𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harrington

THREE

"How'd you do on your test?" Steve asked Nancy, who was hurriedly sliding her books into her locker.

She shrugged. "Alright." She grabbed the empty bag out of her locker and shut the door, pulling up the zip as she moved. "I've gotta go home. Bye, Steve."

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but his girlfriend only waved goodbye before walking away, not sparing a second glance back like she used to. He sighed. "Bye, Nance," he muttered to himself before he pushed his body away from the wall.

On her way down the hall, Nancy cursed with furrowed brows as her zip got stuck on the inner lining of her bag. "Stupid," she whispered as she yanked it harder, eyes narrowed as she tried to move it. In the process of not looking up, she accidentally collided with someone else. Both participants gasped as they closed their eyes, one holding their arm while the other held her elbow.

"I'm so sorry," Nancy uttered as she quickly looked up, eyes wide with concern. "Oh my God, wait. You're the new girl, right?"

Aven smiled as she nodded her head, running her hand down her arm once before letting it fall forgotten to her side. "Yeah, I am. Aven." She held her hand out.

Nancy grinned warmly. "I'm Nancy," the teen said brightly as she shook the other girl's hand. "Are you liking it here?"

Aven retracted her hand and looked to the side, moving her head to convey her debating. The corners of her lips descended into a downwards smile. "Would you be offended if I said no?"

Nancy laughed. "No, I hate it here." An image of the events of the previous year flooded through her head. The Demogorgon.

Aven looked down at her bag. "Here," she said as she gently took it from Nancy. She watched with a tilted head as Aven bit her lip, carefully pulling the fabric out from beneath the zip before closing the bag entirely. She held it back out with a smile.

"Thanks," Nancy beamed while taking it gratefully, throwing it over her shoulder. "If you ever need anything, or get lost or something, come find me. Okay?"

Aven's eyes brightened, her smile growing. "Sure. Thanks, Nancy."

"Call me Nance," the girl said with a grin before turning around and walking in the other direction. Aven smiled to herself, looking down at the ground for a second in thought, before spinning on her heel and continuing outside.

She could see Max in the distance, leaning against the side of Billy's car with her skateboard kicked up in her hand, a bored and irritated expression covering the majority of her face. On the other side of the Camaro, Billy was standing with an arm on the roof of the vehicle, a smirk resting on his lips as he spoke to a girl. She twirled a strand of curly hair around her finger, looking the boy up and down as he spoke. Aven looked away with disgust, wondering how some people could be so naive.

When Max saw the older teen approaching from the distance, a smile started to grow on her face.

"How was school?" Aven asked as she stepped closer, pausing to lean against the passenger side door. Max shook her head as she looked off into the distance, memories replaying in front of her sight.

"There were these four boys," she snickered, a grin enlightening her cheeks. Aven smiled at the start. "They were like . . . stalkers, or something. They kept following me."

Aven kicked her foot lightly with her own. "I told you people would want to be friends with you."

Max only laughed.

"Hey!" Billy said from the other side of the car, smacking his palm against the roof. The two girls looked over with raised brows, noticing the other girl had disappeared. "Let's go," he exaggerated before dropping into the driver's seat and turning the car on. Max rolled her eyes, sharing a look with Aven, before climbing in.

Steve had moved outside, leaning his back against his own car as he flipped through one of his school books, trying to figure out if he'd left his mess of an essay inside his locker or not. However, as soon as the loud rumble of a car sounded throughout the almost empty school parking lot, he looked up out of instinct. He saw the car first, the one he'd seen drive in earlier that morning, and then he saw her. Her.

Aven watched Max pull the seat back so she could get inside too. She placed her left hand on top of the open door, turning around to fall into the seat, before she subconsciously locked eyes with him. The boy from her first class. The boy with the floppy hair.

She furrowed her brows, watching his eyes widen before he sent her a nod, the index and middle finger of his right hand moving up in a half-wave. She stared at him for a moment, parting her lips, before she heard a voice from inside the car.

"Hurry up or I'm driving off," Billy said rather loudly, yet not loud enough for his voice to leave the vicinity of the car. Aven sighed, sending the boy across the parking lot a smile and soft nod back before falling into the car.