𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 ~ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six:
Shitty Music Taste
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ramona couldn't pinpoint the moment the dynamic between her and Steve switched from hate to something else, but she was glad it did. Because it turns out, King Harrington wasn't as much as an asshole as she thought he was.

Maybe she stopped hating him after he wrapped up her wounds from the Demo-dogs, maybe she stopped hating him after their pancake outings became a weekly deal. Maybe it was after she got a job at the coffee shop across from Scoops Ahoy. Maybe it was the night of the snowball when he seemed to genuinely care about the bruise on her cheek. Maybe it was Halloween after he came in with a broken heart and she promised to fix it, which she did. She didn't know when she stopped hating him, but she did. And that was what was important. 

All that matters is that somewhere from Halloween night to now, something changed, and Ramona wouldn't have it any other way. She liked how it was with Steve, and he meant a lot to her. Even if she didn't always admit it out loud, it was true.

"So, you and Steve, huh?" Ramona jumped, pulling her eyes from Steve's figure and turning her attention to the source of the question.

Nancy stood there, a small grin on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows. In the background, Ramona could still hear Mike and Lucas berating Steve for 'Letting Ramona get hurt like that because you're a pussy' in the words of Mike.

"Nancy.." Ramona forced a smile, "Um.. Yeah, yes. Yeah, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Nancy repeated, raising her eyebrows with a shocked laugh. "For?"

"For... breaking, um... what do you call it again?" Ramona nervously wrung her hands together, "Uh, girl code! I know he's your ex, but... I really do like him, and-"

Nancy rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she leaned on the counter beside where Ramona sat. Her eyes trailed from Ramona's bruised eyes to where Jonathan tried to calm Steve down. "I don't think that applies to us, besides, I don't care."

A sigh of relief left Ramona's lips, followed by the faintest of smiles. "Thanks. Because I really do like him. I know, shocker."

"If I remember correctly, this time, like, a year ago, you swore up and down you wanted to strangle him." Nancy teased, nudging her with her elbow. Ramona rolled her eyes, forcing down the smile as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. "Now you want the same thing.. but differently."

Ramona gasped, her face flushing as she whipped her head over to look at her, "Nancy!"

Nancy let out a laugh, raising her hands in surrender. "Just saying."

"Just saying." Ramona mimicked in a high pitched voice. "Eras la peor."

Nancy huffed, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "You know-"

"Ramona!" Steve shouted, cutting Nancy and Ramona's conversation off short. His voice echoed around the empty mall as he waved her over, a set of car keys dangling from his fingers. "Let's.. uh, Vamos! Is that right?"

Ramona sent him a thumbs up, uncrossing her legs and sliding off the counter. "That's right!"

"We'll talk later." Nancy said pointedly. "And I mean talk."

Ramona nodded, "Of course, duh."

~~

"Oh, man!" A low whistle left Steve's lips as his eyes landed on the car. "Now this, this is what I'm talking about!"