𝗨𝗚𝗟𝗬 // 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

015

POV CHANGE - 3rd person

"Hey! Can you cut it out? You've been trying all morning." Or what Steve assumed was morning, but the tween in front of him had a small watch on his wrist and was adamant the mall had opened, so he decided, for his sake of mind, to trust him.
The popular boy grunted, pushing himself feet first onto the top of the elevator, walking to the boy who stood with a confused look on his face.
"I don't get why you're so grumpy," he began to smirk, "not when you spent the night with Ruby."

Steve felt a red flush on his cheeks, one that was clearly visible to the tween who began to chuckle at his embarrassed older friend. "I told you nothings going on!"
Dustin sighed and looked up at his friend, leaving a minute of silence for Steve's red cheeks to go down.

"You know.. you really shouldn't ask her such personal questions."
He was referring to what he'd heard the night before, Dustin remembered Steve asking Ruby questions about what she had accidentally revealed in the elevator the day before.
Of course Dustin noticed what Ruby said, did it worry him? Yes. Ruby was someone Dustin was beginning to look up to a lot, but he figured there would be a better time to talk to her about it. Steve clearly didn't share the same thought.

"You're not her boyfriend," the tween reminded his older friend who simply turned to him with a condescending look, "what? I could be her boyfriend."

"You're not though."

"I could be."

"Do you want to be?" The question left Steve frozen in thought, he knew he felt some way towards Ruby, he knew for some reason he didn't want her to hate him, but he always figured it was because she was Robin's best friend.

Steve decided he didn't want to think about it right now, not while trapped under ground on top of an elevator anyways, so instead he moved to the corner of the room.
"What are you doing?" Dustin commented, disgusted.

"Peeing! Look away!"

***

POV CHANGE - 1st person

If you had told me that when woke up this morning I would have a sharp pain in my neck and be laying on Steve's shoulder, I wouldn't believe you.
But hey, there were Russians hiding elevators under ground so what did I know.

When I had awoken I had come face to face with the boy himself, who's beautiful eyes were just flickering open from his sleep. It wasn't till they were wide and staring back in mine that I had noticed the space between us, his breath was tickling my face and hair brushing my forehead as he leant down.
I was frozen, or maybe I didn't actually want to move, either way the feeling in my stomach as he glanced down at my lips was real, and terrifying.
Mostly because a part of me still didn't understand why Steve Harrington would be so close.

But I remembered Miss Cooks words,
I am beautiful,
And I felt my eyes glance towards Steve's own lips.

"HELLO?!"
Dustin's voice echoed through the elevator from above and me and Steve snapped apart, looking awkwardly around the room at Erica, who was staring curiously at the vile of liquid and Robin, who stood smirking with her eyebrows raised.

"I uh.. I better check on him." Steve rubbed the back of his neck and stood, knees cracking slightly which made me sniffle a laugh.

Once he left Robin confronted me, "okay, what was that?"

"What?" I shrugged.
"What do you mean what?!" Robin shouted, arms flailing around, "you and Steve were about to kiss!"
I felt my face burn, "we-we we're not!" I shout back matter of factly, completely embarrassed that Robin could be talking about this right now.
"Oh please! Your eyes were all shiny and like oh Steven please kiss me! Mwah!" She squeaks her voice higher at the end, as if trying to mimic me, which makes my cheeks even warmer.

"Hey! I don't sound like that!" My voice squeaks and my face flushes deeper in embarrassment, I was not prepared to have my emotions called out like this so early in the morning.
We're interrupted by the noise of a stream and turn to face the wall in the far corner of the room only to see liquid running down.

"Ew! Can you direct your stream please?" Robin shouts up at Steve and he moves to the left, causing my best friend to mumble "dingus," under her breathe.
I point to the stream, "you think I wanna kiss that?"

"The pee? I would hope not."
A hopeless sigh escapes my lips, "you know that's not what I-"

There's a banging behind us and we turn once more to notice Erica now clanging the vile of liquid against some metal boxes.
"What are you doing?" My best friend questions, eyebrows high and voice full of sarcasm.
Erica ignores her and continues banging the vile on the metal, "hey! Hey! Be careful! Be careful!" Robin rushes towards her and lunges towards the vile, taking it into her hands.

"We don't even know what that is!"

Erica simply judges Robin with her eyes, "exactly, it could be useful."
"Useful how?" I question, stepping forward and genuinely interested to what the little girl could be thinking.

"We can survive down here a long time without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die."
I don't think I knew that at her age.
Is Erica secretly a genius?

Erica seems to be slightly stressed, arms shrugging as she speaks but Robin just chuckles and sarcastically drawls out, "I hate to break it to you, but this," she points at the vile, "is not water."

The little girl shrugs, "no but it's a liquid."

I purse my lips into a small agreeing smile and nod, pointing towards her, "she has a point."

"She does not-" Robin turns to me swiftly and points her finger at my face, "she does not have a point!"
There's a soft whirring in the room as Erica snatches back the vile and goes back to clanging, but me and Robin's attention goes to the door.

"Guys!" Robin's voice croaks as she shouts, "we have company!"

***

We're hiding on top of the elevator in seconds, Steve's face is close to the grates watching as the Russians move around the room and pick up a couple boxes.
Once they've left we're back in the main elevator, Steve's intuition taking the better of him as he places the vile under the door and ushers for us to slide under.

Erica goes first, following her backpack, before the group is following close behind her.
I'm second to last before Steve and I can't help but give him a look before we go through, his eyes lock with mine and there's a dark, but hopeful look present inside of him.

I find myself nodding in understanding, like I can see what's inside his mind, the same mind that seemed invisible to me just a few weeks back.
I know that Steve has hope, hope that we'll get out of this mess, all of us.
It's only for a split second, but the interaction seems like eternity in my head.

So I slide under the door, trying not to scream as Steve barely gets out after me as the vile breaks and almost burns him.
The floor below disintegrates and Robin unleashed a smug smile before turning to Erica,

"Still wanna drink that?"