𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 3.1k

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𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓, 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 one of Diana's friends that she wanted Owen to meet. Even worse, Sadie Hawkins was a school dance – a function specifically made to turn gender roles on their head and cause total teenage chaos. Owen had to learn this the hard way when Diana woke her up one Saturday morning to go dress shopping. But with the excitement on her face and in her voice, Owen didn't have the heart to tell her that Steve wasn't actually her boyfriend and had no intentions of taking her to some school dance.

Ultimately, this lack of communication ended with the pair shopping at the one women's clothing shop in downtown Hawkins, sifting through the only dress options for miles. "What about this one, huh?" Diana pulled a white mass of tulle from the rack, spinning around to show it off. Owen's nose immediately scrunched in disgust, having no interest in wearing what looked to be a twenty-year-old wedding dress to a high school dance.

"Okay, noted..." Diana grumbled, doing her best to slide the poofy dress back onto the rack. Astonishingly, her spirit for shopping went entirely undeterred by Owen's nonstop pickiness. Every subtle shake of her head or furrowed brow just sent Diana right back into the mix of fabrics, in search of the perfect Sadie Hawkins dress.

It took a couple more tries before she plucked out the first dress that didn't instantly make Owen's face screw up in rejection. That was a win in itself, as least as far as Diana was concerned.

The true blue, shimmery material and shorter skirt gave the dress the most modern feel that the two had seen all day, making it a gem amongst the dated designs that had flooded the storefront. Though, the gaudy bow made of the same iridescent material sitting directly upon the chest did leave Owen with a few concerns.

Diana could see the way the younger girl's face began to morph skeptically the longer that she studied the dress. So, before Owen could flat-out deny the option, she was reaching out to drag her towards the dressing rooms at the back of the store. "Just try it on! I've got a really great feeling about this one, okay?" she promised with an unmoving grip on the teen's forearm.

Before she could really protest, Owen was being shoved into a dinky room hidden behind a flimsy curtain, alone with the bright blue dress. She sighed as she glared down at it, trying to decide if it was even worth undressing. Eventually, she chose to just appease Diana for the time being, her jeans collapsing into a heap on the stained carpet, along with her shirt and shoes. She unflatteringly shimmied the dress up her thighs, reaching around to zip it up as best she could.

Owen tugged the zipper into place, then blinked at herself in the dusty mirror, twisting and turning every which way to get a full view of herself in the dress. She could see the ripple of her exposed collarbones peeking from over the dress's neckline, the long strands of her fiery hair tumbling over her shoulders and back.

And as strange as it was to admit, Owen couldn't help but feel... pretty the longer she contemplated her reflection. She struggled to remember a time in which she felt such a way, having always been in her father's and brothers' hand-me-down clothing — or perhaps, if she was lucky, she got to don their late mother's more eclectic style. For lack of better words, Owen had never been given the opportunity to find a style that was hers. So, it felt divine to finally wear something that felt like it would belong to a normal teenage girl.

"Everything okay in there?" Diana called out apprehensively. On the other side of the curtain, the bottle-blonde picked anxiously at her cuticles, hoping and praying that this dress would work. They were starting to really scrape the bottom of the store's barrel of dresses and she wasn't sure if they could find another nearby clothing store on such short notice.

Owen pulled the dressing room's curtain out of the way, putting herself on display. Diana had always been animated, but at that moment, her face lit up like a Christmas tree upon seeing Owen in the dress she had chosen. Her eyebrows shot skyward, dark blue eyes widened cartoonishly, and her hands slapped dramatically over her mouth.

"Owen!" she gasped through the slats in her fingers. Owen couldn't help but laugh, unsure if the mere sight of her in a dress was worth such a reaction.

"You like it?"

"I love it," Diana emphasized, eyes zooming across every inch of the dress in admiration. "Steve is going to absolutely lose his mind when he sees you in this."

Owen's smile faltered for a split second as she remembered what they were actually shopping for. Damn you and your quick thinking, Law. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have to deal with this bogus boyfriend problem. In fact, she likely wouldn't be going to the Sadie Hawkins dance at all.

Maybe it wasn't too late to convince Diana to reconsider.

Owen chuckled nervously, sending Diana a glance. "I don't know. I mean, maybe we should just keep looking-"

Diana's smile fell instantly. "You've gotta be kidding me, Owen. This is the perfect dress, okay? It's like it was made for you," she told her before her face began to transform into something... concerningly inspired. "As a matter of fact, this one's on me," she announced, decisively.

Then, it was Owen's turn to wear a shocked expression. "What? No!"

But it was obvious that Diana had already made her mind up. "Yep, I'm buying it and there's nothing you can do about it." She spun Owen around and shoved her back into the dressing room again.

"Diana, seriously. You really don't have to-"

"I picked out the dress, so I'll be the one to buy it. End of story!" And then she whipped the curtain between them again, effectively putting an end to that argument.

Owen's hands lifted to rub tiredly over her face, trying to figure out how she was going to pull this off. There had to be some way to appease her family while not forcing Steve to roleplay as her boyfriend for the rest of their lives — or at least for the rest of their high school lives.

After realizing that she still had quite some time to ponder and prepare before the Sadie Hawkins, Owen gave up for the time being and decided to cut her losses. She clearly wasn't going to be able to convince Diana to give up on this dress, so she may as well just embrace the kind gesture for the time being.

The reflective blue fabric pooled at her sock-clad feet once she unzipped it. "Owen, I have some shoe options out here whenever you're done in there!" Diana called through the curtain, causing Owen's head to slump back onto her bare shoulders in defeat.

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Many preparations went into effect on the day of the kids' Snow Ball. Hopper had called Owen the morning of, begging her to come help with Eleven's hair and make-up. She did feel obligated to remind him that she wouldn't even classify as an amateur in the beauty department, but he didn't seem to mind.

So, Owen showed up at the Hoppers' door with all of her drug store make-up and a can of Steve's hairspray, ready to assist in any way she could. The two girls holed up in Eleven's bedroom, getting ready and listening to whatever radio station was the least staticky. Of course, most of them were pretty crackly and hard-to-understand simply because Hopper's cabin was so far off the beaten path, but they made it work.

The sun was sinking beneath the trees when Owen finally left to head back home, content with the cheap purple glitter she had decorated Eleven's large, dark eyes with. Admittedly, the swoops and swirls she had crafted into Eleven's hair weren't perfect, but Owen knew she had succeeded when the younger girl looked into the mirror and said that she felt pretty. That was all she had been aiming for after all — just to make Eleven feel beautiful for her very first school dance.

This left Owen's heart feeling lighter for hours after she left, the feeling present even as she slid into the passenger seat of Steve's car later that evening. The two had promised to drive Dustin to the Snow Ball after he had mentioned something about needing a pep talk before he went in.

"What's got you all smiley?" Steve inquired with a smirk of his own.

Owen chuckled lightly, peeking at him from the corner of her eye as he drove. "Am I not allowed to just enjoy the holiday season?"

"Please, by all means, enjoy your holiday season," Steve snorted, one of his hands lifting from the wheel in mock defense. "I guess I just didn't realize you were such a festive person."

She leaned an elbow onto the console, placing her chin into her waiting palm. Her eyes were fixed on Steve's profile as he drove, barely attempting to stifle her grin as she did so. "Maybe I've turned over a new leaf since we started this indefinite babysitting job," Owen shrugged, causing Steve to let out a laugh.

"I guess we both have," he acknowledged. "I mean, look at us. We're on our way to drop off a kid at a middle school dance." Owen turned, finally looking away from Steve to watch the trees fly by outside.

"Who would've ever thought?" she mumbled, rhetorically.

Owen and Steve were forced to brave the December chill once they arrived to pick Dustin up, teeth chattering as they waited for someone to answer after they rang the doorbell. Thankfully, Dustin's mom answered and ushered them inside, mentioning something about not wanting a couple of icicles frozen to her doorstep all winter.

The teenagers were finally able to defrost when Dustin emerged from his bedroom with his curly hair defying the laws of gravity. In awe, Owen subconsciously reached out a hand to touch it, but he swatted her hand away before she could make contact with the undoubtedly crunchy strands.

"Alright, let's go or else we're gonna be late," Steve prompted, practically shoving his companions through the front door. "Bye Mrs. Henderson!" Owen caught sight of the woman's endeared expression before the door shut behind them.

"Shotgun!" Dustin shouted amidst the mad dash to the car.

Owen groaned, but didn't fight him on the matter. She too was in middle school once and was fully aware that there was nothing lamer than having to shuffle out of the back of your parents' car.

Admittedly, she had never gotten dropped off by someone with as much social capital as Steve Harrington. Even so, the sentiment likely still held true. Besides, this just meant that she was able to slouch lazily in the backseat and zone out while Steve walked Dustin through an ego-boosting pep talk all the way to the middle school.

"Alright, buddy, here we are," Steve sighed as he pulled the car to a stop in front of the decked-out gym. "So, remember, once you get in there..."

"Pretend like I don't care," Dustin finished.

Steve nodded in affirmation. "You don't care."

"I don't care," Dustin echoed.

Owen leaned up, arms resting on the backs of their seats as she poked her head in between them. "Or you could just be nice and put yourself out there," she reminded him, "The right people will appreciate that."

Dustin's gaze darted between the two, anxiety written across his soft features. Giving up on trying to decipher whose advice was correct, he made a beeline for the rearview mirror, twisting it to get a better look at himself before he went in.

"Hey..." Steve griped, fixing the mirror. "Come on. You look great, okay? You look... you look great," he swore, peeking over at Owen for backup because in that moment, Dustin may have appreciated a girl's opinion.

Owen swiftly nodded in agreement, lips forming a tender smile. "You really do look awesome," she confirmed, watching some of the concern melt from Dustin's face.

"Now you're gonna go in there, look like a million bucks, and you're gonna slay 'em dead," Steve encouraged him, sounding exactly like the basketball team captain at all those mandatory pep rallies.

"Like a lion," Dustin nodded before letting out a Chewbacca-esque purr that caused Owen's eyebrows to furrow in a mixture of secondhand embarrassment and amazement.

"Yeah... don't do that, okay?" Steve recommended.

"Okay."

Steve stuck out a hand, offering a supportive handshake before Dustin went inside. "Good luck," he murmured, lips curving into a smirk. Dustin's expression mirrored his before he pushed the passenger door open.

Owen was quick to leap out of the backseat, fully prepared to take his place up front. "Have fun! Be safe! Be yourself!" she shouted out to Dustin as he walked to the gym. He turned and gave her a discreet, somewhat embarrassed thumbs-up before he slipped inside and out of view.

"They grow up so fast," she pretended to mourn once she was back inside Steve's car. Owen wiped at a nonexistent tear with the back of her hand, which earned a distracted, half-chuckle from Steve as he kept a close watch on the door Dustin had just disappeared through.

When she turned to study his expression, he looked almost wistful, like his mind was elsewhere. "Hello? Earth to Steve?" Owen said softly, unsure what would have brought on such a reaction. His attention immediately darted to her, dark eyes wide like he had momentarily forgotten where he was. "Sorry, what?" Steve asked.

The deer-in-the-headlights look on his face made Owen chuckle lightly as she shook her head. "I didn't say anything," she reassured him before turning to look out the front window. "But I did hear that they're doing a rerun of The Outsiders at the movie theater. Maybe we can go see that to pass the time before we need to pick up Dustin," she suggested, trying to catch a glimpse of Steve's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

With a real, full-on laugh this time, Steve shifted the car into drive and began to pull away from the school. "Oh yeah? Any specific reason you wanna go see that one again?" he teased, still not having moved on since learning about her crush on Tom Cruise.

"It's a good movie," Owen insisted, stubbornly.

"Sure, it's a great movie, even," Steve agreed. He turned to face her with a mischievous grin. "But surely you wouldn't mind telling me your favorite part of Ralph Macchio's performance in it, then?"

Owen had honestly forgotten he was even in the movie – and worst of all, he was actually one of the main characters!

Her shameful silence was enough of an answer for Steve, who triumphantly cranked up the ABBA cassette that had already been playing in the tape deck with a knowing smirk written on his face.

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The movie theater was empty when Owen and Steve walked in to take their seats. This gave the two the opportunity to take the best seats in the house: middle row, dead center. Perfect distance from the screen, not too loud, and no pain from craning their neck.

For some reason, as soon as the lights overhead dimmed, Owen was plagued with the reminder of the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. She hadn't thought much more about the dance since her shopping experience with Diana, but the event was a week away and approaching faster than Owen was prepared for it to.

She knew that she needed to have an up-front and honest conversation with someone, whether it be with her family or with Steve. This conversation was going to involve either fessing up to a total lie or somehow convincing Steve to go to this dance with her. Both options sounded extraordinarily hellish, but simultaneously unavoidable.

Owen had gulped down every last drop of her blue raspberry slurpee before she decided that just asking Steve to the goddamn dance seemed like the less painful option of the two. Sure, getting rejected by him wouldn't feel great, but it wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Still, Owen continued to find reasons not to bring it up yet. First, it was the fact that Steve seemed to really be invested in the movie. Then, it was the part where the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny – that was a super vital part of the story! She couldn't justify interrupting that for some silly conversation about a school dance. Hell, it wasn't until Johnny and Ponyboy were holed up in that old worn-down church that Owen finally worked up the courage to say something.

"Hey, Steve," she whispered, despite them being the only two people in the theater.

"Yeah?" he whispered back, not looking away from the screen.

For a split second, Owen debated whether this was still a good idea. Her eyes shifted to her empty slurpee; perhaps she could just ask him to get her a refill and pretend this never happened.

No, Owen. You either need a date to this dance or you need to let Diana know that she wasted her hard-earned money. Those are your options.

Her eyes drifted shut as she expelled a breath filled with anxious energy. "Do you wanna go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me?" Owen blurted, forcing the words out before she could shove them even further down.

When she got the nerve to peer at Steve from the corner of her eye, he definitely wasn't looking at the movie screen anymore. No, he was looking right at her with that same shell-shocked, goofy look on his face.

"As friends," she clarified before he got the wrong idea. "My dad's girlfriend still thinks that we're dating because of what Law told her that night you came to my house. And, well... she already bought me a dress and everything and I guess I could just tell her the truth, but that would just be so-"

"Owen, I'll go with you," Steve interrupted, putting an end to her rambling. The way her eyebrows shot upwards made him chuckle before he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "You've saved my life more than once. It's the least I can do."

His nonchalance made Owen feel slightly silly for ever having been so worried. She slouched back in her chair, feeling like a weight had been magically lifted from her shoulders. "Um... thank you, I guess," she mumbled, quietly. "Or... you're welcome? I don't know." Steve didn't say anything else, but he found himself stealing glances at Owen throughout the rest of the movie.

And although neither of them said it, they each suddenly began to look forward to the Sadie Hawkins dance the following weekend.