𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ★ steve harrington²

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 : i ran

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 4.1k

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"𝐒𝐎, 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓?"

Dustin was the first to speak up from the back seat, breaking through the silence in the car. Owen kept her eyes on the road, but her brows still dipped surreptitiously.

"Talk about what?" she asked in a forcibly merry tone, trying to act clueless. Of course, she knew exactly what he was referring to, but she was hardly at liberty to answer any questions about the earthquake that had just saved their asses. Actually, screw the whole 'at liberty' part; she was entirely lacking in any answers to give them — even if she wanted to.

But that whole clueless act didn't work on Dustin. Not for a second.

"I think it's pretty clear by now that we, collectively, are not a group lucky enough to experience a random, life-saving earthquake. So what the hell was that?" Dustin questioned her. "Not to mention all the times you have those weird premonitions about stuff before anything even happens!" he tacked on, adding to the growing list of suspicious behavior Owen had exhibited as of late.

But every time Owen really began to believe that she could easily fade into the background of any and all situations, the group of friends she had made in Hawkins forced her to second-guess that. Or perhaps she had just managed to befriend the most observant people in the entire town. Whatever the case, she realized that she now had to face the music and fess up to Dustin and the others about all the weird shit she had been experiencing lately. Even if she decided to put off an explanation right then, she knew that it wouldn't satiate them forever.

Owen expelled a sigh, rubbing her hands across the steering wheel nervously. "Honestly, Dustin... I don't know. That's the truth," she confessed. "Or, most of the truth. I've been having those... premonitions since we moved here. If you can even call them premonitions... it's basically like this extra sense that tells me when I'm in danger."

"Like spidey-senses," he gasped.

She couldn't help but let out a breathless chuckle. "Sure, yeah. Like spidey-senses." Owen was all too familiar with the concept having grown up with a Spiderman fanatic.

"But what about the earthquake?" Mike prodded.

Owen's lips pressed together, twitching anxiously. "Y'know, I'm kind of wondering the same thing," she admitted, quietly. "That's never happened to me before. And I'm not sure I could even do it again if you asked, if it was even me at all." Finally, she peeked into the rearview mirror, making eye contact with the boys lined up in the backseat. "How about this? The moment I figure anything out, I promise that you guys will be the first ones I tell. But for right now, I don't even have the answers myself."

Silence filled the car as the group of kids pondered the offer. "That seems fair," Lucas nodded and the others hummed in agreement.

All of a sudden, Steve began to groan and shift in his place across the boys' laps. Worriedly, Owen looked at him through the rearview mirror. She hadn't really been expecting him to wake up so soon. Even in the dark, she could see how rough he looked, his face all puffy, bruised, and bloody. He hardly looked like himself.

"Nancy?" Owen heard him blearily mumble as he studied Mike through swollen eyes. Through blurry vision, he could see the younger boy's face scrunch in confusion. Steve reached up, trying to rub at his aching face, but Dustin swatted his hands away before he could hurt himself further.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Owen greeted him from the front seat.

"Hey, buddy..." Dustin cooed, shushing him like a baby. "It's okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight, buddy. You're okay."