"either way, we're not alone..."
In which Sophie Hargrove struggles to close off her heart, especially when she starts to let Steve Harrington in.
STRANGER THINGS
SEASON TWO - SEASON FIVE
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The group set up a base in an old, rusting bus that creaked in all the wrong spots, but it would soon make for a good shelter. From the junk, Steve, Max and Sophie started a gather loose scraps of worn wood and discoloured metal. The other two barely helped, squatting behind a nearby car to discuss something they deemed important.
Steve reached into his backpack, retrieving a hammer he'd stolen from his dad's toolbox. He'd swiped a couple of things that morning -- it's not like his folks were in desperate need of them. They were on a business trip once again, leaving their son on his own. That didn't matter now, he couldn't let it get to him.
He twisted the tool in his hand in a similar manner to his baseball bat, pointing it at the girls. "You know how to use one of these, right?"
Max tossed a piece of wood to the ground, crashing against a sheet of thin metal. It bent slightly under its weight. "Uh, yeah, we're not stupid."
"She fixes her own skateboard," Sophie remarked, taking the hammer from his hand. Her knuckles grazed his momentarily, locking eyes as she pulled away, grasping the tool and bringing it close to her chest.
"Okay." Steve nodded, leaving the girls to it. He went to gather more material for their base, taking any spare parts he could find.
A ray of sunlight emerged from behind a cloud, briefly blinding the young blonde. Sophie raised a hand, squinting through her fingers. They didn't have much time left in the day, and once darkness would fall upon the land, they would be in the danger zone. She turned on her heel, heading back towards the bus.
Max leaned down, grabbing a narrow wooden board and pulling it upwards to avoid picking it up herself. In her pocket, she rifled through a small plastic bag Steve had given her, containing nails of various sizes. She handed one to Sophie before heaving the board off the ground. It wasn't too heavy, but her stepsister chose to aid her, taking the other end of the board in her hands.
They placed it against one of the windows and Max did her best to keep it steady. "So, they haven't told you the whole story then?"
"Story?" She placed the large nail near the edge of the board, raising the hammer.
"You know, the one about alternate dimensions," she started, "and this girl who can move things with her mind?"
Sophie paused, her brows lowered. She turned her head towards Max, staring back at her with disbelief. "... I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Honestly, I don't believe a word of it," Max told her, "but Lucas says he can prove it."
"Wait, you don't think this thing exists?" Sophie asked, bashing the hammer against the nail.
As it broke wood, Max declared. "Well, I'll have to see for myself, won't I?"
The teenager continued to hammer the nail into the board, watching it sink through the wood. Once that side was stable, Max handed her a second nail. Sophie shifted towards the other side, pressing the tip of the nail against the wood.
