The age old story of two best friends falling in love...
... Only, one's a lab experiment with an entire Upside Down hunting her down, and the other won't leave her side, no matter how hard she tries.
steve harrington x fem oc / season 2 o...
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chapter twenty-five real evil
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"WE CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER," SAYS ROBIN, letting out a sigh as she turns to Steve. He's leaning against the mall's payphone, having spent all of Scoops Ahoy's tip jar calling Ruby's house. All day, he's been calling and calling, with no answer, just the same "Hey, you've reached the Brenners! We're out right now, leave us a message!" voicemail. He was there when Ruby recorded it — Carrie said she hated her own voice, so she got Ruby to do it. Ruby had to re-do it ten times; every time she got halfway through, talking in a fake-friendly voice, she'd look up at Steve, and burst out laughing... God, he's so in love with her.
But that's exactly why he's worrying. Why hasn't Ruby answered all day? Or even El, if she's looking after her? Steve wants to leave right now, to go and check on his girlfriend, but he knows if he goes, these three dorks will chase after the Russians alone, getting themselves killed. So he's got to stay, he just wishes he could go.
"Yeah, I know," he says, sighing.
"We could always postpone...?"
"No." Steve shakes his head. "This is a matter of national emergency. We've got to do this."
Robin looks at him, nervous. "If you're sure you're OK..."
Here's their plan: there's an elevator next to the mall's delivery entrance that goes into a top-secret basement, miles underground. If they time it right, they're going to go in there, stop the Russians, save the day.
"If I was sick, the last thing I'd wanna do is talk to you," says Erica, Sinclair's younger sister. (Don't ask why she's involved, it's all giving Steve a migraine.)
They told her — like they told Robin — that Ruby got stomach flu, so to them, Steve is just being overly worried. He gets the feeling that Robin knows something else is actually wrong, but she doesn't want to ask, which he appreciates. But, anyway, Sinclair's sister is annoying.
"Thank you, Erica," says Steve, rolling his eyes. "Can we just go?"
"Now he wants to go," says Erica, making a tut noise. "Forget ten minutes ago when he had to call his little girlfriend—"
"Oh my God, could you just shut up?" he says.
"Bite me," she says back.
Steve wishes Ruby was here — at least then he wouldn't be here, grimacing at the floor because there's no one else to share his annoyance. Robin's here, sure, and he likes being friends with her... But Ruby just gets him. He could sit differently and she'd know something was wrong. He just feels weird, everything going on right now, and one day away from her feels like a lifetime.
So, they start the walk out of the mall, towards the delivery entrance. Steve keeps on thinking about his girlfriend, doubting if it was the right decision to leave her in the hands of her little sister. El's younger, sure, but her powers make her a decent babysitter, right? ... Right?
