CONFESSION| steve harrington x oc| BOOK 2

chapter 5- homework

After an hour of studying and doing homework, Steve shuts one of his books and tosses it on the floor next to his bed, "Alright, that's enough of that," he proclaims. He looks over at Phoebe, whose eyes are still glued to a paper in front of her with a pencil in her hand, the eraser between her teeth in concentration. How is she so cute while doing homework? And, my GOD, is she cute in my sweatshirt, he thought to himself. He slowly moved a hand toward her and slid the paper back towards him, making her eyes follow.

"Hey, I'm almost done, I swear." she protested, but Steve's hand continued to move until he dropped the paper onto the floor next to his book.

"You can finish later," he assured. "But right now we have more important things to do," his voice lowered, catching Phoebe off guard. She raised her eyebrows at him as she watched him move to his knees and then scoot closer to her. She moved from her stomach to her knees and his face was inches from hers. Phoebe's stomach flipped inside her as she braced herself for a kiss.

Suddenly, she was flying through the air as Steve grabbed her by the waist and flopped her onto the bed on her back. She gasped as she landed and lifted her head to look at Steve. As their eyes met, she saw the distinct look in his eye that she only saw when he was in a playful mood.

"No, don't..." she begged as Steve lifted his hands slowly before forcing them onto her stomach, his fingers moving back and forth in a frenzy of tickles. They both cried out in laughter as Steve continued to tickle her and Phoebe wriggled underneath him, trying to get away. He had her pinned underneath him, his knees holding her legs in place. Phoebe attempted a few times to reach one of his ticklish spots she knew of, but each time she moved her hands Steve's would crawl up her sides. 

"Steve, stop!" she screamed as Steve continued to howl in laughter. She lifted an arm again, but before she could reach his torso he grabbed it and pinned it above her head. He grabbed the other one and brought them together above the mattress, and looked intently into her eyes as the both caught their breath.

"You know, I never really liked that hoodie," he stated. Phoebe glanced at the sweater on her.

"Why? It's so comfy," she replied.

"I don't know..." he thought aloud, "oh yeah," he laughed. "There's a big red splotch on the back. My mom washed it with a pair of red socks that bled onto the back, I had only had it for like a month. I don't even remember if she apologized," he said in a more serious tone. Phoebe's eyes saddened at the story. She remembered when Steve had gotten this hoodie last year before school started. She had seen him where it one time and remembered liking the lettering that read "Hawkins Tigers" on the front with a big pocket on the bottom. She had always wondered why he hadn't worn it more.

"Well, I love it. And if you're not gonna wear it I will. It's mine now," she stated, claiming it.

"Good," he said slowly. "You look hot in it," he whispered to her, their lips almost touching. Phoebe lifted her head to connect their lips, but her head was immediately pushed back into the mattress as Steve pressed into her, deepening the kiss. After a minute she broke them apart needing air and Steve immediately began kissing all over her face and neck. She giggled at the sensation as she loosened her hands from his grip. She took his face in her hands and placed a soft kiss on his lips. 

"I'm gonna go grab some water, you want anything?" she asked. Steve shook his head before kissing her again. As Phoebe walked down the stairs she couldn't help but smile. Her smile quickly dissipated when she turned into the kitchen and saw Steve's mother doing the dishes. Phoebe cleared her throat to announce herself before reaching into a cupboard and taking out a glass.

"Oh, hello Phoebe! I didn't realize you were here," Mrs. Harrington said as she put away a stack of dishes. 

"Yeah, Steve and I were just doing some homework," she stated before turning on the sink to fill her glass. 

"Sounds nice, at least someone is getting him to do it. Nancy Wheeler seemed to have quite the positive affect on him when it came to schoolwork, but I heard in town today that they broke up," she eyed Phoebe, almost like she was wanting her to confirm or deny the rumors she was hearing. 

"Oh, uh, I'm not too sure," Phoebe said after taking a drink. "I know they had a small fight at Tina's party the other night, but..." she trailed off not wanting to reveal anything about her and Steve or something about Nancy that Nancy wouldn't want people to know. 

"As long as someone is doing it, I'm happy as a clam," she said with a smile and then turned to a different cupboard with more dishes. Phoebe chuckled softly and then left the kitchen. She shut the door to Steve's room behind her and then sat down on his bed, setting her glass on the nightstand.

"You okay," Steve asked as he noticed the occupied look behind her eyes. Phoebe shook herself back to reality.

"Uh, yeah, fine. Your mom was in the kitchen. Apparently she heard some rumor in town today that 'you and Nancy Wheeler broke up' and then looked to me for confirmation," she said with air quotes around the words his mother had used. He shifted uncomfortably and then moved closer to her.

"Well, what did you say?" he asked cautiously.

"I said," Phoebe sighed, "that all I knew was you guys had a small fight at Tina's party but...I didn't really finish my thought. I didn't want to accidentally let something slip," she confessed. "It's fine though, she was mostly concerned with you doing your homework," Phoebe chuckled under her breath. Steve also chuckled along with her.

"Jeez, most mother's would be worried that their kid would be sad or angry or...anything," he struggled to think of more emotions and huffed, "but no. My mother is concerned with my grades. It's not like it matters though, they're not good enough to get into a school that's actually worth going to," he thought aloud as he leaned against the headboard.

"What? You can't actually believe that," Phoebe questioned as she turned to face him.

"You of all people know that I'm not the best in school. And you know how my parents feel about college, especially my dad. He'd freak if I even mentioned going to a different college than he did, and then he'd go on some rant about how it wouldn't even be worth paying for my college because I would just party my way to dropping out," he explained the scenario as if it were something he'd spent a while thinking about. Phoebe comfortingly rubbed a hand on his leg as he spoke, and was quiet for a minute as she thought about what to say.

"Well, he's wrong, and he's been wrong about a lot in the past. So think of this as just another chance to prove to him that you're worth something, whether it be his money or time or whatever. You're worth it," she assured and then moved so she was sitting on his lap, facing him. She took his face in her hands and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was tender, a kiss that showed her true feelings of love. As the kiss ended Steve pulled her into a hug, her head resting on his chest. They sat there, holding each other, for a long while. Phoebe looked up at Steve through her lashes and saw that he was smiling at her.

"What?" she asked as her cheeks tinted pink.

"I don't think I've ever felt this happy," Steve confessed and then pressed a kiss into her forehead.