After spending one board game night at Steve's house, Eddie and Dustin decide they hate the idea of Steve being there alone, especially after seeing him try to hide how disappointed he was that they were leaving. So they decide to adopt a pet for him to keep him company until they can convince him to just come stay with one of them.
They go down to the local pet shelter and find the sweetest little black cat, which Eddie insists they name Ozzy. They know Steve won't accept him as a gift. So they make up some story about how they found him abandoned in an alley, but Dustin's mom won't let him have another cat, Wayne is allergic and Steve was the first person they could think of to help. They even lift the cat up next to their faces so Steve is hit with three hopeful pairs of eyes at once. He caves immediately.
What they don't account for is Steve and Ozzy becoming inseparable. Steve even lets him lie across his shoulders and teaches him to walk on a lead so he can start taking him everywhere. So Wayne inevitably ends up meeting Ozzy one day when Steve comes to pick Eddie up. He leans right in through the window and starts scratching the cats chin and cooing at him.
When Eddie steps outside, it's to Wayne saying, "He's such a sweet boy, Steve. Why don't you bring him over more often?"
He freezes in place, his eyes go wide and he tries to reach for the handle again so he can slip back inside and pretend he's come down with some mystery illness all of a sudden. But it's too late, Steve is giving him a very pointed look over Wayne's shoulder.
"Well I would, Wayne, but I don't want him to make your allergies start acting up."
Wayne looks at him like he's grown a second head. "Allergies? What are you talking about, kid?"
"Your cat allergies, Wayne." Eddie says frantically, eyes pleading with Wayne to play along. "I told Steve all about them." He stumbles down the trailer steps toward Steve's car, trying to convey his distress to his uncle as he goes. "In fact, you should get away from there before your eyes swell up like tennis balls and you start sneezing up a storm all over the place. You didn't let any fur touch your skin, did you?"
"What allergies?" Wayne has never looked more confused. "I don't have any allergies. I love cats. Always have."
Steve's right eyebrow raises ever so slightly and Eddie knows he's doomed.
"Enjoy your afternoon, traitor," Eddie grumbles to Wayne as he accepts his fate and slips past him into the passenger seat, placing Ozzy on his lap. Wayne is left scratching his head as Steve drives away.
"We didn't want you to be lonely when we weren't there," Eddie confesses.
A war seems to be going on behind Steve's eyes as he watches the road. His expression ultimately lands on exasperated, but fond.
"It was a sweet gesture, and I'm keeping the cat," Steve says after a few moments of silence.
"That's it?" Eddie says, optimistically.
"That and you're taking me to the movies next weekend and paying for popcorn." Steve decides. "And yes it is a date."
Eddie's never been asked out in such a direct tone before, to be fair he hasn't been asked out much at all. But he knows it'll be a cold day in Hell before he turns down Steve Harrington. He would even pretend to be interested in a sports movie if that's what Steve picked.
