***

Steve let her borrow a couple of things from his bedroom, setting up a bed on his couch downstairs. He pulled a few curtains in the living room, giving her the privacy she needed. Sophie emerged from the bathroom, her hair tied into a loose ponytail. She wore an oversized blue shirt over a pair of light-pink pyjama shorts. Her other clothes were hung on a nearby airer, damp from an earlier rainfall that Sophie found herself walking through on the journey to Steve's abode.

She was glad he didn't leave her outside, stranding her in the cold night with a mysterious creature on the prowl. Guilt lingered behind her eyes, however, feeling bad for pressuring him to let her stay at his house. It was wrong for her to show up at his home unannounced, but she couldn't think of anywhere safer for her to go.

After pulling the sheer curtain across his back door, he turned to her, watching her plump a cushion. "You're really okay with sleeping on the couch?"

They shared a brief glance, Sophie nodding. "Yeah, I'm good."

He released a long yawn, his chest tightening. "Come on -- this is a four-bedroom house, and that includes mine." Sophie froze, unsure of what he was insinuating. His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. "But obviously, I'm not -- I wouldn't ask-"

"I'm fine here." She declared, sitting down on the couch with an insistent smile. "Really, I am."

"Okay." Steve scraped a hand through this thick, unkempt hair, grease lingering on his fingers. He stared on as Sophie reached into her backpack, removing some items and placing them on the floor beside her feet. His eyes narrowed, recognising the brand of hairspray and hair mousse cans she had on her. "You brought your hair products?"

Sophie stopped, tilting her can of mousse to the side. "Yeah, my hair's gonna look terrible in the morning. It goes frizzy in the rain."

She put it down next to the rest of her items before rummaging through her bag again, pulling out a can of Farrah Fawcett spray. 

"Hey, I have-" They both froze, their eyes meeting once more. He swallowed his pride, reaching behind his neck and giving it an awkward scratch. Steve averted his gaze, hiding his flushed cheeks. "- My mom has that too. She loves Farrah Fawcett."

"Good minds think alike, I guess." She commented, placing it on the ground. It tipped a little, but she steadied the can with her fingers, making sure it wouldn't fall. A howl in the distance made itself known, and her head snapped towards the window, peering through a gap in the curtain. "What was that?"

"Oh, probably just a fox." Steve hoped. His fingers grazed the hem of the curtain, gently drawing it towards him to close it fully. "They come by often since I live right next to the woods, but the street noise scares them away."

"Isn't that a bit creepy?" she wondered.

He turned back to her. "Well, yeah, when I was a kid, I thought a monster would come out and eat me." 

Little Steve was right though; there was a monster in the woods. He hadn't wandered beyond the poolside for so long, thinking there was still something out there. Sometimes, he'd see movement in the shrubbery, but it was just a shadow -- and a shadow can't hurt anyone.

Sophie patted her thighs, her front teeth tugging on her bottom lip. "Are we really gonna do this?" 

His brows furrowed. "Do what?"

"You know," her shoulders loosened, the tension in her body ebbing away, "monster hunting?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." He chuckled in disbelief. "Got nothing better to do this weekend anyway. It'll take my mind off things."

"But after we kill it," she shrugged, "what then?"

Steve sniffed, wiping his nose before folding his arms. "I don't know -- bury it somewhere?"

"Or send its body somewhere for testing." It's not that she endorsed animal testing, but this was a new species and there could be more out there. And since it was growing at an alarming rate, there was no doubt that this thing was trouble.

He returned a nod of agreement, leaving another gap of silence. What else was there to say? Sophie was too tired to think of anyone else, and she could tell from Steve's slumped posture that he needed to rest.

"Er, we better get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day." She itched the right side of her scalp, yawning a little.

"Yeah, I should, um..." He pointed to the ceiling, pursing his lips. As Sophie shared a quick smile with him, Steve began to walk towards the stairs at a slow pace, passing a lamp on the way over and pulling the string. The lightbulb switched off, leaving Sophie in darkness.

She pulled her legs onto the sofa, throwing a white sheet over her legs. Although she preferred her bed, Sophie was glad to be sleeping somewhere else for once.

He stood by the stairs, his grip firm on the bannister. Steve glanced back at the girl in his living room, hanging back for a moment. "You're still fine with this?"

Sophie sighed, chuckling a little. "One hundred per cent. You don't need to worry about me." 

But she knew he did. He hid it well, but it was there behind his eyes -- his pretty, hazel eyes. 

Shit, she definitely needed sleep. She blinked with a little shake of her head, brushing her weird thoughts aside. "Go on -- get some rest. I'm good."

"Okay." Her mind couldn't be swayed, and Steve just had to accept that. "Night then."

"Night." She responded, watching him climb the stairs. Steve disappeared from view, yet she still heard his footsteps on the landing before wandering into his bedroom and closing the door behind him.

She rubbed her eyes, releasing a soft groan as she leaned back, her head hitting the feathered pillow. Steve didn't need to care about her, and she didn't need to care about him. If she cares for someone, then people get hurt -- that's how this worked. There was no point in searching for something unattainable.

All was quiet as she stared forward, counting the bumps on the ceiling as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It felt different in Steve's house -- she felt safe.

If it was up to her, she'd stay on this couch forever.

***

The rising dawn peeked through the clouds as Sophie and Steve drove through the quiet streets of Hawkins. Trees swayed in the cold wind, blissfully unaware of the danger down below. She could picture Dart on his aimless wanders, sniffing around for fresh meat -- and he would get some.

Earlier that day, the pair had stopped off at the butchers', buying chopped pieces of red meat and hauling them around in metal buckets. If they created a trail of succulent bait, it would lead the creature right into their trap.

Afterwards, they travelled to the gas station and filled the trunk with gallons of gasoline, enough to set a house alight. They weren't planning to lure Dart to a public place, desiring for this kind of arson to be inconspicuous.

Steve's car turned into the Hendersons' driveway, spotting their young ally squatting on the steps of his back porch. Dustin didn't have much on him except yellow washing-up gloves, his headset and his walkie, still making attempts to contact his friends for backup.

He tapped his foot in an impatient rhythm, making eye contact with the car. As Steve parked it directly outside his house, he met Dustin's glare.

The boy grimaced, snatching the gloves and the walkie off the ground. Dustin stuffed them into his backpack, zipping it up tight before storming over to the car. He opened the back door of the car and practically threw himself inside.

"You're late. I had to distract my mom again." He slammed the door, settling into his seat.

Sophie leaned towards the passenger door with two fingers pressed against her temple, speaking with a flat voice. "What did you tell her this time? Your cat got stuck up a tree?"

Steve wouldn't give Dustin the time to answer, stating. "We had to stop off at the butcher's. I didn't have enough meat to cut up at home." He glanced over his shoulder, clenching his jaw. "And we had to get enough gasoline too, so you better pay us back, kid." Steve turned back, pulling the gearstick towards him. "Where are we going anyway?"

As the car started to reverse, Dustin said. "There's a place I know where we can lure Dart. We need to get to the old railway tracks."

In the late 1800s, around the time of Hawkins' conception, a large railway was situated in the woods, spanning a small section of Indiana. People could go to and fro like it was nothing -- until cars were introduced into society and trains were growing old-fashioned. The railway closed down by the 1940s, but they never removed the railroads, abandoning them to decay in the dense soil. 

When they arrived, Sophie was unsure how far it went, knowing they would eventually head off-road. They exited the car and began to unload the trunk, fastening their yellow gloves onto their hands as they gathered the essentials.

"Dustin! This is Lucas -- do you copy?" a voice crackled through Dustin's walkie as they reached for the buckets of meat. "Dustin?"

He grasped the device, stepping away from the car to answer the call. "Well, well, well, look who it is."

Sophie and Steve placed the gasoline tanks next to the meat buckets, hearing Lucas Sinclair communicate with Dustin. "Sorry, man. My stupid sister turned it off."

"Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon." He informed his friend, sticking with the lie he had told.

She turned to Steve, her forehead creasing. "A baby what?"

"Just roll with it." He told her, reaching for his nail bat.

Lucas reacted in a similar manner over the walkie. "Wait, what?"

"I'll explain later," Dustin stated. Steve tucked the bat into his army green backpack, keeping it on his person at all times. "Just meet me, Steve and Sophie at the old junkyard."

"Steve?"

"And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket."

"Steve Harrington?" There was another pause, radio static crackling on the other end. "Wait, who's -- is Max's sister with you too?"

Once everything was unloaded, Steve shut the trunk and slipped the keys into his back pocket. "All right, let's go."

They each grabbed a bucket of meat, the contents weighing their young arms down. "Just be there, stat." He instructed Lucas before bidding him farewell. "Over and out."

Dustin turned off his walkie, taking the lead as the trio began their trek into the overgrown forest. Dead leaves cracked beneath the soles of their shoes, a strange sensation for a California transplant like Sophie. The cool autumnal crunch was something she'd never experienced back home, and though it was satisfying, it wasn't enough to calm her nerves.

She halted at the edge of the woods, biting her lip. Sophie glanced over her shoulder, eying the empty streets they were leaving behind. Only Dustin failed to notice her hesitance, Steve stopping a few feet before her.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Their eyes met, Steve assuring her. "You can still turn back."

Turn back? Why would she want to go back home? She wasn't welcomed there -- she wasn't welcomed anywhere.

"And let you have all the fun?" she smirked, her eyebrows raised. "Not a chance, Harrington."

With false confidence, she marched past him, following Dustin onto the railway track. Once he was out of sight, her smile faltered and a wave of doubt washed over her. Neil Hargrove was capable of many things except remorse. If Sophie returned home now -- he'd kill her.

She zoned out for a while, chucking bits of red meat onto the ground. Its wet texture brushed against the archaic train tracks, fresh blood soaking into the cracks in the wood. 

Steve and Dustin were having a conversation further ahead, and Sophie would briefly tune in, unaware they were discussing her stepsister.

"All right, so let me get this straight." Steve began. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who..." he glanced at Dustin, his brows lowered, "... who you just met?"

He peered over his shoulder, throwing another piece of meat onto the ground. "All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things."

"Er, no," voiced Sophie, "what's gross is that you let this thing grow and eat your cat."

"Yeah, I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?" Steve agreed. Since he was young, it's been a universal fact that most girls found anything slimy and grimy to be gross.

"An interdimensional slug." He corrected the teenager. "Because it's awesome."

Sophie begged to differ. "That's not awesome."

"Ugh!" The boy drawled. "Maybe not to you."

"I doubt it would be awesome to anyone else, except you." She commented, hurling a piece of meat towards him. It landed close to him, narrowly missing his backside.

"Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I -- I just..." From what Sophie could recall, no one found that cool. Even Steve, despite never having seen the creature, knew it wasn't appealing to anyone. "... I don't know. I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, all right?"

"It's not about the hair, man." The teenager insisted. "The key with girls is just..." he shrugged his shoulders, pausing in thought, "... just acting like you don't care."

Sophie's head snapped towards him. "I'm sorry, what?"

The boys ignored her confusion, continuing. "Even if you do?"

"Yeah, exactly. It drives them nuts." Sophie slowed her pace, lingering in the background. Her gaze latched onto their backs as she listened in.

"Then what?" questioned Dustin.

"You just wait until, uh..." Steve chucked another piece of meat out of his bucket, the chunk landing a few feet in front of Sophie. She flinched, rocking back on her heels momentarily, but Steve didn't seem to clock her disgust. He tapped the boy's arm, his lips curving into a smirk. "... until you feel it."

Dustin didn't seem to get it, his tone uncertain. "Feel what?"

"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know?" He straightened his back, his confidence returning. "You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh..." Steve pursed his lips, squinting, "... electricity, you know?" 

He glanced up at the older boy. "Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere-"

"No, no, no, no, no." He shook his head, grabbing another meat chunk and tossing it down. "Like a -- like a sexual electricity." 

His eyes widened. "Oh."

A stifled giggle struggled to contain itself in Sophie's throat. She bit on her bottom lip, trying to hold it in. Steve's head perked up, hearing her little snickers. "Is something amusing you back there, Hargrove?"

She cleared her throat with a pressed smile on her face. "No -- no, absolutely not. Carry on."

Steve didn't enjoy being mocked. When it came to girls, he thought of his experiences with the opposite gender as a strength -- he always knew how to win them over.

"You feel that," he pointed at the young boy before changing direction in a swift motion, advising him, "and then you make your move."

"So that's when you kiss her?" God, this kid needed all the help he could get, but Sophie wasn't sure if Steve's advice was what Dustin needed.

He wrinkled his nose. "No, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Romeo."

"Sorry." Dustin grew meek in the presence of this so-called "love guru".

"Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a..." Once again, Steve used another allegory to describe the intensity of a relationship, "... I don't know, like a lion," and it made Sophie want to curl up and die.

But Dustin appeared to agree, not knowing any better. "Mmm."

"But others, you gotta be slow, you gonna be stealthy, like a -- like a ninja." Another bout of laughter slipped out, louder this time around. Sophie couldn't clasp a hand over her mouth without making contact with the blood on her gloves, so she just tried to hold it in. Steve pursed his lips again, his muscles clenching as he spun around, glaring at her. "Okay, what is it?"

Sophie shook her bowed head, trying to hide her smile. "Sorry -- I'm sorry. Just ignore me."

He stopped in front of her. "What's so funny? I'm trying to give advice here."

"No, it's just-" she sucked in her cheeks, swallowing. Sophie met his eyes with a clenched smirk. "- You're making out that, like, every girl wants to have meaningless sex with a guy."

His face softened, his irritation slipping away. "Oh, no, I wasn't-"

"I mean, I get it. I've been there. I've made out with a guy I barely knew before -- for kicks, I guess," she supposed, admitting her flaws, "but what we're really looking for -- and I'm saying this as a girl who's grown up around horny men..." Sophie rambled, her thoughts spilling out like oil -- she's never had to explain her feelings like this, "... is a connection. Some of us want decent guys who are understanding and considerate of our feelings."

"Sounds like you've got a case of being a hopeless romantic." As he turned away, he threw a piece of meat over her head.

Her mouth gaped, approaching his right with haste. "Trust me, I'm really not." 

She knew one thing -- romance wasn't perfect. Love is messy and unpredictable, and could turn toxic at any moment. Sophie saw it happen to her own parents, and she'd be damned if she let that happen to herself. 

"Look, I'm just tired of girls being used like that," Sophie confessed. "Like, we're just things with boobs and butts -- we're more than that."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I don't use girls."

"Really?" she eyed him. Billy's previous claim of Steve's past reputation came to mind; it had been playing on her mind since their argument the other day. She couldn't see him as the type of guy who would slut-shame someone. Then again, looks can be deceiving. "What type of girl is Nancy then?"

"Nancy's different." He did a double take, glancing back and forth. "She's different from the other girls."

That was barely a good reason. Thousands of young men say that about a certain girl before leaving her for the next unique chick. "How so?"

"Well, she gave me the biggest bonk on the head -- that's for sure."

"Literally?"

"No, she didn't..." he hesitated, cocking his head to the side, "... well, she did slap me, and I deserved it, but it put a lot of things into perspective too."

"How'd you mean?" she wondered.

Steve went quiet, looking away. His chin dipped a little into his chest, his posture sagging. "It doesn't matter now."

Whatever happened in the past wasn't something for Sophie to concern herself with -- they had bigger fish to fry.

She backed off, stepping away from the depressed teen as Dustin mentioned. "Yeah, she seems pretty special, I guess."

"Yeah. Yeah, she is." Steve agreed.

If he loves her so much, why did he break up with her? What happened between them that caused such animosity?

Sophie didn't think it was the right time to ask, and Dustin didn't even bother with the question. In fact, the blonde was certain that he didn't know yet. "But this girl's special, too, you know. It's just, like, something about her."

Steve raised his arm, halting the young boy in his tracks. Sophie came to a stop behind them, glancing between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey."

"What?" his face fell.

"You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?" asked Steve.

"And this girl has a name, but clearly you've both forgotten to use it." She knew they were talking about Max. It was obvious from the way he stuck around her stepsister and repeatedly fawned over her, despite barely knowing her.

She felt the weight of his annoyed glare, his jaw clenching for a brief moment. His eyes met Dustin's, reiterating his question. "Are you?"

"Uh, no -- no." His expression was firm, shaking his head in a determined matter.

"Okay, good." They started walking again. "Don't."

"I won't." He replied.

"She's only gonna break your heart," a meat chunk slipped from his gloved fingers, splattering onto the ground, "and you're way too young for that shit." 

A trace of dismay in his tone went unnoticed by Dustin, his focus drawn to the advice given to him as he continued to toss the meat. But his anguish was clear to Sophie, and his disillusionment towards love only made her feel sorry for him.

At first, she thought Steve was the cynical one, but she was wrong -- he was the real hopeless romantic, and he just didn't know it yet. The denial in his eyes said it all, he loved Nancy more than any girl he'd been with before, but she couldn't love him enough.

When glimpsed back at her, she turned away. He looked at Dustin, hesitating. "Fabergé."

Simultaneously, the pair snapped their heads towards him. "What?"

"It's Fabergé organics." He stated, pointing up at his hair. "Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp -- it's not wet, okay? When it's damp-"

Dustin noted, murmuring under his breath. "Damp."

"- You do four puffs of Farrah Fawcett spray." Steve finished.

Sophie and Dustin shared a shocked grin, acknowledging the weird secret behind Steve's luscious locks. "Farrah Fawcett spray?"

"Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that -- both of you," with a condescending finger wag, he warned them, "and your ass is grass." He stared the young boy dead in the eyes. "You're dead, Henderson. Do you understand?"

"Yep." He answered, not wanting to disappoint him; his surprise idolisation of Steve Harrington only growing.

Steve sighed half-heartedly, almost relieved to tell someone his darkest secret. "Okay."

"Farrah Fawcett, really?" uttered Dustin.

He shrugged again. "I mean, she's hot."

And Dustin felt inclined to agree. "Yeah."

Sophie chuckled behind him, stepping forward with a slight skip. She leaned towards Steve with a wide smile. "So, I almost blew your cover last night?"

"Well, I wasn't lying -- it was my mom's originally, but it just works really well." The urge to adjust his hair was killing him, but since he had bloody cow juice on his hand, he just had to be patient for a little while.

She could hardly contain her giddiness, her eyes glowing. "Wow, your hair's full of secrets."

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Another chunk of meat splashed against the tracks, and droplets of red juice jumped upwards, staining the whites of their shoes.

Her smile diminished a little as she nudged Steve's arm with her elbow. "I'm not my brother, you know."

"I know." He responded, reaching into the bucket of cow chunks. "You're the half I tolerate."

Sophie rubbed her jawline with the back of her arm, tending to a bothersome itch. "So, you're not scared he'll beat your ass if he finds us out here?"

Steve narrowed his eyes, deflecting her question. "You don't think I can win a fight?" 

"No, I'm sure you can throw a punch." Her teeth tugged at the dry skin on her lips. "It's just that he's got really thick skin, and I don't mean that as a metaphor."

He drew his shoulder inwards, his backpack shifting towards her. "Yeah, and I've got a nail bat. Who's winning?"

She placed her index finger on the tip of the bat, lightly pushing it away from her face. They walked on, scattering red chunks around archaic trees that teetered over their heads. Dustin wandered further ahead, tossing meat in silence.

Sophie chewed the inside of her cheek, looking down at her feet. "If it's any consolation," she kicked a small rock out of her way before meeting Steve's eyes, "I dye my hair." His brows drew close together. "I'm not a natural blonde."

His lips parted. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm more of a fair brunette -- it's a dark blonde. Like, think Billy's but a little darker." She tried to describe, gulping. "But I keep lightening it because I always thought my hair looked dull." 

A loose smile unfurled on his face, releasing a swift exhale. "Why would you hide something like that?"

"Same reason you did -- it's kinda embarrassing to admit." A part of her envied her brother's hair, which seemed to lighten naturally in the summer sun, and his sunkissed skin, as opposed to her paler complexion. "But we've all got our secrets, and that's fine. It's okay to admit we're imperfect sometimes."

"Well, whether or not you're a brunette or a blonde, I think you look..." his gaze locked with hers, finding himself caught in those sapphire blue eyes. After a few seconds of hesitance, he cleared his throat and turned away. "... You look good."

That was a strange way to describe a girl, and he's the one with the supposed experience. "I look good?"

"Am I allowed to say "pretty"?" A compliment like that could draw any sort of feelings to the surface, and if Billy heard out -- he'd be a dead man. Steve covered it up with a sarcastic response. "Because I don't want you to accidentally fall in love with me if I say that."

She scoffed. "Oh, does that happen often?"

"What can I say? I'm a natural flirt." One could say Steve Harrington was addicted to the thrill of fawning over a woman. But his love for Nancy reminded him to stay loyal, and he wanted to try for once.

"Well, thank you anyway." Her chest didn't feel so tight anymore, her anxiety lessening around him. "I think you look pretty, too. The Farrah Fawcett spray really brings out that glossy sheen. You know, it really accentuates your eyes."

His smile widened, chuckling. "Oh, yeah, and what brand of hair dye do you use?"

Sophie giggled, hanging her head back. "I'm not telling."

***

They continued through the woods for another hour or so, covering every direction as they planted the trail of bait, all leading back to one particular spot.

Unfortunately, they had yet to reach it, and a steady exhaustion was creeping up on her. At least they were finished with meat handling for now. "How long have we been walking?"

Amber sunbeams streamed through the open trees as Steve glanced over his shoulder. "You tired?"

"No, it's just I've been walking to and fro all week, and it's finally wearing me out." Her arms hung limply by her sides, the metal bucket knocking against her weakening legs, leaving bruises under her acid-wash jeans. As she caught up to him, Steve reached into his pocket and retrieved his Rayban sunglasses, placing them on the bridge of his nose. "You brought your shades?"

"It's part of the look." He remarked with a slight swish of his hair, releasing a gelled lock from under his sunglasses.

She admired his confidence. In a way, he mirrored Billy in terms of good looks and putting effort into their hairstyles. But Steve was different, twisting every expectation on its head -- he was a jock with a heart of gold. "I swear, you just wanna be in a movie."

"Yeah, because I'd be the badass action hero." He wasn't wrong. The nail bat certainly added to the outfit, looking like a real film protagonist.

Sophie could see him as a pretty decent model or an actor; he'd be quite popular in Hollywood. Steve Harrington could be the next Tom Cruise, and then he'd have girls falling head over heels for him again.

"You're kinda giving horror movie survivor, to be honest." Steve Harrington was no knight-in-shining armour, that's for sure -- but he could be somebody's hero. "Like that guy from The Evil Dead."

"You think?" his cheeks flushed a little.

She nodded. "Yeah, you kinda look marketable. I'm picturing, like, your face on a billboard poster with that bat on your shoulder."

The vision was painting itself in her mind -- Steve Harrington: The Damned Heartthrob. Born to love. Harder to kill.

It might make a good movie someday. He tilted his head to the side, considering the thought. "Well, if this was a horror movie, you'd probably be the final girl."

"Oh, no, definitely not. I'd probably be the first kill." She answered, slanting her body away from him.

His jaw went slack. "No way -- you're smarter than most girls I know."

Sophie raised her eyebrows, chuckling. "If I was smart then I wouldn't be here. This whole thing is like a death wish."

"But you still chose to come." He gave her plenty of chances to return home, but she refused at every turn.

"Yeah, because I'm an idiot." A self-deprecating laugh escaped her throat. Her tongue grazed the back of her teeth, her smile falling. She faced Steve again, and her tone grew solemn. "I mean, it's not like I had anywhere else to go."

Steve opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a loud metallic clanging. The two winced, turning their heads towards the noise. Dustin stood at the other end of the forest, smashing a medium-sized stick against his near-empty bucket.

"Can you guys hurry it up? What's taking so long?!" Dustin's voice squeaked, echoing through the woodland. "We're almost there!"

He turned his back to them, storming into a large clearing. Sophie's earnest expression turned blank. "He's a bit demanding, isn't he?"

"Just a bit, yeah." Steve agreed.

They marched along the tracks, chucking a few bits of meat on the ground as they caught up to Dustin. Once they emerged from under the trees, the sky brightened, and blinding sunlight grazed their bare skin with heat.

As they approached his side, the three looked out from the top of a small hill. Below, the remains of old cars, vans, and buses alike were left to decay. Scraps of rusted metal lay on the dry, brown grass floor, bent and dented.

"Oh, yeah." Steve nodded, squinting under his sunglasses. "Yeah, this will do. This will do just fine." He smirked, observing the land with a curious eye. This place was gonna do nicely as a battleground. "Good call, dude."

He wandered ahead, his bucket swinging by his knees. Dustin stood back with Sophie, a feeling of warmth rushing through his veins. He'd suffered from a lack of appreciation lately, but it filled him with glee when it unexpectedly came from Steve Harrington.

Sophie huffed beside him, just wanting to get this over with. 

In the centre of the junkyard, they combined the leftovers in their respective buckets into one large pile of cow meat, intending this to be the final phase in their plan. Dart would be drawn to the raw, bloody meal and when the time was right, they would set it alight. It didn't like heat, so burning flames were the perfect solution.

"I said medium-well!" The trio peered over the hill, staring at some familiar allies. Lucas Sinclair giddily waved from afar, standing next to his bike -- but Sophie's eyes were glued to the person on his right. 

Steve removed his sunglasses, his eyes narrowing. "Who's that?"

"My sister -- stepsister." She hadn't noticed her among the boys yet, strolling down the hill with her arms folded. Sophie moved out from behind Dustin, wandering forward. "Max?"

Her head snapped up, her mouth falling open. "Sophie?"

She couldn't be here -- it was far too dangerous. And if they were both gone, Neil was gonna go nuts. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, what am I doing here?" she scoffed, her eyes wide. "What are you doing here? Are you in on this shit too?"

Dustin's jaw dropped, turning to Lucas. The other boy rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing and looking down at his feet. His friend pursed his lips, realising he had broken their sacred code as a party.

Yet Sophie remained clueless to the truth. "What do you mean? What am I in on?"

Lucas glanced up at her, meekly responding. "Catching the baby Demogorgon."

Steve began to remove his gloves, chucking them into his empty bucket. "What even is a Demogorgon, man? Why do you keep calling it that?"

Dustin glared at the teenager, raising his voice. "Because that's what it is!"

The blonde's throat tightened. "Wait, does Billy know-?"

"No, I escaped through the window." Max did wonder why her stepsister had not emerged from her bedroom, but she assumed Sophie was too upset. She didn't want to bother her anyway -- not after their argument. "I'm guessing you did the same."

A calming sigh exited her parted lips, relieved he would come looking just yet. "Yeah." 

She ripped her damp gloves off, tossing them into Steve's bucket, as did Dustin. Tension lingered between the two stepsisters, and though Max's fury died down a little since then, she still wasn't in a forgiving mood.

Steve clapped his hands together, rubbing his palms to battle the cold weather. "All right, team, let's get moving!"

As he shoved past Lucas and Max, Sophie crossed her arms. "Hold on, who put you in charge?"

He glanced back, twisting his hip. Steve gestured to the younger boy. "Well, I'm not letting Henderson lead us."

Dustin's shoulders slumped immediately, losing his admiration for the teen in seconds. Though she didn't appreciate him dragging her into this mess, he deserved some recognition for his work so far. "He did lead us here."

"Yeah, but I'm the oldest." Steve grabbed his wrist, checking his watch. "Okay, listen up, shitheads. We've got until sunset to set this trap, and according to Dustin, this thing's more likely to come out at night," he eyed the four, putting his hands on his hips, "so let's do this as fast as we can."

Max's forehead creased, turning to Lucas. "Why does he sound like a sports coach?"

Steve's mouth twitched at the distraction, clapping his hands again and yelling. "Guys!"

She raised her hands in defence. "Okay!"

"Geez..." Lucas dropped his bike to the floor, following Dustin as he wandered towards some loose scraps of metal. Max and Sophie trailed after them, the latter releasing a heavy sigh.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

***

Sorry for the wait, but I was a bit busy and also kinda struggled with this one for some reason.

I had to split this chapter because I filled this one with too many words and I honestly wanted to get this out as soon as I could. I would say this is a shorter chapter, but who am i kidding none of them are short. The way I write chapters is that I plan scenes, I add dialogue in first and then I write actions and descriptions around them. It's actually really helpful but of course, you have to remember which line of dialogue belongs to which character and that can get complicated.

But yeah, Sophie's 95% attracted to Steve. She obviously doesn't want to be because she's afraid Billy will hurt him and he's currently in love with another girl, so it wouldn't work out anyway.

The next chapter's gonna have the Demodog battle in the junkyard, of course, and Steve and Sophie are gonna talk a bit about what happened on Halloween. They're just growing closer and closer and I love it.

Also, Joe was at a boygenius concert and Phoebe Bridgers used Eddie Munson's guitar!! Just makes me love writing this more. It's meant to beeeeeeeeeeee.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please leave a vote or a comment because I like talking to you. Also, I've got a tiktok (aliceromanwp) now and I've posted a few edits there, so it would be great if you could check that out.

And thank you for 4k reads xx

- Alice.