my girl || steve harrington

the bathtub

part one

after the couple had woken up, they proceeded to spend the next couple hours cuddled together on steph's couch while their friend slept soundly in her room. no words had been said between the two, only tears and hugs and comforting kisses. the events of the day had been so emotionally and mentally stressful so the idea of just sitting with one another and enjoying each other's company was definitely what lydia needed. they watched e.t and munched on chips and popcorn and just ignored every problem that had plagued their minds previously.

when the movie ended, a strange silence settled over the two and glances were exchanged, both waiting for the other to start a conversation. their breathing was synced but it felt like they were not. like their usual rapport had been interrupted and there was something stopping it from continuing normally.

"so, how are you feeling now?" lawrie asked, trying to ignore the obvious tension.

"i'm, uh, i'm okay. i think. a lot happened. it was, uh, a little shaken. you know?" lydia tried explaining. he nodded in response. "how was your trip?"

"yeah, it was good. my grandmother said she would love to meet you sometime, like maybe over winter break or even this summer. just, whatever works for you." she smiled tenderly at thought of her boyfriend talking to his grandmother about her. "yeah, i'd like that."

soon after the brief conversation, lawrie had to leave to go to work so lydia thought it would be a good time for her to leave too. clambering up the stairs, she knocked on door and peeked her head in and was met with a very distinct odor. the room was filled with smoke despite the open window, and shirts were packed on the underside of the door to prevent anything from getting out. with bloodshot eyes and a mellow demeanor, steph laughed at her friend.

"heyyyyyy lydssss, how's it hanging? you wanna smoke?" she held the joint out to her friend as she leaned her arm out the window. the girl stood in the doorway and contemplated for a second before closing the door and jumping on the bed with a fried steph.

"okay but only a few hits, and i'm borrowing your bike because i refuse to drive high again." she stated as she brought the joint to her lips and took a deep inhale. the heat travelled slowly from the front of her mouth down her throat and settled in her lungs. lydia sunk into the bed and savored the feeling of the smoke heating up her chest. her eyelids slowly became more and more heavy and she took another hit. then another. then another. every move she made felt like it was in slow motion, but she was at peace.

she pulled her jeans on and left steph's house a giggling mess, hopping on the brown and white cruiser before pedaling back to her house.

~

on the way back to her humble abode, lydia got some intense munchies. her stomach growled and she craved every snack food imaginable. as she turned down a street to go to fair mart she was met by screaming from a very familiar voice. she squinted her eyes as she saw a couple kids biking towards her, with big white vans trailing them in the distance.

"lydia!" the voice yelled. she giggled as the bikes got closer. that's funny. that sounded like dustin. "lydia what are you doing just standing there, go!" as they came into focus, she noticed the familiar red, white, and blue hat that sat upon a curly mess of hair. oh wait, that was dustin. funny how things work out. then the reality of the situation clicked in her head as she saw the panicked look on her little brother's face. momentarily snapping out of her high, she turned down the street and started pedaling in the same direction as the kids.

her mind was a jumble of incoherent thoughts as she tried to sober herself up. who are these people chasing her brother? and who was that little girl on the back of mike's bike? and why was her head shaved? did she have cancer?