The Long Game, Lucas Sinclair

043. i stream songbird (for no reason)

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE.
4x05: The Nina Project

Auggie's flashlight led their way into a room upstairs covered in cobwebs. Auggie absolutely loathed spiders, so he did in fact hate this room. Also, Steve was right behind him, and Auggie could feel Steve's breath on his neck.

Auggie thought he might pass out.

He braved his fears and took a step into the room, because it was better than what would've happened if he took a step backwards.

"I know this one's pretty obvious," Auggie whispered as he examined the chilling room, "but I swear if Freddy Krueger jumps out like its A Nightmare on Elm Street, I'm done."

Steve snorted, and surprisingly didn't judge Auggie for making another movie reference this time. "Well, I'll let you. I feel like it'd be warranted."

Auggie sent him a small smile, unlike any of the teasing smirks he'd showed the older boy.

Then he turned around, continuing to search through the room. Auggie was totally unaware that, instead of staring at the room, Steve was staring at him.

"You know," Steve murmured, gaining Auggie's attention again, "for a movie fanatic... I've never seen you at familyVideo."

Oh.

Well.

Shit.

Steve wasn't supposed to ask about that.

Auggie swallowed the rising lump in his throat, trying to seem nonchalant under the dim shine of Steve's flashlight. "Well," he shrugged, "for a former asshole, you didn't notice me coming to Scoops Ahoy nearly every day last summer."

And, fine. If you really wanted the truth, Auggie would finally give it to you.

Auggie Santos had been hopelessly enamored by Steve Harrington since Auggie was a sophomore in high school.

It was a devastating, true fact that had been haunting him since the age of fifteen. He was working at the town's movie theater, the Hawk Theater, and Corey Gray had just vandalized the sign because Steve and his friends paid him to do so. There was a whole drama that followed—a fight and a few people getting arrested—but that wasn't what turned the tides for Auggie. It wasn't until Auggie was the one who had to clean up their mess, to clean up the spray-painted sign, that anything of significance happened.

Steve Harrington himself came up to Auggie, who was way too many feet up on a far too unstable ladder.

"Need a hand?" Auggie heard.

He paused with the white rag in his hand—well, the white rag that was slowly turning red, because he was rubbing off red spray paint used to vandalize the poor movie sign, just to call Nancy Wheeler a slut. Like, seriously? She was Nancy freaking Wheeler.