𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | steve harrington

chapter ten

Steve Harrington was starting to hate weekdays because it meant working with Rory and only Rory. They'd been trying to annoy each other. This wasn't an agreement but Steve was aware it was happening. He'd chew his gum loudly, popping bubbles whenever he could. She would hum along to her music, headphones on her head even when working. Steve would tap his hands off the counter and Rory would yawn openly near him which would in turn force him to yawn too.

She was like a fly that he couldn't swat. Rory was always there, lounging in the break room or smiling sweetly at customers before complaining about them. He was annoyed because Robin liked her. The girls laughed a lot about their perceptions of people and their ice cream choices. Robin tried to explain to Steve why she liked her but it was mess of hidden sweets and funny laughs. Steve just rolled his eyes.

Another thing that drove Steve mad was the idea that the manager loved her too. His name was Harold and he really wasn't anything special. He worked in ties with Starcourt, his daughter was blind and he never showed up to check how they were doing. Harold came to meet Rory, to ensure Steve had made a good decision and honestly, he was ready for her to be fired.

But there was something about Rory that he was slowly starting to realise. She could adapt herself to make people like her. To Robin she'd act open as though she was being herself, maybe she was, Steve didn't know. To Harold she was just professional enough to look good at the job, friendly enough to make him smile and the tiniest bit flirtatious which made the divorced man feel special.

She was the same with customers. Rory read people like books, old dust volumes to later house on shelves until they were needed. To old people she'd always talk cheerfully and to teenagers she'd act like she didn't care that they were laughing at her uniform, it wasn't as fun with no reaction. She'd giggle at mens jokes and listen to rambles of mothers with a caring expression that Steve believed didn't suit her.

What shocked him the most was how good she was with kids. Of course he should've expected it, having a younger sibling and all but she'd always assumed that Rory had never been a good sister, that Dustin had never loved her. They were too different. She was black coffee, Dustin was hot chocolate. She was like a wasp, Dustin would be a bumblebee. Steve didn't know where he fit into the equation.

But she'd talk to kids with a goofy grin and genuinely looked like she was enjoying herself. Rory would bask at their stories and compliment their teddy bears. You're called Lacey, that's a cool name. She'd sneak sprinkles onto their cones for free and wave goodbye with a happy smile. Parents loved her because of it. She'd make a damn good babysitter, maybe that's why Steve was jealous.

He'd just stand back and watch her work, wishing he could have the same magic effect on people. Rory's expressions would always fade when customers were out of sight and she'd just stand there looking bored and weirdly sad. There was so much hiding behind her eyes in those soft flecks of green. There was so much Steve felt he didn't know. But he analysed her behaviour, he couldn't help it. No matter how hard he tried to hate her, he didn't. Steve yearned to read her like a book like she did with all those customers.

What he did know was that Rory's bruises all faded and they didn't come back. One Tuesday she had a small roundish bruise on her mid thigh that looked like she'd walked into something. It just poked from under the hem of her shorts. But her knees remained bare, her neck never covered in makeup. She wore concealer under her eyes, it was a different tone, Robin supposed she'd bought it for summer. The fluorescent lights revealed the true paleness of her complexion.

Rory painted her nails the week before Halloween. They were black. Steve wondered if she was dressing up, she'd never painted her nails before. Robin told him she wouldn't be. Apparently they'd talked about this. The following day, the nail polish had been chipped and Rory's lips had looked swollen but there weren't bruises on her neck, had she made sure?