CONFUSION| steve harrington x oc| BOOK 1

chapter 1- the first game of the season

Phoebe Henderson; sophomore. She slowly walked into the middle of the basketball court of the Hawkins High gymnasium. The microphone squealed as she shakily raised it to her mouth, clearing her throat. As she did the youngest varsity player's eyes wandered to center court and widened at the sight of her. He couldn't believe that she was actually doing this, she wasn't the type of person to draw attention to herself. The girl opened her mouth and began singing the "Star Spangled Banner" and as she held the last note the crowd erupted in applause. She sheepishly grinned as she soaked in the attention. She handed the microphone back to the announcer and walked away, receiving a "thank you" from the coaches of either team and a couple smiles from the players, but one player stuck out to her. The only junior on the varsity team this season- Steve Harrington. He gave her a small smile and head nod as she passed, but his gaze stay on her as she walked up the bleachers joining their mutual friends, Tommy H. and Carol.

She and Steve had been neighbors for their whole lives, practically growing up together. Their parents were always doing things together as they grew up and the convenience of having someone who was always around being only a year younger than you had made the pair of them friends almost instantly. People, mainly Tommy and Carol, always joked that one day they would end up dating, or worse- sleeping together- and their friendship would be ruined, but both of them were very clear that they had never thought about the other in a romantic sense. They were more like siblings. Of course, nobody ever accepted this answer, and continued to make their jokes, but Steve and Phoebe had gotten so used to it that it didn't even phase them anymore.

As Phoebe sat on the bleacher next to Carol she gave a smile and small compliment on her singing. Phoebe shyly accepted it but the moment was quickly ruined by Tommy.

"I'm just glad you didn't totally suck, that would've been so embarrassing for us!" he said with a chuckle as he returned his attention to the game, the first quarter was now starting.

"Don't listen to him, it was great. You definitely have a better voice than the people who usually do it, like Tammy Thompson." Carol rebuffed with an eye roll. Her comment on Tammy, while rude, wasn't entirely untrue. The four of them regularly joked about her out of tune singing and made fun of her every time she mentioned pursuing singing as a career. Phoebe smiled at Carol's praise, Tommy's words had struck a weird cord within her, but she brushed it off and focused on the game.

It soon ended, the Hawkins Tigers beating their opponent by over 30 points. The game was intense, almost hard for Phoebe to follow as the ball was frantically tossed between players. The student section was buzzing with excitement, many people claiming that winning the first game of the season was a sign from God that they were going to "go all the way" this year. Phoebe kept her chuckles to herself when she heard these comments. It was public knowledge that the basketball team hadn't won a state title in almost 20 years, and she wasn't optimistic that it was going to change any time soon.

The three friends waited in the parking lot, leaning on Steve's maroon BMW and Phoebe's blue Bronco. There heads turned in unison when the door to the locker burst open and the team was whooping and hollering about their win. Steve made his way over to the small group and greeted Tommy with a high five. Steve then leaned against his car, standing opposite of Phoebe.

"You sounded good out there, better than Tammy Thompson, at least." Phoebe smiled at his compliment, at least what she thought that what it was supposed to be.

"Thanks. I was actually kinda nervous to go out there." She confessed as she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. The group continued to chat in the parking lot for a while, but all stopped when Phoebe checked her watch and groaned.

"Ugh, sorry guys. I have to go pick up my brother. See you guys tomorrow." She rifled through her pocket, pulling out her keys. She hopped into her Bronco and it roared to life as she turned the key in the ignition. Soon, she was at the Wheeler home and gave her signal of 2 beeps from her horn. A few minutes later she could she the familiar small figure wheeling his bike over and loading it in the back before climbing into the front seat.

"How was it?" they both asked at the same time. After they shared a small laugh, Phoebe gestured for her brother to share his story first.

"It was AWESOME! Mike spent 2 weeks making this sick campaign, it took us like 13 hours to play, and we didn't even finish. We were attacked like 7 different times, but luckily Lucas had some amazing dice rolls tonight and saved the whole party...". His detailed explanation of the time he spent with his friends lasted the whole car ride home. Phoebe pulled into the driveway and helped him unload his bike as he finished his story.

"What about you?" he asked as the entered their house.

"It was fine. I was nervous but I don't really know why, everyone said I did great, or at least that's what some of the meant," she corrected herself, remembering Tommy's comment. She quickly went to her room and changed into her pajamas and grabbed a book before joining her mother in the living room.

"Hi honey, how'd it go?" her mother, Claudia, asked as she stroked the family's cat.

"Good, we even won the game." Phoebe replied as she opened her book to her marked spot. She read until she finished the chapter, then stood and announced she was going to bed.

"Good night sweetie, sweet dreams!" her mom called as Phoebe walked into her room shutting the door behind her.