Protector // Steve Harrington // x reader

[2] A Friend

   Even inside the building, I could feel all eyes on me. I would normally hate being the new kid, but when you're the hot new kid, it's really not that bad. I shashayed in, and looked down at the letter that had been mailed to me a week ago. I walked to the nearest wall, leaned on it, and re-opened the letter. It had my locker number, locker combination, schedule, advisor, and all that other school stuff.

"Locker 152," I mumble to myself. 

"Well hello there new girl!" A boy with freckles smiled a wide, devious, smile at me. He placed his hands on the wall, each one by my forearm, leaning his weight on them. 

I raised an eyebrow at him, "And you are?"

"Tommy, but you can call me babe," He winked, and leaned closer to me.

"Maybe some other time," I ducked under his arm. I turned back to him and winked, "Babe," I continued to stroll down the halls, until I found locker 152. 

  When I finally found it, I replaced the schools lock with my own. I opened the locker, and placed my books inside. I quickly put some pictures of my friends back in Cali and I, up in my locker with little stickers. I smiled at myself and stepped back. Unfortunately, I stepped too far back, and bumped into a girl. 

"Shit! Sorry!" I kneeled down, and began to pick up the books that had spilled out of the girls arms. "God, I'm so clumsy! Sorry!" I started to chuckle, and she laughed along.

"I'm Nancy," she smiled.

"Y/n," we shook hands, and stood up. It turns out, her locker was right next to mine. 

~TIME SKIP TO THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY~

  Nancy and I actually had lots of classes together. She showed me around, as I had transferred here a month late. Billy and Max hadn't, I just was dealing with shit back in Cali. Nancy was really nice, and I was hoping we'd become friends. As we walked out of our last period class, Nancy began to talk.

"So y/n, there's this Halloween party tonight, and if you want to go, I can totally drive you."

"I think I'm going with Billy, but I'll see you there. I may also need a ride home, as I don't want to drive home with drunk Billy," I smiled at her. "I'll see you there though!" I put my books in my bag and headed outside.

"You're late. We have to pick up the little shit," Billy said as I approached the car. 

"Don't call her that! And anyway, I was busy. We're going to that party tonight, right?" 

"If you stay out of my way the whole time, then yeah, fine." 

  Billy and I used to be really close. We still were, but Billy's intensified asshole persona had altered with that. 

  We got in the car, and Billy started baring his rock music. To be honest, I wouldn't mind it if it weren't turned up so high. We pulled into the parking lot, and Max ran to the car. She opened the door with a sour look on her face. 

"Hi pumpkin! How was school?" I smiled at Max. I really was trying to make her happy and to be a good sister.

"Don't call me that. School was fine." She glared.

"D'you have any friends yet?" I turned back to the front.

"If I give you a cigarette, will you shut the hell up, y/n?" Billy began to open a pack of camels. He handed me one, I lit it, and shut up. 

~TIME SKIP TWO HOURS~

 I had just finished putting on my makeup, which I was pretty proud of, when Max's mom came home. She was watching Max for the night. I stood up and adjusted my clothes. I was wearing a black crop top and some jeans. My hair was up in a bun, with a couple strands hanging down. I ran out of the house to meet Billy.

"Could you dress any sluttier y/n?" Billy sneered at me. 

"Yeah, I could. But, I don't promote incest, so I won't show you the sluttier look." I laughed, and for once, Billy laughed along. It was almost like he was back to himself again. When he stopped, we just listened to the blaring music until we got to the party. 

 Billy had pulled up in the lawn when I hopped out. I threw the cigarette I was smoking to the ground, and ran in to meet Nancy. 

  Before I could get inside, a hand wrapped around my waist. I was pulled aside. 

"Hey babe," I heard Tommy whisper to me. I turned out of his grip. 

"Too early in the party for a makeout session. Call me later, babe." I winked, and ran inside. It's not that I wanted engage in a makeout session with a troglodyte like Tommy, it's just that it was fun to tease. Tommy's pretty easy on the eyes too. There's just something about him that reminds me of home. As I opened the door, The Safety Dance blared. I located Nancy, running to a big bowl of bright red stuff. She swooped her cup into the bowl, and then took a large swig of the drink.

"Nance! Hey! Nancy!" I called to Nancy, and she swung her head around.

"Y/n!" She began to speak, but was pulled away by a hand prying at her drink. I turned away, trying to find a hot guy to distract myself with. As if on cue, Tommy popped up. I began to dance with him. I could feel his hands roam up and down me, and his peculiar laugh every now and then. As Broken Wings came on, I broke away from the handsy Tommy and realized Nancy had left. I walked to the bathroom to hear the faint sound of someone crying. I jiggled the doorknob, it turned, and the door popped open. 

"N-N-Nancy?" A boy sniffled in the corner.

"No, sorry." I closed and locked the door.

"Oh," He sniffled and began to stand up, "I-I can leave."

"No, sit. Talk to me," He sat back down in silence, "or don't. That's ok too." From personal experience, I knew that sometimes, people just wanted someone to sit there and shut up. Silent support. That was something I was good at. He started crying, quieter this time. I placed a hand on his back. He leaned into me. "You don't have to talk about what happened, but just talk to me." He turned his head towards me, and for the first time, smiled through the salty tears strewn on his face. "Do you play any sports?"

"Yeah. I play a couple, but my favorite is basketball." 

"My brother plays basketball too." We talked about the smallest things, sports, our houses, our favorite songs, (we both really liked Tainted Love), our favorite movies, and so on. Even if it was just small talk, I could tell it helped. I looked up at the clock in the bathroom. "My brother is going to leave without me if I don't head out soon. I'll see you round. Feel better," I began to stand up, "and happy Halloween." I kissed his cheek, stood up, and walked out.