A/N - This chapter was sort of inspired by the song Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj, but more specifically on two lines from the song: "his ex bitch went up against me but she didn't survive," and "one thing about me, I'm the baddest alive. He know the prettiest bitch didn't come until I arrived." I usually struggle with writing these confident characters, but I was really feeling myself today, so here we go. I hope you all enjoy it.
Meeting Steve had been a total accident. A meet-cute of proportions that could only be rivalled by the cheesiest of romantic comedies. He'd been running through the Starcourt mall, late for work again, and he'd knocked your elbow, sending your drink flying from your hand and across the floor.
"Shit," he uttered, stuttering to a halt to shoot you an apologetic smile. "I didn't-
You held up your hands to silence him, shaking your head. "It's fine," you uttered, attempting to offer him a comforting smile. In all honesty, you hadn't been enjoying the drink anyway and were in search of a trash can to get rid of what was left.
"I can get you another one-"
"Honestly, it doesn't matter."
He nodded, standing there in front of you as if he hadn't just been running at top speed to get to work on time. "If you change your mind, I work over at Scoops," he hummed, tapping the hat that was sitting pretty on his head. "Come and get something on me?"
You had gone to Scoops a little later, after spending the entire afternoon going from store to store, and you swore you had never seen anyone look as happy to see you as he had when you'd come strolling in.
"You owe me a drink," you told him, a playful smile pulling at your lips as you leant up against the counter.
"I was worried you weren't going to take me up on the offer," he hummed, grinning from ear to ear as his eyes surveyed your face. You really were pretty, and he was praying that Robin wouldn't appear and make him any more nervous than he already was. "Milkshake?"
"Perfect," you started, watching as he started getting to work on your drink.
He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to start the conversation. "I've never seen you around here before," he uttered, glancing back up at you only to find your eyes already focused on him. "You didn't go to Hawkins High?"
"I only just moved to town," you agreed softly. "My parents wanted to go off travelling the world now that I'm all grown up, so I'm living with my aunt and her son," you added, before mentally slapping yourself. He didn't need your whole life story. He definitely hadn't asked for it.
"How old's her son; I might know him."
You paused for a moment, trying to do the maths in your head. "Dustin's got to be 13 by now," you started.
"Dustin? Dustin Henderson?"
"You know him?"
"Yeah, he's a friend," he told you, beaming when he placed the drink on the counter in front of you. "He should be coming back from his little nerd camp soon, right?"
You let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, at the end of the week. I can tell him you said 'hi' if you want?"
"That'd be great."
"So, what's your name?"
He blinked for a moment, his own name disappearing from his head.
"His name is Steve," Robin called through the little window in the back. "You should take his number too, just in case your cousin doesn't have it," she added, her smile growing when Steve sent her a sharp glare.
"That's a good idea," you murmured, fishing in your handbag for a pen and slapping it down on the counter with a napkin from the stack on the side. Steve leant forward, scribbling his name and number on the paper napkin and sliding it back to you. "My name's Y/N, by the way," you added, tucking his number safely into a pocket of your bag. "Thanks for the drink, Steve," you told him, taking a sip and sending him a quick wave before making your way out of the store.
Steve stood in silence for a moment, watching as you walked away. "Does that count as a mark on the 'you rule' side of the board?" he hummed.
"Nope," Robin called back to him. "You wouldn't have gotten her number if I hadn't intervened, so you still suck."
*Time Skip*
You really hadn't expected to fall in love whilst staying in Hawkins, but one thing had led to another and by the end of the summer, you were spending almost all of your free time with Steve.
In fact, there hadn't been a single day since the Mall had burned down that he hadn't been at the Henderson household, much to Dustin's dismay. He didn't necessarily disapprove of the relationship, but he was definitely a little put out by it. I mean, Steve was so busy with you now that he'd stopped being able to just drop everything to drive Dustin around.
Neither of you had been hesitant in your love, either. Within a couple of weeks, he'd been calling you his girlfriend. And a month or so later, you were confessing your undying devotion to one another as if it was the most obvious thing in the world because to you, it was. You had been in love before. You knew what it felt like to love and be loved in return. You craved it more than anything in the world and here Steve was offering it up in droves. It was like he had looked inside your mind and seen exactly what you needed from him and then supplied it without a fuss. He was utterly perfect.
Steve had made it pretty clear that he wanted to introduce you to his friends, too, so when there was mention of a house party at some kids house whilst his parents were away, he'd been quick to talk you into going.
It had been going pretty smoothly, friendly chatter whilst the people around you questioned you. It had become clear that new kids in this town were rare, and by merely showing up in Hawkins, you had caused a stir. Steve had stayed at your side all night, hand lingering protectively on your hip as you made polite conversation.
When you had met Nancy, you had been certain you would get along just fine. I mean, from what Steve had told you, she was sweet enough, even though their relationship hadn't ended on particularly good terms. Dustin had always sung her praises too, from the sounds of it she was one of the coolest people to ever grace Hawkins. And then, you'd actually met her, and it had been the coldest interaction of the night.
"You're Mike's older sister, right?" you'd started as Steve excused himself to get a drink. "I'm Dustin's cousin," you pressed on, watching on as she nodded, completely uninterested in your attempt to draw her in. "I'm Y/N," you added, holding out your hand for her to shake.
"I know who you are," she muttered, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Oh, well, it's nice to finally meet you-"
She sighed and your words trailed off into silence. "Do we really have to do this?"
"Do what?"
"Pretend that we're going to be friends," she explained. "It's not going to happen."
A shocked burst of laughter slipped out of you and you stared at her in disbelief. "Wow," you uttered. "I was just being nice."
"I don't want you to be nice to me," she told you.
"Alright," you agreed. "But you don't get to hate me just because you were too stupid to realise how great Steve was before you ran off with some other guy. If you're going to hate me, at least let me give you a good reason."
"That's not-"
"Do we really have to do this?" you interrupted, mimicking her own words back at her. "You don't have to tell me that you regret leaving, it's clear enough already from the attitude you're giving me. And I mean, I would regret it if I were you too-"
"I don't-"
"You do," you corrected. "And I get it because he's an amazing guy. But you don't get to hate me for falling in love with him after you decided he wasn't enough for you, alright?"
She hesitated for a moment, staring at you, and then she nodded. It was a small gesture, but one that you repeated back at her.
"Good," you started again. "Now, I'm going to go and find my boyfriend. It was lovely meeting you," you hummed out, giving her a little wave before heading off through the crowd and leaving her a little startled behind you.
You tucked yourself under Steve's arm when you reached him, your hand resting on his stomach as he grinned down at you. "Hey, Princess," he murmured, leaning down to kiss you quickly. "You having fun?"
"So much fun," you told him, taking his drink from his hand and taking a sip, watching as he immediately started making himself another from the variety of bottles in front of you.
"Thief," he uttered, a teasing smile on his features as he continued working. "You're lucky I love you or I wouldn't let that slide."
You chuckled, taking another sip. "I love you too, Baby."
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