Love Is A Battlefield (A Stranger Things/Steve Harrington Fanfiction)

Chapter Fifty-One: We Make Our Own Rules

"Well, not in so many words, no. I just um..." I trailed off, pinching the bridge of my nose. "How do you know if a guy has lost interest?"

"Well um...he'll probably stop paying attention to you." I nodded. "Stuff like...he'll start flirting with other girls, even in front of you, and He'll dodge questions about the future and be really vague, and he'll stop saying romantic things, stuff like that...I guess." 

"Yeah..." I leaned back against the couch, tears welling up in my eyes, "I was worried you'd say that."

"is Steve acting like that?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Kind of."

"You want me to go pick him up? Make up a story about his Grandma?" I laughed, wiping the tears away as they escaped. 

"No, you don't have to do that. I'll be honest, I kind of expected something like this to happen."

"And I'll be honest? I didn't." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why not?" He shrugged.

"I saw the way he looked at you, and the way he acted when you were around." He said. "I knew of him before you guys became friends, and from what I could understand, he was exactly like his Dad; a Rich douchebag who only cares about status and doesn't love anything but himself."

"Yeah well...looking at him a year or so ago, you wouldn't have been wrong." He nodded.

"But then you started telling stories about how he treated you, even when you were just friends, and he came over for Dinner and to pick you up from Prom, and I didn't see Scott Harrington. I saw a guy that adored my daughter and would do anything to make her happy." I shrugged, tucking my hair behind my ear. "And maybe I'm wrong, maybe that has changed but what you gotta understand about us guys is...we can be really dumb sometimes." I laughed tearfully. "And what might look like Steve losing interest to you, might be something else entirely, so before you go and break up with the kid before he can beat you to the punch, just...hear him out. And give him the benefit of the doubt, because I don't think that kid that I saw on Prom Night is stupid enough to let a girl like you go." I nodded.

"Ok...thanks, Dad." He nodded.

"You're welcome, kid." I stood up, wiping my eyes and going to walk back into the room. "And if he is, I'll shoot him."

"What?" I asked, turning around to look at him.

"Nothing! I said goodnight." I narrowed my eyes skeptically, but nodded and walked back into the room to Find Eleven and Max with a spin the bottle situation going on, with different names written on pieces of neon orange paper...Steve's included.

"Ooh, Riley, come on. We're gonna spin the bottle to determine who El is going to spy on." Max said. I sat down with them, taking Steve's name out of the pile.

"Not him." I said. They shared a look but didn't question it, repositioning the papers.

"Holy crap, I can't believe we're actually doing this," Max said, "Ready?"

"Ready." El reached out, spinning the bottle. It came to land on Mr. Wheeler.

"Ugh, boring."

"Yeah, boring." El agreed.

"Spin again." She told her.

"Against the rules?"

"We make our own rules." I smiled at this and she spun again, all of us reading the name aloud once she landed on it.

"Billy."

"Ok, I should just warn you," Max said, grabbing the radio and coming over to the bed, "If he's with a girl or doing something gross, just get out of there right away before you're scarred for life."

"Max..."

"No I'm just saying, I'm serious, he's really gross!"

"Max!"

"Ok, shutting up now."

"Ok, wait, hold on," I said, "If she's going to see something she shouldn't be, is this really such a good idea?"

"She'll stop looking the second she sees something questionable, right El?" I raised my eyebrows at her. She nodded. I sighed.

"Ok, fine. Go for it." She put the blindfold on and Max turned the radio to the static.

"I found him."

"What's he doing?" Max asked.

"I don't know. He's...on the floor...talking to someone." She suddenly yanked the blindfold off, breathing heavily. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"El?"

"What is it? What happened?"

"There was a girl, and she was screaming..." El said, "Billy...he saw me." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?"