Just friends?

Chapter 26 : Why of all days?

"Are you okay?" Steve asked as Mike and I walked back into the house.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I walked around him and into the dining room.

 I sat down at the table and laid my head on it. I could hear the kids and  Steve rattling around the house. I was finally starting to rest when I heard things starting to hit the ground. I didn't lift my head, but I assumed the noise was coming from the kitchen. After a while things were still hitting the ground. 

I groaned and lifted my head. My back was to the kitchen so I couldn't see anything, but I didn't feel like going to investigate. I groaned when the sounds didn't stop and slowly stood from my chair. 

The sight I saw was the most random thing I had ever seen in my entire life. Dustin was throwing everything out of our fridge and Steve was holding the demo-dog wrapped in one of my blankets. Their backs were to me, so they hadn't seen me yet. I didn't say anything because I wanted to see where this was going. 

"Is this really necessary?" Steve asked. 

"Yes, it is, okay? This is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog." Dustin snapped at him. 

"All right, all right, all right." Steve muttered and walked towards our now empty fridge. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?" 

My eyebrows ruffled in confusion. I watched Steve shove the demo-dog into the fridge. 

"Christ. Help me out." Steve snapped at Dustin. 

"What am I supposed to do?" Dustin panicked. 

"Get the door, man."

"Alright, I got the door."

"Ew! Jesus-"

"God-"

They both pushed the door shut. Steve slapped his hand down on Dustin's head. They both turned around triumphantly, but their smiles immediately fell when they saw me. 

"Sof-"

"What the hell did you just put in my fridge?" I asked breathlessly. 

"It's a groundbreaking-" 

"Get out of my face, Henderson." I interrupted.

"Yup. Yeah, totally." Dustin stuttered and left the room, leaving Steve and I alone. 

"Sof-"

"Why... I honestly don't even know what to say. Why? For what reason?" I asked, feeling a migraine beginning to kick in. 

"You know how Henderson is. He gets ideas and I just help him out. Nothing more."

"Did you really have to put that thing in my fridge?" I cringed at the thought of it being in there. 

"If it makes you feel better, at least it's not in your living room anymore." Steve tried to joke, but I didn't laugh. 

"You've got a little something on your arm." I said, pointing at the goo on his arm. 

"What? Ew! Oh my god! That's disgusting!" Steve cringed as he looked down at his arm. 

"Calm down, princess." I rolled my eyes and grabbed a paper towel. 

I lifted his arm and wiped it off. He kept looking down at his arm and then looking away. 

"There. You're fine now." I said and turned to throw away the paper towel. 

"We should probably go check on the kids. Make sure they're not causing any trouble." Steve said and put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me out of the kitchen.