Snow Ball
Pairings: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader Summary: Steve and Reader drop Dustin off at the Snow Ball and reminisce about their school dance experiences. Word count: 1.9k No use of Y/N, female reader A/N This is my first ever fic, so I'm sorry if anything seems too off ':D Also, English is not my first language
You were seated in the back seat of Steve’s beamer, as he slowed to a stop in front of the Hawkins middle school gym. The car was pretty quiet the whole ride. "Love Is a Battlefield" was softly playing on the radio. No one dared to speak at first. You could feel Dustin's nervousness filling the space.
“All right, buddy, here we are.” Steve sighed as all three of you stared at the building's entrance. The music was loud enough to be heard all the way outside, and the bass rumbled deep inside your bones. “So, remember, once you get in there…” Steve starts. “Pretend like I don’t care.” Dustin finished.
“You don’t care.”
“I don’t care.”
You rolled your eyes at both of the boys. “There you go. You’re learning, my friend.” Steve continued as if you were not there.
You leaned forward, elbows resting atop the front seats. “Dustin, for the love of God, please do not take this advice. It’s not even advice. It is stupid, and it will get you nowhere.”
“Are you doubting me, Henderson?” Steve glanced back at you over his shoulder. “Very much.” You tilted your head and gave him a cocky smile. “Whatever.” he muttered, turning back around.
“Girls want an attentive guy,” You shifted your focus back to your brother. “Someone who listens. Someone who cares.” Dustin now stared at you, taking every word in. You can see the conflict in his eyes as he is unsure who to listen to. Still, he nodded.
“Okay, now you are just confusing the guy.” Steve chimed in, drawing your attention away from your younger brother. You scoffed. “Well, you are the one who gave him bad advice.” “It’s not bad,” Steve shot back. “It worked for me.” Steve defended himself. “Yeah?” You said. “And where are the girls now?” “Okay, ouch..” Steve rolled his eyes.
Dustin tuned out both of your bickering voices as he reached for the rearview mirror to check his hair. Steve noticed immediately, stopping whatever “argument” you two were having.
“Hey.” He grabbed the mirror to readjust it, “Come on. You look great. Okay?” Steve reassured Dustin, who gave him one firm nod.
“Now you’re gonna go in there…”
Dustin turned his head towards him, “Yeah.” Steve hyped him up.
“Look like a million bucks.” Steve went on.
“Yeah.” Dustin repeated a little louder this time.
Steve leans in, his tone softer now, “And you’re gonna slay ‘em dead.”
“Like a lion.” Dustin said proudly before imitating a cat’s purr, a thing he made into a habit since he got his flipper. Steve’s mouth stayed open, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at him in bewilderment for a couple of seconds before speaking, “Yeah,” he dragged out the word, “Don’t do that, okay?
“I think it’s cute,” You cut in from the back seat with a soft smile across your face, “But yeah, Steve’s right. Don’t do that in front of others.” Steve gestures towards you while looking at Dustin as if saying, “See?”
“Okay.” Dustin stared back at you and Steve, his eyes wide. Steve held out his hand. “Good luck.” The younger boy accepted the gesture and connected his hand with Steve’s with a little clap, both nodding at each other.
“You got this, little bro.” You instinctively went for his hair before stopping yourself and patted him on the shoulder instead. “And don’t break too many hearts tonight.”
“No promises, dear sister of mine,” Dustin said and gave you a little smirk over his shoulder. He opened the door, got out, and turned around to lean in through the door to look at you and Steve, “Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.” He says with a playful tone. “You wish, Dusty.”
“Don’t call me that!” He groaned before closing the door and walking in the direction of the entrance, leaving the two of you alone. For a few moments, both of you watched him before he was completely out of sight. You started climbing over the seats to sit up front, taking Steve completely out of his trance as you plopped down beside him. “Hey! Watch it! You are gonna get dirt everywhere.” He whined. Your gaze switched between him and the leather material, using your hand to brush some of the dirt away. “Sorry.” You apologized.
Steve shifted in this seat, running a hand through his hair, “You know, I kinda envy the guy's confidence.” He chuckled, “God, I had no idea what I was doing.” Your brows furrowed as you looked at him in surprise. “Really? You? Steve “The hair” Harrington? I highly doubt that.”
“I mean, I was thirteen at the time, name a more awkward age than that.”
“Alright, fair.” You raised your hands in defense, a soft laugh escaping past your lips.
“Can’t say mine was any better.” You said as you fidgeted with your fingers, trying to find something else to focus on. “Hey, I didn’t say mine was bad.” He added with a grin, which dropped almost immediately as he saw the look on your face. “What happened?” Steve asked with hesitation.
“Well, we moved to Hawkins the summer before I started 8th grade, so I didn’t have any friends at the time. No one really wanted to talk to the new girl.” You shrugged your shoulders. Suddenly feeling embarrassed saying this to Steve Harrington of all people.
“You didn’t go with anyone?” He paused for a moment. “I thought you were friends with Nancy.” He genuinely seemed interested. “Yeah, we are, but we haven't started talking until our freshman year.”
“So what did you do?” Steve furrowed his brow. “Just sat there. In hindsight, I should have probably stayed at home. Save myself the embarrassment.” You chuckle.
You both stayed quiet for a beat. Neither of you dared to speak. You, out of embarrassment, and Steve, who truly didn’t know how to respond. The only sound was the quiet radio, the purr of the car’s engine, and whatever song was playing from the gym. A song you actually recognized very well, as it was one of your favorites, Every Breath You Take by The Police.
Suddenly, as on command, Steve turned the car off, cutting off both the engine and the radio. You turned your head to look at him as you watched him open the door and get out. Your eyes follow his figure, walking around the hood of the car and stopping right beside the passenger door before opening it. “What are you doing?” You inquire, feeling the cold December air hit you.
He just held out his hand, “Would you like to dance?” He asks with that charming smile of his.
“What?” You let out a surprised laugh.
“Come on, Henderson. Dance with me.” Steve kept his hand outstretched, waiting for you to take it.
“Here?” He didn’t respond, just nodded and smiled.
It’s not like you didn’t want to dance. You loved dancing, you just didn’t expect Steve to ask you. Especially not here nor now. But you placed your hand in his as a smile spread across your lips. “Alright, Harrington, you win.”
He gently pulled you out of the car, beaming, and led you to a safer place out of the way of other cars. He guided your free hand to his shoulder, placing his own on your back. His left hand still held onto yours as you softly swung to the muffled music. Your cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, which you hoped you could blame on the freezing weather. You had to admit you started catching feelings for this boy, ever since he helped Dustin with the whole Dart situation. And the last time you were this close to Steve, he was trying to protect you from a horde of demodogs charging your way. Your back pressed tightly against his chest to shield you from any harm. Not like it would do any good if a dozen, nearly indestructible monsters jumped you, but it’s the thought that counts– right?
He started hanging around Dustin more after that. They were slowly but surely becoming brothers, neither of them had. It has only been a month since Eleven closed the gate, but you could see how much he has changed in just a short amount of time. Or maybe he has finally started feeling safe enough to be more himself.
“You know, I never actually thanked you.” Your voice was low, but still loud enough for him to hear. “For what?” The confusion in his voice was clear.
“For being there for my brother when I couldn’t. I would have blamed myself for the rest of my life if something happened to him.” A pang of guilt flashed through you as you thought back to that day when your brother needed your help, and you were nowhere to be found. You came home late that night and found the two boys coming out of your storm cellar, confused about why Steve Harrington was at your house, with your brother and a baseball bat gripped tightly in his hand. They both looked extremely alarmed, but Dustin relaxed upon seeing you. Clearly, something was wrong.
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Steve brushed it off, acting like it was nothing. His hand squeezed your waist, letting you know it meant more to him than he says. “No, I mean it.” You pushed on, “If it weren’t for you,” He called your name, “he’d do it all by himself and–” You started to ramble on, but Steve stopped you before it could get any worse. “Hey, hey,” He breathed out softly. “Let’s not think about what-ifs and let’s just be glad everyone is alive, yeah?”
“Yeah.” The word, more as a whisper, slipped past your lips. Your gaze locked with his.
The two of you got quiet once again, but not an awkward kind of silence. This one was welcoming, just feeling comfortable in each other’s presence. You felt warm despite the biting cold. Steve lifted your joined hands above your head, leading you into a spin. A giggle escaped deep within your chest as he pulled you back to him. Way closer than before. You could feel the heat radiating from his skin, warming yours.
You thought you almost dreamt it, but you caught it. You caught him looking down at your lips before his eyes found yours again. Your heart pounded against your ribs. Were you reading too much into this? You were just dancing, right? You watched Steve closely, searching his face, trying to figure out what was going through his head. His grip on you tightened. Then he asked.
“Can I kiss you?” His voice was almost inaudible. Your breath caught in your throat, frozen for a moment before softly nodding, giving him permission. Steve leaned down. Your lips brushed against his for a moment, giving you a chance to back out. You didn’t. He connected your lips in a tender, cautious kiss. The dance long abandoned, the song changed a while ago, but neither of you cared. All you cared about was each other. Steve’s hand let go of yours as he cupped your cheeks, pulling you even closer.
When you broke apart to catch your breath, you stared at each other for a moment, both smiling like idiots in love… which you were.
“Dustin is so gonna kill us when he finds out.” Steve let out a nervous chuckle.
“Yeah,” You breathed out, the smile ever present on your lips, “Worth it though.”