I had a dream the Duffers came out to dispel the rumors about comformitygate like this:
No, there is no secret episode, stop insisting on this. It was supposed to be a surprise, but now we have to announce it: a Muppets version of Stranger Things is coming out on the 7th of January. We can't wait to show you how Kermit would survive the Upside Down.
And, I guess it felt so believable that hours after I woke up I was convinced this was the case. But, I decided to check Tumblr and realized they haven't even commented on conformitygate yet.
if I ever actually write good shit and invent a whole ass franchise/story/whatever I'll make it seem like your regular story and then when I've got enough tumblr folks shipping and loving queer ships thinking it won't ever be canon because that's how media treats us I'm gonna MAKE THEM ALL GAY AND HAPPY AND ALIVE FOREVER FUCK U
Summary: Reader goes to a comic con to meet a few of the Stranger Things kids, and gets super nervous around Finn Wolfhard, the one who’s opinion she cares about the most. (Guys I told you I was shit at these)
Pairing: Finn Wolfhard x fem!Reader (but could be read as gender neutral)
Warnings: I used the word ‘lust’? Does that count?
Word Count: 2.7k+
A/N: This was requested by the lovely @urie-bowie-mercury! Love, I really hope you enjoy this and it’s close enough to your request. I apologize for the wait on this one, I kinda feel like I rushed through it, but I really didn’t let me know what you think about it. I may have fucked up, maybe not, just yell at me in the comments if I did. 😂
The building was already overflowing with people by the time you got there, your small Stranger Things poster rolled up and clutched in your hands. You’d just walked in the door and you were already overwhelmed. Fantastic. It was currently around 9:30, and the Stranger Things cast didn’t sign things and meet people until around 10:00, so you had about a half hour to locate the particular location where Finn and the rest of the cast would be - or rather, those of them that would be here, which consisted of Millie and Noah - for the comic con. God, you were so nervous to meet Finn. Fuck the anxiety that was coming from being surrounded by all these people, the bitter feeling in your stomach that was slowly eating away at your ability to stay calm came from the fact that you were set to meet the Finn fucking Wolfhard, and it was way worse than anything else you were feeling right now.
You scanned the signs above your head for the one labeled ‘Stranger Things’ in red print, and made your way over to it, wading through the crowds of loud, cosplaying people, who, by the time you’d gotten through them, had crumpled your poster considerably. You walked through the doorway to enter the line, which, already had about forty people lined up, some of whom probably waited out in the parking lot overnight for it. You regretted not getting here when the place opened. Thankfully, you only had a bit to wait before the meet-and-greets started, and you weren’t that far back in the line. You made your way to the back quickly and leaned against the wall, sighing to yourself.
You cursed yourself for not bringing your headphones, even a half hour was a long time when you were just staring at the same three posters on the opposing wall. You were also feeling utterly exhausted, as you had to travel ‘far and wide’ to get here. In the middle of a half-doze, nearly dropping your poster and purse, the line started moving, and you jolted back into consciousness, thanking the ever-loving Lord that you were finally getting a move-on. Though as time passed and the line inched forward, you started to feel the nerves settle in your stomach, coming to the realization that this wasn’t just some silly dream or fantasy, you were meeting the Finn Wolfhard. This first impression is what he would think of you for the rest of his life, and if you blew it, you blew it. You knew this was probably irrational, and that there was no way in a million years he’d remember you out of everyone he was gonna meet today. You’d have to do something pretty fuckin’ special to stick in his mind when he’s meeting over 10,000 people today, and not really talking to any of them. You didn’t realize that you’d subconsciously crumpled up your Stranger Things poster while you were practically worrying yourself half to death.
You tried your best to smooth it out against the brick wall, panicking a bit as the line moved a bit more than it did before. You really hoped your hands didn’t feel so gross when you shook Finn’s hand. God, you were going to give yourself a headache. You watched as the line inched forward again, leaving less and less people in the gap between you and the entrance to Finn’s table. That’s another thing, you couldn’t even see them yet, so it was like walking into a room of judges and getting surveyed as you approached them. Before you knew it, there were only three people left in front of you, and you’d worked yourself up so much that you weren’t even enjoying this anymore. Surely you were doing something wrong with this whole comic con thing. You’d never been to one before, but you thought it was supposed to be fun, not nerve-wracking and stressful. Yet here you were.
The girl behind you tapped your shoulder, and you then realized that the line had inched forward again, and you were the only one at the entrance. The girl was quite ticked off with you, so you quickly apologized and moved up to the doorway, where you could just barely see a girl and a guy fawning over the three cast members at the table, while they were busy signing things, Finn looking tired as hell. God dammit. Now you felt insanely bad for bothering them even more than anyone should. Once the pair ahead of you got things signed and left, one of the guards there gestured for you to come into the room, and you did so hesitantly. You gave Millie an awkward smile, which she returned with a much more natural-looking, friendly grin, waving you over.
“Hi, what’s your name?” she asked when you got a bit closer to the table. You sent them all a short wave.
“Uh-hi, I’m, um, sorry, my name’s y/n” you stammered, mentally cursing yourself for getting so flustered, feeling so pathetic for not being able to handle yourself. You shook each of their hands, which they were all nice enough to stand up for you, making the height difference a bit less awkward. They all gave you a smile when you greeted each one, save for Finn, who remained having this blank stare on his face, like he didn’t know what to make of you. You cleared your throat and set down you poster, smoothing it out as much as you could against the fold-up table.
“Sorry this is so crumpled, getting through people in this place is, difficult,” you explained, your hands trembling slightly as you smoothed out the poster as much as possible, “Um, would you guys maybe, mind signing this for me?” you asked, as if you didn’t know that was literally what they’d been doing all day. Millie nodded with a reassuring smile, and it was Noah that spoke up this time.
“‘Course, that’s what we’re here for” he told you as Millie reached forward for the poster, taking a hot pink marker and signing - somehow, exactly what you’d expected from her. Once Mille had passed it to Noah for him to sign, she looked back up at you, and from the very end of the table, you felt the burning gaze of Finn in your temple.
“And no need to apologize, y/n! We don’t really mind, except maybe Finn, he’s half asleep,” she joked, but you turned to face him and apologized again anyways. You felt like you were only bugging them more and it made a feeling of guilt sink in the pit of your stomach. But Finn only gave you a half-smile and waved a hand in the air.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quietly, reaching up a hand to run it over his face. You turned to collect your things, since Millie, Noah, and Finn had signed your poster.
“Sorry to bother you, I-I’ll uh, I’ll go now,” you stuttered out, trying to roll up the poster the best you could in your rushed state with your shaking hands. Millie put up a hand.
“No, you’re fine. Take your time,” she reassured you, and you felt even more embarrassed at that, the fact that the cast members could tell you were nervous. You quickly gathered yourself and waved to them once more, practically running out of the room to catch your breath from the near-panic attack. You couldn’t believe you just did that. You couldn’t think of anything that could make this day worse. Finn probably thought you were a crazy, flustered at the slightest thing fan, and would never want to interact with you again. You thought about the previous night when you’d stayed up late taking various Buzzfeed quizzes, or really any that you could find about Finn. You knew it was ridiculous, but at the time you were so caught up in the excitement of meeting your long-time crush, that you let yourself believe that all the positive results for those quizzes were onto something. But now that your head was cleared and the adrenaline has died down, you came to the realization that you just fucked up a once in a lifetime opportunity and it wouldn’t even matter if you hadn’t, because they saw a million faces that day, and you were just one of the many that were probably incredibly nervous. You were just pissed that you fucked up the experience for yourself.
You exited the comic con the back way, leaning against the rough brick wall and taking a breath, smacking your forehead lightly and letting out the breath you had taken in. You unrolled the poster you still clutched in your hands and admired the signature of the one boy you wanted so desperately to impress.
“Dumbass,” you scolded yourself, tucking the poster under your arm indignantly and going to pick your purse up from where you’d haphazardly dropped it on the sidewalk.
“That’s not very nice,” a voice sounded from behind you, one that you’d recognize almost anywhere. The universe was surely fucking with you, right? You practically whipped around, startled by the sudden interruption of your thoughts. And there, lo and behold, was the man you’d been lusting after for a little over two years now.
“What?” you asked, not exactly understanding what he’d said. He gave you a small smile, surprisingly not as smug as he’d led you to believe earlier.
“That’s not a nice thing to call yourself,” Finn clarified. You shrugged a shoulder, not entirely sure why he was out here, talking to you.
“Why are you out here?” you asked, your brows drawing together, changing the subject, which - now that you think about it - isn’t really a subject matter at all.
“I wanted to see if you were okay, you looked like a nervous wreck in there,” Finn explained.
You huffed out a laugh, “Gee, thanks”
Finn closed his eyes for a minute, seeming to think over his next words, “No, I-um, I didn’t mean it like that. I just, are you okay?” he returned to his initial question. You hesitated a bit, before nodding shortly.
“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Thanks” Finn gave you a nod, running a hand over the back of his neck and looking infinitely more nervous than in the meet-and-greet room. You gestured back to the building next to you.
“Um, shouldn’t you still be in there, meeting people and shit?” you asked, offering a half-smile, which he returned awkwardly.
“Well, I should, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. Um, they’ll survive without me,” he said, and you nodded a bit.
You let the silence between you linger for a moment, giving him the chance to speak up again if he needed to, but he remained quiet, “Is there something else you needed?” you broke the silence, a bit perplexed as to why he hadn’t left yet.
Finn thought for a moment, “Uh, yeah, there is, actually,” he started, his hands moving from his pockets to fiddle with the buttons on his jacket, then back to his pockets. He was fidgety, most likely so because of his anxiety, you supposed. You nodded, silently telling him to go on.
“Well, I-uh, I never do this, but um, well,” he paused, blowing out a short breath, “Fuck-I, I was wondering if maybe, you’d want to, um, go out sometime?” he stammered, making your eyebrows go to your hairline.
“W-What?” you asked, completely taken aback by Finn’s question.
“Do you want to go out with me?” he restated, casting his eyes down afterwards, almost as if he were ashamed. Please. Like he was the one who had to be nervous.
“Please pinch me,” you breathed out, your voice barely above a whisper, lightly lifting your arm. Finn gave a little chuckle that made your heart practically jump out of your chest, taking a tentative step towards you and pushing your arm back down to your side. He let his fingertips linger there for just a moment before taking his hand away from you, hoping you hadn’t noticed the hesitation to pull away from you. You did. Finn himself didn’t get it. He had met you not five minutes ago, yet he was completely taken by you. The way you acted as if you owed him, Millie, and Noah something was adorable, and besides, you were stunning. He figured he might as well give it a shot and go after you, after all, the worst that could happen would be that you were completely insane or something, but that was a risk Finn was more than willing to take. It all sounded improbable, but you struck him as someone he wanted to get to know better.
“Are you, uh, are you serious?” you asked, your striking e/c eyes searching his for any inkling of a humor, any sign that in a few seconds he’d break out into a smile and shout, ‘Ha! I got you!’, but you found nothing.
Finn nodded, then backtracked a bit, “But you don’t have to say yes, please, don’t feel obligated to,” he added, as if he felt he had to. Your lips turned up at that. He was much nicer in person than you’d thought he’d be.
“You’re a sweetheart,” you commented with a small smile, and Finn thought he felt his pulse quicken, he was almost tempted to press his fingers to his wrist to check. You squeezed you eyes shut, shaking your head to yourself for a minute.
“I’m sorry, was that weird?” you asked, worried you might’ve overstepped your boundaries.
Finn breathed out a laugh, “No, no not at all”
You let your smile return, “Well then, I’d love to go out with you, Finn,” you stuck out your hand for him to shake. You really weren’t sure why, in the moment it just seemed appropriate. Finn let out a quiet laugh and accepted the handshake.
“O-Okay, yeah, okay” Finn paused for a moment, watching your expression grow fonder, and he felt himself slowly falling, “When do you want to go out?” he asked.
You lifted your free hand to rub over the back of your neck, absently aware that Finn was still holding your hand loosely, “Um, I actually live a bit farther away, ‘cause where I’m from isn’t a huge place to hold these sort of events,” you explained, giving him an apologetic look. Finn let his gaze drift up for a moment, thinking it over.
“Tell you what, y/n,” the corner of your lips turned up at the fact that he remembered your name, “you give me your cellphone number, and I’ll take you out for a proper date as soon as I can manage,” In that moment it didn’t matter how impractical, or even impossible it all sounded, you had a fleeting moment of excitement, and the thrill of possibly going out with a celebrity that you’d harbored a crush on since you’d seen Stranger Things overtook you, so you nodded, fishing a pen and paper out of your purse and jotting down your number, handing Finn the paper once you’d gotten it down.
He grinned at you, about to speak again before the back door was slammed open, revealing one of the PAs with his lips set in a frown.
“Finn, we need you to get back in there, some of the guests are complaining about your disappearance,” he warned, and Finn nodded shortly, before turning back to you and shrugging a shoulder.
“Well, I gotta get back in there,” he said, astonishing you even more by leaning forward to peck your cheek, murmuring in your ear, “I’ll call you”
You swore your knees went weak. Finn gave you one last smile before making his way over to the PA, who was waiting impatiently to escort him back to the table. Once the door closed behind them, you took a moment, not being able to get over the shock for a minute or two. You let out a breathy laugh, turning to lean back against the brick wall. This had turned out to be such a mixed day, but maybe one of the best of you life. You had a feeling you weren’t going to regret giving Finn your number. And hey, you thought to yourself, those Buzzfeed quizzes might’ve just turned out to be onto something after all.
