[REWRITING] When He Sees Me, Steve Harrington

023 The Return

CHAPTER 023. THE RETURN

SNEAKING OUT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

After Dustin had assigned himself as the lookout, Steve, Laurie, and the rest of the crew - Scoops Troop, the curly-haired boy had named them - waited alongside him by the exit of the bathroom until the coast was clear. Apparently, there were guards afoot before they barged in, so waltzing out wasn't an option. Truthfully, Steve choose not to bother in questioning whether that was actually true, or if it was just Dustin being paranoid per usual.

They waited until they heard shuffling outside, the once quiet atmosphere filled with their hitched breaths suddenly muffled by the loud sounds of the crowd from the theatre leaving the cinema. Dustin brought his head back to the rest of the group after peeking out and harshly whispered for them - mostly Steve and Laurie - to act casual and lay low.

Slipping out into the moving crowd, Steve would say that this is going way too smoothly for his liking. Nobody really seems to care about their existence, much to his surprise, all too engulfed in talking about how good Back to the Future was as if it wasn't the most confusing thing Steve had ever seen.

Steve's grasp on Laurie remains as they hesitantly weave through the crowd, his thumb occasionally rubbing the side of her hand when he catches glimpses of her looking like she'd just seen a ghost, eyes darting around for any sign of the guards that were chasing them earlier.

"Well, shit, that worked," Erica breathes out, a little too relaxed for how frantically she's searching the strangely enthusiastic group of moviegoers that surround them.

"'Course it worked," Dustin replies, grinning sheepishly, far too cocky. "Now we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come,"