The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

14

"It is fascinating what twenty bucks will get you at the county Recorder's office" Robin stated as she flattened the large piece of paper on the table, "Starcourt mall" She declared, "The complete blueprints"

"Not bad" Dustin praised.

"So this is us— Scoops" She pointed at the spot on the blueprints that corresponded with their ice cream parlor. Then she slid her finger all the way across the mall, "And this is where we want to go"

"I mean, I don't really see a way in" Steve studied the map intently, his eyebrows gathering like they did when he was really concentrated.

"There's not" Robin agreed, "if you're talking exclusively about doors"

She peeled off the blueprint to reveal more underneath, this one had a few extra lines that passed through every single shop in the mall.

"Air ducts" Matteo grinned, "Robin, I could kiss you right now"

"I'd rather you did not" She pulled a face at him and walked toward the board where she plucked a marker from, running back to them. "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room"

"And these air ducts," Matteo watched her lean over the blueprints and circle their final destination in red and connect it through the air ducts to the room they were currently in, "Lead all the way..."

"Here" Matteo's gaze shifted to the wall Robin had been eyeing earlier— the corner the vent was situated in. Steve and Dustin turned together, mirroring his expression.

"Ladder" Steve said at last, "We need a ladder"

"There's a stepladder in the supply closet" Matteo said, already getting up to fetch it.

It was as if a switch had been flipped in all of them, a newfound hope and determination. Whatever problems Matteo had with Steve, he'd laid them bare in front of him and the other boy had apologized. For now, they were one team.

Matteo dragged the heavy ladder to the rest of the Scoops Ahoy team and propped it against the wall. "I'll hold it, you climb" He told Steve.

"Hye, hey, hey. Twenty minutes ago you hated my guts" Steve pointed out.

"I still hate your guts" Matteo shrugged, "But I'm not going to hurt you on purpose, Harrington, I'm not a monster"

"Okay..." He said, but he didn't look convinced. He shared a look with Dustin, no doubt telling the younger boy to hold onto the ladder as well just in case Matteo accidentally let him fall. "Screwdriver?"

"Here" Robin handed over the tool with a yellow and black handle, and Steve finally decided he was ready to climb. He paused on the first step, looking at Matteo again.

"I'm not going to drop you for fucks sake, Harrington!" He shook his head, "If you don't trust me, do you want to exchange places?"

"No, it's fine, it's not even that big of a fall."

"Because I won't let you fall," Matteo rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Steve."

It seemed to soothe him, at least a little since he gave in and climbed the rest of the steps and loosened all the screws on the air duct cover one by one, dropping them to the floor where Dustin gathered them.

Finally, when he pulled off the cover, he had to hold the screwdriver in his mouth like a pirate, "Flashlight"

Dustin complied and passed him a bright red flashlight, taking the screwdriver and duct cover.

"Thank you"

Steve clicked it on and stared down the vent.

"Yeah, I don't know man" He shook his head, "I don't know if anyone can fit in here. It's like.. Super tight"

"I'll fit," Dustin replied confidently. Steve stepped off the ladder, seemingly surprised he'd made it down without an attempt on his life. "Trust me. No collarbones, remember?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Robin and Matteo exchanged looks. Who were these weird people again? And why were Robin and Matteo associated with them?

"Oh he's uh..." Steve tried to explain, "Yeah, he's got some disease. Chry, uh... it's chrydo um... something, yeah, I dunno"

Matteo gave him an unimpressed look to which Steve just folded his arms, "He's missing bones and stuff" He tried to explain again, "He can bend like Gumbo"

"You mean Gumby," Robin corrected.

Matteo held the ladder as Dustin walked up the steps and full on shoved himself inside the air duct with full confidence that he would make it in the tiny space.

"I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo"

"Steve, just shut up and push me!" Dustin's voice sounded far away but also it echoed at the same time, Matteo hoped that was a good sign that Dustin could possibly fit.

"Okay" Steve agreed. He grabbed Dustin's feet and made a feeble attempt at helping Dustin squeeze through the airducts.

"Not my feet, dumbass" Dustin groaned, "Push my ass"

"What?"

"Touch my butt!" Dustin yelled, "I don't care!"

Steve spared Matteo an apologetic glance and pushed Dustin by his buttcheeks, though it didn't seem to be making a lot of difference. The ladder shook dangerously under Steve who was pushing as hard as he could.

"Come on! Harder!" Dustin urged, "Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

Matteo had noticed the way Steve had started to look self conscious around Robin. Even now, he tried and failed to look cool while pushing a fourteen year old's butt into an air duct and giving her a look every ten seconds as if to say— children, am i right?

"You're playing with my legs," Dustin insisted.

"I'm not playing, I have terrible footing— DeAngelo, the whole thing's gonna fall, you better not let me fall"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Harrington" Matteo flashed him a grin, watching the scene unfold.

"Come on!" Dustin screeched.

"I'm just gonna shove you" Steve decided. He draped Dustin's legs over his shoulders holding on with his hands like a battering ram. "Ready?"

"Just shove me?"

Steve didn't answer him, "One, two..." The blond barely made any difference. Despite Dustin's lack of collarbones or whatever, it was becoming increasingly clear he would not in fact fit in there.

"Shit"

"That work?"

The ladder lurched and Matteo had barely enough time to yell— "Steve— Ladder—"

Before it all collapsed in a heap— Dustin's legs still hanging out from the vent above them. Thankfully the metal stepladder didn't fall on top of either of them, it fell to one side as Steve practically leapt off it.

Unfortunately, Steve landed on top of Matteo— arms flailing, screeching as he knocked into the boy with an alarming speed and weight, crushing him and bringing him to the floor. They were both a tangle of limbs and groans.

Matteo tried to hide the heat rising to his face, unaware that Steve was trying to do the same.

Robin just shook her head at them in disappointment.