It was an unusually dull Saturday night at Family Video. Robin had called in sick which left Steve working alone to check out the occasional customer and restock the shelves with the VHS’s. With his head resting on his hand and his elbow firmly propped up on the counter, Steve’s eyes were beginning to grow heavy the longer he sat there. Without a single person in the store, the only sound was the promotions for new movies playing on the TV in the corner, that was until the ding of the door sounded around 10 and Steve popped up to see Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson walk in.

“Harrington, long time no see” Eddie greeted with a friendly grin. “Yep” Steve answered, already mildly annoyed by what he expected from the mouthy troublemaker. “I’m just gonna pick up a few videos if that’s alright” “I’m not gonna stop you” Steve answered with a sigh like he was realizing Hawkins’ poster-child for rebellious youth was the most human interaction he’d had all night. Eddie and his voluminous hair returned about 10 minutes later with two videos, reminding Steve that he actually had to work for a second.

“Alright, The Thing and War Games…they are both due by Wednesday” Steve explained but just as Eddie reached back to grab the videos, Harrington planted his hand back on them. “Hold up, it says you still haven’t returned three other movies…” Steve informed as Eddie tried to play dumb. “Really? I uhh…I don’t remember that” “Dude, it’s right here on the screen; Nightmare on Elm St., Gremlins, and The Terminator” Steve showed as he spun the computer around towards him. “Come on, man! I’m gonna bring em’ back…I’ve just been busy, ya know…school stuff” “You’d think senior year your third time around would be easier” Steve challenged before they locked eyes in a brief stare-off, waiting on the other to make a move until Eddie yanked the movies off the counter and ran towards the door.

“Shit!” Steve exclaimed before jumping across the counter and darting toward Eddie before tackling him onto the carpeted floor. “What the hell, Harrington? I thought you were a basketball guy, not a linebacker!” Eddie complained while they wrestled around on the floor to secure the tapes. “Give me the damn movies!” Steve demanded, knowing he would get in trouble if Eddie walked out of there with them. Both movies had flung closer to the nearest shelf and Steve was practically on top of Eddie trying to stop him from grabbing them. “Get off me, Harrington!” Eddie argued while squirming toward the rentals and reaching out for them until he felt Steve latch around his upper sides and a few fingers curl into his exposed armpits.

“WWooAohA! AohoaHANnOOahO!” Eddie immediately seized up and clamped his arms down with the bubbly outburst. “Shit, I was just trying to grab you but that works too” Steve concluded after seeing the animated reaction and sunk back into the edges of the pits. “AhAoahaohAAHhAARRiInnGGTTOOnN!! AohAoaaSSTToOhpP!! NOOnNOoO!!! GGoODDamMMiIiiTTT!! SstTOOpPTTiIicCkKLLiiiNnGGMmEE!!” Eddie shouted with a truly hilarious, robust laugh like he couldn’t take it. Eddie’s thin baseball tee offered zero protection from the tight fingers and his legs kicked around to try and get away but Steve straddled his back and crept deeper into the pits despite Eddie’s best attempts to block him.

“You were really gonna just steal some videos? That’d get cut from my paycheck, you know that right?” Steve pointed out while Eddie bounced around under him. “AAhoAohAFFuUuCCkKOOoFFF MmAAAanNN!! JJUUSSTlLLETTMMmEEGGoOO!!” “Are you gonna bring the other movies back?” “AaHoahAABbIiITTEEEmMMeEEE!!” Eddie fired back, persuading Steve’s fingers to sneak in even deeper and really dig around. “AAAhAohAOHAAOH!! MMOOOTThHEERrFFuUuCCCkKEER!! AAHaAHA!!” Eddie howled with a high-pitched shriek before quickly returning to his usual goofy laughter as Steve continued milking the weakness he’d discovered.

Eddie thrashed around and tried to drag himself away, eventually grabbing two movies on the shelf and throwing them at Steve. “Dude! Really??” “You’re the one fucking tickling me!!” Eddie pointed out as he took that opportunity to wiggle out from under him but Steve suddenly latched around his hips and started squeezing as brutally as he could, targeting the spot just below where his jeans landed. “NnoaOAohAOhAOH!!! FFuUuCCkKKYyOoOuUUAhOAHoAHa!! SsTTOhOHOPppIiITTT!!” the 20 year old high schooler yelled at the new attack but couldn’t shake the fingers kneading into his waist.

“Give it up, Munson - you’re not taking the damn tapes!” Steve assured. “AhoAHAOhWWhHOoOSsGGGoOnNNAASSTToOPPPmMmEE??” Eddie challenged to make sure Steve knew that he wasn’t willing to just give up. The ex-jock could feel Eddie’s stomach as he writhed around and saw that his shirt was riding up, prompting him to start squeezing up his sides with a focus on his belly. “OooOAOHAOhAOhOSShHiiITTAOhAOHAAOh!! CCoMmEEoOnNnHhhAARRiInnGGTToONN!!” Eddie roared and he shook back and forth on the floor with Steve’s fingers excellently chomping up and down the sides of his stomach with a solid grip.

“I’m not taking a pay cut because you can’t stop watching Gremlins, alright?! You can’t rent anything else until you return the other ones!” Steve reminded as he began sneaking in rib attacks every so often to keep Eddie floundering about and drive home his point. “NNoOoTTTMmyYypPpPRRoOOOBbLLlEEMm!!” Eddie answered before slipping out from the pin only to run into the neighboring shelf, knocking it over and on top of him and his new rentals. “What is this thing made of, concrete!?” Eddie whined while trying to shove the shelf off him and run out with the movies he’d finally snagged. “And I just restocked that shelf too…” Steve added. “Tough shit! Now get me out!” Eddie tried to persuade as he struggled to get loose, unable to do much on his stomach and with the shelf across most of his body.

One of those same movie shelves had fallen on Steve once, well Robin had helped it fall on him, so he knew it didn’t hurt but it was bulkier than it looked. “You know I can’t let you walk out of here with those tapes” “Are we still talking about the damn tapes?? Come on, Harrington, just help a guy out!” Eddie tried to convince as he continued squirming in place and his sneakered feet kicked together on the other side of the shelf. “Ya know, man you should really work on your upper body strength…maybe some pushups or something. That way you could get out yourself and your feet wouldn’t be stuck out here with me…” Steve explained with a teasing tone as Eddie’s dark eyes grew twice as wide on the other side of the shelf.

“This is bullshit!! Come on!!” Eddie fought to get loose and tried to shimmy his way from under the shelf, pounding into the floor as the anticipation ate at him until he felt both sneakers come off with a single pull. “Fuck!” Eddie let out under his breath in his own private panic before one and then another finger started strumming up and down his socked feet. He put his hand over his mouth and tried to control himself, thankful that Steve couldn’t see his face. “Damn, when’d you change these socks? A week ago?” Steve taunted while teasing the dirty tube socked feet. Eddie wanted to tell him to take a big whiff and tease him with his admittedly ripe feet but he was too busy trying not to laugh, hoping Harrington would just lose interest and leave them alone.

“You ever wonder why they color the toes and heels of these socks differently? That was always weird to me” Steve asked as he started trailing along the top of the balls where they met Eddie’s toes. “MMH!” a muffled squeal escaped from the other side of the shelf and Steve smirked with promise before fingering around in the space left by the loose socks around the toes. “MmPhM!!” Eddie could barely hold it in, now biting his fist and closing his eyes to endure the index fingers exploring his cotton covered toes.

The toes tried to wiggle around and both feet jerked as much as they could but Steve couldn’t be escaped, driving Eddie fucking insane with the relentless teasing. The way each finger scratched along the entire row and even wiggled between some of them was far worse than Eddie could’ve imagined and as mean and scary as everyone thought he was, he couldn’t stand another second of Steve tickling his toes. “oAohAOHFFuUuCCK! OOKOokAOHAoaHASSTHOOoPPPiIITT!!” “You been holding out on me, man? I thought maybe your feet just weren't ticklish but I guess I was wrong” Steve taunted with a devious side that didn’t come out much these days. “Now I can get rid of these socks” Steve announced as he grabbed the toes of the socks and yanked them off with a couple good tugs.

“NO! This isn’t fucking funny, Harrington!! Let me up before I get out and kick your preppy ass!!” Eddie tried to threaten, knowing he was running out of options that didn’t involve losing to King Steve Harrington. “Kick my ass, huh? Well I guess I better make it worth it then” Steve answered before descending onto the taffy pink soles in front of him. “AhAoaOhAhAOHAOAHASShhiIITTAHAOhAOHA!!” Eddie erupted with laughter that really barreled out of him this time as Steve scratched all over the wrinkled feet to see just how wild he could get.

“You should try going barefoot sometimes, man…I don’t know if guys are supposed to have feet this soft” Steve teased but they were indeed surprisingly supple and buttery under his fingers, a contrast to Eddie’s metal image. “AAHOAOhAohAAFFuUuCCkkKyYooUu GGETToOoFFmMYyYFFEEETT SSIiICCkKOOO!!” Eddie raged with higher-pitched laughter but Steve didn’t back off, instead spreading his fingers out more and spidering all over both pale feet with his short nails for a more intense approach. “AAAAAAHHFFUuCCK! AOhAOhAOhAAhoAHOHHoOOOLlyyYSShHiIITT!! AOhAOhaOAHAaOAHSSTTOHhOOPP!!”

“That’s the spot isn’t it, right here…” Steve pointed out after narrowing down what got him the loudest and focusing his nails on a small spot, just above his heel and next to the edge of his sole. “NnOoHO!! AohAOhAohAOHAAOAhAAOOhAAohA!!” Eddie screamed one good time and nearly flung the shelf off him before succumbing to the calculated tickling with some of the craziest laughter Steve had ever heard. As much as Steve truly didn’t want to have to deal with Eddie’s late movies anymore, dealing with his late movies tonight became a way to make his boring shift not so boring, whether he realized it or not. The truth was he and Eddie were from polar opposite social circles and had rarely been around each other much but since graduating and working at Family Video, Steve knew plenty more people than before, including people like Eddie; he just never anticipated having a showdown with him over a couple horror flicks and a Schwarzenegger movie.

“Tell me you’re gonna bring the tapes back” Steve pressed as he started working on the rosy heels with short drags of his nails. “AAoHOhaOAHOokOOKKK!! AohOAHiILLLbBbRRiinNGGTThhEEmMBBAACCKk!!” “What movies were they again?” “HAhAhAAaTTEERRmMIINnnAATTOoRR AAnNnDDEeELLmmMSSSTRreEEtT!!” “You’re missing one” Steve pointed out with a surprise return to the bubbly toes. “AaHAohAoAHOHAaANNooO!! AOhaoAhaohaGGREEmMLLLIIinnSS!! iIiTTSSSGGRRREEMmllLiIiNNnSSS!!” Eddie forced out with embarrassing squeals every couple seconds. “Great, now slide The Thing and War Games over to the counter” Steve instructed but Eddie was too relieved to pay attention, relaxing on the floor instead until a sudden rake all the way down his still very trapped feet jolted him awake.

“AAhAAhaALLLRRIiIGGHHTT!” he shouted and slid the movies across the carpet. “And those other tapes better be rewound when you bring em’ back” “Yeah, whatever, man…shit” Eddie agreed before Steve lifted the shelf up so he could get out. Eddie grabbed his discarded socks and sat against another shelf to put them on while Steve started picking up the movies that’d fallen, “Don’t uhh…don’t tell anyone about this, alright, Harrington?” Eddie added. “What? You think I want people knowing I touched your feet? Yeah right” Steve answered with a playful put-on disgust as Eddie put his second shoe on and stood up. “But I am gonna borrow this Weird Science tape, cool?” Eddie added with a thumbs up as he grabbed the nearby video off the shelf and darted out the door before Steve could even get off the floor, “...I knew I should’ve made him piss his pants while I had the chance.”