𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙇𝘿𝘼 || s. harrington

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ⁰⁰¹

˗ˏˋ MADMAX ! ˎˊ˗

⋆⁺₊⋆  ⋆⁺

THE STREET LIGHTS were flickering as Matilda ran down the pavement. Her feet smacked the road, leaving footprints in the slime that spread across it. The sky was engulfed in red and a thick smoke began spreading above her.

Matilda didn't dare to look back, she just kept running. She didn't know where she was headed but she didn't care. Matilda was met with the end of the street, and halted so she wouldn't fall off the cliff that seemed to be created.

Then she did what she feared most, and turned to face her death.

A giant, spider-like shadow was looming over the small girl. Her breathing became heavy as the creature hovered in the sky. "Get out of my head!" She screamed at it, tears starting to fall from her eyes. When it failed to disappear, she yelled again.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

So it did. ( For now? )

Matilda opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, throwing the covers on the floor. She had completely forgotten Steve had spent the night, so he ended up covered with her blankets when she swiped them off the bed.

She hopped down, almost stepping on the blanket mound. The movement caused Steve to stir awake, groaning as he removed the covers from himself in confusion.

He looked up to see Matilda pacing around her room with her head in her hands. "Bells?"

The girl shrieked in surprise, but calmed a little when she saw it was just Steve. He was staring up at her, lazily rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Hey! I'm fine, everything's good. Why would it not be? No, I'm fine! I'm not gonna die, I'm okay!" She rambled, alerting Steve that she was in fact, not fine.

"Hey, hey." He said while standing and walking over to Matilda. "What happened?"

She continued pacing, her head down. "Nothing! Nothing. I'm just freaking myself out. Nope! Nothing is wrong."

The boy furrowed his brows and grabbed her arms, stopping her from walking. "Matilda."

Matilda finally looked up at him, her eyes puffy and her upper lip stained with blood. Her skin was paler than usual, her eyes dull. Regardless, her face was full of emotion, which hurt Steve's heart more than he was willing to admit. Her bottom lip started to wobble, as if it was going to burst at any moment.

"Oh my God." Steve pulled her into a hug, prompting Matilda to cry even more.

"Why are they back? I don't want anything else to happen!" She sobbed into his chest, tears staining the white cotton Steve wore. He held her close, one hand on her back and one cradling her head.

"It'll be okay, I promise."

"No, Steve, it won't be. The last time this happened, someone died. My best friend! And I couldn't save her." She choked out.

Steve pulled back from their embrace and held her biceps. "Listen, Bells. We aren't going to let anything happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you." He reassured.