𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harrington

THREE

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind her. She avoided making eye-contact with her brother. She knew what his expression would be, what his face would say, what his eyes would murmur. She didn't want to hear it.

Instead, Aven let her eyes look over the class once more. She studied them all intricately, yet in a way that nobody noticed. Mostly everyone was looking at her and Billy, except for a few. One of which was sitting to the right of the room, pen scratching at his page as he doodled along the margin.

Her brows drew in subtly, her lips pressing together. One of his elbows was on the desk, helping hold up his tired head. He drew aimless little sketches, cubes and random dots littering his page. His eyes squinted, narrowed at the desk like it was the only interesting thing in the room. His hair flopped messily over his forehead creating shadows of uneven cuts. An unfamiliar feeling settled within the deepest crevices of her stomach. Her fingertips tingled.

"Alright, class," the teacher said as she placed a hand on both twins' shoulders. Aven snapped out of her gaze, letting her eyes land on her dirt-speckled shoes.

Steve reluctantly looked up from his open book, eyes already beginning to droop tiredly, before they flew open in alarm. It was her: the girl he'd subconsciously chased down the hall. She was standing right in front of him, behind two rows of desks and classmates. He scratched the side of his neck.

Her mannerisms were clear. Her blue eyes watched the floor, searching for something to hook onto, while her fingers clutched almost desperately at the books by her side. Her hair was straight, dead straight, and landed just beneath her shoulders. Everything about her screamed tranquillity and assiduity, and at a guess, Steve thought if he looked hard enough, there'd be a splash of natural ebullience hidden beneath the barriers she was holding up too.

"We actually have two new students today. Please give a warm welcome to Billy and Aven Hargrove, all the way from California!"

Aven turned to the side, forcing a smile as she tried to show some false appreciation for the woman standing between herself and her twin.

The woman looked between the two. "Sit wherever you'd like." While Billy simply walked off, his signature smirk resting across his face, Aven made sure she thanked the teacher before finding a seat in the second row by the window. She dropped her books on the desk, and just as she was turning to sit down, her eyes latched onto the boy with floppy hair. He was already staring at her.

She smiled at him. He smiled back.

๑,¸¸,ø¤º°'°๑

AVEN THREW HER maths book into her bag with annoyance, shoulder pressed up against her open locker door as people shouted and yelled across to each other around the hall. People ran down the tiles, skidding and slamming into one another along the way. Lockers were slammed shut, bangs echoing down the corridor. Everyone was itching to leave.

Aven Hargrove slung her bag over her shoulder before double checking she had what she needed. On her first day, her first session of maths, she was given a chapter worth of homework. At the mere thought of studying at night, Aven silently groaned before closing her locker, making sure it clicked shut.

She quickly walked down the hall, making sure to keep her sight steady as she dodged spatially-unaware students who were jumping around with their friends. Unknowingly, she passed by the boy from her first session.