PANDEMONIUM [ 2 ] ↠ STRANGER THINGS

22. WINTER WONDERLAND

PANDEMONIUM
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

➝ WINTER WONDERLAND

COLLEEN STOOD ON HER FRONT YARD AS SHE HEARD STEVE'S CAR DRIVING DOWN THE STREET. He pulled to the side of the road out front of her house parked his car. And as she made her way over to the car, Dustin climbed out of the front seat and held the door open for her. She offered him a smile and ruffled his hair lightly, which made him let out a yelp. She felt all the product and hairspray in his hair, and she knew that it was Steve's idea. He was wearing a suit with a black bow-tie, he looked like a gentleman. He climbed into the backseat and sat in the middle leaning forward, so she turned around to face the younger boy. "So, how do I look?"

"Like Steve, but curlier," Colleen replied, which made Dustin's eyes light up. Steve glanced at him in the rear view mirror and shrugged his shoulders as he looked around before taking off down the road, "It looks good, Dusty. You look great."

Steve drove off down the road towards the middle school, where the Snow Ball was being held. Colleen thought back fondly about all the years of attending the Snow Ball, always with Steve. The two of them had always gone to all of the school dances together— well, that was up until they entered high school when Steve started getting girlfriends. So that's when she started going solo. But... this was the first year where she had a date.

The drive was silent, but little did Colleen know, the entire ride to her house they were talking. Mainly, Dustin interrogating. He kept asking him why he wouldn't tell Colleen about how he felt. And that she definitely liked him too. But Steve knew that wasn't true.

"All right, buddy," Steve pulled up to the side of the road and parked the car. His eyes flashed back to Dustin in the rear view mirror before turning around in his seat, "Here we are. So, remember, once you get in there..."

Dustin nodded his head as his eyes locked with Steve's, and Colleen turned around in her seat as well, "Pretend like I don't care."

"You don't care."

Dustin shook his head, "I don't care."

Steve nodded his head in triumph at the certainty in his voice, "There you go. You're learning, my friend. You're learning." But then Dustin gulped loudly, and he leaned forward so that he could catch his reflection in the mirror so Steve groaned out, "Hey! Come on. You look great, okay? You look... You look great. Okay? Now you're gonna go in there..." Dustin looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded along with his words, letting Steve hype him up. He needed this talk. "You're gonna look like a million bucks. And you're gonna slay 'em dead. Okay?"

Dustin looked up at him, "Like a lion."

What followed was a "purr."

Colleen's eyes widened at the sudden noise and Steve glared at him. Steve shook his head and tilted his head to the side slightly, "Yeah, uh. Don't— Don't to that, okay?"