Untitled

GODS FAVORITE LITTLE LAMB FOR SLAUGHTER

[decoronation]

none the wiser over his girlfriend's plans, steve revels in the pleasant wakeup call. chrissy is warm against him, a bright light in the darkness of the quiet house he once dreaded returning to at the end of each day.

lately he's started redecorating bit by bit; no longer does his bedroom feel like a museum of his lonely childhood, but more like a sanctuary for his current state of mind. steve has chrissy to thank for this, too.

❛ wait. are those blueberry pancakes? ❜ his tone is hopeful, fully awake in under thirty seconds, ❛ and here i thought you meant you were my breakfast. ❜

[liabilitie]

"both  can  be  true,"  she  laughs,  pressing  a  kiss  to  steve's  nose  before  she  rolls  over  and  grabs  the  plate,  presenting  it  to  him  like  it's  gold.  to  steve,  it  probably  is.  "fresh  blueberries,  too."

watching  steve  wake  up  happy  makes  everything  so  very  worth  it,  chrissy  smiling  softly  as  she  watches  him  devour  his  breakfast.  she  stays  glued  to  his  side. 

swiping  a  blueberry  that  had  fall  out  and  popping  it  in  her  mouth  before  steve  can  say  anything, chrissy grins at him.

[decoronation]

steve's shift flies by, robin taking over whenever someone enters the store. despite her eyes rolling as her best friend remains glued to his phone, she does so with a degree of fondness. he's had such an unlucky streak in the dating department for the past three or so years that she decides it's high time to cut him some slack.

the next day is the polar opposite. every minute drags on as if by design to drive steve crazy, the agreed upon time seemingly eons away. only when he's pulling up to the curb of the cunningham residence at 6:50 does he begin to feel the reality of the situation sink in. his heart thumps in his chest with each step towards the door.

holding the bouquet of flowers he brought for chrissy, steve presses the doorbell and tries to quell his nerves.

[liabilitie]

chrissy  tried  to  keep  herself  busy  the  next  few  days,  mind  always  going  back  to  steve  and  their  date.  she's  sat  on  her  bed  facing  the  window  when  she  notices  him  rolling  up  to  the  curb,  throwing  her  makeup  brush  down  as  she  sprints  out  her  bedroom  and  down  the  stairs  before  he  even  gets  out  of  the  car.

the  doorbell  goes  off  and  chrissy  hesitates  for  three  seconds  before  she  opens  it.  like  she  wasn't  waiting  on  the  other  side.

"hi  steve,"  she  breathes  out,  cheeks  pink  and  only  deepening  in  color  as  she  looks  at  the  bouquet  in  his  hand.

[decoronation]

in the least self-deprecating way possible, steve never expects much on his birthday. long gone are the days where he'd awaken excitedly to a bounce house in the backyard or a small pile of hand-picked gifts in the foyer waiting for him to tear open.

the harringtons are more like roommates at this stage in life— roommates who see each other once in a blue moon and communicate via post-it notes on the fridge and passive aggressive text messages in the family group chat. steve mostly has his father to thank for this consistent neglect; a product of the patriarch's cheating and his mother's unwillingness to either divorce or trust her husband again.

❛ morning . . . ❜ steve mumbles with a smile at the soft lips that press again his skin, arms instinctively wrapping around his girlfriend's waist to hold her close. he blinks his bleary eyes open, smile instant. there's no bad mood to be had whenever chrissy looks at him like this. like for once, he's enough.

[liabilitie]

the  gloom  that  usually covers  the  harrington  house  is  washed  away  by  a  bright  smile  and  blue  eyes  staring  adoringly  down  at  steve,  lips  pressing  to  his  softly  as  chrissy  gently  cups  his  face.

"happy  birthday  steve,"  she  whispers  once  she  pulls  back,  brushing  their  noses  together.  chrissy  is  perfectly  happy  where  she  is,  hands  sliding  down  to  rest  on  steve's  chest  as  she  bends  her  elbows,  chin  settling  on  his  chest  as  she  smiles.  "i  made  you  breakfast,"  she  continues  softly.

chrissy  has  an  entire  day  planned  for  them;  breakfast  in  bed,  a  walk  around  the  one  park  in  hawkins,  she  even  planned  to  bring  a  basketball. they  needed  a  few  hours  out  of  the  house  for  dustin  and  his  friends  to  work  their  magic,  steve  had  no  idea  about  the  surprise  party  planned.  

[decoronation]

steve smiles as he peruses the times for weapons, because despite having asked out of sheer politeness, he would've been surprised if chrissy had picked anything but horror. one of the perks of working at family video, he supposes, is knowing what genres of film everyone in hawkins is into.

𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶 𝘶𝘱 @ 7 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧

he already has an outfit in mind as they swap texts. his best-fitting jeans perhaps, newest shoes, a maroon sweater that softens his features.

𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯

[liabilitie]

it  had  been  such  a  long  time  since  chrissy  had  been  taken  out  on  a  date.  the  "dates"  jason  took  her  out  on  clearly  didn't  count,  usually  involving  one  or  more  of  his  basketball  friends  which  made  chrissy  usually  left  out  while  they  fawned  over  jason.

she  feels  nervous  and  excited  all  at  once,  biting  her  lip  as  she  tries  not  to  feel  too  giddy  over  steve's  text.  she  fails. heart  reacting  to  their  plans,  chrissy  feels  something  she  hadn't  felt  for  a  very  long  time.  hope.

you're  the  best,  steve

[liabilitie]

sneaking  out  of  steve's  bed  in  the  morning  wasn't  exactly  an  easy  thing,  thank  god  she's  patient.  chrissy  hadn't  wanted  @decoronation  to  wake  up  alone  on  his  birthday,  had  been  angry  to  learn  his  parents  still  weren't  coming  home.

but  it  didn't  matter  because  she  was  here  and  she  was  making  steve  blueberry  pancakes  in  his  kitchen.  the  stack  is  decorated  with  powdered  sugar  and  whip  cream  piled  on  top.

the  plate  is  set  down  softly  on  his  nightstand  when  she  makes  her  way  back  up,  gentle  hands  lifting  the  blanket  to  slip  back  under  it,  rolling  on  top  of  steve  and  pressing  little  kisses  to  his  chin.

the  moment  she  feels  him  stir,  she  smiles.  "good morning."

[hithewalls]

CATE DUNLAP gen v : sick

[decoronation]

steve's face flushes the moment he reads the word handsome, and he thinks if he weren't tethered to his phone right now, he might float away.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 🙈 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 ?

he sends chrissy the link to the cinema showtimes, unable to stop smiling at the fact that he has something to look forward to. it's been so long since he's had a legitimate reason to look his best.

𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳

[liabilitie]

horror but  anything  is  fine  really

the  first  text  was  sent  before  she  even  thought  about  it,  the  second  following  right  after.  she  pulls  up  the  showtimes  steve  sent  her,  scrolling  through  them  before  pulling  back  up  their  text  thread.

she  sends  a  couple  time  options  for  weapons  back  to  steve,  a  movie  she  had  wanted  to  see  —  one  she  had  practically  begged  jason  to  take  her  to . . .  only  for  him  to  bitch  about  how  lame  it  sounded  and  pick  something  else.

that  sounds  perfect like  ice  cream?  

[decoronation]

sympathetic, steve nods but keeps his eyes on the road. maybe if jason were a nicer person, he'd feel a little differently about the situation, but given everything he knows, steve isn't about to budge on his stance.

chrissy deserves better.

❛ i don't mind dealing with it, ❜ steve says earnestly, and there's nothing in his tone that implies he's stating this just to make chrissy feel better. after the shock of seeing yet another person from hawkins turn up in los angeles had worn off, jason had been nothing more than a mild nuisance.

❛ wait, really? why not? ❜ it's not like jason had ever been scared of steve to his knowledge, their social circles overlapping a bit but never directly colliding. he can't imagine jason really respecting him either.

[liabilitie]

she  can't  help  the  way  her  heart  skips  a  literal  beat  when  he  says  that,  chrissy  biting  her  lip  to  stop  the  wide  smile  from  forming.  it  fails.

"he  was  kinda  scared  of  you  in  high  school,"  chrissy  says,  unbeknownst  to  steve's  own  thoughts,  "or  maybe  intimidated?  you  were  so  cool  and  he  wanted  everyone  to  like  him  as  much  as  they  liked  you."

she  remembers  the  look  on  jason's  face  when  he  had  bullied  his  way  into  eddie's  apartment  onto  to  see  a  confused  steve,  the  bewilderment  turning  to  nervousness  the  second  he  had  stepped  up.

jason  was  always  kinda  a  coward.

"thank  you  again,  steve,"  chrissy  begins  softly,  leaning  onto  the  console  between  them  as  she  smiles.  "for  letting  me  stay  with  you."

[okoden]

❝ ugly purple door, hideous lace curtains. there were a bunch of those creepy rag dolls on top of the kitchen cabinets. i'm glad i spent most of the party outside or else i might've gotten annabelle'd that night. ❞

julian stands then, dusting off the seat of his pants with a hand and making sure he has all his things with the other. his half-empty slushie cup remains on the pavement. the way people stare at him disapprovingly in this place has already cemented an eternal beef, so he figures he can make an exception when it comes to littering.

more so when chrissy mentions jason bullying eddie.

❝ you're shitting me, ❞ julian says as he stares at her, and he wonders why eddie hasn't said anything about it — whether it's out of embarrassment or not wanting julian to stir things up. it's too late for preemptive measures, he thinks. the cat is out of the bag. ❝ i'm gonna fuck that little bitch up. ❞

[liabilitie]

chrissy's  laugh  is  loud  as  julian  describes  the  creepy  decor.  she  ignores  the  forgotten  cup,  thoughts  already  swirling  with  guilt  about  her  ex  boyfriend  bullying  eddie  to  really  care.

she  nods.

"i  don't  want  eddie  to  be  mad  i  told  you,"  even  though  she's  never  seen  eddie  mad  a  day  in  his  life.  "but  it's  not  fair  to  him.  no  one  ever  takes  his  side."

maybe  it's  a  little  unfair  to  jason,  having  no  idea  what's  coming  for  him,  but  when  they  arrive  and  get  seated  chrissy  pulls  out  her  phone  and  shows  julian  the  lock  screen,  unfortunately  it's  still  of  her  and  jason.

"so  you  know  who  you're  beating  up  later."

[liabilitie]

"the couch is really comfy"

it's  so  cheesy  it  makes  her  giggle,  chrissy  covering  her  mouth  with  her  hand  as  she  looks  away  from  steve  sprawled  out  on  the  couch. movie  nights  at  steve's  had  become  the  new  normal,  the  two  usually  curled  up  on  the  couch  together. 

chrissy  had  gotten  up  to  refill  her  water,  yelling  at  steve  not  to  pause  it,  that  she'll  be  quick!  but  smiling  as  she  hears  him  pause  it  anyway.

now  she  carefully  places  her  glass  down  before  leaning  over  steve.  she  braces  her  hands  on  his  chest  as  she  settles  on  top  of  him, legs tangling together as she half slips between him and the back of the couch with a laugh.

[ladiesofcinema]

MADDIE PHILLIPS as CATE DUNLAP GEN V | S01E06, Jumanji

[stackhousesookie]

MADDIE PHILLIPS AS CATE DUNLAP Gen V 2.01

[liabilitie]

she's  sat  on  the  sink  in  @decoronation's  bathroom  watching  his  meticulous  process  of  fluffing  his  hair,  her  own is  freshly  curled  with  large  rollers  to  give  her  usually  straight  hair  a  soft  wave  for  the  night.

she  has  to  be  careful  not  to  take  them  out  too  soon,  softly  touching  one  to  check  the  temperature  as  she  swings  her  bare  feet.  chrissy  had  stolen  a  button  down  of  steve's  as  soon  as  she  had  stepped  inside  his  room  to  get  ready  in.

"how  long  until  the  party  again?"  chrissy  asks  softly,  blue  eyes  wide  as  she  stares  at  her  boyfriend while removing one of the curlers gently.

[decoronation]

steve is helpless to do anything but wait once chrissy steers him back towards her bed, strawberry sheets looking a little inviting with her mother standing in the doorway. he wants to disappear into the floor, but he settles for sitting down on the edge of the bed instead like an obedient dog.

this is undoubtedly the part where he'll be tossed out onto the sidewalk, forced to sneak in through the window next time he wants to see chrissy, but no such action follows. steve looks up at the blonde in confusion after the door clicks shut behind her.

❛ doesn't she want me to leave? ❜ he blurts out quietly, just in case mrs. cunningham is right outside the door. clearly uncomfortable, steve fidgets with his hands on his lap. ❛ 'cause i can leave if she doesn't want me up here. ❜

[liabilitie]

it  hits  her  suddenly  as  she  turns  around  and  see's  how  goddamn  uncomfortable  steve  looks  that  maybe  he  didn't  wanna  meet  her  mom.  it's  one  thing  for  friends  to  know  you're  dating,  but  parents?

she  flushes  instantly,  wringing  her  hands  together  as  she  tries  to  pull  together  words.

"god  no,  she's  gonna  want  you  to  stay  for  dinner  and  ask  you  all  sorts  of  questions  and  i  get  it  if  it's  like,  too  much  too  soon.  i can  just  tell  her  something  came  up."

[decoronation]

❛ maybe it doesn't have to, ❜ steve says as he gives chrissy's hand a gentle squeeze, turning the car on but not pulling away from the parking lot just yet, ❛ unless you gotta get back home already. ❜

their current options are limited, what with hawkins being so small that not many places operate past nine, but on the outskirts like they are now, he knows there's at least one diner a few miles down the road that doesn't close until eleven.

❛ we could go get some pancakes, or you could come over and watch a movie at my house. i can drive you home after. promise. ❜ steve's expression is hopeful in the semi-darkness of the bmw, silently praying that he isn't coming across as too clingy already.

[liabilitie]

chrissy  shakes  her  head  instantly,  giving  steve's  hand  a  squeeze  back. her mom knew she was going out with steve tonight, the main reason she was trusted to stay out so late.

but she also may have hinted she might stay over at her friend jules'. if her mom thinks jules is a girl, well . . .

"pancakes  do  sound  really  good,"  she  says  with  a  smile  back,  blue  eyes  sparkling  still  from  the  high  of  their  first  kiss.  she  wants  to  kiss  him  again  and  again  and  again.  later,  she  tells  herself,  biting  her  lip  as  she  leans  back  in  her  seat.

steve's  hopeful  gaze  isn't  lost  on  her,  if  anything  it  emboldens  her  to  act  on  her  own  feelings.  no  fear  in  being  seen  as  too  much.

"we  could  get  them  to  go  and  go  back  to  yours?"

[okoden]

❝ exactly, ❞ julian says with a nod, because faking it is what he's been conditioned to do up until now, more or less. it's what he'd had to do when charlie died, when imari's parents shunned him and people at school started to whisper behind his back. both scenarios had called for pretending the unexpected rejection hadn't stung as much as it did.

following chrissy's gaze to her nailbeds, julian wrinkles his nose, though it's more out of concern than disgust. the comment about out-of-state colleges piques his interest immediately.

❝ you'd probably love the west coast. i can see you fitting in there. you could just start over in some beach town and leave this place behind like a fart in the wind, ❞ he laughs, taking one of chrissy's hands in his. he holds it up with a raised brow. ❝ but for now, i say we go get our nails done and then have some of the brownies eddie and i made last night. ❞

[liabilitie]

it's  not  as  if  chrissy  expected  to  be  shut  down  for  even  daring  to  think  about  leaving  hawkins,  but  the  encouragement  makes  her  perk  up.  she  tries  to  imagine  it  but  something  feels  wrong  still.

"a  fart?"  she  says  instead,  rolling  her  eyes  in  amusement.  she  tries  to  act  normal  when  jules  takes  her  hand  and  holds  it  up,  chrissy  not  daring  to  breath  until  he  speaks.

there  is  no  accusations,  only  friendship  offered  and  it  makes  her  relax  again,  giving  a  small  nod  of  her  blonde  head  in  answer.  ".  .  .  are  they  special  brownies  or  just  brownies?”

it's  only  later  when  they're  waiting  for  their  turn  that  chrissy  speaks  up  again,  a  soft  "what  if  steve  doesn't  want  to  do  long  distance?"

[decoronation]

steve’s patience proves to be fruitful, and it’s just something he’ll have to file away to throw in robin’s face later as revenge for the retired whiteboard. he smiles at how quickly chrissy texts back, another welcome thing he isn’t used to.

𝘪’𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘬? 𝘪’𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸

there is an evil voice in the back of his head that tells him this — whatever he’s attempting to do — can only end in tears. it is a defeating thought to process, but steve tries his best to push it way down. he’s been at rock bottom before, what with his endless doctor visits and unrelenting reminders of what he and his friends have gone through in the past three years alone.

what else does he possibly have to lose?

𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘵𝘸 𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪’𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵

[liabilitie]

with  a  few  taps  steve  number  gets  saved  in  her  phone  with  a  blueberry  emoji  after  his  name,  chrissy  grinning  to  herself  as  she  pulls  back  up  their  text  to  send  a  quick  i  did  with  a  heart  to  his  second  question.  the  next  couple  texts  roll  in  after,  her  fingers  stopping  as  she  reads  them.

it  took  all  of  two  sentences  for  steve  to  turn  chrissy  into  a  blushing  mess.

thank  you you  always  look  really  handsome  too i  can't  wait  for  our  date

chrissy  throws  her  phone  down  seconds  later,  cheeks  red  as  she  buries  her  face  in  her  sheets.  she  feels  like  she's  going  to  combust  from  nerves,  taking  a  breath  to  calm  herself.