#nick jonas

Steve is probably the most charming person you have ever met. Unfortunately for you, you fell for that charm faster than a dream that fades when you wake up.

He was enchanting, and he had emotionally matured years beyond what you once thought him capable of; it was extremely attractive to say the least.

When Robin had first brought Steve over to your house, you thought you were hallucinating. Your sister had complained about the man being a neanderthal who was stealing the attention of the love of her life just a year ago; and suddenly she was introducing him to you like he was the most precious thing to her.

Realistically, he was. He was the only other person besides you that she trusted enough to come out to. It was part of why you’d fallen for him. Watching her treat him like a safe space, and seeing Steve support her on her quest to talk to Vickie made your heart ache in a way you didn’t know it could.

Which led to now, where you and Steve were currently teaming up together trying to get Robin to ask out Vickie. That meant showing up to support Robin‘s band performance at the Hawkins High basketball game even though you’d literally rather be anywhere else.

The only thing bearable about it was that it meant sitting with Steve in the bleachers, shoulders brushing, heads leaning in close to whisper conspiratorially about how to get Vickie to notice Robin.

At first, you really did just see him as your sister’s best friend. Then one day, he was Steve.

Somewhere along the lines of the scheming you’ve been doing with him, the natural bantering turned into blatant flirting, which then bloomed into real feelings for him.

You couldn’t be around him anymore without your heart fluttering wildly, or your breath catching at the sound of his laughter, or your stomach twisting into flustered knots when he threw a cheeky grin your way.

He’s giving you that grin now, when Tammy Thompson starts singing the national anthem.

“Has she always been this bad?” you whisper to him, mystified that the students around you seem to think she’s doing a fantastic job.

“Don’t you think she sounds like a muppet? That’s what I told Robin,” Steve laughs, and his breath caresses the shell of your ear as he tilts his head towards yours. You swallow thickly, distracted by the fact that it's minty from the piece of gum he’d thrown in his mouth earlier.

You hum out a half hearted response, sufficiently dazed by his presence. You ogle his side profile when he turns his head to look towards Robin a few rows down. She’s already looking up at him with a smile on her face, and you watch as he mouths ‘told you, muppet’ to her. She rolls her eyes at him, but huffs out a laugh and concedes. At her whispered agreement, Vickie turns to say something to her and Robin's face changes to one of astonishment.

“Oh, Robs, you can do this,” you murmur, silently encouraging her from afar.

Steve turns back to you, eyes delighted at seeing the two of them interacting.

“It’s happening. Our meddling is working," he says joyfully, hands coming down onto your shoulders animatedly to give you a shake.

One of your hands comes up to rest on his, turning to smile enthusiastically at him.

The two of you stare at each other like a bunch of proud parents, and when Steve’s eyes flick down to your lips, tongue darting out to wet his own, you feel yourself being drawn to him like a flower stretching towards the sun.

Steve reciprocates the movement, lips inching closer towards yours, and when the whistle to start the game echoes around the room, the spell is broken. You wrench away from him and uneasily mention that you have to go to the bathroom.

You turn on your heel, hurrying down the bleachers, and slam open the gym doors to the hallway. You decide you need to cool down and step outside into the fresh night air.

Were you seriously about to just kiss Steve in a place where Robin could have easily seen the two of you?

It’s been torture hiding your feelings for him from your sister. You’re used to telling her everything, but it didn’t feel right to tell her you thought you might be in love with her best friend.

Robin’s never had a friend like Steve before, and it felt selfish to ruin that for your own wants.

You find yourself leaning against the side of the building by the front doors, trying to calm your racing heart and erase your thoughts of Steve.

Your plan is ruined when the man himself walks through the doors, scanning the area for you. When he sees you, he sidles up to where you’re standing and leans against the support beam across from you.

“This doesn’t look like the bathroom,” Steve attempts to joke, folding his arms across his chest.

“Yeah, sorry. It just got kind of crowded in there,” you shrug, making up a pathetic excuse and from the look on his face, he knows it.

“You mean, I crowded you,” he says meekly.

“Steve-,” you start.

“I read it wrong,” he jumps in before you can tell him otherwise, raising his hands apologetically.

“You didn’t,” you whisper bashfully, trying to assure him.

“No?” he asks curiously, stepping closer to you.

“You read it right. It’s just, Robin. She doesn’t deserve to find out that way,” you tell him, vaguely gesturing between the two of you.

“You do want something to happen between us then?” he asks slyly, making his way to stand directly in front of you.

You gulp, and have to take a breath to steady yourself at his closeness. Your brain spins when his hands confidently drop to the swell of your hips. An ache of want for him nestles itself in the hollow of your rib cage.

You become overwhelmed in the best way possible when he guides your back to press more solidly against the wall, and you incoherently mumble out some resemblance of a yes.

“I thought so, sweet girl,” he chuckles, guiding his nose to yours, pausing when his mouth is by yours, waiting for your permission.

You can’t take wait any longer, and you reach up on your tip toes to finally connect your lips with his. It’s barely a brush, unsure if you’ve just made the right move.

Steve takes a startled inhale, before matching your movements, pressing his plush lips tenderly against yours. It’s a simple and warm first kiss, the both of you hesitant, learning each other's ticks and body language.

You hands find purchase in the material of his sweater, loosely grabbing onto it to ground yourself. One kiss was all it took for you to completely unravel for him, dissolving into a puddle at the way his lips slowly worked against yours, like he was memorizing every part of you.

The slam of the doors to the front entrance makes you and Steve break apart. You’re breathless, heaving in deep lungfuls of air. Steve does the same, staring at you with a look of desire clouding his dazzling brown eyes. You’re about to give in and kiss the life out of him when you hear a familiar voice calling your name.

“What are you doing out here, princess?” Eddie exclaims, and you turn to watch as the Hellfire Club is parting ways from one another; they must’ve just gotten out of their Dungeons & Dragons session.

You hate the ridiculous nickname that Eddie calls you, and you know he’s just saying it to get under Steve’s skin, which it does. You see a muscle twitch in Steve’s jaw, his teeth clenching.

Eddie trods lazily over, giving you a triumphant look when you glare at him.

“Harrington, nice to see you man,” Eddie says, and you hear the taunting lilt in his voice.

Eddie knew of your crush on Steve, and was persistent in making Steve suffer; trying to motivate him to make a move on you.

“Munson,” Steve nods slightly in greeting, eyes wary of the older male.

Steve believes that Eddie has a thing for you and was insistent on making him feel miserable about how close the two of you were. Eddie slings an arm over your shoulder, pulling you into his side. You elbow him, frustrated at his interruption.

“Need a ride, princess? Or, is Harrington taking you somewhere?” Eddie smiles knowingly.

You stupidly panic at his assumption, because Eddie can’t know about what just happened before Robin knows. In your haste, your nonchalant words do more damage than you realize they will.

“No, he’s not. I can use a ride,” you tell Eddie.

Steve bites his lip hard, a resigned look on his face. You watch somberly as he turns abruptly without even saying goodbye, walking rigidly back into the school.

“Damn, princess. Way to break a guys heart,” Eddie chides you, because he meant to give you an in with Steve, and you’d just ruthlessly shut it down.

“Just bring me home, Eddie,” you sigh, angry with yourself for making a mess of things.

****************************************************

You’re sitting on Robin's bed, watching as she paces giddily around her room, sharing with you about her night with Vickie. Well, her night with Vickie and the rest of the band team that went out celebrating the basketball team's win.

You’re desperate to tell her about the kiss you shared with Steve, but you don’t want to ruin her moment. You try your best to pretend like everything is normal.

“I’m proud of you, Robs,” you tell her, acknowledging that her asking Vickie to hang out by themselves was a huge step in the right direction.

Robin sighs dreamily, before collapsing onto the bed next to you.

She grabs your hand, giving it a loving squeeze, “Thank you, seriously. I couldn’t have done it without your and Steve’s support.”

You stiffen at the mention of Steve’s name, a flashback of your back pressed against the brick wall of the school, Steve’s lips eager against your own. She catches onto your unease immediately. After all, she doesn’t brag about being a genius for nothing.

“What’s wrong?” she prompts, eyes narrowing, searching your face.

“N-nothing,” you stutter out too quickly, and her eyebrows shoot up at your response.

She props herself up on her elbows, puts a hand on one of your knees and says, “Come on. You can tell me anything, you know that. No judgement, promise.”

Her words make you realize you’re being silly. Robin was the bravest person you knew, and the last person to ever belittle you for anything.

The truth tumbles out of your mouth so quickly, that she clearly misses it. She gives you a look to stop screwing around.

“I kissed Steve, and I think I might be in love with him,” you repeat, slower this time, but your admission is quiet.

Robin stares blankly at you, not staying a word, which is very abnormal for her.

You take a deep breath, “I said-.”

She cuts you off, raising a hand calmly to stop you,“I heard you. I’m just, I’m processing.”

You dart your eyes away from hers, picking restlessly at your nails as the silence stretches between you two.

Robin finally breaks it, “Steve, as in my Steve? You’re joking, right?”

Your gut twists something awful at her choice of words. My Steve. Of course he’s hers. He was hers first, and he always would be.

“I’m sorry,” You rush out, “It’s stupid, I know. It’s probably just a fleeting crush. I’ll get over it.”

“But, do you want to get over him?” she asks you softly.

“No,” you admit warily, trying to gauge what she’s thinking.

Her lips pull into a smile, “Well, good, because I didn’t mean ‘my Steve’ as in he couldn’t be yours too.”

“Yeah?” you question, voice laced with hope.

“I only said it because I didn’t expect it; the two of you are incredibly different, but you'd actually totally make sense together,” she replies, shifting to sit up next to you.

“Opposites attract and all that, right?” you sigh, closing your eyes and picturing Steve’s gorgeous face behind your eyelids.

“To be honest, I kind of always pictured your type as more of an Eddie Munson. But it looks like Steve’s got you down bad,” she says playfully, nudging your shoulder, making your eyes open back up.

You let out a huff of air, because you also thought at one point you’d end up with Eddie until Steve had somehow burrowed his way into the cavity of your chest.

“You’d be okay with us?” you ask her, wanting her approval more than anything.

She nods, getting excited at the prospect of the two people she loves the most getting together, “Steve’s a solid choice.”

You feel relief at her words, “You’re really sure?”

“Absolutely,” she says, throwing her arms around you, finally convincing you.

“I love you, Robs,” you whisper to her, holding her tightly.

“I love you. Now, tell me about this kiss. Does he really live up to his reputation?” she asks, pulling back from you, grin forming, eyebrows wiggling.

“Better,” you laugh lightly, before continuing, “but I might have blown my chance. I totally chickened out and left him there alone.”

She’s shaking her head before you even finish talking,

“Trust me, if Steve knew how you felt about him, he’d definitely ask you out. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been a real dry season for him. Lots of time spent with his right h-,” Robin babbles on, and you shriek in embarrassment at what she was about to just say.

“Okay, Robs, stop! I really don’t need to know that about him,” You feel the blood rising to your cheeks.

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly, awkwardly scratching her neck.

“This is why I was worried about telling you. You know things about him that I don’t, and that’s how it should be; you’re best friends with him. But I don’t want this being weird for you,” you plead with her.

“First of all, you’re my best friend. Dingus is my second best friend,” she says teasingly, like a school child fighting over their relationships.

“Second of all, I want you to be happy. It might be kind of weird for me sometimes, but don’t worry about me. Steve’s a really good guy. If you’re into him, you should tell him. You kind of have to spell it out for him though. You’re going to have to be very direct because he’s pretty oblivious sometimes,” she chuckles fondly.

“What if he doesn’t want me?” you ask, insecurity slipping in.

“Steve Harrington turning down a girl? Not likely,” Robin replies with certainty.

You think about the kiss again, how Steve’s tongue had just started to try to slip into yours before Eddie stormed outside. It reminds you that there has to be a part of him that wants you.

“When should I ask him?” you wonder out loud.

“Tomorrow? You’re working at the arcade, right? I can tell him he needs to pick me up from there, but really it’ll be towards the end of your shift and he’ll run into you,” she winks at you, before clapping her hands, satisfied with her plan.

You just hope Steve’s able to give you a second chance.

****************************************************

You love your job, which is a rare thing to say about working at an arcade. You’d been working here since your freshman year in high school. At the time, it was just a part time job to make some extra cash, but over the years you’ve grown to love the dim lights, the buzz of the machines, the kids cheering when they break a new record.

It got even better when your old manager Keith had left and gone to Family Video, which Robin and Steve were still sour about.

You’ve spent most of your shift giving a middle schooler advice on how to beat Dig Dug, which you only knew thanks to Dustin and Max when they were still frequent flyers here.

You were leaning against the game, giving out pointers on silly mistakes that could be fixed when the chime of bells ring, signaling a new customer has come in. You anxiously glance at the doors to find it’s just another group of high schoolers.

You were edgy all day, pondering if Robin would be able to persuade Steve that she’d actually be spending time here with you. Robin and Steve didn’t really ever come to the arcade to hang out with you, but she told you she’d come up with a believable story. Something about forced sibling bonding.

The bell chimes again, and you glance over to find Eddie waltzing in and up to you.

“What are you doing here?” you ask him suspiciously, because he never shows up like this unannounced.

“Little birdie told me that you plan to tell Stevie how you feel,” he says, drumming his hands on the machine.

The tween playing stares Eddie down, annoyed at him interrupting their game. You apologize to them, steering Eddie towards the prize booth that’s currently unoccupied.

“Robin told you?” you hiss at him.

“Ran into her at the record shop earlier today. You know how she is, prattled on and on about playing matchmaker for you and Harrington,” he grins.

“God, Eddie, you can’t be here. Steve already thinks you're into me! If he sees you here, this plan won’t work,” you plead with him, pushing at his chest.

“Alright princess, relax. I just wanted to tell you I’m rooting for you two, despite the fact that he’s got some grudge against me for hanging out with you and Dustin,” he puts his hands up in defense.

“You don’t exactly make it easy for him,” you quirk an eyebrow up at him, referring to all the jokes he’s made at Steve’s expense.

Eddie starts to defend himself, when his eyes cut to the front of the arcade.

“Oh, shit,” he says guiltily.

You follow his eyes, noticing the back of Steve’s head, retreating from the building and to his Beamer.

“Cover for me,” you beg him, and Eddie sighs but nods reluctantly.

You chase Steve out to the parking lot, calling his name. Either he’s ignoring you on purpose, or his hearing is going from the beatings he’s taken in the past, which you’ve brought up to him in concern before; because he slides into the front seat of the parked car without acknowledging you.

“Jesus, what the hell!” Steve yelps, when you ease into his passenger seat, caught off guard by your presence. Which proves your later theory; you’ll have to discuss it with him again about visiting a doctor.

“Hi,” you greet him breathily after running after him.

“Hi?” he responds a bit confused at your sudden appearance, keys frozen by the ignition.

“Um, could we talk?” you ask him frantically, not willing to let him go without expressing how you feel for him, no matter what the outcome might be.

Steve swallows, Adam’s apple moving with the action, “Aren’t you working right now?”

You have to remind yourself to not get distracted by how effortlessly attractive he is.

“My shift’s almost over, and Eddie's keeping my boss occupied," you promise, but it was the wrong thing to say.

Steve looks away from you, running his hands down his face, “Right, Munson.”

“He’s tolerable once you get to know him,” you try again, and Steve scoffs at that.

“You would defend him,” he mumbles out bitterly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you inquire, voice hardening just the slightest. You know Eddie can be a lot for people, but he means well, most of the time.

“It means I’m a naive idiot to think that last night actually meant something to you,” Steve grumbles out, refusing to meet your eyes.

Your jaw drops at his accusation, “I’m the one that kissed you, Steve.”

He shrugs indifferently, fingers tapping restlessly against the steering wheel.

You sigh in slight annoyance at his ill timed pettiness, realizing you’re going to have to be brutally honest with him, the way Robin told you to be.

You reach across the seat, tenderly grasping his jaw in your hand, forcing him to look at you. His skin is soft to the touch, and he stares longingly at you now, in a trance from the motion of your thumb sweetly grasping his chin.

“Steve. I kissed you first,” you emphasize, trying to get him to understand that you’ve already chosen him.

“But, Eddie,” he trails off diffidently.

You continue to brush your hand against him, fingers drifting to the tendrils of hair that curl around his hair, “What about him?”

“You’d be perfect with him,” Steve admits with defeat in his tone.

“I’d be perfect with you,” you argue, deciding to be brave and crawl over the arm rest, dragging yourself into Steve’s lap.

“Woah, hey," Steve weakly protests, giving in when he feels your hips flush to his.

You lock your hands around his neck, body pressed to his, and Steve’s hands settle around the curve of your lower back.

“I like you, Steve. I’m pretty sure it’s more than that,” you hint, “and it’s okay if you don’t quite feel that for me yet.”

Steve looks at you in awe, jaw going slack, eyes widening in surprise. You can’t help but think how adorable he looks at this moment. You press a kiss to his cheek, then his forehead, and nose, before hovering over his lips.

“But rest assured, Steve Harrington, I plan to make you fall for me just like I’ve fallen for you,” you whisper against his mouth.

He makes a strangled sound at that, eyes fluttering closed in disbelief, and he closes the distance between you, firmly pressing his lips to yours.

This kiss is different than last night; hungrier, bolder, a bit reckless.

Your fingers grip at his hair desperately, pushing yourself as close to him as possible. It causes you to grind down on him, and he pulls away with a broken moan at the feeling.

He tosses his head back against the headrest when you drag your core against him once again, his breathing coming out in short bursts.

You feel him, straining in his jeans, and an instinctive buck of his own hips has you gasping for air. You’re dying to kiss him again, but he’s got his eyes screwed shut, whines falling from his lips as you continue to move with him. You settle for kissing the column of his throat, scattering kisses along the base of it.

You’re totally gone on him, and you can tell Steve’s teetering on the edge of relief from the uptick in his pace of the glide of his hips, when suddenly there’s rapid banging on the driver's side window.

It forces you away from Steve’s hold, heart beating so loud you can hear the roar of it in your ear. In the midst of scrambling backwards, your elbow slams into the car horn which beeps sharply.

You wince, and look to see Eddie standing outside the car. Steve mutters something about this being the second time that he’s disrupted you two in the past twenty four hours, but Steve rolls the window down anyway.

“Hey man,” Eddie greets, reaching into the car to clap a hand on Steve’s shoulder, “totally don’t mean to be a cock block here, but her boss is maybe two seconds from flipping his lid that she’s nowhere to be seen.”

You burn with embarrassment at the situation Eddie’s found you in, no doubt he’s going to hold it over your head for the next couple of months.

Eddie’s still standing there awkwardly, and you shoo him away with your hands, silently communicating to leave you and Steve alone. He gives you a salute, laughing to himself before turning to his van parked a few spots down. You’ll have to call him later, and express your gratitude for at least buying you some time.

When you look back at Steve, he’s got a look of pure affection in his eyes, and you smile shyly at him.

Steve clears his throat, before asking, “Forced sibling bonding?”

A loud laugh rips from the back of your throat, and you drop your head onto his shoulder. His hand cradles the back of your head, delicately threading his fingers through your hair.

“That’s nice,” you comment, before continuing, “Robin’s idea, by the way.”

The corner of Steve’s eyes crinkle up as he smirks widely, “Makes sense.”

You could stay in his arms for hours if you could, but Eddie’s words about your boss looking for you linger.

You pull away, hands moving to cup his jaw, “Did that make my feelings clear?”

Steve gives you a lopsided smile, “Crystal.”

“I should probably find my boss, but I’m officially off the clock in about 10 minutes,” you glance down at your watch, “as long as I don’t get reamed too badly. Any plans for the evening, Harrington?”

Steve laughs lightly, “Big plans; taking the prettiest girl in Hawkins out on a date.”

“Damn, what a lucky girl,” you smile, brushing your thumbs over the slight stubble that dusts his jawline.

“Believe me, I’m the lucky one,” he breathes out, leaning forward to capture your lips again.

You somehow manage to pull yourself away, “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Not planning on it, sweet girl,” he presses a gentle kiss to your forehead, before opening up the driver's side door for you.

You slip off his lap, blushing slightly when you catch sight of the hard on in his jeans.

“We should talk about us, but maybe we could take care of that too?” you ask suggestively.

“God, yes please,” he exclaims, giving the back of your hand a quick kiss before letting you go back to the arcade.

Steve watches you through the rearview mirror as you check the parking lot for cars before making your way back to the arcade.

You turn briefly, feeling his eyes on you. You teasingly blow him a kiss and he theatrically pretends to catch it, cupping it to his heart.