STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

13. the gate - part three

Something screeched from behind them, and Jackie once again felt like she was in a horror movie as she slowly turned towards the sound. A demo-dog stood before them, but surprisingly, it made no move to attack them. She felt the strap of her rifle along her shoulder, and grabbed it as a precaution.

"Dart?" Dustin questioned, and Jackie's eyes roamed the creature's body, landing on the pattern he told her about just a few hours ago.

"It's him," she confirmed, slowly lowering her gun. "Why isn't he hurting us?"

Dustin took a step forward, but Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "Dustin, stop."

"Hey, trust me!" He snapped, before softening his tone "Please." He crouched down in front of Dart, pulling his bag off of his back. Dart made a noise, but Dustin held his hands up. "Calm down buddy, it's just me. You know I won't hurt you. The basement was a douche move, I know. But you ate my cat." Slowly, Dustin placed a candy bar on the ground. "I brought your favorite. Nougat."

"This is insane," Jackie whispered, not realizing her hand was clutching Steve's in fear.

"I know," he whispered back.

Dustin waved them on, letting them know it was okay to pass. Jackie stared at him in shock as she walked by, still holding onto Steve's hand, whose grip was now tighter than hers.

As they continued walking, another high pitched snarl echoed from the tunnels. "What was that?"

"Dart?"

"No way," Jackie said with the shake of her head. The ground vibrated from under them, and another terrified look went throughout the group. "There's more of them, we need to go!"

They took off sprinting, luckily, with no surprises this time, and finally, the rope to outside appeared. Jackie hosted Max up first, who quickly climbed. Mike was next, then Lucas. As Dustin pulled himself up, the stampede of demo-dogs made an appearance.

Jackie screamed for Dustin to hurry up, and the younger boy shakily climbed quicker. If didn't seem fast enough. The stampede of demo-dogs were approaching speedily, and she glanced to Dustin who wasn't even halfway up yet.

"Dustin!" She shrieked, just as Steve grabbed her by the waist, and hoisted the both of them up, narrowly avoiding getting trampled. She clutched him tightly, but watched in astonishment as the creatures rushed right past them, not one even bothered to look their way. "They're not attacking us," Jackie stated, confused, and still clinging onto Steve with all of her strength.

"Eleven," Mike called from above, clearing their confusion. "Eleven did it. She's closing the gate."

As Steve and Jackie finally lugged themselves up the rope, she pulled him into a tight hug. It took him a moment to respond, but at last, he returned the gesture, his arms wrapping securely around her. The embrace made her feel safer than she had the entire night, and she had no intent of pulling away until he did.

"What's this for?" He asked, his voice tickling her neck. She didn't look up from his shoulder.

"For saving my ass more times than I can count."

"I have a confession," he announced to her, pulling away entirely.

"What's that?"

"I, uhm—shit." And for the first time she knew him, he stuttered, his face flushing. Was Steve Harrington nervous? "I really like you, Jackie. And that's been really hard for me to admit but you're badass, you stand up for what's right. You've always been completely and brutally honest with me. I'm like ninety percent sure that you've changed me for the better. Plus, not to mention, you defended me from you jackass of a step-brother, although I know probably wasn't hard seeing as he's such a dick but—"

"Steve," she interrupted. "Shut up before I punch you."

He swallowed. "Do it. That's hot."

Jackie couldn't help but grin. "You're insufferable."

Steve didn't deflate, but she could tell from the way he broke eye contact that he'd lost his confidence. "And?"

"...And I like you too."

"You do—"

She cut him off again with a searing kiss, which was clearly a surprise to him, but he quickly melted into it, and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist once more. Steve's lips were soft, shockingly, all things considered. Not to mention that he'd just been punched in the face. Both of her hands grazed the side of his face as she cupped his cheeks to deepen the kiss before a voice rang out from behind them.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Lucas called, and they pulled apart. "Let's get out of here. This place is creepy."

"Seconded." Mike agreed, nodding.

"Yeah," Max cringed. "You just ate my sister's face. Definitely never want to see that again."

"Well aren't you supportive?" Jackie teased, ruffling Max's hair as they all walked back to the car. Suddenly, the headlights started to brighten on their own, and she had to shield her eyes so she wouldn't go blind.

"What the hell?" Max yelled. "What's happening?"

"Eleven," Mike said simply, and shortly after, the lights dimmed to their normal brightness.

"That was fun," Jackie said, blinking rapidly. As they all climbed into the car, each of them suddenly feeling the exhaustion from the day's work.

She looked to Steve as he hopped into the driver's seat, then to the rest of the kids in the backseat, and as cliché as it sounded, she realized that maybe her family was complete, even without her father.

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authors note

(rewritten as of 3/15/21)

ending was kinda cringe lol but i didn't know how else to close out the chapter. the epilogue will be posted tomorrow! i cannot believe season 2 is over all ready it's been such a fun ride