A Chemical Reaction Called Love (Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader)

What's Hidden isn't Erased

(Before we start the chapter I just want to say I made a mistake last chapter, Steve does canonically know that the Demogorgon killed Barb and that the lab was involved in the whole incident, I had forgotten that was confirmed! I'm so sorry for the mistake you guys I'll try and make sure things like this won't happen again! The mistake was fixed though so don't worry! Now enjoy the chapter!)

Narrator's POV

Y/n walks into his room, with Steve not far behind her. His eyes take in the details of the space—a perfect contrast to Steve's own bedroom. The small room is filled with pictures and posters along the walls, some of Y/n and her dad, others of friends or the kids. Then a photo of Y/n's mom catches his eye; he had never seen her before, so he stares at it for a couple of seconds. In one corner sits a desk, neatly arranged with a nightlight, a cassette player, and several notebooks on top. There's also an old bookstand filled with books, movies, cassettes, and board games.
Y/n's room was much smaller than Steve's, as well as his house, yet it had so much more than his in the space they had that you could actually tell a family lived in this house, one that cared about each other; it felt like a home. Steve's, on the other hand, might have a pool, a big patio, and many rooms, but it was empty and abandoned, just like him.

"Feel free to leave your things wherever you want; I'll be back. I'm just going to get another chair for you," Y/n says before walking out of the room.

Steve nods and walks over to the bookstand, looking at the different cassettes. There was a big variety of music, which did surprise Steve; he grabbed the album 'American Pie' by Don McLean.

"Is it okay if I put some music on?" Steve asked loudly so that Y/n would hear him.

"Yeah, of course," Y/n told him as she walked back into the room with another chair.

Steve made his way to the table and opened the cassette player, placing the cassette inside and then pressing the play button.

"American Pie?" Y/n asks as she takes a seat on her desk, with Steve sitting next to her.

"Yes, it's a good song; don't you like it?" Steve asks, turning to look at Y/n.

"Of course I like it; Bob gave me that album, this is our song," Y/n replies, chuckling as she grabs a notebook and hands it to Steve.

"Bob? Who's Bob?" Steve asks, his tone shifting slightly, thinking of whether there's someone in school called Bob and wondering who this mysterious guy who shares a song with Y/n is; one could even say Steve was... jealous.

"He's a family friend." Y/n replies, "Basically, my uncle, honestly."

"Oh," Steve mumbles, feeling stupid for worrying so much. He wasn't even sure why he got so defensive; it's not like he likes Y/n; they're just friends; you don't get jealous about your friend sharing a song with someone else, so why exactly did Steve get worried? There are many reasons, but in truth, he wasn't sure why.
"That's nice," is all he says as he pushes back any conflicting feelings growing inside him.

"Yeah, I pretty much have a specific song that reminds me of my friends and family," Y/n explains with a smile as she takes out Steve's essay.

Steve couldn't help but smile back as he stared at Y/n. Ever since they became close friends after last year's incident, he had developed the habit of smiling whenever he saw Y/n, especially if Y/n was smiling when Steve saw her. She just made Steve feel happy; he would feel warmth in his chest whenever Y/n was around, something he had only really felt with Nancy, but the feeling with Y/n was different; it felt different; it had to be different; after all, Steve was dating Nancy while Y/n was just his friend.