PEPSI *

    he  cocked  his  head.  "you're  not  FAR  off,  actually..."  his  hands  found  the  bat  like  an  old  friend  as  he  swung  it  at  his  side  to  get  comfortable  with  its  weight.  his  eyes  widened  with  anticipation  for  the  fight  but  also  a  little  apprehension  at  her  choice  of  weapon.  "got  a  clue  where  it  could  be  or  is  that  mission  number  one  to  find  it?"  they  were  pretty  surrounded,  and  if  they  had  to  find  her  dad's  gun  first,  the  threat  level  was  spiked  considerably.  "come  on.  i'll  watch  your  back."  

    APPRECIATION.  that  was...  new.  when  he  was  king  steve,  it  was  an  honorary  status  thanks  to  his  family  ties,  great  hair,  and  general  easygoing  personality  that  demanded  nothing  of  his  followers.  nowadays  as  a  babysitter  slash  demogorgon  fighter,  he  didn't  know.  he  was  just  expected,  he  guessed.  what  else  was  he  going  to  do?  it  came  naturally  to  step  up,  and  he  hadn't  really  questioned  it  at  any  point  besides  to  grumble  at  himself  passively  when  the  kids  got  on  his  nerves.  steve  looked  to  percy  with  a  slight  smile.  "anytime,"  he  sounded  automatic  and  empty,  but  it  was  sincere.  he  liked  feeling  and  being  useful.  steve  cracked  open  the  soda  he'd  gotten  for  himself  and  held  up  the  can  for  a  toast.  "to  the  refreshing  taste  of  a  classic,"  he  offered  in  his  most  cheesy  voice.  

   steve's  eyes  went  wide  like  she  just  blew  his  mind.  he  shook  his  head  gravely  then  fixed  her  with  a  pitying  sort  of  stare.  "that  one's  ON  YOU  because  i'm  a  completely  shitty  friend."  a  great  babysitter,  but  when  it  came  to  relationships  that  didn't  consist  of  him  fixing  problems  all  the  time...  he  was  fortunate  robin  was  such  a  disaster.  he  was  convinced  that  was  the  only  reason  their  friendship  worked.  steve  smiled  at  eden  and  laughed  off  his  self-depricating  joke.  his  eyebrows  knotted  at  the  center  of  his  face  as  he  turned  the  question  and  full  responsiblity  back  around  on  her.  "why  are  we  friends?"  he  used  to  be  really  good  at  collecting  friends.  now  it  seemed  all  he  could  manage  was  a  gang  of  kid  misfits  and  one  completely  out  of  his  league  cool  girl  who  will  wake  up  one  day  to  realize  he's  dead  weight.  and  now,  eden.  seriously,  did  he  have  a  sort  of  cheat  code  when  it  came  to  tricking  otherwise  aweseome  girls  into  thinking  he  was  worth  their  time.  goofy  crooked  grin  fixed  in  place  at  that  thought.  

    he  dragged  his  eyes  up  from  his  feet  where  he  tried  looking  for  the  right  words.  steve  looked  at  her  steadily  to  let  her  know  he  was  being  absolutely  genuine.  "and  i'm  sorry.  we  don't  have  to  talk  about  it  anymore  if  you  don't  want  to,  but  i  had  to  say  it  because  i  am.  i'm  really  sorry,  barb."  hands  on  his  hips,  steve  stood  his  ground  with  a  softened  expression.  he  knew  this  wasn't  the  olive  branch  he  was  hoping  for,  but  it  was  a  start.  maybe.  

    while  he  wasn't  sure  where  they  stood  anymore  in  the  grand  scheme  of  his  downfall,  steve  was  fairly  confident  she'd  scratched  him  off  the  list  as  everyone  else  seemed  to  from  their  group  of  friends.  he  knew  it  was  dangerous  to  assume  anything,  so  steve  waded  into  the  conversation  carefully.  a  trick  he'd  remembered  from  his  time  being  popular.  no  one  could  hate  you  if  you  didn't  have  an  opinion  or  pick  a  side,  right?  he  mirrored  her  pose  on  the  counter,  leaning  in  but  not  too  close  as  the  surface  was  wide  enough  for  the  both  of  them.  she  did  bring  a  certain  lightness  when  she  entered  the  store.  harrington  was  fully  prepared  for  an  awkward  exchange  where  he  clammered  to  appear  unbothered,  but  he  couldn't  help  but  smile  with  the  energy  she  brought.  there  was  a  reason  she  was  the  queen  of  that  sort  of  thing  when  they  were  in  school.  although  they  were  miles  away  from  the  kids  they  were  back  then,  steve  couldn't  help  but  remember  her  fondly  in  that  respect.  "what  are  you  doing  here?"  he  asked  in  a  breathy  chuckle.  "god,  if  i  could  be  any  place  in  the  world,  i  think  this  would  be  the  last  place  i'd  pick."  her  automated  response  was  too  casual,  too  predictable  which  made  him  dig  further.  he  liked  to  think  he  left  all  that  shallow  polite  conversation  behind  him,  so  her  greeting  just  wasn't  enough  for  him  anymore.  "YOU  look  great,"  and  he  meant  it.  

        working  the  video  store  wasn't  nearly  as  humiliating  as  his  run  at  the  ice  cream  parlor  in  the  mall,  but  it  wasn't  so  far  a  step  up  that  his  heart  didn't  sink  to  his  stomach  whenever  one  of  the  members  of  his  old  crowd  stepped  through  the  entrance.  the  chime  of  the  greeting  bell  above  the  door  was  the  sound  of  doom  as  the  receiver  of  the  phone  dropped  an  inch  on  steve's  shoulder.  "uh,  hold  on.  i  have  to  call  you  back,"  he  said  in  a  rush  before  hanging  up  on  the  customer.  he  didn't  have  their  number.  they  were  calling  to  hear  about  the  new  releases  to  which  he'd  gotten  two  and  half  titles  through  before  hanging  up  abruptly.  eh,  if  they  really  needed  to  know,  they'd  call  back,  he  assured  himself  as  an  afterthought.  his  body  screamed  at  him  to  duck,  hide  behind  the  counter  when  tina  walked  in,  but  the  last  ounce  of  COOL  in  him  refused  to  stoop  to  that  level.  literally.  "hi,  tina.  what  brings  you  to  my  humble  part  of  town?  having  a  movie  night?"  arms  folded  across  the  counter,  he  tried  to  look  as  relaxed  as  he  wished  he  felt  right  then.  @sheetbashed​

        he  stood  in  the  open  driver's  side  door  of  his  car,  staring  over  the  hood  at  the  pre-teen.  his  expression  the  mirror  image  of  a  parent  at  their  wits  end  with  their  sassy  child.  why  did  he  agree  to  drive  these  shits  around?  he  wasn't  even  getting  PAID  for  the  headache  he  had  to  go  through  on  a  nearly  daily  basis.  there  must  have  been  some  unresolved  issue  underlining  this,  but  steve  quickly  shook  his  head  of  the  thought  because  he  was  dangerously  close  to  thinking  like  his  mother.  "would  you  get  in  the  car?  i  will  leave  a  kid  on  the  street,  don't  think  i  won't."  he  pointed  at  max  with  a  stern  look  then  climbed  in  himself.  buckling  his  seatbelt,  he  rolled  his  eyes  and  spread  his  hands  over  the  steering  wheel,  taking  in  a  calming  breath.  "unbelievable."

        the  sun  was  bright  against  a  picture  perfect  blue  sky.  steve  tilted  his  head  against  the  warmth  of  it  and  tried  to  soak  it  all  in.  where  they  were  going  and  what  they  had  to  achieve  was  a  much  darker  and  doomed  image  that  he  preferred  not  to  think  about.  he  wanted  to  admit  he  agreed  with  robin,  but  he  stubbornly  chose  to  remain  optimistic.  "we  all  agreed  on  the  plan.  i  know  every  horror  movie  has  taught  us  that  splitting  up  is  pretty  much  the  worst  decisions  friends  can  make  in  a  life  or  death  situation,  but  there's  no  way  we  can  all  stick  together  for  this.  we  all  have  our  parts  to  play."  he  handed  over  a  filled  bottle  for  her  to  stuff  a  bit  of  cloth  with  for  their  section  of  the  big  plan.  the  plan  to  DEFEAT VECNA.  

        it  had  to  be  a  by-product  of  being  popular  to  have  a  selective  memory.  steve  remembered  the  thrill  of  the  game,  the  lightness  of  being  surrounded  by  people  like  him,  but  when  it  came  to  those  relationships  and  the  impressions  they  left  on  him  and  his  life  then...  it  all  was  sort  of  out  of  focus.  distant.  looking  at  the  fallen  cheerleader  wrapped  up  in  casts  and  gauze  in  the  too  big,  sterile  bed,  he  wished  he  could  remember  something  good.  she  deserved  that,  at  least.  his  hands  were  folded  in  his  lap.  he  wasn't  exactly  fidgeting,  but  steve  was  stiff.  sitting  too  upright,  too  natural  to  be  natural.  a  smile  settled  on  his  face  that  suggested  he  was  anything  but  calm.  "it's  a  good  place.  they  got  you  set  up  pretty  well.  uh,  you  got  cable.  which  is  always  a  plus.  the  food...  eh,  it's  not  bad.  i  might  have  stolen  a  few  bites  off  a  tray  on  the  way  in.  skipped  breakfast.  what  else?  the  staff  is,"  he  waved  his  hand  around  as  his  eyebrows  shot  up  briefly.  "phenomenal.  so  helpful  and  polite.  i  mean,  truly.  i'm  tempted  to  trade  one  of  them  for  my  mom,  you  know  what  i  mean?  not  that  my  mom  is  that  bad!  shit,  that  came  out  wrong."  he  laughed  dryly.  "save  me  from  myself  here,  please."  @cheercursed​

    he  stepped  away  from  her  car  baby,  hands  raised  to  show  he  was  no  threat.  "i  bet  you  could,  you  deviant."  he  crossed  his  arms  and  leaned  against  the  car  opposite  hers.  steve  comfortably  assumed  his  original  carefree  position.  "scare  me?  nah!  i'm  real  brave  and  stuff.  you  should  see  me.  hey,  since  you're  not  going  to  drag  me  to  hell  and  all  that,  we  still  on  for  dinner?"