SWEET CREATURE//steve harrington

TWO

   "SWEETS!" A VOICE CALLED, AND VIVIAN FELT SOMEONE TUG ON THE STRAP OF HER BAG. She turned around and was met with an orange flyer being shoved in her face. "You should totally come to my party tomorrow." It was Tina; she was one of the most popular girls in Hawkins, notorious for having rich parents who often traveled and left her the house to use for her own devices. Vivian scrutinized the flyer as other students passed by her, bumping into her shoulders. "Sheet-faced?" she raised, cringing. Tina nodded, her bangs bobbing on her forehead. "Come and get sheet-faced, tomorrow night, at eight," she reiterated, ditzy laughter following.

   "Sure," Vivian sighed. "I'll see if I can make it." Tina smiled and went off to find her next victim, a stack of orange flyers in hand. Parties weren't Vivian's favorite thing in the world, but she knew how to have fun if she could let herself. Granted, the prospect of actually going tomorrow made her want to throw up, but it would probably be better than staying home and mourning the loss of her and Steve's past Halloween adventures like she had last year. 

"Honey," Mrs. Sweets needled softly, nudging Vivian's bedroom door open. Inside the room was a pitiful sight. Vivian was surrounded by candy wrappers, sniffling. "Oh, my goodness," her mom whispered to herself. She had never seen her daughter like this.

"Are you okay?" she said, gently sitting down on the edge of Vivian's bed. "Yep, I'm great. My childhood best friend and I aren't on speaking terms, and probably never will be again, and I'm just great," Vivian lamented, her chest heaving as she tried to catch a stuttering breath.

"I still don't understand what happened with you two," Mrs. Sweets pondered, confused. "One day you were fine, and the next, you weren't." You have no idea, Vivian thought. Vivian hadn't told anyone what had happened between her and Steve that night the year prior. Not a soul.

꧁♡꧂

He'd been standing outside her door. They hadn't spoken in days, but they'd made arrangements to go to the Snowball together. He had just gotten his license, and the car he'd been gifted for his sixteenth birthday was idling in the driveway. Vivian opened the door, and despite the tension they'd had lately, she felt herself be able to breathe again at the sight of him.

"You look really nice, Viv," Steve had told her, and she blushed; she could feel his eyes soaking her in, and she didn't know how to feel about that. "You do too," she told him, shutting the front door behind her and leading the way down the front walk.

Steve ran ahead and opened the passenger side door for her. "Five-star service," Vivian praised. Steve half-smiled, and walked around to slide in next to her. "I didn't know King Steve was such a gentleman." Steve chuckled halfheartedly, but the aftertaste was laced with something like embarrassment. The nickname was something that had arisen that year, once he had started hanging around Tommy H and Carol and the rest of them.

"I hate when you call me that," he mumbled, and Vivian frowned. "Why?" He shook his head. "Because I'm not King Steve when I'm with you," he expressed quietly. "I'm just Steve." He wouldn't look at her. Vivian took in how he looked as he drove down her street. Hair falling into his eyes, forehead creased in thought. Beautiful.

"Stop looking at me like that," Steve laughed. "Like what?" Vivian countered. "You know what." She felt her face get hot again. It had been like this for months. They wouldn't talk for days, and then when they were together again, there was that undertone of something more, and it was driving her nuts.

    Steve smiled at her warmly. "I missed you," he said. "I missed you, too." That didn't even cover it. She wanted to say, When you're not here, it feels like a piece of me is missing. I don't miss you; I think I breathe for you.