𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 ➤ 𝑹. 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒚

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

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"𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣'𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧"

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𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟒𝐭𝐡, 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

"𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 hell decided you should drive?" Valerie remarked dryly, as she observed the 'Toddfather', which was bogged halfway down the hill from where the group was standing, and then looked to Steve with a smirk, "Bet I could've made it up here."

Steve glowered, "You might as well be colour-blind, I don't think I need to remind you of how many red lights you've run."

"It's Hawkins! There's only like two sets of traffic lights in the whole damn town!" Valerie defended, throwing her hands into the air haphazardly. Steve rolled his eyes at her before trudging back to the radio tower, where Dustin and Erica were crouched on the grass, conversing with Murray.

"I've reached another junction," he panted, and Valerie remembered how sweltering it was in those vents for her, never mind a fully grown man, he must be burning up.

Erica turned to Dustin, "It's the fourth junction."

"Alright," the boy nodded, and leant closer to the device so he could speak into it, "so if memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis."

Robin, who was sitting cross-legged on the grass, glanced up bemusedly at Valerie, barely suppressing a laugh, "You had a My Little Pony thesis?"

"No," Valerie retorted defensively, eyeing her warily, "They did. I just happened to be there."

"I'm not sure now's the time to defend your pride," Robin pointed out, gesturing to the teenagers arguing over the radio. Despite her serious tone, there was a shit-eating grin on her face as she pulled apart delicate blades of grass by her fingertips. Valerie pursed her lips, "Whatever you think you're trying to achieve —''

"Favourite character?" Robin was quick to cut her off, clearly enjoying her enemy-turned-ally's discomfort, but Valerie didn't budge. The blonde sighed, "C'mon, everyone has a guilty pleasure TV show, even soulless bitches like you." 

"Aw, you think I'm soulless?" Valerie beamed, lips tugging into a pleased smile. Robin cursed under her breath, but as luck would have it, Steve chimed in, "She likes Golden Girls, watches it every week."

Robin laughed, and in disbelief, Valerie turned towards the boy, "Traitor!"

But he wasn't listening anymore, the gleeful expression he'd previously had was now gone, replaced with one that was much more concerning as his gaze travelled beyond the hill. His voiced wavered as he beckoned the teens over, "Hey guys?"

They all stood up immediately, Valerie, who was already on her feet, arrived first and looked to Steve for an answer, but he simply pointed. There was a building visible, it stood out due to its modern design that largely contrasted the small town's and the fact that it was the tallest structure around, but that wasn't the problem.

The neon trimming that outlined the Star Court mall wasn't supplying the usual LED glow, and when she looked closer, she could see the lights were malfunctioning, flickering like flames. The building almost seemed to tremble. Valerie inhaled sharply, something bad was happening at Star Court mall.