001 (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Idiot

Steve sat with Nancy during lunch. She was talking about how so far her classes seemed like they would be a breeze, showing Steve the class syllabus for her math class.

"By the way, did you know that Billy Hargrove isn't the only new student this year? Apparently, there's a new girl, too." Nancy reported.

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I found out after dropping you off at your first class. She's in my Literature class."

Nancy's eyes widened. "Really? What's her name?"

Steve played with his lunch. "(Y/n)...(l/n). I think that's her last name. She made Billy look like a total loser in class. So, he was just a total ass but she was actually pretty nice-ish. I can't really say for sure, since she was mostly quiet the whole time. But the thing is, Billy sent her a paper plane, and she crushed it while he watched." Steve laughed.

"It had to be a note. He was probably trying to ask her out. Wait, is that her?" Nancy asked, looking past Steve.

Steve turned. (Y/n) was looking for a spot to sit. "Should we invite her over?"

Before Nancy could respond, Billy stepped in front of (y/n). Although they couldn't hear what Billy was saying, they could tell that he was pissing (y/n) off.

"He just doesn't give it up, huh?" Nancy said, while getting up.

"Wait, Nance- damnit." Steve sighed. Nancy made her way over to Billy and (y/n). Steve watched like a hawk. Then he figured it would be better to actually go help out. He stood up and walked over.

It was a good decision to go help because Billy wasn't bothered by Nancy, who was trying to play off as (y/n)'s concerned friend that was looking for her.

"Do we have a problem here?" Steve asked, looking Billy dead in the eye.

Billy smirked. "No. Not if you get your lady friend away from here, I'm trying to talk to this one alone." He said, motioning toward (y/n).

"I've already told you, I'm not interested. So beat it before I kick your ass, Hargrove." (Y/n) said sternly.

Steve was actually pretty surprised. This girl was obviously able to take care of herself. He looked around, and half the students around were watching, waiting for a fight.

Billy didn't budge, however. "You heard what she said. Now leave." Nancy said.

Billy shook his head and chuckled. "Whatever. See you around." And with that, he left.

"He's definitely not masking an inner nervousness. Well, hi, I'm Nancy."

(Y/n) only nodded to her. "I'm (y/n). Thanks for trying to help out. You didn't have to, I'm not scared of him or anything."

"Yeah, we can see that. I'm Steve. I'm in your Literature class. Do you want to sit with us?" Steve asked hopefully.

(Y/n), however, shook her head. "It's alright. I'm not a fan of third wheeling. Besides, I like to be alone. But thank you, I really appreciate it. Maybe some other time." She then walked over to an empty table down the cafeteria.

Steve and Nancy went back to their table, Steve looking over at (y/n) who really seemed like she didn't mind being alone. Other kids didn't make an attempt to sit with her. They only stared at her.

"I don't like the fact that everyone only stares openly." Nancy commented, resuming looking over her papers.

"Yeah, it's weird. I mean, no one seems to look at her with disgust, but it's still weird to stare."

Nancy sighed. "But what can we do? She likes to be alone."

Little did they know that they were wrong. (Y/n) sat alone with her thoughts, barely eating a thing. Being alone was the last thing she wanted, but her orders were clear.

Don't make friends with anyone. Keep distance. Don't get angry easily. Don't speak to anyone about anything.

You're here for an investigation. To fix a problem, not to socialize. That's what the people at the laboratory in California told her. She has to do something like cleaning up the government's mess.

She still hasn't been inside the lab here, so she does not know what the problem is. What she does know is that she can't get close to people, like Nancy and Steve.

She looked down at her arm and discreetly pulled back her sleeve to look at her 001 tattoo. Her prisoner's mark.

She pulled the sleeve down again and continued to eat.

The bell rang to go to class, and Steve glanced at (y/n) one more time before leaving to drop Nancy off, much to her protest.

"You need to stop that, you can't be late everyday. This is where you start going to class. Now, Steve!"

Steve smiled. "Fine. But I'm coming by tonight, okay? I'm as stealthy as a ninja."

Nancy shook her head. "You are an idiot, Steve Harrington. Go, I'll see you soon."

Nancy turned to go to class, as did Steve. Math was never really his strongest subject, but that's where he was headed, no matter how much he dreaded it.

Walking in, he saw that the desks seat two people per desk so he decided to take an empty one in the back, hoping that no one would sit there.

The class gradually filled up and Steve was pleased to see that he was left alone.

Until (y/n) walked in. There were no other empty desks, leaving her no choice but to sit with Steve.

She awkwardly sat down.

"Hi. I'm Steve Harrington. I figured I'd introduce you to class Steve because out-of-class Steve is another person."

(Y/n) couldn't help but smile and shake her head. "You know, dissociative identity disorder is a serious matter."

"No, I don't have dissociative identity disorder, Ms. I-like-to-be-left-alone. I'm just saying, class Steve is a complete airhead. At least my English teacher last year thought so." He laughed.

(Y/n) chuckled silently. "Well, sure I sit with you now, but this is the only time I'll sit with you or anyone else. Because the seating forces me. I hope that's clear."

Steve figured her out. She can't play tough and serious when he's being a complete clown. So he thought he'd just make friends with her by trying to be funny. "So, what you're saying is you're gonna be ditching now? This isn't the only time you'll sit with me, we'll be here everyday for months. Such a bad influence you are, I don't think my GPA will benefit with you influencing me."

(Y/n) rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the teacher, who was already starting to introduce himself and the course to the class.

Steve turned to look at the teacher as well, trying his hardest to pay attention.

Then, ever so silently so that only Steve could hear, (y/n) said, "You are an idiot, Steve Harrington."

Steve's eyes slightly widened in surprise, but then he smiled.

He took this too familiar phrase as a sign of progress. Slow progress. But progress nonetheless.