#stranger things ff

Will wasn't stupid, he knew they couldn't act like this was a date, not outwardly unless they wanted to be burned at the stake but even still, the knowledge it was a date made his palms all clammy and heart ache with racing beats.

Will looked around the building, standing off to the side of the bathroom door, eyes scanning all the faces until they landed on his boyfriend.

Will felt a smile crawl up his face, curling his mouth corners and heating his cheeks as he approached.

He gently tapped y/ns arm once he reached the other boy, looking up slightly to catch his eyes. Y/n grinned at Will, throwing an arm over the boy's shoulders, squeezing before he turned back to look at the person he was talking to prior to wills arrival.

Will hadn't even noticed the presence of someone else until y/n started talking to them. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in the person before them.

It was a girl, short in height but that was made up for by the sheer height of her brown hair, hairsprayed to the gods in a mound of curls. Her finger twirled a loose curl in a loop, her nail painted a shiny yellow. Will liked yellow, but he didn't find himself a fan of the way it looked on her hand.

She had a smile, a dreamy one that made Will slightly cringe. He was so stuck in his brain, overanalyzing, he didn't hear y/n talking until his skin was squeezed under y/n's hand again.

“Will? Anyone home?” Y/n was teasing, he was always teasing Will.

“Hmm? Oh yeah sorry.” Will nodded, looking between y/n and the girl. “This is Avery, she was telling me about how her sister is one of the managers here, and how her sister's boyfriend works the DJ station.”

Avery gave a tight lipped smile to Will, her eyes holding a slight distaste towards the boy who had, to her, interrupted the conversation. Will gave a small wave and a hi.

“Yeah, so if you have any song requests I can get him to play it for you. Like ‘every breath you take or something’.” She gave a shrug, a bite to her lip, her words attempting to be cryptic but falling flat, landing on straight up, poor flirting.

Will unconsciously leaned closer to y/n. Not enough to look intimate, but closer. “That's cool.” He said simply, not looking to drag this on any longer than it had already gone on.

“Yeah.” Y/n nodded, still polite, as he always was. Sometimes will hated it.

Sometimes he just wished y/n would tell people to go away, to shut up, to anything but keep talking like what they said had matter.

Will knew what he was getting into when he and y/n started dating.

Y/n was decently well known in their school for being so kind to everyone and anyone. And it didn't help that he was super attractive. It wasn't rare for a confession note to find itself in the bottom of his locker when he opened it on a Monday morning.

It still never ceased to baffle will that they even started dating in the first place. Someone like y/n with someone like him? He had to be dreaming but even if he was, there was no plan to wake up.

“Well, we better get going, sorry. It was nice meeting you!” Y/n gave Avery a grin, his teeth on display before he nudged will to follow him, his arm no longer draped over will.

Will gave a smile to y/n and nodded, acknowledging he'd follow. First he paused to look at Avery, the annoyance clearly falling over her prettily made up face the second y/ns back was turned to them.

“He your best friend or something?” She pointed the distasteful yellow nail towards y/n's direction.

Will just nodded, growing annoyed himself with her attitude towards him. “Yeah, he is.”

The girl gave an unimpressed glance over will, like she really couldn't believe they'd be friends. She gave a hum of somewhat understanding before crossing her arms over her chest. “Well since you're such good friends you'd have his phone number, right?”

Will was surprised by her audacity to ask him that. He tilted his head before shaking it. “Thats not exactly mine to give out.” He let it hang between them for a beat before finally following y/n.

He sped up his steps stopping right next to y/n who was seated on one of the many wooden benches in the building. A pair of skates and socks sat unused next to y/n's thigh, the other pair now laced up on the boy's feet.

“About time you joined me.” Y/ns smile was playful, teasing. Will couldn't stop the smile on his own face from forming.

He took the spot next to y/n, the fabric of y/ns pants brushing his own over their knees. He flushed light pink as he toed off his shoes, before hauling on the skates.

“I was just chatting.” Will spoke up, lacing the last of the lace on the skate. “That girl, Avery, she likes you.” A bitter hint entered the tone but not enough to really pick up on it.

“Huh? She's just friendly.” Y/n shrugged, never one to really get the hint someone was interested in him. Hence his shock when he confessed to will expecting a rejection to hit him square in the face.

“Yeah, sure, friendly.”

Will stood up, grabbing y/n's arm to drag him towards the rink itself.

Will liked skating, was good at it. Y/n was alright himself but wasn't on wills skill level quite yet.

They made their way onto the rink, skating next to each other, not touching, just sharing the same space and air. It was nice, being alone with y/n in this crowded space.

They laughed, enjoying their time. It was hard to get moments away like this, away from the chaos that was wills live.

But Will should've learned by now, peace isn't a pleasure his life allows.

In the corner of Will's eyes he spots her. Avery. Watching the pair skate happily before she made her move to destroy it.

She stopped right next to them, that overly sweet grin back on her once scowling face.

“Hi again. Sorry to interrupt your little boy's hangout but I just had to ask, "I mean you're so handsome, do you have a girlfriend?”

Wills fist clenched by his side, nails to palm hard with the force of his festering annoyance.

“Oh-” will didnt let y/n get another word in. “Yeah he's taken. He's in love actually so he's not interested in you.” Will's words were heavy, hot with the flame of anger.

The girl looked stunned at the outburst, from will no less. “I don't remember asking you.”

“Yeah well I don't remember my bo-bestfriend inviting you to hang out with us so please, leave us alone.” Will's eyes were hard, his tone serious.

Y/n even looked surprised. Respectful, kind, soft hearted will just told a girl to fuck off because he was…jealous?

“Okay, let's go, yeah?” Y/n grabbed Will by the arm, his turn now to drag the boy. They left the rink, a baffled Avery still in the middle of it.

They ended up where Will's night started, the bathroom. They entered the last stall, y/n leaning against the stall door as he faced will.

“What was that?” Even if Will wasn't looking at y/n he'd hear the smirk on his face.

“Nothing, nothing. I was just….bothered I mean she kept interrupting us so…” he shrugged, pouting.

Y/n took Will's cheeks into his hands, smiling down at his boyfriend before kissing his forehead, Will's hair tickling his nose.

“Youre so cute. But trust me, nothing to be jealous of, I'm not going anywhere.” Y/n ruffled wills hair.

Will huffed, his chest relaxing with the heavy exhale. He moved his hands to hold onto the front of y/ns shirt, toying with the fabric.

“Promise?”

“You know I do.” They locked their pinkies together before letting go of one another.

“My place? Movies? Or we can listen to that mixtape you like.” Will instantly nodded.

“Yeah okay!”

“By the way, the whole ‘he's in love thing’, am I now?” The biggest shit eating grin spread over y/ns face like butter on fresh toast.

Will groaned, hitting y/n's chest. “God shut up.” He shoved past y/n, leaving the stall then the whole bathroom itself, letting y/n follow behind him when he's done being a teasing asshole.

As you’re looking through the cassettes, you hear a rumble from the back of the store.

“One sec!”, a female voice calls shortly after. The next moment, a smiling face appears around the corner, but it immediately disappears again when Robin spots you.

“Hey, I’m looking for-”

“Could you give me another minute? I will.. I’ll be right back!”, she immediately brushes you off and backs away. As soon as she’s out of your sight, or at least she thinks she is, she starts running to the back of the shop, and you watch her in bewilderment. You don’t let that deter you, however, and continue looking around, the creepy cassette covers slightly intimidating you. You hear quick whispers, or rather whisper-yelling, and before you know it, Steve Harrington is standing in front of you. You flinch in shock, taking a step back.

“H-Hey”, he breathes out, looking like he doesn’t want to be here at all, as if someone had forced him to. He’s also out of breath, as if he’d just been through a fight, one strand of his hair out of place.

“Hi”, you reply, looking down at your feet. You didn’t know he worked here. If you had, you certainly wouldn’t have come here, because the blush spreading from your cheeks across your entire face is proof enough of how you feel about him. Family Video just opened recently, how could you have known he’d be working here?

For a moment, there’s a rather awkward silence between you because you simply don’t know what to say. You’ve never been very good at talking to people, especially when you don’t know them. Steve definitely falls into that category. Steve, the king of Hawkins High School, everybody’s favourite rich playboy with whom you’ll never have a chance. Which is why you’ve only ever watched him from afar in the cafeteria. Or when you had a class together. Or at one of his basketball games.

Meanwhile, he doesn’t even know who you are. And you wanted it to stay that way because you never planned on talking to him, ever.

“Really good choice you picked there!”, Steve continues the conversation, and you look at him confused, not quite understanding what he means. Until you realize that you’ve taken one of the VHS cassettes out and are still holding it in your hand. A man’s face is staring up at you, with ‘The Shining’ written underneath.

“Oh. Oh! Yeah. I mean, do you think so? I don’t know the movie, otherwise I wouldn’t be holding it right now”, you ramble, mentally slapping yourself for not being able to have a normal conversation.

“To be honest with you.. I haven’t seen it, no idea”, Steve laughs, embarrassed, and scratches the back of his neck. If you didn’t know better, you’d imagine his cheeks turning a slight pinkish shade. You want to take a closer look, but the second his eyes land on yours, you avert your gaze, scrambling to put the movie back where it belongs.

But because you are so incredibly clumsy, you drop the tape. And to your utter dismay, you and Steve reach for it at the same time to pick it up again and your hands touch. A pulse like an electric shock runs through you, and you pull your hand away as if you’ve been burned, which Steve obviously notices but doesn’t comment on.

“I assume you’re looking for a horror movie?”, he asks you as he stands up again and puts the cassette back in its place. You nod, even though you only stumbled into this aisle by accident, but you can’t muster the courage to tell him that.

“Y-Yes. Uhm, is there one you can.. recommend?”, you ask with an uncertain smile, wiping your sweaty hands on your pants. His eyes never leave you, which makes you feel uncomfortable, so you try to distract yourself by browsing through the shelves.

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Steve trying to look casual as he searches for the perfect spot to lean against the shelf, fixing his hair while doing so. Suddenly, you realize he seems just as nervous as you.

“Honestly, I know I may not look like the guy, but I absolutely hate horror movies”, he admits, smiling awkwardly. His comment makes you giggle, which puts a victorious smile on Steve’s face. At the same time, he looks like he just heard something very beautiful for the first time.

“I’d definitely protect someone from a killer though!”, Steve quickly adds, wanting to hear that beautiful sound one more time. However, he leans just a bit too far against the shelf, and a handful of VHS tapes nearly tumble out – only for him to catch them all at the last second, arms flailing but somehow successful. You turn away and hide your smile behind your hand, unable to believe that Steve would act like that, and in front of you of all people.

You’re just a girl and he’s the Steve Harrington.

“I mean.. You probably have someone in mind you want to watch it with, but, you know, if you don’t we could.. I don’t know. Hold hands through the scary parts?”, Steve suggests. And regrets it the very second he says it because what the hell is he even thinking?

You’re such a beautiful, smart, thoughtful girl, and he blows it by spouting off some weird comments that don’t even suit him or his personality anymore. Two years ago, Steve might have said something like that with confidence, but this Steve, right here? He’d rather dissolve into thin air and never come back.

He doesn’t really want to admit it: that he’s lost his charm with girls. He’s seen you so many times in the cafeteria or in the stands at one of his games, but he’s never been able to work up the courage to talk to you. He’s imagined himself talking to you and making you laugh several times before. But now, when the perfect moment has arrived, he’s completely overwhelmed.

Steve is convinced he’s blown it, – something he is not exactly eager to explain to Robin, who set this whole situation up in the first place because she’s convinced that Steve finally needs to work on his love life – so he’s all the more surprised when you prove him wrong with what you say next.

“I don’t!”, you answer a little too vehemently, shaking your head. “I don’t have someone to watch it with. Actually, I don’t even want to watch a horror movie. I’m too scared.”

“Oh”, is all Steve gets out at that, the red of his cheeks slowly fading away. He just stands there now, closer than he’s ever been to you, unsure what to say. His hands are on his hips, his head bowed, as if he’s internally beating himself up over something.

“I’m usually more into, uhm... romance movies?”, you say with uncertainty, giving both of you a chance to escape this awkward and embarrassing situation.

At your words, Steve quickly looks up and gives you a small, gentle smile before leading you into another aisle teeming with romantic movies. He starts telling you about some of them, but you soon realize you’re not really listening. While he clearly distracts himself from the situation with chatter, you can’t help but become aware, once again, of how amazing he is. You’ve always assumed you didn’t stand a chance with him. Now you’re not so sure anymore, if the way he behaves around you is any indicator.

It’s this feeling that ultimately leads you to ask the next question.

“Would you maybe watch that one with me?”

You can practically see the moment the question lands: the flicker of realization, the brief pause as he processes it, and then the way he finally turns toward you with a frown, the VHS tape he was just telling you about still in his hand. You don’t even know what the movie ‘Grease’ is about — and it doesn’t matter. You just know you want to watch it with him.

Steve takes an astonishingly long time to come up with an answer, so you’re almost ready to tell him it was a stupid question and he shouldn’t mind it, but he beats you to it.

“Yes!”, he eagerly says, notices that it was maybe a bit too eager, and tries to act it off cool. “Yes, sure. I’d love to.”

“Great!”, you smile, shyly reaching for the tape in his hand.

“Great!”, he repeats it as if in a trance and hands you the tape. Unsure what to do with his hands now that he’s not holding onto anything for dear life, he wipes them on his pants and puts them in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“So.. Can I borrow it?”, you ask, embarrassed, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Of course, yes! Come with me for a moment!”

Steve leads you to the checkout island in the middle of the store, where he steps behind the counter and enters something into the register before looking back at you.

“Is this your first time borrowing something here?”, he asks, and it sounds like a question he’s had to ask several times in his short time working here. You nod in agreement and place the tape on the counter so he can scan it.

“Would you like a customer card? It’ll make this whole process faster next time”, he offers, and you nod again, placing your hands on the counter, nervously fiddling with them. Steve types something into the computer, and the focused expression on his face makes you smile to yourself. Quickly, you bite your lower lip to hide it. It only takes a few more seconds and the film and a brand-new customer card are in front of you, ready to go.

“Didn’t you need my name for that or something?”, you ask, surprised when you spot your name smiling back at you from the card. He knows my name, you think to yourself, trying to hide another smile.

“Sure did”, Steve smiles awkwardly, feeling like he got caught. “So, you want to come over to my house and watch the movie? Let’s say.. this Friday, 6 pm? We can grab something from KFC beforehand if you want.”

“Looking forward to it”, you smile back at him, storing the tape and card in your bag, trying to hide your nervousness about the fact that you will be having a date with Steve Harrington. You take a few steps backwards, your eyes locked on him as he runs a nervous hand through his hair.

“Can’t wait to see you on Friday”, he beams at you from behind the counter, waving shyly. You wave back and turn towards the entrance, your heart racing in your chest. You’ve barely opened the door and are about to leave when Steve calls after you, stopping you in your tracks.

“Oh, don’t forget you get a free movie voucher after renting your 10th film!”, he shouts, and you glance over at him, and now Robin too who joined him behind the counter. Smiling, you leave the shop, but Robin’s words still reach you before the door clicks shut: “This was embarrassing to watch, Harrington.”

Even as the cold autumn air cools your heated cheeks, you feel like your whole body is on fire. You can’t believe what just happened in there. That you have a date with Steve and he actually seems to like you.