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THE SCENE OF AN old man screaming into something startles Paisley as Dustin swings open the doors to the movie theater. The scenes plays out for a second in front of them but Dustin quickly runs down the rows of people enjoying their movie.

  The old man continues to yell on the screen. They stumble down the row to keep up with Dustin. "You three, sit!" Dustin whispers and points to the three empty seats. "No, no, no! These seats are too close!" Steve complains, popping the popcorn into his mouth. Paisley plops down into the seat and swings her legs over across Robin and Steve's, "Dustin, these seats are horrible." Paisley is painfully aware of the people around her. This is why she likes smoking alone or with people she's comfortable with—not some random liquid and Russians.

   "Then don't watch the movie," Dustin whispers. "We wanna watch it!" Robin insists, her hand falling into Paisley's legs. "Then watch it!" Dustin yells, his patience becoming really thin. A man behind them shushes the boy but the three drugged out teens shush him right back. "Whatever you do, don't......go......anywhere," Dustin orders them.

  Paisley nods her head excessively, eyes lock onto the movie. "Fine, dad," Steve rolls his eyes and Robin snickers. The two kids leave their sides and find their own seats. "Which movie is this?" Paisley asks. Steve tilts his head and offers the girls some popcorn, "I have no idea."

   TIRES SQUEAL AND BROOKE'S body is flung into the side of the Wheeler's station wagon. It spins around before coming to an abrupt stop while Casey and Stella calmly pull into a parking spot.

    Casey slams his car door, "This place is closed—"

    Nancy picks up a rock and throws it through the glass. It shatters all over the tile floor of the shop. A feeling of being proud makes its way through Brooke and she smiles, "No longer closed," She says as she walks over to the doors and over the glass. The rest of the group walk in and right to the medical supplies aisle. Max and Mike carry El over.

  "Alright, put her down," Nancy tells them. The look of pain in El's eyes is something that Brooke can't deal with. She turns away for a second and turns back at the wrong moment. Nancy rolls the pant leg up and the blood leaks down from the wound. Brooke involuntarily gags but still crouches down next to Max. "Oh, shit," Max curses, "This is worse than yours from last year," Max nudges Brooke. The older girl's face frowns into disgust. Feeling sick, Brooke sits on the floor and grabs El's hand.

  Nancy frantically tries to get the gauze open but Max stops her, "Hey, what are you doing?"

   "I'm cleaning the wound," Nancy says, like it's obvious. "No, first we need to stop the bleeding, then clean, then disinfect, then bandage," Max explains and they all stare at her, wondering how she knows all of this. Brooke opens one eye and forces a smile, "She skateboards. Trust her." Brooke subconsciously looks down at the scars on her leg. She isn't ashamed of it, it's fun to come up with different stories if people ask why she has such deep, long scars.

  "Oh, I tripped and fell down a hill." Which isn't a full lie but it's the one she uses often.

   "Mike, hold this," Max puts the gauze on the word and Mike presses his hand to it. El groans and whimpers in pain but Brooke just holds her hand tighter. "Keep the pressure on it, nice and firm, okay? We're gonna need water, soap," Max tells them. Casey and Stella rush to find the two items.

   "Can't be that hard, right. Water. Soap," Casey shrugs. "Easy," Stella replies and runs around the store to find it. "Max, you're a pro at leg injuries, huh?" Brooke chuckles. Whatever Max was about to say is cut off by Lucas dumping the contents of his bag onto the floor.

    "Does any of this help?" Lucas asks, genuinely hoping the random shit he carried will help. Danny bends down and picks up a candy wrapper, "Yeah, because I'm sure your trash will help us," Danny laughs but Lucas just rolls his eyes and gently shoves him. "Lucas, just go get me a washcloth and a bowl," Max says.

   "A bowl?" Lucas questions. Max sighs, just trying to help El, "Lucas," Is all she needs to say before Will and Danny are shoving Lucas. "O—Okay," Lucas stammers. El is trying to hold back her groans to not worry them.

  "Hey, we're gonna have matching scars now," Brooke nudges El. The younger girl looks over at Brooke and nods, "Cool," She forces out. Max gets up, "Why are those losers taking so long? Brooke, come with me." Brooke can't even protest because Max grabs her hoodie and pulls her up and away from El.

   "Jesus," Brooke moves from Max's grip, "Where'd you get that strength?" Max walks ahead of Brooke and shrugs, "How's Steve?"

  Brooke stops walking and puts her hands on her hips. They're surrounded by different sauces and random food items. How's Steve? Good question, Brooke thinks. How's Paisley? How's Robin? Brooke rolls her eyes.

   "I have no idea. I have no idea if he and Paisley and Dustin know what's happening. I have no idea if they're safe. I'm supposed to be drunk off my ass and yet I somehow always end up here," Brooke stomps her foot dramatically. Max laughs a bit and Brooke deadpans at her.

   "What?" Brooke asks. "What is here? You don't like hanging out with us?" Max fakes a pout and a sniffle. Brooke clicks her tongue, "Oh, shut up and find your boyfriend," Brooke walks past Max and looks back at her, "And I do like hanging out with you!"

  Max is left alone in the sauce aisle to find the boys.

  Brooke struts around the store, stealing random snacks for herself. Strawberry Shortcake Rolls from Little Debbie, random candy, she even stopped and thought about grabbing a wine bottle but decided not to.

   She turns the corner and Stella is downing a beer that she had ripped out from a box. Brooke leans on the shelf. Stella is interesting to Brooke. The girl has never really gone in depth to Brooke about her life. All she knows is what she lets slip out. Only child. Doesn't like her mom. Dad isn't around. That's the basics of Stella's trauma. Stella could've left at any point, she could've ditched all this bullshit but she has stayed. Maybe it's for Casey or maybe it's because it's all she's got.

   "Stella, can I have a beer? Did you find soap or water?" Brooke asks, putting her hand out. Stella doesn't bother to look at her and hands her a beer. She pops the cap and beer scented foam comes out of the small hole. There's an awkward silence between the girls as they sip their beer. She doesn't answer the question so Brooke just assumes Casey found it.

  Brooke takes a deep breath and steps in front of Stella, "Do you hate me or not?"

   Stella frowns and looks up from the floor, "No, I don't hate you. You're just there."

   "You're so—wishy washy with me. It's because of Casey, I realize that but you're good. You can have him," Brooke laughs. Stella blinks a few times, annoyance obvious in her look towards Brooke.

   "Oh, thanks, Brooke. It's not like he's been my best friend for like ten years or whatever—"

   "No, what? No—I—," Brooke stutters but she has nothing to say. Anything that she says will sound ten times worse. "Take the rest of the beers. You had everything else," Stella walks away from a stunned Brooke. Her jaw is slightly agape as the condensation from the beer leaks onto her hand. Brooke isn't always the nicest but she had no idea Stella would react like that. It was a joke but Brooke feels stupid each time she brings up the other and how there's a glimmer in their eyes. She should've known all those months ago.

   Casey was never hers to begin with.

  Suddenly, there's beer dripping down her hand and the can is crushed around her fingers. She gasps and steps back from the beer pooling at her feet. "Shit—" Brooke is cut off by the sound of static and the faint, crackly tune of Dustin's voice. She rushes over as Mike and Dustin just barely communicate. Dustin's voice breaks up too much to understand anything and then it's gone.

   PAISLEY'S BACK IS PRESSED against the cold tile floor of one of the mall's bathrooms. The stomach pain seemed to have hit them all at the same time minutes before and they all ended up puking their guts up. Her vision is fully back but each move she makes makes her body feel—weird.

    "Is it still spinning for you?" Robin asks, her legs against the stall wall. Paisley swallows back the remains of puke and shakes her no but realizes no one can see her, "N—No."

   Steve looks up at the ceiling and smiles, "Holy shit—no. Do you think we puked it all up?" Paisley scoots herself up against the stall walls, "God, I'm hoping." Paisley can almost hear Brooke's teasing towards her and the other two for being such lightweights.

   "Ask me something," Robin says, "Interrogate me," She says in a Russian accent. The bathroom is the most comforting place they can be in right now. Cold tiles and privacy—even though Paisley is pretty sure they're in the men's bathroom. The toilet paper from her wiping her mouth floats in the toilet next to her as she waits for Steve's question.

   "Okay. Interrogate you. Sure. Um.....When was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?" Steve asks with a chuckle. Paisley takes a second to think about it while Robin doesn't. "Today," Robin is quick to answer. "Robin.......what?" Paisley shakes her head.

    "When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw," Robin explains. Steve and Paisley both start laughing. "That's fair, honestly," Paisley says. "It was just a little bit, though," Robin tries to defend herself. "Yeah, it's definitely still in her system. What about you, Paisley?" Steve flicks the girl's wrist from the next stall over.

  Paisley frowns, "I can't think of anytime after I was six! Um......I have no idea."

   "Boring!" Robin drags out the word, "But....it's my turn." Paisley rolls her eyes, "What's your question, Robbi?" It's like the two are making eye contact through the walls. Paisley's nerves are shaken and whether it be because of the shit they just went through or because she's coming down from a high in a stall over from Robin—she can't tell. If she peeks her head down a bit she can see Robin's shoes with doodles she's never been able to read. Paisley lets her legs rest against the tiles and they almost reach Robin's.

     Robin thinks about her question carefully. She messes with her hair nervously before starting to ask. "Have you.....ever been in love?" Robin spits out. Paisley's heart skips so many beats it actually feels like it hurts. She doesn't want to know what shitty love confession this is leading to between Steve and Robin and she really doesn't want to be in the middle.

   "Yep. Nancy Wheeler. First semester, senior year," Steve answers and then imitates a gunshot to the heart. "Oh, my god. She's such a priss," Robin says. Paisley feels like the walls are caving in on her. She's next to answer. She's supposed to lie and pick some random dude from their class but the thought of lying to Steve and Robin makes her a bit sick. Not even Brooke knows who Paisley's first love is.

   "Turns out, not really," Steve scoffs. "What about you, Paisley?" Robin softly asks. Paisley feels her tongue fall out of her mouth. She has no idea what to say, her palms are sweaty as she runs them through her messy hair.

    Her breathing gets a bit louder and her mouth feels drier. Steve frowns and gently grabs Paisley's wrist to try and say I'm here without scaring her too bad.

   Oddly enough, Steve's fingers around her pulse help. They bring her down from her panic and she takes a deep breath.

   "I think I was in love," Paisley says. Robin scoots closer to the wall separating them, anxiously waiting for who captured the heart of Paisley Slora.

   Paisley puts her face into her knees, "You know when you want someone to so desperately look at you but they're always on someone else? Like they're locked in?"

  They both hum a yes and Paisley continues. "Steve, are you still in love with Nancy?" Paisley asks before getting to the true confession. "No. I think I found someone better for me," Steve answers with a fond smile across his face.

  "Brooke?" Robin asks, knowing the answer. Steve doesn't answer, he just touches the cut on his lip now covered by other bruises from the shitty Russians, "Maybe," He vaguely answers.

   There's a long pause between the three of them but suddenly both Robin and Steve slide under the walls and into Paisley's stall. Comfort rises in her when she spots Steve's smile.

   "Thought you OD'ed," Steve nudges her. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, Paisley," Robin reaches her hand out but Paisley shakes her head no. "I was in love—I'm pretty sure at least," She scans over her two friends and looks over at the toilet as a way to remind herself that it's there to puke into, "Nancy....." Paisley trails off.

  Robin and Steve's eyes both go wide as Paisley's heart speeds up. She feels like their eyes are digging up all her other secrets the longer they stare. Robin brings her knees to chest and hides the smile on her face, "Do you still love her?" Tears prick at Paisley's waterline, "No," Is all she says.

   Steve is trying his best to comfort Paisley all while trying to figure it out for himself. He figures it's best if he stays quiet. "Do you guys remember what I said about Click's class?" Robin asks, breaking the short silence, "About me being jealous and, like, obsessed?" Paisley braces for impact. Robin's confession of her unrequited love for Steve Harrington.

   "Yeah," Steve softly answers, resting a hand on Paisley's knee. "It isn't because I had a crush on you, Steve. It's because.....," Robin takes a deep breath and glances at Paisley, "she wouldn't stop staring at you." Steve frowns in confusion and Paisley does the same.

  "Mrs. Click?" Steve asks but Robin just chuckles. "Tammy Thompson," Robin answers. Paisley feels frozen as the realization hits her. Robin also likes girls. Paisley isn't alone.

  "I wanted her to look at me. But....she couldn't pull her eyes from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag! And—And you didn't even like her and.....I would go home and just scream into my pillow," Robin confesses. Paisley moves her body stiffly from her balled up position. Wide, hopeful eyes rest on Robin.

   Steve's hand drops from Paisley's knee and suddenly so does her heart. She doesn't want to lose Steve over this—over liking Nancy or liking girls.

  "But....Nancy and Tammy are girls," Steve says.

   The two girls glance at each other. "Steve," They say softly. "Yeah?" Steve smiles, still really confused. Without another word, both girls just give him a look and hope he catches on. Paisley can see when the realization hits him. When his face softens and his eyes get bigger.

  "Oh..." Steve says.

   "Oh," Robin copies him. "Holy shit," Steve curses. Paisley puts herself back into her ball position, ready for her nerves to destroy her and make her puke.

  Paisley just barely looks at Steve, "Did you OD over there?" She tries to joke. "No, I just, uh, just thinking," He softly says. Paisley's head drops to her hands, scared to lose Steve over something she can't control—same with Robin. The silence is deafening to them.

   Paisley reaches out a shaky hand to Robin who instantly takes it.

  "I mean, yeah. They're both cute and all, but....I mean, Tammy is a dud. She wants to be like a singer and shit. She wants to move to Nashville but she can't even hold a tune!" Steve says. "She has dreams!" Robin tries to defend her. Too many emotions hit Paisley at once and while the two argue over how tone deaf Tammy is, Paisley busts out laughing. The talk of Tammy sounding like a Muppet comes to a stop as Paisley laughs so hard she falls into Robin's lap.

   "You okay?" Robin asks, genuinely concerned. Paisley takes a breath and wipes the tears from her eyes, "I'm—I'm really good!"

  "Yeah? You sure?" Steve asks, rubbing her back. "Wonderful!" Paisley shouts with a contagious smile. Robin smiles as well and just holds Paisley's head as they all start to laugh. In the midst of it, the bathroom door swings open and Erica and Dustin walk in.

   "Okay, what the hell?" Dustin angrily asks. The three of them just start laughing again. The last 10 minutes just feel like an absolute fever dream to them. Dustin and Erica don't even have the energy to question them, they just leave the bathroom as soon as they can blend in with the crowd of people.

   Mumbles about the movie Paisley barely comprehended come from the crowd mouths. "Well, that worked," Erica smiles. "Of course it worked. We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come," Dustin says.

   Paisley's small smile drops, "Shit, Dustin...."

  "What?"

   "Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house," Steve says. "Why?"

   "Well, I might've told them your full name," Steve says. Dustin does a double glance at him, "What is wrong with you?"

  "Dude, I was drugged!" Steve says. "I was drugged and tried to stop you. So did Robin," Paisley rolls her eyes at the vague, blurry memory. "Jesus. Steve, you should've resisted. You tough it out. You tough it out like a man!" Dustin yells.

  They continue to move through the crowd rather swiftly until Robin's hand wraps around Paisley's arm, stopping her from going any further, "Guys?" The blonde spotted a Russian not that far from them. Paisley's eyes wander over the crowd and she spots the Russian as well.

  "Fuck," Paisley curses.

  "Abort! Abort!" Dustin yells as the Russian also spots them. Their hearts drop as they run through the crowd. "Slide. It's a slide!" Paisley points to the area between the escalators. She sits down and pushes herself down while the others follow after her.

   Once they reach the bottom they all look for a place to hide. "There!" Erica whispers and points to a random food place. They all rush over and hop over the counter.

   Paisley stops breathing when she hears the distant sound of a Russian speaking. Her and Robin's hands are intertwined as heavy footsteps are the only thing Paisley can hear. Nails dig into Paisley's hand but she ignores it and just holds Robin's hand tighter.

  A car alarm sounds and nearly makes Paisley jump out of her skin. She almost dares to look over when it doesn't stop beeping but something inside of her stops her.

   Brooke watches as El slams the car into the Russians. Her jaw drops when she sees what damage has been done. Heads peek out from behind the counter and Brooke has to stop herself from jumping off the second floor and towards her friends.

   "Paisley!" Brooke yells and rushes down the escalator. Their bodies collide together and giggles of happiness erupt between the two. When they separate the first thing Brooke notices is the bruising across Paisley's cheek. Anger boils as she holds her face, "What the hell—"

   "Turns out those Russians weren't bullshit," Robin giggles. Brooke leaves Paisley to hug both Erica and Robin even though Erica tries to fight her way out of the grip. Thankfully, there are no visible bruises to those two but Steve—Brooke's heart drops. Tears instantly make their way to her eyes once she realizes how much worse Steve is compared to the others.

   Steve engulfs Brooke in a hug. Her feet lift off the ground and all that homesickness she was feeling is swept away but replaced with guilt the more she tries to look at Steve. A dark black eye and cuts are all over his face.

    "Steve?" Brooke softly says. Her hand gently reaches for the bruise on his cheek. "Lucas?" Erica runs towards her brother. "Erica, what are you doing here?" Lucas yells. The kid's voices reminds Brooke how close in proximity she is to Steve. She takes a step back which Steve tries his best to ignore.

  "Ask them. It's their fault," Erica points right at the older teens. "True, yeah. Totally true. It's absolutely our fault," Steve immediately confesses. Brooke puts a hand on her hip, "Why'd you involve Erica?"

   "It was my idea really but I don't understand what happened to that car!" Robin throws her hands up. "El has superpowers," Dustin says like it's the most casual thing. "I'm sorry?" Robin asks. Brooke dramatically plants her foot down, "El has superpowers. She can move shit with her mind. Come on now, Robin."

  "That's El?" Erica shouts. "Who's El?" Robin shouts back. "I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy points right at Robin.

    "I'm Robin. I work with Steve and Paisley!" Robin answers. Casey and Stella both move to the front of the crowd. "Yeah, we cracked the top secret code together. Well, I translated more," Casey shrugs. "Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians," Steve says.

  "Russians? Wait, what Russians?" Jonathan asks. Stella sucks on her teeth, "We forget to mention that?"

   "You forgot to mention the Russians?!" Paisley shouts in disbelief.

   "Yeah, the Russians!" Steve yells and points to the unconscious Russians behind them. "Those were Russians?" Max asks. Danny is bewildered as he stutters a bit, "There were Russians and you three knew?"

   "I thought it was all bullshit!" Brooke shouts to her confused brother. "What are you talking about?" Lucas asks. "Wait, you didn't hear our code red?" Dustin raises an eyebrow. Chaos and confusion is just clear in everyone in the big circle. "I couldn't understand what you were saying," Mike tells him. "Goddamn low battery," Dustin curses.

   "How many times do I have to tell you about the low battery?!" Steve shouts like a dad towards Dustin. "Well, everything worked out, didn't it, Steve?" Dustin retorts. "I'm not sure being strapped to chairs in a Russian basement is something almost working out," Paisley rolls her eyes. Brooke's jaw drops and she takes a step back, "What? Russian basement? Hello?" She shouts, trying to get some explanation or context.

   "Okay, Russians? As in, they're working for the Russian government?" Lucas asks. "Yeah, I thought our explanation was pretty clear," Paisley tilts her head to the side.  Max frowns, "So this has nothing to do with the gate?"

   "No, no—"

   "It has everything to do with the gate!" Dustin cuts Paisley off. Brooke looks around, noticing El isn't here. She rushes through the group and towards El who has her hands over her ears. "El," Brooke rests a gentle hand on El's shoulder. All of a sudden, El falls to the floor with a loud thud. "El! Jesus," Brooke falls to the floor right next to El. She shakes her urgently. The others catch on and Mike rushes over, "El?"

   She whimpers as Mike rolls her into her back. "Hey, what's wrong?" Brooke moves some hair from her face. "My leg. My leg," Is all El can get out. "Her leg. Her leg, okay," Jonathan says and rolls her pants up again. They get the bandage off but what's under it makes everyone gag and exclaim in disgust. Brooke stares at it until something moves under the skin.

   "Oh, God. Gross," Brooke speaks out loud by accident. Jonathan and Nancy death glare at her reaction. El starts wailing in pain, ignoring Mike's call for her name. Her face contorts into pure pain and then she lets out a loud scream. Brooke gasps, watching her sister figure scream in pain. Arms wrap around her, forcing her to look away and into Steve's bloody uniform.