#sorry steve

He follows closely behind Eddie’s van, and soon enough, they pull into Forest Hills Trailer Park. Steve has never been here before. He watches as Eddie climbs out of his van and bounds up the steps. Eddie unlocks the door and holds it open, waiting for Steve. The jock grabs his backpack and meets Eddie at the top of the stairs.

Eddie dips forward into some semblance of a bow, holding his arm out in welcome. Steve shakes his head in amusement and walks past him through the front door, which leads straight into the living room. 

Steve tries his best to subtly ogle in the space. What catches his attention immediately are the rows and rows of novelty mugs and baseball caps lining the walls. Behind him, Eddie shuts and locks the door before flopping onto the loveseat.

Eddie also looks around the space. If he’s anything like Steve, he’s trying to see his home with fresh eyes. Eddie meets Steve’s gaze. “Sorry about the mess. The maid took the week off,” he says, deadpan.

Steve cracks a smile and Eddie grins. With the tension broken, Steve feels comfortable enough to make his way to the loveseat as well, sitting on the opposite side. He unzips his bag and takes out his portrait, and Eddie opens his own bag to do the same. 

Steve bites his lip to tamp down his smile when he notices Eddie holding the pencil and eraser Steve gave him a week ago. 

They discard their bags onto the floor.

Steve pauses just as he’s about to unveil his art, side-eyeing Eddie enough to catch that the boy’s gaze is absolutely trained on what Steve’s doing. He turns his head to Eddie, and the boy looks away innocently. Steve doesn’t trust him one bit. 

He considers moving to the recliner in the corner, but that’s too far from Eddie (Steve doesn’t even bother attempting to convince himself he only wants to be close to him for practical, project-related reasons - he’s all too aware how smitten he is for this idiot). Instead, he turns sideways on the couch and sits criss-crossed, facing Eddie. The other teen freezes minutely before following Steve’s lead.

Soon enough, they get lost in their work. Steve tries his best to ignore the way their knees are pressed together, but the solid pressure is as distracting as it is comforting. 

He had thought that maybe now, with them alone and not in public, Eddie might finally want to acknowledge the notes, but this is okay too. It’s better, actually - Eddie is more comfortable now that he’s in his own space. As much as Steve adores Eddie’s usual persona, he loves to see him like this - with loose limbs and soft smiles. He has to admit, this is the easiest it’s ever been to capture Eddie’s likeness on paper.

An hour into their meeting, Eddie stands with a groan and stretches until his back pops. “Do you want something to drink? Coke? Water? Juice?” he asks expectantly as he makes his way to the small kitchen.

“Juice sounds good,” Steve calls and Eddie hums in confirmation. He comes back a minute later with two mugs. 

“Cider, your highness,” Eddie presents the drink, thankfully not dipping into another bow.

“Thanks, man.” Steve accepts the mug and holds it up to his face to get a good look at the art on it. It’s a rooster. The inside and top of the mug are a pretty yellow color. Steve kind of likes it. 

Eddie’s, on the other hand, is horrendous.

Eddie sees Steve looking at the mug and brings it to his mouth, making sure the face is on display and pointing at Steve. He keeps eye contact, his huge eyes peering over the orange ceramic ears looking silly. Still, the attention makes Steve break eye contact with warm cheeks.

Eddie takes one last pull from his mug before setting it on the coffee table. “Alright, break’s over. Back to work,” he declares.

Eddie i don’t know if you remember when i told you that i don’t read books outside of class, but i might’ve stretched the truth just a little bit  when I first noticed you, you always had your nose buried in a book i went to the library and found one that had made a couple appearances and knew it must be one you really liked because your name was on the log card like five times  and i gotta say, after reading it for myself, i don’t understand how you can read that shit all the time i’m pretty sure at least 50% was just made up words honestly, i don’t think i even know what it was about hey, maybe that’s why you read it so many times; you still don’t get it either ;)  p.s. maybe you have the right idea - i’ll have to give it another try  p.s.s. you looked real nice yesterday -H

twenty-four

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