my girl, forever and always || steve harrington

madmax

"son of a bitch! son of a bitch!" dustin cursed as he ran through the house. lydia watched from the kitchen as he tossed the couch cushion in a frenzy. he exclaimed in dismay and chucked the disappointing penny towards their mom. 

"dusty, watch it! you almost hit mews." her priorities were unsurprisingly skewed and it only elicited a sigh from the teen. 

"dust, can we maybe not throw pennies at mom?" the younger boy merely ignored his sister's pleas and instead proceeded his search for coins. he pulled out two quarters from their mother's chair and said a quick 'i love you' before running to his room to make his friends aware of his haul. lydia rolled her eyes at her younger brother's shenanigans and grabbed her keys.

"mom, im gonna head over to laurie's." 

"okay sweetie, just be back before midnight." mrs. henderson was very lax when it came to their relationship. never prying too much, never asking too many questions, giving her daughter a later curfew than most. her relationship seemed to be thriving, grades were great, her friendship with steve, nance, and jonathan was stronger than ever, and she was not being put into life-threatening situations left and right. everything was going right for lydia henderson, and she intended to keep it that way.

~

the next morning, lydia pulled up in her usual spot in the school parking lot right next to steve's car and caught a glance of the couple in the midst of a conversation. she was about to knock on the car door and greet them but she watched as steve leaned over and gave nancy a kiss. thinking that it was best to let them enjoy their moment, she went looking for laurie instead. she saw him in front of his locker, grabbing his books so she excitedly ran behind him and wrapped her arms around him while inhaling his scent deeply.

"hey there, shortcake." laurie turned around and gave his girlfriend a tight squeeze along with a tender kiss on the top of her head. 

"hiya, how's my boy?" she gazed up at her boyfriend, her chin resting on his chest so she could get a good look at him. he laughed and leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. she smiled into his lips and tightened her grip on him. 

unbeknownst to the couple, steve harrington had watched the whole ordeal. although he was happy for his best friend, something didn't sit well with him. whether it was laurie or their relationship in general, it always felt off. however, it was a feeling that he had grown accustomed to so he merely shrugged it off and went along his day.

~

as the day went on, two rumors had circulated around the school. that there was going to be a halloween party at tina's, and that there was a new kid in school that was allegedly hotter than hell. but lydia tuned out the gossip, as per usual, and focused on her friends. walking to her locker, she was thrilled to see her best friend awaiting her and bounded towards steve, giving him a quick hug before doing their signature handshake. she took notice of the pair of sunglasses that sat atop his hair.

"so, you going to tina's tomorrow?" he asked as she exchanged her books for her gym clothes.

"ummm yeah i think so. im supposed to be going with jonathan, laurie, and the boys for a little, but im sure we can skip. they're big boys now." 

"sounds sick, ill see you then, lydi." 

"bye, stevie." he gave her a fist bump and knocked his shades onto his face before running off to meet nancy. watching him run off, lydia's gaze lingered on the boy for a moment longer. she averted her eyes and admired the gold bracelet on her right wrist and toyed with the chain before her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of hands covering her eyes.

"hey, shortcake." she smiled and feigned surprise. 

"oh my, who could this be? steph maybe?" she pondered insincerely. 

"ah, you're such a tease." lydia smiled and gave her loving boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

"so, you down to go to tina's instead of trick or treating with the boys?" however, instead of an enthusiastic response, he let out an exasperated sigh. she took that as a no.

"i don't know lyds, i heard the new kid is going to be there and apparently he's been causing a lot of trouble. i really don't think we should be getting mixed in with that." the concern on his face really worried her. does this new kid really have that bad of a reputation already? 

laurie was not the type of person to get worked up over someone so easily. so, when lydia realized how much this kid bothered her sweet boy, part of her felt like they should trust his gut on this one and avoid the party. but the other part of her wanted to get drunk and dance with her friends and let loose. 

"what if we go for like an hour? and we can bring jonathan! that way we don't have to socialize a whole bunch," he gave her an unsure look. the older henderson grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. looking up, she caressed his cheek. "i know you're worried about this kid and you have every right to be, but it's halloween. we shouldn't let some rando stop us from having fun, right?" after a moment, laurie let out a breath and pulled his girlfriend into his chest. 

"two hours max." he whispered into her hair. she smiled and tightened her grip around his torso.

"thank you."

"anything for you, shortcake."