Stranger Things Imagines and Preferences

Steve Harrington ~ My Protector

"Eh," you said, dragging the one syllable out, and Steve chuckled.

"That good, huh?"

You just shrugged and crossed your arms.

"How was basketball practice?"

Steve never told you about his issues with Billy, even though you knew it was an ongoing problem since the blonde moved to town. Steve looked up at you with a playful grin and said, "Eh." A laugh bubbled out of you, and you shook your head. Steve finally rose from the bench. He took a few steps toward you until he was directly in front of your frame. He placed a hand on your cheek and then placed a sweet kiss on your lips before moving to his locker. A smile pulled at your lips, but you did your best to contain the wide grin that wanted to spread across your face.

You watched Steve rustle through his clothes for a minute before your eyes fell on a boombox sitting on a table in the corner of the room. A stack of cassettes stood next to the tiny machine, and you couldn't help the curiosity that came alive inside you. You walked over to the table and started flipping through the tapes.

"I didn't see you after chemistry," you said without turning around, "How did you do on that test?"

You could almost hear the way Steve's shoulders slumped.

"I got a B. Not my best work, but I'll take it."

"That's really good, babe! Don't worry. Next test, you'll get an A. I just know it."

You threw him a little smile before going back to the tapes. Steve let out a puff of air from his nose.

"Yeah, I guess. What about you? How did it go in Ms. Jones' class?"

You rolled your eyes even though Steve couldn't see and let out a groan.

"Don't even get me started."

Steve laughed lightly at your comment, but you didn't turn around, still preoccupied with the cassettes. The tapes varied in genre from Van Halen to Shannon. You continued to sift through the tapes until you came across one you couldn't pass. You looked over your shoulder to see Steve pulling a shirt over his head, and you bit your bottom lip as you popped the tape into the boombox.

The beginning keyboard notes of A-Wall's "Loverboy" spilled out of the speakers. Your foot started tapping as you turned around to look at Steve. He watched as your movements went from a little two-step to a full-on bounce. A grin spread over his lips when you started to giggle uncontrollably. You knew you looked like a lunatic, but you didn't care. The two of you could use some comic relief. You started jumping around and shaking your head to the beat, laughing the entire time. The sound of Steve's low laugh began to mix with yours as you approached him. Your hands were outstretched, opening and closing.

"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to dance with me?"

You took Steve's hands in yours, then dragged him away from the benches. He didn't waste any time joining in on your wild dance moves. Steve didn't miss a single beat as he started to swing you around the locker room. You threw your head back, laughing loudly as Steve twirled you around and dipped you down. When he stood you back upright, his fingers started attacking your bare sides. You let out a yelp mixed with a laugh as you tried to get out of his firm grip.

"What's wrong, Y/N? Why are you trying to run? What's going on?" Steve asked, teasing you. When he finally stopped tickling you, you rested your head on his chest, breathing heavily. He rested his cheek on the top of your head before placing a kiss there. The two of you stayed like that for a minute as the final notes of the song played. You could've stayed in Steve's arms forever, but once the music faded out, he released his arms and moved back to finish changing out of his gym clothes. You went back to the boombox, ready to put another tape in when the locker room door started to creak open. You froze and turned to Steve, eyes wild with fear of being caught. But when Billy's tall figure emerged, the fear disappeared. But the aura in the room changed. The once calm and fun environment was replaced with a heavy tension.

Billy strutted into the room, and when he saw you, his eyes grew. Your stomach started to roll, and not in a good way. Billy's stare never left you the further he got into the locker room. Instead, his eyes started to creep up your body, making your skin crawl. You tried to not make it obvious that you were uncomfortable as you moved back toward Steve, arms hugging yourself to hide any exposed skin. Billy licked his lips.

"Harrington," he said. He never removed his gaze from your body as he said, "Y/N."

You hugged yourself a little tighter, and he finally met your uneasy stare.

"Did I interrupt something?" He asked you. You could feel yourself folding until Steve stepped in front of you.

"No," Steve said, handing you one of his extra shirts, "we were just getting ready to leave."

You immediately pulled the large shirt over your head and were happy when it covered all the way down to your mid-thigh. Steve's arm snaked around your waist, pulling you close to his side. His grip on your hip was so tight it started to hurt, but you didn't dare tell him to remove his arm. You watched as Billy's hard stare fell onto Steve's hand on your body, and you could feel Steve stiffen.

"Is there a problem?" Steve asked.

Billy's eyes moved back to meet Steve's, and he gave a forced smile.

"Not at all."

Steve bent down to the bench, snatched up both yours and his backpacks, then led you out the locker room entrance toward the parking lot. You felt dirty from the way Billy was looking at you. Like you needed to desperately take a shower. Steve must have sensed your discomfort because he gave your waist a little squeeze causing you to look at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concern etched all over his face.

You nodded but didn't say anything else. Steve's arm never left your waist the entire walk to his car. And once you were in the passenger side and he was in the driver's side, his hand found yours. Steve's fingers stayed laced through yours the whole way to your house. His hand in yours made you feel safe, and the nerves from earlier started to dissipate. You knew that Steve would do anything to protect you, even if that meant going up against Hawkins' new king. You sat back a little, relaxing into Steve's touch, but you couldn't say the same for Steve. He was clearly not over the incident yet. You could tell he was still a little on edge from the interaction with Billy by the way his lips were still pursed and how he stewed in the driver's seat.

The drive was short, and by the time Steve pulled up to your house, he had finally relaxed a little. You reached into his backseat, grabbed your bag, then got out of the car. Steve hopped out as well, his fingers intertwining with yours the second he was next to you again. Your heart jumped in your chest at his concern, and a little smile started to spread across your lips. It wasn't out of the norm for Steve to walk you to your door. But this time, there was an extra protective edge to his posture.

When you reached your door, you turned to Steve.

"You know, I don't think Billy is going to pop out of my mom's rose bushes." You took your other hand and rubbed Steve's bicep. "I think we're okay now."

Steve let out a long sigh, dropping his head for a second before lifting his gaze to meet yours and cupping your cheek. His thumb drew circles sending shivers down your spine. You couldn't figure out how he was still able to do that to you after so many months. His eyes softened.

"I just want to make sure you're safe."

You leaned into his hand, eyes shutting for a beat. When you reopened them, you were beaming.

"Thank you, Steve."

He just smiled before leaning down and capturingyour lips with his in a slow kiss. Whenhe pulled back, he waited for you to enter your house before leaving. You made your way to your room, unable tocontain your wide grin. Although Billyhad ruined your and Steve's moment earlier, he brought out one of Steve's bestqualities – his protectiveness. You didn'thave to worry about your safety with Steve. He made you feel comfortable and protected. It was one of the reasons you fell head overheels for him in the first place. And youknew that if it came down to it, Steve would sacrifice himself for you, and youwould do the same for him.