LIKE I CAN ━ Steve Harrington ✓

01 - THE OMEN

THE OMEN

AUTUMN IN HAWKINS wasn't something Grayson particularly enjoyed. He enjoyed it a lot more when he could be at home with a book and a cup of coffee that's more creamer than anything. Alas, he had to wake up at an ungodly hour and go to school at Hawkins High School where he would almost always be greeted by the enthusiastic smile of Emma Wilson, a girl always too alive for the morning.

"Hey, motherfucker," the girl shouted, which Grayson thanked God there were no teachers roaming the halls that early Monday morning. Her sister, Elise was by her side, rolling her eyes at her sister's antics. This was a common occurrence. Yeah, his friends were impossible not to love.

"Happy November!" Emma spoke in a sing-song voice as she wrapped her arm loosely around his neck. How she managed to be excited about everything, Grayson had no idea. At this point in the morning, his eyelids were heavy with exhaustion and he could barely hold his head up.

"November is literally the Thursday of the year, Em," Grayson sighed, running a hand through his dark locks. He slammed his locker shut, having grabbed what he needed.

His friends were about to head to class when Grayson stopped them, "Hold on, I forgot something, just go on without me, I'll meet you in class."

"Dumbass," Emma laughed, earning a scolding slap on the arm from her sister.

Elise just nodded, "Alrighty, Gray, see ya!"

Grayson said his goodbyes and pretended to be opening his locker as he waited for them to turn the corner. Once they did so, he stepped away from his locker and instead stepped into the boy's bathroom and locked the door. Hopefully, no one needed to use the bathroom, but that wasn't Grayson's problem.

"Took you long enough," the other boy, Matthew Barrow chuckled, holding out his half-smoked cigarette to the dark-haired boy.

"Shut up, I had to get my friends to go away," Grayson rolled his eyes, smiling and placing the cigarette in his mouth and inhaling. He blew out smoke in the direction of the one vent in the room before handing it back. "I missed you this weekend, you never stopped by."

Matthew shrugged, leaning against the tile wall, "I tried to get out Saturday night but my mom caught me and had me on house arrest the rest of the time. She thought I was going out to meet a girl."

Grayson snorted at that, knowing that quite the opposite was true. "Guess we're just gonma have to make up for lost time."

"Guess so." The other boy tossed the cigarette in the sink and grabbed Grayson by the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. Their foreheads leaned against each other for a moment before their lips joined.

Grayson enjoyed the familiar taste of cigarette smoke, able to taste the Honey Nut Cheerios Matthew ate for breakfast pretty much every morning. The other boy had his fingers tangled in his dark curls while Grayson's hands were behind his neck. Normally they saw each other on Saturday nights, so Grayson was a little deprived of his boyfriend's company, which made the kiss even more desperate.

They pulled apart for a brief moment, catching their breath before meeting in the middle again."

"I—missed—this," Matthew said in between short kisses before going in for another longer one. The boys fit together like puzzle pieces, always knowing just where to go and what to do. This had gone on for a couple months, ever since mid-September. Matthew knew Grayson had been seeing another boy before him, just not who it actually was. All he knew was that it broke Grayson in two. The boy originally planned for Matthew to be a rebound, a last ditch effort to get some in the small homophobic town of Hawkins, but unfortunately, feelings got involved. He minded it more at first, not wanting to trust his heart with another boy, but now he didn't care. He wasn't in love—definitely not, but Matthew had become more than a warm body and a soft pair of lips. Grayson knew Matthew must have been a sign. A sign he and Steve were never meant to last. Lately, Grayson was okay with that. He preferred cigarette smoke and Cheerios to cherry cola and popcorn anyway. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. The voice in his head begging to get Steve back was getting quieter ever day.

"I missed you," Grayson said when he and the boy pulled apart. The bell for first period rang, but both boys pretended not to hear it.

Instead, Matthew pulled out a new cigarette and lit it, taking one hit before passing it off to Grayson. This was what they did almost every morning and they loved it. Sure, Grayson would like to one day not have to hide in locked bathrooms, kissing and chain smoking. One day he might be able to hold Matthew's hand as they walked down the street. However, today was not that day and Grayson was okay with that. Clearly, it was meant to be this way or it would not be. The boy, a big believer in fate and all that nonsense, believed things like this were meant to be. Matthew seemed to have the same way of thinking.

"This Saturday you should come to lunch at Benny's with the girls and I," Grayson suggested, smoke coming out with his words, "I could introduce you as my friend or something."

"Won't they get suspicious?"

"Hickeys on my neck would make them suspicious, not a friend coming to lunch," Grayson laughed, watching as his boyfriend took another hit, "You look hot when you smoke."

"It's bad for you," Matthew said with a straight face, ignoring the smoke he exhaled. Both boys held the straight face for a moment before both bursting into a fit of laughter. "Jokes on you 'cause you look way hotter than I do when you smoke."

Grayson just laughed, "Keep talking like that and I might think you're some kinda queer."

"Would a queer do this?" Matthew laughed before plucking the cigarette from his boyfriend's mouth and kissing him, sharing the smoke as they did so.

When they pulled apart, Grayson just shrugged, "I don't know, that might be a little gay, just lettin' you know."

Matthew laughed, pushing his boyfriend against the wall by his shoulder playfully, both of them giggling at the stupid joke, all thoughts of class forgotten. Grayson was okay spending his mornings like this. One-hundred-percent okay.

aw these two are so cute i love matthew i cant wait to C R U S H H I M