Small Town - Steve Harrington × Fem Reader

Part 7 - Now & Before

_2 months ago___

My converse make a light scuffing noise against the Harrington's paved driveway. I step up onto the small wooden porch, built by Steve himself a few years ago. I shift the bouquet of flowers against my chest, the plastic on the outside crinkling. My knuckles meet the surface of the ornate wooden door.

Barely a second passes before Steve opens the tall doors dramatically. I beamed at him, but then took in the expression sitting on his features. His eyes drooped, and his eyebrows knit together. A shaky breath left his lips. My smile faded.

His eyes flicked downward to the object squished close to my chest.
"You brought me flowers?" He murmed.
I faked a smile to try and alleviate whatever had him so- tense? Sorrowful? Apprehensive?

"Y-yeah, I saw them on display at the market and immediately thought of you." I anxiously adjusted my grip on the overflowing bouquet of dusty blue delphiniums. I'd never seen these in the market before. They were special.

The undecernable look in his eyes worsened. They drifted up to mine. Dark pools of brown and green in his irises studied my face. Like he was trying to memorize every freckle on my cheeks, and crease under my eyes. Like this would be the last time he was able to look at me.
A growing unease settled in my stomach and chest. "Babe, is there something wrong?"
I inched towards him and placed my free hand on his shoulder. His eyes flicked to my hand, and his jaw tightened.

I pinched the fabric of his thin pullover between my fingers. "Baby, talk to me."
He gave up. His shoulders dropped.
His hands reached to grasp gently at my hips and run his fingers along the rough stitching of my jeans.

He stooped his head down and pinched his eyes shut. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled close to my face. I blinked in confusion. "What for?"

He sighed heavily and built up the courage to open his eyes and look at me. "I can't- this isn't fair."
Suddenly, a new insight into his behavior entered my mind. My chest ached. I shifted my weight, and pulled my hips away from him slightly, just enough to loosen his gentle grip.
"I'm so sorry. I should've known this was wrong. I'm s-so, I'm stupid."

A lump formed in my throat, Steve's mouth twitched involuntarily. His anguished eyes held onto me, tracing the warm light from the porch lights across my face.
"I never wanted to hurt you. It's just- I never really got over Nancy." He blurted out painfully.
"It's not fair to you, you deserve better."

A noise escaped my mouth as I nearly choked on the emotions rising in my throat. I tightened my grip on the fabric clinging to his shoulder.
"N-no. Don't you dare. I-I." I pleaded with the boy in front of me. I clung to him.

"We need to stop seeing each other." The words cascaded from his lips like a rushing, violent, river. His eyes never left my face.
"Steve, I love you!"
The hoarse cry came from deep within me.
This was the first time I'd said that to him. I love him, that's what I planned to tell him tonight. But he had other plans.

A flash of regret visibly flashed over Steve's features. The weight of this conversation hit him harder than anything he'd ever encountered. He quickly contemplated whether his lingering feelings for Nancy were really worth throwing your love away and crushing your heart.

"I...I love Nancy."

_Now___

The sounds of sneakers squeeking and scuffing over polished concrete echoed in my ears. Three teens, and two kids walked briskly down a narrow hallway, miles below the Earth. Not how my weeknights usually pan out.

I fidgted with my ringed fingers in an attempt to dull the anxiety rising in my chest. We still aren't safe.
As we walk in a staggered line, side by side, Steve's shoulder occasionally bumps into mine. With each brief moment of contact, my chest tightens, and I glance over at his side profile.

I'd been dissociating for the majority of the past 10 minutes. The words of the others came into focus when Steve looked over at me.
"We're walking towards a nuclear weapon, that's great." He gave me a glance to see my reaction. "That'd be great," his sarcastic, irritated tone snapped me into the moment. My eyebrows pinched in confusion, and the conversation kept moving as fast as our feet.
"But, if they're building something, why here? I mean, Hawkins, seriously of all places. At the very best, we're a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland but, that's it. Maybe that's it, maybe it's our-"
Robin trails off as Steve and Dustin stop in their tracks, and in my proximity to Steve, I stop behind as well.

"You think the Russians know about the-" Steve murmers to Dustin. "They could."

"So it's connected?" "Maybe, it's-"

"Possible" both of them say in unison.

I look at them in utter confusion and step forward to ask what the hell they're talking about, just as Robin swivels on her feet, and does it for me.
"I'm sorry, is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

Steve and Dustin look at her, then at each other. Then, static comes through on the walkie in Erica's bag, and a voice speaking Russian echoes from it.
"Walkie," Steve and Dustin say in unison, and rush over to Erica.
She sits her backpack on the floor, crouching down and handing the walkie to Robin to translate. We all crouch down in a circle and listen.

"It's the code," she says. Dustin looks over at Robin. "Wherever that broadcast is coming from-" "it's close. And if there's one thing we know about that signal-" "it can reach the surface." Robin and Dustin both look above us, smiles growing on their faces. "Let's go." Robin moves to stand up quickly, and we all follow.

Steve stayed silent during the whole exchange. As we start to walk briskly down the hall again, I look up at his concerned face.
"Hey you," I say softly. He looks over at me, losing the staring contest he was holding with the concrete. "Hey." He says back. "You look like you might throw up any second." He smirks humorlessly at me. "Yeah, well uh..." Steve anxiously runs his hands through his hair. His voice trails off completely, and he shuts his mouth.

"We've got this, ok. I know we do." I try to sound as reassuring and sure as possible of what I'm saying, keeping my voice steady. His eyes trace the shadows created on one side of my face from the strange fluorescent lighting above our heads, the unease on his face not letting up. Steve sighs shakily and looks down at the floor. "God, I hope you're right."

"Steve, look at me." I grab his hand gently. I can almost feel his nerves transferring over to me from the contact. He looks at my face, and his worried eyes search mine. "I've got you. We'll get out of this, I swear." He gives me a half-smile. "You swear?" He mumbles. I take the hand not holding his, and make an x over my heart.

"Cross my heart"