The next day at school, Beverly met up with her two best friends, Alicia Sinclair and Carmen Flores, who were polar opposites.

Alicia took things like school and tests very seriously, while Carmen could care less. Somehow, though, Carmen would always ace all her tests, no matter if she didn't study, and she also wanted to become a doctor.

Carmen was also absolutely boy crazy, always trying to find a guy to hook up with, while Alicia never even made the move to talk to any guys.

Beverly was like their in between. She cared about school, but also absolutely loved parties. She had a boyfriend, but would never ditch her friends for him unless they gave her the okay.

That's why their trio just...worked.

The three of them walked into the girls bathroom after the bell had rang since they all, somehow, had a free period together. When they walked in, Steve "The Hair" Harrington was scrambling to get his backpack on the floor.

"What the hell?" Alicia exclaimed since he was in the girls bathroom.

Steve immediately looked up, his eyes wide. Clearly, he wasn't planning on anyone coming into the bathroom once the other periods had started.

Beverly crossed her arms over her chest, taking this as a sweet opportunity to annoy the hell out of him. "Wow, I'd never thought that the Steve Harrington would be such a perv. What, did Nancy already decide to break up with you?" she taunted, arching a brow.

Steve let out a frustrated sigh, picking his bag up and fixing his pampered hair. Beverly resisted the urge to roll her eyes at it; not roll her eyes at him, but at his stupid hair.

"I was actually just in here with Nancy, so no. I'm not a perv and Nancy did not break up with me," Steve replied, going to walk out before Beverly stepped in front of him to block his way out. "Seriously? I have to get to class."

"How would Chris feel if I told him you were in the girls bathroom groping his sister?" Beverly questioned, making Carmen snort behind her.

"I-I was not groping her, okay? We were just having a conversation," he told her, but he wasn't even convinced with himself. Of course, he had been...making out with Nancy, but it was entirely consensual.

"Yeah, okay," she replied after she scoffed, totally unconvinced.

"And your boyfriend doesn't care that I'm seeing Nancy. In fact, he fully supports it," Steve continued with a nod of his head, like he had done something spectacular.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Unlike you, he thinks I'm a good guy."

"Ah, you boys are so blinded by your testosterone that you can't even differentiate between good and bad," Beverly responded, making Alicia nod her head proudly at the smart comeback.

"Testosterone?" Steve repeated in what seemed like confusion.

"Don't tell me you don't know what that means," Alicia spoke up, not too fond of idiots since she didn't have the complete patience for them.

"Actually, please do tell me you don't know what it means so I can use it against you," Beverly added quickly, an entertained smirk on her face.

"I know what it means!" Steve exclaimed frustratedly. "I just...don't know why it has anything to do with the conversation."

"Sure," Carmen muttered under her breath, laughing quietly.

"Look...would you three just move out of the way so I can make it to Mrs. Click's class? She'll give me detention if I'm late again," Steve pleaded, his lips pursed in a thin line as he looked down upon Beverly.

Any girl would have passed out by now if they were this close to Steve Harrington, but all Beverly wanted to do was slap him in the face. She could tell because she always got that feeling in her stomach whenever she was near him, making her just want to hit him repeatedly. "Fine. Next time, don't be in the girls bathroom and we won't have any problems," she let up, moving out the way. Alicia and Carmen did the same, their eyes narrowed at him.

"Thank you," Steve replied through clenched teeth, quickly pushing past them and heading out the door.

Beverly scoffed and rolled her eyes at him, going over to the mirror to touch up some makeup. "That boy has some serious issues," she said, taking out some lipstick and applying it.

"Yeah, maybe, but he is hot," Carmen said, also going over to the mirror.

"Seriously, Car? Have you seen him?" Beverly questioned, glancing at her in disbelief.

"Have you not seen him? He's easily one of the hottest guys in our school. I would've totally hooked up with him if it wasn't for your profound hatred for him," she commented, making Beverly give her a look. "Oh, come on. Alli, tell me you wouldn't want to hook up with him."

"I don't," Alicia replied, making Beverly gesture over at her to prove her point that Steve wasn't the hottest guy in their school.

"Okay, well, your taste in guys suck, so your opinion doesn't matter. You've never even liked anyone here, and there are some total hotties," Carmen pointed out, looking over at her.

"They're just...not my type," Alicia said with a shrug, leaning against the wall.

"What is your type? Old dads?" Carmen joked, making the three girls laugh.

"Hey, that means they would have some type of experience, though," Beverly cut in, making them laugh even more.

"That is absolutely disgusting," Alicia rolled her eyes jokingly.

"You only say that because you've never had a boyfriend. Come on, let me hook you up with a guy. You don't even have to date him a full week, just enough to get some experience," Carmen said. "I know some dudes who are amazing."

"Why would I wanna hook up with a guy that you've already been with before?" Alicia asked, arching a brow.

"Fair point."

✦ ✧ ✦

Later that day, after cheer practice, Beverly was sitting in her room doing some homework when the phone rang. She picked it up and answered, "Beverly Crawford."

"Hey," the other person on the line said and she immediately recognized his voice.

"Hey, babe," Beverly said sweetly, dropping her pencil to pay full attention to her boyfriend. "What's up?"

"I wish I was calling for something good, but apparently one of Mike's friends is...missing," Chris told her slowly.

Beverly's eyes widened, sitting up straighter. "Which one?" she asked, remembering that all of them were fine yesterday when she was leaving the Wheelers' house.

"Will Byers. Jonathan, his brother, is in my grade," Chris told her.

"Oh, my God. That's horrible. When did he go missing?" Beverly questioned, genuinely worried.

"Apparently, he never came home after he left my house."

"What? But I saw him leave with the others and he was fine!"

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe he just got lost or something."

"It's a small town, Chris," Beverly said, her lips pursed in a thin line. She hadn't known any of Mike's friends that well, but she could tell that they were all good kids. And Will always seemed to be particular shy and sweet, so she was worried about him.

"Yeah...I know."

"Let me know if Mike is okay and if he hears anything. I'll be on the lookout for his friend."

"Yeah, I will."

"I lov—" Beverly was cut off by the line beeping, meaning that Chris had hung up. She sighed and placed the phone back in its holder, shaking her head slowly as she wrapped her head around the news she had just received.

Nothing this major had ever happened in her town, not while she was alive anyway. And especially to someone she knew, even if it wasn't that well. She just hoped that Will was found and that he was okay.

authors note
first interaction with steve!!
i hope you guys enjoyed, even
if it was a tad short