"Hey! Watch where you're going, Harringt - what the hell happened to your face?"

Astrid didn't know Steve Harrington. But, she reasoned with herself, if anyone came up with a dozen bandages on their face looking as though they'd been to hell and back, she'd ask about it. It had nothing to do with the person in particular.

"Who are you?" he replied back in a smarmy manner, and then she decided niceties be damned. He knew very well who she was because they were in at least three classes together, and Astrid volunteered in every class, no matter what it was. So if he wanted to be sassy, then he could go screw himself, for all she cared.

So Astrid gave him the middle finger and kept walking. The idiot had probably ran that mouth on someone and gotten beaten for it. She had a class to get to, worrying about King Steve's precious face was the least of her worries.

Still, for some reason, it was just a little unsettling to see someone completely beat up.

Astrid spent the class lost in her thoughts. And they weren't about his bloody effing face, most of it was about other stuff. Like, the news about Barbara Holland's death.

That had been unsettling. A gas leak from Hawkins Lab? As if the building wasn't mysterious enough, they had also covered up her death. And Will Byers' death as well - she knew her parents had attended the funeral, as a show for being involved with the community. Astrid had felt horribly mad at them, because they didn't care one bit for the supposedly dead child and yet they had the nerve to show up at his house. She, despite not knowing Will Byers or anyone from his family, was really glad when he turned out to be alive.

That Hawkins Lab was a wreck. She was glad it was getting shut down.

The next surprising event of the day was when she saw Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers sitting together. Huh. Maybe the bruises had come from some alpha male fight over Nancy. It seemed typical enough.

And then it was just regular high school business as normal.

She ran into Steve Harrington again as he went into the gym and she left it - no one knew how good she was at basketball but that didn't stop her from playing it when the gym was empty and she was free. He was actually on the team and they both scowled when they collided once more.

"Do you get off on not looking where you're going?" Astrid snapped, glaring at him.

He scoffed, staring her down. "I'm not looking? Please, Hofferson, you had a glazed look the first time and it hasn't gone away. Dreaming about homework again?"

The only thought that passed through her mind was a triumphant realization that he did know who she was. "Better than dreaming about a girl who decided the photography nerd was cooler."

A look of hurt passed through his face as Astrid kept walking, and she felt a small amount of guilt. Heartbreak wasn't funny, she would know.

But Astrid just wasn't that good at saying sorry, and so she just kept going until she was out of the school.

One other thing that had occupied her mind all day had been her internship that was starting today. The dream of growing up to be a badass female cop had been with her since she was a girl and now she was finally on the path. Interning with the police chief of Hawkins was a huge deal. And if she worked hard enough, she could probably secure a job.

Hopefully it would be out of Indiana, though. Maybe...maybe when she was old enough...she could just go back to Berk. Maybe.

Astrid got herself to stop. Wistful thinking wouldn't do her any good. Hard work would. She arrived at the police station ready, ready to solve crime and take down bad guys.

Only to be disappointed when Chief Jim Hopper asked her to do paperwork.

Okay. It was no biggie. She had to work her way up. And really, it was Hawkins. Even if she had moved here only a few months ago, she knew nothing that exciting ever happened.

She did the paperwork. And she did a remarkable job, as Florence, the secretary, told her. It was...an averagely okay day.

She'd make it better soon enough.

Her mother and father weren't home when she got there. Astrid made herself a chicken and mayo sandwich, did her homework, took a shower, and layed down in her oversized bed.

Her parents were probably at another social event. Probably wanted to flaunt about with their money a little more. Whatever. Who cared if she couldn't brag about her good grades to anyone in this damn town?

Instead of falling asleep, another vision of Steve Harrington's kicked puppy face swam into her mind, and Astrid groaned into her pillow.

He had started it, insinuating that she dreamed about homework. That had only happened a few times, and it wasn't her fault that chemistry was really interesting those few days. So why did she feel guilty?

Because if anyone had said something along the lines of what she said to Harrington back when her and Hiccup had broken up, she would have killed them. It hurt. And it was cruel to kick someone when they were down. Which he definitely was, judging by the rainbow bandages.

Oh, but she was not going to apologize. She'd spoken all of three sentences to the prick, he had probably forgotten what she said to him in five minutes tops, and now she wanted to say sorry? Just who did Steve Harrington think he was, making her consider saying sorry to his stupid face? He was bad business. He was a jerk, a bully, a…

Now was not the time to realize that most of what she thought about him came from hearsay. Girls at the school either swooned about him, leading her to think he was a player, or they hated him because apparently he backstabbed his friends and whatnot.

Why. Did. It. Matter. To. Her.

Nope. It didn't. She was gonna sleep, and when she woke up, school and her internship would be the only things on her mind.

But one last thought tugged at her as she drowned into her pillow, and it was that he was the only one besides her who had sat alone at lunch that day.

If...if I continue this it'll probably just be different stuff instead of one storyline. Anyway, I just thought about this pairing today and I really like it.