Tension (Steve Harrington)

Chap. 10; Another Poject

Lauren looked at herself in the mirror. Mascara ran down her face from the heavy crying session she was having. Early in the day, Nancy had asked her to dinner with the Hollands, but she couldn't go. She knew she wasn't welcome, at least not by Mr. Holland, as much as he tried not to, he resented her dad, and he couldn't help but reflect that on to her. Lauren had been friends with Barb for years, and it was all shot because they couldn't tell the truth.

Lauren pushed off the counter and turned on the shower. Before she pulled off her clothes, tears still ran down her face. There was a knock on the door, followed by a more than annoyed groan, "Go away." The knock was just harder and more frequent. "We're broke." She yelled, yet the knocks continued. In a less than chipper mood, Lauren grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her, and walked to the door. Leaving nothing but fume clouds in her wake. There was so much going on that the last thing she wanted to do was chase off some girl scouts.

Prior to opening the door, Lauren whipped the tears from her eyes so her cry wasn't as apparent. Steve was standing there with a fake smile holding up a poster bourd. "What the fuck do you want?" The words were almost instinct when referring to Steve at this point in Lauren's life. Once Steve's eyes finished their inspection. Searching for something to complain about. The wondering eyes were accompanied with a just as annoyed look he began to speak.

"The project. Why are you in a towel?" Lauren rolled her eyes at him, turning around for him to walk in.

"Why arent you in a towel?" She rolled her eyes again as she attempted to Integrize him."I forgot, Harrington." Lauren stated the truth while she picked up the empty beer bottles off the coffee table, throwing them away.

Drinking. Drinking hadn't been a bad problem recently, but it picked up a little over the holidays for both Jim and Lauren. Jim had known about Lauren's drinking. He didn't like it, but he understood it. If he needed, he knew she might with everything she'd been through. Besides, what the hell was he going to do? Yell at her for drinking something that was sitting there in the open. It's not like he had told her no before.

Steve fumbled with a little trinket sitting on the counter as Lauren picked up the place a little. The mess hadn't bothered him in the slightest. He wouldn't give a shit if it was the nicest place in all of Hawkins or if it was a cave he didn't live in it.

"How could you forget you practically begged me. Oh, Steve, please, please. I can not go with Harry. And you're just so sexy. But most importantly, you're so smart. I need you for an A." There was no bother to even look over at Steve. He could feel her facial experiences from Pluto.

"I wouldn't say half those things if I had a gun to my head." Lauren said as she threw the last of the bottles away.

"Sure, we both know you have always had the hots for me." This time, Lauren did give him a drity look in which he returned, seeing as he was only joking.

"Just stay here Harrington. I'm going to get dressed." Lauren disappeared into the hallway where Steve stayed behind. The pictures on their wall interested him, so that's how he filled the time.

Most of the pictures were older. There were not many newer ones. The seemingly newest one only seemed to be from what looked like Lauren in eight grade. BTBP, as steve refused to it when he did what he could to annony Lauren. Before the blonde phase. The older ones where a young Jim a similar aged Blonde woman Steve only thought to be Lauren's mom and a baby Steve assumed was Lauren sat together on a couch.

Lauren appered back in the room without Steve knowing. "Why-"

"Jesus Christ, where a bell why don't you." Steve said as his heart beat nearly sky rocketed.