YOUR SONG | steve harrington

019

Beverly walked along the train tracks with Steve, Alicia, Lucas, Dustin, and Max. They assumed that the Demogorgons wouldn't be coming back for them since they waited for some time before deciding to leave the junkyard, no Demogorgon in sight.

They were using their flashlights to see in the dark, making sure there were no signs of other otherworldly creatures around them. Beverly carried the axe over her shoulder, still surprised at herself that she was able to fight back with it this time.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin since the boy kept on saying that it was his pet.

"Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt," Dustin described.

"He was tiny two days ago," Max pointed out.

"Well, he's molted three times already."

"Malted?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Molted," Dustin corrected him.

"Wha—"

"It means he shedded his skin to make room for growth, like a snake," Alicia explained quickly, rolling her eyes at Steve's dumbness.

"When's he gonna molt again?" Max questioned.

"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it," Dustin replied. "And so will his friends."

"Wait, so he'll be just as big as the one from last year?" Beverly queried with wide eyes and Dustin nodded. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats," Steve added, giving Dustin a look.

"Wait, a cat?" Lucas said, stopping Dustin. "Dart ate a cat?"

"No, what? No," Dustin denied, quickly shaking his head.

Beverly and Steve glanced at one another, puzzled. "What are you talking about? He ate Mews," Steve said and Beverly nodded, making Alicia's mouth drop.

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked.

"It's Dustin's cat," Steve responded.

"Steve!" Dustin exclaimed.

"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas shouted accusingly.

"No! No. No, I — No, I...He missed me. He wanted to come home," Dustin admitted.

"Bullshit!"

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?"

"Oh, so now you admit it?"

"Guys, who cares? We have to go!" Max butt in.

"Seriously!" Alicia added, even though she did think Dustin was kind of stupid for keeping Dart.

"I care! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!" Lucas said.

"So did you!" Dustin bellowed.

"What?"

"You told a stranger the truth!" Dustin said, pointing his flashlight right at Max's face. "And your stupid sister!"

Max scoffed. "A stranger?"

"Uh, excuse me? Stupid?" Alicia voiced at the same time as the younger girl, holding her hands on her hips offensively.

"You wanted to tell her, too!" Lucas argued.

"Yeah, but I didn't, Lucas, okay? I didn't tell her!" Dustin yelled, talking about Max since he wasn't actually that mad about telling Alicia. "We both broke the the rule of law, okay? So we're even. We're even."