in the days following, tj does her best to stay far away from her house for as long as possible after school. it's getting to the point where tj is getting home so late, she has no time to finish all her homework or study before bed. she often wakes up early so she can go to school to finish everything. every day, steve meets her in the parking lot; despite how much he hates her brother, he seems to have taken a shine to tj. tj finds it odd, but she doesn't push steve away.

"he's really getting to me," steve complains as tj works on chemistry notes.

"ignore him. that's what i do. you give him the satisfaction and he's gonna keep doing it."

"but what he says is true. he and tommy were both saying yesterday in gym how nancy and jonathan skipped class the other day."

"why does it bother you?" tj asks, finally looking up from her notes. she and steve are both sitting in her truck. steve has a book propped open in his lap, but he hasn't so much as read a single sentence. "honestly."

"because they had this weird thing last year and then we had that fight the other night at the party and now they're inseparable. i just don't understand what they have that we don't."

"steve, listen. i've never had a boyfriend, so I'm not one to preach about relationships. but I do know that sometimes it's not even like there's anything wrong with one person or the other. maybe you guys just don't click and they do. people change. people go through traumas. it might not have anything to do with you."

"you've never had a boyfriend?" steve asks in bewilderment.

tj rolls her eyes. "completely missed my point."

"i'm sorry. you just seem like the type that would have had a boyfriend."

"just flings," she admits honestly. "still completely besides the point. you guys didn't work out and that's okay. my brother and tommy are getting under your skin because you let them. you gotta just let that shit roll off your back. like water on a duck."

steve nods. "hey, the first bell is about to ring. we have about five minutes to get to class."

"shit," tj sighs. she kills the truck engine and shoves her books into her bag. "totally gonna bomb this quiz."

"still don't understand why you're waiting until now to do your homework?"

"i-i have stuff going on," tj stammers.

steve furrows his eyebrows. "what happened to just getting school stuff done? you were just telling me that's all you want to focus on."

"i'm working on it," tj says. "don't worry. tj doesn't mess around." there's a brief pause. "anymore."

"you referring to yourself in third person tells me otherwise."

the two get out of the truck and start their trek toward the front doors.

"don't be a wise-ass, harrington. that's my role in this friendship."

"you're right. i'm just the good-looking one."

"what am i? chopped liver?"

"no, you're the wise-ass."

tj sends him a glare. "you think you're so funny."

"i do, actually. glad you agree."

by lunch, tj is struggling to stay awake. with barely any sleep the last couple of nights, tj is growing increasingly tired. steve's quick to catch this and point it out as tj nods in and out of sleep.

"just... a lot going on." tj rests her head against the window.

"will you please tell me? kinda hard to help you out if i don't know how."

tj sighs. "my dad's an asshole. he came home the other day in a bad mood and i snuck out my bedroom window to avoid him and i've been avoiding him since. i go home late and sneak out super early."

"you can come to my house," steve offers. "my parents won't mind. you won't have to hide from them. and we can work on homework. you can get caught up."

tj hesitates. "i don't know..."

"nothing weird. i promise."

"steve, I trust you, really. i just don't—"

"teej, come on. friends. right?"

tj bites her lip nervously. she locks eyes with steve, unwilling to tell him she feels nervous about billy finding out. as often as she tells steve not to let her brother's words effect him, she's worried he'd actually become angry if he got the idea steve was trying to pick up his sister. billy knows tj can handle herself, but he still chased off most of the guys tj has ever been friends with.

the reason she's never really had a boyfriend before is because billy usually scares them away.

"fine," tj says, unable to ignore steve's expectant stare any longer.

"good. you can just follow me to my house after school."

they hear the lunch bell ring and the two climb out of the bronco. they walk together to math, like normal, and, for the first time in days— months, even— tj feels at ease. she finally has somewhere to go besides hawkins high school to avoid her family.

at the end of the day, tj meets steve by their cars.

"change of plans," steve says.

"huh?"

"so, i've been thinking—"

"you finally figured out how to use that big noggin of yours?"

"har har," steve says, glaring at tj. "listen, teej. i think i'm still in love with nancy. and i want to get her flowers and go apologize."

"okay?" tj says, now slightly annoyed. "what have i got to do with this?"

"i just need your help. i mean, you're a girl. you know all about how girls work. right?"

tj glares at her friend. "glad we've established i'm your couples' counselor." tj sighs before nodding her head. "sure. let's go woo your girl."

steve grins. "okay, well hop in!" tj let's out a loud huff before climbing into steve's car. he speeds off out of the parking lot and toward the grocery store.

"do you even know what flowers she likes?"

"flowers are flowers."

she shakes her head disapprovingly. "not really. different flowers mean different things."

"what, is there like a handbook to this? seems kind of stupid."

"roses are usually more romantic. like if you're going on a date, get her a nice rose. or if you're trying to, uh, get things heated. rose petals. um, daisy's are cute, if you're, like, twelve. what color does she like?"

"i don't know... purple?"

"you don't know your girlfriend's favorite color?"

steve cringes. "look, i haven't exactly been a great boyfriend, i will admit. but i do care about her."

"i don't know what advice to give you on flowers, honestly."

"well, then be moral support."

steve pulls into the grocery store parking lot and the two head inside. they go straight to the floral section and tj tuts at their limited options.

"so, what? the petunias?"

"no," tj shakes her head, "petunias are for your grandma when she's recovering from a broken leg."

"tulips?"

"mother's day."

"i swear you're just making shit up at this point."

"do you want your girl back or not, harrington?"

steve sighs. "so, what, then?"

"there's roses there."

"you said roses are for dates."

"they're at least romantic. most girls like roses."

"why didn't you say that to begin with? we could have saved so much time."

tj shakes her head. "honestly, i'd hoped for a better selection."

"it's hawkins. we're not exactly the most classy town in indiana."

steve grabs a bouquet and tj follows him to checkout. after paying for his flowers, steve leads the way back to his car.

"isn't it gonna be super weird when you show up at her house and you've got another girl in the car?"

"it'll be fine."

"if you say so."

it isn't too much longer before steve pulls up to a large two-story on the nicer side of town.

"jeez. makes my house look like a dump."

"just wait here," he says, ignoring tj's comment.

"but wait, what if you guys, you know, get heated?" tj asks, indicating to the roses.

"i'll be lucky if she accepts my apology. but if it makes you feel better, you can take off in my car if i'm longer than twenty minutes."

"so, what the hell am i supposed to do?"

"do your homework!" steve slams the door and leaves tj on her own. she watches as he starts up the drive to nancy's house. on his way, a kid intercepts him and tj watches as he strikes up conversation with the harrington kid. the smaller kid, who looks to be about max's age, snatches steve's flowers and heads right toward the car.

"what the hell," tj says as the kid pulls open the driver's side. the kid stares at her for a second, then turns to steve.

"you were bringing flowers to your girlfriend and you had another girl in the car?"

"that's what i said!" tj yells.

"she's moral support— anyway, what are we doing?"

"i would also like to know," says tj, still confused as to what exactly is happening. she glances between her friend and the kid.

"you still have that bat?"

"what bat?" tj asks.

"yeah, what bat?"

"the one with the nails."

"nails?"

"why?" says steve.

"i'll explain it on the way."

"now?"

"now!"

the kid opens up the back door and climbs in. steve quickly runs to his car and jumps back into the driver's seat.

"what the hell is going on?" tj yells, staring between the two boys.