Pretty Boy

Chapter 17

"You ok?" RJ turned to make sure that Robin was ok in the backseat.

She looked wide-eyed at RJ, "Ask me tomorrow."

Looking at the hood of her car, crushed and smoking, she figured she wouldn't worry about asking Dustin for repair costs anymore. She got out to assess the damage, but the second she stepped out, she was faced with a bigger problem. A much bigger problem. Towering over the mall was the monster she'd been told so much about. It looked almost like a giant spider with long legs and glossy skin shining in the moonlight. She tried not to think too hard about how the monster was an amalgamation of rotting bodies. Steve and Robin stepped out of the car to take a look.

Steve softly grabbed RJ's hand. He wasn't sure if it was more for her comfort or his own. The screeching of tires and honking of a horn pulled their attention away from the monster.

"Get in!" Nancy shouted from the passenger seat. Robin, Steve, and RJ all hastily piled into the back of the car. Jonathan stepped on the gas, speeding out of the parking lot, the monster following closely behind.

RJ had heard the stories of the upside-down and the monsters that inhabited it, but seeing it in person was an entirely new kind of terrifying. She couldn't seem to pull her eyes off the slimy monster trudging towards them.

"You're telling me you fought that thing?" RJ asked Steve.

"Something kind of like it, yeah," He replied.

Nancy scoffed, "Something significantly smaller."

Steve rolled his eyes at her comment. RJ snickered. The radio Robin was holding caught a signal. It was a girl who sounded rather young, and she referred to Dustin as "Dusty Buns." If RJ wasn't so concerned about being chased by a giant spider monster, she would have taken the time to find that adorable.

"Who's the girl on the line?" RJ questioned.

Steve and Robin looked at each other and said, "Suzie," In unison.

Dustin was trying to get the equation for Planck's constant, but Suzie wasn't telling him. She was upset by the fact that her boyfriend had essentially ignored her for a week. Dustin pleaded, saying that he'd make it up to her.

"You could make it up to me now...I want to hear it," Suzie replied over the radio.

Steve and RJ shared a confused look. What on earth did Suzie want to hear from Dustin? Dustin attempted to make Suzie understand the gravity of the situation, but she was over it. Just before Suzie signed off, Dustin gave in. He began singing.

"Is he...is he singing The Neverending Story?" RJ couldn't help herself from laughing a bit. A monster was chasing the car she was in while two preteens were singing The Neverending Story over a radio. It was quite a comical mix.

Dustin's signal on the radio suddenly stopped. The car was silent, taking in the bizarre events that had just occurred. RJ burst out into laughter, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Robin began laughing with her, followed by Steve. Before she knew it, the entire car was hysterical with laughter. They found it nice to escape reality for just a moment. Laugh at Dustin and Suzie's duet to distract themselves from the monster.

"I'm never gonna let him hear the end of that," Steve said, laughing hysterically.

Lucas turned around. He was close to tears from laughing, "I guess Suzie was real after all."

As quickly as the light-hearted moment started, it ended. RJ saw the monster stop in its tracks before turning around and running in the other direction.

"Hey guys, it's turning around," She announced.

Jonathan knew where it was going. He swiftly flipped the car around and started driving back in the direction they'd come. The sudden turnaround caused RJ to go flying into the far right corner, right on top of Steve.