The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

11

9:30

Matteo was pacing on the roof. 

He and Robin had found the perfect spot to spy on the loading dock from— a building next to the mall who's roof was accessible to the public and provided a clear view of the Russians they were trying to spy on.

"I should have told him to reschedule" he kept mumbling, "Jake seems like a really nice guy, what if I blew my chance?"

"Shut up, Teo" Robin mumbled, still looking at the loading dock through the binoculars. "Russians, focus on the Russians"

"You're right, I might not even be alive tomorrow" He told himself.

"That's not what I meant."

The night was cool, a welcome difference from the boiling hot summer days. It wasn't very dark, it never was in Hawkins. A pitch black night? Never heard of it. It wasn't just the light pollution, Hawkins was such a close knit community that there were street lights and porch lights on almost everywhere.

Even now, looking down from the roof, Matteo could spot five lights in their vicinity and that wasn't counting the lights from the mall itself.

Steve and Dustin would be joining them anytime now. Despite himself, Matteo had grown fond of the little shit and he tolerated Steve.

A flash of lightning illuminated everything for a split second, and as fast as it had occurred, it vanished. Matteo ducked, hoping his pacing hadn't attracted any unwanted attention. But the ball of anxiety kept growing in his stomach.

He barely even knew Jake, but he felt awful about ghosting him like this. And it wasn't as if Matteo could even explain it properly.

Hey, sorry I ghosted you. I still think you're cute but I had to go stalk a secret Russian base entrance because we think they might be plotting against our country???

Yeah that wouldn't work. Which meant Matteo would have to lie. And while he was a damn good liar, he never really enjoyed it.

"Should we have brought weapons?" He whispered to Robin.

"Probably, yeah. But do you even have anything that counts as a weapon?"

"My uncle Patrick has a really nice shovel he used to dig a grave for my pet frog in fifth grade" Matteo shrugged, "Do you think that would help?"

"Something is better than nothing at least"

The rain came slowly. A few splashes of raindrops at first, enough to make Matteo think it would just be a light drizzle. The small droplets kissed his skin as he looked up and groaned. Still, he pulled on his raincoat. The last thing he needed before trying to save the country was to catch a cold, his mom would definitely be mad if he didn't protect himself from the rain.

The scent of earth and wet pavement filled the air. Nature's orchestra played as a backing soundtrack to Matteo's inner crisis. The pattering raindrops, the rustling leaves, and the distant rumble of thunder was all pushed to the back of his mind.

He didn't even know where Jake lived, for god's sake. All he knew was his name— Jake Harris. And the fact that he was new in Hawkins.

9:40

The once peaceful rain took on a hard edge, the drops growing larger and more insistent.

Dustin and Steve crawled across the roof, desperate not to be spotted.

Blue meets yellow in the west— 9:45.

None of them knew what to expect, what might go down in just five minutes. It was exciting, but also terrifying. If his mom got to know what he was up to, Matteo would be so screwed, he wouldn't ever be able to leave his house. He would be grounded until the end of time.