𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ twenty.

ANDREA LEANED HER head back against the wall and tapped her fingers against the arm o the chair in the hospital waiting room. She let out a sigh and turned her head, smiling as her eyes landed on Steve who was walking toward her with two cans of coke and a chocolate bar. "Hey," she said and smiled at him once he sat down beside her.

          "Hi," Steve said and smiled back at Andrea, handing over one can of coke for her. He set the chocolate bar down on her lap and met her eyes. "Is Snickers still your favourite?"

          "Of course it is," she replied and leaned over, placing a quick kiss on his lips. "Thank you for coming with me."

          "It's the least I could do," Steve replied and looked up and down the hallway, furrowing his eyebrows. "Where's Dustin?" He asked.

          "I sent him home while you were gone to get snacks," Andrea replied and rubbed her eyes, letting out a loud yawn. "He was half asleep in his chair so I told him to go home."

          Daniel Matthews jogged down the hallway toward the waiting room, his mind running wild. He had gotten a call from a nurse no more than ten minutes ago to let him know that his daughters were at the hospital and one of them had a fractured ankle while the other had minor cuts and bruises on her face. Daniel darted into the waiting room and let out a sigh when he saw Andrea sitting in the chair, laughing at something with Steve Harrington. "Andy," he said softly and choked on a sob at the sight of the cuts and bruises on his daughter's face.

          Andrea lifted her head and looked and her father, smiling slightly as she stood up and handed her snacks over to Steve. "Hey, Dad," she said and swallowed back a sob. She walked toward him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face in his chest. "I'm so sorry for disappearing. So much happened and I didn't have time to call you, I would've called but I was so scared and had to protect Valorie. I'm-"

          "It's okay," Daniel said softly into his daughter's hair. He placed a kiss on her head and leaned away, cupping her face gently as he looked over her face at the cuts. "What happened?"

          "That's a really long story, actually," Andrea replied and smiled at her father.

          "I've got lots of time."

* * * *

"Do I have to go?" Valorie whined and looked up at Andrea, scoffing when her sister placed a pale blue headband on her head to match her dress.

          Andrea nodded and took a step backwards, looking her sister up and down quickly. "Yes, you have to go," she replied and rested her hands on her hips. "You told Dustin he had to take you to the Snowball, which mean you can't back out now."

          Valorie rolled her eyes and looked down at the wrap around her fractured left ankle. She frowned slightly and sighed. "This is ugly," she muttered and looked up at her sister.

          "Ugly?" Andrea questioned and furrowed her eyebrows as she shook her head. "It shows how badass you are. You went down into those tunnels and were so brave! That wrap isn't ugly — it's symbolic."

          "The only symbolism this wrap has is how ugly it is," Valorie complained and folded her arms over her chest, glancing sideways into the mirror to her right. At the sight of herself in the pale blue dress, she smiled slightly and turned, careful not to put too much weight on her ankle. She sighed deeply and tilted her head. "You really think I look good?"