STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

09. the mind flayer - part one

CHAPTER NINE - THE MIND FLAYER
PART ONE

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"YOU'RE POSITIVE THAT was Dart?" Lucas questioned as they walked back home on the tracks. Night had fallen, and the only source of light they had was the one Lucas stuck on his bike. Even with it, Jackie could hardly see. Their footsteps crunched quietly on the rocks beneath their shoes, but other than that it seemed like the surrounding forest was completely silent, like there was nothing living in it at all. It was so eerie it made Jackie cringe with discomfort.

"Yes," Dustin nodded in confirmation "He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt."

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

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

"Malted?"

"Molted," Jackie corrected, nudging him. "Dumbass." He nudged her back with fake annoyance. "We're in the same biology class, how do you not know this?"

"It's kind of hard to pay attention," he answered sheepishly, making Jackie scrunch her face up in confusion.

"Shed his skin to make room for growth. Like hornworms," Dustin explained, ignoring the older teens' antics.

"Or snakes," she told him, and Steve nodded.

"When is he gonna molt again?"

"It's gotta be soon."

"Great," Jackie quipped sarcastically. "I'm just confused to where the other ten came from."

"And when he does molt again, he'll be fully grown. Or close to it," Dustin went on.

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats," Steve remarked.

"Wait," Lucas stopped Dustin. "A cat? Dart ate a cat?"

"What? No." Dustin protested, lying through his teeth. Jackie raised a brow.

"This is just a group of shit liars."

"What're you talking about?" Steve asked, ignoring her and clearly not catching onto the tension between the boys. "He ate Mews."

"Jesus, Steve," Jackie complained, rolling her head before looking back at him.

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

"It's Dustin's cat."

"Steve!" Dustin yelled.

"God, you are so dull," Jackie whispered in disbelief.

"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas pointed a finger at him angrily. The tension between them only rose further, and Jackie turned away to pull up her hair.

"No!" Dustin denied. "No. No I didn't." At Lucas's unconvinced look, he let out a sigh. "Okay fine. He missed me, and he wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!"

"I didn't know he was a demogorgen! Okay?"

"So now you admit it?"

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

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

Jackie glanced at Steve with a smirk. "They fight like an old married couple."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It gives me hope. If my arguments with my future wife aren't about cat-eating monsters, I don't want to get married."