The music pounded out from her cassette player. Tessa shimmied into a tight denim skirt and adjusted her red vest top. Tessa was getting ready for her date with Steve which she couldn't decide how excited she should be about that.

She froze as she backcombed some of her hair. Her name was being called. She noted it was extremely polite in comparison to her mother's normal tone.

"What?" She shouted back as she tried to pin down a pesky bit of curly hair.

The door to her room opened to reveal her concerned mom. "There's a boy here to see you. He's quite a looker."

It wasn't Steve and the only other person it could be was an insufferable idiot. She shrugged on her jacket and grabbed her purse. Steve would be here soon to pick her up.

Tessa groaned before she quickly topped her hair off with some hairspray. "I'll be out in two seconds." She sighed. She steeled herself in the mirror.

She walked out to see Billy leaning on her kitchen counter as he chatted playfully with her mom. Tessa caught Dustin's angry gaze and mouthed that she would talk about it later.

"Tessa," Billy smiled sweetly as her mom turned to her. "You never told me you had such a lovely boyfriend."

"Mom, he's not my boyfriend," Tessa corrected angrily.

"Yes Mrs Henderson, we're just good friends," Billy's smile was starting to unsettle Tessa.

"Billy? Let's go chat outside okay?" Tessa returned his smile with equal amounts of fakery.

"Yeah sure," Billy pushed himself off the counter. He held out a hand to shake her Mom's hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs Henderson. You are a remarkable woman." Tessa's Mom blushed and blurted out some thanks and compliments.

The front door slammed after them. Tessa huffed as she looked at Billy with a look of disdain.

"Right, douchebag," Tessa sneered. "What do you want?"

Billy tutted then licked his lips as he leaned in closer, "C'mon Henderson don't be so touchy. I just want to take a pretty girl on a date." He winked, and Tessa could only shrug.

"Okay," Tessa sighed. She looked out at the surrounding houses and squinted to watch some birds fly over her neighbour's roof.

Billy chuckled, "Wow, I didn't expect you to be so eager." He lit a cigarette, but Tessa swatted it out of his hands and indicated to the window. Her mother was watching them from behind the blinds.

"Don't cream your pants yet," Tessa smirked. "A bet's a bet Hargrove. So when and where, idiot."

Billy smiled and put his hands into his tight jean pockets. "How about next Friday… I'll pick you up at 7." He stated the last part and Tessa suddenly felt it wasn't a question or an offer but a command.

Tessa sighed and shrugged. "Fine." She tried to look more pissed, but her face just wouldn't let her.

Billy smiled and licked his lips in his usual fashion. He opened his mouth to say something smart but stopped when he saw Steve's car struggle into the driveway.

"Harrington! I didn't realise you were friends with Henderson," Billy smirked. "Hope you don't mind me taking her for a ride on Friday." The sleaziness just dripped off of him.

Steve just grimaced and got out of the car.

"Just leave Billy," Tessa sighed as she pushed him down the driveway to his car.

Billy grinned as Steve glared at him.

He opened the car door and caught Tessa's hand. He was trying to be smooth, but Tessa knew he was just trying to wind up Steve. "Well I'll see you on Friday doll," Billy smirked before he checked the window to see if Tessa's mom was still there. Luckily, she had finally stopped watching them. Billy winked at Tessa before moving in closer and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Tessa pushed him away with a sneer.

"See ya around Harrington," Billy smirked before he got into his car.

Steve shoved his hands into his jacket pockets while they watched Billy tear out of the driveway and down the street.

"What a dick," Tessa sighed.

"I can't believe you would even agree to a bet like that," Steve said and kicked at some dust on the driveway.

"What can I say? I make bad choices at least 70% of the time," Tessa chuckled and walked towards him slowly. She stuffed her hands into her denim jacket pockets and tried to lighten the mood. "I agreed to go on a date with you Harrington, didn't I?"

Steve chuckled and shrugged, "I know. I guess you just have bad standards." He was teasing her, but he wasn't committing to it. Tessa was unfazed and smirked.

"Are you going to get the door for me or not? Or should I give up on dating a guy who is chivalrous?" She quipped but Steve sighed and opened the door for anyway.

"After you," He gestured comically.

…

The film had been incredibly cheesy. Steve had shifted uncomfortably throughout the whole thing and Tessa had struggled to sit like a normal person in the seats that were low to the ground. If she had kissed him last time, she would have tried to make a move again, but it felt strange all of a sudden to try to make a move on someone she had been friends with for a while now. At one point, he attempted to wrap an arm around her shoulders but fumbled and dropped the popcorn.

The walk back to his car seemed too quick in comparison to how slow the film had gone. Tessa scuffed her converse on the pavement. Steve walked besides her wordlessly. He started to hum, and Tessa sighed.

She fell into her seat and Steve turned on the engine.

The drive was awkward. They were down a quiet road back to her house. Tessa suddenly had a thought that this would be over too soon, and they had barely spoken to one another.

"STEVE!" She shouted. "Stop the car!"

"What?!" Steve shouted back. The car shuddered to a stop. He peered over the wheel and looked around the whole car before finally meeting her gaze.

Tessa started laughing.

"Are you kidding me, Henderson?" Steve started to chide her, but she had clicked off her seat belt and taken his face between her two hands.

"Chill out Steve," Tessa smirked before she pressed her lips against his. The kiss was sweet and chaste. She fell back into her seat while Steve was frozen.

"What was that about?" Steve asked once he had started driving again.

Tessa just smiled and looked out the window.

"Got tired of you failing to make a move," Tessa chuckled and flicked him a look.

He coughed and tried to look cool, "I was just trying to pick a good moment."

"Yeah?" Tessa turned towards him and rested a hand on his thigh. "When would that be? Next year?"

"I was getting to it," Steve said defensively. "Jeez, you need to be a bit more patient."

Tessa chuckled and ran her hand up his thigh. She bit her lip as he tensed.

"You trying to get me to crash?" Steve tried to smirk but was too tense. His voice came out concerned.

"Or you could pull over somewhere?" Tessa leaned in closer. "Unless the famous Steve Harrington doesn't actually know how to seduce a girl."

"Or I could take you to my house?" Steve countered and squirmed when he felt Tessa's lips graze his neck.

"Hmmm yeah?" Tessa's tongue flicked out and Steve squirmed.

"C'mon, Tess, Tess!" He protested and tried to move away. "I will definitely crash if you keep distracting me."

Tessa sighed and fell back into her seat. She pouted.

Steve glanced from the road to her, and tried to find the words. "But if you want, we can still go to my house. Unless you want to go to bed early… like a square."

"A square...? Is this the 60s?" Tessa teased but suddenly got serious as she continued. "Yeah I think you should take me home… your house I mean." Steve looked at her, and she was biting her lip. He gripped the wheel harder and focused on the road ahea.

"Oh… okay, okay," He swallowed. "Sure. Let's go." He nodded.

The car turned wildly as Steve readjusted his route.