requesting steve angst!! he struggled with his dad putting pressure on him to follow in his footsteps and broke up with reader but sees her around town and is torn up about it and missing her (bonus points if he sees her on a field trip with her kindergarteners 🥺😭)
i am TRYING to come back plz bear with me 😭💔this took an embarrassingly long amount of time spare me plz
the spring break of your senior year was the worst thing you’ve ever endured.
you and steve had been dating for nearly two years before he broke up with you out of the blue, using college acceptances and “getting his life together” as an excuse.
you knew that it was all bullshit. steve harrington loved you more than life itself, and to break up with you because letters were coming in? yeah, that doesn’t make any sense.
what you did know, though, was that his dad was not fond of you whatsoever. you weren’t the ideal girl for his son. you voiced your opinions, blasted music in your car so loud you could be heard from the other end of the street, and most importantly, you were dirt poor.
mr. harrington found it almost repulsing that you once came to dinner wearing a cardigan your grandma very obviously knit for you rather than a cashmere sweater that costs an arm and a leg.
ever since then, the private dinners at the harrington household consisted of mr. harrington telling steve about his business partners daughters and how good they would be for him.
steve never paid him any mind. he didn’t want them. how could he when he had you?
when steve got his very first rejection letter, his father knew there would be more. “she distracted you.” he’d blame. “i told you she was no good.”
each letter came with a rejection and steve’s fathers resentment towards you grew.
and grew.
and grew.
when his last letter came accompanied by a rejection, mr. harrington sat steve down for a talk.
“if you want me to send you off to college you better say goodbye to that good for nothing girlfriend of yours. i won’t have her mess this up for you too.”
steve was distraught.
the only reason he got through the embarrassment and wallowing that came with the rejections was you. you reassured him everything would be okay, you held him when reality hit, and you helped him preserve at least a bit of his self-worth.
but steve didn’t have any other option, and the expectations that came from the people around him were way too high for him to work at some ice cream parlor for the rest of his life. not when his father was who he was.
so he broke up with you, and now, you were both distraught.
he moved across the country for college to major in business administration, but you stayed home.
you went to community college and majored in early education, something that made steve’s father scrunch his face and down the remainder of the scotch in his glass once he found out.
the first time steve came home, you were in your great aunts farm on the outskirts of town helping around after she lost most of her mobility due to a stroke.
steve had asked his mother about your whereabouts, making sure his father wasn’t anywhere in earshot.
“her great aunt, that poor thing, had a stroke and she went to help around the farm. you know how it is over there.”
steve knew how it was because he had spent countless hot summer days in that farm. he knew how your great aunt made scrambled eggs every morning using fresh eggs, how there’s a specific cow that always gives you more milk, how much you love laying in the field after the sun went down, and most importantly, he knew how hectic it was over there.
how all the chickens somehow managed to escape their coop, how the goats got into random fights, and how the fifteen year old border collie is now practically useless and herds no sheep.
the chaos was warm when you had him to share it with. when it was almost like a glimpse into the future. when spending hours washing dishes and tending to livestock seemed less like a chore and more like moments in love.
it was safe to say that warmness was long gone.
the house no longer smelled like whatever your great aunt was baking and a faint tinge of hay. the sunlight seeping through the curtains was no more; the house was dull and gray.
you couldn’t hear your great aunt laughing from across the house, nor could you hear her record player blasting music. you couldn’t hear steve sing along to whatever 30s classic she put on either, and that hurt the most.
steve tried imagining the farm lacking the sunshine emitting from your great aunt. he tried imagining you all alone in that big house with no one’s warmth to keep you company.
“stevie? are you okay?” his mother snapped him out of his thoughts.
he blinked once, twice, then, “mhm.” he gave her a tight lipped smile, one she read right through.
“hey, how about we go to that diner you love? right around main?” his mother hummed.
“sounds good.” he nodded. “come on, i’ll drive.”
with every turn he took, he saw you. not physically, of course, but in the little things.
the bush you threw up in the first time you got drunk. the bench where you slept on his shoulder whilst waiting for his mom to pick you two up. the cinema where he took you out on your first date. the park where you had your first kiss.
his knuckle-white grip on the steering wheel didn’t go unnoticed by his mother.
she turned on the radio in hopes to lighten up the mood, but quickly tensed upon hearing the song. your song. true by spandau ballet.
steve didn’t waste a second; he immediately switched the channel.
he exhaled sharply upon hearing the third verse to the prettiest star by david bowie.
your favorite part of your favorite song.
his hands were shaking as he attempted to switch the channel again.
“steve—”
he slammed the center stack of his precious beamer, “stupid fucking—”
his mother turned off the radio and the car was silent once more, save for the sound of steve’s heavy breathing.
he was gripping the steering wheel with both hands as opposed to his usual relaxed one handed hold. his shoulders were up to his ears and his eyes were filling up with tears.
was it worth it? was his fathers approval really worth losing you?
when they got to the diner, the old waitress recognized steve instantly and took him to the booth he always sat with you.
his jaw was clenched so tight his mother thought his teeth would break.
“steve.”
“it’s fine.” he said stiffly, eyes darting around the menu, though he wasn’t doing much reading.
“steven.”
that made him look up.
he waited for her to speak, but she never did. he scoffed and looked back down. typical. what was she going to say? that his father was a dick and he should’ve never forced him to break up with you?
steve cut his trip short.
he went about his college years attempting to find something to fill the you-shaped hole in his heart and failed miserably.
you went about your college years chasing academic achievements to trick your brain into forgetting the one thing you really need.
after graduating, steve worked in his fathers LA office and you got a job in hawkins elementary teaching kindergarteners.
he’d see teenagers in love at the park and instantly get taken back to you.
you’d get an outgoing, kindhearted student and your heart would clench.
it never got any easier for either of you. you saw each other in all of the little things it drove you two to the brink of insanity.
two years later, steve’s father died and steve decided to move back home. mostly to support his mother, and partly to hold down the main office.
naturally, his mother wasn’t feeling the best. her grief counselor suggested daily walks in a nearby park.
ever since he returned to hawkins, steve had somehow managed to run away from you every time you’re in his near vicinity.
if he sees your back in the grocery store, he runs out. if he sees your car parked outside a restaurant, he switches destinations. if he smells your perfume in the movie theatre, he goes back home.
this, of course, did too not go unnoticed by his mother.
that’s why when she saw you with your group of 5 year olds in the park, she gave steve a small smile and said, “he’s not here anymore.”
steve’s throat bobbed and looked at you then back to his mother then to you again.
he saw you squinting towards his direction. he saw your eyes widening in realization and he barely caught the small civil smile you gave him.
“go.” his mother urged.
he nodded and made his way towards you. you were too preoccupied with convincing your students not to eat the grass.
“daniel, the cows on my farm eat grass because they are cows. you are not a cow.” you informed, wiping the dirt of his face with the back of your hand.
steve cleared his throat. “hey.”
you froze then slowly turned to look at him. “hi.”
“ms, is that your boyfriend?”
“what?” your head snapped to your students. “no- julianna-what?”
“you’re blushing.” julianna teased.
“am not! go play tag with your classmates, please, julianna.” you exhaled, turning to look at steve again. “i—uh—sorry about them.”
“no worries.” he waved a dismissive hand. “kids.”
“yeah.” you laughed shakily. you paused, then added, “i’m sorry about your dad. sorry i didn’t call or anything—”
“no, no, you’re good.” steve waved you off. “about time, huh?”
“he wasn’t that bad—”
“him making me break up with you is enough.”
“steve, you don’t have to—”
“no, angel, that was the worst thing i’ve ever done and i never should’ve listened to him. not a day goes by where i don’t regret breaking up with you. i seriously shouldn’t have done it.”
you nodded and kissed your teeth. “i hear you’re doing well, so can’t have been too bad.”
“what’s the point if i lost the one person i want by my side?”
your eyes softened, “steve—”
“no, i’ve avoided this for too long, and that son of a bitch isn’t here to stop me now. i was a coward and-and just so fucking stupid i never ever should’ve given you up that easily. i’d rather let my father down and make minimum wage at some record store than not be with you. we’ve been broken up for what, 6 years, and you’re still all i can think about when someone asks me about my plans for the future. i seriously can’t and won’t forgive myself, but i’ll do anything for you to just forgive me and-and maybe give me a second chance or something—”
his rambling was cut short by you pressing your lips against his.
“OOOH SO THAT IS YOUR BOYFRIEND, MISS?” julianna teased.
you rested your forehead on his and scrunched your eyes shut. “probably the worst place you could’ve done this.”
“now or never, no?”
you pulled away fully and steve had to use all his willpower not to pull you back.
“how about we talk about this properly? over coffee or something.” you suggested.
“yeah—i’d love that.” he nodded. “how about that diner on main?”
