The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

40

"Jesus, how far is this place, man?"

"Sit back and relax, princess" Matteo grinned, "That's why you're not the one driving"

"And we're almost there" Dustin added.

The roads they drove on were empty, this hour of the night, and the night air felt cool on Matteo's skin. He hadn't forgotten his worries and anxiety about his mom, but he forced himslef to focus on more immediate concerns.

The top was open so the wind rustled through Steve's hair and Matteo watched it flow dramatically. The dashboard lights illuminated his features, making him light up like he really was the sun. He looked frustrated, his eyebrows drawn together, his eye still a nasty reddish-brown color and with a split lip as he raked his fingers through his hair and rested an elbow on the door.

It was so easy to imagine themselves in a completely different scenario. Maybe if the world was kinder to people like Matteo, they could live like this forever. Maybe if Steve liked men, this could be their forever. Even if they didn't get forever, Matteo would be happy to get whatever little he could of Steve Harrington.

He pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal. Driving always felt relaxing for him. It was distracting, it was fun. The hum of the engine, the knowledge that a whole metal machine was sorely under his control. So many things could go wrong, so many ways they could die. But Matteo found comfort in it.

The literal worst that could happen tonight was that they crashed and died. But that would mean they wouldn't have to fight against the monster Nancy and the others were describing.

The powerful headlights cut through the darkness like twin beacons, illuminating the road ahead. The soft, rhythmic thumping of the tires against the asphalt was the only sound.

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin spoke up, shattering the silence, though Matteo didn't mind. He liked the reminder that his friends were there with him, that he wasn't alone in this. "I mean if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her"

The only thing Matteo knew about this mysterious Suzie was that she was Dustin's girlfriend whom he'd met at Camp Know Where.

"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be"

"She sound made-up to me" Erica cut in, she and Steve shared glances, "She sound made up to you?"

Steve blinked. That's where Matteo saw Dustin's face fall in the rear view mirror. Robin just snickered.

"Why are you hesitating, Steve?" Dustin demanded.

"I'm– I'm– I'm not! I'm not!" Steve made a pathetic attempt at trying to save himself. Matteo couldn't help but let out a chuckle, not at Suzie being made up- but the way Steve squirmed under his gaze. "I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real"

"Left" Dustin said suddenly, "Turn left" His hand on Matteo's shoulder, pointing in a vague direction. All Matteo could see there was darkness.

"There's no road!" He protested.

"Turn left now!"

"Jesus, hang on!" Matteo made a hard left, smashing through a fence. Such a beautiful car and to have it scratched like this. It physically hurt him, but he listened to Dustin.

If there was something he'd come to realize, it was that Dustin was arguably the smartest of their group and Matteo was not about to argue with him about the location of his cerebro.

Someone had turned the radio on so the stillness of the night was replaced by a catchy tune to pair with all the chaos.

"Whoa!" Steve gripped the door, "Henderson, where are we going?"