Charlotte's playlist (a Steve Harrington x OC fanfic)

007. You spin me 'round -Dead or Alive

I found myself in Steve's living room again. We sat in comfortable silence working on our separate projects for a while. Steve sat up properly after a few minutes. He was holding the copy of the poem I had written out for him. He cleared his throat and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He slowly started to read the poem. His reading was slow and not at all how the poem was supposed to be read. He didn't pause at the right times, but he was trying. I grinned at him as he finished reading. He looked a bit embarrassed, especially when I clapped.

"Steve, that was great!" He grinned, proud of himself.

"Your turn." I picked up my worn-out book and flipped to the bookmarked page. I knew how to read poetry. My aunt used to read it to me when I was younger. I loved the way she spoke. The pauses at the perfect times. It made me feel the poem. I opened my mouth and began to read.

"Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,

Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors—

No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,

Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever—or else swoon to death."

I looked up to see Steve, open mouthed and staring. I made a face at him, and he quickly looked away. Embarrassed.

"That was... beautiful." Steve looked back at me with a soft smile.

"I had no idea it could sound so nice, Charlotte." He was grinning now, and I was the one embarrassed. I just smiled at him. He was almost pretty, his soft brown eyes gazing at me, almost as if I was something nice to look at. I felt my face get hot and I could tell I'd turned a dark shade of red. Why was I feeling like this? Oh no, I cannot have a crush on Steve Harrington. He was pretty but he was friends with bullies. Those people made my life worse than it already was. I looked down in an attempt to hide my burning cheeks.

"Why are you friends with them?" I couldn't help myself, I had to know why. Steve sighed and looked at his hands which were sitting in his lap.

"I've been friends with Tommy for years, I don't know. He's not too bad when it's just us. I'm starting to think he isn't great to be around though." I scoffed at that. Starting to? Tommy had been horrible for years. Steve looked a bit offended at that, so I explained myself.

"In Elementary school, he used to pull my hair when he sat behind me in class. He used to trip me over on the playground. That started when I lost my only friend. That's when he started calling me 'Loner' and I guess it stuck." Steve looked at me. I couldn't read his face properly. It almost looked like he felt guilty or sad.

"I'm sorry Charlotte, I knew he was mean, but I didn't know about that." Steve had been very sport oriented so was usually interested in that more than whoever Tommy was picking on. I just nodded.

"It's okay, he's your friend. But maybe you should think about standing up to him once in a while. You clearly aren't like him. You aren't a bully. I used to think you were but you're just a bystander." Steve looked guilty now. He was a bystander, and he knew it. He let Tommy hurt people and just watched.

STEVE POV:

He nodded; he was going to start trying. He wanted to make Charlotte like him. He found her interesting. She was pretty but not the type of pretty that stands out, it was subtle and soft. He liked that. They turned back to their work and Charlotte shuffled closer to look at his work. Steve held his breath without realizing he was doing it. She smelt like strawberries. He felt his heart flutter a little. She was so close. Steve had never been nervous around girls before. Maybe when he was little, and Sarah had kissed him on the playground but since then he had been confident. He was King Steve. But Charlotte wasn't tripping over herself to get him to like her. She was sure of herself, she kept to herself, she was smart. His eyes scanned over her, she was in a large t-shirt and jeans. He wondered how her arms didn't get cold wearing t-shirts everyday in November. He noticed the small goosebumps on her arms. He looked away and cleared his throat. Getting up to get snacks to remove himself from the situation.

I finished off the work as we ate the snacks. We were almost completely finished, and it was due next week. I started to pack up and got ready to leave.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow after school."

Steve took me home, waiting in his car to make sure I got in.