𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ thirty-one.

THE TRIO QUICKLY jogged up the escalator to find their evil Russian.

          Andrea had hoped her summer would be normal and filled with fun times with her friends, family and boyfriend but instead, she was chasing after an evil Russian with the boy she babysat and her boyfriend.

          Steve grabbed Andrea's hand once the reached the top of the escalator and gave it a squeeze. Even though this guy was definitely evil and could beat Steve easily in a fight, he wanted to protect his girlfriend no matter what and he wanted her close so he could do that.

          "Slow down," Dustin said from behind the teenagers who were walking too quickly for him to catch up. He jogged slightly and still couldn't keep up with their long legs.

          "We're losin' him," Steve said quickly and picked up the pace even more, pulling Andrea along with him.

          "You're getting too close," Dustin warned and gritted his teeth as he looked up at Steve.

A man's shoulder slammed into Andrea's and she groaned, glaring up at the man. "Watch it, kid," he snapped and furrowed his eyebrows at the blonde before walking away.

          Andrea huffed out a sigh and looked back at the evil Russian in front of them, her eyes widening once he stopped and began to turn around. "Blend in," she ordered and pulled Steve toward the window of a bookstore. She and Steve stared into the window while Dustin talked into a payphone, acting like he had been having a conversation the whole time.

          Steve glanced over his shoulder and huffed out a sigh of relief once the man turned back around. "Let's go," he said quietly and gave Andrea's hand a tug. He patted Dustin's shoulder as they passed him, signalling it was time to move.

          The trio ducked behind a column and peered out from behind it, only making their heads visible as they watch the Russian walk along the landing. They all watched as the man walked into the Jazzercise room in the middle of the line of stores.

          "Not an evil Russian," Andrea whispered to herself and sighed. She watched closely as the man pulled off his jacket and her eyes widened, taking in his toned chest and arms. "Oh, wow."

          Steve stared in confusion at the man as he planted his hands on his hips and moved them around in a circle slowly. The boy's eyes slowly dropped to the behind of a woman in the back row and his mouth dropped open. Andrea couldn't be mad at him for looking at another girl like that when she was almost drooling over the guy that they all expected to be an evil Russian - right?

          Andrea blinked rapidly as she watched the blond man thrust his hips back and forth. She pressed her lips together and blew air up into her cheeks, her eyebrows furrowing. She felt her cheeks and ears get hot the longer she stared and she wanted to pull her eyes away but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. "Definitely not an evil Russian."

* * * *

"Yo, Robin, you're not gonna believe who Dustin thought was an evil Russian," Steve said once the trio entered Scoops.

          "You did too," Dustin snapped and flared up at the older boy.

          "No, I did not," Steve said.

          "Yes, you did."

          "No, I did not."

          Robin ran between the boys, pushing them apart so she could get through. She sprinted down over the steps outside the store and jumped up onto a bench, turning in a slow circle as she mumbled sentences to herself.