𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 | Steve Harrington x Reader

I - The Vanishing of Will Byers

"𝐍𝐨, 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 not! No!" I giggle, snatching the unfinished mixtape from Steve's hand. "You can't add that!"

Steve and I are leaning up against his bed, shoulders, and knees touching, as we assemble a mixtape of our favorite songs from '83.

"Why not? It's perfect!" Steve reaches for the mixtape, but before he can take it, I swiftly pull my hand above my head, out of his reach.

"Because it's creepy, Harrington! It's basically a song about stalking!" I reply as Steve leans closer to me in an attempt to grab the mixtape again.

"Is it a little strange? Sure, but it's also romantic. When I heard it for the first time, it reminded me of you." Steve argues.

My cheeks heat up and I'm suddenly unaware of how close we've gotten. I notice Steve looking down at me, our noses almost touching. As we maintain eye contact, I can't resist glancing at his soft lips. I mentally scold myself, he's your best friend, damn it.

Get yourself together.

Unable to hold back an awkward cough, I turn my gaze away from Steve, sighing, and reluctantly hand the tape back to him. Steve smirks at me triumphantly and adds "Every Breath You Take" to our mixtape.

"See, I knew you'd come around eventually, Henderson. It's hard to resist such persuasive charm as this." Steve flashes me one of his famous "King Steve" smiles, and I can't help but shake my head and give into my urge to laugh.

Steve and I spend all night making our '83 mixtape, enjoying each other's company, laughing and teasing as we go.

In the midst of our playful banter I glance up at the clock on Steve's wall, I realize that I'm late for my meet-up with my brother Dustin. I was supposed to be meeting him at the Wheeler's so that after the boys' campaign ended we could ride our bikes home together.

"Oh shit," I whisper double checking the time on Steve's watch by grabbing his wrist. "Shit, shit, shit!" I say louder this time.

I quickly stand up, snatching my jacket and shoes, which were scattered around Steve's room. Steve abandons the rest of the mixtape, hot on my heels as I swiftly exit his room and hurry down the stairs towards the front door.

"(Y/n), it's late, why not just stay the night?" Steve suggests as we both rush down the stairs.

"I wish I could Steve, but I have to meet up with Dustin," I say softly before I arrive at the front door.

I whirl around one last time to face Steve, my body close to his, as I wrap my arms around him and we exchange a brief hug. I savor our warm embrace, wishing I could stay but knowing my obligations to my brother, I let Steve go.

"We'll finish the mixtape another time, I promise," I say before opening the door. As I finally step out the front door, I turn back with a smirk to bid Steve a final farewell. "I'll see you around, Harrington! Don't miss me too much!"

"In your dreams, Henderson!" Steve returns my smirk with a certain fondness in his eyes, before turning and shutting the door behind him, leaving me to face the dreary bike ride ahead.

I take a deep breath, mount my bike, and set off in the dark cover of the night to the Wheeler's.

When I'm nearing the house, my mind inevitably wanders to Steve. We've been best friends since he found me sitting alone in the first grade, but something changed as we grew older.  He became "King Steve" and friends with Tommy H. and Carol. Total assholes. Despite that, we're still best friends, but things aren't the same. Especially now that he's dating Nancy Wheeler, who I consider one of my closest friends. Even though I try to be happy for them, this pang of jealousy stirs in my chest when I think of them happily in love. But I'm nothing more than Steve's best friend, so I swallow my feelings and accept the reality that they're together.