▸ Can't Seem ToMake You Mine - The Seeds

T H E   S P Y P T . I

It was dark out now and I had a flashlight with me. I was currently leaning against the wall of the clubhouse. Dustin has been gone for a while now and I was bored. I've been twirling and throw up my machete to waste time.

Good news?

My aim has gotten better.

Bad news?

I think I killed a poisonous caterpillar...or was it a snake?

Headlights shined at my house, pulling into our driveway. Frowning, I pushed myself off the wall. Two people existed the car. One being my brother, the other Steve.

"What in the hell?" I muttered. Quickly walking over to them, Steve opened the trunk of his car. "When I meant to go get someone, I didn't mean Steve."

"I'm offended." Steve rolled his eyes, reaching for something in his car.

"You said anyone and he was the only person who knew that could help." Dustin shrugged. He gave me a shit eating grin and a wink. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Now tell me why you left your sister alone with a monster?" Steve closed the door and held his nailed bat in his other hand. He gave Dustin a disappointing look.

"I can protect myself." I scoffed, crossing my arms. I made sure to wave my machete in his eyesight.

"Right." Steve nodded, licking his lips. He cleared his throat. "So where is the monster at?"

"Come on." Dustin waved us to follow him. He lead us to the basement door.

I held the flashlight in front of me, letting the light illuminate a path for the three of us. We stopped at the doors.

"Dart is in there." I pointed with my flashlight. Steve stepped closer to the entrance.

"I don't hear shit." Steve bluntly informed us.

"No duh." I rolled my eyes, propping my hip up to place a hand on it. "Dart probably wore himself up. He was ramming at the doors again after Dustin left to go get help. He stopped a while ago."

"He's in there." Dustin agreed.

Steve looked between us. He tapped the door with the tip of his bat. A low metallic clang echoed. There wasn't a sound from Dart. Steve hit the door harder. Still nothing.

"All right," Steve turned to face Dustin, "listen, kid. I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank you're dead."

"It's not." Dustin replied with a neutral face.

"All right?" Steve asked.

"It's not a prank, Steve." I stared at him. Steve glanced at me. "I-we wouldn't be lying about this. Dart is some sort of demogorgon dog or something. Why would we lie about that?"

"You got a key for this thing?" Steve sighed and jerked his head towards the lock.

"Yeah." Dustin fished for the key in his pocket. I yanked the hockey stick out of the handles. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"What? I had to take precautions." I tossed the stick aside.

Dustin got the key out and unlocked the door. Steve crouched down and opened the doors. I walked closer to him, letting the flashlight light the stairs.

"Can I see that?" Steve looked up at me with his hand held out. I placed the flashlight in his hand. Harrington used the flashlight to illuminate the bottom floor.

It was empty.

"He must be further down there." Dustin said.

"Maybe." I licked my lips. "Hopefully."

"I'll stay up here in case he tries to escape. Dawn can go with you." Dustin gave me a light shove. I nearly fell on top of Steve. I glared at Dustin. He gave me a nervous smile.

"Alright, let's go Dawn. Have your machete ready." Steve sighed, standing up. I gave him a curt nod, holding the handle of the large knife tightly.

We descended the stairs cautiously and stealthy. Once we reached the bottom, Steve started to flash the light around. I held my machete out in front of me, ready for any danger.

"We should have brought another flashlight with us." Steve muttered.

"That would have been smart of us." I  agreed. "Or I can just do this."

I pulled the string that turned on the light in the basement.

"Now that's better." Steve turned to face me with a smile.

I returned the smile, trying my best to hold back the blush already forming on my cheeks. Coughing slightly, I looked around the floor to look for Dart. Instead, I found something else.

"Well that's gross." I scrunched up my nose at the sight of slimy skin. Steve used his bat to pick up the shedded skin. "He got bigger."

"I thought it wasn't a lizard." Steve stared at the skin.

"He isn't. You know how the demogorgon looks like. Dart is exactly like that but like a dog version." I explained.  "Let's keep looking."

I continued to look around the basement. Steve and I split apart to search for Dart. Walking over to the boxes we use for storage, I used my machete to flick the lid off. Peering inside, I saw photo albums and Christmas cards. No Dart.

"Dawn." Steve lowly called for me. Furrowing my brows, I walked to him. He pointed to the hole in the wall.

There were a few bricks missing. The hole now revealed that it was a tunnel. It had scratch marks littering the inside of it. Dart had managed to claw through the brick and cement in order to get out. Withe the little amount of light coming from the lightbulb, I couldn't see how far Dart dug.

"You've got to be kidding me." I groaned and ran my hand down my face in frustration.

"Dawn. Steve. What's going on down there?" Dustin asked. Steve had turned around and flashed the light up at my brother. I stayed exactly where I was, kneeling down to examine the hole some more.

"Get down here." Steve said. Dustin came down the stairs. Steve held up his bat a little higher to show off the skin.

"Oh shit." Dustin stared at the shedded skin with wide eyes.

Steve moved the bat to the side and used the flashlight to point at the hole in the wall.

"Oh, shit!" Dustin cried out. The two boys joined me, kneeling to peer into the hole.  Steve used the flashlight to help Dustin see the damage more clearly. The tunnel went from the cement to dirt. And we couldn't see the end of it. "No way."

"We head out in the morning." Steve looked at me.

"It's probably the smartest thing to do." I agreed. "We will have the sun helping us see him better."

"You can crash out here with us. Leave early." Dustin continued to stare at the tunnel. "We need to fill Danny in."

Steve and I exchanged looks before glancing at my brother.

"Nose goes!" We both touched our noses.

"What!?" Dustin snapped his head to look at us with wide eyes. "You guys suck!"

▷

The three of us silently sat in the living room waiting for Danny and Mom to arrive. I had taken a shower earlier to get rid of the dirt I acquired in my skin from digging and laying on the ground from boredom.

Tires screeched to a stop outside. The lights flashing into the room. Dustin stood up and opened the door. When Danny walked in, he jumped in surprise.

"Steve?" Danny glanced at the three of us. "What the hell is going on?"

"Dustin." I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms.

"We've got a lot to fill you in on." Dustin sighed, closing the door behind him.

"Wait, where's Mom?" Danny asked.

"Still looking for Mews." I licked my lips nervously. "And she isn't going to find her."

"Why?" Danny narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Dustin nervously shifted on his feet. The eldest Henderson tightened his jaw. "What did Dart do?"

"He ate Mews." Dustin fiddled with his hands. "And Dawn and I trapped him in the basement. But he escaped."

"So you're telling me that Mom is out there in a wild goose chase for Mews even thought the cat is dead and that Dart is roaming out there possibly killing things?" Danny's voice raised a bit.

"And I'm here to help." Steve added, raising his hand. "We're leaving in the morning and I'm crashing out here."

"Alright." Danny rubbed his jaw while nodding. "I'll go pick up Mom and come back with some pizza. We're gonna talk about this some more. Dustin, come with me."

"Why do I have to go with you?" Dustin whined.

"Because I said so." Danny grabbed his wrist and started to tug him out the door.

"Oh!" Dustin grinned over his shoulder at Steve and I. "Okay. Bye!"

The two left Steve and I alone in the house. Tension filled the air between us.

"So..." Steve cleared his throat. "You And Billy made up."

"He's not that bad." I shrugged, swinging my feet from the couch. Steve nodded, starring at the floor with a frown. "But we're just friends. You know that right? I know Billy makes everyone think that we're dating, but we are only friends."

"Oh." Steve breathed out in a form of relief. "That's good to know."

"Why?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"He can do so much better than him." Steve shrugged honestly. "I mean, even your ex was better than him."

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes.

"No I'm serious. You can do a lot better." Steve insisted, throwing an arm on the top of the couch. "I mean, you're a great girl. You don't listen to anyone's shit. You're in a band for gods sake with great grades. You're awesome."

"You're not bad either, Steve." I bumped my shoulder against his. "You belittle yourself too much. And I know you're gonna hate this, but you can do way better than Nancy Wheeler."

"Yeah, she's too busy with Byers anyway." Steve licked his lips. "I think we're done and over with."

"You guys broke up?" I gasped in shock.

"After the party, yeah. Said our relationship was bullshit and that she didn't love me." Steve sighed before chuckling. "I was actually going to apologize to her today with flowers when Dustin got me to come over."

"I was wondering how he found you." I bit my lip, eyeing his hand. Taking a risk, I grabbed it. Steve looked at me, averting his gaze to our locked fingers. "I know you probably want to hear the 'I'm sorry' crazy but I'm going to be an honest friend. Let her go, Steve. Think of that as a sign. Don't let her tie you down even though she's with Johnathon. You don't need to be in a relationship."

"Maybe." Steve glanced back up to meet my gaze. "Or maybe I've been with the wrong girl this entire time."

"What do you mean?" My breath hitched in the back of my throat.

"I mean that maybe I'm in love with another girl and I never knew it until now." Steve reached over and tucked a hair behind my ear. "You've always been there for me. I was ignorant to your feelings and I couldn't get passed the thought of dating my best friend's twin sister."

"You better not be saying this to screw with me and to be some rebound." I narrowed my eyes at him. My heart was racing at the thought of finally being with Steve. I didn't want to hurt my heart in the process if he was just going to use me.

"No. No, of course not." Steve shook his head. "You are way better than that."

"I-I just don't want to get hurt anymore Steve. How will I know you actually want to be with me and not unintentionally use me for a rebound?" I asked, licking my lips as I looked at him. Steve had leaned a bit closer to my face, his lips only an inch away from mine.

"I'll wait to prove it to you." Steve cupped my face. He used his thumb to rub my cheekbone. "Give me a few months and then I'll let you know if it's real or not."

"Okay." I breathed out, eyeing his lips.

"But until then, let me just enjoy this." Steve crashed his lips against mine. A smile spread on my face as my heart burst with excitement.

A knock pulled us apart. The door swung open to reveal my family. Mom sadly walked in, holding her purse against her chest. Danny and Dustin were behind her holding two boxes of pizza and drinks.

"Mom?" I pushed myself off the couch to walk to her. "You okay?"

"I'm alright, dear." Mom patted my cheek. "I'm just gonna go to bed early. Let your father know that I'm asleep when he gets home, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded, giving her a hug. "Goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight babies. Goodnight Steve." Mom sent him a wave before retreating to her room.

"So what time are we waking up?" Dustin asked with a mouthful of pizza.

▷

It was early in the morning and the four of us were already searching for Dart. We were out in the woods unloading buckets of meat to lure the demogorgon dog. The four of us were already wearing gloves so we could toss the meat and not actually have to touch it.

"Dustin!" Lucas' voice came from Dustin's radio. "This is Lucas. Do you copy? Dustin?"

"Well, well, well, look who it is." Dustin stepped away from us, pressing a button in the radio. He placed his hands on his hips. I rolled my eyes and picked up another bucket full of meat and placed it on the ground.

"Sorry, man." Lucas apologized. "My stupid sister turned it off."

"Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon."

"Demogorgon dog." I corrected, slinging my backpack more comfortably over my shoulders. My machete was placed through my belt loop again, this time in its sheath.

"Sorry, Demogorgon dog." Dustin rolled his eyes at me. I gave him a wink.

"Wait. What?" Lucas asked.

"I'll explain later. Just meet me, my siblings, and Steve at the old junkyard." Dustin informed.

"Your siblings? Steve?"

"And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket." Dustin continued, ignoring his friend's question. Steve and Danny put on their backpacks, their weapons strapped to them.

"Steve Harrington? And your twin siblings?" Lucas repeated.

"All right, lets go." Steve shut the trunk of his car shut. Danny grabbed a bucket and handed me one before getting another for himself.

"Just be there, stat. Over and out." Dustin said. We started in the direction of the junk yard with the buckets of meat in our hands.

▷

Dustin threw another chunk of meat to the ground. We were leaving a trail to the junk yard to lure Dart to us. There we plan on killing him.

"All right, so let me get this straight." Steve tossed a piece of meat on the railroad track that we were currently walking on. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who... who you just met."

"Wait, what girl?" I turned back to looked at a Dustin. I was further ahead of everyone to skip the information I already knew. "You never told me about any girl other than Max."

"I knew about his crush on Max." Danny grinned at me. "It's a boy thing Dawn. Dustin doesn't want to talk about girls with you, who is a girl. Not cool."

"All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things." Dustin ignored our comments and replied to Steve.

"I mean why would a girl like some nasty slug anyways?" Steve asked.

"An interdenominational slug? Because it's awesome."Dustin quickly rebutted. "Dawn thought he was cute."

"Hey! Don't drag me into this." I pointed my finger at Dustin. "I'm used to monsters. Your...your crush not so much."

"Well, if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I...I just... I don't know." Steve stumbled out. "I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

"I told him that and he ignored me." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Well not everyone can have your perfect hair, Steve. Or being in a band, Danny, all right?" Dustin shot back.

"It's not about the hair, man." Steve shrugged. "The key with girls is just...just acting like you don't care."

"Right." I snorted, throwing some meat in front of us. "That's exactly how you guys picks up girls."

"Even if you do?" Dustin looked at Steve.

"Yeah, exactly. It drives them nuts." Steve answered.

"Only to be driven away." I scoffed, shaking my head. "Look, I'm a girl and that's not how it works. Girls like boys who are themselves around them. Not acting all tough and shit. Acting like you don't care? Yeah, that makes them believe you actually don't."

"It worked on Rebecca." Danny waved me off. "And my exes."

"And then what?" Dustin looked between Steve and Danny.

"Okay, yeah," I crossed my arms and looked at the boys with a raised brow. "Then what?"

"You just wait until, uh..." Steve tossed some more meat behind him. "Until you feel it."

"Feel what?" Dustin asked.

"Dear god." I muttered, millions of thoughts of where Steve was heading with this.

"It's like before the storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh..." Steve trailed off, not knowing how to describe it. He winced as he tried to explain sexual tension. "Electricity, you know?"

"Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere-"

"No, no, little brother. He means sexual tension." Danny cut off Dustin as he threw some meat on the ground. Steve awkwardly nodded.

"Okay, I'm leaving this conversation." I scrunched up my nose in disgust and jogged ahead of them.

There was a good twenty feet between us and I couldn't hear a thing they were saying. I sighed in relief. I didn't want to hear that type of talk to my little brother. Danny and Steve can explain it to him in boy terms.

Part II might be up tonight, depends if I'm free or not the rest of the day.

But how about that kiss?

It was kind of awkward but oh well

Until next time
Much love,
Lux