#regular customer

"There she comes," Robin pointed out with a wink.

Sighing, Steve busied himself behind the counter at Family Video.

The door opened and a regular customer walked in with her tapes in hand and a big smile on her face. She made a beeline to the counter.

"Hi, Steve. Hi Robin," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Y/N. What are you looking for today?" Steve answered business-like.

"Is there something new available?"

"You're lucky you came early on a Friday. Maybe Robin could find something for you—"

"Sorry!! I'm busy!!" Robin disappeared, leaving Steve alone.

Y/N smiled at him again with awkwardness. She had a crush on him. Hard. She'd had it since her first year in high school; he waited for Nancy Wheeler outside all the classes Y/N shared with her. Y/N liked to daydream about being Steve Harrington's girlfriend and being the one he was waiting for. She was nothing like Nancy, though, and all the time Steve was a high schooler, Y/N never talked to him too, afraid of blushing like an idiot humiliating herself.

She wasn't the kind of girl Steve looked at twice. She was a nerd, big-sized and quiet with shyness. Once she was comfortable with someone, she seemed like another person, witted and sardonic. Her self-esteem wasn't great, it never was, but the moment she entered the Hellfire Club of Eddie Munson she found a way to be her true self even in awkward situations.

Eddie had been her best friend. Her only true friend. She liked to think that she had a strong friendship with the Hellfire members, but the truth is that that friendship was pretty superficial. Eddie was different. He encouraged her. He challenged her. He pushed her to be better, and she did the same for him. To Eddie, Y/N was the kind of friend to go to if he needed to hide a body or if someday he got abducted by the aliens; she would believe him and support him no matter what. To Y/N, he was the same.

When in the summer of 1985 Steve Harrington worked in Scoops Ahoy, Eddie was the one who drove Y/N to the mall to take a glance at the boy in that ridiculous uniform. He encouraged her to go there and talk to him, but she was too shy to do it, even as a client. She never got to talk to him that summer, but she bought ice cream when Robin was working alone and they clicked.

For a second, Y/N thought that Robin and Steve were in a relationship, but the girl assured her that was never going to happen and once they started working in Family Video Y/N found it easy to talk to Steve now that she knew Robin, too.

"Umm… what about this one?" Steve asked, waving a tape in front of her. She scrunched her nose in distaste.

"Nope. I saw it in the theater, it was boring."

"Sure. How about this one?"

"You don't know much about movies to be working here, do you?"

"Again with your criticism, Y/N. I don't have as much free time as you do if you rent a movie every day."

"Are you worried about my grades, Steve?"

"As if! Aren't you some kind of genius?"

"You could say that."

"Henderson wants to dissect your brain or something."

"I hope he doesn't. I like my brain where it is."

Steve gave her a polite smile, pursued his lips, and grabbed another tape without looking.

"Next Friday is the big Hellfire finale. The big campaign will be over." She took the tape and followed him to the counter.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Idiot," she smiled, blushing slightly. "I was telling you because of Dustin's ride arrangements."

"Those kids are going to be the death of me. I'm not their babysitter!"

"You sure?" She asked with a naughty sparkle in her eyes.

"Whatever. You drive him."

"You two seem like a couple of divorce parents making schedule arrangements," Robin laughed.

Y/N bit her bottom lip looking away while Steve rolled his eyes at his friend's input. Once the renting transaction was done there was an awkward pause in silence until Y/N smiled again, her eyes not leaving Steve's, and waved her goodbyes with the new tape in her hands.

Steve sighed again, watching her get into her car. Robin smiled openly at him.

"Not a word." He warned.

"I think you should give her a shot."

They walked into the back room, too busy with their teasing to notice how she had reentered the store. She'd decided to bite the bullet and ask Steve out once and for all. She'd been going daily since September and she'd seen him flirting with hot and cute girls. Nothing more than a few flings, so maybe she had a chance; perhaps he believed she was dating Eddie as most people assumed. Of course, she actually believed he wasn't interested in her, but that day she had decided to just ask and stop this nonsense.

She followed them, ready to talk when she heard her name being said. It wasn't polite to overhear conversations, but she was curious. Of course, we all know what people say about curiosity…

"Y/N has a big fat crush on you. She comes here every day, smiles at you, looks at you with such a puppy face… Come on! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, Steve."

"She's not my type. She's in a club with Dustin and Eddie 'the freak' Munson, you can't tell me that's a catch."

"You cannot seriously be talking like you're still a high school boy. You just said that your dating life sucked. You want someone to have a serious relationship with and it's not working. Well, it might not be working because you aren't giving the chance to the right girl."

"If you like her so much, why don't you date her?"

"Please, don't be ridiculous. Now, seriously, why don't you like her?"

"I don't know! Look, do you think I enjoy seeing her making a fool of herself coming here every day with her smiles and her sparkling eyes? It makes me uncomfortable speaking to her like that. I know that she likes me, even Dustin is trying to set us up, but I just can't. I think it would be rude of me to go on a date with her, give her hope, just to–"

"Not calling for a second date."

"Yeah. She's great, and I'm sure we could be friends, but nothing else."

"Okay, but maybe you give her that chance and a pity date turns out to be the first date with your future wife."

"Robin, leave it! I do not like Y/N and I never will. If you think a random pity date could show us our future wife, why don't you try and ask her out?"

"It's not the same, Steve."

"Well, you don't know if she likes… you know… boobies."

"Ew! Don't say boobies!"

"You know what I mean! There are people who like both. Maybe she does! She's friends with the freak, she has to be a little freak to do so."

"Are you calling me a freak too?"

"You know what I mean, Robin. So, would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Have a pity date with her."

"No. But that's different. She doesn't have a crush on me."

"And if she did? Hypothetically."

After a long pause, Robin finally said "I don't think so. She's not my type."

"There you go. Now you get what I mean with…"

Y/N decided that was her cue to leave the store before being found. When she returned the tape the next day, her smile was fake and gloomy. Her eyes were sad, and she talked at the bare minimum. She thought about waiting for the last day of rent to give it back, but she knew that that kind of behavior would provoke questions that she didn't want to answer. She rented The Goonies, again, and left.

"What's wrong with her?" Robin asked, shocked.

"She looked bad."

"Maybe she was sick."

"Maybe…"

Robin only worked at Family Video Fridays and Saturdays during the school year. Therefore, Steve was alone at the store when Y/N went back on Wednesday. He found it odd when she didn't show up on Monday to return the movie, and on Thursday he asked Dustin if he knew something, but he vaguely answered that she seemed sick.

"Hey!" Steve greeted her with overflowing joy. It sounded fake.

"Hi. I'll take Rocky Horror and Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

"Sure. Yeah! Um… I have a copy of Rocky Horror to restock right here," he smiled at her, waving the tape. That would usually earn him a smile, but this time the smile was thin, barely there. She wasn't looking at his eyes like normally. "Right. The other one is in the sci-fi corridor. Keith says you're the only one renting it, he's thinking of putting it in the for sale section."

She nodded, but didn't say a word.

Steve ran a hand through his hair anxiously. He had no idea what to do or how to treat her if she wasn't responsive to his words. Y/N seemed completely different; she seemed down. Steve covered the space between the counter and the sci-fi corridor in long strides, snatched the movie from its place, and went back with his most charming smile painted on his face. He felt ridiculous.

"Here it is. You have five days to give them back."

"I'll return them on Saturday."

Before he could ask why, she had left, leaving the rental money on the counter. He felt a bittersweet rash wash over him.

Y/N watched those movies with Eddie at her house. She was the Harringtons' neighbor. Her family had money and her dad was on business trips more often than not. When she was little, her mother stayed with her, but the day she started high school everything changed. Y/N parents trusted her and thought that she was mature enough to be left alone. Therefore, on every business trip her dad had, he convinced his wife to go with him. If Mrs. Harrington went with her husband because she didn't trust him, Y/N parents didn't have that issue. They loved each other with such passion it was uncomfortable to be around them. It was lonely, sometimes, having a big house for herself, but Eddie used to make her company crashing in their guests' room if needed.

"Do I have to break Harrington's legs?" Eddie was worried about her depressed state.

"Dustin would be sad."

"I told you Henderson was high when talking about King Steve. There's no way he's a cool dude."

"He could've called me on my bullshit the first time. I don't think Steve wants me to feel bad about having an unrequited crush on him."

"Does he has any flaws? All you do is defend him."

"I give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think Dustin Henderson is bad at reading people, he likes you, doesn't he?"

"Oh, Y/N, you're going soft on me."

"I'm just tired. I want to get over this stupid crush as soon as possible. The last thing I want is to make him uncomfortable. It's been too long, I'm too old to behave like this."

"And in a few months, you would be far away from here in a geniuses university, won't you?"

"I'll take you with me."

"That's presumptuous. Maybe I don't want to go."

"I don't care. I'll kidnap you."

"Then my future is sealed."

She hugged him and he kissed her head. Y/N was ready to just move on from Steve Harrington.

On Friday, Dustin and Mike had the audacity of asking Eddie for a postponement of the Cult of Vecna because Sinclair had his big basketball game. Eddie went all drama queen on them, making Y/N chuckle.

"Y/N!" Robin shouted, running towards her in her band attire.

"Looking good, Robin."

"Green is not really my color. I'm on my way to the gym."

"I thought so. I have the Hellfire campaign." She pointed the other way.

"Do you have a free place in your car? Steve has a date tonight and he can't drive me back home."

"No problem. Have fun with your trumpet."

"You too with your witch." Robin started walking backward.

"I'm a paladin," Y/N responded laughing, wincing when she saw Robin tripping, again.

The campaign was amazing. Erica Sinclair was a ferocious little woman and with so much sass that Y/N was sure Eddie was ready to make her an official member of the club, even if she was still a middle schooler. They got to destroy Vecna thanks to Lady Applejack.

"Hey, Y/N. I have some business to attend to," he winked at her, "drive safe home."

"You too, Eddie."

Getting out of the auditorium, the party was high on their triumph.

"Could you drive me home too?" Mike asked Y/N without looking her in the eyes. "I have to be home early."

"No problemo, my friend." Y/N intertwined her arm with his walking towards her car. "I heard that you have a plane to catch. Are you excited to go to California?"

Mike Wheeler was always shy; when Y/N talked directly to him, he sometimes blushed and laughed nervously.

"He's dying to visit his girlfriend," Dustin answered with a big smile.

"You boys and your girlfriends. Aren't you too young to date?"

"No, mom. Shut up," Dustin kept playing, intertwining his arm with Y/N's free one. "Plus, my Suzy is much better."

"So I heard. An A in Latin, huh?"

"You told her?" He accused Mike.

"It wasn't intentional!"

Truth is, he found her in the corridors after lunch in his search for a sub for Lucas, and she asked him about his grades. Mike panicked, as he usually did in front of her or Eddie, and he told her about how Dustin had made his girlfriend change his grades.

"Anyway. How long have you and Eddie been dating?" Erica asked her bluntly when they were next to the car.

Y/N laughed, "We're not dating. It's a common mistake."

"You could have fooled me," the kid deadpanned.

"We've been trying to make them date, but Y/N has a crush on Steve," Mike blurted out.

"Wheeler!"

"Why Steve?" Erica asked.

"Oh my God! Could we maybe not?" Y/N looked around, hoping the people surrounding them were too busy to pay attention to what they were talking about.

"I think Eddie is better than Steve for you," Mike claimed.

"Steve isn't a bad option," Dusting defended.

The boys started a discussion trying to figure out who was a better catch to Y/N. Erica, not wanting to participate in the nonsense, got into the backseat of the car.

"Robin! Hey guys, it's Robin! Robin Buckley! Hi! Hello!" Y/N shouted, begging all the ancient gods that Robin hadn't listened to the kids' discussion. She seemed oblivious.

"We could go now. Hi Erica. Your brother made us win the game. It was a good game and…" She kept talking about the game as they entered the car and Y/N started to drive it away. Then she saw them. Steve and a very beautiful girl walking toward his car. Robin was quiet for a moment uncertain of what to say. "Steve had told me that you seemed off the other day. Are you feeling better?"

"Peachy."

"Told you. Eddie's better," Mike whispered to Dustin in the backseat.

Before Robin could ask what he meant, Y/N turned on the radio.

The Harringtons' house was dark when Y/N parked in her own dark home. Those houses seemed bigger with emptiness. She started the kettle to make herself a good tea with honey and maybe rewatch Invasion of the Body Snatchers before going to sleep. Everything was set, she was in her pajamas and ready to enjoy her movie when something hit her backdoor repeatedly. The door was made of glass giving a perfect view of the pool and the wood, and, at that moment, a very distressed Eddie Munson. She opened the door in a rush asking him what had happened. After a few crazy mumbles, Eddie finally said something unbelievable, something that only her could believe.

"We'll figure it out."

"What do you mean we'll figure it out? Chrissy is dead in my trailer! I'm going to be hunted!!"

"I won't allow it. Eddie– Eddie, I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" He nodded. "Good. You're going to be hidden here. I'm having some ideas… Do you mind staying in the basement?"

"You kidding? Your basement is better than my place. I didn't do it."

"I know, Eddie. I believe you."

"How can you believe me?"

"Because it's you. You would never hurt anybody. Hey… Hey, look at me, Eddie," Y/N held his face between her hands. "I'm going to protect you. You're safe here. I'll keep you safe."