HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1984.

"JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW, IF I SPEND my Sunday setting out bait for a monster and it doesn't show up, I'm gonna be pissed."

Dustin and Steve both gave Theresa a look as she spoke, opening the car door and getting out. They then traded a look with each other, the both of them shaking their heads.

Tess opened her trunk and revealed two bucketfuls of raw meat, a can of gasoline, and lastly, a revolver.

Steve's eyes widened. "Tess, since when do you keep a gun in your trunk? And more importantly– where did you get a gun?"

She rolled her eyes, picking up the two buckets in each hand and setting them on the ground.

"Jonathan gave it to me. For protection."

Steve stood there, dumbstruck as Theresa picked up the gun and checked the chamber for bullets, then proceeded to reload it with the case of bullets which were also in her trunk.

Dustin was growing annoyed with Steve's gawking, smacking him on the arm and drawing him out of his trance.

"Dude. Help me."

Steve obliged, reaching down with a yellow gloved hand to pick up one of the buckets. He had his bat tucked away in his backpack, looking as if he were preparing for some post-apocalyptic war.

"Dustin!" A voice came out of nowhere, Theresa realizing it was coming from Dustin's walkie-talkie.

"Dustin!" the voice repeated. "Do you copy? This is Lucas. Dustin?"

"Well well well," Dustin replied sourly, "look who it is."

Lucas sighed. "Sorry man, my stupid sister turned it off."

"Don't call Erica stupid!" Tess called from behind Dustin, causing confusion on Lucas' end.

"Tess? Are you with Dustin?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah. We're looking for Dustin's pet Demogorgon so we can kill it."

"What? Dart escaped?" Lucas replied with disbelief.

Steve made a face. "Dart? What is– don't tell me you named it."

Dustin ignored him, responding to Lucas. "Look, I'll explain later. Just meet me, Tess and Steve at the old junkyard."

"Steve?"

"And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket."

Lucas reeled back. "Steve Harrington?"

Theresa gave an eye roll, slamming her trunk shut.

"Just hurry up, twerp!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     THERESA WAS ABOUT TO LOSE HER mind.

Between Steve and Dustin, there was not much helping her stay sane. Especially with the conversations they were having, which were mostly just stupid and pointless.

"So let me get this straight," Steve said, littering chunks of beef on the ground as he walked along the abandoned railroad track. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who... who you just met?"

"Sounds like something you'd do," Tess muttered, kicking at leaves with her arms folded.

Steve shot her a look, narrowing his eyes.

"Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying things," Dustin defended.

Shaking his head, Steve continued, "I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?"

"An inter-dimensional slug?" Dustin laughed. "Because it's awesome."

Theresa tilted her head, sharing a look with Steve.

"He's got a point."

Steve fought the urge to roll his eyes again. "Well, even if she thought it was cool, which– she didn't– I just... I don't know, I feel like you're trying way too hard man."

Tess stifled a laugh, covering it up by clearing her throat. Steve eyed her, then continued dumping meat chunks on the ground.

"Well not everyone can have perfect hair, alright?" Dustin mumbled with irritation.

"It's not about the hair, man," Steve quickly responded. "The key with girls is just... just acting like you don't care."

Theresa looked up at Steve, raising her eyebrows. Her mouth fell open, a cynical laugh coming out.

"Oh really?"

Steve seemed to have forgotten she was there, stumbling over his words as he tried to backtrack.

"I-I mean, um– I meant like– with kids his age," Steve nodded, Theresa nodding back sarcastically.

"Mhm..."

"Yeah. Middle schoolers, they're just– all sorts of weird. You know?"

Tess nodded slowly, tilting her head back.

"Definitely."

Steve scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how well his recovery had been.

"You've said a lot of stupid shit, Steve, but that one– that one wins."

Theresa inhaled sharply, looking to Dustin. "Let me give you some advice from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. Girls don't want assholes," she glanced at Steve, "they want a boy who actually acts interested in the things they have to say. Who actually cares about other things besides... physical relations."

Dustin nodded slowly, absorbing this information.

Steve contorted his face. "That is the biggest bullshit I've ever heard. You and I both know that is not true."

Theresa gave him a daring look. "Excuse me?"

"See, no, this is why you don't take advice from girls. They tell you that's what they want and it ends up being the exact opposite of what they really want."

"You are such a liar," Tess exclaimed, her eyes widening at Steve's audacity. "And I take back what I said a second ago. That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say."

She walked ahead of the two boys, huffing to herself as they both watched her. Dustin looked up at Steve, who did not seem very fazed.

"I think you blew it," Dustin whispered to him.

Steve shook his head, casually throwing out more meat. "Nah. Like I was saying, sometimes you've gotta make them mad. And then you swoop in with an apology, even if you didn't do anything wrong, maybe throw some flowers in there too. Trust me," Steve looked down at Dustin. "Works every time."

His eyes traveled to Theresa, pursing his lips.

"Well... almost every time."

They arrived at the junkyard after what felt like endless hours of walking, Theresa's feet aching as she stood there.

Steve scanned his eyes over the yard, pulling his teeth over his bottom lip.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, this'll do."

Tess turned her head to him, forcing a smile. "Can we hurry this up, please?"

Pulling off his sunglasses, Steve began walking down the slope. Theresa refused to touch raw meat, so she let him and Dustin handle that part while she took care of the gasoline. Fire was more suited to her liking.

"Guys!"

Looking up, she saw Lucas waving an arm as he came toward them with Max beside him. Tess smiled to herself, continuing to pour gasoline.

Steve watched her from afar, stacking tables against the abandoned bus in the junkyard. He stepped away and brushed his hands off on his jeans, walking over to her.

"Need a lighter?" he asked, offering one out of his pocket.

She straightened up, putting her hands on her hips as she tilted her head to the side.

"No," she replied sweetly with a smile, walking away from him.

Steve slowly exhaled, placing his lighter back in his pocket. She would come around in a little while; he had faith.

"Guys!" Theresa snapped at Dustin and Lucas, who seemed to be having some sort of secret conversation behind an old car. She banged against the side of it, startling them both.

"What the hell are you doing? Get your asses up and help."

They both rolled their eyes at her, Tess walking away. She checked the time on her watch, seeing that they would be losing daylight soon.

Once the old bus looked like a very poor makeshift fortress, they all loaded inside. Theresa was not a fan of hanging around such dingy places, but she supposed the situation was dire enough for her to try and ignore the uncleanliness.

She sat in the seat across from Steve, moving her foot from side to side on her heel with boredom. Max looked between the two of them, recalling what Lucas had told her.

"So– you guys really fought one of these things before?" she questioned, both of them looking up at her.

"Yeah," Tess replied, Steve nodding.

Max folded her arms. "And you're like– totally a hundred percent sure it wasn't a bear?"

"Shit, don't be an idiot, okay, it wasn't a bear," Dustin snapped, Max giving him a look of surprise. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."

Theresa raised her eyebrows, Max standing up with a huff and stepping toward the ladder at the center of the bus.

"Jeez, someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?"

Max climbed up the ladder while Dustin paced, Tess and Steve watching the exchange from where they sat.

"That's good," Steve remarked approvingly. "Just show her you don't care."

Tess closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of the nose.

"Will you just shut up already?" she sighed.

Steve turned his head to her. "Why, are you mad that I was actually right? Come on, admit it. I was right about the whole girl thing, because girls go nuts when you're an ass. It's simple science."

She laughed loudly in disbelief, sitting up straighter. "Do you even hear yourself right now? Like– you're truly starting to convince me that you do not know shit about women."

Steve smirked. "Look at you, getting all worked up. It's okay, Tess, you can admit that you're wrong–"

"Up yours, Harrington."

Steve snickered to himself, meeting her eyes. She sat back and folded her arms crossly, sending him a sharp glare. Dustin was still standing there, a witness to their entire spat. He couldn't tell if they hated each other or were in love with each other.

"Are you guys... dating? Or–"

Dustin was interrupted by a piercing shriek from outside, all three of them scrambling to their feet. Steve and Dustin peered out of a small open, Theresa finally pushing her way between them.

"Move, let me see."

Both boys grumbled, Tess peering outside. She did not see anything, although it was a bit difficult to in the darkness.

"Lucas!" Theresa called to her brother. "See anything?"

"Hold on!"

She drew in a breath, keeping her eyes peeled while waiting for a response.

"I've got eyes!" Lucas continued. "Ten o'clock, ten o'clock!"

The three at the bottom of the bus looked closer, finally able to distinguish a figure in the darkness. It was definitely bigger than what Theresa was expecting.

"What's it doing?" Steve questioned, puzzled. "Why's he not taking the bait?"

"Maybe he's not hungry," Dustin suggested.

Theresa knew what it was, though. Demogorgons craved blood, fresh meat. They wanted something more than beef.

They wanted humans.

She tapped her foot rapidly, moving back and standing up straight. Tess reached in the inside of her jacket, pulling out her revolver. With a click, Steve and Dustin turned to her, wide-eyed.

"Tess, what do you think you're doing?" Steve warily asked, standing up.

Theresa pursed her lips, taking a few steps closer to him. She reached in Steve's pocket, her fingers curling around his lighter and withdrawing it.

"It doesn't want animal meat. It wants a person."

Steve began to shake his head. "Are you crazy? No, no way. You're not going out there."

She ignored him, walking to the front of the bus. "Well that's just too bad, isn't it? Are you coming with me or not?"

He stared at her, swearing under his breath.

"Tess, no. I'm not letting you–"

"Steve, I don't care. I have a gun in my hands right now, so if it comes down to it, I'll be the only one going out there if I have to."

They had a brief stare down, Steve knowing he would not win this battle. The only thing he could do was try and protect her when they went out there.

"Goddammit," he muttered, looking around for his bat. Picking it up, Steve followed Theresa as she slowly pushed open the door.

Clutching the gun tightly in her hand, she stepped off of the bus and turned her head slowly. Steve drew in a shaky breath, flipping his bat.

"I'll shoot, and you beat the shit out of it," Theresa uttered quietly. "Sound like a plan?"

Steve made a face. "Sounds like we might get killed."

She shrugged, squinting through the layer of thick fog coating the ground.

"I'm one for zero right now."

There was a low growl emitted from beyond the fog in front of them, the pair both stopping and steadying themselves.

Max came down from the top of the bus, joining Dustin.

"What the hell are they doing?" Max questioned, watching them through the opening.

"Expanding the menu," Dustin explained.

Lucas shook his head incredulously, still watching from up above. He could not believe that was his sister.

"They're crazy," Max said with a shake of her head.

"They're awesome," Dustin gawked with a smile.

With his binoculars, Lucas suddenly noticed something move behind Theresa and Steve. There was a second creature, prowling closer to the two.

"Three o'clock!" Lucas shrieked, his voice cracking as he tried to warn Tess and Steve. "Tess, Steve! Three o'clock!"

Theresa turned, her eyes slowly growing larger as she laid eyes on more Demogorgons. Tons more.

"Holy shit," she choked out, hitting Steve blindly on the arm. "Steve, we gotta go. We've gotta go, go!"

One of the Demogorgons squealed, charging at them without warning. Tess ducked out of the way while it ran at Steve, him rolling over a car and swinging the bat just in time to make contact with one. She put her finger around the trigger of her revolver, pointing at one and firing.

"Steve, come on!" Tess ran over and grabbed him by the arm, sprinting to the bus. He just barely made it in time, slamming the door shut and reaching for a metal panel to barricade it.

Theresa panted, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what the hell they were going to do.

There was not much time to think when the bus began to rattle, the force of the Demogorgons hitting against it and trying to get in.

"Is anyone there?" Dustin yelled into his walkie-talkie, "Does anyone copy? We are in the old junkyard and we are going to die!"

One of the creatures made it through just then, Steve taking a swing with his bat. Theresa brought the gun up, targeting its head. She hit her mark and Steve smacked it repeatedly a few more times until it was dead.

They did not have a chance to celebrate, however, because there was another one on the roof. The group all raised their heads, watching it plant dents in the metal as it inched closer to the opening. Theresa cocked the gun, waiting. She was ready, coming face to face with the ugly beast. Max finally saw it fully, letting out a scream as Tess moved her out of the way. Steve came running to her side, raising his bat as the Demogorgon above them began to unhinge its mouth.

Before Theresa could shoot, the Demogorgon abruptly stopped, sharply turning itself in the other direction. It roared at something none of them could see, jumping off the top of the bus and running away.

She frowned, wildly perplexed.

"What just happened?"

They opened the door of the bus, stepping out one by one. It had gone completely quiet, the only sound being crickets chirping.

"Steve and Tess scared them off?" Dustin suggested.

"No, no way," Steve shook his head, placing his bat over his shoulder and turning his head to them.

"They're going somewhere."

notes.
i had to get up at 6am on a saturday to work... i hate it here 👎

THERESA & STEVE ARE A POWER COUPLE 🗣 no one can tell me otherwise

the way they've adopted three children, soon to be four, and will get married and live happily ever after on a farm 😁 one can dream, right

their bantering in this chapter was SO fucking funny to me LMAO, they're lowkey funny as hell even if they aren't a couple

dustin is the true captain of the theresa & steve ship, and he will guarantee that it sails 🫡

favorite thing steve has said to theresa?