"friends who kiss occasionally" PART 4!
joe keery x reader smau!
summary: reader and joe have been co-stars since season 1 on stranger things! reader plays 'lottie ralphie' who is 'steve harringtons' love interest. you've developed a small crush for joe, and by small you mean you're head over heels for that man. joe feels the same way but everytime something happens you both are idiots and blame it on alcohol. this time? its different. you even make it KNOWN this time. but but of course, its ruined.
info/warnings: face claim is nina dobrev!, this is NOT. a ship. i repeat this is NOT A SHIP!, y/n used, mentions of drinking/getting drunk, i coa to get everyones instagram users so i just made them up Imaoo, fwb mentioned kinda(not in this part), friends to lovers to friends to distance to co-stars to lovers trope LMAOO!, lowk slow burn be they're all idiots
⚠️: implied sex + kissing!!
wc: 1.5k words!
taglist: @sexyvixen7 @beth-mirrorball @amirafloral
this part doesn’t have the “smau” feel to it but we’ll get there hopefully next part!!
read the previous ones so yk whats happening <3
part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5
you don’t expect him to follow you. you really don’t. so when you turn to leave and feel his presence still right behind you, it knocks the air out of your chest a little. “yn”
you stop. your shoulders tense before you even turn around. then you keep walking. “yn, wait!” closer this time. you shut your eyes for half a second before turning back. “what joe?” he looks a little breathless, like he got here faster than he meant to. like he didn’t think it through. he just reacted. “can we not end it like that?” you blink at him. “end what?”
his hand lifts slightly, gesturing between you like he’s trying to grab something that doesn’t have a name. “this” a quiet, hollow laugh leaves you. “there is no this joe” his jaw tightens. “that’s not true”
“isn’t it?” you shoot back, your voice sharper now. “because from where i’m standing, it feels like we’ve been stuck in the same place for years”
people move around you, brushing past, music vibrating through the floor, but everything between you feels still. too still. “that’s why i asked you out” he says. “to stop that..”
you cross your arms tightly. “yeah. for like five hours” he exhales hard, dragging a hand through his hair. “we’re not doing this again”
“again?” you repeat, your chest tightening. “you mean like every other time something almost happens and then what? we pretend it didn’t?”
he hesitates. and that hesitation. it pulls something loose in your chest. because suddenly you’re not just here anymore.
you’re there.
the room is louder. brighter. messier. someone’s yelling across the living room, music blasting too loud for the size of the space, half the cast piled onto couches and the floor.
it’s early days of your stranger things days. everything still new. exciting. a little chaotic. “seven minutes in heaven!” someone shouts. groans. cheers. laughter.
you’re sitting on the floor, legs tucked under you, shaking your head. “no way-!”
“yes way!”
someone points. “YN AND JOE!” the room erupts. you feel heat rush to your face instantly. “are you serious?” you laugh, looking around like someone’s going to save you. but no one does. of course they don’t because joe is already standing. smiling, whilst offering you his hand.
“c’mon” he says softly. “it’s just a game.” just a game. you take his hand anyway.
the closet is small. too small. dark except for the thin line of light under the door. you can still hear everyone outside: laughing, shouting, counting down.
you lean back against the wall, trying to act normal. “this is so dumb” you say, a quiet laugh slipping out.
joe huffs softly. “yeah. definitely” but neither of you moves to open the door.
and the longer the silence stretches, the heavier it feels because it’s not really about the game. not anymore.
“we don’t have to actually do anything” he says after a second. “i know”
another pause. then, quieter “do you want to?”
your heart stutters. you don’t even think about it. “…yeah.”
he hesitates. just long enough to make sure and then he steps closer.
the first kiss is soft. careful. like he’s giving you space to pull away. but you don’t.
your hand comes up to his shirt without thinking, gripping lightly as the kiss deepens. his hand finds your waist, pulling you closer until there’s no space left, like he’s been waiting for this longer than either of you realized. it stops feeling like a game. fast.
everything slows down instead. your heartbeat. your breathing. the way his hand shifts slightly, the way you lean into him without even noticing. it turns into something else. something quieter. more real.
the kind of moment that doesn’t feel like it belongs in a loud party with people right outside the door. time blurs. you don’t know how long you’re in there.
long enough that the noise outside fades into the background. long enough that it doesn’t feel like seven minutes anymore. long enough that when you finally pull back, everything feels… different.
he’s still close. really close. you can feel his breath, uneven like yours. and you don’t think. you don’t stop yourself. you just say it.
“i think i’m in love with you..”
the words fall between you. too heavy. too real.
and instantly, everything shifts. joe freezes. completely.
like whatever just happened between you—whatever this was, suddenly means something bigger than he’s ready for. “i-” he starts but he doesn’t finish.
his hand drops from your waist and you feel it. that absence.
like something just slipped through your fingers. “wait” you say quickly, your voice softer now. “i didn’t mean-i just-“ but you did mean it. and he knows that. that’s the problem.
he takes a step back. your stomach drops.
“joe!” he turns toward the door. “hey-no, don’t-please!”
he opens it. light spills in. voices crash back in. someone cheers. and just like that.. it’s over.
he walks out and you’re left standing there. alone. heart racing for a completely different reason now.
after that night, nothing is ever said. not the kiss. not the way it turned into something more. not the words you said. you both just go back. to normal. to friends. to pretending like it didn’t change everything for you.
“you don’t get to act like this is new” you say, your voice tighter now as you’re pulled back into the present. joe frowns. “what are you talking about?”
you shake your head, a quiet, disbelieving laugh escaping you. “you really don’t remember?”
his expression shifts. “…remember what?”
“that party” you say. “seven minutes in heaven”
recognition hits him. you see it. “yn-”
“yeah” you cut in. “thought so..” he runs a hand through his hair, tension written all over him now. “that was years ago”
“exactly” you say. “and we’ve been doing the same thing ever since”
“that’s not what that was”
“really?” your voice softens but it hurts more. “because from my perspective, i told you how i felt and you walked out”
he looks like that lands harder than he expected. “I didn’t know what to do” he says. “so you left..”
“you said you loved me” he shoots back, voice rising slightly. “we were in a closet at a party-”
“and i meant it!” you say.
quiet. steady. real. the words hang between you again. just like they did that night. joe stares at you. “you still-”
you shake your head quickly. “that’s not the point”
but it is. it always has been. you swallow. “the point is every time something real happens between us… you disappear”
his expression tightens. “that’s not fair”
“isn’t it?”
“i came here” he says. “i asked you out. i didn’t ignore what happened last night”
you let out a quiet breath. “you also told me i shouldn’t need reassurance” his face falls slightly. “that’s not what i meant”
“it’s what you said”
silence stretches. heavy. uncomfortable. you take a small step back. your chest feels tight again. too tight. “i just-” you start, then stop because you don’t know how to say it without sounding like that girl again.
the one in the closet. the one who said too much.
“i don’t want to feel like that again” you say finally, quieter now.
joe’s expression softens. “like what?”
you look at him. really look at him. “like i care more than you do”
that one lands. you can see it. he doesn’t have an answer right away. and that.. that silence, it hurts more than anything he could’ve said.
you nod slowly. “yeah. okay.”
“yn-”
“i’m not doing that again” you say. your voice is steady now. even if your chest isn’t. you turn before he can respond. walk back toward your table. back to your friends. back to the noise. but it doesn’t drown it out because even when you sit down, even when you laugh, even when you try to pretend you’re fine, you can still feel it.
that moment. that night. him walking away. and now he’s standing across the bar, watching you.
like he doesn’t know how to fix it this time. .
EEEK YAYY I’M LOVING THIS SERIES!!! WHO’S READY FOR PART 5!?!