𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥! 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

SCENE THIRTY THREE. infiltration of the mall

the cheer could be heard from there as the movie drew to a stop, the  people cassading out straight away as dustin opened the door.

"and blend." and as instructed the five disappeared into the crowd. to anyone else in the crowd the group looked like a couple with their third wheel best friend and younger siblings.

"well, shit that worked." robin mumbled.

"of course it worked. now we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebs and home sweet home, here we come." he smiled, grinning ear to ear as he noticed the guard failing to notice them.

"uh dustin?" steve murmured, the boy looking over his shoulder to the older boy who still had his hand in piper's.

"what?"

"yeah we might not wanna go to your house.'' piper mumbled. the boy snapping his neck to her.

"why?"

"well i might've told them your full name." steve added with a sheepish guilty smile. robin giggling lightly.

"what is wrong with you?" dustin spat as he looked forward once more.

"dude, i was drugged." he exclaimed, earning odd glances from people walking beside them. steve only gave them a small smile as piper flipped them off.feeling that cool metal, the gun!

"what do we do about this?'' piper asked, opening her jacket, dustin and eria's eyes going wide as they spotted the gun tucked into her jeans.

"and what is wrong with you!" he shouted even louder, eyes blown completely wide as she was quick to zip the jacket back u. hoping nobody else had seen the revolver.

"dude, i was possessed." she replied, copying the taller boy's mannerisms.

"nice." steve noticed how she copied him, holding his hand out for him to hit with her own. the girl slowly fixed him as they continued to walk through the crowd. robin passed her the red slush cup which she handed to steve, and only then did she notice her fingers laced together.

"guys?" robin mumbled, and the pair looked up to find the russian guards at the door in the worker uniforms. checking peoples bags as they left. oh fuck.

"abort!" dustin shouted and the group spun on their heels. running against the crowd as they came to the top of the star balcony. robin jumping down into the middle of the escalators. steve and piper are quickly followed. dustin and erica followed after them. hiding as the guards joined them. the five huddled up under the counter as they heard the russian men speaking. steve's arms wrapped piper who held dustin. robin couldn't help but want to make the remark that they looked like a family. steve being the mum of course. piper's eyes flashing slightly, and robin knew either something was wrong with these guards or something was coming for them. hearing one of them mumble words closer to them, lights flashing slightly as iper cried to fight the voice in her head. calling for her. when the car alarm suddenly just starts going off. piper looking over the ledge to find el, one of the girls from that day in the mall standing there. blood running down her nose slightly as she held a hand out. pointing it at the car. and the car flying towards the guards. hearing the men give a cry as it crushed them, the group pulling themselves from the shop as the other group ran down the stairs.

"you flung that thing like a hot wheel." dustin exclaimed as he ran towards the group.

"max, el." piper exclaimed as the two girls ran at her.

"piper parker." johnaton stated as he looked at the girl wide eyed. it was true, she had returned to hawkins. and she looked up at the boy. he had grown, obviously. before glancing at the girl clung to his side. the beautiful nancy wheeler. same curly haired doe eyed girl that had once saved her from the harrington wrath.

"johnaton byers, nancy wheeler. what a pleasant surprise." she smiled, pulling away from the two girls as steve stood beside her.

"lucas!'' ercia shouted as she caught sight of lucas, so it was true. what dustin had said. in the vents, in the russian guards.

"what are you doing here?" he exclaimed as he looked down at his sister.

"ask them, it's their fault." she replied pointing at the three. a shocked face lifting onto piper's face as erica threw them under the bus straight away.

"true, eah. totally true. it's absolutely our fault.'' steve quickly added as he rubbed his chin slightly, noticing how piper's eyes seemed to shift or her face seemed to twitch.

"i don't understand what happened to that car." robin replied, eyes flickering between the car and the girl that threw it.

"el has superpowers.'' piper added, not even giving her sentence a second thought.

"i'm sorry?" robin asked, raising her brow slightly.

"superpowers. she threw it with her mind. come on, catch up.” steve added, not moving his eyes of piper who was backing up slightly.

"that's el?'' erica replied looking at the girl dustin had told her about. if dustin wasn't with suzie, erica would have thought he was with el, typically how he talked about her.

"who's el?" robin asked looking around the group

"i'm sorry, who are you?" nancy was quick to ask, eyeing up the other on steve's other side.

"i'm robin, i work with steve.'' robin smiled motioning to their ice cream scooper uniforms.

"she cracked the top secret code."

"we, piper. we!" robin shouted again, pointing between the two as she talked.

"yeah, which is how we found out about the russians."

"russians? wait, what russians?" jonathan quickly sat looking at steve as if he was mad.

"the russians!" piper shouted, flailing her arms around.

"those were russians?'' max added, a hont of hock on her tongue as she threw a look to the men crushed under that car.

"some of them."

"what are you talking about?"

"did you hear the code red?"

"yeha. couldn't understand what you were saying."

"goddamn low battery."

"how many times do i have to tell you with the low battery?" steve spat, piper rubbing her thuns over the boy's skin lightly as she reached out for his hand.

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

"worked out!? we almost died! look at her!" erica exclaimed as she pointed to the girl hugged against steve's left side. she still didn't look well. she seemed to be shifting slightly.

and el fell to the floor. as piper's eyes returned to blank.