The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

33

They waited until the movies got over. All six of the theaters emptied at once, the crowd spilling out. Women, men, children of all ages walked out, still buzzing from the excitement of the movie they watched, chatting among themselves as they walked.

At this late time, they'd all be trying to head home, taking the bus and retiring to bed.

Matteo was so sore, tired and hurting, he could sleep on the floor now if Dustin let him. Instead, the younger boy peeked outside the bathroom door, scouting the scene.

Matteo leaned over him, trying to see what he was. Of course, the rest of the Scoops troop or baby sitters club, as Matteo had started to refer to them, all had the same idea.

They all peeked, watching the crowd move.

Dustin waited a moment, surveying the crowd, "And... blend" He gave the order.

Matteo could do little else but follow orders. It felt good to not be the one in charge for once. He had too much going on in his head. For now, he was just happy to follow the tiny teenagers.

His body ached all over, but so did his heart. And he knew nothing good ever came out of falling for straight boys, but he had held out hope. He thought back to all the small instances, the way Steve caught his eye, the way Steve smiled at him, the way Steve flushed under him, the way Steve pulled him close when he was high, the way Steve smiled at him...

He had hoped. Matteo had hoped so badly.

But it all went to shit anyways.

He just followed Dustin, walking into the crowd, slowing down to a leisurely pace. Blend, Dustin said. So blend, Matteo did.

He had one arm over Robin's shoulders as he grinned at her.

"You good?" She asked.

"Not really" Matteo leaned down to whisper in her ear. The others were still close by, he didn't want them to overhear. "So... Steve knows now, I guess"

"No, I meant..." Robin gave him a sad smile, "I'm sorry he doesn't-"

"I don't like him" Matteo lied immediately, but Robin saw right through him so he sighed, "I mean... is he hot? Yeah. Would I kiss him? Yes. But– well, he's straight so..."

"I'm sorry" She repeated.

"Why? It's not your fault he looked at a raging lesbian and thought you were into men''

He tried for a reassuring smile, but it felt too shaky.

"Maybe.." Robin said, "The fair is still going on, so if we make it out of here, maybe we can go look for your Jiggly buddy afterward"

"Jake" Matteo laughed, grateful for Robin.

Erica seemed surprised that Dustin's blending in plan worked, mostly because they stood out like a sore thumb.

Matteo imagined they must look ridiculous— A ten year old decked out in pink, yellow and blue with knee pads, a fourteen year old in a neon orange t-shirt, a denim vest and a hat indoors, two people wearing Scoops Ahoy uniforms— one with a swollen eye and one wearing a black hoodie even though it was boiling hot.

At least they managed to clean some of the blood, puke and sweat off their clothes, which made them smell much better. And apart from the snacks and walkie talkie, Dustin had also apparently carried deodorant which Matteo was extremely grateful for.

They'd even tried to patch themselves up to the best of their capabilities, so Matteo's dried blood was washed away by Robin who wasn't very gentle when it came to injuries apparently. His nose still hurt if he snorted or even breathed too hard, as did his chest. But overall, he felt better than he had in the last few days.

"We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes" Dustin whispered to all of them. "And home sweet home, here we come"

"Uh, Dustin" Steve scratched his nose.

"What?"

"Yeah, we might not want to go to your house"

Matteo couldn't bear to look at Steve.

"Why?"

"Well, I might have told them your full name" Steve admitted sheepishly.

"What is wrong with you?" Dustin hissed.

"Dude, I was drugged" Steve tried to defend himself.

"So?"

"So?"

"So, you resist" Dustin whispered, incredulous, "You tough it out. You tough it out like a man"

"For the record, Robin was the toughest of us down there, she was also the smartest so I vote for your wording to be changed to— 'tough it out like a woman'" Matteo suggested.

"So you tough it out like a woman" Dustin agreed.

"Uh— guys?" Robin stopped suddenly, pulling Matteo and the kids back.

Matteo followed her gaze to the two security agents he recognized. They were the same ones that had followed them after they walked out of the elevator and tried to taste the air.

The air tasted stale now, not magical at all.

The agents were stopping people randomly, checking IDs. "Sorry for the inconvenience" Said one guy with a pulled back ow pony tail, "Have a pleasant evening" He handed back the person's wallet.

Matteo's heart began to thrum faster in his chest. The familiar rush of adrenaline making his legs tingle. A hand gripped his shoulder and Matteo hated that he could immediately tell who's hand it was without even looking. Steve squeezed his shoulder harder.

"Abort" Dustin squeaked out. The man turned to them and Matteo's pulse sky rocketed. Would they ever get a break? All he wanted to do was go home, take a long shower, sleep for a long ass time and work at an ice cream parlor, was that so much to ask for? "Abort! Abort!"

They turned and ran for the escalators, going against the direction of the crowd.

But the escalators seemed locked down for the night. Now what? Matteo wanted to ask.

They were stuck here, no escape. Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

He ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't very keen to get tortured again.

"Shit" Someone said, but Matteo could barely hear over the rush of blood in his ears.

Steve turned around to see if they had been noticed, which of course they had. When did things ever go right for them?

Matteo took the initiative, "Come on" He told the others, hopping into the space between the two escalators and sliding down. Thankfully there weren't any obstacles that might have hurt him and strangely, it felt like a very slow slide.

He could hear the others following after him.