Jinxed - Steve Harrington
She was just a timid girl and he was the king of Hawkins, so why couldn’t he stop tripping over his words around her?
Pairing: Steve Harrington x Witch! Reader
Word Count: 2.6k+
Warnings: None
The day was cold as the winter season made itself known in Hawkins. Everyone brought out their thickest coats and hats to shield themselves from the freezing winds, the weather unkind to most living things. Snow was predicted to fall any hour now and you could feel both the excitement and the dread of what was to come
Inside the school was a different story. The heaters were on full blast and most students had shoved their jackets into their lockers where they’d remain the rest of the day, forgotten until it was time to head home. You were just like everyone else, choosing to leave your jacket tucked away and relying on the thin black cardigan you wore to keep you warm.
You took a seat near the window and looked outside for Jinx, your cat familiar. The small feline accompanied you to school every day no matter the weather and would often sit on a nearby tree and watch you during your classes. You felt comforted knowing she was always there.
Being a witch was easy in Hawkins. No one really paid enough attention to anyone to notice. They all seemed to live in their own small bubbles that kept them occupied with mundane things. You kept most of your magic simple, focusing on the plants that surrounded your home and only ever using magic when you absolutely had to. Or at least that’s what your parents had taught you. Little did they know that you enjoyed making pancakes with a flick of your hand and cast spells on the old man who lived next door in order to make him just a tad nicer to the neighborhood kids. You looked up as a boy passed by, your eyes lighting up at the familiar face.
“Morning, Y/N,” he greeted with a smile and a nod before heading for his seat just two down from yours. You smiled and muttered a soft hello in return.
You had almost all your classes with Steve Harrington and yet the two of you only remained as acquaintances. He was sweet though, and after being paired a few times for assignments in class he had gotten into the habit of saying hello. Your heart definitely appreciated the small attention. Over the years you had developed a crush on him along with nearly every other girl in your grade.
He was the boy everyone was after. The Keg King. King Steve of Hawkins. An oddly sweet and down to earth boy despite the constant praise he got from those who surrounded him. He was known to be a gentleman, dating few girls. His latest had been Nancy, a younger girl who had quite publicly broken his heart. And yet he had taken it with grace and remained friends with her, adding to the legend of who he was. Steve Harrington was every girl’s dream.
You knew you had no chance with him. He was technically out of your league with his good lucks and winning personality. You were more timid, choosing to keep to yourself and your few friends. But a girl could dream, no matter how impossible it seemed.
Jinx watched you from the tree she sat in. You’d shared your feelings about Steve with her and she listened as intently as she could. She couldn’t do much, she was a cat after all, but having someone to talk to proved to help keep you sane when it came to having crushes on teenage boys.
“Jinxie?” you called out, looking around for your cat. Most of the students had cleared out by now, eager to get home and escape the cold weather. “Jinx?”
“Y/N? You ok?” You were startled by Steve’s appearance, not having expected him of all people to stop and speak to you. You nodded, looking around the front of the school but having no luck in locating your cat.
“Yeah. Just looking for my cat. She usually waits out here for me,” You replied with a worried frown. He looked around and surveyed the surroundings as much as he could, eyes searching for the small black furball.
“Maybe she just went home? It’s pretty cold out here,” he suggested, his own breath visible in front of him. He’d noticed the cat that followed you everywhere you went and while it was weird that an animal was that attached, he found it slightly adorable that you had a feline sidekick.
“Yeah, Maybe,” you replied, unconvinced. You watched as Steve continued to search for her, bending down to look beneath some nearby benches. You repressed the smile that fought its way up at his help. “I have to get home. Bye, Steve.”
He watched you go, looking around once more for the black cat before heading towards the parking lot.
“Never gonna happen, Harrington,” he muttered to himself as he pulled away from the school. “Cause you’re a wimp. Why? Who knows. Maybe cause she just happens to be the cutest girl in school and I don’t think she even realizes it.”
He sighed as he stopped talking to himself. He’d known you since middle school. Of course, back then you were much shorter with a mouth full of braces, but preteen years weren’t pretty for anyone. At some point during high school, you had really come into your own, and he had taken notice.
You didn’t know it but you were quite popular among the male population. Nearly every boy he knew had some sort of crush on you and he was no exception. But much to their dismay, you weren’t the type to go to parties and much less the type to pick up on their flirtations. Either you were that oblivious or simply not interested. Steve couldn’t figure out which was worse.
He had been paired with you for a few assignments in class. Much to his surprise, you were naturally funny, your comments here and there making him burst into genuine laughter. You were also incredibly patient and he had grown fond of your soft voice. But there was something about you that always seemed to trip him up, disrupting his usual smooth talking and turning it into incoherent rambles. He had tried to flirt on countless occasions but it never seemed to come out just right. He had half given up on the whole idea, instead resorting to simply admiring you from afar.
Steve came to a sudden stop as a black figure ran out in front of him, stopping smack in the middle of the road. He watched as the small animal sat down and began to lick its own paws without a care in the world, oblivious to the fact it had nearly been run down seconds earlier.
“What the hell?” Steve muttered as he put his car into park and stepped out. The cold air sent a chill down his spine, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. “Jinx?”
The cat looked up at him with a piercing gaze once it heard its name. He immediately recognized the small amethyst pendant that hung from its collar. He had watched you enough during lunch hour to recognize it. His eyes always seemed to drift towards you, a small smile gracing his lips at the way you’d mindlessly pet your cat as you skimmed whatever book you needed to read for English that day. You had a handful of friends, other girls who seemed just as timid as you, but he noticed you preferred to read in solitude. He had noticed a lot of things with his constant observation. The way you bit your lip when reading, the way you’d tie up your hair just before opening a book as if to remove any distractions a falling lock of hair could cause. He always looked away the second you looked up, his face flushing red at the thought of being caught staring.
“Come on, girl,” he cooed, reaching for her and hoping she wouldn’t recoil from his touch. Relief flooded through him as he picked her up without even a hiss. “I know your mom is out there worried about you.”
Jinx made herself at home in his lap as he drove towards your place. He only knew it because Carol lived just a few houses down and he’d seen you on occasion whenever he dropped her and Tommy off. He hoped you wouldn’t think too much of it. Jinx purred heavily, refusing to stay in the passenger's seat whenever he tried to move her. Eventually, he gave up and allowed her to stay in his lap.
“We’re taking you home,” Steve told her as she stood on the steering wheel, her eyes attentive on the road ahead. She meowed before sliding back down and nestling against his stomach. He drove with one hand as the other absentmindedly scratched her head. “Your mom will be happy to see you. Think she might be grateful enough to go on a date with me?”
She meowed loudly, her soft purrs growing stronger as she rubbed against his abdomen. Steve grinned, his long fingers trailing down her back.
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
By the time he pulled up to your house he was more than a little attached to the small creature. He’d never met a cat so friendly and somehow he felt that was a reflection of you. You’d always been a very sweet girl and he had no doubt that the cat in his lap was more than loved. He carried her up towards your door and knocked, jittering with nerves of anticipation as he waited for you to answer.
“Hey,” Steve’s eyes grew wide as Jinx crawled out of his arms and instead made her way up, balancing expertly on his shoulder. “I didn’t say you could do that.”
“Steve?” you asked, bewildered at the fact he was standing at your door. Before you knew it a black furball collided into you, effortlessly springing off of Steve’s shoulder and into your arms. “Jinxie! God, where have you been?”
“I found her on the road,” Steve explained as you set her down. She immediately took off into the warmth of the house, happy to escape the cold weather. “Figured I should bring her back since it’s gonna get dark soon.”
“Thank you,” your hands immediately went to your face, brushing back the hair that fell against your cheeks. “I feel like I should repay you. I don’t have any money, but maybe some food?”
“No, no. You don’t have to repay me,” Steve quickly clarified, “Food, though...are you hungry?”
“Not really,” you replied honestly. You’d dug into a family sized bag of chips the second you arrived home and your stomach felt ready to burst. Steve’s face fell slightly at your response, his idea to invite you to dinner shut down.
“Oh, well. That’s good,” he answered, his awkwardness creeping up. “That you’re not hungry. Because being hungry isn’t a good thing...with the hunger and all…”
You grinned at his rambles. Heat began to flush onto his face as he looked around for anything to talk about and distract from his horrible flirtation skills. His attention landed on the small garden you had that was in full bloom despite the dying plants that were in everyone else’s yard.
“Are you a witch or something? No one else’s garden looks as nice as yours,” he joked, his smile bright as he waved towards the blooming roses. Your face must have been easy to read as he quickly cleared his throat. “I’m joking. I mean, it’s cool if you are one. Hawkins...is full of everything.”
You raised an eyebrow as he rambled on, flustered and not knowing how to continue onto any semblance of a normal conversation. You’d seen him like this before a few times, at a loss with what to say. He’d always been Steve Harrington, Mr. Right guy who said all the right things. It was amusing to see him feel like a fish out of water.
“Right,” he finally finished as he noticed your growing smile. Jinx reappeared and meowed loudly as if telling him to get on with it already. “I guess I’m just intruding now, aren’t I? I’ll see you at school, Y/N. Bye, little Jinx. Next time you get lost you better hope it’s me who finds you again.”
He stepped backward, his feet moving slower than usual as he wanted to stay and make conversation. He had ruined that opportunity in his eyes. He was usually a smooth talker, a hit with the ladies so to speak. Flirting came naturally to him but he couldn’t seem to collect himself long enough around you. It was as if you held some sort of spell on him.
“You believe in witches?” you asked when he was halfway down the small stone path that led to your house. He turned around a goofy grin on his face at the question. You leaned against your doorframe with your arms crossed, your black cat circling around your legs and rubbing against them affectionately.
“In my experience anything is possible,” he replied, a joke hiding somewhere beneath his words.
“Maybe I am a witch,” you replied with a grin and a tilt of your head. “What would you say then?”
“A beautiful girl with a black cat and a garden that blooms all year?” he smiled brightly, his eyes shining with new curiosity. “I’d say I’d like to get to know you much better.”
You felt the heat rise to your cheeks at his response, his words echoing that suave persona you knew him by. Never in a million years would you have imagined Steve Harrington on your doorstep.
“I’ll be hungry tomorrow,” you replied, taking a leap of faith and hoping that he had meant to invite you out when food was mentioned. His eyes lit up.
“No way, me too. I guess I should pick you up for dinner then? Can’t let a beautiful witch go hungry or who knows what you’ll do with that magic of yours.” He was back in his rhythm now at your subtle invitation.
“I think that’s something you should definitely do. Just for Hawkins’ sake.”
Steve nodded, waving goodbye as he hurriedly turned towards his car to hide his growing grin. By the time he was strapped in and driving, an enormous smile had appeared on his lips.
You closed the door when Steve sped off, elated at the fact you had a date with the boy you’d been crushing on for so long.
“You’re sneaky,” You laughed as your cat jumped into your arms. She meowed, her eyes meeting yours with an amused look. ”You knew exactly what you were doing today, didn't you?”
Steve arrived home humming tunes, kissing his mother loudly on the cheek before dancing his way into his room. Nothing could ruin his mood now. Not when he’d gotten a date with the one girl he’d been secretly pining over for the entire year. His happiness was blatantly obvious to anyone who glanced his way.
He opened his bedroom window and watched as snow began to fall, completing the magical feeling he had in his soul. He glanced down as a pop of color caught his eye. Beneath his window was a single rose, bright and blooming against the dead grass that surrounded it.
“A witch,” he grinned, observing the flower closely. He reached down to touch the soft petals. The smile on his face grew as the flower grew in size the moment his fingers grazed it. “Of course you’d fall for the magical girl, Harrington. That’s just like you.”
