𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬

FIVE: you're wrong.

STEVE HARRINGTON HATES himself for it, but he can't help it. He kept glancing over where James and Eddie are as Robin is talking-- whispering his ear off about the movie and how the football beach scene was just for the straight woman gaze and how annoying it was, but Steve didn't give two shits.

He likes that scene too, as much as the others sitting in the row with him. Especially Eddie and James who had glance awkwardly at one another then quickly look away. Steve sighs, looking back at the screen and Robin glanced at him, a little taken back by it.

She glanced over at James and Eddie then looked back at Steve. "So, will you admit it now?" She whispers and Steve looks at her right away. "What?" He asked instantly and the blonde raised a brow slightly. "That you have a thing for James." She adds.

Now it hits Steve. He glances over at Eddie and James who are now leaned close together, whispering to one another with grinning faces. Yeah, sure enough he use to dislike James. A lot. He seemed pretentious and for the majority of Steve and Jonathan's relationship, he seemed very unapproving.

But for some reason, now, he sees James in a completely different way. He doesn't understand it. "I don't." He said quickly and looked back at the big screen. "Okay... then you don't have a problem with James and Eddie possibly getting back together? Eddie wants to be with James again." She whispers and his face did a slight grimace, a small quirk of his brow and a frown but he quickly stops, looking at her quickly. "I don't care." He says. "Okay." She said then smirked a bit.

"You're wrong, Robin."

"We'll just see." And boy was she right. Steve hated the feeling he got of seeing James and Eddie being close afterwards, especially when the group all went to go grab some food at a nearby restaurant and then when they went their separate ways, Eddie and James are in a tight embrace that Steve found himself just standing there watching the pair.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" James whispered when they parted ways and Eddie nods, smiling softly. "Yeah. See you tomorrow." He says, staring into James' eyes before glancing at the others. "Goodnight guys." He waved at Steve and Robin. "Goodnight." The two reply as James joined them now and waved at Eddie with a small smirk, before turning back to the other two. "Good movie, yeah?" He says and Robin just giggles.

"Were you even paying attention?" She asked as they stride towards James' vehicle together. "Yes. Were you?" The Hopper retorts and the Buckley rolls her eyes as the three of them got into the vehicle. Robin took the backseat like before and James drove Robin home first then Steve who took a moment to turn to him, "hey, I had fun... uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked and James quickly nodded.

"Yeah. Hey, since your car got towed, do you need a ride to work?" He asked and Steve paused momentarily, leaning closer. "Oh, yeah, sure, if you don't mind." He smiles faintly and James nods, smiling back. "Of course. I'll see you in the morning." He says and Steve nodded quickly, now hopping out.

"Goodnight."

The rest of the week was tiring for them, and thanks to the fact Chrissy was an angel literally sent from Heaven, they didn't have to work on the weekends, because she and her girlfriend did, so they got Saturday and Sunday off. "Guys, wanna do something together?" James suddenly asked as he was mopping up and wiping sweat off his forehead, looking over at Steve and Eddie who had both been staring at the sweating man for a while.

"Oh, like what?" Steve's face flushed red as he glanced at Eddie then James, then back to Eddie, the gears in his head slowly turning as he realized he was such a dirty-minded pervert. "Like, drink or something? I like beer." He said and continued to mop as Eddie snorts. "Beer? You get so drunk so easily off that shit." He said and Steve just chuckled.

"Uh, I--I like beer too." He nods and Eddie glanced over at the Harrington, then at James. "Then beer it is. Two beats one, Munson." The Hopper is grinning and Eddie just sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Beers then." He agreed and so the three went to their respective homes first and agreed to meet at Steve's because his parents aren't really home a lot and the Harrington informed them about having the beer already at their place.

So Eddie and James now show up at the same time, smiling at one another upon their arrival. "Hey." The taller said right away and the shorter smiles faintly. "Hey." He says and James just smiles even wider. "We should head inside." Eddie quickly said and James agreed as they went up to the front door to knock, a holler telling them to wait, followed by rushed footsteps then the door swinging open. "Hey guys." Steve is smiling politely.

"Hey." The two enter as the Harrington welcomed him, leading them to the kitchen where he holds out two cans of beer. "Thanks, man." Eddie nods, popping his open as Steve leads them over to the livingroom. "We can watch tv?" He offers. "Yeah, sure." Eddie nods and it felt so awkward now.

Neither of the three really talked until James suddenly turns to Steve, "you have a pool right?" He asked and the Harrington glanced at him, nodding as James grins. "Can we go swimming?" He asked and Steve frowns. "Oh, I see, you're using me. That's hurtful." He says but his tone is filled with playfulness.

So James goes along with it, "why else would I be here?" He asked and Steve looks at him with a slight tint of pink in his face before glancing at Eddie and seeing the look on his face. "We can go swim." He said suddenly, standing up and James looks at him weirdly for a split second. "Cool! Let's go, Eds." He hits Eddie's arm gently as the two of them got up now so they can head to the backyard.

authors note
sorry i haven't written rhys yet into the fic, he'll be here soon 🤭
(i don't think anyone cares but my song of the week is chop suey by system of a down (my song of the week means the song i listen to on repeat and literally ignore all of the other songs on my spotify playlists))