Steve Harrington 004

Of all the things you'd planned for summer—ice cream, swimming, maybe a trip—getting trapped in a Russian elevator hidden beneath the Starcourt Mall wasn't on the list. You didn't even know how you'd ended up there, let alone with Steve "The Hair" Harrington and his oddball crew: Robin, the sarcastic ice cream buddy; Dustin, the curly-haired encyclopedia; and Erica, small but intimidating.

Dustin was in full panic mode, hunched over the controls. His fingers flew, pressing buttons at random, sweating as he muttered, "One of these has to work!" His voice cracked.

Steve, on the other end, shoved him aside. “Move it, Henderson,” he said, mashing buttons mercilessly.

—“Hey! I had a system!”— Dustin protested.
—“Yes, a terrible one”— Steve replied.

The argument started instantly: Dustin complaining, Steve defending his "technique." You watched, arms crossed, clearly not getting anywhere.

—“Oh, please!”— you blurted out, stepping in. You pressed a button hard.

The light flickered… once, twice… and then buzzed before stabilizing. The silence was worse.

—“Is it just me, or did this move?” Dustin muttered.
—“…Traps”— Erica said.

The elevator groaned. It shook. And then it fell.

Dustin's scream filled the air as he clung to a bookshelf. Robin instinctively grabbed Erica, though she barely reacted. The lights flashed by in quick bursts.

Steve looked up… and then at you. He didn't think. He acted. He grabbed your arm and pulled you against his chest, holding you tightly, protecting you as if he could stop your fall. His other hand gripped the bookshelf, his jaw clenched.

Everything was falling apart too fast. But in that moment, the only constant… was you against him.