strangerchoices

[strangerchoices]

Stay

“No, I think I’m going to stay a little longer. I’ll come over later today, okay?”

“Oh. Okay. No problem.” Steve says

You can see his face drops a bit as he leaves the office and you hear his footsteps fade down the hall. You felt a little bad sending your best friend away but you knew that you wanted to stay a little longer with your professor. You’d get to know him a bit and then you’d study some more.  You ask your professor,

“You wanted to know about me?”

“Yes. Please tell me.” He said

Smiling you started to talk about your life story. You childhood, schooling, how you became friends with Steve, your favorite foods, your aspirations, everything. Alexei sat there taking in every word. He loved the sound of your voice and how calming it was. He didn’t get to hear you speak very often as you weren’t one to talk in class and he did most of the talking when you went for tutoring so this was like a dream for him. He intently listened almost in a haze, the world drowning out around him. He snapped back into focus though when he heard you calling,

“Professor? Hello? Professor?”

Your face was close to his looking to see if he was okay. If it wasn’t for his office door being open and the thought of someone seeing he might’ve kissed you right there. Instead, he pulled his face back.

“I’m sorry, I talk a lot and just go on and on. I wasn’t boring you too much was I?”

“No, no. You are not boring.”

How could you ever bore him? You were such an interesting puzzle that he wanted to solve. 

“Oh good, what about you?”

“What about me?” He asked

“Yeah, I only know you as my professor. Tell me about yourself.”

“I came to America from Russia to work on big project. It was big machine. I had to work on it because if not I would get killed.” He started before you cut him off

“Just a question. Did this project have anything to do with the secret base under the old mall?”

Alexei whipped his head towards you.

“How do you know about that?” he questions

“Uh me, Steve and a couple other people found it and entered it.”

“What? Entered? You could have been killed!” He exclaims

“But we didn’t, we lived! Someone on the inside helped all of us to stop them.”

After you finished your statement something in your mind clicked. The lightbulb came on as you turned to your professor.

“Oh shit. Wait. That was you wasn’t it? You were the Russian scientist who helped with the information to destroy the machine.”

He stared at you for a second before slowly nodding his head.

“Yes, that was me. It was very dangerous for me to do that. Still is.” He responds

“Well thank you! I owe you my life then! Without you who knows if I would be here to have this conversation.”

Alexei felt pride swell inside him. Something he did, had an impact on Y/N before he ever laid eyes on her. He did something for her that will affect her forever. He wondered if that Steve had ever done anything like this. No probably not. Alexei had saved her life, not Steve. You and Dr. Alexei continued to talk for hours about anything but the material from class. Neither one of you watching the time. You only stopped once the secretary for the dean came over the speaker to announce,

“The last shuttle back to Main Street will depart in 15 minutes.”

You looked at your professor and then at the clock in his office. Quickly gathering your things, you said,

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize how late it is. I need to get going. I had a great time talking with you Dr. Alexei.”

As you started to exit his office he called your name for the second time that day.

“Yes, professor?” You asked

“You can call me Alexei outside of class. No doctor, no professor, just Alexei.”

“Oh okay. Well, I’ll see you on Wednesday Alexei.”

As you left the office, Alexei stayed in his chair. Dazing off into space, he replayed the sound of you saying his name in his mind.

“Alexei”

He heard it over and over again. And each time he loved it more. He wanted to hear it more. It was like an addiction now, one time and now he’s hooked. Hooked on the sound of your voice. Hooked on the way you said his name. Hooked on you.

Walking to the front of the school you made your way on to the shuttle bus. On the ride back to town you thought about the conversation you had with your professor, Alexei. It was so easy to talk to him. You felt like you could tell him anything and he would listen. It’s felt like you knew him forever already. You smiled as you whisper his name to yourself again. 

“Alexei”

 You felt something flutter inside you when you spoke it. You blushed. Saying it was like a magical secret only you knew. Getting off the bus you took in the beauty of the night sky as you made your way to Steve’s house. When you arrived you saw a note on the door that is was unlocked. Opening it and heading in you heard something on the TV. Walking into the living room you saw the ending of ghostbusters playing and two people asleep. Dustin was asleep on the floor while Steve was asleep on the left side of the couch. Noticing how tired you were you laid on the couch next to Steve and fell asleep.

[strangerchoices]

Leave

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

Turning your attention to your professor you say,

“I’m sorry, can we pick this up another time? Maybe next Monday?”

You couldn’t tell exactly but it seemed like he was disappointed. You felt a bit bad but if you weren’t going to focus on studying then you might as well go hang out with Steve. Grabbing your things, you start to walk out of Dr. Alexei’s office.

“Goodbye Professor. See you on Wednesday!”

“Ah yes, goodbye.” He replied

You walked down the halls of your school with Steve doing a little happy dance in the process.

“What are you doing?” He asks with a goofy smile

“It’s my happy dance.”

“I know that. You’ve done that same happy dance since 3rd grade. What are you doing it for?” He jokingly questions

“Well I’ve been doing really well in class lately and my professor said that he knows I’m going to be able to answer the questions on the midterm!” 

“That’s awesome! How about we go celebrate?” Steve suggests

You and Steve arrive at the car. Stopping to look at him you ask,

“And what do you have in mind?”

“Cheap Pete’s Pizza Parlor. It’s been our place since we were allowed to start going out without our parents.”

Getting in the car you place your stuff in the back seat. You watch as Steve slides across the hood as he always does. Ever since he learned to drive that had been his favorite move. Actually, ever since he was tall enough to do it, it was his favorite move. You remembered how he used to say ‘Cool Steve coming through’ as he’d slide across the hood of his dad’s car in his garage. He had gotten pretty good at it with all the practice over the years but it still made you smile remembering the times where he’d fall off or have to slide himself across because he didn’t have the momentum. Once he gets in the car you turn to him.

“I don’t know about Cheap Pete’s Steve. You want to drown yourself in soda again?” You tease

“How dare you bring that up! It was one time! I had just gotten a tooth pulled and the laughing gas made me think I was drowning when I was just drinking it.” He complains trying to hide a smile

Pushing him you playfully say,

“C’mon let’s go already.” 

With that Steve pulls out of the parking lot. Driving down the road the top is up but the windows are down. Sticking your head out the window you let the wind blow through your hair. Every now and then Steve takes a glance over at you. He watches as the sun shines on your head, how your hair blows in the wind, and the smile on your faces as you two drive along. He can’t watch for too long because he’d be dead if he crashed the car but he can’t help but look over ever so often. You being happy was his favorite sight to see. Pulling into the parking lot of the pizza parlor Steve parks the car in your special spot. The one with the pothole that no one wants. With the car finally stopped you start to open your dorr but Steve tells you,

“Oh no you don’t, if we’re celebrating you then you’re gonna be treated like a queen. Close that door so I can open it.”

Rolling your eyes, you close the door to the car. Steve saunters from his side to your door and opens it for you with a bow.

“This way your majesty.” He jokes

Always the comedian. Before you step out though you see a massive puddle in the pothole. You decide to be a comic as well and exclaim,

“Oh my! I could never get out the car in this condition! The puddle right there is too deep! My entire shoe would be permanently damaged!”

“I have an idea.”

Before you could ask what it was Steve grabs you from out of the seat and throws you over his shoulder. Closing the door with his foot he carries you from the parking lot in the back towards the front of the store. The whole way you laugh and lightly hit his back telling him,

“Put me down!”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

He opens the door with one hand, still using the other to keep you perched upon his shoulder and walks to the cashier. Since you facing the other way, you couldn’t even begin to imagine the look that the cashier had on his face. All he could see was steve’s face and your backside. You tell Steve,

“Put me down!”

But he ignores you and instead orders his food.

“Uh yeah. I’ll take uh- hmm. I have some garlic knots and a slice of Million Cheese Sicilian.”

“Will that be all?” the cashier asks in a monotone voice

Steve turns around so now you, still on his shoulder could order. You give the cashier a sympathetic look that he doesn’t seem to care about.

“Can I get a coke and a slice of Cheese-plosion crust pizza.”

The cashier punches in all the orders before stating,

“Your total will be $6.71″

Finally, Steve puts you down and you make your way over to the booth in the corner. He pays the total and waits for the food to be ready before heading over to you. As he slides you your food and drink to you, you can’t help but say,

“That was so embarrassing! My butt was in his face!”

Steve rolls his eyes and just laughs at you.

“This is not funny Steve Harrington.”

“You’re cute when you’re mad,” he states taking a bite from his pizza

Any tiny bit of anger you may have melted away. Steve, your Steve, just called you cute. Sure, he had before, but for some reason this time it felt more sincere. Like he actually meant it this time. You felt butterflies form in your stomach. This was a normal occurrence though. You got butterflies ever since you first started liking Steve as more than just your best friend. You remember the first time it happened. It was the end of 7th grade and Steve was hosting an end of the year pool party. Tommy H. was trying to kiss you but you didn’t want him to, so Steve pushed him in the pool with all of his clothes on. He came out soaking wet and was so embarrassed he called his mom crying and went home. After that moment you got butterflies around the boy who was supposed to just be your best friend. You started to eat your pizza slice when you noticed Steve staring off at the wall behind you.

“Steve?”

He snapped out of his trance

“Yeah?” he asked

“You okay?”

“I was just thinking.”

Going back to eating your pizza he slipped into a trance again. He must’ve been thinking again, but God knows about what. Unbeknownst to you though, it was you he was thinking about. Steve thought you were cute. He thought about how he said you were cute. He started to panic thinking that it might’ve been the wrong thing to say you were cute. You didn’t reply anything when he said it so maybe it was okay. But what if it wasn’t? What if him saying you’re cute is what pushes you away. He couldn’t deal with that. You’ve been his best friend forever. He wouldn’t be who he is without you. No, it’s fine. You’re still here. You didn’t just up and leave. It’s okay. Hopefully.

“Hey Steve, when do you have to be back at work?” You asked him

Steve looks down at his watch before his eyes shoot wide.

“Oh shit, I was supposed to be back 3 minutes ago!”

Grabbing your hand he pulls you out of Cheap Pete’s and drags you behind him to the car. You both scramble to get in and he peels out of the parking lot. Speeding down the street he zooms into a parallel parking spot near the video shop. Pulling some coins out of his pocket, he throws them your way and quickly says,

“Put those in the meter for me.”

He then bolts into the shop while you place the coins in the meter. Robin is at the desk when he gets inside and comments,

“You’re late Harrington. I hope you have a good excuse.”

As she finishes her statement, you walk through the door. She looks between you and Steve.

“I see you have a decent excuse. I’ll let you off with a warning this time.” She says winking at him “Also I already punched you back in so don’t worry about it.”

Steve breathes a sigh of relief and starts to catch his breath. Before he heads off to start working you mention to him,

“You’re cute when you're flustered.”

You then head off towards the boxes of new arrivals that need to be shelved. Steve, on the other hand, was frozen in place. His heart skipped and beat and his stomach started to do flips. You called him cute. You had before but this time it felt different. It sounded like you meant it. He couldn’t move, all he could do was watch you walk away.

“Hey, lover boy. Snap out of it.” Robin said still at the front desk

Steve shot her a look and went towards his task. But he couldn’t get over it. You called him cute.

*****

Minutes turned into hours and it was almost time for closing. You and Steve were almost finished with restocking the last-minute returns when you heard the bell of the shop ring. You couldn’t see who came in but you had an idea of who it was when Robin called out,

“Hey! Mom, Dad, your child is here.”

Steve put the box down and made his way to the front of the store with you trailing behind.

“Dustin!” Steve called out excitedly

The two of them did their secret nerdy handshake before Dustin turned his attention to you and said,

“Hi Y/N!”

You went over to him and ruffled his hair a bit before replying,

“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to rent a movie.”

“Well we’re closing soon, so go grab it,” Robin told him

Dustin runs off towards the section where comedy and fantasy mix before quickly coming back. In his hand, he returned with Ghostbusters. Robin helped him to check out while Steve turned the open sign to closed. Once Dustin got his movie he turned to you and Steve and asked,

“Can we watch it together? I already told my mom I’d be at a friends house.”

You look at him. His eyes wide with excitement. How could you say no to that face?

“Of course!” you answer

*****

The three of you had finally gotten to Steve’s house after finishing up at the video store. While you were in the kitchen making popcorn, Steve was helping Dustin set up the VHS tape.

“So are you two together yet?” Dustin asks 

“No,” Steve replies fiddling with the VHS player

“But you have a huge crush on her,” Dustin says a smidge too loud

“Keep your voice down Henderson.” Steve scolds looking to see that you aren’t there 

“Sorry, It’s just I have a girlfriend and you don’t. So I’m trying to help you out.” 

“Well you’re not helping,” Steve replies

Just then you walk in with the popcorn and ask,

“He’s not helping with what?”

Both of them turn to you. They’re like deer in the headlights until Dustin pipes up saying,

“The VHS player. I wasn’t helping to set it up.”

“But it’s all good now! We’re ready to go!” Steve chimes in

Dustin takes a seat on the floor while you and Steve sit on the love seat couch. You notice as Steve places his arm around your shoulders. You don’t know if it was intentional or not but either way, the act made you smile. As time goes on you one by one start to fall asleep. Dustin first, then Steve and lastly you. The movie is close to its end but you can’t keep your eyes open. Getting comfy you start to lean on Steve. You can hear the rhythmic sound of his heart as your eyes start to close and the last thing you remember is thinking that this feels right.