𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 - [𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻]

𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐯. 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 - infected

━━━━━━━

 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃 anyone at all when Scarlet and Eleven had fallen into one another's arms. If anything, they'd all been surprised at the fact that neither of the two had gone blue from just how hard they embraced one another.

 Scarlet almost refused to let her go; she'd only been able to think about her little sister, her father and all of those around her back down in the base... back when the gun was against her head. The people she was there for, living for. She squeezed Eleven tighter, a hand smoothing down her fizzed frock of hair.

 Up close Eleven looked even worse for wear; there were smudges of blood beneath the young girl's button nose; both old and new. Her hair was frizzy and pieces of dirt and blood hung in clumps... then there was her leg. Blood was splattered up her calf, and rips were present in her jeans... What the hell had happened?

 "Are you alright?" Scarlet muttered ever so softly, a hand placed just on the underside of Eleven's jaw. It was a silly question, really, because it was clear that none of them were okay. But Eleven answered with a nod nonetheless.

 "I'm okay," El breathed, a grimace tugging at her relieved smile as she shifted on her feet. She soon took notice of the bumps and bruises on her sister's face... she smoothed a gentle finger over a particularly purple bruise, "Are you?"

 "Always."

 It didn't take long for Steve to take Scarlet's place; he scooped the littlest Hopper up and into his arms, squeezing almost as tightly as Scarlet. He'd murmured to her, telling her that he'd been worried. Scarlet couldn't help the smile that flitted across her lips at the sight.

 Soon enough, it only grew wider as Will Byers barrelled into her. His arms wove around her middle, holding her as close as he could. Scarlet could feel him shaking beneath her fingertips, a harsh shiver wracking his spine... even his face wasn't filled with that familiar Byers warmth; he looked as though he'd just awoken from a nightmare... or, perhaps, as though he was still in one.

 There was something she wanted to ask him, whether little Will had been hearing the same things as she... experiencing the same shivers down the back of her neck. But there wasn't the time, for Max Mayfield soon tugged Will away and slotted herself right in his former place.

 Solace finally settled within Scarlet's gut. It pushed out the fear and worry, it created a shield against the trauma she'd been through... if only for a short while. She tucked Max's head upon her shoulder, the two of them swaying on the spot.

 "I'm so glad we found you." Max muttered as she pulled back, "You have no idea what we've seen."

 Steve had begun to approach them, leaving Eleven with Dustin to finally reunite. He took slow steps, offering his cutest smile when Scarlet looked his way... Scarlet had never seen Max move as fast as she did when Steve planted a hand atop her shoulder.