LITTLE DARK AGE ━━ stranger things

[ 005 ] better luck next time

Steph hissed through her teeth. Damn.

Steve quickly scrambled up from the ground, his ego indefinitely tarnished and bruised thanks to the insufferable new kid's desire to embarrass anyone who dared challenge him. The class chortled at Steve, clapping Billy on the back for his accomplishments.

Fuelled by adrenaline for his team to win, Steph skidded toward the door and pumped her fist in the air, "Come on, Harrington!"

His head whipped to the side, eyes growing wide. Once he saw an entire group of girls watching the practice match, his heart sunk ── had he really just fallen over in front of so many ladies? God. His cheeks tingled with warmth, and he quickly tuned out the bustling crowd, instead focusing his gaze on the scoreboard.

They were losing horribly.

"Man, I'm done with this game." grumbled one of Steve's teammates.

Before Steve could say anything argumentative or reprimanding in return, the boy twisted on the heel of his foot strutted off the court, waving a nonchalant hand at the rest of the team yelling for him to come back. He joined the benched ── all of whom did not budge to replace the quitter.

"Come on, guys!" Steve urged, waving his arms around in frustration.

They were in need of a small forward, one for the most important positions in the game. Billy's team were absolutely thrashing them, and Steve's chest ached when he realised the scores upon the board were humiliatingly different. He was supposed to be the star player. Letting this happen . . . well, it wasn't ordinary. It was mortifying, and on the sidelines, he couldn't help but notice a determined looking Stephanie Miller.

What would she perceive him as now? She already despised him ── or so it seemed ── and taunted him for things out of his control. The teasing was often reciprocated, but he couldn't help but take offence to the things she said sometimes. Steph, however, never seemed phased.

Steve's eyes roved around the gymnasium almost mechanically, landing on the same one person each time. A shock of white-blonde hair, faint smudges of eyeliner smeared across her lids, lips peeling back to reveal a toothy grin . . . she was like an electromagnetic thing that his gaze was constantly drawn toward.

Stephanie Miller had captured his interests in an unrelenting trap. Suddenly and swiftly. Their spellbinding conversation in the car yesterday ought to have something to do with it.

"Harrington!" one of his teammates yelled, ripping Steve from his momentary entranced stupor. "We need a small forward! These cowards won't take it on."

He gestured toward the boys perched on the bench. Unmoving.

Steve ran a hand through his unkempt hair. On the opposing side of the court, Billy and his shirtless comrades were laughing boisterously, occasionally pointing over at Steve's unfortunate team. The small forward playing alongside Hargrove was a somewhat professional basketball competitor, both outside of school and inside ── landing him with the potential for a scholarship for college studies.

Even though this game was merely practice, Steve couldn't allow his ego to suffer more. And he didn't want to risk the chances of being thrown off the team by coach, replaced by the insufferable Hargrove.

There was only person he could think to replace their small forward.

Sporty and agile, determined and incandescent. Maybe they had a chance.

"Miller!"

The girl at the gymnasium door frowned immediately at the sudden onslaught of attention thrown her way by the basketball team. Steve was impatiently gesturing for her to come over, to which she pressed a finger to her chest out of befuddlement, ensuring it was indeed her who had been called.