Secrets // Steve Harrington

Chapter Thirty-Five - The Halloween Party

Word Count: 5,471 words. 

Warnings: None. 

Author's note: This chapter is much longer than my usual chapters, and I could have split it in two, but I feel like it makes more sense to have together. Hope you enjoy it, things are starting to change between our little Lia and Steve. 

I tried not to think much about the Upside Down the next day, instead attempting to focus on the Halloween party that Nancy convinced me to attend. I only hoped that he would not show his face tonight. I needed to let loose.

I sighed, looking at myself in the mirror. Nancy's room was larger than any I had ever had, her vanity the width of our bathroom and her bed all but triple the size of mine.

I had always been one for applying make-up, but only in an attempt to hide the impurities of my skin. Nancy Wheeler had done her work on my face, a dark, shadowed eye and rouged cheeks. I had to admit that although the stuff felt heavy on my skin, I looked quite pretty with the winged liner and mascara.

"Here," Nancy told me, holding out a tube of lipstick. "To complete the look."

I thanked her, quickly turning up the stick so that I could dab my finger against the tip and transfer it to my lips. "You look like an angel," I commented on her outfit, one that was entirely her style. "With this black leather shirt, I'll look like the devil reincarnate walking into the house."

She sighed, placing her hands against the tops of my shoulders and leaning her chin against my head. "You look drop dead gorgeous Lia. Billy will be crawling across the floor to you," she commented.

I nodded along, knowing that it wasn't Billy's reaction that I cared for. I suppose one should feel beautiful in what they wear, but what if what they enjoy to wear is any­thing but beautiful? At that moment, I wished nothing more than to be in a pair of jeans and a top, preferable long sleeved, accompanied by a leather jacket and a pair of heelless boots. Instead, I wore a shortened top, leather jacket still there but instead accompanied by a pair of tall-heeled, stiletto boots and a small black leather skirt. Standing up, I looked at myself in the floor length mirror.

"Maybe I shouldn't go," I began, sighing and running my hands along my sides. My hips always jutted out for no reason, the extra width making my figure look less flattering.

Nancy, with her hands on her hips, titled her head to the side at my comment. "Don't you dare. Don't back out."

"I'm not backing out," I argued, knowing full well that that was exactly what I was trying to do. "I just... I don't want to get drunk tonight."

"Then don't drink anything."

I scoffed. "If I have to spend the night with Steve Harrington, I will need a few drinks to stay sane," I explained. It was a lie. I didn't need alcohol to talk to Steve, I needed it to forget about him.

"Really?" she posed, now at my side. "I thought you and him were getting along."

I turned to look at my best friend. It was like she knew. It was like the woman could see right into my mind and pick at the thoughts I had. Nancy was the person to outwardly tell you when she was annoyed, argue with you for something that angered her, and yet I saw no malice in her eyes. Whatever it was she knew, she wasn't mad about it.

"I tolerate him for you, nothing more than that," I lied.

Wheeler smiled, nodding her head. "I think I'm going to break up with him."

My stomach both dropped and fluttered at the same time. Did she know that I had feelings for him? Stupid feelings that I was certain he didn't return?

"Why?" I asked. "Did he do something?"