ENDGAME | STEVE HARRINGTON

( CHAPTER THREE )

( CHAPTER THREE )

"Where were you?" Hailey freezes as she enters her house. It was about 10.00 PM and Steve had just dropped her off. Her mother, Claudia sat in the armchair in the living room.

"I," Hailey stutters out; shit, she had completely forgotten about Dustin. Suddenly, as if on cue, in comes Dustin a few seconds later and his eyes widen, looking between the most two important females in his life.

Claudia relaxes; for a moment she thought her two kids had gone off in completely different directions and smiled. "Dusty!" She walked over to them now. "How was it, you two?"

Hailey and Dustin both glanced in at each other. "How was what?" Dustin slowly asks.

Claudia frowned a little as Mews stands beside her. "How was what? The greatest night of the year, of course!"

"Oh," Dustin begins. "Oh, yeah, it was... It was, uh, Tubular."

"So much fun!" Hailey added, nodding.

"What's wrong with you guys'?" Claudia asks, noticing something was up with her children.

"Nothing," Hailey and Dustin both quickly said. Hailey wondered why Dustin was so out of character as well, she had a hunch that it was more than the fact that Hailey had let him go Trick or Treating by himself.

Claudia looked between them worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"No," Dustin's voice goes higher thank usual, shaking his head. "What? No, right, Hailey?"

"Right," Hailey repeats.

"Is Dusty constipated again?" Claudia asks concerned as Dustin's eyes widen from embarrassment.

"No. Mum!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Okay, you're both acting weird and Hailey, who's jacket is that?" Claudia demands, looking at Hailey for a moment.

"J-Jonathan's," she lied easily, she had also completely forgotten she was wearing Steve's jacket. Dustin knew that was a lie as well.

"We are not acting weird!" Dustin defended them. Suddenly, something moves in Dustin's trap, causing Claudia and Hailey to jump, Dustin lets out a forced laugh. Mews hisses at it. "Awesome, right? Yeah... I rigged the trap with, uh, a motor it looked like I caught a Ghost. Just like the movie."

Now Hailey knew that was a lie. "Oh, my God, Dusty, you're so clever!" Hailey played along, laughing as well.

Claudia laughs nervously. "Oh, Dusty," and the three of them all faked laughed towards each other, though it was only Dustin and Hailey were fake laughing; their mother thought it was funny.

"Funny, look at that," the trap continues to move and Hailey was curious to know what the hell was in that trap. Dustin then turns down the hallway and made it to his room, Hailey quickly following his tail.

They entered his room and Hailey closed the door. "What the hell is that?!" She hisses at him as he walked over to his cage.

"Where the hell were you?" Dustin hisses back as Hailey comes up behind him.

"I was at a party," Hailey admitted. Dustin gave her a look. "Jonathan wanted to go and I didn't want him to be alone so I tagged along."

"Is that why you ditched me?" Dustin asked softly, looking at her sadly.

Hailey's mouth hung. "What? No. No. I just didn't want you to think that I was babysitting you so I told you could go by yourself."

"Hailey, you know Trick or Treating is our thing." Dustin gave her a look. "I'll always want you there." Hailey felt her heart warm and she gave him a smile. It's true. They both loved Trick or Treating so much, that it felt natural to go with each other.

"I'm sorry," Hailey whispered, realising just how much Dustin loves spending their Trick or Treats together.

"Seriously, though, who gave you the jacket?" Dustin gave her a small grin.

"Steve, now shut up," Hailey walked closer to the cage and Dustin had lifted off the lid and took Yertle out of his cage.

"Sorry, Yertle," Dustin had placed Yertle on the ground. "Temporary eviction, buddy," he then dumps whatever the hell was in his trap into the cage and it falls in there.

Hailey looked horrified as it looked like a tadpole with four legs coming out and a tail. "Dustin, what the hell is that?!" Dustin bends down and looked through the cage.

"I don't know," Dustin admitted. "What are you, little guy?"

"No," Hailey shakes her head. "You are not keeping that thing, Dustin."

Dustin's eyes widen and he looks at her. "Why not?" Hailey watched it hobble under a small log, in the shade.

"Because we don't know what that creature is!" She hisses, pointing at it. "We don't know what it eats, what it drinks, how it lives-"

"Exactly!" Dustin exclaimed quietly. "We could've found a discovery. A new species. We're gonna be famous, Hailey,"

Hailey thought for a moment. "Where did you find him, anyway?"

"In our trash looking for food," A thought went through his head and he turned back to the glass box. "You hungry?"

Dustin then dumped out all his candy from the bag and Hailey looks at it, impressed. She grabbed some candy and unwraps it, beginning to chew on it.

Dustin selects a full-sized three marketers bar and he breaks off pieces from the bar, letting it drop in the cage before taking a bite of his own. "Nougat," Dustin tells the creature. "Go on, eat."

Hailey watched as the tadpole-like creature scoots out, but then goes back under the shade as he screeches from the heat. "Too hot?" Dustin guesses and turned off the heat lamp. "Sorry about that, little guy."

The tadpole-like creature comes out from its hiding spot and beginning to eat the broken-off piece of a candy bar. "You like nougat too, huh?" Dustin smiled. It titls its head towards him. "You're pretty cute, you know that? I'm glad I found you." He looked at the candy bar. "D'Artagnan. I'm gonna call you D'Artagnan."

"You did not just name that thing," Hailey tells her little brother. "Dustin, you'll get attached and when you announce it to the world; you'll cry like a baby when it gets taken from you."

Dustin shoots her a glare. "I will not! I'm not gonna let anyone take him, Hailey," he looked back at D'Artagnan. "Dart for short."

Hailey groaned. "You gave it a nickname," she sighed heavily and rubs a hand over her face. "Dusty, if you keep that thing, and if Mum finds out, she's gonna freak,"

"She's not gonna find out," Dustin gave her a look. "Right? Please, Hailey, don't tell her!"

"Fine," Hailey agreed, pursing her lips together. She looked at Dart before she looked at Dustin. "You two better stay out of trouble," Dustin lets out a chuckle and with that, Hailey left his room and went to hers.

A/N

Thanks so much for 1K, I love y'all so much, hope y'all stay safe and keep healthy!