BASKET CASE

THE PARTY HAD ALREADY STARTED WHEN GRAYSON ARRIVED. Dramatic as always, he chose to be fashionably late. He stepped through the unlocked front door and followed the sounds of laughter and banter to the backyard. Lit cigarette in his mouth, he cleared his throat.

Steve was the first to look at him, having just finished shotgunning a beer. He looked shocked for a moment, the party going silent. Finally, the Harrington boy smiled and exclaimed, "Grayson! You made it!"

It was impossible to have Steve smile at him like that and not want to beam in his direction, so Grayson offered a smile in return, "Yeah, yeah I guess I did."

"More the merrier!" Tommy yelled, tossing a beer in the boy's direction.

He caught it with ease and made a motion for Steve to hand him the knife. The boy did, so Grayson cut a hole in the can and chugged. Everyone cheered as he finished the can in less time than Steve. Throwing it aside, he settled on an unoccupied pool chair, Tommy clapping him on the back in a very boyish congratulatory motion. Nights like this brought Grayson back to the summer when he would hang out with Tommy, Carol, and Steve. Where he and Steve would sneak away and have their own moments in the shadows. Grayson really needed to forget those nights, but Steve was making it so much harder to do so.

"Was that supposed to impress me, Harrington?" a brunette girl, who Grayson assumed was Nancy Wheeler, asked, "Because I think Grayson's got you beat."

"Oh, so you aren't impressed?" Steve asked, lighting the cigarette he just placed in his mouth. The boy remembered when they used to smoke on the rooftop late in the night. God, just being around Steve and watching his stupid, heterosexual, mating practices was making him remember everything he had tried so hard to forget.

Nancy laughed, "You are a cliche, you do realize that, right?"

"Oh, that's the thing he's most proud of, Wheeler," Grayson cut in, earning a playful scoff from Steve. The boy just laughed at the other's attitude.

"Whatever, you're more cliche than I am, Nance," Steve sighed, "What with your... your grades and your band practice."

The girl just giggled again, "I'm so not in band."

Grayson internally rolled his eyes. Nancy was so Steve's type, it was almost laughable. She was just like Grayson except she had boobs. Steve, as always, was incredibly predictable.

Steve put his lighter down, saying, "Okay, party girl. Why don't you just uh, show us how it's done, then?"

Now, this was something Grayson wanted to see. There was no way a girl like Nancy could shotgun a beer more had she ever done so before. Nancy, however, accepted the challenge, grabbing the knife Steve handed over.

"You gotta make a little hole in—"

"I got it," Nancy insisted.

"Yeah, she's smart, you douche!" Tommy interjected, his voice significantly louder for no apparent reason. Grayson just sat and watched, sipping his own beer, one he grabbed after he chugged the other one. He never was much of a conversationalist when Tommy and Carol were around and he definitely wouldn't be when Steve's new girlfriend is around. Nancy finally cut the can and everyone started chanting "chug," Grayson included. He had to admit, it was entertaining to see a girl like Nancy go all out like this. Clearly, she was just trying to impress Steve, most girls were, but it was entertaining. He remembered when he had been like this. He remembered when his whole life revolved around Steve. Now, here he was. An outsider looking in. It took him a moment to remember his own boyfriend. He should be happy Steve was moving on, after all, he had. So why wasn't he?

Finally, Nancy finished the drink and took a bow, everyone whooping. Grayson cheered as well, trying to get back to reality as he really needed to get out of his own head.

"Barb, you wanna try?" Nancy offered. Grayson just noticed the other girl. A silent type, clearly, that was even more "goody-two-shoes" than Nancy appeared to be.

"What? No," Barb shook her head. Nancy, however, was persistent, "No, I don't want to, thanks."

"Come on!" the Wheeler girl insisted, Barb also being egged on by Steve.

"At least, give it a try," Grayson added. It made him feel bad to see someone so tightly-wound while everyone else was having fun. It reminded him of Elise, a girl who always spent too much time worrying about everyone else to worry about herself. One thing Grayson learned from being with Steve was that it felt amazing to just let go once in awhile.

Barb still denied the request, "Nance, I don't want to. Nance..."

However, a knife and a can were placed in her hands and everyone's eyes were on her. It was her time to shine. With a deep sigh, she stood up. Barb had clearly never done anything even close to this before. She went to cut the can, but instead, the aluminum dropped against the concrete and drops of blood followed it.

"Gnarly," was Tommy's input, helpful as always.

"Are you okay?" Nancy and Grayson asked at the same time. The boy leaned back in his chair, realizing Nancy would probably be a better comfort than someone Barb had never even met before.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Barb insisted.

The other girl was unimpressed, "Barb, you're bleeding."

"I'm fine," she said before turning to Steve, "Where's your bathroom?"

Steve got up and showed her, making sure she got into the house before returning to the group. They all went silent, Carol looking up into the stars. Tommy, ever the opportunist, shoved her into the pool.

"What the hell, Tommy?" she screamed before the boy jumped in after her. Grayson laughed boisterously, watching as Steve pushed Nancy in.

Not a moment later, Steve was standing in front of the pool chair Grayson was settled in, holding out his hand. With a devilish grin, Grayson took it, jumping into the pool and pulling Steve in with him. They all laughed, splashing one another and pulling each other under. Grayson jokingly gagged as Tommy and Carol starting making out, earning a laugh from Tommy as the freckled boy reached out and pulled Grayson under. He came up with a chuckle, holding the other boy under by the head until form underneath the water, Tommy picked him up and threw him as far as he could (which, newsflash, wasn't far).

After a while, they all got out from the water getting too cold in the night air. Steve handed everyone towels as Tommy and Carol began to head home for the night.

"Need a ride, Gray?" Tommy offered, "Your place is on the way to Carol's."

Grayson shook his head, "Nah, I got my own, thanks, though."

He bid them goodnight before heading back into the house. Steve and Nancy were heading up the stairs, except Nancy was stopped by Barb. As the two girls got into a small tussle, Steve placed his hand around Grayson's arm lightly.

"Hey, can we talk?" the boy offered, his eyes soft and pleading. Everything was screaming at Grayson for him to say no, but against his mind's wishes, he nodded. The two went to the bathroom where Barb had probably been, cleaning up her wound, a few minutes ago. Steve shut the door and leaned against the counter while Grayson rested against the door.

"Thank you," Steve offered, "for coming tonight. I... I didn't think you were gonna show."

"I didn't think I was going to either," Grayson scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No, I wanted to apologize, for how I've treated you lately," the boy sighed, avoiding eye contact, "I'm the one who ruined everything so I don't know why I've been acting like it was your fault."

"It's okay, Steve, what's done is done, there's no point in feeling bad about it." If what's done is done, why did Grayson remember it almost every single day? He would never admit this out loud, but sometimes when Matthew would kiss him, the boy would be thinking of Steve, but that information could ruin everything.

Another thing that could ruin everything was the way Steve was looking at him right now. "If it's so done, why do I miss it so badly?"

"Steve..." the boy began, but he didn't know what to say. What could he say when he felt the way Steve was feeling?

"I loved you, Grayson."

Suddenly, Grayson understood why he couldn't say those three words to Matthew. They were reserved for someone else. Maybe that was why he did what he did. Why he did something he would regret. He grabbed Steve by the collar and kissed him. He kissed him so passionately as if to make up for the months he had missed. The worst part? Steve kissed back. The boy cupped his face with the delicate touch only reserved for him, a touch Nancy would never feel. Grayson let go of the boy's collar, only to tangle his fingers in his hair and push him closer as if their bodies weren't already as pressed together as they could be. It was this that was missing in Grayson's life, this was why he kept remembering and remembering.

Finally, due to the need to breathe, they pulled apart. Grayson thought he might be crying, but he was going to claim it was the pool water dripping off of his dark hair.

"I shouldn't have done that," Grayson mumbled.

"I have Nancy," Steve muttered, his fingers going to his lips.

"I have a boyfriend," the boy admitted, the other's eyes widening.

"Grayson..."

Breathing heavily, Grayson opened the door and just before he left, he said, "Goodnight, Steve."

He left without another word, running out of the house with tears streaming down his face. When he got into his car, he didn't drive away right away. Instead, he slammed his head against the steering wheel, cursing himself and his stupidity. He drove home with tears streaming down his cheeks. He cried himself to sleep, one thought plaguing his mind the whole night, he was still in love with Steve Harrington.

y'all better appreciate this one kiss because it's all you guys are gonna get for a while because it's about to get a hell of a lot angstier! have fun!