𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ★ steve harrington²

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 : human bait needed

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 2.5k

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𝐀 𝐒𝐊𝐘 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃 and a sea of fog had settled amongst the cars. Lucas had taken it upon himself to be the lookout, settling on top of the bus with his trusty pair of binoculars. The group's school bus headquarters was quiet – but not silent. Steve made sure of that by flicking his lighter open and shut time and time again.

Owen sat directly across from him on the floor of the bus, steadily bouncing her head against the wall behind her as her last resort to pass the time. Then, as if the jostling of her brain helped to produce a thought, her head perked up to look at the girl who had joined them. She had been sitting there so quietly that Owen had nearly forgotten she was there.

"You know, you never told us your name," Owen commented, breaking the tense silence that had befallen the group. Dustin had even resorted to pacing around the already-tight space.

"You guys never told me yours, either," the girl retorted, arms crossed in front of her.

"Good point," Owen admitted. "I'm Owen and that's Steve." At the mention of his name, Steve's free hand lifted to deliver a short wave. The redheaded girl studied both of them for a moment, mulling over their names in her mind.

"My name's Max," she informed them, finally putting a name to her face.

"Well, it's nice to officially meet you, Max," Owen smiled, pulling her knees up to her chest. If she wasn't already looking, she may have missed the small grin that ghosted across Max's features.

"So, you guys really fought one of these things before?" Max questioned, hesitant stare bouncing between Owen and Steve. They both nodded, peering at each other from across the aisle of the bus. It felt surreal to be in such a similar situation again. Owen hadn't expected that she would have to fight monsters with Steve Harrington once – much less twice in the span of a year. "And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?" Max checked, clearly still skeptical about the entire situation.

"Shit. Don't be an idiot, okay? It wasn't a bear," Dustin blurted, irritably. His outburst drew the attention of everyone in the bus, each wearing a different expression: Owen, horrified. Max, disgruntled. Steve, secretly impressed. But Dustin didn't even stop there. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us?"

"Jeez, someone's cranky," Max shot back, standing from her seat. "Past your bedtime?" Then, she was climbing the ladder leading to the roof of the bus, understandably trying to get away from Dustin as soon as possible.

"That's good. Just show her you don't care," Steve said once Max was out of earshot.

"No, Steve. That's not good. He just scared the poor girl away," Owen scolded.

"I don't care," Dustin insisted, glaring at both of them. "I don't."

He tried to resume his pacing around the bus, but Steve's eye dropped into a "knowing" wink. Owen's eyebrows furrowed and her upper lip curled as she watched the interaction. She couldn't fathom how Steve had ever managed to get a girlfriend with this method.

"Why are you winking, Steve? Stop," Dustin grumbled, rolling his eyes in that grouchy teenager way. Steve feigned innocence and shrugged while not even trying to fight the amused smile on his lips. Owen's head dropped back against the wall again, eyes drifting shut as she tried to block out the boys' conversation. But it wasn't even two seconds later that Steve was nudging at her ankle with his foot.