xvii. we didn't start the fire.
❛I'm ready when you are.❜
━━ ✧˖*°࿐
The two babysitters and the pre-teens they were babysitting were a group of frantic mess. They were running for their lives in the godforsaken place that was the upside down, trying to escape it, and Dustin was screaming his lungs out. But everyone went drop dead silent after the tunnel they were in started to violently shake. A loud roar, similar to the one Dart had. The noise was so shrill, Alice wanted to rip her ears out. They swirled around to locate the source of that noise as Mike mumbled under his breath, "They're coming. Run, run, run!"
"Yeah, no shit!" Alice yelled as she pushed the kids to move along ahead of her and Steve so that they were safe. After what seemed like an eternity spent running, a rope finally became visible through their blurred vision. The blonde let out a victorious laugh as they hurriedly advanced towards it. As soon as they got to it, Steve decided to help the kids first. Lucas, Mike and Max made it out the wormhole first, and another roar was audible. "Faster!" The blonde shrieked at the top of her voice. Steve's grip tightened around his bat. But it was too late for them to climb the rope, because they could sense the monsters inching closer to them as every second passed by. Alice grabbed the hem of Steve and Dustin's shirt and pushed them behind her, as the brunette stared at her wide eyed.
"What the hell are you—"
Before he could complete his sentence, Dustin used the two eighteen year olds as his shield not really having any expectations of what was going to happen next. But it was definitely not what actually ended up happening, as the demo-dogs ran straight past them as if they were invisible. As soon as the three were alone again, the blonde felt her feet wobble — probably due to extreme adrenaline and fear — so she grabbed Steve for support and he pulled her into an embrace. Dustin joined in too, because he was just as afraid and overwhelmed. "Oh my god," she mumbled, her face gently pressed against his chest. "Eleven." She heard Mike mumble. "Come on."
Steve helped Dustin up the wormhole, and turned to Alice as soon as the curly head entered their earth again. He grabbed hold of her waist tightly as she too, pulled herself up. Lastly, Steve hoisted himself up by pushing his weight forward. Alice violently coughed, instantly removing her goggles and bandana. As Steve got off next to her she rubbed her eyes to wipe the sweat off of them, and her forehead. The headlights of the car they left shined bright in their eyes but soon they switched off. Alice just stared into space for good two minutes before she walked to the trunk of the car and stuff her goggles and bandana inside. She looked down at her pale hands that were shaking and tried to calm herself down by reminding herself that they were safe, and that all of this was finally over. Steve walked up to her near the car trunk.
"Hey," he said, light-heartedly as if nothing too out of the ordinary had just happened. "It's over. You're okay. We're okay, alright?" He squeezed her shoulder, which was enough for her to break down her tough face and collapse into Steve's arms. She hugged him tight wordlessly and he returned the gesture, only tighter. He caressed the back of her head trying to soothe her. "It's okay."
"Sorry," she said, awkwardly pulling away. "I just," he stopped her. "You don't have to explain. I get it. It's been a long hard day. You must be overwhelmed."
"You aren't?"
"Of course, I am. But it's over now. It's gone."
"We can hope so," she gave him a weak smile. It was going to take her some time to get over whatever had happened in the last however many hours. "Guys, we should go." Dustin said, getting into the car. "Let's."
"I'm driving this time." Steve chuckled, as the two eighteen year olds hopped into the car with relief somewhat plastered onto their faces. He stared at his blonde companion in the passengers seat beside him, as he studied and admired her, whilst she stared into space. He wanted to hug her longer, but for now he turned the keys in the ignition and started the car engine.
"So, that was fun, huh?"
Everyone turned to shoot a death stare toward Dustin who just waved his arms in surrender and slouched down in his seat.
• • •
NIGHT OF THE SNOWBALL DANCE.
❝You look amazing. They wouldn't know what hit them." The blonde smiled at the little redhead in front of her, who just let out a breath and flashed a pearly smile. She was wearing a beautiful dress Alice had discarded long ago, because her mother had bought it for her thinking she'd actually let it grow on her. She'd thought a lot about throwing the whole dress away, but she was glad it was finally put to good use as of now. Alice caressed her cheek and kissed her on the forehead, wordlessly declaring that she was going to be the sister, a loving friend and the support Max never experienced. "Go get 'em, tiger."
Max stepped out of the car, and hurried inside, chipping with excitement. Alice stepped out of her car and leaned against it, watching Max look around for her friends near the entrance. When the blonde looked to her side to see an all too familiar curly head thirteen year old wave someone off as he plopped off inside the school too. The snowball dance was one of the biggest events for these middle schoolers simply because this was their romantic and pubescent awakening. Most of them just liked pretending they were way older than they actually were.
The blonde walked toward the car Dustin had gotten out of, instantly knowing who it was. A huge smile lit up her face as she slightly bent over to look peep inside and saw the king of Hawkins High flash a humongous smile at her. He looked awfully handsome while doing so. He rolled the window down to greet her and then stepped out of the car himself. As Alice leaned against the window sill, Steve leaned beside her with a smirk on his face and sparkling eyes. He looked happy, triumphant, obviously since they'd tackled an apocalypse. Anyone would be.
The blonde had finally come to terms with how she really felt about him. People tend to show their true colours when they're exposed to a dangerous situation which had led her to conclude that he wasn't as much of a jerk, or an asshole he made people think he was. She couldn't just ignore whatever it was that she felt for him throughout this whole endeavour. She couldn't avoid the clear connection she feels with him. She couldn't overlook the things they'd gone through together. She had to do something about it, no matter how scared she was, and he deserved to know about it too.
"I'm so glad this is over," Alice stated, sighing in relief while hugging her coat around her tighter due to the wind. Steve just admired her. "Who would've thought we'd even talk, let alone fight off giant monsters together."
"Well, I did. If I hadn't been dating Nancy, I would've definitely gone for you." They shared a chuckle as she lightly hit his arm. "Well thank god you didn't. I would've rejected you back then. It would've harmed your reputation gravely." The brunette laughed and Alice followed shortly after. They both stared at each other for a split moment but looked away as quick as their eyes met. "Steve, I want to tell you something."
"Go right ahead," he listened, his gaze fixated on the blonde. She'd worn her hair down today, and looked really put together and neater. Her lips were shining with pink lipgloss which was weird, because she never put on makeup. He furrowed his eyebrows further at the slight mascara. "That night, when we escaped with Billy's car and you were next to me,"
"I felt something," Steve's heart skipped a beat. If this is what he thought it was, he was internally rejoicing right now. He'd been wanting to confess his feelings, no matter how confusing they were, for about some time now. "It happened when I looked at you. I felt..."
"Calm? Like the whole world just melted away?" Steve finished her sentence when she was found at a loss of words to describe it. She looked at him with slightly wide eyes, but the smile she had before had faltered. She was frowning now. "Uh, yeah."
"I know. I felt it too."
"You did?"
"Yes, I did. It was strange for me, but I was almost knocked out. Yet that feeling, it's what kept me awake."
Alice cleared her throat, knitting her eyebrows together as she played with the hem of her coat. She was fiddling now, she hated when she did that, and she most certainly fiddled when she was nervous. Steve was making her nervous. "I've never felt that before, Harrington. I... I didn't even want to tell you about this but I had to. I... needed to."
"Hey, it's okay," he gave her a sweet smile. He didn't really think any girl other than Nancy was capable of making him feel so warm on the inside. "You're not a bad person, Steve. In fact, you're a great person now."
"Thank you."
"I think you know what I'm about to say to you next." She earned a sly smirk as she rolled her eyes. But that turned into a bright smile. She continued, "But you got your heartbroken and I don't know if you're ready yet." The smile faded. "And... I haven't done this before."
"Nancy did break my heart," he admitted, "And I did have a hard time dealing with it. But it's in the past now. All I can do right now is put her and our 'relationship' behind me." He caressed his fingers through her hair but she didn't stop him, neither did she move. She felt frozen in her spot not really knowing what to say. "And I know you haven't done this before, which is why I'm ready whenever you're ready. I'm willing to wait."
"Why would you want to wait for me? I'm not that special."
"Special? Alice, you beat the highest score on arcade games. You play basketball. You kick some hard ass. You're brave, realistic, and so, so smart. You never hesitate to give your opinion. You listen to AC/DC. You know your worth. You're funny, sarcastic, sometimes a pain in the ass but that just makes me want to be with you, even more. You understand people, you understand me. Not to mention, you're so beautiful, Ali. I don't really think you even realise that. I think you're more than special." Alice's mouth was slightly agape. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't believe any of this. She was just plain speechless. "I... wow." She breathed and he laughed at her response.
"My point is, I'm ready when you are."
After a moment of silence, she plastered a meaningful expression while raising her eyebrow. "Well, you do owe me a date." Taken aback, Steve smirked. "Tomorrow. Take it or leave it."
"I think I'd take it."
"Good."
Alice gave his cheek a small peck and a sly smirk before walking toward her car and hopping in. Steve touched the spot on his cheek where she kissed him, smiling so hard his mouth was starting to hurt.
AUTHOR'S NOTE — this isn't over. stay tuned for season 3!