𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲, steve harrington

45. QUANTUM PHYSICS, BABY

Because of course they had translated it, they had it all written out, and yes it was in code but a code in English and they could figure that out somehow. But there was just... more that they were missing. The translation was the obvious part, and now came the wonderings of everything else behind it.

And it started with the wonderings of how the hell had her barely-teenage brother got his hands on it from a ham radio - and yes, it was the self-proclaimed 'Cadaillac' of ham radios - but it was a ham radio all the same. That could be explained; he had accidentally tuned into the frequency these Russians were using to trasnmit their secret code, but... how?

She knew the radio could reach Seattle at least. That was approximately 1,500 miles away. That gave a radius of the same distance around Hawkins. Easily the length of the country... the continent. So a particularly large span of places the transmission could stem from. And Sadie could almost leave it like that.

If it wasn't for that stupid plane.

Even with that, at least she could narrow it down to somewhere in the states. Considering most things, compared to most people, Sadie lacked the patriotism necessary of the usual US citizen, but come July 4th and Larry Kline's annual fair she would be as patriotic as she could ever try to be, and she could only hope that no other country had fairground rides playing the same annoyingly tune.

Because even with everything else going on, it was that song that she couldn't ignore. It was playing in her head over and over like a broken record. She had heard it so many times before, but she couldn't figure out why the hell it would be in this transmission.

And in a fit of confusion and perhaps sleep-deprived stupour, Sadie sat up in her bed and forgot about trying to sleep and reached for the phone that sat there, the sticker-covered, pink plastic just waiting for her to give up on it all.

"I can't stop thinking about it."

"Good... morning to you too, Henderson." The gruffness in his voice was heavy indication that he had just been woken up.

"Morning, morning. Steve, I can't stop thinking about it."

"Yeah, well I kinda leave girls that way."

"Ha ha." She rolled her eyes, hand raising to her lips as she began picking at the skin there anxiously. "Very funny."

"Fine, not in the mood for jokes then." She heard sheets adjusting, shifting as he sat up. "How can I help?" Steve asked, taking a moment to clear his throat and swallow away any of the sleep he could manage.

"I've been trying to sleep for hours. And I can't. I cant go to sleep, I'm too awake, my brain keeps thinking and I can't make it stop."

"That is how brains work, princess." He hummed, dragging a hand over his eyes and fighting the urge to fall right back asleep.

"I've got no time for your flirting, Harrington, you hear me? No time." Sadie frowned and the picking intensified, teeth finding a hangnail and pulling. "Ow. Shit."

The line went quiet for a moment, but Steve could hear the buzz of her light bulb as it flickered on and his girlfriend leaving her bed in favour of finding some tissues, or a cloth or a bandaid or something.

"Are you biting your nails again?" He asked, when he thought she was close enough to hear.

With the phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear, Sadie shook her head, too focused on applying pressure to the cut, perhaps too focused; there was this set of intensity there that only came with serious injury, not just a little spout of red in her nail bed.