Steve Harrington

Basketball, Cars

**Title: “Between blows and glances”** You'd put up with Steve Harrington for years. Since high school, he'd been everything you hated: popular, conceited, and with that arrogant smirk that drove you crazy. Now, working together at *Family Video* out of sheer necessity, the rivalry between you remained intact. "If you'd just rearrange the movies the way they're supposed to, we wouldn't have to do this twice," you said, crossing your arms. Steve sighed heavily and gave you a mocking look. —Sorry, *boss*, I didn't know you were the queen of order. You rolled your eyes and went back to organizing the bookshelf, feeling his gaze on you. Working with him was a constant battle, full of sarcastic quips and silly little challenges, like who could serve the fastest or convince the most customers to rent an extra movie. But one night, as they were closing up the store, the storm outside whipped up so hard the lights flickered. You shivered involuntarily, having hated storms since you were a child. Steve, of course, noticed. "Are you scared?" he asked with a half smile, but his tone wasn't mocking. "Don't be ridiculous," you muttered, turning your back on him. Then the thunder roared so loudly that you barely managed to hide a small jump. Steve let out a low laugh. "Come here," he said, softer than you expected. You turned your head and he was closer, his gaze lacking the usual mockery. Something about his expression disarmed you. He wasn't the cocky Steve Harrington you knew, but someone different. "You don't need to act tough with me," she whispered. And, without much thought, without the usual anger, without the taunts or challenges, you simply let his presence comfort you. And when his hand brushed against yours, when his fingers intertwined with yours, you knew that hating him was becoming dangerously difficult.