a 🧸🫧

      “What the hell…” Robin whispers to herself before quickly reaching for the remote and shutting the TV off. She looks over at your hand in your mouth, your fingers completely destroyed– hers the same. In the back of your mind, you knew why she was this upset. Was Steve really the one out there in that mask? Was he really the one who was just thrown against that building? But also, maybe she was just scared. After all, your city was just promised to be destroyed. You were scared. Scared for your family, scared for the future. Usually, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was fighting your everyday robbery, not some criminal mastermind who now has mechanical octopus arms coming out of his back. The city had never seen someone so dangerous, so… threatening. Just watching him speak was enough to make your stomach turn. 

      Robin runs her hands through her hair, holding back the tears that are still building up in her eyes. “R… hey.” You walk over to your friend and take her hands into yours. Both of your clammy hands are holding onto one another for dear life. “It’s gonna be okay.” You give her a small smile, one she returns fondly. “Yeah, right, of course. The… city will be fine.” She nods her head as she takes a deep breath. You nod along with her before there is a loud, frantic knock at the door. You give Robin a confused look as she makes her way to the door, swinging it open to reveal two younger boys that you have never seen before. “Where is he??” The one with curly hair says, almost yelling, the curls being squashed underneath his baseball cap. Robin stutters and then looks back at you, then back at the two boys. “Have you been watching the news?” The other one exclaims, his deep black hair swooping to the side. 

You furrow your brows as you take a step towards Robin. She looks back at you, then back to the boys again. She starts to stutter, seemingly not able to find any words to say to you or the boys in front of her. “I- um, yeah! Of course I have! Have I seen who? That creep Dr. Octavius, no! Why would I?” You can’t see it, but her eye twitches at the boys, hoping that they will catch on to what she is doing. You peek your head into view, where the boys can now see you too, and the one with curly hair’s eyes go wide. “Oh!” he exclaims. “You’re right, Robin, this perhaps isn’t a good time. Mike and I will be back later, yeah?” Robin just nods before slamming the door and turns around to face you, a smile on her face. 

“What the hell was that?” you ask, arms crossed over your chest. “Nothing!” Robin says as she steps further into your dorm room. “Just some kids that Steve and I know. Don’t worry about it.” You bite your bottom lip, thinking. “Riiiight…” you whisper at her as she sits across from you on her bed. She seems nervous. Not the normal kind of nervous that you're used to seeing from her. “Rob, is something…” You search for what to ask. She stands up and runs her fingers through her hair, her eyes refusing to meet yours. “...wrong?” You finally finish your sentence. She shakes her head a little too quickly in response as she looks back at the door before sighing. “Um, I’m so sorry but I uh, I think I need to go.” Your face distorts into confusion, and she is already up and gathering her stuff before she can even finish her sentence. “Go?” She nods and looks back at you sympathetically. She freezes for a moment before going to open the door. “The kids! I-I should make sure they get home okay.” You nod. “Yeah, okay, no problem. I’ll call you if anything else crazy happens on the news, yeah?” Robin walks over and hugs you. “I’ll be back later.” She states before barging out of the dorm room. 

You are now left in silence. The only thing making noise is that damn heater in your room. The only thing providing even an inch of comfort in this moment. You sigh and crawl into your bed, snatching the TV remote off of Robin’s nightstand, flicking the TV back on. What’s going on at OSCORP is being published on every single channel, and you just can’t seem to get away from it. You decide to turn the TV off and do your pre-semester homework, hoping it will take your mind off it. You open up your biology lab, and the article you have to read is titled, “Genetic Engineering: An Oscorp Study.” You groan and throw the book onto the floor, running your fingers through your hair. “Of course…”

You throw your body against the bed, completely defeated. You stare up at the ceiling, eyes growing a bit heavier with every passing moment. You’re about to just take a nap when another loud bang is heard at your door. You prop yourself up on your elbows as your eyebrows furrow. Another kock. You sit up straight, hair a bit of a mess after it had just been squashed on your pillow. Another knock. “Jesus, I’m coming!” You yell towards the closed door and hop out of your bed, making your way towards it. One final knock is heard from the opposite side of the door. “Oh my god, R, did you forget your keys or something?” You say with a laugh and swing the door open, your smile dropping immediately. “Steve?” His name falls from your mouth, your tone light in disbelief. You look him up and down, his eyes are bloodshot, and he has scratches covering almost the entirety of his body. Your biggest worry, though? Is the huge black eye hidden by his glasses, and the fact that he can barely stand and is using your doorframe to hold himself up. “Oh my god, are you-?” You can’t even find the words. You notice his hand slipping off the doorframe, and you immediately grab his arm, pulling him up and locking your arm around his. “Come on, come sit down.” He almost protests, seeing now that you're alone and Robin isn’t in the dorm, but he obliges, following you towards your bed. He holds onto your shoulder for extra security as he pushes himself up onto your bed, his eyes closing tightly as a ‘mmm…’ falls from his lips. 

“I-I’m sorry, I just had nowhere else to go.” He whispers. You shake your head, grabbing a water bottle from your mini fridge. “Take your glasses off.” His apology goes in one ear and out the other for you. Your mind is fogging with worry. He starts to take off his glasses and winces from the pain of them slightly touching his eye. You walk over to him, concern drenches your features as you bring your hand up to his chin, tilting his head upwards so you can see his face better. You gently put the water bottle against his eye and shake your head again. Steve smiles up at you and scoffs. “What? Worried about me?” 

“Shut up.” You whisper, taking a step back now that he has taken over, holding the water bottle against his eye. You walk over to your desk, opening it drawer by drawer, looking for the first aid kit you stuffed away somewhere when you first moved into the dorms, growing more and more agitated every time it’s not in the last drawer you opened. “Calm down over there, princess. I’m fine.” You can’t help but shake your head again, a natural response to almost everything Steve does. As you’re searching for the kit, your mind continues to race, worry clouding your thoughts. Do I tell him I know? What if I’m wrong and he just laughs in my face? Hey! You’re Spider-Man, and I’ve known for months! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You finally find the first aid kit and walk back over to Steve, sitting next to him on the bed. You open up the tiny bottle of peroxide and put it on a cotton ball. Steve whines at the smell of it. “Oh, fuck, for real?” “Brace yourself, it’s gonna burn.” Steve winces in pain as you press the cotton ball on all of the cuts on his face. With each pat of the cotton ball, he pulls his face further away from your touch. “Stop moving…” You sigh into a whisper. Steve watches you intently as your hand now cups the back of his head so he can’t pull away any further. 

The only thing you can hear is the sound of Steve’s irregular breathing and the sound of your own heartbeat. You think for a moment about asking him what happened. Maybe in this vulnerable state, he would finally feel comfortable enough to talk to you. You decide to take the chance, breaking the silence with a deep breath to stabilize your own breathing now. “Care to explain how any of this happened?” You ask, voice low so as not to disturb the boy who most definitely has a concussion. Your hand has now slid down to his neck, still holding him still. He responds with only a shrug, and you frown. “Right.” You sigh and grab the ice pack out of the first aid kit, cracking it to activate it. Steve gladly takes it from your hand, swapping the water bottle out for something colder and more effective. You take the water bottle from him, opening it so he can now use it for its intended purpose. “Thank you.”, he says softly, his hand slowly reaching to grab it. His fingertips reach the back of your hand, the feeling of his touch making your eyebrows raise only for a second. His eyes meet yours, his touch still lingering. The smallest trace of a smile appears on the corner of his mouth as he finally takes the water from you. 

You watch him closely as he takes a drink, one hand still shielding his bruised face with the ice pack. You want to cry seeing him like this, especially knowing that he is lying. Everyone around you is lying. Your heart stings at the thought. Does everyone know but me? Your throat tightens with sadness, defeat drenched on your face. He looks over at you and sighs, removing the ice pack and putting his glasses back on. “No crying over little old Stevie, okay? I just… had a skateboarding accident.” He looks away from you when he says that last part. A lie. 

All you can do is nod before you take a deep breath and sigh. “Mmmhmm, skateboarding.” You can’t even look at him anymore as you play with your fingers in your lap before standing up and running your fingers through your hair. “What?” Steve asks, confused by your seemingly nervous demeanor. Your chest rises and falls visibly as you pace in front of Steve. His eyes tracked your movements, eyebrows starting to raise at each passing moment. “You're freaking me out.” He finally says, about to stand up. “No, Steve, you’re freaking ME out!” You exclaim, now looking down at him as he relaxes back onto the bed. “I told you, I’m fine!” He raises his voice slightly at you, but he immediately retracts it as his head starts to pound. “Stop lying to me!” You yell, your voice now also ringing in Steve’s ears. He looks right at you, dead in the eyes. “Lying? I’m not lying!” He yells back, now ignoring the pain in his head. He starts to stand up, groaning as soon as his feet touch the floor. You go to grab him, but he dismisses your touch, almost pushing you away, a direct contrast from the moment you had with him just seconds ago.“I don’t know why I came here,” he mumbles under his breath as he waddles towards the door. “Yeah, whatever, run away like you always do, go save the world, Spider-Man!” It slips out of you before you can even think to stop it, and a whisper of a gasp leaves your lips. Steve stops in his tracks, hand frozen on the doorknob, before he slowly turns to face you. He licks his lips and then takes a deep breath. He says nothing for a moment, eyes burning into yours. 

“What did you just say?” He has a smile on his face, though not joyful. It’s filled with annoyance and rage. You can’t help but scoff as you throw your arms in the air in disbelief. “You’re insane.” He says to you before opening the door and making sure to slam it on his way out. You are once again left alone, standing in the middle of your dorm room. The silence is sickening, deafening. A tear falls down your cheek as you gather your thoughts, not able to understand what is happening. You decide you’ve had enough for the day as you crawl into bed, forcing your mind to shut off as you drift off to sleep. 

—

Your alarm blares in your ear as the Monday sun rises, initiating the start of the new semester. You groan as you lean over and shut it off, and you notice Robin’s figure underneath her comforter. You sigh, grateful to no longer be alone, but also irritated that you can’t talk to her about anything. Especially not after Steve’s reaction, his blatant shut-down of your accidental slip-up has left you second-guessing yourself more than ever before. Swinging your legs over your bed, you stretch and try to shake off the rotten feeling that the conversation you and Steve had the night before has left you with. Maybe it was just a dream. You try to convince yourself, even though the image of Steve’s black eye is burned into your memory. You finally get yourself out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake Robin, but she turns over and her eyes flutter open anyway. “Hey, Dingus.” She whispers, her voice coarse and rough with sleep. “Hi.” You give her a small smile through the mirror as you’re sitting on the floor in front of it, doing your makeup for the day. “Sorry to run out on you like that yesterday.” You shrug, putting your mascara on. “No worries.” She sighs and stands up, coming over and sitting down right next to you on the ground, legs criss-crossed. She leans over, head resting on your shoulder. “We are gonna have a movie night tonight at Steve’s parents’ house, care to join?” You lean your head onto hers, you guys looking at each other through the mirror. You hesitate for a second before taking a deep breath and sigh. “Sure, why not?” You smile and pat her on the knee before standing up and grabbing your book bag. “See you later then?” You say with a smile, and she nods, a yawn stopping her from replying with words. 

You start to make your way to class, and the feeling of being outside is almost nerve-wracking due to everything that's been going on in the city. You try to ignore it, but you're trapped in your thoughts. A sudden brush on your arm takes you out of it, making you jump. You turn around and see Steve standing there. Your eyes sweep over his figure, the same way they did when he was at your door, but this time his eye wasn’t swollen, and the cuts and scratches have faded to light lines. His posture is also better. He isn’t bent over in pain, and he no longer needs any kind of support to stand.

  He notices the hand over your heart and laughs. “Scare you?” You squint your eyes at him before turning around, not saying anything back. He jogs towards you, grabbing your arm once he catches up again. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?” He says, and you can’t help but notice the way the light is hitting his sun-kissed hair, or how his glasses are slipping down his nose before he pushes them up with his middle finger. You shake your head, ignoring those thoughts, and sigh. “Thank you for helping me yesterday. I shouldn’t have run out on you like that.” You scoff at his statement as you look up at him. “Nothing new.” You shrug as you pull your book bag up your shoulder and try to avoid eye contact with the boy in front of you. He ignores you and runs his fingers through his hair messily, and you can’t help that your heart skips a beat. “Did Robin tell you about movie night tonight?” You nod and shield your eyes from the sun with your hand as your face is now turned upwards towards him. “Good. I wanna make it up to you…last night, I mean.” You laugh softly and look at your watch. “Well, I’ll be there. I, uh…I need to get to class.” You scrunch your face up and point behind you, motioning towards the English building. He nods and starts walking backwards. “I’ll see you later, princess!” He shouts before turning around, his skateboard now on the ground as he runs off to… whatever it is that Steve Harrington has to do today. Is it economics? Or is it saving the world? 

—

You find yourself a few hours later, knocking on the big double doors of Steve Harrington’s family home, nervously waiting for someone to open the doors as rain pours down all around you, enveloping you underneath your umbrella. Your hoodie being the only thing providing you with even an ounce of comfort from the chilly night. You are finally greeted with a sad smile from one of the boys that you saw just yesterday at your dorm. “Oh, hi!” He says, moving so you can walk past him inside. “I’m Dustin, by the way.” He says as he walks in behind you. You give him a warm smile and introduce yourself back, quickly closing your umbrella in order to not leave a mess on the polished wood flooring. The boy finally moves in front of you to guide you to the living room, where everyone else is. You were expecting to see smiles, hear laughter, and see popcorn everywhere, as a horror movie played. Instead, you walked into silence, everyone’s eyes glued to the news that was playing on the screen in front of them. “Wh-what’s going on?” You ask anxiously, Robin turns towards you, and bites her bottom lip anxiously. “Doctor Octavius, he…” She stops in her tracks and motions for you to come sit next to her. You take another look around the living room as you set your bag down on the table beside you, finding comfort next to your best friend on the couch. There are six kids spread across the floor on sleeping bags, one that you now know to be Dustin, and three other people your age sitting on another couch across from you. Nancy, Jonathan, and Eddie, people you have met many times before, whether it be with Robin or at a frat party. They all give you a small wave before gluing their eyes back to the TV. 

“Um, where’s Steve?” You ask. Everyone, including the kids, directs their attention towards you now. On the TV, Spider-Man is shown swinging from building to building, desperately trying to save anyone he can as Doctor Octavius destroys any building he comes into contact with. “He, um-” Nancy starts to say, but Jonathan finishes for her, “is just stuck in traffic, is all, he was coming from…the city.” You look at all of them in disbelief, “The city? Is he okay?” Nobody answers you as their eyes avert back to the news. You couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Well, I’m not sitting around here. If he’s stuck in the city, I’m going to go get him.” It no longer mattered to you whether Steve was Spider-Man or not. Regardless of whether he was the masked figure swinging from building to building on TV or if he really was in the city, stuck as an innocent bystander. You stand up from your position on the couch and grab your things from the coffee table recklessly. Robin stands up and blocks you from moving any further. “We can’t do anything! All we can do is wait.” You shake your head as you start to walk towards her. “Yeah, maybe that’s all you can do.” You spit out at her. Nancy softly grabs your wrist and tries to protest, along with the rest of the party around you. “You putting yourself in danger isn’t going to help anyone. Especially not Sp-...” Another of the younger kids with auburn hair starts to argue before stopping in her tracks. “Steve.” She finishes. “I know you all think I’m oblivious to what is going on, but I’m over it.” Your voice rises, unable to control your anger any longer. “I’m leaving. And if I get hurt, that’s on me.” You rip your wrist out of Nancy’s grasp and bump shoulders with Robin, making your way to the front door, completely abandoning your umbrella now.  

You make your way towards your car, rain now drenching the entirety of your body. You march furiously to the driver’s seat, emotions running wild. Your eyes well up with tears but at the same time, you’re angry. But, most importantly, you’re scared. You open your car door, slamming it shut behind you as you shiver from the intensity of your now soaking wet hair and clothes. You know Robin is right; there truly is nothing that you can do, but you don’t care. You know that’s Steve out there fighting for his life, for the city’s life, and you want to be there for it. There was no room anymore even to believe that you were speculating. Steve Harrington is Spider-Man. And you knew it. Regardless of how Steve acted the other night, you weren’t ignorant of what was going on around you. The paranoia from Robin, all of his friends deathly worried about Spider-Man at all times every single day. 

As you make your way towards the city, your heart is beating a million miles per hour. Cars are piled up in traffic on the other side of the street, trying to escape the uncertainty of the city. It feels like the apocalypse, and you're driving right into it. Nearing the city, more and more sirens are heard. The night sky is lit up by the fires that are devouring beloved buildings, smoke clouding the stars. 

You make it to the city, stepping out of your car as you realize there’s truly nowhere to go. Police lights are lighting up every street corner while the sound of ambulances blares from every direction. The rain is making it impossible to see the aftermath of what Doctor Octavious had done. You blink raindrops from your eyelashes, trying to make sense of where you should go. Your heart beats out of your chest while the only smell filling your nose is smoke. You stand still for a moment, head turning in every direction before deciding to make your way further into the destruction. You run closer to the buildings that you know were being shown on the news, but it’s quieter than you expected. All of a sudden, you hear coughing from a nearby alley, and you run towards the sound. Maybe someone needs help, you think to yourself as you make your way down the alleyway. The figure is leaning against the wall, desperately trying to catch their breath as they slide their body down to sit. “Hey, are you alright?” You say, still not able to make the person out in the darkness and the rain. You put your hand over your eyes to try and block the rain from your view. “Miss, no! It…it’s not safe…” the person exclaims, not able to see you either. You are finally right in front of them, a street light providing the tiniest bit of visibility as you gasp. “Oh, shit.” You say, leaning down beside them, Spider-Man. The masked figure finally looks at you and jumps. “Wh-what are you doing here? You can’t be here!” He exclaims, almost scolding you. It would have sounded more assertive if he had been able to catch his breath. 

You look down at his hands covering his torso, your hand immediately going up to your mouth as you gasp. “Oh, my god.” Your hands now meet his, uncovering the huge gash that was taken out of him. You press firmly on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “We have to get you out of here.” You say to him, scared for his well-being. You knew whether or not this was Steve, although you were 99% sure it was; the person in front of you was in desperate need of help, and you were suddenly glad to be here. “No, we need to get YOU out of here! You…you shouldn’t be here!” You shake your head as you notice how hard he is trying to breathe, his chest rising and falling too quickly for someone who is getting an adequate air supply. “You need to take off your mask, you can’t breathe.” You state, hands never leaving his torso. He scoffs. “Nice try, princess.” The nickname rolls too easily off his tongue, as he winces in pain when a strike of thunder makes him jump. “I can’t get either of us out of here if you can’t breathe enough to even walk. The rain is pouring hard enough that no one will see. Please, you’re bleeding too much.” You beg him to listen to you. You’re almost screaming because of how loud the rain is pouring down, thunder crashing all around the two of you. “God, you’re stubborn.” He sighs, finally reaching up and pulling his mask off his face. 

It’s like time freezes, seeing the face of Steve Harrington appear in front of you. I knew it. There’s a moment of uncertainty between the two of you as your eyebrows raise in shock. You know it isn’t the time to scold him. Tell him you knew it all along. You take in the state of him, the rain washing all the blood off his face as he tries to take a deep breath, the air finally satisfyingly filling his lungs now that the mask is off. “Okay, fuck, we need to get out of here.” You say as you stand up and grab his arm, lunging it over your shoulder, while you press him up against the wall to stabilize him as you start to take off your jacket. He smiles and lets out a small chuckle. “Not exactly how this fantasy usually goes in my head.” He says, and your face scrunches up in disgust. “You’re unbelievable. Put this on, try to cover your suit.” 

“I thought you said it was dark enough not to be seen?” He says, annoyingly, as he pulls the jacket over his body. “Yeah, well, can never be too safe.” Steve’s hands move back to his wound, putting as much pressure on it as possible as his blood soaks your jacket. “The hospital is probably packed, you-” You start to say as you start to walk towards your car, Steve’s body hanging onto yours for dear life. But, before you can finish, Steve interrupts you. “No! No hospitals!” Steve exclaims before aching in pain. “Just take me to my house.” You shake your head at him as you guys reach your car, and you gently place him in the passenger seat, quickly making your way to the driver’s seat and putting your keys into the ignition. You can’t help but notice the white Converse on Steve’s feet (the ones you know all too well), covered in mud, soaking the mat on the passenger seat floor. “Steve, you’re bleeding out!” You yell at him. “Oh my god!” He groans and rolls his eyes. “Just, please. I promise it will be fine.” 

The drive back to Steve’s house is excruciatingly painful for the two of you. Your clothes are soaking wet, and you can’t stop shivering. Steve is sitting in your passenger seat, blood soaking anything that he touches as he starts to drift off. Your heart starts beating rapidly as you see Steve’s eyes start to close. “Hey! Harrington! Open your fucking eyes!” You take one hand off the steering wheel to hit his knee to hopefully bring him back to reality. “Shit…” He groans as he tries to hold consciousness. You’re starting to average thirty miles per hour over the speed limit, and the closer you get to Steve’s house, anxiety completely takes over. 

Finally, what feels like a lifetime later, you pull into Steve’s driveway. You quickly unbuckle your seatbelt and make your way out of the car. When you open the passenger seat door, Steve looks horrible. Now that the rain has lightened up, you can truly get a good look at him. “Okay, come on.” You pull him out of the car and put his arm over your shoulder, walking the two of you up to his door. You bang your fist harshly against the door before moving to the doorbell, ringing it about ten times, before Robin swings the door open. She gasps in horror at the sight of Steve and grabs his other arm, putting it around her shoulder as you both walk him towards the dining room, laying him on the table. Once Steve is lying down, it’s like everyone around you knows exactly what to do but you. They all move around hectically, though never running into each other once. It seems like routine to them. Jonathan yells for a bottle of alcohol while Eddie cuts part of Steve’s suit off of him. You stand and watch in horror as everyone, even the kids, start patching Steve up. “Hey, cute girl! Get him some water, yeah?” You hear Eddie say from the table, his hands covered in Steve’s blood. All you can do is nod and move towards the fridge. You quickly walk back over with the cup of water and see Nancy stitching up Steve’s wound. He is lying on the table, squirming from the pain as Robin and Jonathan try to hold him still. “This is worse than usual!” Nancy exclaims without letting her eyes leave her stitching. 

“I’m fine, just hurry up!” Steve lifts his head to look down at her as she goes to finish the last few stitches. His hand now finds yours, squeezing it to try and numb the pain from his torso. The veins in his hands are popping out due to the force he is using, while the veins in his neck are strained. “Okay, done,” Nancy says, looking up at Steve with worry, and everyone else mirrors her action. All eyes are on him as Steve lets out a breath of relief and chuckles under his breath. “See? Totally fine.” He huffs out, his breathing finally slowing down as he comes down from the adrenaline rush. 

“What the fuck, dude?!” The boy with black hair exclaims, whom you think you heard someone call Mike, amidst all the chaos. Steve props himself up onto his elbows, still groaning in pain as the new position tugs on his stitches slightly and laughs, “It’ll heal by tomorrow, trust me.” He says back to him, his eyes now finding yours. “Look what you’ve gotten yourself into.” He wishes that he could be mad at you, mad at himself for not being able to protect you from all of this anymore, but truthfully, he’s grateful. Grateful he no longer has to lie, but especially grateful that you saved him in that alleyway. 

“Care to help me to my room for some new clothes?” His eyes are still only on you. You don’t say anything at first, still frozen in panic, in confusion. You blink rapidly and nod before reaching for his arm to help him up. “Yeah, of course.” He winces in pain as he starts to sit up, everyone reaching for him as he does. A laugh comes from Steve’s mouth again. “Jeez…,” is all he can say as he stands up, using your body as an anchor. Your footsteps are almost too loud for the boy with multiple concussions. You don’t say anything else to him, afraid even your voice may cause him to flinch in pain as you walk him up the stairs to the bedroom. His feet follow yours one step at a time, your hand wrapped tightly around his arm, scared he might fall if you let go for even a second. Once you guys make it up the stairs, he points in the direction of his bedroom door, and your stomach flips. I’m going into Spider-Man’s room. No, Steve’s room. 

Steve pushes the door open and allows himself to let go of your body, limping over to his dresser. You sit on the edge of his bed and wait for him to say something first. It feels like forever goes by until he clears his throat and waddles his way over to you, sitting right next to you on his squeaky bed, a fresh shirt and pants bundled in his hands. “Are you okay?” He whispers over to you. Your eyes meet one another’s, yours glossing over with tears before you sniffle them away. “Me? Y-yes, of course I am. I can’t say the same for you, though.” You point down to his torso, his Spider-Man suit torn to shreds, showing every inch of his body that is suffering from the attack. He shrugs, and his demeanor changes; his eyes not even threatening to leave your gaze. “I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you.” 

It’s like a breath of fresh air to hear those words come out of his mouth, and you choke out a laugh, wiping your eyes.“I just want you to know I knew it.” You smile shyly at him, and he nods. “I know. How long?” 

“Since last semester, when we were still lab partners. When we made our pinky promise in Rob and I’s dorm room, I figured it out.” He shakes his head, confused. “How?” You laugh again, this time slightly louder, as a smile is smeared on your face. “Some super hero advice for you, Spider-Man, if you’re gonna call your damsels a certain nickname, don’t call them that when you’re uh… out of uniform.” His eyes light up, a click switching in his mind. Golden brown orbs are no longer meeting yours as his head dips down in embarrassment, a smile now on his face as well. “Princess…” he nods in understanding. Your face scrunches up in amusement as you nod back at him. 

It falls silent again for only a moment until Steve speaks. “I just wanted to protect you.” A serious tone now overtakes the conversation. “I don’t need protecting.” He shakes his head at this. “I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt. I was so worried when I saw you in the city tonight.” You take his hand in yours, and he flinches slightly at your touch, but relaxes almost just as quickly. “I’m not going anywhere.” You reassure him, his eyes now looking into yours again. Your eyes can’t choose a place to look, examining all his scars and bruises before moving your hand up to cup his face, your thumb rubbing softly over his cheek to not disturb any of his wounds. “Are you this sweet with all your lab partners?” You whisper to him and he laughs, “No, just the really cute ones.” Your eyes sparkle in response, a smile prickling at your lips. “Ahhh, I see. Me too.” 

A soft knock is heard at the door, and you drop your hand from Steve’s face as you both clear your throats. Robin walks in and sighs, “Your parents are in the driveway, you, uh, might want to change. The kids will distract them, so don’t worry for now.” Steve throws his body onto the bed and groans. “Great.” 

“You got him?” Robin asks you, starting to peek her head out of the room. You nod, “I do.” You help Steve sit back up so he can unzip his suit, revealing the true damage to his body, and your eyebrows furrow. “No staring, perv,” Steve says with a smile as he pulls a baggy white t-shirt over his head, and you help him into a pair of pajama pants. You roll your eyes at him playfully as a bunch of loud voices are heard through Steve’s window, and you both look at each other with confusion plastered on your faces. You get up and look outside, and all the kids are yelling at Steve’s parents, getting in their way so they can’t come inside. You laugh and make your way back to the bed next to Steve. “There’s your distraction.” You say with finger quotes in the air. Steve ‘aahs’ in understanding. Before you sit back down on the bed, you see his glasses thrown on his nightstand, and you reach over and grab them. “So…you can swing from building to building and heal in 24 hours but…you don’t have 20/20 vision?” You tease, twirling them in your hand. He nods and turns pink from embarrassment. “I kinda just wear them still cause they make me look scholarly at school.” You laugh and put them gently on his face. “Such a shame. I think they’re pretty hot.” The shade of pink on his cheeks turns an even deeper red as he smiles at you. “Ya know, I wasn’t lying about that…fantasy from earlier.” You shake your head and playfully hit him on the shoulder, not too hard to disturb his healing bruises. 

“Oh suuuure…” Robin says under her breath. “Huh?” You say with your eyebrows furrowed not actually sure of what Robin had said. “What? Oh, nothing!” She smiles and quickly fills her mouth with a handful of popcorn so she can’t talk anymore.

A few hours later Robin had left the dorm room to go take a shower and you hear a quick, melodic knock on the door. You sigh and stand up from the comfy spot in your bed and shuffle yourself to the door. As you approach the door you hear the sound of small items hitting the floor, followed by a mumbled, “oh, shit, fuck… SHIT!” You swing the door open to reveal Steve Harrington dropping a bunch of boxed candy and bags of popcorn on the floor. His fit frame bent down, picking up everything quickly. “Sorry I’m late, Robin, I got caught up with Spi- OH!” He jumps slightly before finally gathering himself and looks up at you, his smile dropping. “It’s you.” He stands up straight and shrugs, and scoots past you into your dorm room.

“Yeah, come right on in!” You say with a scoff as Steve lays all his stuff on Robin’s bed. “Hm… finally here to do our biology lab, Harrington?” He scoffs and starts pulling out a bunch of movies from his backpack. “Hell no. It’s horror movie night for Robin and I.” His back stays turned away from you as he talks, your eyes burning into the back of his head the whole time. Your arms cross over your chest as you lean your back against your bed. “Soooo, lemme get this straight, you don’t show up for class, you never show up to our study sessions, and now you can’t even help with the lab that YOUR name is gonna be on… even if you didn’t do any of it?” He shrugs and finally turns around to look at you. “Yeah, sounds about right.” He takes a step towards you. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ll figure out how to be included in the lab somehow, okay?” Your eyes narrow at him as you process what he’s saying.

“No you won’t.” You say flatly. Steve’s eyebrows furrow at you, his eyes looking a little bit shocked. “Wh-what do you mean?” You roll your eyes again before grabbing some of your stuff and a blanket. “You say that every homework assignment. I’m tired of picking up the slack for you.” You slug your backpack over your shoulder before walking towards the door. “It’s almost midnight! Where are you going?!” Steve says as he slightly raises his voice, annoyed with you. “To finish our lab, ya know? The one that’s due in…8 hours.” You look at a fake watch on your wrist before opening the door, revealing Robin only a few feet away from your dorm room. “Hey, idiot, where are you going?” Robin says with a smile as you walk right past her. “Enjoy your movie night.” You say to both of them as you make your way to the library.

As you reach the library, you couldn’t help but feel as if there were eyes on you the whole way there. It was a Sunday night on a college campus, lots of kids were finally returning to their dorms after a weekend of partying, but there was no reason to feel unsafe. You shake the feeling before finally finding a study room to finish your lab in peace. Thankfully you get super focused, not allowing your mind to wonder about the interaction you had just had with Steve or about the anxious feeling you had felt only a moment before. Only an hour later, you finished your assignment and smiled. Though, as you look at the top of the page where your name was written in nice, neat handwriting, you freeze for a second, tapping your pencil on the table as you think before sighing, and quickly writing, “Steve Harrington”, right next to yours.

You quickly close your notebook before you can change your mind and shove it into your backpack. The anxious feeling suddenly comes back as you realize you’re the only one in the library. You shake your head and quickly grab your things and start to make your way back to your dorm. Before you can make it to your dorm building you hear a whistle and freeze. “Hey, pretty thing!” Someone yells out and you continue walking. “Oh, come on, I just want to talk!” The voice is getting closer and closer to you as your feet start to move as fast as they can. Unfortunately, you weren’t walking fast enough as there is now a very drunk college boy walking parallel with you. “What? A guy can’t compliment a girl anymore?” He takes a slug of his drink before turning towards you. “Hm, thanks but I’m not interested. Have a good night.” He scoffs. “Come on! It won’t hurt to give me the time of day.” “It might…” you mumble under your breath before feeling a tight grip on your wrist. “What did you say?” He says between gritted teeth. “N-nothing!” Your voice gets louder but before he can respond, another voice is heard from above.

“Now is that any way to treat a lady?” Both you and the man, who’s grip on you loosens, look above you to reveal a figure perched up on a light post. The voice is sarcastic but playful as he shoots his hand out and releases a silk like substance from his hand, throwing the man away from you onto the ground. You stay frozen in your place, not sure if it’s out of fear or confusion. “Wha-?” You can’t even finish your sentence as the perched figure stands and jumps down besides you, your eyes going wide. “S-spider-man?” Your eyes light up as a smile appears on your face.

“Oh! Seems I have a fan?” The tone of the masked man is fun yet comforting, and it reminds you of honey. “Don’t get too close.” He says with a laugh as he walks towards the drunk boy who is still plastered on the ground. The masked man makes his way to the boy and webs him to the floor before crouching next to him. “Now, let’s use our big boy words and tell the girl you’re sorry? Okay?” The boy quickly nods before shaking and looking over at you. “S-sorry.” He looks over at Spider-Man, who’s shaking his head at him. “Hm… one more time. Like you mean it.”

“I’m really sorry, ma’am.” The boy looks back at Spider-Man for approval. “Much better.” Spider-man pats him on the shoulder before standing up, “Enjoy your time outside tonight!” He says as he looks down at the boy still webbed to the ground before turning his attention to you.

“Do me a favor, princess?” You nod your head, mouth slightly agape as you stand in shock still. “Go get to your dorm safely.” He points behind you as he walks backwards, never letting his back turn from you until you start walking away. You clutch your books to your chest before quickly turning around again to see if he is still there. Your heart is beating so fast that you can feel it in your throat, but you still manage to yell a clear, “Spider-Man?” In his direction. He turns back around and looks at you, walking backwards again.

“Thank you…” you say with a small smile. “Anything for you.” He yells back before swinging into the shadows. As soon as you turn around to walk into your building, you bite your lip and smile. “Oh Robin’s gonna love this.” You mumble underneath your breath.

As soon as you open the door to your dorm room, you feel an anxious energy flood over you. Your smile fades as you look over at Robin pacing back and forth and chewing on her nails. As she makes eye contact with you, her eyes light up. “Oh my god, you’re okay! I mean…” she puts her hair behind her ear. “Of course you’re okay, why wouldn’t you be okay? You were just at the library. At the library… in the dark! And I’m really scared of the dark so… in reality I’m just projecting my own fears!! I’m just being silly.” Robin laughs nervously as she sits on her bed. Staring at you with an awkward smile.

“Ooookay.” You say with a small laugh as you sit on your bed that’s across from her. Your smile grows bigger as you two sit in silence. “Oh, god, what??” Robin says with an amused but also grossed out tone. “IsawSpider-Mantonight.” You say under your breath super quickly. Robin squints her eyes at you. “I can’t hear a word you’re saying.” She says as she leans her head in closer to you. “Spider-Man. I just saw him… right now. He… he talked to me, Robin.” Your voice grows louder and louder as you speak, excitement spilling from your body.

Robin rolls her eyes as she lays back into her bed, slamming her back into the mattress. “Oh Jesus Christ, that’s what’s got you all riled up?” If only you could see the smirk on her face. “Robin, he saved me from this super creepy guy… and then called me princess.” Robin sits up from her parallel position and looks at you. “Ew.” She frowns.

Now it was your turn to roll your own eyes as you laugh and throw one of your pillows at her. “Whatever.” She laughs now too and throws one of her pillows back. “I’m happy for you, idiot.” She smiles as she lays down and pulls her blanket over her body. “Now go to bed and dream about your little spider boy.” She giggles and lays her head on her pillow, you mirroring her actions. “Oh I plan on it.” You mumble and fall into a deep sleep, every dream including the masked man who saved you tonight.

When you wake up in the morning, you quickly check your phone to see what time it is, and it immediately puts you into a panic. “Shit!” You say as you throw your blanket off of your body and pick up a pair of dirty jeans off of the floor and tug them up your legs. “What… are… you doing?” Robin grumbles as she covers her face with her pillow. “My stupid lab is due today and class starts in like…10 minutes.” You scoff as you pull a t-shirt over your head. “And lord knows Steve isn’t gonna show up and present anything so if I’m late that means both of us are going to get zeros.” Robin groans as she turns over in her bed. “Good luck.” She says as she throws a thumbs up over at you. “Mmhmm… thanks, R.” You quickly run your fingers through your hair as you shrug with approval and grab all your things, making your way quickly out of your dorm and to your class.

You had never walked faster to a class in your life. Your feet were moving a million miles a minute as you approached your classroom. That is until you hear a voice from beside you. “You look like you’re in a rush.” You stop in your tracks as you look at the boy and scoff. “Wow, decided to show up today, huh?” You look up at him, Steve. He shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. “Decided I had enough time for you today I guess.” Your eyes squint at him for only a moment before you scoff. “Okay, Harrington.”

You shake your head as you quickly dig through your backpack and pull out the notebook that had your lab written in it, slapping it in Steve’s hands. “Review that as we walk.” You say as your feet start moving towards your classroom again. “You have a lot to catch up on. Come on, looks like we are both in a rush.”

Steve quickly follows behind you as he looks down at the lab in his hands, a smile forming on his face. “You know you really don’t have to give me credit for any of this… you shouldn’t.” You shrug as you look up at him. “You’re smart, Steve. I know you are. You just… are occupied. It’s okay. I’ll cover for you.” You smile up at him as he looks down at you with a glimmer in his eyes, the sun hitting off of the rim of his glasses perfectly.

“We could make a deal? I’ll do the next lab by myself. I promise.” You can’t help but laugh at Steve’s words as you shake your head. “Yeahhh not holding you to that promise, Harrington. Though, I do appreciate the offer.” Steve stops walking for a second, softly grabbing your wrist. “No, I’m serious, please, let me make it up to you.” Your eyebrows furrow as your eyes meet his, seriously considering his offer. “Fine. Pinky promise me, Steve Harrington.” Steve rolls his eyes as he holds out his pinky. A sweet smile on his face as a curl falls down into his face. “Pinky promise.” He slightly whispers as you two lock fingers. As your fingers lock and your eyes meet one another’s, you feel a flutter in your chest. It feels like time is frozen until you both get knocked out of whatever trance you’re in with each other when Steve looks down at his watch that’s on the hand that is currently interlocked with yours. “Okay but seriously we should probably get to class.” You release your hand from his as you nod quickly. “Mhmm, yeah. Class.”

As you and Steve are waiting for your turn to present, you can see Steve getting antsy. His leg shakes up and down as he chews on his thumb nail, his eyes staying in one place, his face showing that though his body is in the classroom, his mind is not. “Hey…” you whisper over at him. “Relax. We’re gonna do fine.” Steve looks at you confused. “Hm? I know that.” He shakes his head and goes back to chewing on his nails, his eyes darting down at his watch over and over again. You start to grow nervous that Steve might walk out on you right now. It wouldn’t be the first time. Finally, your names are called to present your lab and Steve sighs in relief, quickly standing up.

You guys present your lab almost perfectly, besides the fact that Steve could not slow down his speech, making it known he was in a rush. As soon as you said the last word of your presentation, Steve darted out the door. You smile at your professor awkwardly and then to your classmates. “Thank you…” you say quietly as you make your way back to your seat. The seat next to you now uncomfortably empty.

As soon as class is over you close your books and make your way to your dorm. You are incredibly thankful that you have no more classes for the day as you walk through campus. You can feel your throat start to close as tears brew in your eyes. Just once you wanted Steve to actually care. So many missed homework assignments, so many missed presentations, and now, finally when Steve shows up, he reminds you once again that none of this matters to him. Did you matter to him? Why would you? He’s Robin’s friend. You’re just his lab partner. You somehow wished you were more. After almost a whole year of being put on the back burner by Steve Harrington, you still expected more from him. Wanted more from him. You quickly wipe the tears that fall down your cheeks before a voice is heard from above.

“Hey, princess!!” The voice yells down. You jump slightly before looking up and seeing your favorite masked hero looking down at you. “Why the long face, sweetheart?” You laugh softly, wiping your tears clean off of your face. “I think you have better things to do than help a girl with her feelings.” You yell back with a smile. Spider-Man quickly jumps down and takes up the space right next to you. He shrugs, “my job comes with many responsibilities.” He starts to count on his fingers as he speaks. “Beating up bad guys, helping old ladies get their cats out of trees…helping old ladies cross the street, OH and watching pretty girls walk home.” One of your eyebrows goes up as your face contorts into amusement.

“Oh so I have a stalker now?” Even though the man has a mask on, you can feel the worry on his face as he gasps. “What? No… no! That’s not what I meant! You know that’s not what I meant!” He says awkwardly and in a panic as he puts his hand on his head. “I just mean… you know, you never know what could happen because of that… creepy guy the other night.” He leans his back on the wall of the building you guys are standing next to, trying to be slick and cover up what he had said. You can’t help but laugh as you step closer to him. “Well then I guess I’m honored.” As you look at the masked man, you can’t help but feel a longing for him. You want to know his secrets, what he looks like. His favorite color and favorite movie. You want to know him. Not Spider-Man, but the man in the mask. Your smile fades as you look toward your dorm building.

“Well, I shouldn’t keep you. It’s uh, it’s sweet of you to check on me.” You start to walk backwards, making your way to your dorm. Spider-Man sighs as he throws out his hand and swings back up to the light post he was on only minutes ago. “Don’t be a stranger.” He yells down. “How could I be??? You’re stalking me, remember??” You yell back at him as he shakes his head and laughs. “In your dreams, princess!” He yells one last time before swinging away. Oh if only he knew.

You spend the rest of the day longing for another interaction with Spider-Man. Just from the two small interactions you had, he made you feel like you mattered. As you sit cuddled up in your comforter, you can hear laughter approaching your room before Robin walks in with Steve. “Oh, sorry dingus number two! I didn’t know you’d be home yet.” You sigh as you sit up and look at them both. “No problem.” A small smile forms on your lips as Steve looks over at you. He waves and scratches his neck nervously. Robin looks at you both and rolls her eyes with a loud groan. “Oh get over it already you two. I can not have my two best friends be this awkward with each other all the time. It’s killing me!” She grabs a few popcorn bags and walks towards the door again. “I’m going to the lounge to make this. You two…” she points at you both back and forth, “work this out right now. She’s joining us for movie night tonight.” Steve looks at Robin with furrowed brows and slumped shoulders, almost begging her not to leave. Like they both know something you don’t and they are communicating with their minds.

Robin tilts her head at Steve and he rolls his eyes with a quiet, “okay, fine, fine…” leaving his lips, his hands going up in surrender. Robin quickly makes her way out of the dorm room, slamming the door behind her. You can’t help but laugh at her dramatics, Steve joining in right after. “Awkward? Pft… we aren’t awkward.” Steve says as he leans against Robin’s bed, arms crossed over his chest. You smile at him and roll your eyes before pointing between the two of you. “Oh, this isn’t awkward?” He shakes his head with a smug smile. “Nah…” he laughs before sighing and looking down at the ground. “I’m sorry… about earlier. I wish I could make it up to yo-,”

“Don’t worry about it.” You quickly cut him off, not wanting to get upset, but Steve shakes his head. “No, I am worried about it. I’m sorry.” You frown slightly at him before speaking. “I just want to know why, Steve. I know I’m just your lab partner, but…” you shake your head at your own words. Steve squints slightly at you, wanting you to keep going. “But what?”

You scoff again. “Nothing. Seriously. You have better things to do, I understand that.” Steve frowns back at you now as he glides his hand through his hair. “I just wish I could explain…” you shrug at him. “There’s nothing to explain, Steve. You have your life, I have mine.” Steve pushes his glasses up his face before sticking his hands in his pockets. “Whatever you say, princess.” You smile as you look down in your lap, but suddenly a voice in the back of your head repeats the word princess back to you. It’s not the word, it’s the way he said it. It’s not mocking you, it’s sweet…like honey. You freeze, mouth going slightly dry as your head shoots up to look at him, eyes going wide in shock. The nickname, of course you’ve heard it before.

“What?” Steve says with a small chuckle, noticing the way you're suddenly studying his face. The chuckle that leaves Steve’s lips suddenly sounds familiar to you. He’s busy all the time because he is Spider-Man. A voice says in your head before you shake it away. “Nothing…nothing! We’re good, Steve, I promise.” Your mind is still running wild. You try your best to hide your thoughts, not wanting to look crazy. Steve smiles and holds out his pinky, just like earlier. “Pinky promise?” You take a deep breath before locking fingers with him again. “Pinky promise.” You smile and just as you’re about to say something else, Robin barges in the room with two bowls full of popcorn, she smiles wildly as she looks at your fingers interlocked. “Awwww… dingus one and dingus two just needed some alone time!” She says as you and Steve both roll your eyes and let go of each other’s hands. You look over at Steve one more time, his curly hair dangling in his face, his glasses perfectly framing his face, and you can’t help but smile.

It was a very cold night in Hawkins, Indiana. Christmas lights filled the streets with warmth and you and your friends were in nothing but a giving mood. You, Nancy, Steve, Jonathan, Robin, and Eddie had big plans to surprise the party with a Christmas gift exchange.

“Did everyone bring presents? I brought a few extra just in case Eddie forgot.” You hear Nancy say from the living room as you continue to whisk together cake batter.

“WH- do you have no faith in me Nancy Wheeler?!” Eddie says back as he walks in with a big box full of presents for everybody and starts to place them neatly under the tree. You laugh as you lick some batter off of a spoon to make sure you’ve made the cake just right.

“Hey, Stevie, come try this for me?” You say as you put a small amount of chocolate batter on a spoon for Steve. As soon as the spoon touches his mouth, his eyes light up and he kisses his fingers like a chef would. “Magnificent as always, Y/N.” He says with a smirk as he reaches down and gives you a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Need any help? You know I’m a wizard at decorating a cake.” Steve leans against the counter and crosses his arms. “Nuh uh, big boy, that’s my job.” Robin nudges him as she walks into the kitchen. She knows just as well as you do that Steve always ruins the cake. Steve pouts jokingly and makes his way to the living room. “Fine I’ll do the manly thing and light the fire.” He says in a mocking voice as he brings himself to the living room where the fireplace is.

You and Robin mock him behind his back and giggle to one another as Jonathan snaps a candid picture of you two with your hands covered in fondant. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.” You say suddenly frantic and everyone turns to look at you.

“DID YOU CUT YOURSELF?!?” Eddie and Steve say at the same time and you laugh. “No, no!” You nod your head over to the counter. “The decorations. The kids should be arriving any minute now. All of you up, up, up!” Everyone quickly moves from their current places, except you and Robin who’s still covered in food coloring and frosting.

Steve is helping Eddie hang up streamers over all the windows and Nancy and Jonathan quickly blow up red and green balloons to put around the house. “Oh, Steve. I also need you to pop the waffles in the toaster for eleven, please!” You say as you and Robin finish up the cakes. “You got it, hun.” Finally, the house is ready for a wonderful Christmas party.

And, just in time too as the doorbell rings and you all open it to the party yelling a big, “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!” To all of you. They all make their ways into the house and you can see their eyes light up from the way the house looks and the amount of presents under the tree. Max and Eleven immediately run into the kitchen to look at the cake you made and start thanking you like crazy. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will start play fighting with Steve, Eddie and Jonathan and it’s like a mad house inside.

Jonathan steps away from the fun to take some more candid photos of everyone. Max and El smile and hug each other for their photo while all the boys continue their madness. You can’t help but stand and just take it all in. Your eyes meet Steve’s for just a second as he takes a breath from the boys. He mouths, “I love you.” And your heart skips a beat. The smile on your face lighting up the room even more than the Christmas lights were. “I love you too.” You mouth back as Steve sighs.

“Okay, okay. Enough. How about we get these presents open??” All the kids take this as their cue to grab their blankets and find a seat on the floor near the fireplace. All of you older kids grab all the presents and pass them out to everyone. Everyone looks so grateful just to be here. Will is the first one to say something before they start opening their presents. “You know- you guys didn’t have to do all of this.” You all give each other a smile before turning back to the kids. “We wanted to.” Robin exclaims as she takes your hand and gives it a tight squeeze.

“You guys deserve to feel like kids.” You say as you lean into Steve and he kisses your head.

“Oh my gosh, the suspense is killing me just open them already!!!” Eddie says as the kids start ripping into their presents. Gasps and cheers happen all around us as everyone starts exclaiming thank yous over one another. Max runs up and gives Steve and you a huge hug since you guys bought her a brand new skateboard she has been asking for. “This is so sick! Thank you so much!” Will is especially thankful when he notices how much everyone notices how much he still loves D&D. “Thank you. I- I really love it, really.” He says to everyone. Everyone is smiling. Real genuine smiles that come from the warmest feeling of happiness.

It suddenly dawns on all of you how long it has been since you’ve felt this happy. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about right now. No demogorgans, no upside down. It’s just…Christmas. And you all are surrounded by the people that matter the most to you.

The night slows down after everyone opens their presents and you decide to put on a Christmas movie and eat as many sweets as you can. Steve and you make your way to the kitchen to cut the cake.

“I’m really happy, ya know?” Steve says quietly, this is a conversation just for your ears.

“Me too.” You whisper back. Your eyes meet his and you look at him with nothing but love. Before you can say anything too gushy, Steve smiles as he looks up. Mistletoe.

You roll your eyes and he smiles down at you. “Can’t skip out on a mistletoe kiss, Y/N, that’s against the rules.” He says softly and with a laugh as he dangles it above your head. You look over to make sure nobody is looking and then back at Steve. “No, I guess I can’t.” Your voice is like honey as it leaves your lips and Steve leans in and kisses you passionately.

Applause. Everyone in the living room is clapping and cheering. Before you can pull away from the kiss, Jonathan is quick to take a picture of the kiss between you and your boyfriend. Your face turns bright red at the audience you thought you didn’t have and Steve laughs.

Between all the commotion, Steve looks down at you and pulls you close. “Merry Christmas, pretty girl.”

It was a late night of drinking at none other than King Steve Harrington’s house. You don’t quite know what possessed you to show up to this party, knowing damn well that the sight of Steve makes you gag, but it was finals week and this was the best way to take the edge off. A few hours into the night after being way too sober, you find yourself tapping your foot against the floor, eyes wandering and decide to get yourself another drink. “Hey, Eds.” You shake eddie’s shoulder to try and get his attention but Eddie was already out of it for the night. High as a kite.

Eddie shakes you off of him which makes you roll your eyes and sigh as you stand up off of the couch you two were sprawled out on and make your way to the kitchen. On the counter there is an absolute mess of alcohol to choose from. You sigh and pick up a few trying to decide what would be the easiest to choke down. “Disgusting.” You whisper to yourself as you pick up a bottle of straight vodka.

“Hating on the choices, are you?” You hear a voice say from behind you which makes you roll your eyes. Steve. “You have horrible taste.” You say with a small smile. Okay maybe I am a little drunk already, you think to yourself as you allow your smile to fade away quickly.

“Too pussy to take a shot of vodka?” Steve asks jokingly. Your eyes narrow as you look at him and then the bottle. “Oh is that a challenge?” A small chuckle leaves your lips as you speak before Steve grabs the bottle from your hand, your fingertips gliding against one another’s for only a second. Your eyes never leave his face.

Steve pours two shots for you guys and says a small “cheers” before choking back the hot liquid. To your own demise, you gag slightly and Steve laughs. “Oh come on, seriously?!” He says still slightly laughing at you.

“You can’t look me in the face and tell me that that’s not disgusting??” You say as you wipe the remnants of the liquid off of your lips and notice Steve staring. “Okay your turn. Pick one.” He says as he waves his hand towards the other alcohol.

As you overlook the liquor in front of you, Steve can’t help but look at you. He’s never really talked to you like this before since you always seem to immediately shut him down. He likes you. He’d never admit it to anyone, especially himself, but he likes you.

“Okay, this one.” You say as you start pouring two shots of fireball. “Bold choice.” Steve says confusingly as he watches you pour the shots. Steve puts his in the air for a cheers, “to new friends?” He bites his lip nervously. “Don’t push it, Harrington.” You say as a smile accidentally creeps up onto your lips. You both shoot the hot liquor and surprisingly, you don’t gag. You actually kind of like it. “Mmm…” you say under your breath as you finish the shot.

“Yeah? That one better?” Steve asks you. His voice sounds like honey as he speaks after taking the spicy shot. “Much.” You say as your nose scrunches up.

“Here.” Steve says as he mixes you a drink with the fireball in it. “It’ll definitely take the edge off.” You take the cup from him, your fingers touching softly once again. “Thanks…” you say, a bit confused by this conversation with him. Someone you never felt you’d ever get along with. “I’m gonna go, uh, find Eddie. Nice chat…Harrington.” You turn around and curse at yourself for being so awkward. Is it the alcohol finally kicking in or is Steve Harrington actually… attractive?

As you sip on the drink Steve made you, you slowly start to notice the effects the alcohol is having on you. Having a dealer as a best friend means your usual choice at a party would be weed, which evidently made you a lightweight with alcohol. As people dance around the house and play drinking games around you, you find your vision growing blurry and can’t quite think straight. You try to shake Eddie awake again but he’s still out of it.

“Shit…” you whisper to yourself as you stand up off of the couch but it seems like gravity wants to pull you right back down.

You finally catch your balance and start to make your way into the kitchen for some water but it seems like it’s miles away. Your body is just not functioning correctly. As you are about to fall over, a pair of hands find your arm, balancing you. You hum slightly as you look over at the person who caught you. “You againnnn?” You groan in your drunken state when you notice it’s Steve. “I think I just saved your life, so maybe be more thankful, yeah?” He says jokingly with a laugh as he strengthens his grip on you to ensure you stand up straight.

You giggle, “What a humble soul you are, Steve Harrington.” You pull your face slightly in towards his, your drunken eyes scanning all over his slightly sober, caramel ones.

“I don’t… feel good.” You say honestly in broken words as Steve starts walking you somewhere. “Yeah I can see that, come on.” He pulls you into the bathroom near the kitchen and locks the door. “Sit on the cold tile, it’ll help.” He says softly as he helps you slowly sit on the floor. “I’ll go get you some water, stay put.”

Steve quickly rushes out of the room and you’re left on the bathroom floor being the most confused you’ve ever felt in your life. Is this real? No. This must be some drunk dream. Are drunk dreams a thing? You laugh to yourself on the floor, everything in the room spinning around you.

When Steve walks in, he sees the giggly expression on your face and cracks open the water bottle he brought you. “Oh great, she’s gone crazy.” He says with a laugh as he sits on the floor with you, handing you the water. A quiet, “Thanks…” leaves your lips as you lean your head against the wall, Steve sitting criss crossed in front of you.

“Does it always feel this horrible?” You ask with a pout.

“No. Just sometimes. Do you need any food?”

Just the thought of food makes you gag. “Sorry… no, definitely not food.” You say. The world won’t stop spinning and you feel sicker and sicker every second that passes.

“It’s okay. We can just sit here until you feel better.” Steve smiles at you and you feel the world stop spinning for only a second.

“You’re a mystery to me, Steve Harrington.” You match the smile on his face.

“Good.” Steve says as he puts the water bottle back in your hand. “Sober up quickly. I just know sober you would never be here with me right now.”

This takes you aback. Even in your drunken state. “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?” Your broken words come out slowly as you sip on the water.

Steve laughs as he runs his hand through his hair. Butterflies. You shake your head at your thoughts.

“I don’t think you like me very much.” He looks at you still smiling, but his tone is slightly different than usual.

“That’s not true.” Your face contours into a pout. You’re so drunk you can’t even try to think about how to respond. “I-I like you… you’re, cool, I guess.” You shrug your shoulders. Steve laughs again.

“Okay, maybe not a conversation for you to have right now.” He says as he stands up and grabs some anti nausea pills from the medicine cabinet. “Try and swallow these. You’ll feel a lot better, I promise.”

You nod and take them quickly so you don’t make yourself more sick. “You’re a good person, Steve Harrington. I don’t know why I’ve never seen it before.”