Chapter Text
"Come on, Nance, we have to study, not just sit around and gossip," Ren whined just as someone knocked on the window, scaring the shit out of him. And of course, it was Steve Harrington, the bane of his existence. Okay, well, not exactly the bane of his existence. More like the reason he thought love sucked.
Ren sent a glare toward Nancy, to which she replied with a sheepish smile.
He just shook his head and leaned over to the window. He slammed it open. "Why are you here?"
"Sheesh, thought you liked me, Ren. Or thought I was at least tolerable."
Yes, I like you very much. Too much. "Nance is on house arrest. The only reason I'm allowed to be here is because her parents trust me. They don't, however, trust you."
"Can't say that doesn't hurt. Can you let me in now?" Steve grinned that impossibly gorgeous grin that turned Ren's legs to jelly, so of course he gave in.
"Fine." He stepped to the side and tried not to watch Steve's ass as he made his way in.
"I'm here to study with you!" he said way too loud.
Nancy shushed him, "If you're going to be here, you have to be quiet."
"Deal." He jumped onto Nancy's bed and immediately made himself at home. He grabbed the nearest pile of flashcards and started reading off of them. "'Which polymers occur naturally?'"
"Starch and cellulose," she said after thinking for a moment.
"'In a molecule of CH4, the hydrogen atoms are spatially oriented towards the centers of--'"
"Tetrahedrons," she finished.
Steve flipped through the rest of the cards. "How many of these did you make?"
"A lot. And you said you wanted to help, so stop complaining."
"Alright, how about this. Every time that you get something right, I have to take off an item of clothing. But every time that you get something wrong--"
"Uh, pass."
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun."
"Take a hint, loverboy," Ren whispered from the floor where he was studying by himself. He had migrated there just seconds after Steve laid down.
"During fractional distillation, hydrocarbons are separated according to their--"
"Melting point."
"Ooh, it's boiling point."
"That's what I meant."
"That's not what you said."
Ren couldn't tell exactly what was happening, but he heard a distinct 'no' from Nancy.
"Oh, do you need help?"
He heard rustling, another 'no', and then there it was. The kissing. He tried to ignore it at first, but it just wouldn't stop. Gross smacking of mouths was soon the only thing he could think about and hear. Ren stood up abruptly to try and alert them that there was still someone else in the room, but it did not work.
"Uh, hey, I'm just gonna go home and study. Seems like you two have worked out a rhythm on your own."
At that, Steve pulled away to look up at Ren. "Oh, sorry, man. Got a bit carried away."
Man, Ren thought. Definitely don't want to hear that. "You're fine. I'll just call Tam and have her pick me up."
He quietly left the room, shutting the door silently behind him, and hurried into the living room. Happy that no one was in there, he dialed the Holland house and hoped that one of his friends would pick up.
"Nance? That you?"
"Barb? It's Ren. Can you and Tam come pick me up?"
"Of course. I'll go get her and we'll be over in just a minute. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I just know that my parents will be asleep, so I figured I'd call you guys."
"Okay. I'll see you in just a few minutes. Bye."
"Bye."
He hung up, tiptoed through the house to the front door, and slipped out just as quiet as before. As he waited for his friends, he found himself sitting on the ground feeling absolutely horrible. He had a stupid crush on the most popular guy in school, but he couldn't tell his friends because that would mean he's gay. More than just gay in his own head. People would know that he was gay. He'd get called 'fag' all the time (more than usual), and his friends might even hate him. Especially Nancy. God, he had no idea how she would react. And he tried to hide it, but when they were making out right in front of him, it hurt really bad.
Tammy and Barb pulled up before long, and he hurried to the car as he put on a brave face. Don't let anyone know you're gay, that was his motto. And if they asked why he looked upset, he knew it would all come out. And so would he.
"So why don't you wanna stay at your place tonight? I mean, you do live right next door."
"I don't know, I'd just rather stay with you guys. Is that alright?"
"Of course," they both answered.
Tammy winked. "We just have to sneak you in." Once they got to the Holland house, she ushered Ren around through the back door while Barb went through the front.
"Hang on, there's a message on the phone." Barb rushed over to it while Ren and Tammy hurried upstairs.
"Hey, Barb? Tam? You home? I need to talk to you about something. I wanna tell Ren too, but I guess he's not home. His mom didn't even pick up. Call me back when you can."
Barb went up the stairs and into Tammy's room, where the other two were sitting, and ran to the extension in there.
"Hey, you okay?" Tammy asked, worried about her younger sister.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I'm not sure Nancy is. She called while we were driving home."
Tammy and Ren went over to the phone and stood by Barb as she dialed the number. All three of them pressed their ears to the phone.
"Nance? Hey, what's up?"
"So, uh, Steve left." She sounded upset. "Well, I made him leave."
Ren spoke up. "Why? What happened?"
"He didn't do anything wrong, I just wanted him to leave. It's really complicated."
"We've got time. Just tell us."
"Okay, so we were making out. That's when Ren left." A light bulb switched on in Tammy's head when she saw Ren's repulsed facial expression. "And it just didn't feel right. It was fine the other three times we made out, but this time it was different. I think it's because it was going somewhere? Or at least he wanted it to go somewhere. I don't know. I just didn't want him to be kissing me anymore. I started imagining it was..." She trailed off. "Am I crazy?"
"No, you're not crazy. I wouldn't want to kiss Steve Harrington either," Ren said in attempt to save face. He saw the look that Tammy was giving him, but he also saw the tiny smile on her face when Nancy said she was imagining someone else. They definitely needed to talk.
Soon after, the conversation ended with Barb assuring her that it was fine if she wasn't attracted to him anymore. She left the room after that and it was just Tammy and Ren alone. Tammy took the floor, like usual when Ren would stay over, but he joined her there instead of going to the bed.
"So when were you planning on telling me you have the hots for Steve Harrington?" she asked accusingly with her arms crossed over her chest.
Ren's cheeks went red. "No, I, uh, I don't. He's an asshole. That's one thing you were definitely right about over the past two years."
"Cut the bullshit. It was either him or Nancy, and you've made it clear on multiple occasions that you aren't attracted to her, nor have you ever been. I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worried about. But I'm your best friend. You could have told me you're gay."
"But I'm not gay. I like girls," he lied.
"Ren. Seriously. It's okay. You can be gay. Just because most people around us aren't cool with it doesn't mean I'm not. Pretty sure Barb's good with it too."
"And what about Nancy?"
"I think she'd be fine with it. I mean, we've all been friends for years. I doubt this would change that."
"No, I meant, what about you and Nancy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tam, it's clear you've got a thing for her."
Tammy smiled. "Maybe just a bit." Ren laughed. "But as far as we know, she only likes boys. So I won't get my hopes up. Now, you and Steve? That could definitely happen."
"Newsflash, Tam, he's with Nancy. I'm not even going to try to break that up. And even if he's not homophobic, which he very well may be, his friends are. Tommy and Carol? They'd beat me if they so much as had a feeling I liked dick."
"Steve isn't homophobic. I get the feeling from him that he swings both ways. I've even seen him stare at Tommy's ass before."
Ren shook his head. "I think you're imagining things. And I think we should go to bed before we think too much about all this."