✓ | Infatuation . . . Steve Harrington¹

six

   "Guys," he called out quietly.

   "Kids, stop fighting," Olivia spoke, unintentionally very quiet.

   "Guys!" Steve yelled, making the kids jump. In the distance, each and every one of the five heard a roar. That's when it hit Olivia; Dart was going somewhere, somewhere not far from the woods.

   "Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Max shouted as the four began to run towards the source of the noise. With a sigh, she, too, began to follow.

   "I don't see him," Dustin stated as they approached a cliff.

   "Yeah, that's pretty obvious." Olivia sighed, crossing her arms. Ignoring the comment, Lucas began to scrounge around the book bag on his shoulders. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and began to gaze out over the cliff.

   "It's the lab." he muttered, "They were going back home."

❤︎

THE LAST thing Olivia expected to see when she, Steve, Lucas, Dustin, and Max walked out of the woods was Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers waiting outside of the lab, a rusted Ford LTD parked right behind them.

   "Who's there?" Jonathan yelled as the yellow glow of the flashlight illuminated his face.

   "Steve? Olivia?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

   "Nancy?" Steve and Olivia called out at the same time.

   "Jonathan," Dustin stated rather nonchalantly.

   "What are you two doing here?" Nancy questioned in utter concern.

   "What are you two doing here?" Steve repeated.

   "What am I doing here?" Olivia whispered under her breath.

   "We're looking for Mike and Will," Jonathan explained.

   "Why haven't you opened the gate?" Olivia questioned.

   "We tried; that gate-" Jonathan gestured to the large metal gate that separated them from the parking lot, "-is electric. The power's out."

   "Wait, they're not in there, are they?" Dustin asked, gesturing to the lab that stood right next to them. It was pitch black, not a light on in the entire building.

   "We're not sure." Nancy shrugged.

   "Why?" Jonathan asked. At that exact moment, a monstrous roar could be heard from the lab, making each of the seven whip their heads in that direction.

   "Oh, God," Olivia muttered in horror.

   "What the hell was that?" Nancy asked, staring at Olivia.

   "These-these creatures. They're grey and slimy, and-"

   "Wait, wait, like the Demogorgon?" she asked, her eyes wide.

   "Everyone keeps saying that word but I don't know what it means!" Olivia shouted, rubbing her temples.

   "I explained it fifty times! The Demogorgon is the monster from the upside-down!" Dustin yelled aggressively.

   "So many things have been explained to me today, but not one thing has been explained to me with that much sass!" Olivia scoffed, glaring at Dustin.

   "Hey, hey, hey!" Nancy yelled, cutting through the group and moving towards the low completely lit lab, "The power's on!"

   They each rushed towards a small booth, presumably the security booth that allowed access to opening the gate. Jonathan began to press a red button labeled "OPEN," but was quickly stopped by Dustin.

   "Get out of the way, you're not doing it right," he muttered as he began to smash the button with the palm of his hand. They all stood there for a few minutes, their breath short and hearts racing.

Suddenly, a loud click was heard and the gate began to open, sending the group into a tizzy.

"Hey, I got it!" Dustin exclaimed with a proud smile. Nancy and Jonathan quickly ran into the car, each swinging the doors open wildly. It seemed as though the moment they were in the vehicle they were speeding away, practically leaving two trails of fire instead of tire marks.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" Olivia yelled, her hand on her forehead.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"What? Did you just say 'what'?" she questioned with wide eyes, "I have been dragged through Hell these past two days! I've cleaned up blood, thrown a bucket full of raw meat everywhere, had to use a goddamn bike handle as a weapon, and oh, yeah, almost been killed by one of those fucking monsters!"

The four others stared at her, their eyes wide with sudden shock. Through everything they'd been through, none of them considered how strange everything truly was.

"Are you on your-"

"Do not finish that sentence." she glared at Dustin, causing him to raise his hands defensively.

"Hey, guys." Max suddenly called, making the group look at her. Past the gates and toward the parking lot of the lab, two yellow headlights of a rusted Ford LTD were speeding down the road. As they got closer, the five could hear honking, signaling the car wasn't going to stop.

"Look out!" Dustin screamed as the car nearly ran them over. Following the Ford was a Chevy Blazer with the words 'HAWKINS CHIEF OF POLICE' written on the side.

"Let's go!" Jim Hopper, the police chief, shouted from inside as he roughly parked the car. The kids and Olivia quickly piled into the backseat while Steve got in the front.

"We're good, let's go!" he yelled, causing Hopper to slam on the gas. As he looked into the rearview mirror to see the children he'd just picked up, his eyebrows crinkled.

"The hell's she?" he asked, his eyes moving from the road to the mirror.

"Olivia-"

"-Clarke." Dustin finished, making the girl scowl.

"Clarke? Like Mr. Clarke?" Steve suddenly asked, turning to face her.

"Yeah, yeah, my dad's a biology teacher. That's the least of our worries right now." she sighed, leaning back in her seat.

"I'm sorry I yelled," she mumbled as she stared out the window.

"What?" the three kids asked at the same time.

"I'm sorry I yelled," she repeated, looking at them intently. Suddenly, a smile grew on Dustin's face and he began to laugh. Soon enough, everyone in the backseat joined in. So, there they sat, sleep-deprived, hysterical messes, all terrified for the future.

❤︎

winter speaks!
this chapter screams chaos. it's low key almost the shortest chapter i've written in this book. btw did anyone catch the very harry potter musical reference? no? ok. oh, and oddly enough, we're reaching the end of this book. it feels so weird. but, olivia will return once this book is over. so will our odd squad (that's what i'm calling robin, keith, olivia and nick now). love you all!