𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

67

❝𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐒? 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐒,❞ dr. emmett brown declared. sheridan watched with wide, glimmering eyes from her front-row seat. the older man fastened on his goggles before driving the delorean off, prompting the credits to roll. without hesitation, dani chucked the popcorn bag onto the carpeted floor. she rose from her seat, tears welling up in her eyes, as she clapped with fervor. the remainder of the theater—everyone in the seats behind her, as well as the kids that had filed in on the floor and ramps—stood and hollered praise for the ending, just as sherrie had begun.

abruptly, a hand snatched her wrist. the girl froze in her place, before realizing it was dustin. with his open hand, he jingled betsy's keys in the air, his lips pursed. dani followed dustin's lead as he kept his hand securely locked around her. the henderson boy navigated them through fellow cinema patrons before entering the lobby. he peered to his right, noticing erica, steve, and robin peeking through the restroom door. sheridan followed dustin's line of sight, and giggled at the three as they scurried out.

instantly, steve gravitated toward sherrie. her beaming expression—off her movie high, and still slightly the russian drug high—faded upon noticing the severity of steve's injuries. his left eye had swollen and grown a deep shade of purple-red, fading into a freckled green along his cheekbone. the left side of his lip was also cut, the gash sprawling nearly down his entire chin. with slightly-buttered fingers, dani placed her palm on his cheek, grazing beneath his eye gently with her thumb. "holy shit, are you doin' okay?" she questioned, genuinely. 

steve didn't dare break his gaze, which strictly fixated ahead. not only did he have to worry about camouflaging into this crowd so not as to be caught by the russians, but also knowing he absolutely needed to tell sheridan (and soon) that he was madly in love with her plagued his every thought. he couldn't look her in the eye. "i'm fine," he spat quietly.

dani's brows furrowed, taking note of his tone and body language instantaneously.

"just blend," he insisted.

knowing deep down that he was a worrier, the shaffer girl took herself off of steve and regained her composure. but not a moment after, she felt fingers intertwining with hers.

"well shit, that worked," erica exclaimed, applauding dustin.

"'course it worked," he replied. "we just have to get to dani's car and home sweet home, here we come."

"uh, dustin?" steve asked unexpectedly.

"what?"

"yeah, we might not wanna go to your house," he rushed out, still glaring ahead.

"why?"

"well, i might've told them your full name," the harrington boy confessed. his body grew tense, his grip on dani's hand tightening. though still finding it slightly hard to digest given her recent conversation, robin managed to ignore this one a little easier.