The alarm was still blaring as Dustin and Erica loaded Steve, Robin, and I into the back of the little car the Russians used to transport cargo. Steve, Robin, and I were undoubtedly still very high on the truth serum stuff that the evil doctor gave us. 

"Jesus, slow down!" Steve ordered Dustin because he was driving like a maniac.

"Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?" Robin asked rhetorically.

"It's the Indy 300." Steve corrected her and I was laughing at their argument.

"No, dingus, it's 500!" Robin countered.

"It's 300!" Steve yelled back as I continued to laugh.

"Let's say a million." I added and they stopped and we all laughed.

"What is wrong with them?" Erica asked Dustin.

"I don't know." Dustin answered still trying to get us out of here.

"If you're asking me, Steve is still in love with Nancy, Robin is super sarcastic in order to mask her feelings, and I am going to die alone because my love life, so far has consisted of unrequited love and a douchebag who got lucky that I let him in my pants in the first place." I answered and everyone looked at me, but I couldn't remember what I said. "What, did I say something?" I asked, but was cut off by Erica.

"Dustin, watch out!" She screamed not wanting to hit anything.

"Shit!" Dustin said as he crashed into something and Robin and Steve hit their heads on the metal grate while I crashed into Steve, but he caught me. 

"Thanks, Stevie." I said as I booped his nose and he laughed.

"You guys all right back there?" Dustin asked concerned. We all groaned. Dustin and Erica then opened the door for us.

"Come on. We gotta go, now." Dustin ordered us out of the back of the vehicle.

"Come on! Get out!" Erica said with urgency in her voice.

"Woah, someone is bossy." I said laughing and Steve and Robin both chuckled. They continued to bark orders and eventually pulled us out of the vehicle.

"We're coming!" Steve said trying to regain his balance. We got back into the elevator and were going to the surface. Steve immediately hopped on a dolly and began balancing. Robin then took the handle and began moving him around.

"Hey! You look like you're surfing!" Robin yelled and Steve agreed.

"Surfing! Yeah!" I yelled. "I want to surf." I complained.

"I'm a natural! Check it out!" Steve yelled, but then fell on his face. I immediately crumbled to the ground laughing hysterically.

"Wipeout!" Robin yelled and I continued crying out in laughter.

"He's burning up." Dustin said.

"Yeah, so is she." Erica said touching my forehead.

"You're burning up." I countered.

"One sec, one sec. Steve, Steve." Dustin said trying to examine him. "His pupils are super dilated." Dustin said.

"Maybe he's drugged." Erica suggested.

"Steve, are you drugged?" Dustin asked the older male.

"How many times, Dad? I don't do drugs. It's only marijuana." Steve said booping Dustin's nose. I laughed at the interaction.

"This isn't funny, okay? I need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us?" Dustin asked concerned.

"We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just a matter of how... and when." Robin added and I nodded.

"That was some truth right there." I said pointing to Robin and she nodded.

"They're gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car." Dustin said trying to get an answer.

"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?" Steve asked and I moaned in agreement.

"I would kill for a hot dog on a stick." Robin agreed.

"Holy shit, that sounds amazing." I added and we looked at each other.

"All right. Yeah, food. Yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell me where your car is parked." Dustin bartered.

"Uh-oh." Steve said.

"Uh-oh?" Dustin asked confused.

"The car's off the board." Steve said remembering something.

"What?" Dustin asked again for clarification.

"They took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys. Like, forever ago. That's a bummer, right?" Steve said going through his empty pockets. Dustin and Erica then ushered all of us teenagers out of the elevator and into fresh air. It felt amazing.

"Oh, my God, that tastes so good. Ah! Steve, Frankie, can you taste the air?" Robin asked us sticking  her tongue out. I immediately did the same and tasted the amazing air.

"I taste it! I taste it!" Steve yelled.

"Me too. It's literally the best thing I've ever tasted in my life." I screamed in agreement.

"Stop!" Some guy with a gun yelled, but I laughed not taking it seriously.

"Shit! Come on! Come on!" Dustin yelled grabbing my arm along with Steve's and began running as Erica grabbed Robin.

"Why are we running?" Steve asked confused as we reentered the mall's many corridors. Dustin and Erica were leading us through the hallways. I didn't know where we were going, but I was just laughing and having the best time running with my friends.

"Where are we going?" Erica asked Dustin not knowing where we were.

"Just trust me." Dustin answered leading us to the movie theater hallway.

"All clear." Dustin said leading us into a showing of Back to the Future. On our way in, Steve grabbed some popcorn from the trashcan.

"Where the hell did you get popcorn?" I asked taking some of the popcorn for myself.

"Hey, get your own popcorn, Frankiestein." Steve complained pulling his popcorn away from me.

"Frankiestein? That's an awesome nickname. Totally amazing." Robin said laughing and I glared at Steve for calling me that again. Dustin led us to the front of the theater with the movie playing in the background.

"You three, sit." Dustin ordered placing us in three unoccupied seats. 

"No, no, no! These seats are too close!" Robin complained and I nodded agreeing with her.

"Dude, these seats blow." Steve added.

"Then don't watch the movie." Dustin replied annoyed with us.

"We wanna watch it." I complained and Dustin got even more frustrated.

"Then watch it!" Dustin yelled and immediately got shushed from the guy behind us.

"Sorry. Whatever you do, don't... go... anywhere." Dustin stated sternly.

"Fine, Dad." Steve replied in a whiny tone and Robin and I both laughed at his response. The movie continued playing as Steve, Robin, and I stuffed our faces with the trashcan popcorn. 

"What's happening?" Robin asked confused with the plot of the movie. 

"I have no idea." Steve answered.

"Who cares. It's Michael J. Fox." I added continuing to steal Steve's popcorn. A few minutes later I started getting thirsty. "Hey, I need a drink. Let's bail." I told them moving to leave.

"Yes, a drink sounds amazing right now." Robin agreed and Steve followed after us. We found the water fountain outside of the movie theater and started taking turns with Steve going first. 

"That's amazing." Steve said continuing to drink.

"So, like, I wasn't totally focused in there or anything, but... I'm pretty sure... that mom was trying to bang her son." Robin said breaking the silence.

"Wait, wait, the hot chick was Alex P. Keaton's mom?" Steve asked confused as he let me take a turn to get a drink.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Robin replied.

"But they're the same age." I said after taking a gulp from the fountain and wiping my mouth.

"No, but he went back in time." Robin explained and I was still confused.

"Then why is it called Back to the Future?" Steve asked just as confused.

"He has to go back to the future because he's in the past. So, the future is actually the present, which is his time." Robin explained and I started to understand it a little bit.

"Wh... What?" Steve asked still clearly high. Robin then pushed me out of the way to get a drink.

"No, no, it's my turn. You've had enough." She said as she pushed.

"Wow. Hey, Frankie, Robin. You gotta check this out. Check this... This... The ceiling, it's beautiful." Steve said staring at the ceiling. I looked up and saw the twinkling lights which looked like stars. 

"Oh, wow. That's amazing. I can't believe that the world is this beautiful." I said spinning to look at it in different angles. I then started to feel nauseous. We all ran to the bathroom and picked different stalls and immediately began barfing our brains out. After my stomach was empty and Steve and Robin both flushed their toilets, Robin broke the silence. 

"The ceiling stopped spinning for me. Is it still spinning for you guys?" Robin asked from her stall.

"No, thank god." I said looking at the ceiling to find it stagnant.

"Holy shit. No. You think we puked it all up?" Steve asked hopeful.

"Maybe. Ask me something. Interrogate me." Robin said in a Russian accent.

"Okay. Interrogate you. Sure. Um... When was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?" Steve asked jokingly.

"Today." Robin answered honestly.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw." Robin said truthfully.

"Holy shit." I laughed.

"Oh, my God." Steve laughed as well.

"It was just a little bit, though." Robin defended and I continued to laugh.

"Yeah, it's definitely still in her system." Steve thought out loud. "Ok, Frankie, do you still have a crush on Jonathan?" Steve asked to test my system.

"No, that ship has sailed. I don't even know if we're friends anymore since he started dating Nancy." I answered completely honestly.

"Oh, you two are still friends." Steve comforted.

"Well, I can't remember the last time I hung out with him." I stated sadly.

"Well, you hang out with Steve all the time now, so you have more than one friend." Robin pointed out and I smiled and shrugged. "All right, my turn." Robin said recovering from her question.

"Okay. Hit me." Steve said ready for the question.

"Have either of you... ever been in love?" Robin asked and I scoffed.

"Yep. Nancy Wheeler. First semester, senior year." Steve answered honestly.

"Oh, my God. She's such a priss." Robin said in a judgmental tone.

"Hm. Turns out, not really." Steve replied knowing what Nancy was capable of.

"How about you, Frankie?" Robin asked. 

"Nope. No love for me. Boys would actually have to approach me in order for me to fall in love." I answered honestly.

"Come on, guys approach you." Steve scoffed.

"No they don't. They see me with you and then turn the other way." I said and Steve scoffed again.

"Yeah, it's totally my fault that you don't have a love life." Steve said sarcastically.

"I'm not saying it's your fault. Guys just don't see me that way, I guess." I shrugged and then I heard both of them scoff.

"Frankie, your gorgeous, smart, and really kind. You're like the total package. Trust me, guys see you that way." Robin said from her stall and I smiled.

"Thanks, Robin." I said taking the compliment. 

"No problemo." She muttered under her breath. "Steve, are you still in love with Nancy?" Robin asked changing the subject.

"No." Steve answered honestly once again.

"Why not?" Robin asked confused.

"I think it's because I found someone who's a little bit better for me. It's crazy. Ever since Dustin got home, he's been saying, "You know, you gotta find your Suzie. You gotta find your Suzie."" Steve answered.

"Wait, who's Suzie?" Robin asked for clarification.

"It's some girl from camp, I guess his girlfriend. To be honest with you, I'm not 100% sure she's even real. But that's not... that's not really the point. That doesn't matter. The point is, this girl, you know, the one that I like, it's somebody that I... didn't even talk to in school. And I don't even know why. Maybe 'cause Tommy H. would've made fun of me or... I wouldn't be... prom king. It's stupid. I mean, Dustin's right, it's all just a bunch of bullshit anyways. Because, when I think about it, I should've been hanging out with this girl the whole time. First of all, she's hilarious. She's so funny. I feel like, this summer, I have laughed harder than I have laughed... in a really long time. And she's smart. Way smarter than me. You know, she can crack, like, top secret Russian codes and... You know? She's honestly unlike anyone I've ever even met before." Steve revealed and I knew it was about Robin. I sighed quietly to myself thinking that he might've been talking about me, but I was surprised that I was disappointed when I heard that it was Robin that he was talking about. "Robin? Robin, did you just OD in there?" Steve asked after not hearing from her in a while.

"No. I... am still alive." She said quietly. Steve then joined her in her stall and I walked over to her stall and took a seat as well.

"The floor's disgusting." Robin said referring to Steve sliding on the floor.

"Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so... What do you think?" Steve asked full of hope.

"About?" Robin asked.

"This girl." Steve clarified.

"She sounds awesome." Robin answered looking a little guilty.

"She is awesome. And what about the guy?" Steve asked.

"I think he's on drugs, and he's not thinking straight." Robin admitted.

"Really? 'Cause I think he's thinking a lot more clearly than usual." Steve said adamant about his feelings for her.

"He's not. Look... he doesn't even know this girl. And if he did know her, like... like really know her, I don't think he'd even want to be her friend." Robin stated nervously.

"No, that's not true. No way is that true." Steve said denying her thoughts.

"Listen to me, Steve. It's shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. Frankie, I like you too. But I'm not like your guys' other friends. And I'm not like Nancy Wheeler or Frankie, for that matter." She said glancing at me.

"Robin, that's exactly why I like you." Steve admitted.

"Ouch." I said offended and Steve shook his head.

"Not what I meant." He said comforting me.

"Do you remember what I said about Click's class? About me being jealous and, like, obsessed?" Robin asked and I widened my eyes in surprise. I think I knew where she was going with this.

"Yeah." Steve said knowing about the crush.

"It isn't because I had a crush on you. It's because... she wouldn't stop staring at you." Robin said frustrated.

"Mrs. Click?" Steve asked confused and I rolled my eyes.

"Tammy Thompson. I wanted her to look at me. But... she couldn't pull her eyes away 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 said with tears threatening to spill from her eyes and I smiled knowing that she was being completely honest with us.

"But Tammy Thompson's a girl." Steve said still confused.

"Steve." Robin muttered and gave him a look.

"Yeah?" He asked still not grasping it, until he widened his eyes in surprise. "Oh." He said.

"Oh." Robin repeated.

"Holy shit." Steve breathed out and I didn't know what to add.

"Yeah. Holy shit." Robin repeated once again. "Steve... did you OD over there? What about you, Frankie?" She asked wanting to know our thoughts.

"No, I just, uh... just thinking." Steve answered.

"Yeah, same. Thinking." I said.

"Okay." Robin said prepared to lose us as friends.

"I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she's cute and all, but... I mean, she's a total dud." Steve said breaking the silence.

"She is not." Robin defended her crush.

"Yeah, she is. You could do so much better." I added knowing that this wouldn't change anything.

"Yes, she is. She wants to be, like, a singer. She wants to move to, like, Nashville and shit." Steve scoffed laughing at the ridiculous plans of Robin's crush.

"She has dreams." Robin continued to defend.

"She can't even hold a tune. She's practically tone-deaf. Have you heard her? All the time. ♪ You see me now tonight ♪ ♪ You see me... ♪" Steve said and started imitating her singing. I joined in knowing exactly what she sounded like because it was not pretty.

"She does not sound like that." Robin continued to defend her.

"She sounds exactly... That's a great impersonation of her." I said defending Steve's impression.

"She does not. You sound like a Muppet." Robin pointed out.

"She sounds like a Muppet. She sounds like a Muppet giving birth." Steve said and we all laughed as we continued to impersonate her singing.

"♪ And if you could hold me tight ♪ ♪ We'll be holding on forever ♪" We all sang.

"Exactly." Steve said.

"Sounds just like her." I laughed.

"I know!" Robin agreed and we all continued laughing when the bathroom door opened and Dustin and Erica walked in frustrated with us.

"Okay. What the hell?" Dustin asked scolding us. Dustin opened the door and studied what was going on as we all looked out the door.

"And, blend." Dustin ordered as he stepped out to blend in with the people leaving the movie theater. We all blended in with the crowd of people as best as we could.

"Well, shit, that worked." Erica said impressed with Dustin's plan.

"Of course it worked." Dustin stated in a cocky tone. "Now, we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come." Dustin said the rest of his plan.

"Uh, Dustin?" Steve interrupted him.

"What?" He asked.

"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house." Steve admitted feeling guilty.

"Why?" The younger boy asked confused.

"Well, I might've told them your full name." Steve said quietly fearing Dustin's reaction.

"What is wrong with you?" Dustin asked in an accusing tone.

"Dude, I was drugged." Steve defended.

"So?" Dustin asked frustrated.

"So?" Steve asked confused.

"So, you resist. You tough it out. You tough it out like a man." Dustin informed as if it was easy.

"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say." Steve said bitterly.

"Guys?" Robin said noticing Russians checking people's IDs.

"Abort. Abort. Abort." Dustin said as we all ran away from the Russians. 

"Come on, let's go, let's go." Robin said noticing that the escalators were shut down, but she slid down the middle in between them to escape quickly. The rest of us followed suit and it was actually pretty fun. We ran away and kept getting cornered. We eventually ended up at the food court and hid behind the counter of the Chinese restaurant. I was in between Dustin and Steve and we were all breathing rapidly hoping that they wouldn't find us. A car alarm suddenly went off and we all jumped in fear. There was then a loud crash and we all slowly arose from our hiding spot to see the Russians all knocked out by a car. Then we looked up and saw the rest of the group of our friends. I was relieved that they were all safe.

"You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin said happily as he hugged El and Mike.

"Lucas?" Erica asked surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked confused.

"Ask them. It's their fault." Erica said totally throwing Steve, Robin, and I under the bus.

"True, yeah. Totally true. It's absolutely our fault." Steve admitted and I nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand what happened to that car." Robin said still trying to catch up. 

"It's hard to explain." I answered and then Dustin cut me off.

"El has superpowers." Dustin explained.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it, actually." I said shrugging.

"I'm sorry?" Robin asked for clarification.

"Superpowers. She threw it with her mind. C'mon, catch up." Steve said motioning with his hands to think faster.

"That's El?" Erica asked impressed.

"Who's El?" Robin asked still confused.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked not knowing how Robin was involved.

"I'm Robin. I work with Steve." Robin explained.

"She and Frankie cracked the top secret code." Dustin explained.

"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place." Steve added.

"Russians? Wait, what Russians?" Jonathan asked confused.

"The Russians!" I said gesturing around to the knocked out, possibly dead, guys on the ground. 

"Those were Russians?" Max asked confused.

"Some of them." Erica shrugged.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked still confused.

"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin asked knowing that he radioed them.

"Yeah. Couldn't understand what you were saying." Mike said frustrated.

"Goddamn low battery." Dustin yelled frustrated as well.

"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?" Steve yelled punching his hand to get his point across.

"Well, everything worked out, didn't it?" Dustin asked rhetorically.

"Worked out? We almost died." Erica pointed out frustrated with Dustin.

"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?" Dustin defended.

"It was pretty damn close." Steve added.

"Okay, Russians? As in, they're working for the Russian government?" Lucas asked for more clarification.

"What are you not comprehending? Am I not speaking English? We have a full-blown Red Dawn situation." Dustin screamed still annoyed with the fact that nobody was understanding the situation.

"So this has nothing to do with the gate?" Max asked confused.

"It has everything to do with the gate..." Dustin said, but before he could elaborate, El fell over in pain.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dustin said concerned as all of us went to check on her to see if she was ok. She didn't look good at all. Her nose was bleeding indicating that she used her powers, she looked sweaty and completely out of it.

"El! El!" Mike shouted in concern wanting to make her feel better.

"What's wrong with her?" Erica asked. 

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"My leg. My leg." She muttered weakly.

"Her leg, her leg. Okay." Jonathan said going to assess her leg wound. "Get that off." He said taking the bandage off. It didn't look good at all. Everyone groaned at the way it looked as El continued to struggle with the pain. Mike kept yelling her name, but she was in too much pain to answer. She eventually just screamed in pain and I wished that I could do anything to help her.