𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 • Steve Harrington

Chapter 14

"What can I say? It makes an impression."

"You remember something I wore months ago. I barely even remember what I had for breakfast."

"A big slice of humility clearly."

"I'm sorry it's just..." he smiled to himself. "December? Really?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "I must have thought the red complimented your horns and tail."

He cocked his head at her growing smirk. "Clever."

She turned around, laughing to herself.

"I'm putting this back."

"Don't!" she turns back sharply and caught Steve off guard. Just as quickly, she cowered from her sudden jolt of urgency. "It matches your eyes."

"So now I have mustard yellow eyes," he rolls his eyes. "At least the horns and tail joke actually scored points for creativity-"

"I'm not messing with you, idiot." She approached him where he stood several metres away. "Your eyes are golden, aren't they?" She stopped right in front of him, inching their faces close enough to properly observe them.

She was so focused on the colour of his irises that she didn't notice them momentarily flicker to her lips.

"Yeah, sort of brown." She backs away, staring at him more generally. "Thought so. Matches," she pinches the mustard sweater.

Even with the wind leaving his lungs, he couldn't fight back the smirk edging on his face. "So now you're saying I have golden eyes."

Running through the clothing rack beside them, she muttered, "Objectively, yes."

"That's sort of objectively a really sweet thing to say."

She smirks. "You're really working my last nerve, Harrington."

"I mean," he leaned his wrist on the railing comfortably, "it wasn't my intention, but what comes around, huh?"

She scornfully glared at him, unable to fight the smile on her lips and didn't bother to once she shoved past him and disappeared behind the protruding wall to the other side of the store. Conveniently enough, just by the long rack full of women's clothes stood Mark Lewinsky in all his infamy.

She could have sworn his hair was longer somehow since second period. She could have sworn his skin was more tanned, his side profile was less chiselled and his muscles weren't nearly as large. Had she just forgotten to look at him as intently as she once used to? She did laugh with him today about a paper plane he managed to fly into Donny Campbell's open backpack. And when she asked him what time it was because he had a watch on and she didn't, he said, 'Ten-eighteen. Not nearly late enough.'

She started feeling herself become sickly at the thought of him uttering another word to her, and she couldn't have turned around faster.

"Julie?"

But it wasn't nearly fast enough.

She turned back, feigning surprise. "Mark, hey!"

Steve's head rose from the clothing rack he was still planted at.

"I didn't even see you. What are you doing here?"

Steve edged closer to a different rack-a mix and buy clearance section, not that he noticed.

"Well, I'm trying to buy a valentine's day gift for my girlfriend and failing miserably. It's totally last minute, I know, but I can't bare to face her empty handed."

"No, that's fair," Julie nods.

But he mixed up the discomfort she was feeling from being around him with general distaste, and he sighed embarrassedly. "I sound like a real jerk, huh?"

She grit her teeth. "A little."

He scoffed. "Figures."

"Jules, check this out." Steve swooped in beside her with a pair of pop out eyes glasses with the eyeballs on springs. He still had the yellow sweater, only it was folded over his forearm. "Look familiar?"

Julie's face brightened with amused surprise. "Where the hell did you find those?"

"The clearance section."

"Yeah, no kidding, they're the ugliest thing on the planet."

"Well, I thought you could make 'em look beautiful."

The sincerity in Steve's voice took Julie by further surprise, her lips parted slightly and her cheeks flushing unbeknownst to her.

"Come on." He edged the glasses towards her making her flinch back impulsively.

"Dude, don't come near me with those things."

"Come on!"

"What are you doing?" she tried to fend him off.

"Levelling the playing field so we're even-steven." With the glasses a pretty fair distance away, she stood still and accepted it, rolling her eyes nonetheless. He slipped them on her face, his smirk growing.

"See." Steve held her by her shoulders. "Beautiful."

She pressed her lips down firmly.

Steve turned her shoulders so that she was angled towards Mark. "Doesn't she look beautiful?"

"Yeah, you look great," he agreed unconvincingly.

Julie took the glasses off, wanting to toss them on the floor.

"I didn't realise you guys were an item."

Julie's eyes widened. "We're n-"

"It's not anything we're particularly advertising," Steve spoke over her, swinging his arm around Julie's shoulders and hugging her close to him. "We're just going steady for now."

She tightly smiled, trying not to grind her teeth too hard. "Yeah. Yeah, that's right."

"Cool," Mark drew his lips into a thin line.

The only one that seemed to be smiling was Steve.

"Well, uh..." Mark passed them both with a necklace he had picked up and angled himself towards the other side of the store, "see you in chemistry, Brenner?"

"Yeah, see you," Julie smiles.

Once he was a great distance away and around the protruding corner, she swiftly pushed herself away from Steve. "What the fuck was that?"

"I was doing you a favour. You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

"You stabbed me in the back. I told you-" she stopped herself, realising she was being too loud. "I told you that was old news. Why couldn't you just leave it at that?"

"Because you've put your neck on the line for my love life, so I was just trying to do the same for yours. It's like how you understand the mind of girls as a girl, I understand the mind of guys as a guy, and guys are territorial and overzealous."

Julie crossed her arms.

"When we like someone, it's a dangerous thing and if we see them with someone else, especially a dashingly good looking someone else," Steve gestured to himself, "it drives us nuts. It's like a shot through the heart."

She rolled her eyes. "Just get your stupid sweater so we can go already. I'll wait for you outside."

And Steve watched her head for the shop door without looking back, wondering if he did the right thing for her or the right thing for himself.