FINALE

THE REST OF THE NIGHT WENT BY IN A BLUR. They stayed at the house, waiting for the monster to come back, which it never did. Instead, they spent the night laughing and talking like old friends. None of them wanted to go home or leave each other, something just felt safer when they were all together. Steve had his arm around Grayson's shoulders while they sat on the couch and even though it was a small motion, it meant big things. It meant that maybe they could be it someday. Maybe they might be able to get their happy ending, too. Things seemed to be all right with Nancy, but Grayson couldn't help but acknowledge her knowing stare every time he leaned into Steve's touch. Maybe he felt a little bad for stealing her boyfriend, especially through some very immoral means (if there could be a moral way of stealing someone's significant other away from them), but she seemed to be cozying up to Jonathan without even realizing it. Maybe things could work out there, too, but Grayson wasn't quite yet willing to forgive the Byers boy for pretty much breaking his nose.

Eventually, after a couple hours that felt like years, they got a phone call. Jonathan froze when the phone rang and Grayson decided not to say anything, but he did take note. Considering recent events, it must have had something to do with Will and his disappearance.

Nancy came back from answering the phone with a bewildered expression, "They got him, they got Will. And the Demogorgon's dead, but Eleven disappeared, too."

Jonathan nodded like he understood, but Grayson just furrowed his brow in confusion, "Who the fuck is Eleven? And Demogorgon? Isn't that a Dungeons & Dragons thing?"

"Not important, what's important is that everyone else is okay, including Will. They want us all to meet them at the hospital."

"You guys go, Gray and I should probably head home," Steve suggested getting up from the couch and pulling Grayson with him, pulling his keys from his pocket.

However, Nancy just chuckled and shook her head, "No, you guys are coming, too. She wants everyone to be there when he wakes up, Joyce said you guys helped so you should there. I mean, I'm pretty sure Jonathan would have been a Demogorgon's meal if it wasn't for you, Steve."

"I mean, we might as well, right?" Grayson shrugged, "I mean, I did find his bike so like, I guess I'm pretty important to this whole thing!"

Everyone laughed and clearly, with the news of Will's return and the creature's death, the mood was able to lighten up a little more than it had been. Even though he was only briefly apart of the whole situation, he was so thankful for everything to be over.

After a moment, Nancy sighed, "We should probably get going. They'll be at the hospital soon and we wanna be there when Will wakes up."

"I'll drive," Steve volunteered, the three others following him out to the car. They loaded into the car, Grayson in the passenger side, his fingers laced with Steve's on the center console as the boy drove with one hand on the steering wheel. Suddenly, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders like he could breathe again. Monster or not, it had been a rough week (not to mention the chaos that was his summer), and he finally felt like everything was going to be okay. He felt it as they drove quietly, everyone too tired to make any more conversation.

A few minutes passed before Nancy, who was sitting behind Grayson, leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Hey, you take care of him, okay?

With a soft smile, Grayson nodded, "I will, I promise."

"Good, I'm holding you to that," Nancy laughed quietly.

Finally, they made it to the hospital and Jonathan immediately ran over to hug his mom. Nancy ran to greet Mike while Steve and Grayson just found seats and waited like everybody else. He felt out of place like he wasn't supposed to be there. Hell, he didn't even know Will.

"I feel like everyone is staring at us," Grayson sighed, leaning against Steve's shoulder. "Do you feel like that, too?"

"Even if they are, who cares?" the boy shrugged, grabbing Grayson's hand and holding it in his lap. It was hard to cuddle in stiff hospital chairs, but Grayson was tired so he was going to try his best to get as comfortable as he could. He had a feeling they would be waiting for a while. All that mattered to him, though, was that he was here with Steve. At the end of everything, that was what he cared about the most. He knew through all the fights, the miscommunications, the sleepless nights, a part of him would always be in love with Steve Harrington. It was hard not to be in love with him, at least, that's how it was for Grayson. Part of him wouldn't forgive himself for what he did to Matthew and Nancy to get here. Even here, the ends don't really justify the means, but he would have to get over that. It seems both of them had already forgiven him, now he just had to give himself a chance.

But now wasn't the time for a deep analysis of his moral compass because right, now he was drifting to sleep on his boyfriend's shoulder in an uncomfortable hospital chair, Will Byers was okay, the Demogorgon (whatever that was) was dead, and everything was going to be okay. Maybe now he could have a somewhat normal last two years of high school. God forbid something like this happens again. He needed a break from everything, monsters and missing kids alike. He just wanted to live out the rest of his years in Hawkins in peace before going off to college, hopefully with Steve, in the distant future.

In the quiet franticness of the hospital, Grayson finally fell asleep after what felt like the longest night of his life.

However, just before he fell asleep, he heard Steve whisper something in his ear, something he was always going to remember, something that was hard to forget. "I love you, Grayson. Always have, always will."

Already half-asleep, Grayson smiled to himself, whispering back, "I love you, too. Always have, always will."

Steve grinned, kissing the boy on the forehead softly, "Sweet dreams, Gray."

THE END!

I know this was probably the shortest chapter ever, but come on, that was such a perfect place to end it! Don't worry, there'll be an epilogue! I'm debating on having the epilogue be at Christmas or after the events of season 2, but I'll try and have that up soon, but wow!! this book is finally over!! I had published, unpublished, and published this book roughly a million times and I'm so glad it finally stuck and I was able to finish it! I'm definitely gonna go through and rewrite this eventually, but right now, I'm just gonna relish in the fact that I actually finished something for once! (i've been on wattpad for five years, this account for almost three and this is only the second non-social media fic I've finished so...) thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed Steve and Grayson's story!