@stevenharrington: “ tell me, your perfect date. anything you’d like. nothing out of the question. i’ll do it. i’ll make it a night you never forget. ”
doeish blue eyes blink, a bit grateful her face is already turned pink by the cold. giuliana’s holding her skates in one hand, head tilting to one side. she has never really experienced this – boys flirting with her. anyone flirting with her, really. the brunette doesn’t know how to respond. this is one of the reasons she has mixed feelings about homeschool: sure, it gives her more time to practice & spend most daylight hours at the rink, but then she’s totally blind sided when it comes to people. she’s never been on a date before. wouldn’t know what to expect. her eyebrows pinch together, lips pursing in thought. “i dunno. i don’t really … i mean. i’ve never been on. a date.”
an embarrassed smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, head ducking down. if any of the other skaters saw her talking to a boy, she’d never hear the end of it. not that they need any reason to separate her more. “that sounds … so dumb; i just mean. i don’t really have the time, y’know, ‘cause i’m always – here. practicing.” a shrug. god, has she always been this awkward? he’s just a person. sure, he’s cute, & he at least seems to be interested in her, but still! just a person. she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, gaze wandering. (really she just ought to take her hair down & start all over. the bun she’d had was all spun out, anyway.) giuliana sets her skates down by her side, hands then working to undo her hair, much longer than it appears as it tumbles down. “so, i guess the answer is i don’t know. what even is there to do?” a genuine question, smile still lingering.
𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑, 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒. a group of boys, same age as him, snicker while they watch him operate. talking to girls for the first time takes careful consideration, which is why he doesn’t linger on the distraction. when his attention shifts back to the girl in question, his hands are on his hips. giuli’s cute ( add sweet into the bargain ), although her conversational finesse doesn’t quite match - up with her grace on the ice. her timid smile and otherwise uncertain body language tell him everything he needs to know before she does. fine by steve — he’s working with enough confidence for both of them.
❝ well, as luck would have it, i know a thing or two about how time consuming practice can be. so, y’know, no judgment. ❞ to say steve takes basketball as seriously as giuli takes skating would be an egregious overstatement. he shows up on the court, does reasonably well, and leaves without letting the squeak of tennis shoes or the smell of adolescent body odor leak into his freetime. initially, he chose sports as a bid for his father’s approval, but stanley harrington hasn’t shown his face in the hawkins high gymnasium since steve’s freshman year. now, it’s — more or less — just something he does; a hobby, not an aspiration.
❝ besides, i mean, have you seen yourself out there? you’ve totally earned a chance to, uh — ❞ steve gestures to her deep brown waves of recently undone tresses ❝ — let your hair down. ❞ the perpetuation of his grin says he’s proud of that one. ❝ which, by the way, looks even better out of the bun. it’s got a lot of volume… or whatever. ❞ he’s talking too much about hair. girls aren’t into guys who know about that kind of thing. in light of that, steve swallows the urge to ask what conditioner she uses and circles back to the main event.
❝ anyway, uh, hawkins is pretty pathetic when it comes to date night entertainment, but we’ll make it work, ❞ he says with a shrug. ❝ there’s the movies, enzo’s, lovers lake — but you don’t really seem like that kind of girl. ❞ a given, considering this will be her first date, but steve figures it’s worth the effort to make sure she knows his expectations don’t extend that far. it’s too early for that. ❝ tell you what — you, me, friday night, right here at the rink. we’ll ease you into things by tricking your brain into thinking it’s just another practice session. maybe you can even show me a few moves. ❞ his brows raise expectantly. ❝ how’s that sound? ❞