In My Blood

Episode 16 - The Truth Comes Forward

   "So you're saying this entire time she's just been in your house?" Steve asked me curiously, helping me rewrap the bandage around my torso while Eleven conversed with Dustin and Mike. I nodded tiredly, drinking shakily from a cup of water he had retrieved for me from the kitchen. I wasn't surprised that my open cuts had bled through most of my wrappings, but the use of my power along with that loss was getting to me. "For how long?"

"Christmas, actually," I told him. "Right after you and I..." I hissed in pain as he pulled the gauze too tight, and Steve looked up at me cautiously with wide eyes. "... kissed." The boy shook his head at that, and I drained the last of the water in my cup before sighing. I wanted a nap more than anything in the world, or at least a break from the constant twinges of pain. "When did you start liking me?"

"To tell the truth, Hopper: I always thought you were okay," he chuckled. "I think it was just you who seemed to hate me."

"No, I- you know what I mean," I said in exasperation. "Like... like that feeling you felt when you kissed me that day in the woods." Steve paused as he tried to place it, his hands holding the gauze more delicately than before.

"I think... I think it was the day you slugged me in the jaw," he remembered, and my cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Oh, God," I groaned as I recalled that exact moment. I rubbed my face with my left hand as if it could hide me. "Yeah, I really did that."

"It was a good punch, don't get me wrong," he admitted. "It was after you followed me to argue that I truly realized. You called me an ass, and... and I was. There are still things from that day I don't think are right, but the way I acted was just embarrassing." He leaned back against the couch as he stared into my eyes, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "I destroyed Jonathan's camera- I literally dropped it on the ground. God, it was like I was five or something!"

"Tommy and Carol seem to have that effect on people," I said slyly, and he rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, I interrupted."

"Yeah, anyway," he joked, smiling to himself a few seconds before it faded. "It wasn't until I got home- had to stop for an ice pack first... I realized part of my anger was you being with Jonathan. I knew you weren't involved in the photos, or with him or... or anything really. And then I felt bad about what I said to you but at the same time didn't. I was just confused.... so I tried the flowers thing and when you came to the door, I knew."

"Just like that," I said simply, my face still warm but now for a different reason. I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes. "Maybe if we could've been a bit clearer to avoid all that trouble..."

"Oh, don't act like I was the only one who couldn't communicate properly," Steve shot back, but I knew he wasn't angry. from the look in his eyes. The sparkle faded slightly as he continued to stare into mine, coming closer, and his hand reached up to brush some of my hair behind my ear. It felt like a flurry of butterflies exploded in my stomach from the contact as his hand slid down to cup the side of my face, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.