✺

THE LIFT REACHED IT'S HIGHEST point with the three drugged teenagers stumbling through the doors. Up front, Dustin and Erica led the group, most likely frustrated with them.

"Oh my God, that tastes so good!" Robin exclaimed. "Can you taste the air?"

Looking up to the dark sky, Carly's mouth opened as she felt the little prickles of the air.

"I taste it! I taste it!"

"I can taste stars!" Carly announced.

"Woah," said Robin and Steve together.

"Shit! Come on! Come on!"

The three were oblivious to the gates that had opened, revealing two guards with guns. There was a commotion with the two children ushering the teenagers through a door.

"Why are we running?" Steve questioned.

Robin and Carly started to giggle in response as Dustin was quick to close the door behind them. They were trying to be fast as they snuck their way through the back of Starcourt Mall, unknowing where they were heading.

"Where are we going?" Erica demanded.

"Just trust me," Dustin insisted.

Dustin was first to open the door into the shopping centre as his head twisted, checking to make sure it was clear for them to leave.

"All clear," Dustin confirmed.

Following Dustin, the five entered the movie theatre with Carly perking up.

"Oh, let's see Ronnie!" Carly decided.

"No, let's go in here first," Dustin suggested. "You can see Ronnie after."

"Okay," said Carly, curious about where they were going.

As they moved closer to the sounds coming from the theatre screen, Steve helped himself to a bucket of popcorn. On the screen, Back to the Future was playing as the group moved further into the picture house, heading down to the front.

"You three, sit," Dustin ordered.

"No, no, no," Steve complained. "These seats are too close!"

However, the three sat down with Steve being in the middle of the two.

"Dude, these seats blow," Steve told him.

"Really blow," Carly added.

"Then don't watch the movie," Dustin argued.

"We wanna watch it," Robin decided.

"Then watch it!" Dustin shouted.

Dustin was hushed by a man behind them with Carly joining in, holding up a finger to her mouth, keeping her eyes on Dustin, who looked fed up.

"Whatever you do, don't go anywhere."

"Fine, Dad," Steve replied.

Carly and Robin let out another snicker at that. Between the three, they couldn't stop laughing as they shared the popcorn, enjoying themselves so much that they had forgotten the danger they were in or what had happened.

"Does this count as our first date?" Steve whispered to Carly.

Again, Carly found herself giggling. "If it is, then we might need a redo."

"Robin, did you hear that?" Steve respond. "I'm getting a second date!"

Robin let out a cheer before helping herself to the popcorn with the three trying to understand what was happening in the movie. It was too overwhelming as Carly couldn't even focus.

A little bored and confused, the three left the theatre with the plan to find Ronnie. Though, Steve had ended up distracted by the water fountain.

"That's amazing," Steve decided.

"So, like, I wasn't totally focused in there or anything, but... I'm pretty sure that mom was trying to bang her son."

Carly's eyebrows furrowed at that.

"Wait, wait, the hot chick was Alex P. Keaton's mom?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Robin said.

"But they're the same age," Steve argued.

"No, but he went back in time."

Steve snickered. "Then why is it called Back to the Future?"

"He has to go back to the future because he's in the past," Robin explained. "So the future is technically the present, which is his time."

Steve was speechless. "Wh...what?"

"I'm so confused," Carly told them.

"No, no, it's my turn," said Robin instead, pushing Steve away from the water fountain. "You've had enough."

As Steve stumbled, his attention fell to the ceiling above them. Becoming curious, Carly followed him as she looked up, finding herself mesmerised by the lights. They glowed, pointing downwards as Carly started to spin from the illusion of it.

"Hey, Robin!" Carly called back.

"You gotta check this out," Steve told her.

Robin was quick to join them, letting out a small sound of surprise from seeing what they could see.

"Check this..." Steve said. "This...The ceiling, it's beautiful."

"Oh, wow," said Robin.

"I tasted stars and now I can see them," Carly said.

The longer they looked, the worse it seemed to get. Above Carly, the lights started to twist, becoming twisted and never-ending as Carly stumbled, wondering if she could really see the stars now.

As quick as they could move, the three headed to the closest toilets as they split off into separate cubicles. Carly's knees buckled as she bent over the toilet, bringing up the contents of her stomach. Pinching her hair back, Carly couldn't stop as her body trembled from the feeling.

Afterwards, Carly flushed the toilet before she leaned back with her head hitting the wall of the cubicle. Fortunately, the flooring below her was cool, but Carly hated to think about when the toilets were last properly cleaned.

"The ceilings stopped spinning for me," Robin announced. "Is it still spinning for you guys?"

"Holy shit," said Steve. "No."

"Everything is still," Carly clarified.

"You think we puked it all up?" Steve questioned.

"I hope so," Carly said.

"Maybe," said Robin. "Ask me something. Interrogate me."

The Russian accent caused Carly to flinch as she recalled the traumatic day they'd had.

Steve laughed. "Okay. Interrogate you. Sure. Um... when was the last time you peed your pants?"

"Today," Robin was honest.

"What?" Carly and Steve questioned.

"When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw," Robin explained.

"Oh my God," said Steve.

"It was just a little bit though," Robin insisted.

"I don't blame you," Carly said.

"Yeah, it's definitely still in her system," Steve mumbled.

Robin laughed at that.

"All right," Robin then decided. "My turn, but you both have to answer."

"Okay," said Steve. "Hit me."

"I feel like I don't have a choice," Carly said.

"Have either of you... ever been in love?" Robin asked them.

Hearing that, Carly froze with the mere reminder of love. Already, her mind had fallen back to her ex-boyfriend, where Carly had been a fool to fall in love with Justin.

"Yep," Steve answered first. "Nancy Wheeler. First semester, senior year."

There was an imitation of a gunshot, where the heartbreak must have been hard.

"Oh my God," said Robin. "She's such a priss."

"Hm," Steve said. "Turns out, not really."

Robin scoffed. "Are you still in love with Nancy?"

Carly's heartbeat was hammering, but not for heartbreak this time.

"No," Steve answered.

"Why not?" Robin interrogated for Carly.

"I think it's because I found someone who's a little bit better for me," Steve said. "It's crazy. Ever since Dustin got home, he's been saying: 'You know, you gotta find your Suzie. You gotta find your Suzie.'"

"Suzie?" Carly questioned.

"Wait, who's Suzie?" Robin added.

"It's some girl from camp," Steve told them. "I guess his girlfriend."

"Oh, that's adorable," Carly replied.

But, with the drug faze slipping, Carly remembered what she had done. She had snuck into Dustin's memory, seeing Suzie...

...Dustin knew about Carly's powers. The thought was alarming, but Steve was still talking.

"To be honest with you, I'm not a hundred percent sure she's even real," Steve continued. "But that's not — that's not really the point. That doesn't matter. The point is, this girl, you know, the one that I like... Christ, she already knows how crazy I am about her and I only met her a few weeks ago."

Carly's breathing stilled as she stared at the red cubicle wall opposite herself, unknowing what to do or even say. Of course, Carly was no fool; Steve was talking about herself, but she hadn't realised how deep his feelings were — it wasn't just a crush.

"I keep thinking that maybe if we were at school, then it would work out," said Steve. "I was popular, she was a cheerleader, it has the whole stereotypical shit about it. But... Dustin's right, it's all just a bunch of bullshit anyways. She deserves better than that. Christ, even you, Robin, I should have been talking to you all this time."

"You're talking to me now," Robin reminded him. "Tell me more about this girl."

Robin was stirring things, having once joked and complained about the two, but Carly now knew she was meddling in hope for them.

"I don't even know where to start," said Steve, sounding nervous. "First of all, she's so sweet. I feel like this summer, I have smiled so much just from being around her. She gets so happy over the simplest things too. But she's so brave and daring too — much more than I thought she ever would be. You know, I catch her in her own world sometimes, drawing away in her sketchbook, and I just hate that I don't really know her. Of course, I know a lot —the good and the bad — but... I want to know everything."

Carly was speechless, feeling the dread settle in with reality. While Carly was only in Hawkins for the summer, she also had wanted to spare anyone from getting the chance to fall in love with her. Now, here Steve was, wanting to get to know the real Carly.

The real Carly, who had shadows in her nightmares and powers that deemed her more a freak than anything.

"You know?" Steve continued. "She's honestly unlike anyone I've ever met before."

Carly closed her eyes, knocking her head back against the red cubicle. Deep inside her chest, there was an ache with Carly wanting to give in and confess that she liked him too, but Steve also deserved better.

"Carly?" Steve questioned when there was only silence. "Carly, you've gone too quiet. Did you just OD in there?"

"No," said Carly with a sigh. "I... I'm sorry, Steve."

There was a lightness to Carly's voice, full of regret and devastation. Though, to Carly's surprise, Steve's body was sliding under the cubicles as he joined Carly in the middle stall.

"Steve," said Carly, reaching to help him sit up. "You don't know what's on these floors!"

"Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so..." Steve told her, sitting next to Carly as the two were close, gazes locking. "What do you think?"

"About?" Carly questioned.

"This girl," Steve said.

"You know," said Carly, looking away from him as she spoke. "Robin asked us both if we were ever in love and I never answered."

"Have you?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, once," Carly answered, letting out another long sigh. "Justin Everson — the captain of the basketball team, the most popular boy in our school. Every girl loved him, but I got to be the girl he loved... well, so I thought. I fell in love with Justin and wanted to show him the truth about me, but Justin ran. I didn't even know we had broken up until my friends at school told me."

"That Justin sounds like a fool," Steve told her. "A complete douchebag."

"The biggest fool was me opening up to him," Carly said. "I'm scared that everyone will run if they see the real me."

"I think today's proven that it takes a shit load of crazy to scare me off," Steve said with a crooked smile that Carly caught. "I've seen things, Carly — things that belong in nightmares, so whatever secrets you have, I'm not going anywhere."

Carly felt gooey as she remained stuck within his stare, seeing the softness of his irises with the promise in his words. While Carly struggled to trust in that, she knew they had already faced the impossible to get to this moment.

"So this girl," said Carly, a little fearful. "Has she said yes to you yet?"

Steve's smile became gentle. "I don't know, I'm still hopeful for it."

Maybe it was the drugs or the fuzziness of the moment, but the two were drawn together, somehow becoming closer. Steve's hand had risen with his knuckles brushing against her cheek, running to dance within the strands of her hair, wanting to pull her closer to him.

"I would kiss you, but we've both been sick," Steve confessed.

Carly giggled at the words, settling for a kiss on Steve's cheek as she lingered for a moment. The kiss was a hint to a possible future that Carly was perhaps willing to try.

"We'll save it for the first date, yeah?" Carly offered.

"So that's a yes?" Steve questioned.

"We still have to survive," Carly reminded him. "But it's a yes."

"You know I'm still here, right?" Robin told them. "I know I helped set you both up just now, but don't forget about me."

"And we love you too," Carly exclaimed, grinning brightly. "We could never forget about you. Is there anyone you like, Robin?"

The question was met with silence that caused the two to share a look before they were moving to join Robin in the last cubicle, wondering why she was so quiet.

"Hey, you okay?" Carly questioned.

"Look... it doesn't matter," Robin decided.

"Hey, whatever it is, does matter," Carly reassured her. "But if you don't want to tell us, then you don't have to."

"I think if I told you both my truth, then you wouldn't want to be my friend," Robin said.

"That's not true," Steve told her. "No way is that true."

"Listen to me," said Robin, smiling at the two. "It's shocked me to my core, but I like you both. But I'm not the kind of girl you're friends with."

"Robin, that's exactly why I like you," Steve insisted.

"Yeah," Carly agreed. "Looking back, I wish I had more true friends at school like you than the ones I made."

Already, Carly dreaded returning to school, but at least she knew now that popularity was overrated. While Carly was kind to everyone, she had a desire to always be liked, but no one truly liked Carly for who she was.

Robin met Carly's gaze, appearing bittersweet with Carly clueless as to what was going on.

"You came here with your sickly sweet smile and positive attitude," said Robin, causing Carly to stiffen, unknowing of where it was going. "The perky cheerleader, a walking cliche. And as soon as Steve Harrington sees you, he can't look away."

"Robin, I don't understand..."

But Carly's eyes had fallen on Steve, wondering if Robin had feelings for him.

"No, Carly, it's not Steve," continued Robin. "Ronnie."

Carly's eyes fell on Robin again, starting to widen with understanding. Seeing that, Robin looked down again, but there was a sad smile on her face.

"Ronnie's always been there during band rehearsals or shows," Robin said. "I always wondered what'll happen if I just said hi, but I could never find the nerve. Then, summer starts, and then you're here with Hawkins obsessing over you — including Ronnie. I was so jealous and so judgemental of you to start with, but you're so sweet, Carly, and I really do like having you as a friend."

Hearing that, Carly took Robin's hand with a kind smile. "I really like having you as a friend too," she confessed, truly meaning it. "I'm sorry, but Ronnie and I are just friends."

"I know that," Robin replied. "But Ronnie doesn't talk to anyone and now she's suddenly talking to you."

"As friends," Carly insisted.

"Are you sure?" Robin questioned. "I've seen the way she looks at you, Carly."

"But Ronnie's a girl," Steve pointed out.

The two looked at him, trying to silently prod him towards the truth that Robin was sharing with them.

"Steve," said Robin quietly.

"Yeah?" Steve questioned, holding Robin's stare as he finally realised. "Oh."

'"Oh," Robin agreed.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah. Holy shit," Robin repeated.

Carly's mind was spinning, not knowing Ronnie enough to decide her feelings like that. It was a little surprising with Carly now wondering if what Robin was seeing was true or simply her being paranoid and jealous.

But, as she remembered Ronnie being at the parlour, Carly had tried including Steve and Robin in their conversations. Carly recalled Robin trying, but Ronnie had only been interested in what Carly was doing or saying.

"Oh, Robin, I don't know."

"It doesn't matter," Robin insisted. "But... I guess you know the truth about me now."

Carly smiled at that. "We still love you, Robin."

That caused a hint of a smile to appear on Robin's face.

"I'm sorry," said Steve, finally piping up with the two becoming worried. "But Ronnie Munson? Of all the people to like, you like Ronnie Munson?"

"What's wrong with Ronnie?" The two questioned.

"I mean, she's cute, and all, but..." Steve started, finding a smile appearing on his face. "But, come on, she's that freak's sister."

"Eddie's not a freak," Robin insisted. "And Ronnie... she's different from her brother. They like similar music, but she's always quiet and writing in her journal when Eddie's more... eccentric."

"Is she? They're both in that band, aren't they?"

"No, Ronnie told me it was her brother's band," Carly remembered.

"Okay, I bet she likes that game—"

"No, she doesn't," Robin defended her crush. "And I wouldn't care if she did."

"Oh, you really like her," Steve said, teasing her.

"Shut up," Robin told him, but she was smiling.

"Oh, I can set you up!" Carly realised.

"No," Robin shook her head. "Definitely not."

The bathroom door opened then to reveal an angry looking Dustin that shocked the three to silence. Poor Erica looked confused and concerned to find the three sitting in a stall together.

"Okay," said Dustin. "What the hell?"

In response, the three laughed, having forgotten about what was going on while they had been wrapped up in their own teenage romances.

However, the reality of their issues had settled in with the five now needing to sneak out. Outside the restroom, the theatre was starting to clear out with Dustin guiding them again, hoping to blur in with the crowds.

"And...blend!"

The five were quick to live the restroom as they merged with the crowds, heading towards the exit of the Starcourt Theatre. Behind the two kids, the three teenagers were close with Steve entwining his fingers with Carly's. As she looked back to Steve, she offered him a sweet smile, realising that maybe they were going to survive to get that date.

"Well, shit, that worked," Erica said.

"'Course it worked," Dustin replied. "Now we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebs, and home sweet home, here we come."

"Uh, Dustin," said Steve.

"What?"

"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house."

"Why?"

"Well, I might've told them your full name."

"What is wrong with you?" Dustin demanded in a whisper.

"Dude, I was drugged," Steve reminded him.

"So?"

"So?"

"So, you resist," said Dustin. "You tough it out. Your tough it out like a man."

"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say," Steve argued.

"Carly?" Ronnie questioned.

Turning, Carly's eyes fell on her friend, seeing that she looked a little pissed off but worried too. Last night, Carly was supposed to stay at Ronnie's place, but she had failed to even turn up.

"What the hell happened to you?" Ronnie demanded.

"Ronnie, I... I can't talk right now," Carly told her.

"Guys," said Robin, suddenly panicked.

Looking away from Ronnie, Carly's eyes fell on the Russian guards, who were checking everyone that was leaving the mall. The realisation caused Carly's chest to tighten in fear, knowing that they were far from getting out alive.

"Ronnie," said Carly. "You have to go."

But they were too late; the group had been spotted.

"Abort! Abort! Abort!"

They were quick to turn to leave with Carly grabbing Ronnie's hand and pulling her friend along with them. While she wanted Ronnie to be kept out of it, she had now been caught with them, so Carly didn't want to risk her friend being captured or tortured.

"Why are we running?" Ronnie demanded.

"I'm sorry," Carly panted. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?"

They didn't have time to fill Ronnie in as they came to a pause at the escalators that were not working, having no way to run.

"Come on," said Dustin. "Let's go. Let's go."

As Robin was the first to slide down the metallic part of the escalator, Carly was quick to turn to Ronnie, taking her hands with wide, desperate eyes.

"I'm not going down the escalators like that," Ronnie stated.

"Please," Carly pleaded. "I'll explain everything after, but we have to get out of here first."

Ronnie sighed. "It better be a good explanation."

Then, with that, she was sliding down the escalator with Carly following close behind. At the bottom, Carly took Ronnie's hand, dragging her after the group as they found a place to hide.

They hid behind the counter for a food store as Carly's heart pounded, keeping a firm grip on Ronnie's hand. Her friend stared at them as if they were crazy, but she now felt the threat of the Russians as she heard them creeping closer, murmuring in Russian.

"If you get me something that belongs to them, then I might be able to knock them out," Carly whispered to Dustin, knowing that he knew.

Dustin's wide eyes were on Carly. "Oh, sure, I'll just walk up and take something from him for you!"

"Wait, you were being serious about the powers," Steve realised, mouth falling open as Carly met his stare, seeing him put together what was real or fake within their drugged-up phase. "Holy shit, that's what you were talking about."

"Steve, not know," Carly whispered to him.

"I'm sorry," said Ronnie quietly. "But what the fuck is going on?"

No one could answer the question though as the Russians crept closer, downstairs with them now. It was terrifying and frustrating — they had gotten this far to only end up captured at the glimpse of freedom.

As the Russians' voices became louder, the six panted, completely petrified. Footsteps were light, creeping closer to them as Carly closed her eyes, not wanting to see the faces of the men that would kill them.

And then a car alarm started to wail, causing the six to jump.

The horn started to honk, capturing the attention of the Russians with Carly clueless as to what was going on. There was a loud noise as if a collusion was happening with Carly's eyes shooting wide, unable to think what could have caused something like that.

Then, with a crash, it sounded like the car had been flung with the Russians silent.

Slowly, the six rose from their hiding spot, eyes falling on the wrecked vehicle. However, Carly's eyes slid to the remains of the Russians, who were now dead.

"What the fuck?" Ronnie questioned, starting to panic.

On the floor above them, Max's friend El stood staring down at them as if she had been the one to save them. Then, following her, the rest of the group appeared with Carly's eyes falling on her sister, struggling to hold back her tears upon seeing her.

The groups met on the lower ground as they hurried towards them.

"You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin exclaimed, hugging El.

Carly had run towards her sister, uncaring if she was embarrassed as she pulled Max into her arms. "Oh my God, Max, you're here!"

"I'm here," Max reassured her. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," Carly answered. "I might be a little drugged up still, though."

"What?" Max questioned, eyes wide as she checked over her sister.

"Lucas!" Erica cried out.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas demanded.

"Ask them," Erica hooked her thumb in their direction. "It's their fault."

"True, yeah," Steve agreed. "Totally true. It's absolutely our fault."

"I don't understand what happened with that car," Robin pointed out.

"I don't understand what's going on at all," Ronnie added.

"El has superpowers," Dustin explained.

"I'm sorry?" Robin questioned.

"Superpowers," Steve told her. "She threw it with her mind. C'mon, catch up."

Of course, Carly could believe in the possability of it. Now, her eyes fell on El, full of wonder as if there was someone else just like Carly. 

"That's El?" Erica questioned.

"Who's El?" Robin asked.

"I'm sorry, who are you three?" A brunette questioned, looking towards the three that were the newest.

"I'm Robin," she introduced herself. "I work with Steve."

"Carly," she said with a smile. "I work with Steve too, but I'm also Max's sister."

"Ronnie," said Carly's friend, unsure. "I'm so confused."

"Robin cracked the top secret code," Dustin informed them. "And, Max, why didn't you tell me Carly had powers?"

Carly froze at that, not used to being openly exposed like that. Now, here they were with El being powerful too, where it was all too much for Carly to wrap her mind around.

"Powers?" Max questioned, confused. "What powers?"

Carly was confused too. "I... you believe me?"

"I saw you!" Dustin exclaimed. "I don't know what you did, but you did something!"

"What happened?" Lucas asked.

"Carly took my hat and then her eyes rolled up—"

"Like she was possessed!" Erica added.

"Yeah, exactly," Dustin nodded. "Then, her nose bled like El's does... I don't know what happened, but it was creepy."

"Really creepy," Erica finished.

"I was inside your mind," Carly told him, feeling her heart pounding as all eyes were on her. "In a memory."

"You're all insane," Ronnie decided.

"Are you shitting me?" Max demanded, staring at Carly as if she was completely clueless as to who her sister was. "You have powers and you never thought to tell me?"

"Because it's not normal!" Carly shouted, starting to lose the plot herself. "And it doesn't matter right now! What matters is that Robin intercepted a Russian code with Russians currently beneath us and we're all screwed!"

It was too much to feel the burning stare from her sister — and Steve. Carly had a thousand questions herself, as well as El, but now was not the time. After they got out alive, then Carly would stop to actually figure out what the hell was going on.

But, of course, she was afraid that everyone simply saw a monster now.

"Russians?" A man questioned. "Wait, what Russians?"

"The Russians!"

"Those were Russians?" Max questioned, trying to focus again.

"Some of them," Erica said.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked.

"Didn't you hear our code red?"

"Yeah," Mike said. "I couldn't understand what you were saying."

"Godamn low battery!"

"How many times do I have to tell you about the low battery?" Steve questioned, frustrated.

"Well, everything worked out, didn't it?"

"Worked out?" Erica exclaimed. "We almost died!"

"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?"

"It was pretty damn close," Steve insisted.

As the hysteria of arguments started to rise, there was the sound of a body hitting the ground. The group turned, spotting El on the floor as her face was scrunched up in pain. Worried, the group hurried over to the younger girl with Carly's eyes wide, wondering if she was injured.

"What's wrong with her?" Erica questioned.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"My leg," said El, struggling from the pain. "My leg!"

There was a scramble as the two oldest teenagers were quick to roll up El's trousers to check out her injury. While the blood was too much for Carly, it was the skin moving as if something was deep inside the young girl's leg. Carly's hand cupped her mouth, feeling her stomach tighten.

Whatever was inside moved as El screamed.

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Once again, I love them!!🥺 Very, very excited for the next chapter! A LOT is going to happen. Any predictions?