The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

37

"Vanilla sprinkles for sprinkles" Matteo handed over the ice cream, "And almond for the psychopath"

Hopper didn't pay him much attention, just took the cone and turned back to the girl leaning against him. El smiled up at Matteo gratefully. The ice cream seemed to improve her mood a bit more.

"Is it the end times or are you finally trying USS Butterscotch?" Steve gaped as he licked his own brownie.

"I'm just glad you realized Brownie is the superior flavor and yeah we might die tonight so I wanted to expand my ice cream taste" Matteo grinned back, though he could feel the exhaustion and hopelessness from the past few days. He licked the ice cream and had to admit USS Butterscotch was pretty great too.

They were all gathered by a fountain, Robin clutching her knees on the platform of the fountain, Will and Lucas next to her, Erica and Dustin had also surprisingly started to stick together.

Jonathan, Nancy and Mike stood to one side, opposite to Matteo, Steve and Max.

Hopper, Joyce and El sat on a bench. It felt weird to talk about the end of the world as something completely possible, something that Matteo was working toward stopping.

When the fuck had his life taken this turn? He leaned on Robin.

"So let me get this straight—" He began again, fixing each of them with a stare he copied from his mom, "1983— Barbra Holland, all the missing people, it was because of some monster with a flower face—"

"Demogorgon" Dustin corrected.

"Last year— pumpkin patch and the Hawkins lab was also connected to all of this. And Sprinkles here, is the one who created this rift to the other dimension—"

"The upside down"

"Dustin, interrupt me once more and I'm going to have to ground you" Matteo glared, "The upside down, yes. Which is where Will was when everyone said he "died". So monsters, demodogs and now Russians who are trying to open another gate to that hellhole?"

"Don't forget the Mind Flayer" Will spoke up, "He's been collecting followers, so to speak. Through Max's brother, Billy."

It took a few seconds for the words to register. 

Billy. 

Followers. 

Mind Flayer. 

Matteo swore his heart stopped. He stumbled slightly, Robin reaching out to steady him. A pint of blood drained from him and suddenly everything was spinning.

Everything should not be spinning.

"Billy?"

"Yeah, he got to this life guard and her parents and this fertilizer eating crazy old lady" Mike nodded, Nancy swatted his arm.

"Mrs. Driscoll!"

"Yeah, Mrs. Driscoll or whatever and who knows who else"

"Nicole," Matteo whispered. There was a weight on his chest, something squeezing his ribs. And Matteo hadn't felt hopelessness like this since the Russians had captured them, which he was just now realizing was an uncomfortably short time ago. "Mamma"

"What?" Seeing the Chief of police lick almond ice cream while he raised an eyebrow and stared at Matteo in confusion was not something he saw everyday.

He doubled over. Someone was yelling, he couldn't hear it. Someone was asking him if he was okay. He couldn't hear it.

His throat was closing up, panic breaking like a dam inside him.