Flipped: A Steve Harrington Enemies to Lovers

The Bathtub

You leave Steve hunched on the hood of your truck while you take a quick shopping trip for aspirin and a Coke.

Emerging from the store, you see his loyal followers have managed to track him down. They're like fucking bloodhounds, you swear - capable of sniffing out their king or any other means of causing misery.

Steve's mass of hair bunches in his fists as he listens to the two yap away, oblivious, clearly finding this whole situation hilarious. New, juicy gossip for them to guffaw over.

"Here." You chuck Steve the Coke and aspirin and he immediately twists off the cap, popping two pills into his mouth.

"Thanks," He says. Then, he presses the cool can of the fizzy beverage to his eye, sucking through his teeth at the soothing sensation that smarts against burst skin. "I owe you."

"Yeah, $1.20 to be exact." You smirk.

Carol turns on her heel towards you, smiling thinly with eyes of ice.

She chimes musically, "Thanks for saving our friend and all, but we'll take it from here. You can skedaddle away in your rust-bucket now." She slaps the Chevy twice with her palm, the rings on her fingers making a clinking noise as she does.

Meanwhile, Tommy is busy leaning into Steve, scheming, plotting Jonathan's demise.

"Don't worry, he'll need more than aspirin when we're done with him." He chuckles evilly.

"Yeah," Carol adds wryly. "If the creep ever gets out. The cops should just lock him up forever."

Steve groans painfully at the throbbing headache Carol's whining is giving him, which wordlessly gains your attention. You meet his gaze, and bite back a grin when he rolls his eyes at her.

Carol carries obliviously on, "Did you see the look on his face?!"

She mimes pummeling Tommy with her fists, scrunching her mouth into a grimace as she slowly pounds at his chest, succeeding in making her dim-witted boyfriend laugh like a baboon.

"He probably had the same look whenever he killed his brother, right?" Tommy prods Steve on the chest, brows pinched, wondering why his little buddy isn't playing along like he normally does. He flicks his eyes accusingly across to you.

At this truly disgusting comment, you scorn Tommy with a death-stare.

"Shut the fuck up." You jut out your chin.

"And you're still here, why?" Carol giggles. "Oh God, I just got an image of him making that face while he and Nancy are screwing."

Their laughter erupts into nastier cackles, quickly cut off by Steve actually snapping at them.

He shouts, "Carol, for once in your life shut your damn mouth!" Which causes your eyebrows to practically shoot to the sky, hearing him speak to her like this. In a word, you're impressed.

Carol, on the other hand, is dumbstruck.

"What?" She questions, voice high.

Lucky for her, Tommy interjects, "Hey, what's your problem, man?"

Steve removes the can from his eye and casts you a bewildered look for guidance. You will him to be strong, giving him a subtle nod that reads: you got this.

He awards you a tiny, crooked smile before flitting back to Hagan.

"You're both assholes," He growls. "That's my problem."

Atta boy, you think to yourself.

Leaping off the hood off your truck, Steve slinks up to Tommy's face which flares like a raging bull.