Stars Constant | S. Harrington

4: A Rabbits Meadow

"Yes, I am, Nancy."

"Okay," Steve stands up and puts his hands on his hips. "Stand up and do a cartwheel."

"What?"

"You said you're fine, so prove it. Do a cartwheel," He shrugs and gestures to the floor in front of him.

"Fine. I'll do a stupid cartwheel," she grumbles. Gwen stands up on shaking legs and before she can even begin to start a cartwheel, she stumbles forward.

Steve catches her with his hands on her arms and gives her an 'I told you so' expression. "Yeah, you're totally fine."

Gwen gets out of his hold and stands on her own while still swaying slightly. "Well, can you drive?" she asks Nancy. Gwen drove her own car to Steve's, not really wanting to carpool with the two girls.

Nancy shakes her head. "I only have my permit."

Steve holds out his hand. "Give me the keys, I'll drive," Gwen lets out a big sigh before reaching into her jacket pocket, and taking out her keys, handing them to Steve. "Nance, you want a ride too?" he asks. Nancy hesitates before nodding.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to be a cock block," Gwen snorts when they both tense up and passes the two, now blushing, teens.

They all make it to the car, Steve in the drivers seat, Nancy in the passenger seat, and Gwen in the back seat. Gwen wraps the towel tighter around herself and leans back on the seat.

Gwen points at Steve, looking at him through the rear view mirror. "You scratch my car, you're dead."

"I'll have you know, I'm a great driver," he smirks, putting the keys into the ignition and turning on the car.

The drive is uncomfortably silent for the most part, soft music from the radio being the only noise. They get to Nancy's house first since it's closer and Steve pulls into the driveway.

Nancy turns to the two and says an awkward "Bye," before opening the door and getting out. Gwen sits up and gets out of the car to walk to the passenger side and hop in.

She lets out a long sigh as Steve puts his hand on the back of her headrest to back out of the driveway. Gwen leans back in her seat as a wave of exhaustion rushes over her. The drive to her house is also quiet, the two sitting in silence. It's not too awkward, but it isn't comfortable either, so Gwen decides to spark up conversation. "Do you have the house to yourself a lot?"

Steve glances at the half conscious girl next to him before looking back at the road. "Yeah, most of the time."

"That must get lonely," Gwen slurs in sleepiness.

"...Yeah. It does," Steve breathes out. Gwen hums in response. Steve remembers how upset the girl was about Will, and decides now is a better chance than never to ask about it. "So, you know Jonathan?"

"Not really. I just know Will 'cause he's friends with my brother."

"Dustin right?"

Gwen smiles. "That's the one. I hang out with him and his friends sometimes. Mostly just to, like, babysit, I guess. They're good kids."

"Sucks what happened to Will."

"Yeah," Gwen agrees softly.

Steve pulls into Gwens driveway, putting the car in park, and dropping his hands into his lap. "Well, here we are. The lovely Henderson Residence," he grins.

"Ah, yes. My humble abode," Gwen unbuckles her seatbelt. "Wait," She looks over at Steve. "How is this gonna work? We have school tomorrow."

"I'll just pick you up. It's no biggie."