Dark Phoenix: Into The Stranger Verse (Stranger Things)

CHAPTER 16

Chapter 16: An Expansion of Potential

DUSTIN'S breathing picked up, his eyes squeezed shut as he grew tired of his own repetitive words. "Code red, I repeat, code red. Does anyone copy? This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. This is a code red, I repeat, a code red." His frustration became more evident with every word he muttered, the boy desperate to be heard an rescued.

"Does anyone copy? We are innocent children and we are trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins, and if we are found, they will torture and kill us."

"Hey." Steve grunted as he climbed out of the elevator vent and joined Dustin up on its surface. "Gotta take it easy on that thing. Gonna drain the battery." He indicated, slicking his hair backwards. The stuffy and poorly-ventilated elevator proved to be too much for him, sweat gathering on his forehead.

"The mall just opened." Dustin declared. Since his wristwatch indicated that it was morning time, maybe someone could catch their signal and rescue them before they get caught by the russians.

"So?" Steve asked.

"So, someone could be in range."

"What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?" Steve questioned, mockery entangling in his tone. His sour mood still persisted from the revelation of last night; the possibility of Jean (the girl he liked) and Billy (his nemesis) becoming a thing. And he found sarcasm to be the best outlet to the ache in his heart that he couldn't soothe.

"All right, why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with Jean?" Dustin asked, whispering the redhead's name, but in the quiet environment, his voice still proved to be too loud. And Steve panicked at the thought of her hearing them. "Shh! Jesus Christ. Will you just keep your voice down?"

"I heard you guys talking all night." Dustin chirped in a teasing manner, smiling suggestively.

At the beginning, Dustin didn't think that the two were a good match- granted, his judgment might have been impaired by the crush he harbored for Jean. But as time went by, he changed his mind as he saw how genuinely happy the two were at each other's presence. They wouldn't stop joking around, laughing and having fun.

Dustin never saw Steve act that way around Nancy back when they were together. I mean, sure, Harrington was head over heels in love with Nancy prior to when their relationship went up in flames. But every time Dustin would come over to Mike's place for the occasional D&D campaigns, heading down to the basement, he would take a momentary glance to the living room to see Steve and Nancy. The two made a gorgeous couple, sure. And Steve's eyes shone with affection like no other for the eldest of the Wheeler children. But as the two sat down on the couch, watching whatever chickflick she chose, arms wrapped around each other, something would look wrong. They were..stiff. Like something was missing. Like they weren't as comfortable as they should be in each other's presence.

Unlike with him and Jean.

Steve scoffed at Dustin's presumptive thinking. "Yeah, Robin was up, too. We were trying to figure out a way to open up the door while you children were sleeping." He said, standing by the edge of the elevator surface and beginning to unzip his pants.

"After eight hours, we're still exactly nowhere, which is, you know, probably just a little bit of the reason why I'm feeling just a tad cranky." He said, choosing to omit the real reason why he was so upset.

Seeing a liquid splashing against the wall and the dripping sound from above, Robin scoffed in disgust once she figured out what Steve was doing. "Can you redirect your stream, please?" She loudly demanded, her voice echoing.