STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

03. trick or treat, freak - part two

CHAPTER THREE - TRICK OR TREAT, FREAK
PART TWO

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JACKIE SAT ON the curb, suddenly very bored with the entire party. She stared at the sky as she absentmindedly dug her shoe into the dirt beneath her. Her thoughts were of California, and her heart broke with how much she missed it. That place had been her home ever since she could remember.

The thing she missed most, however, was surfing. Her father had taught her how, and he hadn't been at all surprised when she was a natural. She was born for the ocean and she felt empty without it. When he died, she took on skating, the idea of getting back on a surfboard again was too much for her.

A familiar laugh brought her out of her trance. "Max!" Jackie yelled, a smile breaking across her face. Her sister spun at the sound of her name, and as Jackie got closer she realized she wasn't alone. "Hey, who are you friends?" she questioned as she snatched Max's pillow case out of her hands to sort through her candy, ignoring her protests.

"Dustin and Lucas," Max introduced, glancing at the two boys behind her. "The guys that were stalking me."

"We were not stalking you!" Lucas protested, his voice raised to a higher pitch which made Jackie laugh. "We were uh, just making sure she was fitting in okay!" Jackie cocked an amused eyebrow at the boy, who studiously avoided her gaze.

"Are you two sisters or something?" Dustin asked, clearly trying to change the subject. "You guys have like the exact same hair color. And eyes. Wow, that's insane."

"We're sisters," Jackie answered. "Also, for stalking Max I'm gonna assume that you guys have really nice taste in girls."

"Jackie," Max warned, rolling her eyes playfully.

"So wait, you're not mad at us for stalking your sister?" Lucas questioned.

"I mean it's a little weird, but whatever." Jackie took a bite of the Snickers bar she stole from Max, and glanced up at the dark sky. "As long as you don't plan on murdering our entire family. Hey, do you guys mind if I tag along? The party was super boring, and I think getting free candy from old people would be way more fun."

"I don't mind," Dustin said immediately, and Lucas smacked his arm.

"Me either. Your sister is so cool, Max."

"I know right?" Max replied, nudging Jackie's arm. "She taught me everything I need to know about skating. I ended up pretty lucky in the sisters department."

Warmth spread through Jackie's stomach at her words. "Alright, enough with the mushy shit. Let's go get some candy!"

Abruptly, a distant scream filled the air, Lucas and Dustin shared a horrified look before chasing after the sound. Jackie blinked in confusion, but snapped her head over in her sister's direction when she began jogging after them.

"Max, what the-"

"Come on!"

A groan escaped her lips before she bolted after the others. This felt like a bad horror movie. They came around the corner, and found two other boys wearing the same costumes. Jackie assumed they were all together.

A boy with dark hair was crouched, and he looked distinctly like Nancy. Jackie wondered if they were related somehow. "Is he okay?" Max questioned, her grip on her sister's hand was tight.

"Should I call an ambulance or something?" Jackie asked, fear clouding her voice as she spoke.

"Will, what's wrong?" The boy with dark hair asked, and the realization hit Jackie harder than she thought it would. This was Jonathan's little brother. The one he was so worried about.

"Mike, what's happening?" Max questioned again, but he ignored her. Jackie raised her eyebrows at his attitude towards her sister.

"I'm gonna get you home okay? I'm gonna get you home, just hold on."

"His brother is at the party a few blocks away," Jackie informed, but Mike only rolled his eyes, his gaze narrowing to his other two friends.

"Seriously? You guys brought another girl into the party?"

"That girl is my sister," Max explained, her annoyance also obvious in her voice. "And why are you so against girls in your party again?"

Mike struggled to lift Will up, and Dustin went to help him. "I got it!" Mike snapped, making the other boy jump back. "You guys keep trick or treating. I'm bored anyways."

"Mike!" Dustin called, sounding exasperated. "Seriously?"

He didn't answer, and the four of them watched as they walked off. "That was interesting," Jackie mused. "What was that about?"

"We..." Lucas trailed off, meeting Dustin's eyes. "We can't tell you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Jackie said, honestly. "I don't wanna barge in your guy's business anyway. Max, come on. I'm gonna have to drive tonight since Billy is the new keg king." She mocked the last two words in her sentence, and Max let out a small chuckle. The two waved the boys goodbye as they walked away.

They arrived back at the party house just in time for Jackie to catch Jonathan leading a, very clearly drunk, Nancy into his car. Jackie frowned at the punch stain that covered her entire shirt. It was completely ruined.

Her eyes found Steve, who was sat on a curb just like she was a few hours ago, his head in his hands. "Go wait in the car," Jackie instructed her sister, who nodded. "I'll get Billy."

As Max made her way to the car, Jackie found herself walking towards Steve Harrington. She hesitated a second, before plopping down next to him, keeping a respectful distance. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked gently after a moment.

Steve jerked his head out of his lap, as if he didn't even know she was there. "I'm fine."

"Well that's a total lie," Jackie said sarcastically. "For one, I didn't even ask how you were, and two, well you're a shit liar."

He let out a humorless chuckle. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and she wondered if this was just a waste of time—if he was even going to speak. "It's funny how life works, you know?" He finally said, just as she was about to leave. "You think you've got it all down and then suddenly the universe screams 'screw you' and everything goes to crap again."

Jackie swallowed as he spoke, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Things happen, Steve. You can't control it. The only thing you can do is take a deep breath and start over again."

"That's the thing," he responded, heaving his shoulders which made her hand fall awkwardly back to her side. "We already started over. Apparently I'm just not good enough."

She raised a brow slightly as she slowly realized what this was about, and shifted on the curb. "You're good enough. Girls are just complicated, I guess. Breakups are hard, but you'll eventually get over them."

"I didn't say this was about a girl."

"I'm not stupid," she said. "But trust me, okay? I've been through a few before. It's not easy but it gets better." A loud honk make her jump, and she looked up from Steve to see Billy staring at them with an annoyed look. "Shit, I've got to go. Just remember that things get better, alright?"

"Sure," he replied dryly. She got up to walk away, but stopped short once Steve called her name again. "Jackie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She sent him a smile, before roughly opening Billy's door and slamming it shut behind her.

This had definitely been the weirdest Halloween of her life.

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authors note

(rewritten as of 3/12/21)

here's part two! i also decided to add a lil comforting scene just cause they haven't interacted much yet.

also i have like three more chapters to write and i'm already done season 2?? i just wanna know how i wrote all that yesterday lmao