007(ST-Steve Harrington)(On Hold)

9: Hopper Vs Steve

December 16th, 1984

Ten days after the dinner with Steve's family and my dad decided to hold his which definitely scared Steve and I. We were both silently freaking out on the inside and I made sure to drag him to a cafe in town in order to discuss possible questions and answers. I was fairly certain what was going to come up and wanted to guarantee that Steve gave dad the right answers. His family didn't care who he went out with but my dad was on a whole other level of paranoid. If Steve did anything that dad didn't like then our budding romance would be over way before it ever began. So I made him a cheat sheet and was telling him answers as we sat in the last cafe in town. Ever since the mall started construction, places started leaving before they could get run out of business and Delilah's was the only coffee shop left. So Steve and I were enjoying both it and two regular roast coffees, lots of cream and sugar in both.

"So if he asks what I plan on doing for the summer, I say that I'm working with my dad?" Steve inquired and I nodded. "You do know that I planned on working in the mall right?"

"There's a footnote about the mall under that question," I said and Steve glanced at the bottom of the page.

"Mall doesn't sound as good as working with your dad," Steve read aloud and I nodded with a grin. "So you basically want me to act nothing like myself."

"No, I don't, but it would be useful," I muttered and Steve glared at me.

"Great...I'll keep that in mind," he shot back and took a sip of his coffee.

"Steve, look, I know my dad and I know what he can be like. The man is terrifying to me and I'm his daughter and I just don't wanna think of what'll happen if this doesn't work out."

I sighed and stared into my mug, feeling horribly guilty and kinda stupid for wanting to mould Steve into a perfect person. Dad should be willing to accept him for who he really is, not who I build him up to be.

"Ren, it'll be fine. Your dad knows what I did for you by fighting Billy and he knows that I've changed. I can almost guarantee that he'll love me."

Steve reached out and laced his fingers in mine as I smiled, grateful that I had him to comfort me. Steve was great at just being there and I really hoped the guy was aware of how much he meant to me.

"Thank you, and forget the answers, he'll love you regardless...or at least tolerate you."

"I'll take it...though...there's one question that didn't have answer," Steve said and turned the paper around before pointing at the last question and frankly the worst one.

"What happened to Barb at your party," I read and sighed. "Dad has been wanting answers since it happened. Even though he knows that the Demogorgan got her, he still wants to know what compelled Barb to sit outside alone. But I'm guessing that involves you and Nancy?"

Based on the fact that Nancy kept repeating that she and Steve killed Barb I just assumed her death was because of them. Not a direct causality of course, but more indirect since Nancy and Barb were like sisters. Nancy leaving Barb outside all alone at like 1am was just to out of character for her.

"You're right, it does," Steve muttered and glared at his mug. "Nancy blew off Barb to sleep with me and afterwards, she died. Before that Barb was trying to shotgun a beer and she cut her hand open, from what we know of the Upside Down I'm pretty sure the blood tipped off the Demogorgan. After that I swore off alcohol till I'm twenty-one, likely forever. I'll never be able to forgive myself for that...I never should've left her out there."

By the time Steve was finished I had wrapped my hand in his and squeezed it hard. The guy was shaking and our connection let me know that he was troubled, worried even that he had destroyed our chances. I knew that wasn't true, Steve didn't destroy them, he just made a dumb mistake that was influenced by teenage hormones. I feel as though it's happened to everyone at least once, like when I kissed him less than an hour after Nancy broke up with him. The point was that we all did dumb things and I knew that Steve didn't deserve to get the whole blame.