THE GOLD | b. hargrove

chapter twelve

The hallways of Hawkins high school buzzed with excitement for the weekend. Though it was only two days away from the four walls that surrounded them, it was enough to lift the mood of the small town teens. The day had dragged slightly less than usual, each ring of the bell signalling that they were all one step closer to whatever plans were occupying their minds that week. Harriet had barely seen Billy since their encounter the previous night, simply passing each other in the hallway with a nod or a smile. She'd grown accustomed to his hot or cold behaviour now. She wasn't particularly fond of the people he chose to hang around with, she'd always told Steve how much of a dick Tommy was and had been thankful when they'd finally parted ways so she had no qualms with Billy keeping his distance if it meant she was also kept apart from Tommy.

The only thing that did slightly bother her is when she'd see him flirting with other girls. She expected it to happen, they themselves were only friends so it made sense that his behaviour wouldn't change. But the twinge of jealousy she felt was definitely there, as much as she tried to ignore it. She'd never bring it up to him though, too prideful to ever admit it phased her.

She was unloading all her books from her school bag into her locker to make it as light as possible for her cycle home. The day had been dry, but the chill in the air was enough motivation for her to want to spend as little time outside as possible.

She walked out of the school building and over to Steve's car, to go over his plan for later that night to win over Nancy again. He was stood waiting for her, arms folded over his chest and his brow slightly furrowed. His face lightened when he saw her approaching him, and she raised her hand in greeting. "Don't look so glum!" She grinned up at him once she was stood in front of him, giving his shoulder a light shove.

"I'm just stressed. What if I fuck it up and say the wrong thing?" He ran a hand through his hair, looking around the car park to avoid making eye contact with Harriet.

"If you're just honest then you can't say the wrong thing. You'll be fine." She leaned up and ruffled his hair, messing it up, which earned her a glare from Steve who quickly tried to fix it back into its perfect styling.

"Hands off the hair Wheeler." He scolded as he fiddled with his hair for a moment, eventually giving in once it was pretty much back to its usual form. "You'll definitely be home tonight right? In case I do fuck it up?"

"Steve." She cocked her head to the side and gave him a fed up look. "You won't fuck it. But I'll be about, if that eases your mind." Her face softened as she smiled at him, him nodding in confirmation.

"Thanks Harriet, I owe you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "I should probably go, gotta prepare to humiliate myself."

"God you're so whiny!" She teased, shaking her head at her friends negativity. "I'll see you later." She walked backwards towards her bike, pointing her finger at him before turning around. Steve passed her in his car moments after, waving through his window at her as he sped towards his home, wasting no time.

Harriet was crouched slightly, unlocking her bike from the rack when a voice behind her made her jump, snapping up and turning around. "So you and Harrington huh?" Billy was stood in front of her now, exhaling the smoke of his cigarette as he spoke and filling the air around them with the strong smell of tobacco.

"What about me and Steve?" She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, then shielded her eyes from the late autumn sunlight as she looked at the boy in front of her. She still had to squint to ease the strain on her eyes from the bright light.