Don't You Want Me? ✵ Steve Harrington

Chapter 16

Hopper sighed as he sat down at his desk in front of his favorite frequent inhabitant of the police station. But just because Kim was his favorite, didn't mean he was at all pleased to see her. "Henderson, I thought we agreed you were gonna stay out of trouble?"

She looked away, his fatherly gaze making her feel bad about disappointing him once again. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "But just after everything that happened last year, life seems so boring."

Hopper put his head in his hands and tried not to start yelling at the kid sitting across from him. "Boring is good! Boring is safe!" he snapped, unable to calm himself down. "Boring means that we don't have monsters roaming the streets anymore."

"I know, I know, Hop," Kim replied. "But I just- I don't know, never mind."

"What? What were you going to say?" Hopper asked, suddenly worried. "Did you see something?"

"I just wish I knew what I was doing with my life," she said, slowly sliding down in her chair. "At least when we were trying to find Will, when I was fighting demogorgons I had a purpose, you know?"

Hopper softened, knowing exactly how she felt. He was back to mornings of coffee and contemplation, no more late nights of solving mysteries. "Kim, you still have a purpose. You have to be a big sister to that weird brother of yours, and a student who gets good grades, and a friend that can always make her friends laugh."

"Yeah, like that's so exciting," she rolled his eyes, but deep down appreciated his words.

"I'm serious, Kimberly," Hopper said. Kim sat up straight, knowing that if he was using her full name it was serious. "I don't want to see you in here any more."

She smirked across the desk at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "But you're gonna miss me, aren't you, Hopper the Chopper?"

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. "Yeah, kid, I will."

•••••

"How was getting arrested again? Just as fun as you always claim it is?" Dustin asked as soon as Kim walked in the front door.

"I didn't- how did you- damn it, Callahan," Kim muttered, cursing the officer who had called her house.

"Now, I was the one who answered the phone, so mom doesn't know yet. I could magically forget what I heard, or I could tell mom and get you grounded for at least a month," Dustin said, a smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" Kim asked, her eyes narrowing on her brother.

"Ten dollars for the arcade," Dustin said, holding out his hand for the money.

She rolled her eyes but dug through her pockets for the money. "You know, Dust, I liked you a lot better when you weren't such a manipulative ass hole."

"Yeah, yeah, middle school boys suck," he said, counting the money to make sure she hadn't shorted him out. He smiled up at her when he saw that she had actually given him ten dollars. "Thanks! By the way, mom already knows!"

Before Kim could grab her brother and snatch the money back, he ran out the door and hopped on his bike. She sprinted after him, not wanting to lose her money for nothing. "Get back here, you little shit! Give me my money back!"

"Love you!" he yelled back, already too far away for her to get him.

"Kimberly!" Mrs. Henderson yelled, storming onto the front lawn after hearing her children arguing. "How many times do I have to tell you not to-"

"I know, I know," Kim sighed. "I should at least try not to get caught."

"No!" Mrs. Henderson exclaimed. "You shouldn't be stealing at all! We've talked about this, Kim."

Kim wanted to dig a hole in the grass and hide as neighbors started peering out the windows to watch the yelling match.

"Explain to me what goes through your head when you take something off the shelf," Kim's mom demanded.

"I-I don't know," Kim stammered, knowing she couldn't say that it was because it gave her the same rush as hitting a demogorgon did.

Her mom shook her head in annoyance. "You used to be such a good kid, Kimberly. I don't know what happened."

Kim tensed up, feeling like her mom had stabbed her and then twisted the knife. "Why don't you just say Dustin's your favorite already!" Kim yelled.

"I never- he's not-" Mrs. Henderson stuttered, not knowing how to respond to her daughter.

"It's alway 'Dusty this' and 'Dusty that,'" Kim went on, her voice rising. "But then it's 'Oh, Kimberly, you're such a disappointment.' I'm so sick of it!" Kim yelled storming back into the house and into her room, slamming as many doors as she could on her way. She threw herself down on her bed, and reached for the phone. "Hey, dingus, come pick me up. I need someone to talk to."

•••••

Kim looked up at the sound of something being thrown at her window. She rushed to open it and climb out when she saw that Steve was waiting for her.

"So what did Hopper arrest you for this time?" he asked, starting to drive away from her house.

She glared at him. "Why is that immediately what you assume?"

He looked over at her and raised his eyebrows. "So you're saying that you didn't get arrested?"

She rolled her eyes and she put her feet up on the dashboard. "Well, no, I definitely got arrested, but that's not the point. The point is that you always assume the worst."

"Well, this is you we're talking about," he smirked as he drove. "The worst is usually right."

"Hey! That's not very nice!" she laughed, lightly slapping his arm. She reached over a cracked up the radio, smiling at Steve as she did so.

"Oh no," he said, smiling as well. "It's the Kimmy and Stevie boy theme song."

"Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me? Oh!" they sang, knowing every single word to the whole Human League song.

"I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, that much is true," Kim sang into an invisible microphone. "But even I knew I'd find a much better place, either with or without you. The five years we have had have been such good times. I still love you. But now, I think it's time I live my life on my own. I guess it's just what I must do."

"Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me? Oh!" they chorased, diving down the dark Hawkins' streets.