#And then the stripes shirt saga lol

[sysig]

I want, not so much in many directions, but at a highly variable angle at any given moment (Patreon)

[loudestcloud]

After a long brake from this saga, it returns for her birthday! However, I should start this by saying the obvious fact that I don't like they way Nami and women in general are drawn, I really wish the mangaka had a middle ground between the 'If I sneeze I'll snap in half sexy girls' and the 'i will crush you in my fat rolls ugly girls' types but here we are and this is what we've got. As a result, most of my connects would usual be how I wish she her skirts would be longer n such but I'm not gonna do that because I don't want it to get in the way of the actual content in the post. Let's go: NAMI!!

'First appearance': it's not the first at all, idk what to call it tho, it's her 3rd. it's just the one in We are so technically counts. It's probably the nostalgia, but I love this look. I can't place why but I'm not even mad at the weird stripe lengths design, it's just cute to me. The sleeves are short but long enough to hide her tattoo and I adore her skirt too like the dark orange parts remind me of blood oranges!

Baratie, Loguetown, Little Garden, first Arabasta outfit, (& Long Ring Long Land) Post-Arabasta & Post-Enies Lobby: This was probably a common or local brand for her cos she's rocking that skirt in all different colors 👌 Also, I just wanna start by saying, all her t shirts actually go past her hips? So her skirts would actually be longer than they look cos she's actually draw quite strange when in tops. Anyway, shes starting off strong with this nice pink top n I like the nice shade with the white. Then, a dark blue for the first and only time ever for Nami to pick out. I personally think lighter colors are nicer for her tho. Bringing us to this BEAUTIFUL baseball jersey with purple sleves, get it bitch oml! 😘 I don't think that skirt matches very well but it's still cute. Then, she tries stripes and I think it works out well and I think the 3/4 length look is good for her too so that one is nice. The diamond pattern tank top is actually one of my favourite Pre-Skip looks just because it's so well matched with the skirt. You can't see in the picture but the dot inside the circle is the same yellow as her top so it's just very well done, definitely an actual set. And the lace? Amazing. I hate the feel of lace myself but it looks amazing.

Baratie, Drum Island, Post-Arabasta, Long Ring Long Land Whisky Peak, Post-War, Punk Hazard: Now, I don't actually have much to say about these, I just think they are worth mentioning.i like Nami in shirts with text, I always spend way too long trying to read em lol. Anyway, I like the Drum Island shirt & Punk Hazard shorts because ✨ stripes ✨

Water 7 & Enies Lobby: Nami's first dress! And also a new skirt! I like this frilly style more, I wish it stayed around tbh but oh well. Water 7 gives us the iconic blue shirt & tie with matching shoes and it's a blessing really. Then, Enies Lobby gave us the strange Denim outfit that Paulie hated with all his mind 🤣 At the time,I thought it was a cool outfit. It's not bad, the too looks a bit armour so it's go that going for it and that jacket slaps in my opinion. I like long sleeves on cropped jackets.

Thriller Bark: Pink! When I saw the first outfit, I thought something super bad was going to happen because it looked fancy and that anime for 'time to die'. Lucky for her, nothing happened at all apart for her just looking really grown up. I like her hair too, super cute. In the next fit, it's a total flip, quite punk. Her belt is a nice contrast from her skirt and I LOVE her top! Her party outfit looks like an itchy lace and the straps, while I live frills, look very irritating. It looks cute but I could never wear it myself. Lastly for this set is one of my all time favourites for Nami because she gets to wear a necklace! It's very small and hard to see but I think it's amazingly cute. This combination of her hair being down again, a nice pokadot shirt, full length jeans and a big smile from making a friend makes it all the best.

Sabaody Archipelago & Levely: As with the 3rd outfit set, I just think these are neat. She's rockin' a different necklace, shorts and a 90s style flower top then in Levely she's chillin' in a simple puff sleeve shirt with hearts a cross the chest. Simple looks, very effective

Fish-Man Island, Punk Hazard & Dressrosa: Fish-man island comin' in hot with the iconic Timeskip look and belt! This, I much prefer the Crimin bra because it's simple plus her hair is up really cutesy. Also it's funny cos that would have been expensive for she didn't steal all the outfits she did. Looks wise, Punk Hazard is my favourite but I really dislike that it doesn't cover the bottom of her boobs and its not really supportive. I think it's my favourite because it reminds me of Frankys vibes. Dressrosa's is also really cute but once again looks like the frills would tickle a bit. Also I like her shorts.

Zou: A DRESS! not only that but it's Purple, a color she's not worn before more than as sleeves years back. It's an interesting dress style, very lacy and would brake easy but it's VERY nice to look at. Her next looks bring back the ruffley frills and basic shirts. The half button shirt has her 2nd number on it and the colour matches her skirt! I like the purple coming back in her next skirt but what I like way more is her last Zou look. It's a nice halter neck with black lace trim then to make it better, her skirt is a wonderful shade of red that has an adjustable rope belt with little gold buttons on! I just- 🥰

Whole Cake Island & Wano: everyone's lord and fashion savour, WHOLE CAKE!!! I mean look at how cute she is in that first one! That fairytale aesthetic really owns my ass at this point! Then it's a total shift with that more mature sexy style red turtleneck dress no sleeves? The side by side vibes are 😘👌 love em! Plus, this arc gave us more purple AND 2 box neckline dresses which I think with Nami they really work. The forts Wano ouyfit is only here cos blue really works for her. It look okay but I don't think they are as nice as most people do. Idk what it is about it, I think it's just too square. The 2nd is nicer to my eyes, idk

And lastly, I just wanted to Shout out the First eps and the Dead End Adventure outfit cos it looks like Vector from Despicable me:

This post was made listening to 'One Piece vibes' by Kato & rewatching One Piece

Sanji

Luffy

Zoro

[inconnusmademoiselle]

So I managed to get comic con tickets for Friday and Sunday! Kinda bummed I didn’t get Saturday but it’s fine! Any of my mutuals going to nycc this year?

I’m starting to plan out my cosplays now (gotta stop doing shit at the last minute 😅) and I’m thinking about a Lan Fan from Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood cosplay for one of the days. I have natural long, straight-ish black hair so I wouldn’t have to wear a wig (yay!) and the foundation of her outfit isn’t that challenging to make. That auto-mail though… lol. That’s either going to be fun to make or a complete shit show.

For the other day, I’m definitely doing a dbz character! It’ll somehow be my first time cosplaying as anyone from the series (not counting that time I dressed up as videl for Halloween in the 6th grade lol). I’m kinda considering a gender bent android 17, pig tail Videl, blonde Launch, or Bulma in that side part, striped shirt look from the garlic jr saga.

I also kinda want to cosplay Mr. Satan. And I don’t mean a cute girl version of him, I mean Mr. Satan, because I’m a jackass. 💁🏻‍♀️Like go get one of those fake muscle suits, an Afro, handlebar mustache, glue some fake hair to the arms and chest and wear his outfit from the cell games.

Decisions, decisions…🤔

I’m just so damn happy that cons are back!!

[troglobite]

also the 9898978 items of clothing i ordered for myself are almost all here! i’m still missing a pair of pants. and i need to return the pair of pants i got today bc they’re too big.

and now i’m looking at many other shirts, some more sweaters, and a couple cardigans

i’m trying to cultivate a Look without pigeon holing myself into predictable styles

though admittedly everything will basically boil down to 

- stripes - florals - color blocking - cardigans - sweaters

but also

- jeans

and then i have some more shoe variety

- oxford/brogue looking things - heeled fancy leather dress shoes - suede boots - suede/leather vans - more boring black vans - nice LL Bean winter/rain boots

and i will always have my reliable flannel and graphic t-shirt combo, as well

so y’know maybe that is enough variety maybe that’s fine

i can already see myself Panicking about WHAT DO I WEAR TODAY?! when i can actually leave the house and go into public again lol

--

ALSO though there’s this youtuber i follow who’s started making this series where she helps set up queer people on dates

she started with a friend of hers, then asked her followers to submit APPLICATIONS and she went through them, narrowed it down, conducted interviews, then chose a date for the friend, and the two of them are still talking (this was all made into a 4 part video saga that was then posted to youtube)

she just opened applications again and iiiiiiiiiiii mayyyyyyyy have applied lol

and included selfies in some of the new clothes. lol

so yeah there’s that. any new apps will be pooled in with the ones she got the first time around, and the first time around she got a few hundred. so i really am not expecting much. 

the only sign of hope is this:

the first “single” (her friend) that they set up lives a few hours’ drive from me (bc that’s where the youtuber is based), they were about my age, and the person they were set up with is my age and lives in my area

so i mean i’m just saying if the demographic stays sort of the same //eyes emoji

i highly doubt it and i do worry about like, fatphobia etc. i’m short i’m fat i’m neurodivergent i’ve never been on a date

not things i dislike about MYSELF, but things that others have judged me for and continue to judge me for so like //shrug

i mean the dating thing is very much like fucking job requirements:

entry level position -- must have 5 years experience in the field

"i can’t get this job unless i have experience but i can’t get experience unless i get this job”

^^me with dating. ppl not wanting to date a 26 year old who’s never dated anyone? well see i can’t get a fucking dating history unless SOMEONE FUCKING DATES ME so that seems like a Y’ALL problem tbh lol

okay i’m done rambling for the night i have homework to finish up and i’m very tired despite napping today

[sleepyearthbabe]

I was tagged by @romulan-raptorstar thanks

Nickname:Rosie

Zodiac:Virgo

Height:5′2

Last thing I searched: vegan pancake recipe

Favorite musicians: ooff way too many I’ll list a few, Beachhouse, Chelsea Wolfe, Fka twigs, Bjork, Ionna Lee, Alcest, Sevdaliza, The cure, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Willow Smith, Biig Piig, Japanese Breakfast, Deerhunter, King Krule. 

Song stuck in my head: nothing actually right now 

If you had a time machine would you go back in time or visit the future? Hmm, I’m not sure, might not use it all? 

Do I get asks: sometimes

Amount of sleep:6-8 hours 

Would you rather be rich or famous?: Rich biiiitch hah 

Lucky number: 5

What I’m wearing: A striped longsleeve shirt with leggings

Dream trip: Ahh so many places I’d love to explore, hmm but definitely Finland! New zealand, Peru, Egypt. 

Dream job: Self employed business

Favorite food: Fruit, sushi, bread lol potatoes, veggies, so many things 

What are some of your favorite books/films/shows/games/ etc?: Mr robot, twin peaks, stardew valley, doctor Zhivago, Persepolis, Saga, Edward Scissorhands, White oleander, The shape of water.

If you were an animal what would you be? Hmm perhaps a black panther. 

Play any instruments? Yes guitar for now

Languages: English, but I do try to study French, Portuguese, and Spanish regularly. Language is so interesting!

Describe yourself as an aesthetic: A rainy misty day among big green trees in the forest, a breeze that drifts by carries the smell of sweetness and cedar

😏

[thesamesandwicheveryday]

5.

After a day of incredible pressure and its different pains, one after the other, follows at least one or two hours of what I can only describe as a kind of ritualistic stateliness; I’m currently working on my posture and self-restraint sitting upright in a computer chair, and whilst there are a good three or four inches between my back and the back of the chair, I’d say enough room for a cushion, I am not utilising a cushion, because I am working on myself, and if I can sit like this as if a cushion were really there, then I’ll have the grace and elegance of a dancer, and not only will I have the grace and elegance of a dancer, but I’ll have the restraint of a monk, and I will learn to find gratification in the simplest of ways, like once every 90 minutes when I feel gratified by just leaning back. In this spirit I’ve got a bottle of Riesling open, but I’m only drinking one glass per half an hour. There’s Mavrodaphne in the cupboard, but that’s more a me-and-Will drink, we’ve got a joke about it now, we even text about the Mavrodaphne. The last time he mentioned it I texted him back saying “Mavrodaph’ me” and he texted back that he laughed aloud, and I really think when someone takes the time to say “I actually laughed out loud” instead of “lol”, they truly must mean it. And there’s probably something in that, some profound key to understanding sincerity and humanity, but I’m not going to go into that now, not with the day I’ve had. No, I can leave that kind of heavy thinking for another day; that’s a Wednesday kind of a task. My first pain was planning a Monday lie-in yet waking up inexplicably at 8am after a missed call from a number I didn’t recognise that didn’t leave a text nor answer the phone when I called back but did in fact leave a voicemail though I can’t access those because it’s 2018 and leaving voicemails is disgusting. I don’t know if the cultural hatred of Mondays has become a superficial preset in all adult humans or if it really is as bad a day as we all think it is, because I don’t have a nine-to-five nor a structured work schedule and I hate Mondays, but the call waking me up and me just knowing I was waking up into a Monday prevented me from falling back asleep again. I try not to be superstitious so I’d be interested in learning the metric factors of how precisely one measures a “bad day”, why Monday is the worst. Why not Thursday? Tuesday’s a bum-note. I’ve never been hugely keen on Saturdays. I digress.

After my rude awakening I walked from my bedroom to the living room naked as the blinds were all shut and I’m a really naked person. There are low beams in my living room, these charming, great slabs of thick branch supporting the roof, and whilst they’re certainly characterful, I have to be aware of them all the time or else I’ll bang my head, like I did today, naked, gripping my head with my right hand, dropping my phone on the hard floor in doing so, not breaking the screen at all but there’s a scuff now in the corner that I can only challenge myself to stop thinking about. I tried calling Will a first time, and I got his voicemail: “Hi, this is Will, looks like I’m busy, if it’s an emergency call 999, they’ll be better qualified to deal with it than me”. Hilarious, Will, but I just banged my head on my roof beam and fell over like a naked Buster fucking Keaton, I have no time for your jokes and your japes right now. I tried a second time, then after my morning coffee a third, but still Hi this is Will, Hi this is Will, Hi this is Will. Eventually, as I was forcing myself to eat a bowl of muesli for the sake of health and also hating myself, he texted me: “Can’t talk now, Esther’s come over, had a fight with her mum or something, crying a lot, you know how she gets. Lemme give you a bell when I’m about. W. -X” And this had several flaws. Let’s start from the end and work our ways back. “W.-X” — why is he signing off like that, still, after four massive years of knowing me? Why does Will always have to end texts like he’s closing a deal? Just close me off with the initial and a kiss and — much worse — a full stop between the two? Distanced once more with that, let’s be honest, quite egregious dash? Is he proving some kind of point about being that crucial whole decade older than me, that self-righteous kind of, “oh look at me I love grammar” bollocks, that kind of “I don’t use Face-tube” or “I saw something on the interwebs” humour that the middle-aged employ to indicate superiority? Is that what that is? Because I’ve always wondered it and today I really had to think about it, and I figure it’s because he’s spending the day with Esther who’s always been that bit more Will’s brood, another late-30s horse-girl, another Oxon (that’s the name they give to people who graduated from Oxford and that’s something I have to fucking know), you know I think the only reason he married her in the first place is because it looked good on paper, he’s as good as told me that to be frank, and yeah maybe she is crying today and maybe she’s had a fight with her mum but that’s Will’s job how? Esther, sweetheart, darling, it’s over — and Will’s got the decree absolute to prove it, honey, sweetheart. And because of a fight with her mother? Everyone fights with their mother, I do nothing but fight with my mother but you don’t see me saying to Will “oh Will please can you come over and hold me? My mum still doesn’t love me and doesn’t even respect me”, do you? No you don’t, no matter how true that is, because Will’s not my dad. HE’S NOT YOUR DAD, ESTHER. 

And “can’t talk now”? Can’t, or won’t? Why would he write that like I’m placing some mad demand on him when I so very clearly am not? So many times we call each-other and there’s a dead end and it’s always something really innocuous that neither one of us feels the need to explain, we’re not married, and even if we were — the point is, he really felt like he had to say “can’t talk now”, like he’s really frazzled by me at 9am, and I even wonder if that’s for Esther’s benefit, like if she looks through his phone again she’ll see he’s at least been a little cold to me, and she’d love that wouldn’t she. Oh, but Esther’s sad again and so the world must spin off its axis because she’s sad again, Esther’s come off her Prozac, Esther’s cat’s got diabetes, Esther’s troubled by world news, Esther’s accidentally lost weight and now needs new clothes. I thought this whole Esther saga was over, I thought she'd get the hint that once you’ve put legal proceedings into action to separate yourself from someone, the message would hit home loud and clear, but no. Esther needs new brake-lights on her car. Esther’s tripped on an avocado skin and fallen down a haunted well. Esther’s been possessed by the great and powerful Beleth and needs a lift home from the exorcist’s bungalow. He’ll call me when he’s free, capital-double-you-dot-dash-capital-ex. And you’d think I’d get my sandwich and that would make me feel better? Well that's what I thought, too. Eventually I got dressed into the first t-shirt and jeans I saw lolling outside the clothes hamper and got out of my flat as quickly as I could, hoping to save the day before it fell into utter ruin and developed the ability to cause me real harm. The walk from my flat to the market is only a short one and is even shorter angry. I felt as if when I got through the door of the place I suddenly slipped outside of myself, but unable to look back in I instead disappeared, and when I returned back into my host body, I was looking at my reflection in the glass display of vanilla slices at my sandwich stall. I looked flushed. I looked hungry. I was ravenous and needed to see a friendly face. Of course today was the day they let just whoever walks into the market serve sandwiches, it seems, because I was met with a smiling boy-child, with biro scribbled onto his hands. He had mid-brown hair coming down about one inch above his shoulders, I’d say he was into day 10 of not washing it, the kind of bleary eyes that seem used to glasses and look unsettlingly beady when unframed, an unremarkable nose and an offensively weak chin, and whilst it sounds as if I’m describing a hapless teenager with great insensitivity you may in fact be relieved to learn my utter contempt here is directed toward a whole adult human who, if I were to conservatively guess, would be somewhere around the 27 years old marker. 27 years old and an untucked, short-sleeved, blue cotton dress shirt, like some bizarre attempt at formality, what was he, on his way to an interview for a different job or something? Judging by the outfit, a job as a white plastic patio furniture salesman? I wish I'd seen his shoes, they might have saved him, but as he stood, six foot tall before me, his bottom half was hidden behind the counter, so I had to assume he was wearing tan Caterpillar boots with striped yellow and black laces, and on that probably quite correct assumption, I hated him. He asked me my sandwich order and I told him, pretending to be shy to mask my escalating rage, and he threw the thing together like it just didn't matter, and when he asked me why he hadn't seen me round here before I don’t know how I found the strength to sweetly reply, “I just moved, yeah, used to live in Manchester but I’ve always fancied myself as a country mouse” with a smile, so convincingly he introduced himself as Greg and started suggesting local pubs to me, especially the Golden Lion because “you look cool, and they do a lot of cool nights there”. Cool, cool, cool, Greg, thanks for the tip, Greg. I asked him, “I come here every now and then for my lunch and haven't seen you before either?”, and he told me he's helping is mother out who’s at home in bed, sick. I told him that was really sweet of him and he crumpled in on himself slightly and said “nah”, as he limply placed the white, paper sandwich bag onto the counter, because I didn’t want him putting it directly into my hands and therefore did not offer my hands out. I waved goodbye after wrapping the conversation up with false platitudes, and thought again about the Caterpillar boots he might have been wearing, and thought about the beam in my living room, and thought about how many steps I would have to climb up to get back home and eat my sandwich. I made it to the top of my 39 stairs and into my flat without spontaneously combusting, and I sat behind my living room door with my knees up to my chest eating my sandwich which was, predictably, not that great. The onions this time were on the very top layer, the ham beneath those, then the lettuce underneath the ham, then the tomatoes, then the bread, like the whole thing was upside down. I thought about flipping the sandwich upside down to salvage this terrible situation into a bearable one but then the rounded-top half of the bun would be on the bottom, the flat half on the top, and I wasn't about to start creating my own problems. So I ate it, and it was fine. Which would be fine, but I’m not one to settle for fine. Today’s just been really hard. So here I'm sat with my Riesling and my good posture, looking at the long shadow my straight torso makes on the wall by the light of my reading lamp, and I just tried to call Will again, watching the shadow turn angular with my elbow’s movements like an old, German expressionist movie, but this time it went straight to voicemail and immediately I received a text saying: “Can I call you later?”. Will has turned his auto-reply on, and is no longer taking calls today. I’m breaking into the Mavrodaphne, and I'm going to apportion 14 cashew nuts for myself but first I will lean back for a good, long while. I won't call Will again. It’s really none of my business. My head just hurts from the knock from earlier, and I didn't like my sandwich at all, really. 

[thesundanceghost]

Could Be Worse

Because I promised you guys a one-shot, and I had a lot of feelings about pre-Season One stancy.  This takes place in late October before the show actually begins, right at the start of steve and nancy’s relationship.  @stancy, I thought of you while writing this!  Also @dadharbour, thanks for calling me out about how i always say i’ll write stuff, because I wrote this entire thing out of spite lol

“Oh my god.” Nancy’s jaw dropped.  She was going to kill her brother.

She was holding what should have been her striped grey T-shirt for gym, but instead was a smaller, unflattering grey shirt with the Star Wars logo plastered across the chest above art of all the main characters of the saga.

Mike had switched the shirts.  She couldn’t believe him.  She knew he’d been annoyed at her all weekend, but this was ridiculous.

None of the other girls seemed to notice or care as they changed quickly and made their way out of the locker room.  She glanced at the clock, groaning when she realized she was going to be late unless she changed right away. Grumbling, she stripped out of her sweater and top and pulled on the T-shirt. Luckily it was one of the shirts Mike had bought a size too large, so while it was small, it wasn’t unbearable.  She threw her stuff into a locker and quickly walked to join the rest of the girls outside.

To add insult to injury, the coach had lectured her for five minutes in front of everyone about proper attire while the other girls giggled about the unattractive shirt.  The coach then announced that they were going to play soccer that day, which was naturally Nancy’s worst sport.

God she hated gym class.

Nancy managed to avoid most contact with the ball by hovering around the sidelines.  About fifteen minutes into the game, however, one of her more athletic teammates made the terrible decision of passing to her.  She noticed too late, and they all watched the ball fly off the field until it hit a fence.

“Wheeler, go get it,” the coach told her, shaking her head.  Nancy just nodded, but as soon as she turned away she started muttering under her breath as she walked towards the ball.

She’d never understand why she was still being subjected to gym class.  Last year she’d been lucky enough to share the class with Barb, and the two of them had been able to hang in the background unbothered through most of classes.  This year she was all on her own, and it made all the difference in the world.  She pulled at the small shirt in frustration, frowning when it kept rising above her waistband.

“Hey, looking for this?”

She looked up at the voice, blinking in surprise.  Steve Harrington was holding the soccer ball, eyebrows raised expectantly.  He was wearing basketball shorts and a grey T-shirt as well, as she realized he must be in his own PE class as well.  After a second, his eyes flicked down to her shirt.  He smirked.

Embarrassed, Nancy just nodded quickly and took the ball, holding it in front of her to block him from seeing any more of the nerdy design.

“Come on Wheeler, hurry it up!” Coach Johnson called, and Nancy blushed.

“Thanks,” she muttered before jogging back to the other girls.

Only forty more minutes, and then she could get out of this class, and this stupid shirt.

*****

History was her last class of the day, and luckily she wasn’t on her own for this one.  She was able to rant to Barb as they walked to the class together, even though she got the feeling that her friend thought she was a bit too angry at her brother for the prank.  Whatever.  She was a sixteen-year-old girl.  She was allowed to hate her baby brother, right?

They separated once they entered the class, Barb sitting by the door and Nancy heading towards her assigned seat in the back corner.

“Hey Nancy,” Steve greeted her as she set down her stuff.  Nancy looked over at Steve Harrington, who was throwing his stuff down on the desk next to her.

“Hi,” she answered back nonchalantly, giving a polite smile.  She tried not to think about their run-in earlier, but she had a feeling he’d already forgotten about it.  Even though they’d sat next to each other in history for months (as well as having attended the same schools since they were five), they barely ever spoke.  She doubted he knew anything about her besides her first name.

Steve turned towards her suddenly, mouth open like he was about to say something, when the bell rang and Ms. Katz made her way to the front of the class.  Steve shrugged and turned back to his desk.  He was probably just going to ask what we were supposed to read for homework, Nancy thought to herself.

The class passed slowly, as it always did.  Ms. Katz was a fine teacher, Nancy supposed.  It wasn’t the teacher’s fault that she hated history as much as she did.

She was doodling small UFO’s and dogs in the margins of her notebook when something lightly tapped her arm.  She looked over to see a ripped piece of paper folded into fourths.

Nancy stared at the note, picking it up from the corner of her desk so Ms. Katz wouldn’t see it and snatch it up.  She frowned when she saw there was no name written on the outside.  She glanced around, but nobody seemed expectant, and being in the corner meant that there was really nobody else to receive it.  Nancy looked at Steve again, who was tapping his pen repeatedly as watched Ms. Katz.

Sensing her gaze, he looked up and smirked.  After glancing towards the front of the classroom cautiously, he raised his eyebrows at her and mimed opening the folded piece of paper.

She was wary, of course, but figured it couldn’t hurt to just read it.  Not checking to see if Steve was watching her, she unfolded it and stared at the dark ink waiting inside.

Didn’t take you for a Star Wars fan.  Cute shirt though

Nancy read it three times, just to be sure.  She was blushing intensely, she knew, so she hid her face as she attempted to get back to the lecture.  She tried to listen to her teacher, but her eyes kept flitting over to the words etched over the blue lines on the paper.

She’d sat next to Steve for almost two months at this point, and he’d never said anything besides the occasional “hello” or “did you do the reading?”.  They weren’t friends.  They were barely even acquaintances.  Nancy wasn’t exactly a nerd-- or at least, not like Mike and his squad were-- but her and Barb hardly even existed in the same social realm as Steve Harrington and the rest of the jocks.

Was she supposed to respond?  She didn’t know the first thing about passing notes.  Not that she was too good for it or anything, there just weren’t that many people who bothered to engage her in it.  Steve wasn’t looking at her anymore, but did that mean he wasn’t expecting anything?

After two minutes (though it felt like half an hour) of debating with herself, she gave in.  One reply couldn’t hurt, and she had to set the record straight, after all.  As discretely as possible, she wrote out a small response under Steve’s writing.

It’s my brother’s.  He switched them to get back at me.

She watched Ms. Katz carefully, waiting for the perfect opportunity to set the note on the boy’s desk quickly.  She was never one to pass notes during class, and she refused to get in trouble for something as silly as this.  After it was safe out of sight in Steve’s hands, she returned to her note-taking.

She’d only written another line of notes by the time the scrap of paper was back on her desk.  This time she didn’t waste any time in opening it.

what’d you do to him?

The words were scrawled in that same lazy handwriting, contrasting sharply with her controlled cursive.  She scribbled her answer back underneath and carefully placed it back.

He couldn’t go to the movies with his friends since I wouldn’t chaperone.

She heard Steve give a small snort before jotting something down and tossing it over.

Cruel woman, Wheeler.  No wonder he set you up.

Nancy barely kept quiet when she read his response, shocked.  She quickly replied, handwriting messier than usual, and all but slapped the paper back onto his desk.

I had homework!!  Besides, he was being annoying, and it was a stupid movie!  I doubt you would’ve gone if it had been your brother

bullshit. I’d be an awesome brother.

Well feel free to take Mike if you’d like to test that theory.  He still wants to go to the movies.

Steve actually laughed when he read her reply, but he turned it into a cough before Ms. Katz picked up on it.  Nancy couldn’t help but feel pleased at the reaction.

maybe if you came along.

The bell rang before Nancy could write a response.  She looked at the clock in shock, not realizing how much time had passed, and realized she hadn’t paid attention to the last ten minutes of class.  She’d have to copy the notes from Barb before the quiz.  Although she was ready to go home, she found herself strangely disappointed by the end of the school day.

Steve had already packed his bag and was making his way to the door, but before he left he threw her a glance, a small smile on his lips.  “See you on Wednesday,” he said with a wink, ruffling his hair one last time.

Nancy could only watch him, not remembering to put away her things until he was out of sight.  Barb was by her side in an instance.

“What was that?” Barb demanded as they made their way down the hallway.

“Nothing,” Nancy defended, still holding the paper in her hand.

“You were passing notes with Steve Harrington and you expect me to believe it was nothing?” Barb asked, incredulous. “What did you even talk about?”

“Nothing, Barb!” Nancy said with a laugh, even though she herself had no idea what to think about the interaction.  “It was just a conversation.”

“Can I read the note?”

“No!” Nancy shot back immediately, though she wasn’t sure why.  There was nothing incriminating about it, and she hadn’t lied when she said they’d just been talking, but she really didn’t want to see what Barb had to say about it.  She clenched the paper a bit tighter.

Barb noticed, of course, and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Look, he was probably just bored or something.  I doubt he’ll even look at me on Wednesday.  It’s not like we’re suddenly friends or anything,” Nancy said with a shrug.

Barb sighed, but obediently changed the subject.  As they made their way to the parking lot, Nancy saw Steve leaning against his car as he talked to Tommy Harding.  She refused to look at him, not wanting to give Barb the satisfaction, but she got the feeling he was watching her.  Something fluttered in her chest.

Maybe she’d let Mike off the hook this once.