 

Olivia quickly leaned back, leaning into him for support. He gladly provided it, gently lowering her hands from her head, where she had been gripping her hair in attempts not to scream. She rested the back of her head against his chest and he took her hands in his.

"I got you," he whispered into her ear, rubbing the inside of her palms with his thumbs. "I've got you, okay?" 

Olivia just sobbed, the water running down her shoulder and onto her back. The amount of red swirling into the drain made Steve woozy. 

The door swung open just then, and Nancy burst into the bathroom, doing the smallest double take after seeing Steve and Olivia in the tub together. Her expression softened and then quickly morphed into recognition. 

Steve felt a pang of heart ache when he saw it. He opened his mouth to say something but she shook her head, giving him a sweet smile of understanding. 

They weren't together anymore.

"I got the soap," Nancy closed the door behind her, making Olivia look up with red eyes and lips swollen from crying. 

Steve took the bottle from her, looking down at the bite before looking back at Nancy. "What do I do?"

He expected her to tease him, but she didn't. 

"Rub it into the bite. But hold on; she needs this first." Nancy held up a wooden spoon, a grim look on her face.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, lips parted in confusion. "What the hell does she need a spoon for?"

Nancy hesitated. "To... bite down on." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

It took a moment for the words to sink in. When they did, Steve was livid.

"What?" he said angrily. "To... bite down on? Like some kind of horror movie torture shit? No way. There's got to be another way. We can just... wipe it down, or something."

"Steve-" Nancy began.

"No!" Rage pounded through his veins. "No way. No fucking way."

"We have to, Steve," Nancy's lip was trembling. "It has to be cleaned. It's going to get infected if we don't."

Steve felt a hot tear slip from his eyes and wiped it away, angry and embarrassed. He was thankful for the shower, because it meant he could pass it off as just water. 

"Please," Olivia sobbed. Her shoulders were shaking, causing more blood seep from the bite. "Please, just do it."

Steve didn't want to. He so badly didn't want to. He didn't want to be the one to hurt her so bad that she had to bite down on a goddamn spoon. She had been in so much pain, for so long. He wanted to make her feel better, not worse.

"I can do it," Nancy offered. 

But when Steve looked at her, at the blood draining from her face, the face of the girl he used to love, he couldn't force her to do it- to hurt her best friend. 

It had to be him.

"Okay," Steve choked out.

Olivia bit down on the spoon as Steve poured out a little bit of soap onto his hands, looking at Nancy for guidance. She nodded in encouragement, her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears as she watched her best friend. 

Steve took a deep breath and gently rubbed the soap into Olivia's shoulder.

Olivia's back immediately arched and she let out a muffled scream into the wood piece in her mouth. 

"It's okay," Nancy leaned over, ignoring the water getting into her hair and on her clothes as she grabbed her friend's shoulders. "Ollie, look at me. Look at me."

Olivia sobbed into her friend's chest, giving Steve more room to work faster. He washed the wound as quickly and gently as he could, trying to swallow back his nausea. 

It only took about a minute to clean the wound. The bleeding hadn't slowed down, but the greenish tint to the flesh had disappeared. Steve quickly rinsed any residue of soap from his hands before leaning forward, easing Olivia out of Nancy's arms and into his own.

"It's over," he told her as she sobbed. Steve held her a gently as he could, wishing he would never have to let her go again. "It's over. Promise."

"Promise," Olivia repeated under her breath. 

The door opened again, and this time it wasn't Mike, but Jonathan. He looked at Nancy, sitting on the tile floor, her curls plastered to her face, and then immediately to Olivia, without giving Steve a single glance.

"Oh, Ollie," he said in a pained voice. Nancy moved out of the way and let him kneel next to his sister.

"She got bit by one of the demogorgons," Nancy said in a low voice. 

A strong array of emotions flitted across Jonathan's face before he leaned forward, gently pressing a kiss to Olivia's forehead. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Olivia's shoulders relaxed slightly at her brother's touch. Steve watched the exchange with a depressed feeling dropping to his stomach. He couldn't even put his finger on exactly what it was that made him sad.

Was it the fact that Jonathan could make Liv feel safe in a way Steve couldn't, or the unshakeable suspicion that Jonathan didn't like him?

"Can you help us get her to her room?" Nancy laid a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. 

The Byers boy nodded quickly, finally glancing at Steve. "Can you stand with her?"

"Yeah," Steve said, slightly miffed. He and Nancy had been completely fine without Jonathan, and now suddenly the guy was in charge? Did Nancy think he wasn't capable of carrying Liv by himself? 

Willing himself not to slip in the water below him, Steve stood, climbing out of the tub first before hoisting up Olivia. Nancy grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her friend before Steve picked up Olivia, bridal style.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Olivia's lips were almost white, her skin still a sickly shade of green. She rest her head against his chest, not responding.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jonathan gave her a small nudge, his eyes panicked. "You gotta stay awake, okay?"

Olivia opened her eyes groggily and looked up at Steve, her lip trembling.

"Let's get you in some warm clothes, okay?" Steve told her, his heart sinking. He waited until she nodded before walking through the open doorway, finally leaving the bathroom.

So obviously, that was intense

It hurts to hurt my baby but it had to be done, cause what's Stranger Things without some   ✨angst ✨

Next chapter is gonna be the biggest one yet, so stay tuned!