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CHAPTER TEN | THE TATTOO
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i was born under a bad moon. my grief is that i have one grief which outweighs all the joy there is."
—selected poems; "i have lots of heart" // miguel hernández
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Shelly picked Jackie up for the first day of school. Steve had offered, but Jackie really wasn't interested in spending several minutes in a car with him and Nancy. Jackie supposed she was being unfair, and that Nancy probably wasn't that bad. But she'd let her friends' less than flattering opinions of the other girl pile atop her jealousy and sway her in the direction of bitterness. And though she felt bad for it, she also had no true interest in really getting to know Nancy Wheeler.
That pit of fiery envy roared in Jackie's stomach as she walked towards the main entrance of the school and noticed Steve leaning one shoulder against the brick wall and talking with Nancy. He lifted his hand in greeting, but Jackie pretended not to notice and continued into the school with Shelly.
"Jack! Hey! Hey, Jackie!"
Steve's hand latched onto her wrist, stopping her cold.
"Oh, hi, Steve!" Jackie said brightly, acting as if this were the first time she'd seen him that day.
"I was waving at you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding hers.
"Were you?"
"Yeah," he said sheepishly.
Huh, Steve Harrington getting nervous... Jackie never thought she'd see the day. She kind of liked the sight of him all flustered and unsure of what to say.
"What's up?"
"I, um... what's your schedule?"
Jackie thought for a moment, trying to remember the schedule she'd created at the end of the last school year. "Spanish, calc, lit, lunch, European history, and theatre."
"Who do you have for calc?" Steve asked.
"Holloway," Jackie answered, licking her bottom lip and then biting down. "You?"
"Same," he said, beaming at her. "And we've got theatre together."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm."
Unable to hold back a smile, Jackie chuckled quietly. He was still holding her hand, which she simultaneously barely noticed and was very aware of. Over his shoulder, Jackie noticed Nancy walk inside, obviously looking for Steve. Her smile slipped off her face and the magic broke. She pulled her hand from Steve's and crossed her arms close to her chest.
"Nancy's looking for you." Part of Jackie's heart broke even more when Steve turned around to look for his girlfriend. "See you in homeroom, Steve."
