#Farrah Sinclair

[chrisbitchtree]

The One with Big Bad Billy

Harringrove Harvest Day 7

Prompt - Erica Sinclair’s Pillowcase of Candy

G - 900 words

***

For all the things that Steve could say he loved about the party, he hated that they were giant gossips just as much. One would tell another something, and within minutes, it felt like half the town knew. There were recent developments in Steve’s life that he’d debated telling Dustin about, but he’d held off for exactly that reason. They would all try to deny it, but the proof was in the pudding.

That exact night was a perfect example. It was Halloween night, and Steve was in the bathroom of his small apartment, trying to fluff up his hair after a long day at work, with more than a little help from his Farrah Fawcett spray, when his phone rang. He ignored it, feeling like he was finally on the verge of getting his bangs to do what he wanted, but it wasn’t even seconds before it started ringing again.

He slammed the cannister down on the counter and stomped out to the living room, grabbing the phone off the hook. “Hello?” he answered, not even trying to hide the exasperation in his tone.

“Steve!” Dustin cried into the phone. “Billy Hargrove’s gone soft!”

“Oh really? And how would you happen to know that?” Steve asked. Dustin had a tendency to stretch the length of his stories out, so Steve took a seat on the overstuffed chair next to the phone, twirling the cord around his fingers as he listened.

“Well, Mike just called and told me that El told him that Lucas told her that Erica’s candy was stolen while she was trick or treating with her friends. Billy came out of nowhere and tried to chase the assholes, but he couldn’t keep up and they got away. A half hour later, Billy came knocking on the Sinclair’s door with a huge shopping bag full of candy. Lucas is pretty sure that Billy cleaned Melvad’s out of everything they had left!”

“Well, that sounds really nice of him!” Steve replied, a smile small on his face. As per usual, Max was the only one that wasn’t named. She was the only one he could trust not to blab everything and anything to everyone within a fifty-mile radius.

Billy had been mostly unseen in the time since his miraculous rescue from the Upside Down and his slow recovery, lying low in the trailer where he resided with Max and Susan since his release from the hospital in late February. When he was seen out and about, he was quiet and withdrawn, a shadow of the loud, brash boy he used to be. It was nice to hear of him interacting with people again, even if it was for such an unfortunate reason.

“Sure,” Dustin said, chewing on something so loudly as he talked that Steve had to lift the receiver away from his ear. “It seems nice, but that’s not Billy. He’s a jerk! What if he’s possessed again! What if the mindflayer is back? We need to warn Max! I’m gonna let you go. You go to the trailer and talk to Max but bring your bat in case Billy’s there. I’ll go rally everyone else, and we can meet at the Byers in 30 minutes!”

“Wait!” Steve said, straining to be heard over Dustin’s babbling. “Calm down for a second, Dustin. Come on, we don’t want to scare everyone. This is the plan. You go stuff your face with more candy and watch a scary movie or something, and I’ll go take a drive over to Max’s house. If everything seems ok, I’ll let you know, and you’ll forget about this. If I feel like I need backup, I’ll call you on the walkie. Deal?”

“Ok,” Dustin sighed. “But promise you’ll let me know the second something suspicious comes up.”

***

Steve went and fixed his bangs, getting them just how he wanted them, then he picked up the phone, figuring that he’d better make a call.

“Hello? Steve?” Max answered when Susan handed her the phone.

“Hey Max,” Steve said, chuckling at her confusion. “I just wanted to let you know that you might get a call from Dustin saying that your brother’s possessed…”

“Already received and ignored.” She confirmed.

“Alright then, if he asks, I came to check on you. Thanks, Max! Have a goodnight!”

“You too!” She replied. Steve could already hear a candy bar wrapper being opened as he hung up the call.

***

Minutes later, there was a knock at Steve’s door, and he runs to answer it, not wanting to leave his visitor out in the cold.

“Hey, baby,” he greets his guest, pulling Billy in the door by the front of his jean jacket.

“Hey, pretty boy,” Billy returns the greeting, pressing a kiss to Steve’s lips as soon as the door is shut and locked behind him.

“Heard a rumour about you,” Steve mutters against Billy’s neck, where he’s pressing more kisses.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Billy asks, wrapping his arms around Steve.

“Dustin told me that Mike told him that El told him that Lucas told her that you’re out chasing candynappers and buying little girls Halloween treats. They say you’ve soft. Also said you might be possessed again, but I’m not gonna believe that one.”

“ ‘M not soft,” Billy grouses. “I’m still a big tough meanie. But even big tough meanies can’t watch a candynapper and not try to help. I’m not a monster.”

“Sure, sure,” Steve smiles. “My boyfriend is a big tough meanie. I’m so scared of your marshmallow core.”

[peakyblinders1919]

Haddie Harrington Pt 6

|part 1| |part 2| |part 3| |part 4| part 5 |

The last thing Steve thought he’d be doing was getting advice from Dustin. It was moments like this that he remembered, he held so dear to him when he was away. That drove him back. Taking Dustin to his first school dance, giving him girl advice… King Steve never thought he’d be spending his Saturday nights that way. Now, Daddy Steve never imagined El and Will would be coloring with Haddie or Dustin and Max would be giving him advice on what to wear.

He swatted Dustin’s hand away. “Come on man, what have I said about my hair?”

He looked at his friends gaze in the reflection of the mirror, frozen for a second. “Don’t touch it?”

“Yeah, don��t touch it.”

“Jeez, I guess things haven’t changed at all.”

Steve might agree, giving his Farrah Faucet can a spray to lock his brown strands in place, but a 5’7” tall Dustin stood in front of him, something the size and weight of a brick in his pocket he called a phone, telling him to ditch the varsity jacket from high school and wear the white button up. 

“What do you think?” Steve asked after holding out his arms and approving of the reflection that looked back at him. He couldn’t believe he was so nervous, seeming to have lost all the cool, calm, and collectedness he always had. 

“You look like a din… a dad.” Dustin said once he’d read Steve’s expression suggesting he say something nice or say nothing at all. 

Though it was true, he didn’t need the constant reminder of how much had changed, the constant reminder of how much he’d missed, gazing out the window at the beat-up hand-me-down station wagon in his driveway, Sinclair’s keys next to his own in the bowl in the foyer. 

“Don’t you have like…  a paper to write or something?” Suddenly the company seemed less than helpful, eating away at the time he had to prepare for his date with you. 

Dustin mocked him and the others were shouting from downstairs that they were going to be late for the movie and really all that had changed was that they were all a little taller, a little older, maybe a little wiser. 

And you were missing.

“Hey, once this is over, assuming you don’t mess it up, Y/N will be able to hang with all of us again, right?”

“I’m not going to mess it up Henderson. I can’t.”

He wouldn’t. He knew what would be the consequence if he did; every what if he’d dreamed about, every happy ending he ever pictured, would remain a fairytale. It would all have been for nothing. Moving out of Hawkins, moving back, living.

Saying goodbye to the crew as they drove back to campus to cram at the library or otherwise do whatever it is college kids did these days, he buckled Haddie up and let the car and the road take him to you.

His gaze shifted from Haddie to you; standing at the door was summer and fall and every season, perhaps his world all squeezed into a plaid skirt and warm cardigan, radiating warmth from her smile, her greetings. 

Though you tried to ignore it, heat rose to your cheeks when after greeting the others you stood, chest to chest and nearly nose to nose with Steve.

“Good morning Mr. Harr… Steve.” Making yourself look busy tucking another stray hair behind your ear, was it obvious how nervous you were? Were you supposed to call him by his formal surname like you did with all the other students’ parents? Were you supposed to treat him like the friend you knew, the friend you hoped he still was?

“Good morning Miss Y/N,” he said, sickly sweet, a student trying to butter you up. And it might have worked, if only.

“Good morning Haddie. Nice outfit today, let me guess, you dressed yourself?”

She nodded proudly, quickly informing you though that Max and El helped with the bows in her pigtails. Your face fell, picturing what the morning must have looked like at the Harrington household, different now that you assumed you knew Steve well enough that he wasn’t living in that big box he was forced to call a house all those years ago, the kids lining up for a home-cooked breakfast rather than cold eggs from the college cafeteria, the girls helping Haddie get ready because god knows she needed someone to help style that hair of hers. Not that Steve was incompetent, in fact, the opposite, as he left little to no time to help her after his own hair was done.

“Miss Y/N, are you okay?” 

“Of course! I’m just so speechless you look so beautiful today. Why don’t you go get ready with your crayons?”

“Sorry about that-”

“It’s fine.” You lied, lips pursed and tight. She was a child, she didn’t know any better. Didn’t know that you felt left out, didn’t know that it not only bothered you but you wanted to know why.

“So.. I'll see you later tonight Miss. Y/N?”

His voice pulled you from your thoughts, helping perk you up a bit at the mention of his words and all that was insinuated underneath. It seemed everyone had grown comfortable over the weeks they’d been here; Haddie took herself inside and unpacked her backpack all alone and Steve with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows, radiating pure confidence, head dipped and lips smiling as he pushed slightly into your space. Maybe it was all the hairspray going to his head (you couldn’t forget the smell of it, nor how he used it to get that piece or two to curl and fall too perfectly from its place and into his eye) or the fact that he was back playing on his home turf. Or maybe it was the fact that you had said yes to the date.

You hoped to get answers tonight rather than get led on. 

“Later tonight Steve.”

___

Normally you’d be glad to see him early, finding you lived off of you and Steve’s interactions more and more, but you’d had to call him at work, make him leave early and drive across town, and meet with you now. 

“Is everything alright?” Where to start. You didn’t know where to start. Not once had you been brought to silence in front of parents, but Steve wasn’t just a parent, he was so much more. Maybe it was the chewing on your bottom lip- your tell- that gave it away. Reaching across the kidney table, he took your hand in his, rubbed his thumb soothingly across the soft back of your hand. It instantly made you meet his eyes, your whole life flashing in the serene calm of the dark abyss. All the touches, all the secrets, all the shared experiences and memories, some crammed in a box in your closet, polaroids and other knick-knacks like his RayBans he left at your house once (you were convinced it was purposeful on his part, and he never asked for them back, just bought a new pair) and times he had comforted you and you him, and times you had nearly called him home, and all the times you claimed you were just friends and all the what ifs and all the why nots.

There was no easy way to tell him it, so suddenly, comfortably, you just let it out.

“There was an incident at recess today. Haddie was drawing with chalk-” the fact that the red, gold, and purple squiggles slightly resembled a decapitated dragon something you were sure to bring up later, “and some older boys starting making fun of her and… well… she hit them with a bat.”

“She what?”

“She hit them with a wiffle ball bat Steve.” Suddenly, for the first time in a long time, you saw him sweat, saw the tension building, felt the tension building when you reached across the table to offer him some calm and figured out the best way to approach this was the same way a younger you and Steve approached everything when it came to your past, the Upside down. Humor. “Wonder where she learned that from?”

He confirmed your suspicions with a nod of his hair, not a single hair out of place until he raked his hands through it, still a bit shocked as to the nature of this meeting. 

Tilting your head, you remained silent to let him process it all, and still neither of you pulled back, hands still clasped across the paint smeared table. 

“I thought your monster fighting days were over Steve,” you said it so genuinely, so soft and so raw it pulled him from his thoughts to look at you. His lips nearly twitched into a smile before he finally pulled free, what started as to comfort you turning to comfort him until he found it easier to mess up those curls again, anxiously pushing at the long locks. 

“I’ll always be fighting monsters,” he chuckled though nothing was funny, “Her monsters. The ones uder the bed, bullies-” he sighed. You couldn’t possibly understand, could you? Maybe that was a naive thought on his end, where he had one daughter to love and take care of for the rest of her days, you had 25.

“Seems like she knows how to fight them herself. Whether she learned those bat-weilding skills from you directly or not, maybe I’d rather not know. But look, I can’t let her do that here, you understand. And the boys’ parents, I don’t think they’re going to be as understanding.”

“Are you saying she’s getting kicked out? I… I.. don’t have any other childcare, unless you count that twerp Dustin as a reliable babysitter now,” he chuckled again, though this time it sounded anxious and perhaps there was some humor hidden behind it, humor at the crumbling situation he found himself in the middle of.

“No, Steve, she’s not getting kicked out. I would never do that to you.” The words left a stinging feeling in your chest, licking your lips in order to continue. “I would never do that to her. She loves it here, she’s very bright. I think you should take her home for the day, talk to her, maybe keep her home tomorrow, I’ll talk to the boys’ parents, and I’ll make sure to hide the bats here if you do.” 

He nodded, watching the tense roll off his shoulders, until he looked back at you stricken with panic.

“But what about our parent-teacher conference and-”

“I think this is a conference enough.” 

“Our date.” Once hopeful eyes turned stormy, misty at the suggestion it wasn’t going to happen. 

He wanted it as much as you did, confirmed by his eyes, his voice, his touch.

“Meet me at the coffee shop at 7.”

I don't know if anyone's still interested in this but here ya go! I'm going to make it my goal to finish this series once and for all

[lunaraindrop]

Steddie prompt: mosaic.

Oh God, this one is so hard for me! See, I *see* Steddie, but my heart and muses scream "QUELIOT!!!!"

I'm afraid this isn't really filling the prompt. I just see Steve's mom coming in from wherever she and Steve's dad have been. Alone. Steve loves it when it is just he and his mom. His asshole of a dad puts a damper on everything. His mom has to practically babysit him (haha, they are alike in some ways) because he makes terrible financial choices.

She takes Steve on a drive in her Convertible, like she used to when he was a kid. The wind flies through their hair. He hasn't had this much fun with his mom since before '83. She takes him to her favorite Greek restaurant, and they eat outside on the patio, surrounded by beautiful mosaics.

Things take a more serious turn when she tells him that she and his father have heard rumors from town that Steve and one Eddie Munson are in a romantic relationship. Steve is so scared to lose his mom, but he is brave and tells her that, yes, he loves Eddie and they are together.

She is quiet, but doesn't seem mad. She actually has a tiny smile on her face and starts talking about the pretty tiles in the artwork. Mystified, Steve listens, waiting on bated breath if he is going to be disowned and have enough time to get his Farrah Fawcett spray and nailbat out of the house.

She then says something like, "I had two grandfathers, you know." He's like, "Yeah...?" Because most people have two sets of grandparents.

She's like, "No no, Steve. I mean that they were *together*. Married, even."

Steve is floored.

"Married?!"

She shrugs. "Well, it isn't legal here, but Grandad Q and Papa Eliot did not exactly follow the law. I think your Eddie would have liked them."

"How did I not know about this?!"

"Well, it is a bit of a taboo subject. People don't understand."

Steve was understanding why his dad wasn't there.

"Like...Dad?"

She sighs, but nods. "Like Dad."

Steve prepares himself again. What he hears next isn't what he expected, but god,he was so excited. Shocked, but excited.

"That's why I have left your father, and I've hired Sue Sinclair to be my divorce attorney."

After that, Steve takes his mom to the trailer park. His posh mother got along swimmingly with his metal head boyfriend. She and Wayne became good friends before becoming in laws.

As for Sue? She took Mr. Harrington to the cleaners.

Sorry this isn't an actual fic, Nonny 🤷‍♀️ I hope you like it anyway

[hillzhqs]

'𝚝𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗

hear those silver bells? it's christmas time in los angeles. some families actually do make the yuletide gay, managing to leave their troubles far away. other families have a merry little christmas even when their troubles aren't so far away. some presents might end up returned but some gifts are for keeps. other presents come when you least expect them and everyone knows the biggest present comes in the smallest box. then there are those boxes you wish you had never opened. have a holly jolly christmas, xoxo.

‹   ⅰ.   › you have been cordially invited to celebrate christmas eve at the kennedy estate in hidden hills, california. this year's theme is 'the colors of the season.' there will be different themed rooms throughout the home that will be color coordinated - red, green, white, silver, gold and black. the dress code is to wear one of these colors. admission to the party will not be granted if you are not following dress code. this is not a casual event by any means, so please do dress your best.

‹   ⅱ.   ›  the party will be taking place on discord. please keep an eye out for the link. while the event will be taking place over the span of one night rp time (december 24th, 2023), you can start writing on sunday, december 10th, 2023. threads can continue until everyone completes their writing.

‹   ⅲ.   ›  in the spirit of the season, kathy kennedy hosts an annual 'kathy kringle' where she pairs up people from the party to exchange gifts with one another. under the cut, please find your partner. there will be a channel in the event server where you can drop pictures and edits of the gifts called 'kathy kringle' and you can write out your characters exchanging gifts in the 'grand foyer' channel

‹   ⅳ.   › gossip girl has eyes everywhere, especially in an event as star studded as this one. if there's anything specific that you don't want leaked, please be sure to come to me before hand. if not, everything is up for grabs and can potentially be blasted for everyone to see.

‹   ⅴ.   ›  be inclusive! make sure you're writing/plotting with everyone and most importantly, have fun!!

✳    𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬   ﹕please see under the cut!

LEX -adrian fitzgerald . - DEE - julian calvary

SOPHIE -mallory wells - T - travis buckley .

KELLY - tyler cobb - SOPHIE -kaya khalid

KELLY - drew monroe - CANDICE -bentley hart

CANDICE -sienna spencer - T - vincent hart .

KELLY - madeline kennedy - CANDICE -genevieve evans

DEE - lilian hawker - CANDICE -sebastian davis

KELLY - roman barlowe - LEX -teddy taylor .

LEX -camryn kennedy . - T - hunter valmont .

BECCA - juliette hart . - KELLY - matteo rossi

SARA- oliver van horn - LEX -madden kennedy .

BECCA - stacey ortiz . - KELLY - franz wanger

SOPHIE -angel griffin - CANDICE - felicity dupont

SARA- avett marie - LEX -keanu carter .

SOPHIE -ford anderson - LEX -jade santos .

LEX -beau calvary - SOPHIE -archie sinclair

DEE - ezra basel - T - james vanderbilt .

SOPHIE -everly blackwell - CANDICE -jackson blackwell

SOPHIE -zion davis - FREY - na-eun seo

T - austen sinclair . - CANDICE -johnny kennedy

KELLY - charlotte windsor - SOPHIE -maddox mckelvie

CANDICE -adelaide windsor - BECCA - erin halliday .

KELLY - ayaz demiric- SARA- caleb khan

DEE - dominic law - FREY - penelope kennedy

DEE - gigi majok - SARA- finley kennedy

T - jordana kennedy . - CANDICE -brooke hawker

KELLY - ethan briggs - T - hana hershey ratanavadi .

SOPHIE -kacey king - DEE - carter talbot

KELLY - afia amoabeng - T - caiden sharpe .

FREY - kwame amoabeng - KELLY - seo sieun

KELLY - merve baysel - CANDICE -persephone sinclair

SOPHIE - ophelia evans - BECCA - farrah osmond

LEX -selene sinclair . - T - alabama messi .

DEE - derek taylor - CANDICE -bianca sinclair

T - bristol decker . - SOPHIE -mackenzie kennedy

[kpopperwitch]

Books I would write if I was one of Playchoices' writers:

A mermaid book where the MC returns to a beach town where their mother was born and grew up, they have just turned 17/18 and some weird things started happening like being attracted to the ocean and feeling a deep need of swimming in it, the first LI introduced would be the school's swimming team leader, they would be very kind to the MC and be their guide through the city and the school. The second LI introduced would be a merperson, they would be the MC guide through the merworld, the ocean culture and so on. At the end of the first chapter they would have their first full transformation and the book would be centered around the MC finding out how to navigate through these two very different worlds. Eventually they would find out their father is actually a merman and has some important role in the merpeople society, and they have a full merman brother who at first is very wary and distrustful of the MC, but you would have the options to warm up to him. Both LIs would be gender of choice and very balanced and you would have the choice to romanticise the human one, the merman one or both. The MC would be also gender of choice and you would be also able to chose the tail colour and fins' shape. At the end of the book you would be able to chose to stay on land, on sea or divide your time between both.

A book set in the 40s with a kinda of noir theme, mystery and assassination where the MC sees a murder at a high society party and becomes the next target of the killer, she has the choice to be romantically involved with the police officer, with the detective or with a very very rich man, maybe the one who threw the party (she would already come from a rich family btw). I would DIE A THOUSAND TIMES FOR IT, can y'all imagine the amount of GLAMOUR a book with this theme could give us? The peek-a-boo hairstyle, the gorgeous long gowns and the fur coats everywhere? Mixed up with the angst and the mystery of the killer being around and the LIs doing everything they can to catch the killer and save the MC, peak experience istg!!!

A very much angst book where the MC is in a wedding that's crumbling down and you have the choice to try to warm up things with your partner again or divorce. There will be two LI, your partner and someone else, if you chose your partner throughout the book you would be able to fix your marriage. If you chose someone else, you'll end up divorcing but on good terms. I think it would be cool to have children included to fuel even more the angst.

A historical fiction book set in Ancient Egypt with A LOT of mystery and political intrigue. Three LI including the Pharaoh himself, a soldier and a lady in waiting, in this one the MC would come from a very rich and noble family and be sent to the court to win the Pharaoh's love and raise her family status.

A romantic book set in mid 19th century. Not a lot to say, just want beautiful early Victorian gowns and chivalrous LIs for me to fall in love again just like I did with Ernest Sinclaire and John Somerset. And I would make the MC already be a high ranking lady instead of the same tiering "a fish out of water" and "i don't fit in" trope.

A book set in the 70s/80s. If in the 70s, they could work a lot with disco theme and imagine a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle? I would DIE for it. If in the 80s, the shoulder pads would be a MUST, and i can see it happening in some kind of high school scenario where the MC is divided between two "gangs" like the bad boys and the popular ones.

A book where the MC is the rich and flirtatious one and the LI is the loser. Not a lot to say too, just kinda like The Nanny Affair, but without the nanny thing and reversed. The MC could be a very rich celebrity or businessperson and they hire a new bodyguard or personal assistant and everything goes down from it.

[greenlikethesea]

📗

so i'm already sort of toying with this, but i've been kicking around a genderswap verse (largely cisswap -- before anyone comes for me, i'm a trans person) -- a series where the party is mostly girls, and where the teens are all gender swapped. primarily steddie focused. some elements of this universe are different, in the following ways:

-steve is stephanie, or "steph" harrington, captain of the girls' swim team who always has a boyfriend. while i think in many 'verses steve is bisexual, she's a closeted lesbian here -- it's all comphet. she's about 5'5", busty with an athletic build. big farrah fawcett hair, giant hazel eyes.

-eddie is still eddie, but her name's edina munson -- it's an old family name, a great aunt that died "a bachelorette" despite having a lifelong roommate. one lesbian edina to another. she's wiry, lean and built like a washboard, absolutely wild dark hair, 5'8ish.

-the other teens: nathan "nate" wheeler (5'10, very lanky -- basically a dead ringer for timothee chalamet), joan byers (a lydia deetz type before beetlejuice was even a thing -- 5'3, petite, looks like a haunted doll), robin "rob" buckley (6'1, gangly and awkward but still handsome as all get out), maria "argyle" aguilar (5'7, nothing but curves, same long hair, can roll the perfect blunt even with her acrylics). bonus: elizabeth "billie" hargrove (5'6, basically a whitesnake music video girl brought to life, fit as a fiddle).

-the kids are: lucille "lucy" sinclair and her little brother eric sinclair, debra "debbie" henderson, elizabeth "beth" byers, michelle "shelly" wheeler, maxwell "max" mayfield, john "el" ives-hopper.

-holly wheeler is a boy -- harry wheeler.

[wanderervenom]

Fictional women I would want to be in a relationship with:

Anna Stern from The O.C.

Chloe Sullivan from Smallville

Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter

Hermione Granger from Harry Potter

Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory

Mona Thorne from Half & Half

Dee Dee Thorne from Half & Half

Willow Rosenberg from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Phoebe Bufay from Friends

Myra Monkhouse from Family Matters

Sinclair James from Living Single

Sylvia Tilly from Star Trek: Discovery

Felicity Smoak from the Arrowverse

[sorry-youatemycat]

Try’s to do a nice thing for a friend...

Ends up getting hair-sprayed. 😂

[rivercule]

Stranger things makes me feel like the mother of 5 middle schoolers, 3 high school upperclassmen, 2 middle aged single parents, one tiny psionic badass, and approximately 986 gallons of hairspray.

[quailstoastonish]

Steve: it's not about the hair

Audience: *collective gasp*

[godofavengers]

Steves hair defies gravity and I Defy gender roles.

[thesugarclubs-blog]

Flavour of the Week - Steve Harrington x OC

warnings: None, pure fluff, summer romance

word count: 7.8k

WP: https://www.wattpad.com/1274056026-flavor-of-the-week-allie

Masterlist

For once, Allie was grateful to be babysitting Erica Sinclair. 

It was the hottest day of the year and the air conditioning of Starcourt Mall was a welcome alternative to being boiled alive in the June sun. She was trying to cool off in the food court, reading a new book she just picked from the store on the second floor when Erica slammed her bags on the table. The motion made her jump as Allie looked up at the little girl with a stern expression. 

"What is it now, Erica?" Allie groaned. All she wanted was a little break from the youngest Sinclair and her posse of minions. 

"I want ice cream." 

"No one is stopping you, Sinclair. Go for it." Allie said, jerking her head at the nautical themed ice cream shop across the way. 

"I can't," Erica said slowly, as if Allie wasn't understanding. "The girl who works there said I can't have any more samples. But you can." 

The mischievous smirk on Erica's face sent a little trickle of worry down Allie's spine. She'd never admit that sometimes she was terrified of a ten year old. 

Looking back up at the ice cream shop, Allie bit her lip before closing her book. Sacrificing her alone time in favor of ice cream didn’t sound like that bad of an idea. 

“Fine. Come along, gremlins” she grinned at the face Erica pulled at her comment, stashed the book in her bag and made her way across the food court to Scoops Ahoy. 

The ice cream parlor was packed, every table full of kids and teens in search for the perfect cool down during summer break. Her mouth was watering just dreaming of the ice cream sundae she was going to order, once Erica and her friends had their own, of course. If there was one thing the mall didn’t need more of, it was a hangry bunch of pre-teens. 

As she approached the counter, she could see Robin speaking animatedly with her coworker. She always looked very passionate when she talked but she looked like a conspiracy theorist pointing at her whiteboard this time. Suddenly, her coworker took off his little sailor’s hat and her breath caught in her throat. That hair.

Of course it was Steve Harrington behind the counter. Today of all days, when her long curly hair was tucked up in a messy bun and she felt ragged from dealing with Erica and her antics all day. Allie knew him from around the hallways at Hawkins High, and always had a bit of a crush on him. She took a deep breath, and swiped the baby hairs away from the sticky sweat of her forehead as she stepped forward to the counter. 

“Ahoy there! Would you like to set sail on an ocean of flavour with me? I’ll be your captain, Steve Harrington. What can I start you with?” He leaned forward on the counter, and smirked at Allie, his amber eyes twinkling in the lights. 

Allie could feel the words as they tumbled out of her mouth, “ice cream.”

She groaned and scrunched her nose up, embarrassed that she had blurted out the most prominent words she could think of. His tongue flicked over his bottom lip and his small smirk turned into a full-blown cheeky smile. She could see his lips moving but every ounce of her focus was poured into the two soft freckles on his neck.

“Allie?” Erica flicked her arm bringing her back to reality. Visibly confused she looked to Erica who had an eyebrow raised in annoyance. “Farrah Fawcett’s secret child just asked you a question, were you even listening, or were you daydreaming about your little book boyfriend again?” 

Steve leaned on the counter, elbow propped up by the register. 

"Book boyfriend, huh? Well, how about a real life boyfriend? Got one of those you might be thinking of?"

Allie wanted to dissolve into the floor as he smiled, the flush rising in her cheeks. She could see Robin over his shoulder rolling her eyes. Erica elbowed her, shoving her way to the front before Allie could answer. 

"Give us the goods, sailor boy. I don't have all day," she sassed. 

“Sorry but you already had enough samples, Sinclair. Now, let the adults talk.” he said, not taking his eyes off the beautiful girl in front of him, who was blushing at Erica’s mention of her book boyfriend.

“So, that book boyfriend of yours. What’s better about a book boyfriend than a real boyfriend?” he asked.

Allie’s gaze fell to her hands. She needed to look away from his eyes for a second because they were just too much. She picked at the polish on her nails, thinking of a way to murder a child and not go to jail. Never had she felt so embarrassed in her life. But she needed to come up with an answer soon before Erica said something worse, if that was even possible. 

She huffed out a breath and met Steve’s eyes again, “Well, I guess that um, they won’t disappoint you like most real-life guys do.” 

Steve stuck out his bottom lip and nodded once, raising an eyebrow at her, “Can’t say you're wrong there” He winked, standing up straight and twirling the ice cream scoop in his hand. 

God, this man was more charismatic than she remembered. Just the movement of his hand in that motion made her head go all fuzzy. Erica may have started with the embarrassing comments, but Allie knew she was definitely not doing herself any favors here either. She had to change the subject and fast. 

“Cotton candy” She spit out, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head a little, trying to get her attention away from the spinning of his hand. “Could I try the cotton candy ice cream… please?” Allie asked properly, shooting him a smile.

“Excellent choice,” he laughed, grabbing her a small bowl. He extended it across the counter but didn’t let go as her hand brushed his, “gotta be careful with this one. Too much of it will turn your tongue pink.” 

“I guess I’ll have to try something different next time,” she pulled the bowl from his hand and she could feel the heat rising up her neck. 

“Ahem,” Erica cleared her throat. 

“She’ll get a banana split,” Allie smiled as she pressed the tiny sample spoon to her tongue and let the ice cream melt from the heat. 

Steve nodded, brushing a piece of his golden brown hair behind his ear as he got to putting together her sundae. Once he had finished he slid it across the counter to her without taking his eyes off Allie who was digging in her purse for change. 

“Pretty girls get one free banana split,” he laughed and Robin audibly groaned from the back room loud enough for Allie and Steve to hear her. “Unfortunately, you also only get one sample so you’ll just have to come back tomorrow to try another flavor.”

"How many flavors are there exactly?" Allie laughed, dropping her sample spoon in the small trash can by his side. 

Steve's eyebrows furrowed as he counted silently. He sighed before putting his hands on his hips. 

"Thirty five, so if you wanna try each one by the end of the summer, you might wanna start tomorrow," he said with a shrug. 

"Will you be here? I mean, I might need some help." 

Steve's eyes lit up as a "no way" came from the open kitchen window. 

"Yeah, I, uh, will be here," he stammered out with a broad grin. 

After all the times he “sucked“ - at least that’s the way Robin always put it - he didn’t expect this to be the outcome.

“Great,“ she smiled, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.“ 

She was about to leave, the little gremlins already ahead of her, as Steve’s voice made her stop in her movements.

“Allie!“ 

She turned around, facing him again, but he remained still, as she waited for him to continue.

He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure what exactly to say, or ask even. 

“See you tomorrow.“ he said with a soft smile on his lips.

Allie bit her lip and let out a soft laugh. Steve Harrington, flustered. Because of her. That was definitely a sight to behold. 

“See you tomorrow, Harrington.” 

As she walked out of the shop, she smiled to herself and thought about what the following days would bring. It might turn out to be a good summer after all. She shook herself out of her daydream after Erica cleared her throat. Head tilted and brows raised at her babysitter. 

“That was nasty. Even with the free banana split.” 

“Just eat your ice cream, Sinclair.” Allie rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

The following day, Allie brought Erica to meet her friends at Starcourt once more, all of them taking off towards the arcade as soon as they got there, but not before Erica paused and placed her hands on her hips. 

“Lemme guess, I can find you at the ice cream shop when we’re done?” 

“I will be in the food court. Go have fun” Allie said through gritted teeth, causing the little girl to roll her eyes before taking off to find her friends. 

Once the kids were out of sight, she made her way casually into the ice cream shop, twisting a dark curl around her finger as she pretended to read the menu on the wall. Alle glanced over at the counter just in time to see Robin walk into the back room. 

“Hey dingus, this ones for you..” She heard, causing an involuntary smile to form on her lips.

Allie’s chest tightened as she heard the metal hinges swing open from the back door. Steve slid out, cleaning his lips with the back of his hand as he made his way to the counter. “Hi,” she said quietly, her voice suddenly so small in his presence.

Robin disappeared into the back as he leaned over the counter to come eye level with her as he finished chewing whatever he had been snacking on. 

“How's the tongue?” He asked and Allie flushed red instantly, why did he want to know that she panicked silently. “Shit, the cotton candy ice cream… turns your tongue pink… it was dumb.” He ran his hand hair nervously and shook his head in shame.

She chuckled, shaking her head at him. Her curls hadn’t cooperated that morning, frankly, they hadn’t been doing so all week with the heat wave but she had dared leave them down and now they were sticking to her sweaty neck. Banishing her nerves the best she could she playfully stuck her tongue out, “ready for more flavor tasting.”

“What will it be today?” He laughed, his big doe eyes flickered to her lips quickly before he shifted to the ice cream case. 

 Allie hummed as she tapped her chin playfully. “Let’s do mint chocolate chip today, captain.” she said with a wink. 

Steve’s tongue darted out across his bottom lip as he shook his head and tried to hold back a smile. Allie watched him as he grabbed the cup and scooped up a sample of the ice cream she had chosen. He wasn’t wearing his sailor cap today either. The wild wisps of brown hair that framed his face catching in the fluorescent lights of the shop as he moved. He placed the cup on the counter and handed her the spoon. Fingers lingering on top of each other once again caused Allie’s stomach to flood with butterflies. 

“Gave you a little extra today, our little secret.” 

Allie made a mock locking motion at her lips with her free hand as he smiled at her. 

“Wait, aren’t you gonna try?” 

He stammered at her question, “I don’t-“

“Well I said let’s didn’t I?” 

“Robin, can you man the counter I’m taking my 15.” Steve yelled back as he fumbled around the counter for an extra spoon before he followed Allie back to a table. 

Allie let out a genuine laugh as Steve caught up with her, smirking over at him as she watched him push his hand through his hair. It was nice to see him flustered for once because of her, instead of the other way around. 

“Ok, what do you prefer, cotton candy or mint chocolate chip? Be honest” She asked, taking a seat at a vacant table and putting the bowl of ice cream in the middle. 

Steve thought for a moment as he sat across from her, tapping the spoon on his plump lips, “See that depends on the day. Sometimes I need something sweet like cotton candy, but other times.. You just need that classic tang of the mint, you know? It’s sweet but has that secret side to it that keeps it exciting..” He smirked, taking a scoop of the ice cream and holding it out. “Plus, I like the green of this one… it matches your eyes” 

Allie’s whole body warmed under his stare as she pulled the spoon from her lips. She secretly loved mint chocolate chip and now she’d never eat it again without thinking about Steve Harrington noticing the color of her eyes. 

“So is mint chocolate chip your favorite?” She asked knowing the implications of her question.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing against the silly collar of his sailor's uniform as he composed himself to answer her. “It is today, yesterday it was cotton candy,” his soft lips curled into a smile as he watched her turn red. 

“How do you do that?” Allie asked him, watching his eyes flicker across her features in confusion. “One minute you’re a flustered mess and then you open your mouth and you say something cute as if you planned it.”

Steve laughed nervously, opening his mouth to say something but his cheeks flushed red and he pressed another scoop of ice cream to his tongue. Allie followed suit, distracted by the way his lips pressed together as he enjoyed the sweet treat with her. 

“If I tell you all my secrets you’ll just take them into the mall and use them on other boys,” he shrugged with a smile forming on his face. 

“Or maybe I’ll use them on you and that's what you’re really afraid of,” she laughed and he scoffed with a soft shake of his head. 

Steve’s break flew by and Allie retreated to the food court with the promise of tomorrow and the next 33 flavors. 

As the days turned to weeks the two continued to get comfortable around the other. Eye contact was held for longer, conversations flowed more naturally and lingering hands found each other from across the table. 

The third week sailed in and Allie made her way back into Scoops Ahoy, with a big smile and a little extra weight in her bag. Butterflies had never left her stomach the whole time but she hadn’t felt this nervous in a while. And when Steve’s eyes lit up watching from the back room window, she knew she was smitten.

He gave her a small wave and his cheeky smile that made her fall head over heels for the man even more. She waved back with a sweet smile, oh if only he knew what he was doing to her.  It felt like her heart could burst out of her chest from how fast it was beating.  So when he walked out from the back room, she needed to take a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. 

He stopped on the other side of the counter and placed his hands on top. His golden brown hair was messy but neatly tucked behind his ears. A couple of strands managed to find a way to fall forward. 

She needed to bite the inside of her cheek in an attempt to not lean forward and fix it. To touch him. 

“I like that.” His eyes lingered over her face for a bit before stopping on her eyes. 

She chuckled nervously, his gaze felt so much more intense than before. “Like what?”

“Your smile, it’s nice to look at …” He grabbed a scoop from the counter and twirled it around in his hand before saluting with it. “What flavor for the lady today?”

A blush crept up Allie’s cheeks and she bit her bottom lip to stop the smile from growing any bigger. Every time this man spoke to her, she felt all tingly inside. But there was no way she was going to let him see that side of her. Not yet.

“Actually, I have something for you first” She grinned proudly, reaching into her bag and pulling out a book, sliding it across the counter towards him. “This was the book I was reading the first day I came in here, and I thought you might like it. The main character is so sweet. I thought she might make a good book girlfriend for you” 

Steve let out a laugh and took the book, turning it over in his hands as he examined the cover, “Book girlfriend huh? I think I could give that a shot” He smirked, before turning and putting the book on the back counter. “So got a flavor in mind for today?” 

“What number are we on?” She asked, looking over at the display case.

“Hm, 13 I think” 

“You pick, then. Lucky number 13 has to be a Steve Harrington pick” 

Taking a moment to look over the flavor list, a wide smile appeared on his face, “I have the perfect one..” He spoke confidently, as he scooped the ice cream. “Rocky Road. A crowd favorite. And a personal one”

"Oh wow, a personal one? Why wasn't it the first suggestion then?" she teased, watching him scoop out way more ice cream than a normal sample size. 

Steve walked around, coming through the door built into the counter to hand her the cup. 

"Can I tell you something?" he asked, leaning in closer to her than he ever has been. 

Allie felt her breath shorten as she nodded, the sweet smell of waffle cones and whatever he used in his hair that morning filling her head. She could count more of the freckles on his cheeks and noticed how the tips of his eyelashes are a golden brown, just like his hair. 

"I kinda like to hog it all to myself. Devious, I know, but it's just too good," Steve whispers as Allie giggles at his expression, taking the cup of ice cream. This time his fingers trail against hers in a way that is more than obvious. 

"Your secret is safe with me. Can't have you losing your job or anything," Allie murmured, looking up at him before taking a bite of ice cream.

Steve bit the corner of his bottom lip as his eyes zeroed in on her lips and lingered for a beat. She smiled as his eyes found his way back to hers after she let the spoon go with a pop.  

“You got your spoon, Harrington?” 

🍦🍦

Saturday arrived in the blink of an eye and like the ones before during these past few weeks, Allie made her way back to Starcourt Mall. They’d gotten into the habit of having lunch together on Saturday’s since she’d be relieved of her babysitting duties for the weekends. When she arrives at the counter, she’s met with Robin refilling the spoons. 

“Hey Robin.”

“Ah, welcome oh great one” she curtsied, and Allie snorted a laugh as her eyes widened. 

“What?” 

“Nothing, I've just never seen Steve read a book so intently in his life. He hasn’t let it go ever since you gave it to him. Not that it’s that much of a surprise of course. I mean you guys have been spending time together every day this summer and he can’t pull his eyes away from you even if he tried.” 

Robin rambled on and Allie felt like she was in a daze. Not that she thought that he wouldn’t have read it but certainly not that he’d like it so much he wouldn’t put it down. As if he was summoned, the backroom door swung open, a flushed Steve holding the door open book in hand. He ran a hand through his hair and sent her a smile that made her feel like her legs were going to give out. 

“Hi.” He breathed.

Allie let out a small giggle and tucked a curl behind her ear, “Hi” She repeated, clasping her hands in front of her and returning the smile. 

Steve made his way over to where she was standing and held the book out to her, “This was amazing.. I’m not a book guy, but any more recommendations, I’ll be happy to take them” He grinned. 

“Book recommendations for ice cream samples? I think I can accept that” She took the book back from him and noticed a little piece of paper sticking out of it. Not thinking anything of it, she tucked it into her bag. 

The two of them had their usual ice cream date, trying a rainbow sorbet this time to be different. The conversation flowed as smoothly as ever, and at one point as they were talking their hands touched on the table, but neither of them pulled away. Instead, Steve casually intertwined their fingers as they talked. 

Again, his 15 minute break flew by fast and they said their goodbyes. Steve shot her a wink as he walked back into the store. “You should uh, check that book by the way..” 

Allie’s brows furrowed together, as she watched him walk away. She pulled out the book, and again found the piece of paper, pulling it out and unfolding it in her hand. 

“You were right, I did like this girl. But she’s not you” the note read, causing an involuntary grin to break out on her lips. 

She placed a hand in front of her mouth, shaking her head while her smile just widened every time she re-read the note. She turned her head to where he stood before to see if he’d caught a glimpse of how hard she was crushing over him, by just his beautiful written words, but he was nowhere to be seen. He must’ve walked to the back room. 

She smiled to herself while thinking if Steve had the same expression on his face as her, maybe he even felt nervous of the thought of what she would think about the note. Steve Harrington being nervous and flushed over a girl…maybe he even paced back and forth while thinking if his move was all too much and too forward… 

Well Allie didn’t. 

She turned the note and took out a pen from her bag, scribbling down the words that she hoped would have the same effect if she’d said it face to face. 

Exactly what I thought about my so-called book boyfriend, until I met you. 

She folded it and walked over to the desk where Robin stood while scooping up ice cream for a customer. She quickly placed the note on the counter top, clearing her throat to have her attention. 

It suddenly felt really hot. More than usual. “Hi. Can you please give this to Steve when you see him again?” She asked with a soft smile. 

Robin lifted a brow and looked down to the note, a smirk grew on her lips before she looked up to her. “Suuure, I’ll handle it.”

Allie watched as Robin disappeared to the back before rushing off. She bit her lip to keep from squealing, doing a little happy jump that earned her a weird look from a passing older couple as she left the mall into the sticky summer air. 

Another week passed. A week full of waves and smiles across the mall as Allie ushered Erica and her friends around and another lunch date on Saturday that had her crying laughing as Steve desperately tried to avoid an interrogation by Dustin Henderson. 

The next Saturday at noon, Allie excitedly hurried to the ice cream shop as the familiar hustle and bustle of the mall went on around her. When she approached the counter, she noticed something was off. Robin was the only one there, grumbling as she wiped down the counters. 

"Hi Robin," she said softly, trying to hide her disappointment. 

"Hey Allie. Sorry, no lover boy today. He didn't tell you?" 

Emotion choked any words that could have come out as Allie shook her head. How could she be so dumb? She had never even asked for his phone number. But then again, he'd never asked for hers. Her mind started racing as she mumbled something to Robin before turning to walk away. 

As she rounded the corner, Allie ran into someone, hands catching her before she was knocked to the ground. She looked up, relief rushing through her body as Steve gazed down with a smile teasing his lips. 

"Sorry, had to take Henderson home. Didn't figure you'd want that little shit joining us again." 

Allie laughed, smoothing the lapels of his polo shirt with a gentle hand. It was the first time all summer she'd seen him without that ridiculous sailor suit.

"I thought you'd forgotten," she said, looking up through her eyelashes. 

"Forget you? That's impossible," Steve murmurs before pushing a curl behind her ear.

“O-Oh.” the blush creeped up her chest at his admission as she stammered, his fingers still tucked behind her ear. 

He ran his eyes over her face. Almost like he was seeing her for the first time, taking in every single one of her features. She couldn’t help but smile as he ran his hand down her arm slowly igniting every nerve fiber in her body until he reached the tips of her fingers and gave her a soft squeeze. 

“You hungry?”

“Starving, actually.” 

“Well, we can’t have that. Let’s go get you fed.” he chuckled as he laced his fingers in hers and they began walking back towards the food court.

Allie smiled at him, and gave his hand a little squeeze, his thumb gently running over her knuckles as they walked. Ok, so maybe carting around Erica Sinclair and her friends to the mall all summer hadn’t been so bad. 

When they got to the food court, Steve outstretched his free arm and gestured widely, “The choice is yours. Anything you want” 

A giggle escaped her lips, as she dramatically thought and looked around, “I think I’m feeling a burger today” 

“As you wish, m’lady” He winked at her, making their way over to Burger King. 

They got their food, and found themselves a fairly secluded table where it could just be the two of them. As they ate, their conversation moved along from Allie telling Steve about Erica’s new antics from the week, and Steve explaining Robin’s whiteboard to her from when they first met. There were little touches, and nudges, and so many laughs Allie swore she was going to combust. Everything always felt so easy and natural with Steve. 

Steve reached forward, and brushed her curls off her shoulder, his fingertips brushing lightly along the crook of her neck. 

“Hey, what are you thinking about? You’ve been staring at me for a whole minute” He quipped. 

She stared at him for a moment longer, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say. Unsure how he would take her next words, “do you want me to be honest?” 

“Always,” he smiled, his fingers lingered on her skin and he grabbed her hand gently in his. “You’re making me nervous,” he laughed and the food court lights made his eyes glimmer. 

“I was just thinking of all the ways I could screw this up,” she admitted. “I’m not in your league and there are so many other girls—“ 

Her words were cut off by Steve’s lips brushing her knuckles, he peered up at her through his thick lashes. “I took you to Burger King, do you think I would just buy anyone a cheese burger?” 

“It’s not that—“ she sighed. 

“I know what it is, Allie,” he got serious for a moment. His brows pinching together and his tongue pushing against the inside of his bottom lip. “It may not seem like it but I think about how I don’t deserve you every time you walk through the doors of Scoops. I want to be here with you, I’d beg for a chance every day if you had turned me down.” 

She stared down at his hand that still held hers. He rubbed the back of her hand with a thumb and she placed her free hand on top of it, stopping his movement. She took a deep breath, she couldn’t look up to meet his eyes from the words she was about to say. The thought wasn’t new. Every time she left the ice cream shop she’d thought about it, scared for that day to come. 

“So you’re not going to ditch me because I’m not like the other girls you've dated?” Her voice slightly broke at the end. 

Steve sighed. He pulled back his hand and placed two fingers under her chin so he could lift up her head, whispering softly.

“And what are the other girls like to you?”

She huffed and looked to the ceiling while shaking her head. How stupid could she be? Steve had literally mentioned it in the note with his beautiful words.. but that could also be just something he says to every girl he meets, the safe card to play. 

Two warm hands cupped her face and once again was she met by those warm and kind eyes she could get lost in for hours. 

He lifted a brow and smiled softly in an attempt to make her keep going. 

“They’re…pretty. Like really pretty.” She whispered. 

He leaned in closer, eyes never leaving hers. Her mouth started to feel dry and face hot from how close they were. “But not nearly as pretty as you, Allie. You’re just getting prettier each day. I’m not going to be a fool and let go of this stunning woman, believe me. You're stuck with me.“ He chuckled slightly as he rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. 

Allie leaned into his one hand and closed her eyes, relishing in his soft skin. His words washed over her like waves. She wanted to fully believe him, but that doubt would always be in the back of her mind, just a little bit. 

“Well, I consider myself very lucky to be the one sitting here with you tonight” She whispered, finally looking up to meet his amber eyes, and shooting him a small smile. 

His eyes raked over her features, and he started to lean in, both of them inching closer to each other, the tips of their noses just brushing as Steve’s tongue ran across his bottom lip.

“Hey Steve!” Robin rounded the corner, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you’re off today, but the till is off by a couple dollars and I don’t know what happened, and now I’m freaking out because what if someone short changed me and I didn’t realize…” 

“Robin! I’ll … Be right there…” Steve let out a sigh, dropping a hand from Allie’s face, but keeping his eyes on her. “I’m so sorry, if it was anyone else I would tell them to solve it themselves, but when she gets frustrated, it’s just.. It’s better if I’m there to help her..” 

Allie sucked in a breath and smiled, “It’s okay, I understand.. I uh, should get home anyway. I have to be at the Sinclair’s early in the morning” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Thank you for today Steve.. And every day this summer. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Steve nodded, looking slightly flustered and disappointed but she let him go. He was too kind, his heart too big and it was in his nature to help the people he loved at the sacrifice of his own well being. 

The next week blew by, she continued to stop by to get ice cream but Steve seemed distracted more and more. Tempted to ask him what’s wrong, Allie took Erica home early that Friday and returned before the parlor closed. Steve was cleaning the counter as Robin stuffed her uniform into her bag. 

“Hey this is a surprise,” he looked up, happy to see her. His hair was fluffy and his eyes were tired but bright when he caught the sight of her. 

“Can we talk maybe?” She asked quietly. 

“I have to drive Buckley home, can it maybe wait until tomorrow?” He looked sad, but Robin appeared from the kitchen and patted him on the shoulder. 

“I’ll walk,” she winked at him, “but you owe me a drivers lesson now.”  

Allie whispered a small ‘thank you’ in Robin’s direction as she walked past her. Nerves settling in her stomach as she thought of what the conversation ahead could bring. She twisted the ring in her finger as Steve rounded the counter and made his way toward her.  Settling his hands on her waist, he leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. 

“Hi there pretty girl” he said with a smile as his thumbs brushed reassuringly at her sides. 

“Hi” she breathed, letting out a soft nervous laugh. 

“You want anything? I can take some stuff back out for you.” 

“No, no that’s ok. I’m good, thanks.” 

“Ok,” she saw as concern flashed through his eyes, “what’s on your mind?”

“I just—“ she sighed looking around. His eyes had the power to make her so nervous she felt like she was going to explode. The mall was so quiet only the sound of metal doors sliding to the floor as everyone went home for the night. 

“Not here,” he looked around and tugged on her fingers and pulled her into the back. She had never been back here before but I was bigger than she had imagined. A large freezer against the back wall along with a large table in the middle of the room and a few smaller ones that lined the perimeter. 

He led her to the table and before she could protest both his hands gripped into her hips and lifted her to where she was sitting atop of it. Her eyes completely level with his and unable to avoid the contact. She sighed, she had wanted to avoid the soft sparkle in his honey brown eyes but looking at him now she had forgotten all her speech. 

“You’ve been weird all week,” he said, his hands still on her hips, his fingers tapped nervously against her skin. “Was it something I did?” 

Her chest rose and fell softly, a pathetic chuckle leaving her lips as she brought her hand up to rub her thumb against the freckles on his throat. He swallowed tightly under her touch, searching for answers to stifle his misguided guilt. 

“I’m nervous,” she admitted, “when we talked about the girls the other day I wasn’t fully honest. You—“ she sighed. 

“I have a reputation,” he shook his head and a few hairs fell out of place as he dropped his gaze to her lap. “You’re scared I’m only doing this for sex, is that how you see me?” 

His fingers loosened their grip on her and started to pull away but she grabbed his hands before he could. 

She leaned closer to him and slowly placed her hands on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeats. It had a soothing effect on her. She could lay her head against his chest and just listen to it for a whole day while they talked about anything. 

She started to realize that this man meant the world to her. 

She took a deep breath and picked the words carefully in her mind, she really didn’t wanted this to turn out the wrong way. 

“Steve Harrington…” Her words  made him look up again, sadness was set in his eyes and she needed to swallow the thick lump in her throat to not break in front. 

“Listen, ever since I’d walked in here for the first time I’ve got a reason to get up from bed everyday, a reason to put my problems aside and just be. I feel that I can be myself around you and you see me for the one I truly am…but I remember school. People talked about you, I saw you walking down the hallway with a new girl around your arm every month. I don’t want to sound rude to you but why I’m being this honest with you is because I just don’t want to be that girl Stevie. I don’t want you to leave me, I want to stay…I feel so safe with you.”

She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, feeling how the dam in her eyes was on the edge to spill between the cracks. Closing her eyes, she felt them streaming down her cheeks. Steve didn’t answer but she felt the warmth of his hands against her cheeks, thumbs grazing softly against her wet skin to erase the traces of her sadness. 

He placed his forehead against hers, their heavy breath mixing in the air between them, lips almost touching. She stared at them as he licked his lips before he whispered.

“I know that I may have not been the best boyfriend material…but with you, fuck, you don’t know what you’ve done to me. I can’t even remember who I was before I met you. I won’t let you go Allie, I can’t let you go I promise.”

Allie sniffed and she placed her hands against his cheek with their noses touching. She looked up to him through her glossy eyes and she swore she could see tears at the corner of his eyes.

"You know," Steve whispered, his breath warm against her lips. "I really wish I wasn't wearing this stupid costume while we did this." 

She laughed, running her fingers down the lapel of his outfit. 

"I kinda think it's cute." 

Steve stepped even closer to her, his hips fitting perfectly between her legs. Heat rushed to Allie's face as his nose once again grazed hers. 

"Allie, can I kiss you?" 

She nodded as he bent his head, lifting her chin so he could look her in the eye. Her eyelashes fluttered closed as Steve pressed his lips to hers. He was soft and sweet, way better than anything she'd been served over the past month. She smiled against his mouth when she felt his fingers tangle in the curls at the back of her neck. He pulled away, slightly breathless, and tried to straighten up, but she grabbed the back of his neck to stop him. 

"I wasn't done yet, Harrington," Allie breathed, earning her a heartstopping grin as his hands slid around her back.

“Believe me,” he said between kisses, slightly out of breath, “the way I was thinking about you all day, dreaming about you all night,” he put his forehead against hers, “I couldn’t imagine doing something else.” 

His words only made her want him more. Diving back into the kiss, this time more passionate, he felt the warmth in his body growing. 

This was everything he dreamed of - to feel the affection, the love, the passion. To feel her. 

In his eyes, this moment was perfect - she was perfect.

Steve’s tongue brushed her bottom lip asking for permission to further deepen the kiss. Allie let out a soft sigh letting her lips fall open. As their tongues danced together her hands caressed the hairs at the nape of his neck to pull him as close to her as she possibly could. If she could, she’d stay here forever. They smiled into the kiss as they pulled apart slightly and Steve nipped at her bottom lip. 

“I really really don’t wanna stop kissing you right now but um, can I actually show you something that’s pretty cool?”

“I personally thought kissing you was pretty cool,” Allie laughed as Steve helped her slide from the table to her feet. 

He looked down at her, trailing her features with his big puppy dog eyes. His soft, kiss sore lips curled up and he brushed a piece of her hair back off her face with a single finger. “We can get back to that,” he laughed, leaning forward to steal another. “After I show you this.” 

He wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her through the back door of the shop and into the cold back storage hallway of the mall. “This is creepy Steve,” she raised a confused eyebrow at him causing him to laugh wildly. 

The sweet sound bounced off the empty hall and made her feel all warm and comfy inside as he walked her through the hall. She watched as he scurried a head, tilting her head she watched as he pulled open another door as quietly as he possible could. 

“Hey, eyes up Allie,” he motioned to his face with his hands. 

“Sorry. Your butt just looks so cute in those shorts, it’s distracting,” she laughed walking to catch up with him. 

"Yeah, well, prepared to be amazed by something even better than my butt. Hard to believe, I know, but you've clearly never seen...." 

Steve wrenched open one of the large steel doors to a seemingly empty space, darkness filling the doorway. Allie looked confused, glancing up at Steve. He jerked forward, reaching in to flip on the lights. The room was illuminated, revealing the inside of an empty movie theater. 

"Back to the Future," he said with a shrug, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Oh my god, I've been wanting to go for weeks but none of my friends will go!" Allie shrieked before running in. 

She skipped up the theater steps a few rows before turning back. Steve was still standing at the doorway, watching her with a soft smile. He shook his head before joining her, guiding her to a seat before plopping down beside her. 

"Hey Steve," Allie whispered.

"Yeah?" he said, leaning forward to hear her better and to just get closer to her soft skin. 

"We kinda need the movie to be turned on."

"Oh shit!" Steve exclaimed, jumping up over the back of the seat to run to the top of the theater. 

Allie watched on with a lovestruck grin as he hopped up into the projector room. 

"I know this guy Eddie who got fired for watching movies on the clock," Steve's voice came from the dark room above. "But before he left, he may have let me know how to work this bad boy." 

The screen flickered on as Steve jogged back down to Allie's seat. He ran a hand through his hair, out of breath but smiling widely.

“Impressive huh?” 

“Oh yeah, I’m extremely impressed.” she said peering at Steve through her thick lashes. “Got any more tricks up your sleeve?” 

His eyes widened at her question and he brought his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“I um, I might have one or two.” 

“Hm. So you gonna show me oooor?” 

“Eyes front and prepare to be amazed.” 

Allie snickered and turned herself back to face the screen. She watched him out of the corner of her eye waiting for whatever it was he was going to do. She heard him yawn and feels him put his arm around her as he scooted closer. She tilted her head at him and burst out laughing. 

“Smooth, Harrington. Real smooth.” 

“There’s more where that came from, pretty girl” he winked.

“You know what I think?” She smiled, stifling her nerves. She was too hot even thinking about him calling her pretty girl everyday. She’d never get sick of it, but it would always make her flustered. Something about being alone in the movie theatre turned her on, her skin felt hot and she could resist touching him. 

He looked down at her but pretended to keep his cool as he watched the movie. She nuzzled her nose against his neck, tilting her face as far as she could. “I think you’re in too deep, Harrington.” She laughed, pressing a soft kiss to his throat. 

She felt his fingers tense against her shoulder, and his breath rattled from his lips. A small laugh of satisfaction felt her lips and her breath on his skin was enough to make him shift in his seat. He continued to pretend that he was watching as she kissed him again, finally getting a chance to admire every, single, freckle on his neck and jaw as she went. 

Inhaling sharply he finally turned to her, his eyes twinkling from the movie screen lights. He pressed a finger to her chin, tilting her head and closing the gap between their lips in the dark. “You had a good teacher,” he whispered against her mouth. 

“Oh the best,” she laughed, stealing another round of hot kisses from him. “Isn’t it cliche to make out in a theatre?” She laughed as he tangled his hand into her hair. 

“So cliche,” he licked at her bottom lip. “Wait,” he broke the kiss and Allie groaned, “this is a good part!” 

“Steve,” she giggled, tangling her hand into the collar of his scoops ahoy uniform to tug his attention back to her. “I’ve already seen it,” she laughed. 

“But,” he furrowed his brow in confused and his head tilted to the side.

“You were excited,” she kissed the corner of his pouty lip. “I’m enjoying this more anyway,” she smiled as his brows settled and his smile returned to his cherub face. 

“I owe you a date, a proper one with no interruptions,” he groaned, she could hear the pang of disappointment in his voice. 

“You’re the only one interrupting us,” she scrunched her nose up. “A proper date. Saturday. Steve,” she stopped and met his intense brown eyes, they softened the moment he realized he hadn’t screwed anything up. That it was all perfect. “Just kiss me some more.” 

He rolled his eyes, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck. “As you wish,” he teased as he brought his lips to hers again. 

[descendants-to-infinity]

dustin getting ready for the snow ball dance

[saffloure]

ೃ༄HIT DICE (II)

EDDIE MUNSON X HARRINGTON!OC

MASTERLIST

✧chapter two: the sword of damocles

↳ word count: 6,9k

↳ spoiler warning: season 1-3

↳ other warnings: I believe none! v fluffy

↳ mentioned songs/artists: The Smiths, Veteran of the Psychic Wars by Blue Öyster Club (reference), Live After Death by Iron Maiden (album), Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath/Dio, Young Hearts by Commuter

↳ a/n: writing Stacy and Steve’s interactions brings me so much genuine joy… we love annoying siblings

The last week of November was rainy, although calling it rainy would be a grave understatement.

It was raining cats and dogs, heavens pouring out. Almost as if the sky above Hawkins split in two, vomiting all of its contents on the unfortunate townspeople.

One of them being Stacy Harrington.

Normally, Thursday's were quite busy for the dark-haired girl. Seven classes in a row followed by her science club meeting, only to later having to grab the groceries her mother was making her pick up each week. Today, however, having an AP chemistry test and not being able to park her car close enough to the grocery store was enough to completely diminish the crumbs of her already loop-sided mood. Her hairdo was completely disheveled, her clothes soaking wet. On top of that, she tripped over her untied shoes, shattering the juice bottle in pieces and destroying an aglet in her left boot in the process.

Now, the only thing Stacy dreamed of was to change into her pajamas and listen to The Smiths while reconsidering all of her life choices that had led to her today’s misery.

"I'm home!" she called loudly as she passed the kitchen door, only to hear no response.

Not surprising at all.

Sighing, she laboriously climbed up the stairs. The clinking sound of her bag's metal buckle resounded through the hallway when it accidentally slipped off her shoulder. With the appearance of a veteran of the psychic wars she opened the door of her bedroom. The only thing she had in mind was to slam her body on her fluffy bedding.

Yet, as it often happened in Stacy Harrington's life, nothing went as planned. And instead of relaxing in her warm bed, she let out a terrified shriek the second she noticed three silhouettes in her bedroom.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" she screamed loudly, dropping her bag on the ground.

"Hey! No swearing near the kids!" the firm voice of Dustin Henderson reprimanded her.

Him and his two friends were already seated, each in a different place — Dustin behind her desk, Mike on the pouf near the window, and Lucas on her bed.

Shaking her head as she approached the boy in the Camp Nowhere cap, Stacy responded in a resilient tone, "What the he—! What the heck are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Well, as the matter of fact, we came here to see Steve," Dustin answered evasively, watching as his friend's younger sister took off her soaked jacket.

"Sorry to disappoint, but he's probably at work," Stacy replied, her face getting red the moment she noticed Lucas getting comfortable on her bed. "Sinclair! Get your shoes off of my sheets! Have some decency, dude!"

"They're not...!" Lucas tried to argue but the moment he noticed the visible mud on his sneakers, he corrected himself, "Sorry..."

"Believe it or not, we've already been at Family Video. No sight of Farrah Fawcett," Dustin explained, crossing his arms. "Robin says he went on a date."

"Again?" The tone in which Stacy responded caused Mike to chuckle. "Geez, you can wait for him if you want to," she added with a resigned smile.

"Actually, Stacy..." Mike stopped as soon as he started, noticing the morbid stare that had just made a return on her face.

"No. No way. Don't tell me he’s promised you something… again," she interrupted, watching all of the boys suddenly glancing at each other. Almost, as they were communicating through telekinesis.

"It's your lucky day, Stacy! You gotta drive us to the party meeting!" Dustin exclaimed in an excited tone that usually was so infectious it made others equally agitated.

Yet, this wasn't the case of Stacy this time.

"Don't you have a sister, who can drive as well, Mike?" she complained, tilting her head to the side.

"N-Nancy's busy."

"Guess what? So am I!" She threw her hands in the air, noticing Dustin standing up.

"Pretty please, Stacy! Just this one time," he begged in a childlike tone.

"Oh, don't make those eyes, Henderson. You look like your asking your mom to buy you a toy," Stacy sighed, simultaneously grabbing a denim jacket that was hanging from her chair. "You're fortunate enough I like you," she mumbled.

The moment she turned on her heel, she heard the three boys bursting out in excitement, muttering quiet expression of joy. She couldn't help but smile at their reaction. On the span of the past two years, they had ultimately grew on her. So much so, she stopped treating them as annoying neighbors and began to see them in a nearly friendly-like light. Heavy impact on the matter had the fact they had fought outer-dimensional monsters together… but now it was only a secondary thought.

"One more thing!" Dustin called after her before they walked out of her room. "Can you also pick us up?"

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"It's pouring outside!"

As much as she wanted to throw an immature fit, claiming she had other, more important things to do, Stacy forced a smile onto her face, trying to keep her composure.

Four hours later, apparently driven by her own lenience, Stacy found herself on the school's parking lot, revising her biology notes just to kill time. It had already gone dark, the moon illuminating the town of Hawkins through the massive dark clouds.

However, it wasn't impatience that had cluttered up her mind just now. She had returned to the spot she dropped them off half of an hour early, just because of a merely real sensation that began to appear in her consciousness. It being the fact that it was Eddie Munson, who was the party's Dungeon Master.

She hadn't spoken to him for two weeks, ever since the unpleasant resolving of their last conversation. Stacy Harrington would have never admitted that, but that matter had become a reoccurring theme in her mind. In classes they shared, she caught herself glancing at Eddie whenever she got a chance. It wasn't the stare the girls tended to send their love interests, no. What was causing her to do so, was the indigestible guilt of not knowing how to start a conversation. Something within her claimed Eddie could get embarrassed by her. Maybe he didn't even fancy talking with her in the first place. After all, it was her, who forced their first meeting. Granted by the fact he could've agreed on it purely out of sheer politeness.

Stacy slammed her head on the steering wheel.

Why were social interactions the only aspect of her life she couldn't be confident in?

"Screw that," she murmured to herself, getting out of the car.

The unexpected outburst of her own bravery surprised her. Now, strolling through Hawkins High corridors, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket, trying to maintain the shallow cockiness.

It didn't take a long time to locate in which classroom the Dungeons and Dragons meeting was taking place in. The contrary, actually, hence the sound of agitated high schoolers was quite audible in the empty school. Stacy took advantage of their investment in the game; standing by the repealed doors, she leaned on the frame, silently watching the party screaming in excitement as one of their members — Stacy recalled his name started with the letter G — approached the board.

"Hit dice! Hit dice!"

"Gareth the Great is under a fainting spell when the Basilisk sinks its fangs into his skin! He cries for help, or so he thoughts! His voice is already erstwhile... Only seconds share his body to join in!"

"Don't say!"

"Beware! Thy days are coming to inevitable end, Gareth the Great! You can only wait ‘till sweet death releases you from your impending doom!"

Stacy's eyes widened at the sight of Eddie Munson elevated posture. His dark locks falling down the sides of his face as he announced to the players the two possible choices they could make — save their friend or slaughter the beast. One contradicting the other. She remembered Gareth's name now. How could she not when he so frantically clamored for help?

It's just like theatre, Stacy thought to herself, subconsciously grabbing the doorframe when it was Dustin's time to proclaim the party's choice. Shivers came down her spine the second he gallantly stated they were going to rescue Gareth.

The thrill had not left her body since she started listening in. It simply couldn't. Not when Eddie Munson shouted, "The sword of Damocles has been lifted!"

It might have been stereotypical to never expect such a comparison from someone, who repeated his senior year. Not only that — Stacy couldn't help but smile how noticeable his investment in the game was. He appeared to be just in his element; almost as if there was no better place for him.

The game ended with the greatest closing monologue Stacy had ever heard. There was a sudden change in Eddie's demeanor when he asked the others to help him collect their stuff. Yet, the rest of the players seemed to still relive the events that took place, chatting between themselves with the most genuine expression on their faces.

"Is that Stacy Harrington?" The question asked by one of the boys she didn't recognize finally broke her out of the trance she had found herself in.

"Hi," she greeted the party in a quiet tone, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed. That's exactly when she felt the urge to cover it with a smooth, "Sorry for eavesdropping.”

"How long have you been standing there?" Stacy couldn't tell at that moment, but Eddie's reaction was awfully similar to hers.

"Not long enough, apparently," she answered with a soft smile, deciding to set her foot in the dimmed classroom. "You guys have never told me DnD was so gnarly," she added, glancing at the board they started to clean up.

"Either I must be deaf or Miss Hawkins really said our silly little game is cool," Eddie replied with one of his brows raised.

"Well, I've never expected it to be so... addictive to watch. But considering I've only seen the campaigns in Mike's basement I shouldn't have been surprised," she chuckled, taking a few steps towards Eddie. "Can I touch this figurine or will I immediately get possessed by your scary DnD monsters?"

"Possessed. Totally," Eddie smirked at her exaggerated question, yet still deciding to hand her out the figure. "It's hand painted," he did not fail to mention his own hard work.

The moment Stacy raised her eyes to look at his face, she noticed Gareth the Great giving him a quick pat on the back before saying goodbye and leaving the classroom. The gesture made her let out a single chuckle. She fairly recognized it as wishing Eddie good luck.

"I-uh, sorry for that. They can be quite..." Eddie felt the sudden urge to explain herself, yet was stoped by Stacy shaking her head rapidly.

"Don't be. It was funny," she giggled, her attention now fully absorbed by a cassette located on the edge of the table.

"What are you listening to?" she asked, it picking up and noticing the magnetic tape was hanging out of it. "What were you listening to?" she corrected herself, causing the corners of Eddie's mouth go up.

"It's a recording of Iron Maiden's concert... but the quality sucks. Each time it gets jammed on the third song."

"Which concert?" she asked while tilting her head.

"Stacy! You were supposed to just pick us up!" Dustin called loudly, visibly getting impatient.

"We're having a conversation here, shithead!" Eddie reprimanded him, his brows furrowing.

"Hey, don't bully Henderson. That's fucking rude," Stacy intervened, trying to maintain a serious face.

It was impossible, however, when Eddie looked down, nearly taken back by her response.

"Which concert?" she repeated her question, the sweetness returning to the tone of her voice.

"Uh, I don't know if it tell you anything..."

"Don't underestimate me, Munson. It's not like Iron Maiden is an underground band or something," she interrupted him, sending him a challenging smile.

"Live After Death," he finally replied, but noticing the increase in her blinking rate added, "I've warned you that..."

"Oh, come on! You haven’t even heard me out yet," Stacy giggled, amused by his timid reply. "I have that concert on VHS."

"Really?"

"Really," she confirmed, nodding her head. "I can lend it to you. You can stop by tomorrow after school."

"A-at your house?" Eddie muttered, although he couldn't tell how he did it. After all, he was completely awestruck.

"Where else?" Stacy chuckled, handing him back his cassette. "Gotta go. Apparently I'm a voluntary taxi today."

He watched her leaving the classroom and messing Dustin's and Lucas' hair when she caught up to them. As he had lost the sight of her, he slowly raised his hand to touch the place where Gareth patted him a while ago.

To be completely frank, it could've truly been his lucky charm. Especially when the next day, still not believing in what had happened, he knocked on the door of the Harringtons property.

"Oh? Guess who decided to show up!" Falsely offended tone of Stacy greeted him, her hands on her hips, her nose scrunched.

"Who else did you expect, buttercup?"

"Well, definitely not you since you’d decided to skip the last two lessons," she scoffed. "No wonder O'Donnell doesn't want you to pass her finals."

"Now, this..." Eddie smirked and pointing his judging finger at her continued, "...is exactly how I imagined you to be."

Stacy shook her head, letting him into her house, "Excuse me?"

"Ruuude," he whispered directly into her ear, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh, shut up," she murmured, playfully nudging his side. "All that I'm saying is you're ought to take this shit a bit more seriously, Munson," she added, beginning to go up the stairs.

"You know, I came here for the VHS, not to be lectured," Eddie replied, following her right away. "Why do you care anyway? 'S not going to be anything new if I fail the finals," he added, his voice getting timid.

"I'm just worried. That's all," Stacy admitted, her cocky persona from a moment ago completely vanishing.

Worried.

Eddie couldn't tell why this word seemed so genuine when spoken by her. Moreover, he couldn't quite find the reason for her being worried about him in the first place.

Him. Eddie Munson. A freak. A person she supposedly had nothing in common with. A person people like her bullied.

And as much as Eddie wanted to surrender the heart-warming flattery — he couldn't. Not while still having some remains of his common sense.

"Oh, would you look at that," Eddie smirked, crossing his arms before the gallery wall in the hallway that led to Stacy's room. "You look like a sad raccoon on that photo," he added, pointing at the picture on which she and her brother were seated next to each other — both in collared shirts and matching Christmas sweaters.

It was the expression on the girl's face that made the photo absolutely comedic: her brow was furrowed, her arms angrily crossed. On top of that, there were remains of a sour grimace on her face — her smile that was making her appear nearly annoyed was probably forced by the influence of her mother.

"A sad raccoon," Stacy repeated in a scoff. "I look like I'm constipated," she corrected him.

"Well... That's another way to put it," he smirked. "Hey, who's that?" He pointed at another frame in which two girls in Halloween costumes were standing next to each other.

"Me and little Chrissy Cunningham," Stacy answered, a soft yet somewhat sentimental smile entering her face. "We used to hang out so much as kids... Our mums are best friends," she explained quickly.

"You don't now?" Eddie asked, quite surprised by her remark. He often saw the two girls chatting with each other during breaks, despite Chrissy being a junior and Stacy a senior. Therefore it was odd seeing the latter now looking away, her demeanor suddenly changing.

"Her boyfriend's a bitch," she spitted out with a slick grin. "I'm sure you know him..."

"Yeah. After all I'm so invested in the life of the Queen of Hawkins High," he rolled his eyes, however his sarcastic remark caused Stacy to giggle.

"Come on! Everybody knows Jason! He's the greatest douchebag our school's ever seen... and that's quite a title to be called by someone's, whose brother was claimed a first-class jerk for majority of his life," Stacy rambled, suddenly grabbing Eddie by the hand and pulling him towards the direction of her room.

"Oi! Careful here, buttercup! You're going to rip my arm off," he joked, praying Stacy wouldn't turn to take a look at him. He didn't even need to see his reflection to know his cheeks were bright red.

"You can live with just one arm," she dismissed his worries, seating him on her bed.

As soon as she left him — quite dumbfounded, to be honest — Eddie glanced over her bedroom, his eyes fixing on one of the bookshelves. At first, he thought there was a multitude of books with thin covers, arranged in coloristic order. It took his brain another while to process that, in fact, the bookshelf was not filled with books, but with vinyls.

"Your room is like a goddamn record store," he murmured under his breath, getting up to take a look at the record player located by the window.

Stacy didn't answer him as she was consumed with attempts to reach one of the boxes with VHS cassettes from the shelf above her desk. With a corner of her eye she managed to observe a smirk that began to dance on Eddie's face as soon as he noticed the record that was left in the player.

"Can I put it on?" he asked with sheer excitement, receiving a nod in reply. "I had no fucking clue your taste in music is that good," he muttered the moment Stacy's bedroom was filled by the opening of Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath.

"I'm flattered," Stacy replied in a dramatic tone, only to cover how smitten she was with that mere general statement.

Even if Eddie didn't mean it as a compliment.

"Have you heard Dio's version of this song?" she asked after the first verse, making her way towards him. With a nod of confirmation from Eddie, she added, "Well? Which one do you like better?"

Eddie Munson's mouth opened agape.

"Do you really want me to choose between Ozzy and Ronnie James?" he questioned with a expression of true offense.

"Just for the statistics," Stacy declared innocently.

"You're mad, woman! You've completely lost your mind!" Eddie railed at her antics, his left hand theatrically swaying to finally rest in the middle of his chest.

"Anyone would after hearing Dio in '83," she teased him, fairly amused by his dramatic utterance, "Ozzy doesn't stand a chance."

"A blasphemy!" he let out a quiet shriek, his hand clenching in mid-air.

Stacy couldn't held back the burst of giggles that was incoming the moment their conversation started. Bending in half, she covered her mouth with the palm of her hand as she uncontrollably relapsed in peals of laughter. It took her another half of a minute to calm down and look at Eddie with eyes all teared up due to the tittering.

Her bottom lip trembled, unable to stop the unconscious smile when she chimed, "How come we only started talking a week ago?"

A rapid movement of Eddie's eyelids brought him back to reality.

"Well," he said, "it's kind of self-explanatory." He looked around Stacy's room, only to later point at himself.

"Oh, shush!" the brown-haired girl boomed, realizing Eddie was going to compare their differing social statuses once again. Noticing his fretful look, she reassured him, "It doesn't matter, it's just a shame we didn't talk earlier. You're hellaciously cool, Munson."

Eddie chuckled, watching Stacy throw herself onto her bed. His right hand traveled to his matted curls as he scratched his scalp.

"You're hellaciously cool, too, buttercup," he gushed, a wide grin taking up almost the whole space on his face.

He almost failed to noticed when Stacy patted a spot next to her, inviting him to sit on her bed. Her legs swinging from its edge and her torso resting flat on the cozy bedding.

This time, there was no hesitation in Eddie Munson's movements. A sudden streak of comfort hit him like a lighting as he took a place next to Stacy. Not a moment after, he felt his arm being pulled down, so as the two of them were bound to lay down next to each other, facing the ceiling. A sound of another Black Sabbath song from the same record synchronized with Stacy's tapping on the wooden bed frame. Her eyes were shut, a gentle look of perpendicular tranquility mixing with her tender smile.

Eddie couldn't help but to glance at her, turning his head slightly. Her whole appearance mesmerized him — so peculiarly serene, so graceful, Stacy contrasted with the thumping tones of loud metal song playing in the background. Because of that, the only thing that began to occupy Eddie Munson's mind at that moment was to come home and model a Dungeons and Dragons NPC after the ethereal aura Stacy was emanating with.

"Eddie?" Her subdued tone caught him slightly off guard.

"What's up?" he asked, watching her open her eyes.

"I really meant it, you know?" she whispered, turning her head towards him as he waited for her to continue. "The being worried thing," she explained quietly, placing her head on the palm of her hand.

"Oh?" Eddie exclaimed, his eyes, however, still focused on the ceiling.

"If you ever needed help with school and stuff... I don't really mind lending you a hand. That is, of course... if you want to."

Eddie's face completely sunk. He could've also sworn the blood in his limbs stopped circulating. Muttering almost inaudible "sure", he didn't feel the small smile appearing on his face. Focused on not behaving like an ultimate weirdo and destroying the peaceful atmosphere surrounding him and Stacy, he didn't noticed her face lighting up the moment he agreed on her proposal.

However, it had to be a week until Stacy's suggestion had a chance to be realized. Admittedly, the occurrence would have never seen the daylight if it wasn't for Stacy eavesdropping on a conversation that took place during her science club meeting. Eddie's math teacher came to gossip with Ms. Bailey — Stacy's biology professor— about the amount of homework the curly-haired Guild Master was due to hand in as soon as possible. Apparently the work had mounted on so tremendously, the two teachers made a bet between themselves as to see if Eddie was going to complete given tasks before the deadline. When Ms. Bailey stated that she believed he could do it, Stacy knew she was going to do everything in her power to help her win her little gamble. After all, she could shoot two birds with one stone — that being helping both her favorite teacher and the person she had grew so awfully fond of just recently.

Yet, Stacy Harrington's life wouldn't have been completed without having to fulfill her day-to-day duties, first. That why on a first Thursday of December she was making her way to her brother's work place, instead of taking care of her own errands.

The sound of Young Hearts by Commuter welcomed her warmly to the video store — and warmly certainly wasn't an exaggeration. The beginning of the last month of 1985 brought with itself nothing but unbearable wind and arctic freezing temperatures, comparing to what the people from Indiana were used to. Hence why the little brown skirt Stacy decided to wear was causing her legs to tremble from the cold she wasn't prepare to endure.

Yet, all of the feelings relating to her physical state evaporated as soon as she noticed her brother, fully invested in a conversation with a red-haired girl she recognized from her school.

"Steven! Mom says she won't put your socks in the washing machine unless you buy her gloves! She says she's too afraid she's gonna get infected with mycosis!"

The look on the girl's face was indescribably comedic. So much so it made it dreadfully difficult for Stacy to maintain a serious expression. As she muttered, "I gotta go," Steve leaned over the counter in hopes to stop her.

"Hey! Hey! That's not true!" he called out maniacally, however, it had only caused the redhead to speed up and leave the store the quickest she possibly could. "Come on, Stace! Why are you always like that?" Steve whined, covering his face with his hands.

"Because, dingus, if your future lover does not understand the siblings jokes, she's not the one," Robin explained for Stacy, sending her a smile of contempt.

"Ditto!" Stacy exclaimed cheerfully, pointing a finger-gun at her brother, "Besides, if I were you, I'd be so, so thrilled to see me," she added, grinning devilishly.

"Huh! Even if my life depended on you, I'd never be happy to see you," Steve responded sarcastically, watching Stacy trace a line down her cheek, imitating a tear falling down.

"Ouch," she mumbled in a falsely sad tone, leaning on the counter, "Even if I said daddy came home early today?" she added, noticing Steve's eyes beginning to sparkle up.

"No way!"

"Oh, I am as serious as dead man," Stacy whispered, taking her wallet out of her pocket.

At the beginning of each month, usually on the first weekend, Mr. Harrington used to hand his children in their allowance. This, however, had changed as soon as Steve decided against him and did not apply to college. Getting lucky with not being completely cut off the money, he needed to bear the consequences of having strict parents for the first time in his life. Thankfully, Steve wasn't left all alone. Especially not with a little sister like Stacy. Despite all of their bickering, despite all of their pointless fights, she was the one to offer to split her share of pocket money on two. All in all, her parents were less demanding when it came to her — being younger had its blissful pros.

"You guys freak me out more than the gap in Mrs. Click’s teeth," Robin sighed, placing the box full of movies on VHS before Steve and pointing at the display shelf right away, "Put it somewhere on there."

"Yes, chief," Steve saluted, walking up to the shelves and messing up Stacy's hair as he passed her by, "Thanks, booger. You can actually be nice sometimes."

Stacy scoffed, crossing her arms, "I don't know whatcha talking about. I'm always nice to you."

"Sure," Steve sang with an audible tint of sarcasm in his tone, adding, "Wanna go eat something after my shift? But we need to split the bill in half. I'm still broke as h..."

"No, I can't," Stacy interrupted him, simultaneously grabbing her bag.

"Why not? You scared off my date of the night, you're obliged to go with me now."

"I'm tutoring someone."

"You? Tutoring someone? Who?" Steve furrowed his brow, almost dropping the box he was holding to the ground.

"A classmate."

"Is it a boy?" he asked immediately and not waiting on her answer he went on, "Oh my god, Robin! Can you believe that? Stacy's going out with a boy!"

"Steven..."

"Look at her! All grown up now, going on a little date! What a shame if someone went there with you and complain about your dirty socks!" he rambled, overdramatizing his monologue. Noticing how his sister rolled her eyes, he gave her a nudge, "I'm just messing with you. Quit making that face."

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is more malicious," Stacy mumbled, subconsciously smiling as she walked up to the exit.

"Me, duh," Steve stated, his voice resembling one of a high school girl.

Shaking her head, Stacy started the engine of her car, securing the books that were placed on the passenger seat. Through the whole ride, a wide grin kept being plastered on her face. Her fingers energetically tapped on the steering wheel to the sounds of the cheap mainstream song full of synthesizers. She couldn't help but dismiss the fact of how morbid that tune sounded. To be honest, Stacy couldn't really care less. It was the idea of spending time with Eddie Munson that was making her so unexplainably jovial.

Parking her car by the side of the trailer with the number he had given her yesterday, Stacy grabbed the textbooks she had brought with herself along the way. She didn't even need to knock on the door before she heard them opening. Just as Eddie was waiting for her.

"Hi."

"Hey," he greeted her, letting her through the door. Glancing at her clothing choice, he asked "Aren't you cold?"

Stacy smirked, looking down at her bare legs, covered only by sheer tights, hence the skirt was definitely not providing her any comfort, "Nope. Super cozy, actually."

Eddie shook his head, not believing a word he had just heard, "I have some beer if you want to warm up."

"Shitty idea, really. We are supposed to be studying," Stacy stated in a hushed tone as if she was telling him the most sacred, hollow secret.

Hands on his hips, Eddie smirked, turning his head towards the direction of his room. The trailer him and his uncle lived in was rather meager, therefore Stacy could clearly see almost his whole bedroom from where she was standing. Noticing her widened eyes fixed on the room, Eddie began to feel embarrassed. He had already visited her house, therefore he could easily compare the conditions they lived in. Without a doubt, his room was half, if not a quarter size hers.

"I-I know it's not ideal but..."

"Of course it's not," Stacy interrupted him, hugging the books she was holding. There was a mortified look in his eyes she failed to notice before continuing, "Your desk is non-functional at this point. Look, I know that those DnD figures need to be put somewhere, but we did agreed on learning math today," she complained, pointing at the cluttered up piece of furniture.

A weight had been lifted off of Eddie's shoulder when he heard the light-hearted response. It was that exact moment when he caught himself expecting the worst when it came to situation like those. Almost as he was afraid to make a bad impression on her. Odd, he thought to himself. Amidst everything, Eddie Munson was the last person in Hawkins to care about anyone's opinion. What differed now?

"Well, you can just move them to the side," he shrugged, suddenly regaining his usual composure. "'S not like they bite."

"The figures? Maybe not. But Dustin Henderson? That's a completely different story," Stacy chuckled, sitting on one of the two chairs Eddie had prepared for them.

"Oh, tell me more," Eddie smirked, separating each word to maintain the mysterious tone of the conversation.

"A year ago he tried to bury me alive after touching his freshly painted bard," she explained rapidly, rolling her eyes, "Then he got offended because I said playing as human in a fantasy-based game was for losers."

Eddie couldn't keep himself from laughing out loud at her claim, asking her in response, "So if you ever played... what would be your race?"

"Like a witch covered in warts," she blabbered out without a second thought, "...never mind. I don't think witches are a race."

Eddie smirked, glancing at her agitated face, "Nope. But we have elves for example."

"No, not that. Elves are supposed to be those ethereal nature-prone creatures and I want something... like, really fucking ugly," she confessed, her expression resembling Eddie's, "Don't laugh, I'm being serious! If I were to have a figure, I want it to be utterly disgusting! You know, just to lead people off-track and make them feel uneasy just by looking at it... Ah! A goblin! You have goblins, right?"

"Yeah," Eddie chuckled, covering his mouth with his tangled curls. The way Stacy was engaged in the conversation was nearly making him blush. "You should try playing sometime. I can teach you if you're up to," he offered, noticing her brow dramatically furrow.

"Speaking of teaching..." she grinned, opening up one of her textbooks, "...enough of the small-talk. We're doing math."

"You really do know how to kill the conversation," Eddie sighed, placing his chin on the palm of his hand.

"One of my goblin powers, you know," she winked at him, causing the both of them to laugh. "Now, focus. You'll insult my teaching abilities if you won't."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare," Eddie replied with false politeness, gaining a side stare from Stacy that reprimanded him better than any words would.

It took Stacy around twenty minutes to explain him the two first two types tasks. To her surprise, he had been nodding his head through all of her lecture. It was strange to her how he didn't ask her any questions, so she decided to put his skills into a test. The rules were simple — both of them needed to solve four issues then compare them. It so happened that their three first answers were identical, which caused an expression of surprise to came upon Stacy's face.

"Only the last one is wrong," she muttered, biting on the pencil she was holding.

"I... think you forgot to extract the root," he answered, showing her the correct solution on his calculator.

Stacy's mouth open agape as she took a look at her notes, admitting "Holy shit. You're right."

"This is one of those one in a lifetime achievements," Eddie smirked, "Who else can say they won a homework battle against Miss Hawkins?"

There was rather a long period of silence before Stacy collected her thoughts. By finally doing so, she said quietly, "Edds, it's not like I don't believe in you. I just... how did you..?"

"Helps having a great tutor," he shrugged, yet noticing Stacy's demanding stare, added, "Don't forget it's not my first time repeating senior year, sweetheart."

"So why don't you..." Stacy stopped herself in mid-sentence, hoping that expressive gesticulation would help her find the right words, "...why don't you put in effort equal to the one you put into your campaigns?"

Eddie let out a single chuckle, rolling his eyes, "Because I don't feel like it?" Again, it was that specific Stacy's stare that caused him to answer her honestly for the second time, "...because school's stressing the shit out of me."

His hushed tone made the tension in his bedroom abruptly unbearable. What added to that was the lack of response from Stacy. Meaning, she was waiting for him to continue.

"I... even if I know how to do those stupid math problems, I can't seem to focus on a test. Even with the same exact thing in front of my eyes! I just can't remember any-fucking-thing... And besides, I hate this goddamn place. I hate the people there. I hate the teachers. And I hate that my pea-brain is not fucking working... So that's why I skip classes. That's why I can't manage the deadlines, can't get even a mediocre grade... I-I..."

Only know he realized he had rambled on certainly more than he should. The idea of him confiding in Stacy Harrington made him stutter, almost as if his subconscious mind was yelling at him to stop over-sharing his high school experience. The experience that he didn't even consider as being relatable to her.

"Sorry..." he whispered, frantically avoiding meeting her eyes. His fingers fidgeted with the plastic calculator case as he tried his best not to look up at her.

"You are pissing me off, Munson. So much, in fact, I can't even put it in proper words," Stacy responded through the gritted teeth, her hands finding her way to the sides of Eddie's face. Gently placing them on their cheeks, she raised up his head. "Stop apologizing to me each time you say something not necessarily typical. Because if you think it'll make you look weird — it won't. You're just making it harder for yourself when it comes to dealing with it."

He didn't realize his eyes sunken so much into his face, they were causing him to appear like a cover of Iron Maiden's first album. One of his hands went up, only to drop by his side as he couldn't find the right words to express what he was currently feeling. Hence, in fact, Stacy Harrington couldn't put how he was feeling any better.

"I know this might be a cliché... but I... I do really think you're one of the most dashing people I've ever met. Everything about you, Eddie is so... captivating. I always thought talking with you was going to cause a kerfuffle between..." Stacy rapidly ended her monologue, realizing a sly smirk appeared on Eddie's face, deepening with each word she spoke.

The moment sheer confusion spread across her face, he couldn't keep his chuckle in any longer.

"Un-fucking-believable! You're laughing at me!" Stacy scoffed, half-offended. The other part of her, however, was highly susceptible to Eddie's infectious smile.

"I-no! It's just..." Eddie stuttered through the outbursts of laughter as he observed her face going entirely crimson red. "Dashing, captivating, kerfuffle... You use so much fancy words when you're trying to be serious. Especially the last one! It sounds like you're either a fucking German or completely wasted!" Eddie exclaimed, watching the multitude of emotions going through Stacy's mind and reflecting through the muscles of her face.

"Kerfuffle is a great word," she whispered on the verge of laughter. Her left hand raised once again, this time with a finger pointing at him. "Besides, I'm not the only one, who uses overly-dramatic language, Damocles," she defended herself, referring to the time she walked on his DnD meeting a week ago.

"Hey," Eddie smirked, flicking her nose. "Don't get upset. I didn't mean it as an insult... and to be honest I think it's kinda adorable," he admitted.

"Adorable," Stacy scoffed, looking away in attempts to cover her growing smile. "Have you ever seen an adorable goblin? I don't think so," she muttered with her eyebrow raised.

There had been a strange tingling Eddie began to feel as Stacy joked back. Just as if something was trying to force him to embrace her in a hug, ruffle her hair while laughing at her silly remark. At the same time, he was being pulled back to his chair as the second, more rational part of him, wanted to sit back and observe how her shining curls bounced back as she shifted her upper body in agitation. Hence, in fact, just the simple ability to spend time with her was making Eddie Munson the happiest he had recalled to be through this whole semester. Or maybe even a little bit longer.

"Eddie, buddy, what's that nice cherry Chevy doin' on our driveway?" A deep, raspy tone interrupted the interaction between the two high schoolers, causing their heads to turn towards the direction it was coming from.

"Uh, that's my uncle," Eddie murmured to Stacy ever so audibly.

"Didn't know you were having guests over," the middle-aged man exclaimed, wiping his hand on his slightly grayish T-shirt (that deliberately used to be white) before reaching it out towards Stacy and introducing himself, "'M Wayne Munson."

"Nice to meet you, I'm..."

"Oh, I know you. You're the little Harrington," he interrupted her, causing a wide smile to appear on her face.

"Yeah," Stacy chuckled.

The whole aura of Eddie's uncle was incredibly calming. His easy going presence and the way the words flew out of his mouth were making it easy for her to lean into the conversation.

"'Ya studying something, I see," Wayne pointed at the desk, simultaneously raising up a plastic bag with two white take-out boxes, "I'll leave your food on a table, but if you have told me you invited a friend, I'd..."

"No, that's all right. I've already had dinner." This time it was Stacy, who interrupted Eddie's uncle.

"Whatever you say, little Harrington," he smiled warmly, leaving the two alone in Eddie's bedroom.

"You can have some of my fries for... you know, all the effort," the Dungeon Master smirked, tilting his head towards the direction of their math notebooks.

"A fine method of payment, can't lie," Stacy shrugged with an amused expression. "But just to let you know... as soon as we finish eating we're coming back to solving math problems."

"Suuure," Eddie sang, quickly getting up from his chair.

"Eddie—!"

"What? What are you saying?" he called, leaving his room and leaning over the doorframe, "I can't hear you from so far away."

"Eddie Munson, I swear to god..!"

"I can't hear you!"

[gravegroves]

"steve kills neil" hell yeah, now we're talking

Lol, you wanna read it? Here ya go:

The newspaper article never mentions why Steve Harrington drove to Old Cherry Lane one early December morning and caved Neil Hargrove’s skull in with a nail studded bat. Though there are... rumours.

It doesn’t mention Neil's son -- well, it does, but it doesn't mention how the day before, Billy had limped and later crawled his way to Loch Nora, half frozen, barely conscious and almost unrecognisable to his boyfriend when he answered the scrambled knocking on the door.

(It doesn't mention how unsteady Billy was on his feet for weeks after, how the hearing in his right ear was almost completely gone and never really improved much in the years since or the seven -- seven -- broken ribs, the dislocated shoulder or the fractured collarbone.)

It doesn't mention how Steve had held Billy until he passed out from pain and exhaustion, barely able to breathe, but still able to make Steve swear not to take him to a hospital.

It doesn't mention Steve panicking for two hours. Listening to Billy's rasping breaths and not knowing what to do. Or Steve picking Billy up and, in a feat of pure desperation, carried him to his car. How he drove like a bat out of hell to a clinic two towns over and hoping to Christ that they'd be able to help.

It doesn't mention the one nurse who takes one look at Steve clutching Billy's limp hand and understands. Who calls her brother doing his residency at the local hospital and tells him to sneak out an IV bag and to come check out a patient. Or the other nurse who keeps the clinic open and stays with them all night, checking on Billy's concussion every few hours and squeezes Steve's shoulder whenever he looks seconds from breaking apart.

It doesn't mention Steve driving Billy home in the early hours of the morning -- taking him up to his room and laying him on the bed where Billy had laid many times before. How Steve had tried to touch Billy, to comfort him, but there isn't a patch of skin left unmarked or uninjured for him to run his fingers over. How he runs from the room to scream into his fist.

It doesn't mention Steve sprinting to his car, driving in silence -- so carefully. Wanting to get to his destination unfollowed and unbothered.

It doesn't mention Max answering the door, how she watches him standing on the porch with the nail bat clutched in his hand, or how she silently lets Steve move past her into the house and gently push her outside before he closes the door. Or how she walks down to sit on the curb beside their driveway. Refusing to cry.

---

It does mention the screams that startle a neighbour. 

It does mention Susan Hargrove being shoved and locked into Billy's room after the first swing incapacitates her husband.

It does mention that Neil Hargrove's head had resembled more of a pulpy soup by the time Steve hits hard enough to embed the nails into the floor and leaves it there, poking up from the mess like a tombstone.

It does mention Steve walking calmly out onto the lawn, covered in blood and bits of brain to tell Max to go to the Sinclair's and to stay there.

It does mention Steve going home to change before turning up at the bank, draining his account and as much from his parents' as he can manage before he and Billy disappear.

It does mention the last place they were rumoured to have been seen: five states away, sitting in a diner and holding hands across the table.

It does mention the fact that the boys have yet to be found, some four years later.

---

It doesn't mention the people they left behind.

It doesn't mention that Nancy Wheeler chooses to abandon her dreams of becoming a journalist. That publishers are only ever interested in her stories if she's willing to talk about Steve Harrington. Her ex boyfriend. The Killer King of Hawkins High.

It doesn't mention how Steve's parents sell the house and leave Hawkins for good. How his father loses his job and his mother her bankroll. How they get divorced and never speak again and it's like their little charade of a family had never existed at all.

It doesn't mention that Tommy and Carol never regain any significant social standing at Hawkins High or that they leave the town not long after graduation. They are the couple that hung out with a killer and his suspected accomplice, possible gay lover, and in Hawkins, that's all they'll ever be.

It doesn't mention how Jim Hopper spends sleepless nights talking himself out of tampering with evidence. How one day, in desperation, he asks El to find either of the boys, but only gets a shake of her head in response and a firm: "Better like this."

It doesn't mention how Susan Hargrove, soon to be Mayfield once again, moves herself and her daughter to a different house. How she tries to repair the relationship with her daughter as best as she can, but the damage is mostly done. 

It doesn't mention that Claudia Henderson cries herself to sleep for many nights after, thinking of all the times she let that boy near her precious Dusty.

It doesn't mention how Dustin still talks into his walkie talkie at night, tuned to a private frequency that never answers him back. How he buys a bottle of Farrah Fawcett hair spray and uses it religiously despite varied results. How sometimes, when the party meets up, he and Max will lock eyes and share a private moment of pain that neither of them can talk about out loud.

It doesn't mention the envelope Max receives two days before her graduation and three weeks before she moves out for good. It contains a photograph of two young men kissing in front of a huge ornate building, holding up their hands with matching rings.

It doesn't mention how Max smiles at the writing on the back, tucks it away for safekeeping and wonders if she can save enough to go to Europe before her first summer break at college. How Max already knows Dustin will join her.

---

It doesn't mention that Billy and Steve live happily ever after.

But they do.