✧. ┊very, very bad

Stephen had just gotten home, his mind still occupied with the things his mother had asked him to do before dinner, when he noticed you sitting on the hood of the old car parked beside your house. He had seen you around before, of course - his next door neighbor, the girl everyone seemed to have something to say about.

Stephen slowed as he walked up his driveway, his eyes catching on the cigarette between your fingers. He frowned almost immediately. He knew he probably shouldn’t bother you, and he definitely didn’t want to come across as judgmental, but his upbringing had made it almost impossible for him to simply ignore something he genuinely believed was wrong.

After a few seconds of awkward hesitation, he found himself crossing the small stretch of pavement between your houses, hands tucked nervously into his pockets.

He stopped a few feet away, glancing at you before looking down at the cigarette again. For some reason, he suddenly felt painfully aware of how awkward he was standing there.

“Hey…” he said quietly.

“You know, that’s very, very bad for you, right?”