summary: Steve wants to prove he's manly enough for you to like him. But you like him sweet and gentle as he is.
words: 1.5k || masterlist
"So how are you adjusting to a new town? You got bored of it yet?" Robin asks you. You were in fact new in Hawkins. You moved here just two months ago, and luckily, quickly made friends with Nancy from work and she was kind enough to introduce you to her friend group since you were in need of new local friends.
"No, not at all." you laugh. "It's nice here, people are really friendly."
"That’s because you don't know them yet." Robin comments.
"Don't be so pessimistic." Nancy tells Robin. "And have you met anyone interesting yet? We can warn you about what they're known for here."
"Like romantically. No, gosh, no." you frown.
"Oh come on! What do you think of our boys?" she insists.
"Oh, well, they're all very nice, very friendly." you simply say, but notice in their faces that they want to know more. "Well, Eddie's very cool. Like he plays guitar and is in a band, and he totally owns who he is. Then, Jonathan is pretty artsy, he's interesting. And then Steve is... really really sweet."
That’s all you said. Harmless, right? Well, no.
There was a little mouse hearing what you had to say behind the door of the kitchen. This mouse is known for his amazing set of hair.
Steve was listening behind the door because since you joined their group he's been developing a crush on you. But he sent the girls first to ask what you thought of him. And he is not happy with what you said.
Sweet? He's sweet? Dogs are sweet! Babies are sweet! He's a grown man!
It's safe to say his ego is a bit bruised right now. Which wouldn't be so bad if he weren’t so dramatic. The last thing he could take right now is for you to start dating the weirdo that is Munson, or the awkward guy that is Byers (he loves them though, they're his friends).
And Steve had an odd thought process here, definitely not something a guy his age should be doing since it's more of a teen drama cliché. But he wants to prove how manly he can be.
So the next time you see him, his usual perfect floppy hair is no longer shiny and smooth. Instead, this time looks more low-maintenance, messy, like he just rolled out of bed and came here (he actually spent 35 minutes in front of the mirror for it to look like this). He changes his pastel polo shirts to a simple dark flannel.
Some of the guys came to your apartment to help you with some new furniture. You just got a new couch and some frames to hang on the wall.
Nancy was helping you choose pictures and deciding where each should go for them to look good. Robin was helping Eddie to move the table and the TV because she claims she's actually stronger than him.
That’s until Steve arrives, pushing them aside.
"Let me handle the heavy stuff." he says.
"Oh, thank god superman's here." Robin mocks him and he looks at her badly.
He starts moving the couch which wasn’t exactly heavy, letting out exaggerated grunts to help his image.
"You need help? You look like you're gonna get a hernia." Eddie jokes which earns him another bad look from Steve.
"Is that good?" he asks you.
"Yeah, I think it looks good there, right?" you ask Nancy and she nods.
"Great. You need help hanging those frames? I brought a hammer and nails just in case." he offers. "Actually, I always carry them in my car, you never know when you’re gonna need them" he lies, Robin actually cringes at that line.
"Uh... yeah, sure. We can hang them if you want." you agree.
"While I'm at it, you want me to take a look at that leaky faucet you've got?" he insists.
"Oh no, that's fine, I already called a guy to come check it out tomorrow."
"You sure? You don't need to pay some random guy. I know how to work those things." he claims.
"That is exactly what a man would say." Robin murmurs to Nance.
"No, please. Don't even worry about it." you quickly dismiss him.
The "manly" act keeps going for the second consecutive week now. His idea to shed his sweet image to prove he's rugged continues in a painfully obvious way. If only he noticed that instead of you being swooned it's actually weirding you out.
Like one afternoon you were hanging out at The Wheeler's household, everyone chatting like usual. But he was not chiming in with his normal personality. He was leaning against a wall, looking around like he was deep in thought, trying to look mysterious and troubled.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Dustin asks Robin.
"I don't even know anymore." she shrugs, rolling her eyes.
Later that same evening, Steve offers to drop you home when he's leaving.
In his car, the radio starts playing with the last cassette he left in once he starts the vehicle. A loud guitar riff scared you through the speakers. Since when does Steve listen to Metallica?
You remember one night talking to him about how you both liked Michael Jackson and The Police and he admitted he even sings along when Madonna plays on the radio. He even started bickering with Eddie once he started making fun of him for listening to pop music.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot that was playing." he acts.
"Steve, seriously, what's going on?" you frown.
"What do you mean, doll?" oh yeah, he calls you 'doll' now too.
"What are you doing? Why are you acting like this lately? Like a character from a bad western movie." you finally question him.
"I'm not acting like anything. I just like some metal music sometimes." he lies.
"Then why did you tell Eddie it sounds like a bunch of noise all put together?"
"Fine, I'm just... being a man, okay? I'm not some cute little puppy dog!"
"A puppy dog? What?" you frown, he's making no sense at all.
"I heard you saying Eddie was cool and metal, and that Jonathan was 'artsy' and that I'm just sweet!" he explains. "I'm not just a golden retriever, I can be a man!"
You stay staring at him surprised for a few more seconds, then you laugh softly.
"You started acting weirdly because of that?" you keep laughing. "Why did you think it was a bad thing? I meant it in a nice way."
"How can that be nice?" he complains.
“I meant that you really take care of people! You're attentive, you're brave, and you're sweet! That’s not a bad thing, it's like my favorite thing about you." you clarify.
"Really?" he looks caught off guard.
"Yes, really! Why would you think I want a crazy macho man?" you frown.
"I don't know... I guess I took it the wrong way." he's still surprised.
"Why did you care so much about how I saw you anyway?" you notice how he started changing everything because of that comment.
"Well... I thought you liked the other guys more than me." he starts. "I just... I think you're very pretty, and funny, and just pretty amazing. Ever since I saw you, but I wanted to know what you thought of me before I asked you out. And I thought you meant I was like... safe, or boring." he finally admits.
"I didn't think that at all. I thought you were also pretty funny and handsome before this whole act." you smile.
"Fuck... okay." he regrets everything now. "Could I still take you out? Next week maybe? I'll fix my hair like I always do and wear my normal clothes. I'll go back to being sweet and funny, I promise." he smiles too.
"Well, I'm actually not doing anything right now." you shrug with a smile. "We can go fix your hair and maybe I could style it in some fun ways..."
You're already picturing yourself braiding his hair, or trying some funny hairstyles just to mess with him.
"I don't just let anyone touch my hair." he warns you with a smirk.
"And what about me? Am I just anyone?" you play along.
"No, I guess you're not." he smiles. "And I guess it would be nice to have a pretty girl play with my hair."
"You're gonna be my barbie doll." you mock him.
"Hey! No."
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" you lie... he will be. You're already thinking of getting face masks as well.
You lean into him with a smirk. "So, can I? Please?"
"Yeah, you can." he smiles too, then leans in a little bit more and kisses you softly.
You smile into the kiss and bring him closer, his hands grab your waist, caressing your back over your top. He even moves your hair out your face, placing a strand behind your ear.
Yeah, he is sweet. He's the sweetest. And that might just be your favorite thing about him.
⚠️ EXPONIENDO A LA STALKER DE DJO.
En los últimos días, como DJO LATAM nos vimos en la necesidad de investigar a una persona que ha estado difundiendo rumores malintencionados de Joe y los chicos, además de tener conductas que consideramos preocupantes e inapropiadas.
// In recent days, we at DJO LATAM found it necessary to investigate an individual who has been spreading malicious rumors about Joe and the guys, in addition to engaging in behavior we consider concerning and inappropriate.
Empecemos por el principio. Su nombre es Flavia y era la antigua administradora de DJO URUGUAY, que luego cambió el nombre a DJOFANDOM.
// Let's start at the beginning. Her name is Flavia, and she was the former administrator of DJO URUGUAY, which later changed its name to DJOFANDOM.
Lo que al principio parecía como una broma, rápidamente escaló al punto donde ella misma admitía que tuvo una "conexión" con Joe en su gira por LATAM.
// What initially seemed like a joke quickly escalated to the point where she herself admitted to having a "connection" with Joe during her Latin America tour.
Y ella asegurando que se hablaba con Joe a través de un "finsta" que el se había creado. (chameleon27059, donde se ve que la cuenta fue creada en Pakistán)
// And she insisted she was talking to Joe via a "finsta" he had created (chameleon27059, where the account is shown to have been created in Pakistan).
Ella ahora mismo está en USA siguiéndolo en su tour y aseguró haber pasado por el barrio en donde Joe vive.
// She is currently in the U.S. following him on his tour and said she passed by the neighborhood where Joe lives.
Aparte de "hablarse" con Joe, ahora dice que también se habla con Wes, diciendo que fue él quien le dijo que Joe está "saliendo" con alguien.
// Aside from "talking" to Joe, he/she now says he/she is also talking to Wes, claiming it was Wes who told him/her that Joe is "seeing" someone.
Esto subió a sus historias anoche, hablando de Jules y Javi.
// She posted this to her stories last night, talking about Jules and Javi.
Pero esta era ella hablando de Jules en la mañana, diciendo que Jules mandó a uno de los chicos a pararla y siendo totalmente despectiva con ella, llamándola "hippie desempleada" y "tóxica"
// But that was her talking about Jules in the morning, saying that Jules sent one of the guys to stop her and being totally dismissive of her, calling her an "unemployed hippie" and "toxic."
Ella misma esparciendo rumores de cita con Joe en un gc (Sí, habla de ella msima.) // She’s spreading rumors about a date with Joe in a group chat herself (Yes, she’s talking about herself).
Ella anoche posteó en su fanpage confirmando que estaba en una relación // She posted on her fan page last night, confirming that she was in a relationship.
the idea that every summer will be as hot if not hotter than this for the rest of my life is unbearable i need to (remembers suicide jokes are bad for my mental health) murder an oil executive
i was training a young person at work, and she referred to sexual assault as "SA" out loud, and i immediately was like, "no, it's sexual assault, call it what it is," bc idgaf if the algorithm overlords have taught y'all that you should fear direct language, how tf do any of you expect to ever address real issues with any amount of seriousness if you can't even say the words? imagine an advocate looking a sexual assault survivor in the eyes and asking "did he grape you?" it's absolutely fucking absurd, but these young interns and new hires are coming into an environment where we deal with survivors of all different kinds of abuse, and they're coming with the mindset that the words are as bad as the actions, and that makes them shitty at the job and look juvenile af
i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience
say the fucking words, guys. just say the goddamn words before i go insane!!!
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