Broken & Pretty..Steve Harrington

052.

THE ATTRACTION

⇾killing me softly by fugees

strumming my pain with his fingers. singing my life with his words. killing me softly with his song

⸺SOMETHING odd was happening to Tiffany. All of her fears that she had been dealing with since she was five had suddenly disappeared. She was driving a car. To be completely honest, Robin and Steve were more scared that she was speeding down the road with a straight face and no sign of fear. It was horrifying.

They were speeding down the road and Tiffany pulled a sharp left into the mall parking lot, but suddenly, the car started slowing down. Tiffany looked over at the gas and there was none. The car slowly came to a stop, but while it was still moving, Tiffany literally jumped out of the car and started sprinting towards another car where she saw Nancy standing in front and shooting a gun at Billy's car that was speeding towards her. She saw Jonathan and Cory trying to start the car while Will and Lucas were hurrying in the car. Tiffany's fear had completely disappeared and all she wanted to do was protect her kids and her family.

The red light and smoke came out of Tiffany's hands and she threw them at the ground. She was shot up high in the air and landed right in front of Nancy just in time to put her hand out and stop Billy's car just before he hit Nancy and the car. Tiffany looked up and made eye contact with Billy and his eyes were met with hers. His eyes were filled with hatred and darkness, but a bit of fear because the part Mind Flayer inside of him knew Tiffany and was still a little scared of her. Now Tiffany's eyes were something that none of them had ever seen before. Her eyes were glowing red and there was a small gust of red smoke flowing out of the side of her eyes.

Tiffany jerked her hand forward and Billy's car went flying back. The impact of the speed made him fall unconscious and a small fire started in his car. Tiffany's eyes faded back to normal and now she was on the verge of tears. She was hurting her best friend. But she had too. She had to protect her family. She turned around and Robin and Steve had jogged up to everyone else. They all had horrified looks on their faces but Cory. Cory was smiling and jumping and flailing his arms in excitement. "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!"

"Is everyone okay?" Tiffany asked and everyone just nodded. Jonathan got the car started and everyone was snapped back into reality. "Alright, everyone in the car."

Everyone rushed to get in the car, but Tiffany and Steve suddenly stopped when they looked up and saw the Mind Flayer staring down at them from the top of the mall. Tiffany, for some reason, felt drawn to him. Like a magnet to a fridge. Tiffany just stared it down and the Mind Flayer did the same. Steve had to grab her wrist and pull her into the car. Steve, Cory, Robin and Tiffany all got in the trunk.

It was Joyce's new car so the trunk was huge, so they were able to have Steve and Tiffany sitting next to each other with Robin and Cory on the other side. With Jonathan behind the wheel, they drove off with the Mind Flayer chasing after them. But it wasn't really them. He was after Tiffany.

With Cory and Tiffany right at the back window, they were right up against the window and staring down the Mind Flayer. In the car, Tiffany didn't feel drawn to it, it was only when they were locked in each other's gaze, but the Mind Flayer couldn't actually see her, only sense her. But the energy in the Mind Flayer can't get into Tiffany's mind because of the metal cage withing the car's architecture.

Out of nowhere, the radio that Dustin had given Robin had two voices coming through. One was Dustin, but the other was Suzie. So she is real which was shocking to Steve and Robin. Cory and Tiffany knew she was real because they've heard Dustin singing a song before and he says that it's their song, but they had doubts. "I want to hear it."

"Not right now." Cory and Tiffany looked up at each other simultaneously. They new exactly what 'it' was. "Are they gonna sing it?"

"I think they are."

"Sing what?" Steve questioned, but his question was about to be answered by the song. Dustin started off the song, but while he was singing, Cory was singing with him and making over dramatic gestures with his hands like holding an imaginary microphone. "Turn around. Look at what you see. In her face. The mirror of your dreams."

Suzie then joined the singing, but so did Tiffany, also being over dramatic like Cory. They knew the song off by heart because Dustin was always singing it at home.

"Make believe I'm everywhere. Given in the light. Written on the pages is the answer to a never ending story. Ahhhhhhhhh. Reach the stars. Fly a fantasy. Dream a dream and what you see will be. Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds. And there upon a rainbow is the answer to a never ending story. Ahhhhhhhhh. Story. Ahhhhhhhhh." 

When they finished singing, Suzie gave them Planck's Constant which was necessary for Hopper, Murray and Joyce.  Steve and Robin were looking at Cory and Tiffany with confused looks which wasn't shocking. Cory and Tiffany were unbothered as they simultaneously said, "What?"

Robin just sighed and rolled her eyes, but Steve was still looking at Tiffany confused. "You knew going into this relationship that I was a dork."

"You are a dork." Steve said with a little giggle. They looked back out to the road and saw the Mind Flayer turning around.

"It's turning around." Steve informed Jonathan. No one really knew what was happening, but Tiffany did because she could feel the communication. Billy had gotten Eleven and he was going to sacrifice her to the Mind Flayer.

"Maybe we wore it out?" Without an answer, Tiffany lurched her hand out towards the front of the car and controlled the steering wheel. She did a u-turn and yelled, "Drive now! I'll meet you at the mall!"

"What?!" Everyone yelled as Tiffany made a portal into the Upside down. She jumped through it and started running. She made another one and landed right in the middle of the mall as Jonathan drove everyone back to the mall as fast as he could. When Tiffany got there, she was met face to face with Billy who was towering over Eleven and he had dark black veins crawling around his skin. He took a few steps towards her, but Tiffany didn't move. She couldn't. She felt frozen in place.

Once Billy got to her, he pushed some of Tiffany's hair behind her ear. He then put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Billy wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder as Tiffany stared at the Mind Flayer in fear. "Join us, Tiffany. We can be friends again."

Without her control, Tiffany's eyes started glowing red once more and the red gust of smoke started flowing out of the side of her eyes. Tiffany put out her hand and a red, silky light connected her and the Mind Flayer. There was the magnet like connection again. It had become official. Tiffany Henderson no longer controlled the Mind Flayer, but it controlled her.

A/N

Well shit.