❁

he put a hand on his reddening jaw, looking up to her with an evil smile on his face. before he could say anything, meadow felt a hand grab her by the upper arm and yank her away.

"okay, so, i'm glad you came to the party." nancy said. "but you've been here, what, two minutes, and already you managed to get into a fight?" she asked.

meadow shrugged in response. "he deserved it." she replied, following nancy into the house. inside, it was bustling with people, many flaunting revealing costumes while dancing up and down to the blaring music. "yeah, this is most definitely the best possible use of my friday night." she said sarcastically, watching as her friend rolled her eyes.

"come on, just try to have fun!" nancy exclaimed, taking her friend's hand and leading her through the crowd of people into a corner where she started dancing. "what are you dressed as, by the way? this looks like what you wear to school."

"i'm dressed as someone who doesn't want to be at this party." meadow replied dryly, following nancy through the crowd of people.

the two were together for a few minutes before nancy spotted steve, telling the other girl that she was going to go see him. the henderson girl, not wanting to see steve if she could help it, assured her friend that she would be fine just staying where she was. once her friend left, she walked around the house, making her way quickly to the kitchen. while meadow was getting herself some 'pure fuel' from the kitchen, ac/dc blaring in the background, she felt billy put a hand on her waist.

unimpressed, meadow turned to look at him. "if you don't get your hand off of me, then i'm gonna make you." she stated, moving away from the counter. downing her entire drink in one sip, she began to make her way back to the dance floor, billy following close behind. "what's your problem?" she asked, annoyed.

"you're the one who's getting mad for no reason." the boy replied, moving his hips to the music.

meadow raised a brow, nodding slowly. "okay, if i were you, i would leave me alone now before i do more than just imagine strangling you." she'd made it more than clear that she didn't want to talk to him, and didn't see why her punching him wasn't a good enough hint.

billy smirked in response, clearly not about to leave. just then, steve placed a hand on the other boy's chest, pushing him away a little. "is there a problem here?" steve asked, his intimidating glare eventually sending billy away.

although she was grateful for his help, meadow wasn't about to show it. she scoffed, looking up at steve. "my hero." she said sarcastically. "despite what you may believe, i don't need you saving me all the time. you're not my prince charming, and i don't need your protection."

"he wasn't leaving you alone, and you and i both know that no persuading on your part would do anything." steve told her.

"your timing was awful," meadow continued, "i was so close to punching him again."

steve sent her an incredulous look. "again?"

meadow ignored his question. "thanks anyway." she replied, shutting down the conversation and watching as everyone around them jumped to the music, leaving the two sedentary people awkwardly sticking out. "so, aren't you supposed to be with nancy?" she asked, looking around for his girlfriend.

steve sighed. "yeah, she went to the bathroom.." he looked around for her, spotting her chugging cup after cup whatever drink was being served. "shit, i gotta go check on her." he said, looking back down to meadow. "let me know if you need help-"

"i don't need your help!" she called back as steve hurried to nancy. meadow looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was getting late, and that her brother would undoubtedly be arriving back home soon. after eating two handfuls of chips, meadow decided it was time to go home. she thought for a moment before grabbing the entire chip bag, tucking it under her arm and making her way to the door. that was when she saw steve running out of the bathroom.

although meadow didn't particularly like steve (she found him annoying, selfish, and honestly a complete asshole), she couldn't help but be concerned. after eyeing the house for nancy, and not seeing her anywhere, meadow assumed that the two had been in a fight.

against her better judgement, the girl sighed, following steve out the door. she found him sitting on top of his car, and there was no doubt that he was crying. "you got something in your eye." meadow joked as she hopped onto the hood next to him.

steve looked at her briefly, wiping his eyes, pretending that he wasn't crying. he chuckled a little at her comment, looking down at his hands to avoid eye contact. "why do you care? i thought you said you didn't need my protecting."

"true, but i never said anything about you not needing mine." she replied, smiling kindly. "do you want to talk about it?"

the boy shook his head a little, sniffing. "actually.. yeah, why not. um, apparently nancy doesn't love me, and everything is bullshit, including our relationship.." he trailed off, resting his head in his hands.

despite the fact that meadow didn't like steve, she couldn't help but feel her heart break a little seeing him like this. "hey.." she softly spoke, putting a hand on his back awkwardly, not quite knowing how to console him. "look, it sounds to me like she's bullshit."

steve looked up at her with an amused smile, letting out a genuine laugh that made meadow smile back. "yeah, she really is." he chuckled. "it doesn't change the fact that i still love her, though."

meadow nodded, looking up at the stars. "you don't have to get over her immediately, steve. anything you feel is valid." they were silent for a moment, and she awkwardly held out the bag to him. "want a chip?" she asked, watching as he softly laughed and put his hand in the bag, taking one from her.

"how do you know how to do this?" the boy asked, watching as she furrowed her brows, confused. "i mean, calm someone down."

the girl chuckled, looking down at the rings on her fingers. "i have a little brother, remember? it's kind of my job around the house."

steve nodded, sniffling again as a tear forced its way down his cheeks. meadow frowned, looking up at him. "come here.." she whispered, wrapping her arms around steve to hug him.

he melted into her touch, wrapping his arms around her waist as they held each other. meadow had, strangely, never felt so content; hugging steve harrington on his car, the stars shining above them, the noises of the party far from their minds.