The girl glanced up from her book, her eyebrows raising high onto her forehead when she met the brown eyes of the boy sitting at the edge of her bed. He didn't shy away from her gaze, however, and simply winked at her, reveling in the way it made her smile.
"Really?" she laughed, placing her bookmark between the pages of the worn book before she placed it gingerly on the side table. "You're supposed to be studying for the test tomorrow, Steve."
The brunette smiled his best melt-your-heart smile and shrugged his shoulders slightly, leaning just a bit closer to her. "I'm not worried about it. I can wing it."
"Obviously you can't wing it," the girl shot back, not unkindly. "Otherwise Mrs. Walker wouldn't have asked me to help you study." She moved down to the end of her bed, sitting beside him, struggling to ignore the heat of his thigh against her own. "If I read it to you would it help you pay attention?"
Steve glanced down to where their legs pressed together and shook his head, his voice just a bit lower than normal. "And how am I supposed to be able to pay attention to this," he questioned, motioning down to the book in his lap, "when you're sitting here, so close to me, looking so damn pretty?"
Her cheeks burned and her mind began to race - had he noticed how she'd reapplied a bit of her makeup before he came over? Did he finally figure out that she had feelings for him?
She sat there, as silent as the grave, and Steve took the chance to continue.
"How about we make a deal?" He suggested lightly. He raised his hand, tracing the underside of her jaw with his knuckles, his touch so light it sent a chill down her spine.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as his thumb gently traced down her neck and then he let his hand fall, resting on her knee. He watched her closely, his eyes never straying from her face. "What d'ya say?"
She cleared her throat before she spoke. "O-Okay."
"I'll listen to you, really listen, until," he drawled, looking around for a clock. He zeroed in on the small white one on her wall, "Until six o'clock, and you can even quiz me if you want to - make sure I'm not bullshitting you."
She sat a bit straighter, interested in where he was taking this deal. "And?"
"And in exchange," Steve smiled again, white and blinding. "You go out with me this weekend."
A laugh of surprise bubbled from her chest, but she nodded anyway. "You've got yourself a deal, Harrington."
Steve made a show of his celebration - he pumped his fist into the air with a quiet 'yes'.
The girl chuckled and elbowed him in the ribs lightly. "Don't celebrate just yet, you've still got the studying part to go."
"Piece of cake," he waved her off. "The thought of having you dolled up and on my arm is the best motivation I could have." He nodded toward her closet. "You should probably go ahead and pick your outfit... whatever you feel comfortable going to dinner and a movie in."
"You're confident." She laughed.
Steve shrugged once more. "I'm Steve Harrington."