operation make steve jealous - steve harrington
pairing: steve harrington x reader
a/n: everytime i post i be like “im back!!!” and then disappear for another week or so. i really wanna be more active again so send me some new requests if u wanna! i hope u guys like this, ive been sitting on this request for a while bc i loved it but wanted it to be perf. thanks to the anon that sent it in ur amazing
word count: 3.8k (it was only right to serve u guys a full course meal after starving u for so long)
for as long as you and steve had been friends, you never fought. sure, you butted heads a lot, but it was in a way that balanced out. you were level-headed and kept steve in line.
you know steve well enough to give him space when he’s in a mood, not to suffocate him but still be there for you. and he always let you. you were the only person he tolerated when he wasn’t feeling his best.
today was different. you’d strolled into scoops ahoy like any other day, walking up to the counter to chat with robin. the partition on the window into the back was closed and you flickered your gaze to it.
“he’s back there. in a pissy mood though.” robin says lowly and you frown but nod. she goes back to wiping the counter while you dip behind it and over to the door. you push it open slowly and peak your head in. steve is standing at the small counter cutting up fresh fruit to restock the toppings bar.
you enter all the way and lean against the door frame.
“hey sailor,” you say softly. steve only looks at you through his lashes, never stopping his chopping. you bit your lip to keep your frown from deepening as you step closer to him.
“you okay, stevie?”
“what are you doing back here?”
you recoil at his words and your brows knit together in confusion. “i came to see you, like usual. robin said you were upset.”
steve stops chopping and finally looks up at you.
“i don’t need you checking up on me. i’m fine.”
“i was just checking, steve. don’t bite my head off. god, what shit in your cereal this morning?” you scoff, crossing your arms.
“nothing, jesus y/n! i just don’t need you hovering over me twenty four seven!” steve’s voice raises and it makes you flinch. if he noticed, he didn’t say.
“screw you, steve. i haven’t done anything wrong! you’re the one being an asshole for no reason.”
“no, you’re just up my ass all the time! god, at least when i spent all my time with nancy, i didn’t have to worry about her being so damn suffocating.”
his words hit you like a bus. you freeze, staring at steve with wide eyes. his body was angled half towards you, but he avoided you gaze.
the heavy rise and fall of his breath seemed to echo in the deafening silence that fell upon the room.
“you’re right. because unlike nancy, i actually give a shit about you. excuse me for not living up to the standards of your shitty ex girlfriend. have a good shift, steve.” your tone is sharp, dripping in venom as you push through the door and back out into the lobby of scoops. robin stares at you, shock evident on her face, but you don’t look her way as you walk from behind the counter and out of the parlor.
robin watches your figure disappear across the food court before she throws the window to the back room open. steve is on the other side, fists clenching the counter in a white-knuckle grip.
“i’ll need a new whiteboard for how many ‘you sick’ tallies i’m about to give you.”
-
you went straight home after leaving the mall, locking yourself in your room not even coming out when your mom called for dinner.
you didn’t even realize how much time had passed, your eyes were trained on the ceiling and not on the setting sun outside.
around 9:30, there were taps at your window. you let out a sigh, knowing the only person that would be knocking on your window this late was steve.
you pull yourself out of bed, stealing a quick glance in your mirror to make sure any evidence of earlier tears was gone.
seeing steve on the other side, looking in at you with puppy eyes made something twist in your chest. still, you frown as you walk up to the window, unlatching and sliding it up.
you step back a step, crossing your arms expectantly.
steve’s hair is a mess, no doubt having spent the rest of his day running a stressed hand through it.
“uh, hey. can we talk?” his voice is soft, unsure, and it makes you feel bad.
you don’t say anything, choosing to walk back over to your bed, leaving the window open as a response.
steve, rather ungracefully, climbs into your room and walks over to your bed. he lingers a couple of feet away, feeling awkward. it was a stark contrast to how he normally makes himself at home in your space.
“listen, i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have said what i said. i got into a fight with my father before work, a pretty ugly one, and i was just frustrated and i took it out on you. it’s not an excuse, it was shitty and i wish i could take it back. i didn’t mean it. i love the way you care about me.”
it was the most sincere you’d ever heard steve. a part of you felt awful, knowing the tension between him and his father had been worse lately with steve’s college rejections. you couldn’t blame him for being on edge.
“i understand. it still wasn’t fair that you took it out on me. what you said hurt.” your voice was soft but there was a hint of forgiveness in your tone. steve picked up on it and smiled, moving to sit next to you in your bed.
“i know, it was shitty. i wasn’t even thinking about you when i said it. it just came out.” he says through a half laugh.
something in your stomach twists and you recoil.
“hah, of course not. you never do think about me or my feelings, do you?” you spit, pushing off from your bed. steve’s face twists in confusion and that kicked puppy look returns to his face.
“huh?”
“you really don’t see it do you? of course you don’t. clearly you’re still to wrapped up in the girl who was awful to you. but what did i expect, following in nancy wheeler’s perfect shadow?”
“y/n, i-“
“just leave, steve. please.”
“but-“
“leave!” your tone sharpens as you walk over to the window, staring at him with an icy gaze.
wordlessly, steve rising from your bed and walks over to the window. his eyes are glassy in the moonlight that shines through the open window. steve hesitates next to you, but you avoid his gaze. so he climbs through the window, mumbling a soft ‘goodnight.’
you shut the window and close the curtains while he still lingers on the other side and walk back over to your bed to cry for the second time that night.
-
three days go by. three days where you don’t go to the mall to hang out at scoops, three days of ignoring steve’s calls.
you mope around your house the entirety of that time. you lay in bed for an hour after waking up, then peel yourself up and move to the couch, laying under a blanket watching sixteen candles on repeat.
on the third day, your little sister had enough.
when she emerged from her room to see you crying to jake ryan picking samantha up from the wedding at the end of the movie and giving her a birthday cake.
“pull yourself together, it’s not even sad.” she says and she plops down on the couch and on top of your outstretched legs. you groan, pulling your legs up to your chest as you roll you eyes and pause the end credits.
“no, but it’s sweet. and romantic. and everything i’ll never have.”
you sister rolls her eyes and throws a throw pillow at your head.
“hey!”
“you and harrington are both ridiculous. just kiss and make up already.”
you shake your head, pushing yourself to sit up. “it’s not that simple.”
“okay, walk me through it.”
you pause, staring at your sister with a frown.
“i can’t keep being his friend if i'm in love with him. why can’t he just see me? he pines after nancy, he throws himself at all these girls, but here i am, right in front of him, madly in love.”
“okay, first of all, calm down. you’re not madly in love, you’re seventeen.” it was your turn to throw the pillow at your sister. she catches it and sets it in her lap before continuing.
“second, have you considered that steve is so used to you being attached at his hip that he’s never had to think of you not being there. it’s always been you and steve.”
you stare at her as the gears turn in your head. she had a point.
“what i think you should do, you need to make him jealous.”
“make steve jealous? how am i supposed to do that?” you frown, furrowing your brows.
“go out with another guy. he’ll realize everything he wants is right in front of him then he’ll be crawling back to you confessing his love.”
you look at your sister like she has three heads.
“you’re joking, right?” you snort. “steve isn’t gonna care who i’m going out with. he has no interest in my love life.”
“just try it. you might be surprised.” she replies with a shrug.
you narrow your eyes at her before shaking your head. “fine. we’ll see. guys don’t exactly flock to me.”
your sister rolls her eyes.
“you’re just oblivious. now, get up.” she says, standing from the couch, pushing your legs off in the process.
you groan, head flopping back against the arm of the couch.
“why?”
“because you’re taking me to the pool. besides, maybe you’ll meet a target there.” she says, already disappearing down the hall to her room.
-
you definitely did meet your target, completely unintentionally.
you considered yourself part of the minority in hawkins that did not care a single bit about billy hargrove. sure, he was attractive, but he seemed like a douche. and one that would never look twice in your direction.
at least he hadn’t in the almost year he’d lived in hawkins.
so when you were lounging on one of the chairs at hawkins pool, reading while your sister swam, and the sun that was warming you disappeared being a man-shaped shadow, you were shocked to look up and see billy smiling down at you.
he struck up an easy conversation, one that you initially were only half entertaining. but then he asked if you wanted to catch a movie with him.
you almost turned him down but remembered two things. one, no one turned billy hargrove down without him causing a scene. and two, steve harrington absolutely loathed billy.
so you give billy a sweet smile and agreed.
-
robin hadn’t meant to spill the beans to steve. but robin was robin and she often let things slip out in a moment of absolute word vomiting.
“i just don’t understand. i know she’s mad at me and is ignoring me, but i thought she would at least come in by now to hang out with you. that’s my opportunity to talk to her.” steve rants as he angrily wipes down the counter.
it was a slow day in scoops, leaving steve and robin to busy themselves with mindless tidying and steve using robin as his personal therapist.
robin shrugs, flipping through a magazine at one of the tables. “she’s probably preoccupied with billy.”
steve freeze, eyes snapping up to robin.
“what?”
robin freezes too, slowly looking up from her magazine. “uh, did i say billy? i meant, um, milly! milly, yeah. she’s uh… her new neighbor?”
steve stares at robin, obviously not convinced.
“billy as in billy hargrove?”
robin lets out a sigh, nodding her head. “she told me he asked her out a few days ago.”
a muscle tenses in steve’s jaw. “she’s going out with billy fucking hargrove? she hates the dude! he only wants to check her off the list of girls at hawkins high whose pants he’s gotten into.”
“if she hates him so much, why has she gone out with him three nights this week?” robin fires back, giving steve an unimpressed look.
“she’s a smart girl, she’s not gonna let him use her. besides, you have no right to be upset. you blew it with her.”
steve frowns and crosses his arms. “i’m not jealous. i just think he’s a douche. she’s too good for him.”
-
the second time steve hears about you and billy is a few days later.
max and el were at scoops taking advantage of steve’s offer for free ice cream (he always paid for it out of his own pocket after they left).
“hey, how come your girlfriend is going out with my asshole brother?” max asks, licking her melting ice cream cone.
steve looks up from where he’s refilling the napkins.
“what?”
“y/n. she’s been going out with billy. i thought you were like, in love with her or something.”
“she was never my girlfriend. and i wasn’t in love with her.” steve says defensively, then a little softer. “so, they’re still going out?”
“yeah, but you know billy. it can’t last much longer.” max replies with a shrug. “she can do better anyway.”
steve can only nod his head as he chews on his lip in thought.
-
a few hours later, steve is behind the counter, wiping it down, when he sees you and billy stroll up in front of scoops.
the two of you stop outside and billy says something that makes you laugh before he leans down to give you a sloppy kiss. he pulls back and gives you a wink before he walks off, leaving you standing there.
smiling to yourself, you turn and head in but your steps falter slightly when you see steve behind the counter instead of robin.
“hey. uh, is robin still here?” you ask awkwardly, but steve ignores the question.
“hargrove? are you serious?”
you frown at his tone, crossing your arms.
“do you have a problem, harrington?”
“yeah, i have a problem. you hate billy and now you’re going out with him?” steve scoffs, slamming his rag down.
you roll your eyes, laughing bitterly. “i don’t see how this is any of your business steve.”
steve laughs, throwing his arms up. “do you even hear yourself right now? i mean, billy fucking hargrove?”
“so what steve?” your voice raises slightly.
“it’s like i don’t even know you right now.” steve says, shaking his head.
“yeah, the feeling is mutual.” you scoff, walking out before you blow up.
steve watches you disappear, hands gripping the counter harshly. the window behind him slides open and the sound of robin clapping slowly fills the room.
“wow, great job romeo. you know, i’m really running out of space in my ‘you suck’ column. at this rate, i’m going to need the world’s biggest white board.”
“jesus, robin. would you give it a break?” steve snaps over his shoulder, but robin rolls her eyes and comes through the door to meet him behind the counter.
“no, i won’t. you’re jealous but instead of doing something about it, you’re just pushing her away more.” robin says, crossing her arms.
“i am not jealous!”
“you are and you have always been. anytime she’s ever even mentioned another member of the male species you get all weird.”
but steve is stubborn, so he rolls his eyes and turns back to his cleaning. “yeah, whatever.”
-
steve didn’t speak to robin the rest of his shift. he couldn’t. his mind had gone into overdrive as her words echoed loudly.
he recounted multiple occasions when you had mentioned going on a date or having been approached by a guy and it was like a switch was flipped on him. he would immediately bring up any girl he’d went out with recently, or worse, bring up nancy somehow.
it was like a defense mechanism. and slowly, as all these different instances came back to him, steve realized that maybe robin was right.
you’d been his best friend for as long as he could remember, you were the only constant in his life. one that he wanted there permanently. but he went and fucked it all up.
guilt, anger, and anxiety consumes steve as he drives to your house. he prays that you’re there and not out with billy because he felt like he was going to lose his mind.
steve parks his car on the curb and hops out, navigating the familiar path to your window. he climbs up the sloped ledge of the roof next to you window and hoists himself up.
the music playing softly from inside eased him slightly, but his stomach still twisted as he raised his hand and knocked in that same pattern as he always does.
a moment passes, then your shadow appears on the other side of the curtain. when you pull open the curtains, steve’s breath catches in his throat. you’re there, on the other side, looking as beautiful as ever, even with that unimpressed look on your face.
as soon as you slide the window open, steve begins rambling.
“look, i know i’m probably the last person you want to see right now and i get it. it’s valid. but i can’t do this. i-i can’t just sit here and let you date this jerk who doesn’t give a shit about you. i mean, he doesn’t even know you. he doesn’t know that you have to color coordinate all of your notes or you won’t be able to study. he doesn’t know that you hate mushrooms unless they’re on pizza. he doesn’t know that your favorite candy is gummy bears. but not the haribo ones, only the only from the candy counter at Melvald’s that you have to buy by the pound. he doesn’t know your favorite song is blackbird by the beatles. he doesn’t know you and you deserve someone who cares enough to know every small thing.”
steve is frantic and blabbering, running a hand through his hair every other sentence, while you just stare at him in awe as he continues.
“it just, it makes me so upset seeing you go out with him. he’s not someone that will make you happy. like it physically hurts me because he’s just so… wrong for you.”
“because you hate him?” you ask, slightly amused and confused.
“it’s not just about billy, it’s… it’s you. seeing you with someone else, knowing someone is holding your hand, looking into your eyes, kissing your lips. being apart from you knowing someone else is doing that fucking kills me. jesus, just looking at you right now is torture because you’re just so goddamn beautiful and i can’t let you do it. i can’t let you waste your time on billy hargrove.”
you’re silent for a moment, letting steve’s words settle over you.
“who is the one person that knows all of those things?”
steve snaps out of his trance, looking up at you confused. “huh?”
“who is it i deserve, stevie?” you ask again softly. steve’s mouth shuts as he looks up at you with glimmering eyes. he wets his lips, taking a breath.
“me. i’m the one you should be with. not billy, not anyone else. me. and maybe you think otherwise because i’ve been an ass but i just didn’t realize what i had until i lost it.”
you stare at him for a moment, taking in his words while studying his body language.
“you don’t still love nancy?”
steve immediately shakes his head. “no. no, i think for a while i told myself i did even though she hurt me. but i thought telling myself i still loved her would make it hurt less when you went out with other guys. it didn’t. but at the same time i was dumb and didn’t realize it was because the whole time it was you i was in love with.”
“was in love with?” you repeat, arms crossing across your chest.
“am. am in love with. i’m in love with you.”
“steve-“
“and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. i know you’re going out with billy and as much as i hate him if he’s somehow making you happy, you should keep-“
you cut steve off by grabbing his face in your hands and pulling him into a kiss. steve freezes then immediately melts into the kiss, hands gripping the window pane to steady himself. when you pull back, steve stares at you with wide eyes and a dumbfound smile on his face.
“you kissed me.”
“i kissed you.”
“but what about billy?”
you roll your eyes, scoffing. “billy has been hooking up with bethany thompson every night after out dates because i wouldn’t sleep with him.”
you step away from the window, silently inviting steve to follow you in, which he does. he closes the window behind him and follows you over to your bed, sitting next to you.
“i’m so sorry. do you want me to beat him up? i’ll kill him-“
“steve, no, it’s fine. i’m not surprised and it’s my karma for stooping low enough to go out with him in the first place. besides, you don’t have a good track record for fights.”
steve rolls his eyes as he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, his hand lingering to cup your cheek.
“you don’t need him anyways.”
“oh yeah?”
steve shakes his head, running his thumb over your cheekbone. “nah, you have me.”
“do i?” you ask, fighting the smile creeping into your face.
“if you’ll have me.” he says softly. you nod.
“of course i will.” steve grins and leans in, pressing his lips to yours.
when he pulls back, his arms wrap around your waist and he pulls you down with him onto your bed, making you giggle.
“can i confess something?” you whisper, scooting close enough for your nose to brush against steve’s.
“anything.” he replies with a smile.
“i only went out with billy to make you jealous.”
“you what?”
“my sister told me i should try making you jealous. i thought it was a stupid idea because i didn’t think you cared about my love life. but then billy conveniently approached me at the pool and asked me out. almost said no but i knew if there was any small chance of you getting jealous, it would be over him.”
steve’s head rolls back as he groans. “oh my god i can’t believe you.”
“what! it worked!” you chuckle, poking his side.
“jesus, next time don’t take dating advice from your thirteen year old sister.” steve says with a soft laugh.
“hey, at the end of the day, it worked and now we’re here.” you say, pecking his cheek.
steve smiles at you fondly.
“yeah, i guess you’re right.”