HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1983.

STEVE'S CONFUSED SHOUTS WERE drowned out by something crashing through the ceiling.

Tess yelped, her mouth falling open in horror.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!" Steve shouted once more, tugging on Theresa's sleeve.

"Shut up Steve!" she yelled back, smacking his hand away.

Theresa already had a revolver in her hands, with little to no idea how to use it but enough to know how to point and shoot.

After firing multiple times it clearly had no effect on the gray, slimy figure shrieking madly as it came out of the ceiling. Tess finally turned, pushing Steve and Jonathan blindly toward the hall.

"Run run run, go go go," she rushed past them, taking off in a sprint down the hallway. She ushered the two boys into Will's bedroom, slamming the door shut and leaning against it for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Steve ran his hands through his hair. "Oh my God oh my God oh my god! What was that!"

Theresa pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Steve, I really don't have time to explain right now."

His eyes widened even more than they already were, which seemed humanly impossible. "That was t-the– the dragon! The dragon that you said was coming out of my ceiling–"

"What?" Jonathan interrupted with confusion, Tess rolling her eyes.

There was no noise outside of the door now. She listened for a moment longer, yet heard nothing. It was too quiet.

She pushed off of the door at once, stepping closer to Steve and grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. He had no choice but to meet her eyes, which were filled with fire.

"Look," she spat through gritted teeth, "you've got three options here. You can either come out here and help us kill this son of a bitch, you can stay in here and do nothing, or you can leave. Alright? It's up to you."

Releasing him, Theresa turned and pulled a lighter out of her pocket, flicking it a few times before it ignited. She looked over at Jonathan.

"We've gotta go back out there."

He nodded, tightening his grip on the bat in his hands. Steve stood behind them, mumbling things to himself as he tried to reckon whether or not he was going crazy.

Theresa reached for the handle at once, giving Jonathan a look. He nodded, and she turned the knob. As slowly as possible she pulled the door open, holding her breath. The blood in her body was rushing through her ears, giving her a heartbeat all over. Tess took a few steps out into the hallway, the boys following closely behind.

Each step felt like she was walking closer and closer to her own funeral, but Theresa ignored the feeling of impending dreadfulness. There was only one way to get rid of that monster, wherever it had come from, and that was to do it herself.

She stopped at the end of the hallway, leaning against the corner and inhaling a few deep breaths.

Tess quickly moved around the corner, finding nothing in the living room. It gave her a sense of relief, but not for long. Because she knew it was only a matter of time before that Demogorgon came back.

Jonathan let the bat hang at his side.

"Where'd it go?"

Theresa gave a slight shake of her head, keeping her eyes turned up at the ceiling.

"No idea," she vaguely responded.

Steve placed his hands on his hips, almost laughing as he hung his head. "T-This is crazy. This is crazy, this is CRAZY–"

"Then leave!" Tess snapped, turning on him and gesturing toward the door. "Leave while you've still got time, and don't come back! I'm not going to hold it against you, Steve, believe me."

He looked into her eyes, weighing his options. His fear was far greater than his bravery at the moment, and it got the best of him. Steve quickly headed for the door, scrambling to get it open and get the hell out of there.

Theresa was slightly shocked, not thinking he would actually do it. She thought he had at least some courage.

But nonetheless she dismissed it for the time being, because almost as soon as he left the lights began flickering again.

Jonathan tensed up, bringing the bat up once more. Tess glanced over at the coffee table, noticing the can of hairspray that she had grabbed from the bathroom. Quickly, she eased over and snatched it, tightening her grip on the lighter in her opposite hand.

Her heart was pounding out of her chest, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

"Come on," she muttered, turning in a slow circle. "Come on, motherfucker."

The lights went out completely. Theresa tried not to panic and keep her composure, hearing a strange clicking noise behind her.

Taking the smallest steps she circled around, coming face to face with the beast itself. Tess opened her mouth but no noise came out, frozen with fear. The Demogorgon lunged at her, grabbing her, throwing her on the ground. Its face, if it could even be called that, was only inches away from hers, the saliva dripping down onto her face. She could not move, completely pinned by the monster.

"Jonathan!" she shrieked, having no idea where he was.

The Demogorgon began to open up its head, revealing the thousands of sharp teeth inside of it. Tess squeezed her eyes shut, almost beginning to sob. She had not yet accepted that this was going to be how she would die.

But then, the Demogorgon let out a piercing scream and she felt a weight lifted off of her, opening her eyes to see it had gotten off of her. She shot to her feet, peering through the flashing lights to see none other than Steve, taking swing after swing at the monster with Jonathan's bat.

"Steve...?" Theresa frowned briefly with confusion, watching as Steve hit the Demogorgon repeatedly.

Flipping the bat in his hands, Steve took another swing. He was forcing it back into the hallway, where the bear trap was. Theresa looked around on the floor for the lighter and the hairspray, scrambling to pick them up. She dashed over to the hall where Steve and Jonathan were, flicking the lighter multiple times.

"Goddammit," she hissed, striking it once more and finally seeing a flame.

There was a sound of metal snapping, Tess looking up to see that their trap had worked. The Demogorgon's leg was stuck.

"Tess, now!" Jonathan shouted, but she needed no instruction.

Pressing down on the nozzle of hairspray, she held the flame to it and watched as the fire grew, stepping toward the beast which had nowhere to go.

"Die, you son of a bitch!"

It was engulfed by the flames, Tess not letting up until practically the entire hallway was on fire. Jonathan ran to get the fire extinguisher as the Demogorgon squealed in agony.

Steve finally reached in to pulled Theresa back safely while Jonathan extinguished the flames, wrapping his arms around her just to make sure she was there. Tess dropped the can of hairspray, coughing at the smoke that now filled the room. Waving her hand to clear it away, Steve let go of her at once.

Once the smoke cleared, all three of them simultaneously frowned. The Demogorgon had completely disappeared. Not even remains were left; it was gone.

"What the..." Tess trailed off, tilting her head.

"It's gone," Jonathan said at once. "We did it. I-It's gone."

Theresa slowly shook her head. "But we didn't kill it," she replied quietly. "It's still alive. Just hiding."

Her words were still a consolation to Steve and Jonathan, who were both just relieved that it was gone. Tess winced and grabbed her shoulder, feeling pain shoot up through her body. Steve was the first to notice, rushing to her aid.

"Tess, are you alright?"

She gave him a sideways glare, Steve knowing she did not like that question but not really caring in the moment.

"That thing had a hell of a grip," Theresa responded, keeping her hand over her shoulder. She was likely going to need to visit a hospital.

But that was the least of her worries when Tess abruptly remembered that her little brother and his friends were all still at the middle school.

"Oh shit," she spoke aloud. "Lucas and his friends. They're at the school," her eyes widened, brushing past Steve to get to the living room in search of her car keys.

"Tess!" Jonathan called after her, following her into the living room. "Tess, hey, maybe you should take it easy for a sec–"

"You're joking, right?" Theresa cut him off, giving him a deadly glare. Jonathan failed to respond, so Tess continued looking.

She groaned with frustration. "Where the hell are my keys!" Tess exclaimed, throwing up her hands. As she did, she felt pain through her shoulder again and flinched, staggering a bit.

"Hey hey hey, take it easy," Steve quickly darted over, placing an arm around Theresa. He helped her to the couch, Tess reluctantly taking a seat. She was completely drained of energy.

But she would not give up. Theresa looked up at Steve so fast it almost scared him, saying, "Your car. We can take your car."

She tried to stand up but he forced her to sit back down, shaking his head.

"Nuh uh. You're staying here. If we go anywhere, it's gonna be to the hospital."

Tess clenched her jaw, glaring at Steve and then Jonathan.

"I agree with him," Jonathan informed her, nodding at Steve.

Theresa made a sour expression, crossing her arms with a signature eye roll.

"Assholes," she mumbled.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

EXPLAINING A SHOULDER INJURY TO her parents had been difficult enough, but explaining why the police chief came to her house looking for her had been harder.

Two days had passed since the events of that night. Tess had been hospitalized for one night while they made sure she had no fractures or breaks, and then sent home with an amalgamation of pain medications.

They were the best part.

But as soon as Theresa felt up to it, she was out of the bed and making attempts to check in on everyone. She had been wanting to visit the Byers, especially to see how Will was doing. It shocked her when she heard that Hopper and Joyce had found him, alive.

And what hurt even worse was that Priya had not been found.

The fact that she was doped up made Theresa not think about it a lot, but that feeling was still constantly residing in her. A horrible, inexplicable feeling that made her feel like she would burst into tears at any moment.

And then, there was Steve.

Tess had not spoken with him since he brought her to the hospital, and that was the last time she had seen him as well. But that didn't mean Steve had not actively tried to come pay her a visit. The day prior he visited the Sinclair residence, but Theresa told her mother to tell him that she was sleeping.

She wasn't exactly sure why she was nervous to talk to him, but it was mostly because Tess felt guilty. And she felt like such a bitch for the way she had treated him, even if it had not been entirely her fault the whole time.

But Theresa knew, deep down, that he was deserving of so much more than she could give him. And that hurt her a lot more than a dislocated shoulder.

Today was the same thing. There was a knock on Theresa's door. She pushed back the covers and her tray which her lunch sat upon, standing up to answer it.

As Tess opened the door, she suddenly wished she had been pretending to be asleep again. Steve stood there, a bouquet of flowers– dahlias, to be exact– in his hand and a hopeful smile on his face.

"Hi," he greeted, Tess faltering for a moment.

"Hi," she responded at once, unsure of what to do as she stood there.

Steve licked his lips, holding up the bouquet.

"I-I brought you something. You know, I wish it could have been under better circumstances but, uh... here."

He handed the bouquet to her, Theresa quaintly taking it. She involuntarily smiled at the burgundy, pink and white flowers, registering that Steve had actually remembered what she told him.

"They're beautiful," she replied, looking back up at him. "Thank you."

Steve nodded a little, placing his hands in his jacket pockets.

"So..."

Theresa inhaled sharply, turning as she looking for something to use as a vase. Steve walked further into her room while she grabbed an empty mason jar, placing the flowers in it.

"This is the first time I've ever been in your room," he said with realization, looking around.

Tess glanced over at him, trying not to smile again as she set the flowers on her nightstand and climbed back into her bed.

Crossing her legs, she sarcastically replied, "Is it everything you'd dreamed it would be?"

Steve gave a small laugh, approaching her bed and taking a seat on the edge. Theresa watched him, her smile fading.

"How are you doing?" she inquired at once, Steve turning his head to her.

He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he lightly joked, earning a curt laugh from Theresa.

She eyed him. "Seriously, though. You doing alright? Haven't lost your mind, have you?"

Steve shrugged. "It's nothing too serious. You know, you really took one for the team the other night. I... I never would've expected you to do– all of that."

Theresa squinted. "What, did you think I was just gonna run away? There's a reason why I'm not on the track team, Harrington."

He laughed once more, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt beneath his jacket. Steve met her eyes, growing completely serious.

"I'm glad I didn't leave," Steve said, barely above a whisper.

Theresa had the urge to reach out for his hand, but she stopped herself. Maybe it's the pain meds making me feel like this, she reasoned.

"Yeah, me too. Otherwise I would've been a gourmet Demogorgon meal."

"Oh, you think you're gourmet?" Steve retorted, Tess arching an eyebrow.

"You wanna debate that?"

Steve raised his hands in mock surrender, vigorously shaking his head. "Not with you, class president."

She halfway rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her face again. Damn this boy for making her smile so easily.

Tess drew in a breath. "So, what are you gonna do for Christmas? You know, since it's literally a few days away."

"Oh, I don't know," Steve raised his shoulders, shifting a little to face her more. "I haven't put in my wish list to Santa yet."

"Oh yeah? And what are you planning on asking Santa Claus for?" she replied with a small grin.

For us to be back together, Steve thought, then shaking it away.

"A passing grade in Chemistry would be pretty nice."

Theresa raised her eyebrows, retorting, "I don't think he's a miracle worker."

Steve rolled his eyes a little, chuckling softly. Tess shifted slightly, pushing her braids over her shoulder. There was so much she wanted to say to Steve, so many things she did not know if she had the valor to say.

"I'm sorry, again," the words spilled out of Steve's mouth like he could not even help it, already slightly regretting it. But he kept going. "I'm sorry that I've been a complete dick to you because, quite frankly, Tess, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I-I threw it all away just because I saw you talking to Jonathan Byers and got the wrong idea. I mean– why did I not realize how stupid I was being? I guess it's true, what they say," he rambled, looking down. "Love makes you stupid."

Theresa's heart skipped a beat. She slowly tilted her head, blinking a few times to make sure she had heard him correctly.

"L-Love? You said... love?"

Steve did not even register what was so concerning until it hit him, trying to find a way to withdraw his statement. But it was too late, now. The damage had already been done.

He looked into her eyes almost fearfully, afraid of what Tess was going to say.

Finally, he continued, "I've been falling for you for a really long time, Theresa. A really... long time."

Tess had no idea how to respond or react to this statement. She wished she could have been alone in that moment, to at least have some time to gather her thoughts. But what Theresa did know was that she was afraid. And the last thing she wanted to do was give Steve the wrong idea.

"I'm probably not in the best state of mind to be discussing this," she stated, clearing her throat. "Y'know– since I'm high on pain medication right now."

Steve quickly nodded with understanding, breaking eye contact. "Right, right. Yeah, been there. When I hurt my knee during basketball they had me on some really good stuff."

She shared a laugh with him, rubbing her arm habitually. Steve could tell she was wanting him to leave now.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna get going now," he announced, checking his watch.

Theresa nodded a little, watching him stand. She stared at him like she wanted to say something, but nothing would come out of her stupid mouth. She wanted to scream at herself to stop being such an idiot.

"Okay," she quietly replied, offering a small smile.

Steve stood there briefly, then clasped his hands together. "Alright. I-I guess I'll see you later, yeah? I'll bring you some Christmas cookies."

The corners of her lips widened into a slightly bigger smile, nodding.

"Sounds great. See you later."

Steve was in the doorway when Theresa swiftly stood up, getting a head rush from it.

"Steve, wait."

He immediately halted, turning back to her. Tess gulped, her throat feeling dry all of a sudden. She wrung her hands, forcing herself to look up.

"Thank you. F-For basically saving my life. Um, I-I owe it to you."

Steve brushed her off. "Are you kidding? You don't owe me anything Tess. All I want is to see you alive and happy."

Even if it's without me, he thought.

Theresa rubbed her arm again, dropping her head.

"Still. Thank you. And here's hoping we'll never have to do that again, right?"

She and Steve both laughed, but internally they were both begging whatever higher power may have been above that their wish would come true.

Steve smiled softly, letting every feeling that he was having sink in. There were a lot of them.

"Right."

notes.
it's 3am but here's the final chapter of season one <3 entirely too long and surprisingly not as angsty as i thought it was gonna be

theresa absolutely slayed killing that demogorgon, no surprise there💅 she's a og bad bitch, we been knew

so so so excited for season 2, between it and season 4 it's one of my favs and i cannot WAIT for y'all to see everything i have planned. especially for tess and steve as a chaotic exes duo, y'all will love their banter i promise

give me some thoughts and feedback please! comments are so crucial to giving writers inspiration to continue their fics, so i'd really appreciate anything you might want to say <3

i can go ahead and say now that theresa and steve will have their biggest fights during season 2, but bear with me because there's also gonna be sex. so hooray for that

thank you all sm for making it this far with me into the book! my stranger things fixation will not be going anywhere any time soon, so i'm definitely going to try and finish this before summer is over

if you could give theresa any advice, what would it be?