STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

08. the spy - part two

CHAPTER EIGHT - THE SPY
PART TWO

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THE FIVE OF them worked as quickly as they could, considering the factors. One, daylight was fading, and it was almost dark. Two, they left a meat trail so Dustin's cat-eating-baby-demogorgen could easily find them and eat them alive as well. And three, well—the first two reasons were enough.

Jackie took a deep breath after rolling a barrel which was surprisingly heavy, and wiped her brow as she straightened up. "Jesus," she mumbled to herself. "I've never done this much work. Not even for school. Ever."

She watched as Steve poured gasoline from the meat pile, all the way to the safe zone: the bus. She helped Max lift a ladder up the stairs, lugging it inside of the bus with a grunt. After making everything was secure and set in stone, they climbed inside of it and shut the door tightly just as the sun started to set.

Jackie sat next to Steve on the floor, her eyes on the lighter that he kept absentmindedly flipping open and shut again. Their bodies were pressed against each other, shoulders touching. She could feel his every movement, but at the same time neither of them seemed to mind.

"So, you really fought one of these things before?" Max questioned Steve, although her eyes lingered on her sister, who looked away in attempt to stop her face from flushing. When Steve nodded, Max pressed on. "And you're like, 100% sure that it wasn't a bear?"

"Max," Jackie said, annoyed. "I told you what happened in the basement right? What we saw? Bears don't shed their skin for growth. And they definitely don't dig holes."

"Your sister is right," Steve replied, nodding his head again. "This isn't a bear. It's much, much worse."

"Reassuring, Harrington. Good one. Way to freak her out." Jackie teased, shoving his shoulder with her own. He shoved hers back with a grin, and they continued to do so until Dustin interjected.

"Why are you even here if you don't believe us?" He snapped, making all three of their heads turn in his direction. "Just go home."

"Hey," Jackie called. "No one is a bitch to my sister except me, so knock it off."

"Geesh. Someone's cranky. Past your bedtime?" Max asked Dustin, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She got up and walked towards the ladder as she spoke, climbing up it to keep watch with Lucas.

"Don't take it personal," Jackie told him. "Max is hard to figure out, incase you haven't noticed. Besides, your little jealousy game here isn't gonna work either."

"I'm not jealous," Dustin insisted, and Steve scoffed. "I'm not!"

"Right," the two teens said in unison, sharing a knowing look.

"But that's good," Steve told him. "Just show her that you don't care."

"Oh my God," Jackie groaned, throwing her head back on the wall of the bus. "This isn't a game, you're just going to piss her off even more."

"I don't," Dustin said quietly.

"You...don't care?"

"No."

"Wowww," Jackie said, her eyes widening. "Men are such babies. A girl talks to a guy, maybe shows up a place on his bike, and you shut down completely. It's embarrassing, really." The boys looked at her, their eyebrows raised. "No, no. Continue. Please."

"Right," Steve said, unsurely. "You don't care."

"Why are you winking Steve? Stop."

"It's like hormonal hell in here," she mumbled, shifting so she could get comfortable again. Her hand brushed Steve's in the process, and she could feel her heartbeat speed up.