— NEVER WOULD'VE THOUGHT
season two — episode six

CHAPTER SIX

      NEVER IN A MILLION years would Oliver had thought that he was going to be monster hunting with the king of the school — Steve Harrington. On top of that, he was with three other kids. This wasn't how he expected to spend his Saturday night.

      The once blue sky that faded into soft shades of pink and orange was now completely dark. The stars illuminated the sky, but they were way too far to cast down light. The only light that was around them was from the moon.

      Oliver was still seated on the driver's seat, feet still propped up as he twirled his knife around his fingers, careful not to accidentally cut himself. The five of them had been waiting for around an hour already and it was starting to get boring. Oliver was starting to think that maybe they had lied to him.

      Oliver turned around when he heard the creak of metal and watched as the bottom half of Lucas' body disappears to the top of the bus. He blinked slowly and turned back around, ignoring the quite annoying clicking of Steve's lighter. Max had taken a seat at the very back of the bus, arms crossed over her chest as she started to lose hope and Dustin was pacing back and forth. Oliver was so close to smacking him.

      Max stared at the back of Steve's head for a quick moment before she started a small conversation. "So you really fought one of these things before?" Oliver shifted in his seat so that he was now sitting criss-crossed and facing Steve. Steve felt his gaze and turned to him, making sure that Max could see him nodding his head with nothing else said. Oliver leaned the side of his head against the back of the seat, messy hair falling over his eyes. "And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?" Max asked, just wanting to make sure that she wasn't crazy.

      Annoyed, Dustin turned to her and rolled his eyes. "Shit. Don't be an idiot. Okay? It wasn't a bear." Taken aback, Max craned her neck, staring at him in shock. Steve and Oliver shared a look, however it seemed like Steve had a totally different idea than Oliver. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home." Max shook her head and pushed herself off of the seat she was on.

      "Geesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" She asked him before she climbed up the old ladder onto the top of the bus. Oliver couldn't help but snicker at the words. Steve pushed his tongue to the inside of his cheek with a smirk on his face as he stared at Dustin. "That's good. Just show her you don't care."

      Dustin stopped walking and turned to him, disbelief and almost. . . disgust on his face. "I don't." Was all he said. Steve looked at him with a raised eyebrow before winking horribly at him. Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose as a small smile tugged at his lips. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop." Steve only shrugged and continued to flick his lighter.

      Oliver peeled back a thin piece of metal that covered the windshield and peeked through the small hole he had created. Fog hovered over the dry grass and honestly, it just looked gloomy out there. He frowned and shoved his knife back into his pocket, fixing the piece of metal.

      He leaned back into his seat and let his arm rest on his stomach, the other one hanging loosely at his side. He was starting to feel tired and bored. He just wanted to be in the comfort of his own bed while he read Pet Sematary or any other Stephen King book that he had lying around his bedroom.

      From the side, Steve slowly turned toward Oliver, eyes unconsciously scanning his face and his hair. There was something about him. . . something — something that reeled him in. He wanted to get to know Oliver, be his friend. But at the same time, he felt something for him that he usually didn't feel for anyone. It was like. . . he wanted to be more than just friends? Best friends, maybe. But that seriously didn't explain the feeling he felt in his stomach whenever he managed to make him smile or laugh. Every time he saw his perfect smile and his small dimple, he felt like he was walking on clouds. He tore his gaze away from him when his head rolled to the side a little, now showcasing Steve in his peripheral vision.

      He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Steve's head turn so quickly and looked over at him. However, there he was, still flicking his lighter like he hadn't ever stopped. He shook his head, thinking that maybe he had just seen things, and closed his eyes, lashes tickling his cheeks ever-so-slightly. "Are we sure that this thing is going to show up? It's been an hour." Oliver pointed out, a frown on his face.

      As if hearing his complaint, a low growl tore through the air, sending shivers down his spine. All at once, Oliver, Steve, and Dustin rushed over to the right side of the bus, peering out into the dark atmosphere. However, when they looked, there was nothing there. Just the fog and the dreary night sky. "You see him?" Dustin asked, giving Steve a quick glance. Said boy only shook his head, eyes scanning the area around them. "No." He answered. Oliver bit down on his lip and squinted, trying to get a better look at whatever was going on a little farther.

      "Lucas, what's going on?" Dustin shouted, moving his head so that his voice reached Lucas more clearly. "Hold on!" If Oliver had to guess, he would say that he was currently looking through his binoculars, trying to see if he could catch sight of the supposed 'baby Demogorgon' that they had been speaking of. It was silent for a few seconds. "I've got eyes! Ten o'clock. Ten — Ten o'clock!" Oliver looked in the direction he yelled out and felt goosebumps rise on his arms when he saw a creature hunched over, walking on all four legs.

      That was definitely not a bear. Steve pointed it out to Dustin — who was still desperately looking for the creature he had once called his pet. "What's he doing?" He asked, watching as the thing stood only in one spot, only moving a few inches back or forth. "I don't know," Steve muttered, eyebrows furrowed.

      "He's not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?" Steve questioned. Dustin only shrugged as an answer, not really knowing what else to say. "Maybe he's not hungry." However, a different thought ran through Steve's mind. Oliver knew he was thinking something when his face fell and he slowly started to rise. "Maybe he's sick of cow."

      Once at his full height, he locked eyes with Dustin before looking over at Oliver, eyes meeting for a moment longer. "Steve? Steve, what are you doing?" Dustin asked as he watched the male pick up a bat that was armored by a whole bunch of nails. Steve tossed his lighter over to Dustin. "Jus get ready." Dustin fumbled with the lighter, the piece of metal almost falling out of his hands as he watched Steve move toward the door.

      "No way. If you're going then so am I." Oliver said, quickly moving in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest. Steve sighed and let his head hand, a few strands of his hair falling into his face. "Listen—." Oliver shook his head and dug his knife out of his pocket, waving it in front of his face with an annoyed smile. "I'm going. End of discussion." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose before rubbing the back of his neck. He knew there was no way that he could convince him not to go. If he had learned anything about Oliver over the past few days it was the fact that he was very stubborn.

      "Fine. Stay behind him." He grabbed him by his shoulder and pushed him behind him, shielding him with his own body before they slid the creaky old door open, venturing out into the cold October weather. Steve twirled his bat, looking for the monster that had once been at least a few feet away from the pile of gasoline-soaked meat in the center of the junkyard.

      Oliver flicked his knife open, the blade shining under the moon as he also scanned the area, eyes moving frantically as if in case something else showed up. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he truly felt like something was wrong.

      Steve started to trudge toward the creature, a quick whistle escaping his lips. "Come on, buddy." He muttered, his voice seeming loud from how quiet it was, but he would've been considered quiet in a louder atmosphere. He whistled once more, swinging his bat at his side. "Come on. Dinner time." Oliver pursed his lips as he looked at Steve like he was crazy.

      "Human tastes better than cat, I promise." At that, Oliver smacked him in his arm, eyes never leaving the monster in front of them. They took a few steps closer and as they did, the fog surrounding the monster cleared away momentarily, allowing the two of them to get a good look at it. And, by God, it was terrifying.

      "Steve, Oliver, watch out!" Oliver froze when he suddenly felt like something was watching him from behind, slowly turning his head. Steve still looked ahead, not being bothered to listen to what Lucas was saying at that moment. "A little busy here!" When Oliver had fully turned around, the first thing — or things — he saw was two more of those creepy little monsters looking at them like they were ready to eat. "Fuck. Steve—."

      "Three o'clock! Three o'clock!" Steve quickly turned around and was met by the same sight. Oliver's grip on his knife tightened so much that his knuckles were starting to turn white. "Steve." He grabbed ahold of his shoulder and swallowed thickly, letting out a shallow breath. Behind them, the bus door creaked open, a panicked Dustin holding it open.

      "Steve! Oliver! Abort! Abort!" Oliver wasted no time. His hand moved down to one of Steve's, prying it off of his bat before he intertwined their fingers, yanking him in the direction of the bus. Behind them, he heard a growl and looked back, shoving Steve out of the way when one of them started to run toward them. It jumped up and tried to jump onto Oliver, but he swung his knife before it had the chance. He felt someone tugging on him and he stumbled over his feet before he started running again, the monster that the had just sliced was still capable of fighting.

      "Shit!" He said through heavy breaths, turning so that he could run faster. As soon as they got near the door, he felt something graze his leg. He hissed in pain when his leg started to sting and he kicked frantically, shaking off one of the monster's claws. He looked down at his leg, watching as blood started to fall onto his shoes and then onto the ground. He felt someone wrap their arms around him and pull him into the bus, the door slamming shut soon after.

      Now cradled between Steve's legs, his arms still wrapped around him — which was the only thing holding him up — Oliver grabbed a piece of metal from the windshield and placed it over the door, ignoring the severe pain that he was feeling in his leg. Steve used his feet to try and help him keep the metal on the door, but they were already tearing their way through it. Carefully, Steve moved Oliver out of the way and started the swing his bat, hitting the creatures with the side that had the most nails. "Is anyone there? Mike? Will? God! Anyone!" Dustin shouted frantically into his headset.

   Max screamed and Oliver turned, quickly pulling himself onto his feet, limping over to where she was, pushing her behind him as another one tried to scratch its way through the bus. "We're at the old junkyard and we are going to die!" Oliver let out a few panicked breaths, hands shaking as he looked back down at his leg. More blood.

       He just knew that he was going to feel like he was dying when the adrenaline finally wore off. "Shit." He muttered, squeezing his shut before shaking his head. He knelt down, ignoring how badly the movement hurt his leg, and sliced the monster that was near them.

      He heard clanging from above and looked up just as Max did, a creature hanging right above her head. Terrified, and rightfully so, she screamed. Oliver would've helped her, but he was couldn't move. His leg was killing him. Steve took matters into his own hands and rushed over, moving Max out of the way as he shoved his bat up at the monster. "Out of the way! Out of the way! You want some? Come get this!" All of a sudden, the creature tore it's gaze away from Steve and looked toward the direction of the railroad.

      All at once, it seemed like all of them had been called away by someone, something. They all ran off, not sparing any of the disheveled teenagers a glance. The bus shook as they did and Oliver winced, clasping his hands around his wound.

      As quietly as possible, the four that were unscathed walked over to the door, slowly sliding it open. Steve peeked out first and furrowed his eyebrows when he realized that they were actually gone. "What happened?" Lucas questioned, peeking out from his side.

While they were doing whatever the hell it was they were doing, Oliver glanced down at his clothes, lifting up his hoodie. He gripped the shirt he had on underneath and placed it between his teeth, tearing off a large piece of the shirt. He frowned at the ripped piece of fabric in his hands before shaking his head, looking back down at his wound. He rolled up his pant leg and bit down on his lip when he finally saw just how bad it was. It didn't seem like it was too deep, which was good, but it was quite long. He took in a deep breath before he wrapped the piece of fabric around it, being able to wrap it around two times before he was forced to tie it. He winced at the sudden pressure on the wound but shook it off, rolling his pant leg back down just as Steve came running toward him.

"You idiot." He knelt in front of him, worry written all over his face. "This is why I didn't want you going out there." He looked down at the makeshift bandaid that Oliver had made and frowned, hovering his hand over his leg. Oliver smiled softly at how worried he seemed and quickly wiped his hands onto his jeans, watching as the blood soon faded from his palms. "I mean, seriously. I tried to keep you on the bus, but you wanted to go out anyway. Now look at where we are. Holy shit, you're going to bleed—." When he realized that there was now only dried blood on his hands, he grabbed ahold of Steve's face, forcing him to look at him as he continued to ramble on about how stupid he was for going out there.

"Steve." He stopped mid-sentence, his voice getting stuck in his throat when he saw how close the two of them were. He was so close to Oliver that he could count all of his freckles right then if he wanted to — and if they had time. "I'm fine, okay? I promise." Steve's cheeks started to heat up under his touch and his eyes flickered down to his lips so quickly that Oliver didn't even notice it. "Let's get out of here so I can treat it properly, though." Steve nodded quickly and stood up, Oliver's hands falling into his before he pulled him up, wrapped an arm around his waist to help him stand.

"Holy shit! Are you okay?" Dustin asked quickly, rushing over to where the two of them were standing, backpack slung over only one of his shoulders. "Fine, Dustin. Just dandy." He told him monotonously, staring at him with an 'are you serious' kind of look. He might've told Steve that he was fine, but he had only done that to keep him from freaking out. Max and Lucas stood close behind him, eyes darting between the bloodied floor of the bus, his wound, and the grip that Steve had on Oliver.

"Come on, guys. We should get going." Steve told the kids, pushed through them with a limping Oliver stuck at his hip. The three younger teens behind them shared the same look, small smiles on their faces. They knew. They 100% knew.

"Let's go!" Steve shouted once he realized they weren't following him. They quickly scrambled after them, making their way to the abandoned railroad once again.

Eventually, walking got a lot easier for Oliver and he no longer needed to lean against Steve for help. Of course, Steve was sort of bummed out by this for some reason. . . he just didn't understand why he felt so upset. "You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin fron his spot next to Max. Dustin nodded almost immediately and began to explain how he knew that it was indeed his old pet. "Yes. He had the sane exact yellow pattern on his butt."

      Max furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, her hair moving with her. "He was tiny two days ago." She said, wondering how he could've grown so much in so little time. "Well, he's molted three times already."

      "Malted?"

      "Molted." Dustin corrected Steve, not even bothering to look over at him. Oliver still stayed near at least one of them, just in case his leg decided to turn against him. "Shed his skin to make for growth like hornworms." He explained and Steve nodded his head, turning his flashlight to look into the woods on his right.

     "When's he gonna molt again?" Max asked, moving quicker so that she got closer to the group, Lucas copying her actions. "It's gotta be soon." Dustin replied, shrugging his shoulders. "When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. And so will his friends." Oliver bit on his lip when he thought about how much more terrifying it would be if it got any bigger.

      He wondered how many more of them there were. There were at least five attacking them at the junkyard, so their had to have been more, right? Or was he just overthinking? "Yeah and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." Steve added and Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling that Dustin had left that part out of the story for a reason. As if proving his point, Lucas stopped Dustin from walking any further. "Wait, a cat?" He asked him, eyebrows knit together. "Dart ate a cat?"

      "No, what? No." Steve, who didn't seem the grasp the concept of Dustin not wanting Lucas to know something, started to add something else. "What are you talking about? He ate Mews." Max furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at Steve, her hair flying over one of his shoulders. "Mews? Who's Mews?"

      "It's Dustin's cat." He said and Oliver smacked him upside the head. Steve hissed and cupped his hand over the nape of his neck, massaging it softly. "Steve!" Dustin shouted, upset that he had just spewed all of that out. Lucas shoved Dustin on the shoulder, causing him to stumble back. "I knew it! You kept him!" He shouted and Oliver frowned. Was it really the wisest idea to be shouting at each other right after they had been attacked by dog-lizard things that were now possibly roaming around?

      "No!" Dustin quickly denied, but Lucas didn't believe him one bit. "No. No, I. . . No, I. . ." Defeated, he sighed and began to tell the truth. "He missed me. He wanted to come home." Oliver raised an eyebrow at that, turning to look at him. It seemed like Lucas had read his mind because he said the same thing he was thinking. "Bullshit!"

Oliver and Steve exchanged looks, knowing where this was going to lead. They were probably going to get into a never-ending fight that just consisted of them bickering back and forth. Oliver sighed and brought his hands up in front of him, looking at the blood that had dried around his nails. "I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?" Dustin quickly defended, throwing his hands up as if trying to proof that he was being truthful, and he was.

"Oh, so now you admit it?" Max huffed from her spot next to them and crossed her arms over her chest. "Guys, who cares? We have to go." She pleaded, not wanting to spend another second out in the cold if she didn't have to. Oliver didn't blame her. "I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" Lucas shouted at Dustin.

In disbelief, Dustin stared at him. "So did you!" Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and turned to him, head tilted to the side in confusion. "What?" Oliver let his head hang as he ran a hand through his tangled hair — which had previously been in fine shape. He bit down on his lip and looked back up just as Dustin began to explain how Lucas had in fact put the party in danger. "You told a stranger," he pointed his flashlight in Max's direction, causing her to squint at the sudden brightness being shoved in her face, "the truth!"

"A stranger?" Max scoffed, walking forward, a little offended. Lucas chuckled and gave Dustin a sarcastic smile, pointing over at Oliver. "Don't get started on that when you told someone the truth, too!" Oliver had everyone's eyes on him now, but not for long. He let out a breath when everyone looked away from him and turned around, facing the long line of trees behind him.

"Technically, it was Steve who wanted to tell him." Lucas shook his head and threw his arms up, giving him a crazed look. "That doesn't matter!"

Rolling his eyes, Steve turned around to, eyes fixated on the forest when he suddenly heard a distant growl. He turned to Oliver to make sure he wasn't going crazy, only to prove that he wasn't when he gave him a look. A concerned one. "Guys." The teenagers behind them continued to bicker, not paying Steve any mind.

Annoyed, Oliver turned on his heel. "Guys!" They all turned around, slightly terrified of how low his voice had sounded. They looked in the direction of the screeching, a few of them sharing a look, their argument already long forgotten. Steve swung his bat over his shoulder and started to run into the forest, Lucas and Dustin not far behind.

"No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Max asked, stepping onto a rail as she watched them run. Oliver shook his head and pulled his knife out of his pocket. "Fucking idiots." He murmured before nodding his head toward the direction of the sound, giving Max a soft smile. "Shit." She mumbled before the two of them quickly followed after them — well, as quickly as someone with an injured leg could.

Making their way through the dim and foggy forest, they came out of the other end faster than Oliver had expected. They reached the edge of a cliff and stopped, trying to catch any sight of those utterly terrifying creatures. "I don't see them." Lucas brought his binoculars up to his face, turning his head until his caught sight of something.

"It's the lab." Oliver furrowed his eyebrows and turned to him, if there was a stronger word for confused, that would be what he was feeling at that moment. "The lab?" He asked, looking between the other three that were with him. They seemed to disregard him as Lucas lowered the binoculars that rested on the bridge of his nose. "They were going back home."

"Okay, you obviously didn't tell me the whole story. What the hell is the lab?" He asked no one in particular, waiting for them to answer him. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as they started to head toward a hill, carefully walking down it. "Hello?"

Dustin shook his head and slowed his pace, allowing Oliver to catch up with him. "The lab is where those things are from. The people there did experiments and stuff and created weapons." He raised an eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look, biting down on his lip for what felt like the tenth time. It was definitely going to be sore by the end of the night. "Weapons? What kind of weapons?"

"Human weapons. People who can do stuff with their minds." Oliver stopped walking and stared at him. He scoffed and shook his head. This was too much for one night. He should've declined their offer. "We used to be friends with one of the weapons which is the only reason why we know about this stuff."

"Okay? Yeah, alright. Cool. Holy shit." He mumbled, rubbing his hands over his faces. Steve smiled softly from behind him, remembering how he had almost had the exact same reaction when he learn about this stuff. "Her name was Eleven. We called her El. She helped us find Will when he went missing for those few weeks. You know, Will Byers." Oliver slowly nodded, remembering the story. The kid went missing and his body was found in a lake, but he had somehow come back to life.

"Truth is, Will went missing in a place that's like ours except it's completely opposite. Like everything is dark and cold." Oliver raised his eyebrows and blinked furiously, setting a hand on the top of his head as he nodded. "Right. . ."

"Don't worry. It gets easier to accept after a while." Steve said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze with a soft smile. Oliver turned to him and nodded, giving him a forced and awkward smile. "Hello? Who's there?" Oliver jerked his head in the direction that they were walking when he heard a voice erupt through the air.

"Who's there?" The group of five erupted from the trees and were immediately met face-to-face with Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers. The two of them furrowed their eyebrows at the sight of Steve Harrington and three kids. But most importantly, they didn't expect to see someone so bloody. "Steve?"

"Nancy?" Steve questioned, locking eyes with the female in front of him. They started walking again and Oliver sighed, feeling like he was going to collapse if he walked any farther. Steve noticed this and stopped, backing up before wrapping an arm around his waist, helping him walk to them. "Jonathan." Dustin said, almost in relief.

The two other teenagers met them halfway. "What are you doing here?" She questioned, her voice sounding like a mother who was about to scold you. "What are you doing here?" Steve said, moving his flashlight down so that he didn't shine it in their faces.

"We're looking for Mike and Will." Oliver turned his head to look at the lab. An uneasy feeling arose in his stomach the second he did. This place just seemed way too creepy. "They're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, worry for his friends evident in his voice.

Oliver moved his foot so that he wasn't putting as much weight on it and turned his body, now facing the lab completely. Steve's arm stayed still as he moved and now had his arm wrapped around his stomach. "We're not sure." Nancy said, glancing at Jonathan momentarily. "Why?" Jonathan asked them.

As if hearing his question, a screech erupted through the air, causing the rest of them to turn toward the lab. And they knew exactly why they had asked that now.

ah yes, injuries, the things that brings couples together