𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ thirteen.

THEY SAT SILENTLY in the bus, the only sound that filled the air being the click of Steve lighting up his lighter and then closing the lid again. Dustin was pacing the length of the bus, stepping over Andrea and Steve's feet as he walked in front of them. Lucas was on top of the bus, scouting out the area with his binoculars. Max was sitting at the back of the bus silently, twiddling her thumbs. And Andrea and Steve sat side by side with their backs rested up against the wall. The room was filled with tension, everyone was on edge and they all knew it. This fight could only go two ways –good or bad– and they all prayed it would be the best option of the two.

          Max folded her arms over her chest and turned her head toward Steve and Andrea. "So you guys really fought one of these things before?" She questioned, causing Steve to look at her and nod. "And you're, like, totally, 100 percent sure it wasn't a bear?"

          "Shit. Don't be an idiot, okay? It wasn't a bear," Dustin snapped and shoved his hands into his pockets, turning to face Max. "Why are you even here if you don't believe us?"

          Andrea furrowed her eyebrows and kicked Dustin in the shin. "Hey! You don't get to speak to her like that," she snapped and looked over at Max who didn't even look offended, more surprised than anything.

          Dustin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, ignoring the older girl's kick and harsh tone. "Just go home."

          Max widened her eyes and stood up from her seat, brushing off her pants as she glared at Dustin. "Geesh. Someone's cranky," she said and grabbed onto the ladder. "Past your bedtime?" She asked and looked back at Dustin once more before climbing up the ladder to join Lucas at the top.

          Steve smiled slightly and looked over at Dustin as he began pacing once again. "That's good," he said and nodded his head. "Just show her you don't care."

          Dustin stopped and turned to face the older kids who were sitting on the floor together, his eyes completely skipping over Andrea who was glaring at Steve. "I don't," he said softly and shrugged his shoulders, causing Steve to look up at him and wink. Dustin scrunched up his nose and narrowed his eyes. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop."

          "Dustin, what you said to Max was really rude," Andrea stated and turned her head toward Steve, swatting his arm with the back of her hand. "And there was no need for you to encourage it."

          "Hey! I was just trying to get the kid a girlfriend," Steve said and rubbed his arm, furrowing his eyebrows at the stinging feeling Andrea's tiny hand left behind.

          "Well stop," Andrea ordered and glared at the boy who returned the glare and then rolled his eyes dramatically, causing the girl to laugh and nudge his side with her elbow. "You're a dork, Harrington."

          Steve nodded and looked at the girl, offering his best smile as their eyes met. "As are you, Matthews," he said and patted the girl's knee before quickly returning his hand back to his lap. "As are you."

          Although Andrea was happy and content where she was, her mind couldn't help but wander to her sister. She knew she was with Mike, Will and his family but were they safe? She hoped and prayed that her sister wasn't involved in anything like she had gone through last year. Andrea wasn't there to protect Valorie last year and if she was in trouble again she wouldn't be there to protect her this year either. Both sisters were involved in some deep shit and neither of them knew just how deeply the other was into it. Andrea's stomach was in knots ever since she parted ways with her sister this morning in her driveway. Neither of them said their I love you's, just 'see you later', which was good enough for the both of them but the more Andrea thought about it, the more she realized that something could go horribly wrong and she'd never see her little sister ever again.