Strawberry Ice Cream [steddie]

Mint Chocolate-Chip

CW: canon-typical violence and death, panic attacks

Thursday, July 4

"Is that Nancy?" Robin asks as Steve turns into the Starcourt parking lot. He searches the darkness, his labored eyesight failing him.

"Woah woah woah, who is that?" Eddie yells, looking the other direction. Suddenly a gun fires.

"Shit!" Steve slams the breaks, and Robin ducks her head.

"What's going on?" Robin yells.

Steve looks ahead, their car a little closer than before. "It's Nancy—she's firing at something."

"Yeah, that car!" Eddie yells, pointing. Steve turns to see a black car driving at top speed, straight towards Nancy. 

Steve doesn't think. There's no decision to be made. He floors the gas.

"What the hell—AAAH!" Robin cuts herself off, she and Eddie screaming as Steve crashes the toddfather into the car that was about to crush Nancy.

Both cars spin and skid to a stop, tires screeching, glass shattered. Steve tries to catch his breath. The hood of the car he hit bursts into flames. Inside it, unconscious, is Billy Hargrove.

He turns to Eddie and Robin. "Are you okay?"

Robin looks at him, eyes wide. "Ask me tomorrow?"

"Holy shit," Eddie mutters, standing up in the backseat. Steve looks back at him, and one look at Eddie's face makes him immediately turn back to look at the mall.

He and Robin both stand up for a clearer look at the gigantic monster climbing over the roof of Starcourt Mall. It towers above them, a mob of fleshy goop with a mouth full of sharp teeth, that opens to roar at them.

Another car drives up to them and honks. All three of them turn to see Nancy and Jonathan in the Wheeler's station wagon.

"Get in!" Nancy yells to them. They quickly get out of the Cadillac and into the back of the station wagon—more than a little cramped. Jonathan starts driving away as soon as the doors close, and Steve looks through the back window at the monster, which is now starting to follow them.

Steve sits in-between Robin and Eddie, all three of them still watching the monster chase them out of Hawkins. Eddie moves to hold Steve's hand at the same time Robin does, and for a second they just stare at each other.

"I have two hands," Steve says. Robin shrugs and takes Steve's right. Eddie takes his left.

They drive out to who knows where, for who knows why. Nobody's bothering to tell Steve what they're doing, or why Mike, Max and El aren't even in this goddamn car with the rest of them.

He's just about to ask, when suddenly the walkie Robin's still holding crackles on. "Dusty-bun, you copy?"

Dustin's voice replies. "I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks."

Steve and Robin look at each other. "Suzie," they say in unison.

"Okay so listen," Dustin says. "Do you know Planck's constant?"

"Do you know the earth orbits the sun?" Suzie replies.

Dustin laughs. "Okay, so I know it starts with two sixes, and then a... w-what is it?"

"What are they doing?" Steve whispers.

"Planck's constant is a math thing," Robin whispers back. "It must be for some Russian code."

"Okay, let me just be clear on this," Suzie's voice says. "I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know, so you can... save the world?"