𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

9

❝...𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄?❞ dani stopped in her place on the yard and scoffed, her eyes meeting steve's. the height of his hair casted a shadow over his face, making his already demented eyes darker. his eyebrow cocked as a chuckle dripped off of his lips like a forbidden honey. it was the only sound in the painfully quiet night that surrounded them.

sheridan began to walk again, trying to think of a response. "i... i didn't take my car, had to keep the search party on the down-low." steve realized who the search party was for. and he knew it'd be impolite to bring it up.

"i can give you a ride home," steve offered to counter the fact that he insensitively grilled her about her whereabouts. he jogged towards his car, parked further down the block of course, leaving dani in the driveway. the girl was completely dumbfounded. "you can put the bike in the trunk, come on." the boy motioned for her to catch up with a wave of his hand.

"steve, i'm fine. really," sheridan insisted, stressing the last part through gritted teeth. the last place she wanted to be in this very moment was in the passenger seat of steve harrington's car.

"it's been raining all night, and you sit close to me in chem. i don't want you getting sick on me," the boy stated. even that elicited a laugh from dani, putting a smile on his own face. he walked back towards his car, staring the girl down. his arms extended out to the side before falling, smacking against his legs. "well, are you comin' or not?!"

sheridan knew that, right now especially, her feelings were all over the place. her plate was more than full. she had a family and friends to protect; herself to protect. her head and her heart were rarely in agreement nowadays, but they told her one thing for sure: do not get in steve harrington's car.

dani started into a brisk walk, aiming for mirkwood to lead her home. steve watched with a muddled expression as the girl breezed past him. his mouth fell open, his eyebrows burrowing over his eyes. as sheridan continued on with her stroll, the streetlights being her only illumination, steve realized what was happening. he scrambled to get into his car. the keys fell from his shaky grip onto the asphalt. sherrie held in a howl of laughter at the clatter.

"dani, where the hell are y-" steve yelled before plunging the keys into the door. he got in and started the vehicle up, slowing to nearly a mile per hour to follow alongside sheridan. dani kept her eyes locked ahead of her. she wasn't going to give steve the satisfaction or privilege of looking into her eyes. the harrington boy leaned onto the center console. "dani. get in the car," he demanded through the rolled-down passenger window.

"fat chance, harrington. i'm just fine on my own."

"i am literally trying to be nice to you right now because i know what you're going through, and you're rejecting my offer of-"

sheridan cut the boy off almost instantly, her jaw tense with anger. "you have no idea what i'm going through, steve harrington," the girl stated almost in a growl. her gaze continued onward, even as they rounded corners and hills. despite dani's deep and threatening tone, steve enjoyed hearing her utter his name. he remained persistent in his attempts.

"sherrie, please just-"

"what the hell did you just call me?" dani's brows furrowed and she finally ripped her gaze from the street, and instead met steve's eyes. the ginger-haired girl stopped in her tracks, much like her heart. steve's car screeched to a halt. a shocked expression painted his face.

no one had ever called sheridan "sherrie". no one except her father. from birth, sheridan was known as dani. the only time she was ever sherrie was at her father's, during that california summer; her first and last with him. she hadn't heard anyone call her sherrie in nearly three years. but oddly enough, it was kind of comforting in that moment. steve had breathed a new life into her nickname.

"i'm sorry, dani, i-if that struck a nerve or something, i didn't mean to-" steve's sentence was cut short, yet again. but this time, it wasn't by sheridan's words, but her actions.

sheridan's heart overrode her head. the girl yanked the backseat door open and tossed the bike inside before collapsing in the passenger's seat. her eyes went directly back to where they once were, with steve intently glaring at her. he was befuddled, to say the least.

"just take me home," sheridan stated.

"yeah, yeah, of course," the harrington boy instantly responded, pressing his foot to the gas and heading for dani's. "is there... a tape you wanna listen to?" steve suggested amidst the silence. he pointed to the minimal cassette cases under the radio. reo speedwagon, chicago, duran duran: all of sheridan's guilty pleasures.

"got any floyd?" the girl turned her head towards steve upon asking the question. their eyes met for a split second, all color draining from his face. he gulped quickly before clumsily flipping through his tapes.

"i do not, but i do have this." silence pervaded the car as steve popped a random cassette into the player. before dani knew it, "the heart of rock and roll" by huey lewis and the news blared from steve's expensive stereo system. she tried her best to hide a smile, but failed miserably.

"huey lewis and the news?" the girl questioned quietly.

"i was just messin' around, i'll change it-" steve offered, his hand headed for the dials.

"i love this album," sheridan confessed. her eyes instantly panned over to the window on her side, hiding her smile and embarrassment from steve. her secret was finally unveiled, and to steve harrington out of all people.

the boy's eyebrows raised in surprise as he stole glances at dani. "wow... hawkins's resident rock n roll chick, sheridan shaffer herself, likes huey lewis and the news?" steve let out an astonished laugh through a wide smile.

"we're never speaking of this. to anyone," dani warned, an accusing finger pointing in steve's direction. he held a hand up in defense, the other on the wheel. she watched as he pretended to zip his lips shut. that time, her laugh couldn't remain hidden. it was thunderous over the choice in music. the sound sent a smile onto steve's face.

✽