𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 ~ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two:
Scardey Cat
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ramona watched Steve push the ice cream towards Erica in silence as she wrote the names of the coffees the styrofoam cups. Erica looked down at the ice cream, flickering her eyes over the four faces as she rose her eyebrows.

Erica shook her head, pushing the bowl back to him, "More fudge, please."

Steve shared a look with Ramona as he picked up the ice cream. Ramona shrugged, scribbling Macho Mocha on the cup. Erica continued to shoo him, waving her hands. "Go on."

"All right," Robin started, gaining the attention of the girl as she pulled out the map and pointed to the red line on it. "You see this? This is the route you're going to take. Then we just wait til the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, and unlock the door."

"Sencilla."Ramona nodded, "Very simple. Even a.. what's the word? Child, you, can do it."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?" Erica asked, stirring the ice cream with the red spoon.

"Si." Ramona nodded, slipping the sharpie into the pocket of her orange shirt.

"Exactly." Dustin nodded quickly. "Exactly."

"Mhm." Erica hummed, "And you say this guard is armed?"

"Yes. But he won't be there." Dustin insisted.

"And booby traps?" She continued, raising her eyebrows.

"Booby traps?" Robin shook her head, knitting her eyebrows together in annoyance.

"Lasers, spikes in the wall.. Booby traps."

Robin and Ramona shared a look as they collectively held in a laugh. "Right. Okay."

"You know what this half baked plan of yours sounds like to me?" Erica paused for dramatic effect. "Child endangerment!"

"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time. Nothing co-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica hissed, cutting Robin's sentence off short. "Child endangerment!"

"Aye, aye, aye." Ramona muttered, rolling her eyes as she lifted the coffee cup to her lips and checked the time on her watch. As much as she hated having to wake up at the crack of dawn, around seven in the morning, to get to her shift at eight, the hours were great. 

"Erica? Hi. Uh, we think these Russians want to do harm to our country." Dustin explained carefully, making sure that no one around him was listening in, "Great harm. Don't you love your country?"

"You can't spell America without Erica." Erica said, slurping her drink as Ramona rolled her eyes.

Dustin blinked slowly, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. S-So, don't do this for us, do this for your country. Do it for your fellow man."

Ramona grimaced, sharking a look with Dustin as the slurping grew louder. "Do this America... Erica."

Erica's body shook as she put the empty cup on the table. "Oh! I just got the chills. Oh, yeah.. From this float, not your speech. You know what I love most about this country? Capitalism."

Dustin's smile fell and he rolled his eyes in clear annoyance. Ramona scoffed under her breath as she ran her hand through her hair. "Figures."

"Do you know what capitalism is?" She asked the boy.

"Uh, yeah.." Ramona nodded slowly.

"It means this is a free market system. Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are. And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all." Erica explained as Dustin huffed, "So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many.. And I'm talkin' free ice cream and hot chocolate for life!"

"Wow." Ramona muttered, watching as she bit into the cherry. "Estoy tan despedida de nuevo."

~~

Ramona sighed, tracing designs on the wooden tabel she sat on. Steve watched her as she stared down at her feet, her lips pulled into a frown.

"Ramona?" He called carefully, a confused sigh leaving his lips when she paid him no attention to him whatsoever. Usually, she'd send him a snarky comment or call him Harrington. But this time, he got no response whatsoever. "Hey, Ramona. Look at me, would you?"

Ramona blinked slowly, tearing her eyes from her dirty shoes to look up at him. She sent him a strained smile as he pushed himself off of the chair and walked over to sit beside her. She watched him in silence as he leaned against the table, focusing his eyes on her. She shifted under his gaze as she kept her eyes trained on him.

Steve searched Ramona's face in concern, "Hey, what's wrong? You've been off all day. Did-Did Nancy say something?"

Ramona shook her head, tightening her grip on the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white from the grip she held. "Nancy said something about.. about people being flayed."

"Flayed?" Steve questioned, "Like-Like flayed like Will?"

Ramona nodded, "I-I guess? But I don't know, it sounded very, very bad."

Steve nodded slowly, "Scardey cat."

Ramona rolled her eyes, scoffing as she swung her foot back and forth. Steve frowned at her silent state, "Wait, are you actually scared?"

Ranona fidgeted with her fingers, her hands resting in her lap. Her breath hitched in her throat when Steve reached over and took her hand into his. "Ramona.."

His voice was soft and gentle as he watched her expression change. "Talk to me, will you?"

Ramona blinked, "Do you remember how I got bit last year?"

Steve nodded, watching as her eyes glossed over and her lip trembled at the traumatic memory. "Yeah, I do. Thought you were gonna die for a minute there."

Ramona glared at him, her vision blurring as she locked eyes with him. "Nancy just.. she described this woman.. who was flayed. And-"

"Nancy's wrong." Steve cut her off, "She's wrong."

"What if I'm flayed too?" Her voice cracked as she looked up at him, "Just the way she described it.. I-I don't wanna die, Steve."

"That's not an option." Steve said sternly, shaking his head and tightening the grip he held on her hand. "Believe me, Ramona. That isn't on the table."

Ramona blinked, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth as her eyes danced across Steve's face, trailing down to his lips before flickering back up to his eyes. "It's not?"

"No." Steve shook his head, adjusting his position so he was standing in front of her. I made you a promise last year. Do you remember what it was?"

Ramona nodded slowly, "You said you wouldn't let me die."

"Exactly." Steve nodded, straightening his back at the sound of Erica, Robin, and Dustin's voice nearing. "And I intend to keep my promise."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ A/n: fuck do i have a kiss planned for them tehe }

{ Translations: Simple, yes, im so fired again }

{ Edited: No }