𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 ~ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four: 
Evil Russians

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ramona held her lip in between her teeth as she stood on her tippy toes to see over Steve's shoulder. "Three... two..."

"And," Dustin trailed off, his voice quieting as he looked up and down the mall flooded with people leaving the movie theater. "Blend."

Ramona's back straightened as she slipped out of the door, blending in with the crowd without missing a beat. Erica pursed her lips, nodding her head. "Well, shit. That worked!"

"Of course it worked. Now we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes and home sweet home here we come." Dustin grinned, happy to have this whole experience behind him,

Steve cleared his throat, awkwardly sliding his hand into Ramona's and Dustin gave him a look. "What?"

 "Yeah, you might not want to go to your house." Steve said, avoiding Dustin's prying eyes. 

Ramona shot Steve a look, raising her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Yeah," Dustin pointed at her, "Why?"

"Well, I might have told them your full name." Steve admitted as Ramona turned to him in shock, pulling her hand from his and smacking him over the head.

"Idiota de mierda." Ramona snapped, rolling her eyes as Steve pulled her hand back into his.

"What?" Dustin hissed, clearly trying to remain calm. "What is wrong with you?"

"Dude, I was drugged!" Steve defended.

"So?"

"So?" Steve repeated, shaking his head as he looked over at him. 

"So, you resist. You tough it out, you tough it out like a man." Dustin explained, refusing to look back at Steve.

"Oh, yeah. It's easy for you to say." Steve scoffed, shaking his head and tightening his grip on Ramona's hand. 

"Guys?" Robin said, reaching forward and stopping the group from walking. 

"Shit." Ramona swore at the sight of the Russian man.

"Abort." Dustin whispered, his heart dropping when the man turned and locked eyes on them. "Abort, abort!"

Ramona muttered swears under her breath as she stumbled behind Steve. He came to an abrupt halt at the escalator, shaking his head as he looked back at the lurking man. "Shit, okay. Uh-"

"Slide." Ramona whispered harshly, gesturing to the gap between the two escalators.

"What?" Ramona shook her head, ignoring his question as she pulled her hand away from his and seating herself down, "Come on."

"Oh." Steve nodded, watching as she slid down, turning to look at the four who stood at the top of the escalators. "Come on!"

~~

Ramona's heart hammered against her chest, her grip tightening on Steve's hand as she turned her head to look at him. His eyes were already on her. He shakily raised their interlocked fingers to his mouth, pressing a kiss against the back of her hand and nodding in an attempt to reassure her that everything would be all right. 

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, the pain in her throat a distant memory as her body focused on keeping her energy high enough to keep her fight or flight trigger activated. In fact, nearly all the pain in Ramona's body was dulled because of the adrenaline, and she was not looking forward to when it returned.