SWEET CREATURE//steve harrington

EIGHTEEN

ONE MONTH LATER

"CAN YOU NOT SMOKE IN HERE?" STEVE COMPLAINED. "I'm not in anywhere," Vivian retorted from the roof, Steve's bedroom window open between them. "But for you, yes." She stamped out her cigarette on the asphalt shingles, climbing through the window and back into the warmth of Steve's room. She picked up the book she'd been reading, the one Dustin gave her, The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. "Still reading that nerdy book?" Steve teased as Vivian sat cross-legged on his bed. 

"It's not nerdy," Vivian argued, to which Steve raised his eyebrows. "Okay, maybe it's nerdy. But it's actually pretty cool." She paused, chewing her lip. "And who knows, maybe we'll need it again someday." Steve sighed, rubbing his head absently. "Jesus, I hope not." He chewed the end of his pencil, neck craned over a textbook at his desk. "What's the square root of a hundred sixty-nine?" 

"Thirteen," Vivian responded, thumbing through the pages of her book. Dustin had given it to her last week, and she'd just now gotten around to reading it. She had to hand it to him; this D&D stuff was pretty interesting. He was trying to get her to join the party; he hadn't broken her down quite yet, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out.

"None of this shit makes any sense," Steve grumbled, shutting his textbook with a thud. "It's the end of the semester anyway. What's gonna happen if I fail my Pre-Cal midterm?" "You'll fail Pre-Cal," Vivian told him. "So, what?" Steve said. "So you retake your entire senior year because you failed Pre-Cal," said Vivian. "And I"ll be laughing my ass off at you when I walk the stage to graduate." Steve groaned, flopping onto his bed next to her. 

"You are such a douche," Steve complained, shoving a pillow at her. "Stop being so mean, and help me." Vivian shook her head, laughing. "What's so special about this book anyway?" he asked, peering over her lap to see. "Oh, I get it," he said sarcastically. "It's a bunch of deformed aliens, who wouldn't wanna look at that all day?" "Shut up," Vivian said, pushing his head away. "No wonder Henderson prefers me over you. You're insulting his lifeblood."

Steve scoffed. "Viv, be serious," he said. "Henderson does not like you more than me. And if he did, it's because he has a crush on you or something. Female privilege." "Oh, my God, you are such a chauvinistic asshole," Vivian groaned. "On a different note," Steve began. "Did Henderson say he liked you more than me?" Vivian laughed, smacking his head with a pillow.

Things were back to normal. Actually, they were better. Vivian had been hanging out in Steve's room nearly every night. She read while he studied, or they watched a movie. She tried to nonchalantly sneak cigarettes onto the roof outside his window, and he always caught her. Not that she minded. Since that night, they'd been inseparable. The way they should've been all along. 

They'd even started eating lunch together again. Carol had had some choice words to say when Vivian first appeared at their lunch table, but Vivian had had plenty choice words of her own to retort with. Sometimes she couldn't believe that, a month ago, she hated Steve's guts, and now they were riding to school together and hanging out every day. It was odd, but it was all she'd ever wanted. 

"Shit!" Steve said, looking at his watch. "What?" Vivian asked. "We need to pick up Dustin," he said. "For the dance tonight." "Oh, that's right," Vivian recalled, shutting her book and leaving it on Steve's bed, rushing down the stairs behind him. 

"Yours or mine?" Vivian called as they exited the house, twirling her keys around her finger. "Mine," Steve answered, sliding into his car. He looked at his watch again as he backed out of the driveway. "I think we still have time." 

꧁♡꧂

"What part about six o'clock do you guys not understand?" Dustin asked as he stormed off his porch and into Steve's backseat. "We're sorry, Mr. President," Vivian teased. "Oh, Sweets is here, that explains it," Dustin went on. "Steve was probably too busy drooling over you to watch the clock." Steve frowned at him in the rearview mirror. "You better watch it, Henderson," he warned.