Really? ||Steve Harrington x Female Reader||

The Mall Rats

"So? How did Dustin's party go?"

"Good," I answered, pulling the car door shut behind me. "A little hectic, but it all worked out." I recounted the events of yesterday, starting from letting El take some of my makeup up to Will leaving to go home. I wanted to tell Steve about the Russian radio, but I knew that was something Dustin would be ecstatic to tell Steve about, and after everything that happened yesterday, I thought it might be enough to cheer him up.

"So, this Sarah girl-"

"Suzie," I corrected.

"Right, Suzie. Do you think she's..." Steve trailed off, but I knew exactly what he was getting at.

"Yes, I do think she's real," I flatly stated. "I don't think Dustin would spend twelve hours walking, setting it up, and calling out to space if nobody was on the other side." Starcourt came into view, it's white walls and neon signs standing out against the pale blue background. "Plus, Dustin wouldn't lie about something like that."

"He did lie about that demogorgon last year," Steve reminded.

"Yeah, but that's different."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

Steve pulled into the nearly-empty parking, a result of arriving thirty minutes before the mall opened. We walked in together, Steve wearing his sailor outfit, me wearing my regular clothes.

"You look like such a dork," I laughed, holding the door open for him.

"Trust me, Robin reminds me about it daily," he spat, "even though she wears the exact same thing!"

"Yeah, but hers just... fits her."

"What, is mine too small?"

"No," I chuckled. "She just fits the vibe more."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Whatever you want it to mean," I laughed, parting ways with Steve to open the overly expensive lingerie store. After I unlocked the chain wall, I worked my way to the back and clocked in. I quietly chuckled as I read over the times on my card. It boasted long hours when, in reality, I'd worked barely over an hour last week.

The light above me flickered, casting long shadows across the floor.

That's weird, I thought. They replaced this light a week ago-

Shivers ran up my spine, making me pause. I froze, terrified what would happen if I shut my eyes.

I waited for the feeling to go away, but it only grew in intensity. My eyes, becoming dry from staying open so long, blinked, and I was back in that hellish place.

Instead of standing in a decaying store, I stood in the middle of a field, cleanly picked away aside from the rare rotting crop.

"What the hell," I muttered. Something snapped in the distance. My head whipped that way, trying to find something, trying to find it.

Thunder cracked across the sky, and that's when I saw it. It's dark silhouette standing in front of the red sky. But as soon as the thunder left, so did the shadow.

I looked around me, just to make sure it didn't move, but I couldn't find it. It was like it wasn't even there in the first place.

I blinked again, and it was all gone. I was back in Lovelace, my timecard still in my hand, but now, the light remained steady.

"Mall opens in ten minutes!" the intercom announced. "I repeat, the mall opens in ten minutes!"

I forced myself to switch mindsets, forget the experience, and get back to work. There would be a time when I could sit down and actually think about the whole thing, but now wasn't the time. Especially with this secret message we had on hand.