matter of time - harrington

volume twelve

Eliza walked several yards ahead of Dustin and Steve. She carried a bucket filled with raw meat. Every few feet, she reached down into the bucket and dropped a few pieces of meat on the railroad tracks beneath her. She was desperately trying to ignore the disgust she was feeling and the pit that was growing in her stomach. 

Eliza was not immune to fear. She could feel her pulse racing every time a sudden noise broke out from the forest around them. She was also incredibly worried about her little brother. It had been over 24 hours since Eliza dropped Jack and Mike off at the Byers' house. She just hoped that they would find each other soon. For now, Eliza was focused on the task at hand. She was convincing herself that leading Dart, whatever Dart was, away from the town was the best way to keep Jack safe. At least with Dart dead they could refocus their attention. 

Eliza could hear the boys chatting behind her, but she wasn't listening to their conversation. She'd heard Dustin ask about girls and decided it would be best to distance herself from them as much as possible. The last thing she wanted was to hear Steve gush about Nancy. Not after Halloween. She knew they would have to talk about it eventually. Clearly they both remembered the conversations they'd had that night. If she was being honest, Eliza would rather face one hundred Darts than talk to Steve about her feelings for him. 

"You can't see it, but you can feel it. It's like this uh, electricity?" Eliza almost tripped over a stick in the tracks when she heard Steve's comment. 

She kept her head down and kept walking, trying to ignore the conversation as the two of them started to catch up to her. 

"You're not falling in love with this girl are you?" She chewed on her lip, glancing around before hurrying her steps once again. 

"No," Dustin replied. 

"Good, cause she's only gonna break your heart and you're way too young for that shit."

Eliza sighed and hurried her pace. Before long Eliza followed the tracks right into the junkyard. She stopped in her tracks and glanced around at her new surroundings. She wasn't sure how they were supposed to trap and kill a monster here, but she trusted Dustin and Steve's experience more than her own self doubt. After a few moments alone, Eliza was joined by Steve and Dustin. The boys stood on either side of her, both surveying the junkyard. 

"Oh yeah, this will do just fine." Steve murmured. 

He continued walking into the junkyard, leaving Eliza and Dustin behind. She stood still, watching Steve as he continued to scout out their hunting ground. She hated the way her palms sweat and her heart raced whenever she was around him. Eliza's feelings were frustrating beyond anything else. She didn't like that she felt this way about anyone, let alone her best friend's boyfriend. Even if Steve and Nancy were on the outs right now, Eliza wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her friendship. Well, anything more. 

Eliza felt someone nudge her slightly in the ribs. She glanced over and saw Dustin looking up at her expectantly. He smiled at the girl before continuing on into the center of the junkyard. Eliza smiled at Dustin's back and then hurried after him. The three of them dumped the remaining meat into a mile in the center of the junkyard. Eliza frowned down at it, hating the sight of the raw meat. 

"I said medium-well!" She whipped her head around and sighed when she recognized Lucas standing by his bike on the outskirts of the junkyard. 

He waved his arms over his head at the trio, but none of them were looking at him. All eyes were on the girl at his side. Eliza recognized her fiery hair immediately. She was the girl Lucas had been arguing with in the parking lot. She shrugged and turned away from the pre-teens. Together, Eliza and Steve began to move things around, attempting to manipulate the environment to their benefit. 

"You know, the only reason we didn't tell you about all of this is because it's dangerous." 

Eliza stopped pulling at a piece of metal and turned to raise an eyebrow at Steve. He stood at her side, his arms crossed as he lazily looked around them. To anyone else it would have looked like he was simply looking out for the younger teenagers in their company, but Eliza knew he was only trying to avoid her eye contact. 

"You know starting a friendship with a big secret, no a huge secret, it doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence." Eliza replied before turning away from him and going across the junkyard to help Max carry a particularly large sheet of metal. 

Steve watched her go with a frown. He didn't like keeping the secret from her, but he knew that it was the only option. Eliza knowing about all of this was only going to put her in more danger. But it was too late now. Eliza was in it and he knew she wouldn't back down as long as her brother was involved as well. He watched her as she moved around the junkyard, preparing for a battle none of them really knew how to handle. If they were normal teenagers, their biggest problem right now would be what to do about her drunken admission of feelings. 

But they weren't normal. Eliza's feelings for him were only one of the things weighing heavily on Steve Harrington's mind.