Chapter Text
“What about Y/N?” Dustin says out of the blue. The question was not posed to or at anyone, but definitely directed at the only boy old enough to date you.
“What about Y/N?” Steve is the first to answer, the words hanging from his lips. The room is instantly silent again as the three younger boys look between each other, quietly discussing who will speak first. Steve clearly still dumbfounded watching their interaction.
Dustin begins to explain, this time in a more hush tone than before, not sure how Steve would take the answer, “You know…to get you out of this slump?”
“What slump?” Steve refutes, deflecting the answer he already knows. He has been in a girl slump for sometime, no luck with Nancy or Robin or any other girl that would look his way. The only girl he hasn't tried to hit on in Hawkins is you. He wasn’t sure why. You were pretty and funny and smart but for some reason Steve couldn’t get the courage to actually ask you out. Plus you were best friends with his ex-girlfriend which didn’t help his situation.
“We all see it, dude.” Mike added before tossing a cheese ball into the air to catch with his mouth. He misses by a mile, quickly grabbing another one to try again. Another miss.
“I don’t even know what you are talking about.” Steve leans back, propping his feet onto the coffee table.
“We all see that you like her.” Lucas chimes in nonchalantly while flipping through the pages of a comic book.
“I do not .” Steve quickly protests. Crossing his arms, trying to deflect any proposed suspicion
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dustin whispers as he throws a cheese ball at Steve’s head. Steve tries to swat it away but it hits his cheek leaving a small mark of cheese crumble.
“You seriously just need to ask her out already.” Lucas urged Steve. Their eyes meeting for a brief moment before Steve adverts to look at the ceiling.
“Steve, let me give you some advice from one man to another.” Dustin begins, moving forward on the couch, “Women want a man who is going to make the first move.”
“I can’t believe you just said that to me right now,” Steve confesses, a hand wiping the embarrassment from his face.
“He’s right,” Mike agrees, still trying to catch the ball of cheese in his mouth. Another miss.
“Have any of you actually hit puberty yet?” Steve looks at the oblivious bunch. “I can’t believe I’m hanging out with a bunch of 12-year-olds.” He huffs, slumping lower into the seat.
“We’re 14 actually.” Dustin points out.
Steve lets out another huff, “Doesn’t make it any better, Henderson.”
“We’re right though. You need to just ask her.” Lucas repeats, this time a little more demanding.
Steve hesitates, “Okay, say that I did like someone…but she’s friends with your ex. It’s not necessarily the best situation.”
“Who cares?” Mike declares with the other two boys in agreement.
“ Women . Women care.” Steve retaliates, “Women care about that kind of stuff.”
“Look, the worst thing that she is going to say no.” Mike adds, finally catching the cheese ball in his mouth, his hands shooting up in triumph.
“Yeah, you’ve gone through enough rejection that it shouldn't hurt.” Dustin teases, the cocky smile plastered on his face.
“Thank you, Dustin.” Steve tries to shake off the comment.
Dustin’s eyes widened as he gets the bright idea, “You should call her now .”
“Yeah, go call her.” Lucas agrees, putting the comic book down on the table, gesturing towards the phone.
“I don’t know.” Steve leans forward in the old chair, the creaking shooting through the basement.
The uproar of encouragement quickly fills the room. All three boys are trying to convince Steve that he needs to confess his feelings for you. It was overwhelming to say the least. Steve really didn’t know what to do. Does he listen to them or does he just not do anything? Maybe it was time for Steve to tell you how he feels even if it does make things awkward between you and Nancy.
He must have been in his thoughts for too long as he sees Dustin crossing the room, picking up the phone, and dialing the number. Steve frantically getting up to grab the phone before someone answers.
“Yeah. Hi I was wondering if Y/N was home?...ok…ok…yeah I will call them then…thank you…goodnight.” The conversation ends as soon as it begins.
“She’s not home.” He lightly bangs his head against the wall. Dustin gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, not sure what to say.
Was this a loss? What would he even say to you if you actually picked up? He never got the feeling that you liked him. You were normally cold towards him, rarely laughing at his hilarious jokes and always the first to put him on babysitting duty. He hated that you got under his skin, he hated that he didn’t know who you actually were. Hated that he never tried to know. Silently cursing to himself how much of an idiot he has been all these years.
“Damn.” Mike trails off, wiping the snack crumbs from his face, “We should go find her.”
“We are not going to go find her,” Steve injects before anyone else, clearly unamused by Mike's idea.
“Why not?” Dustin pleads, tugging lightly on Steve's sleeve.
“It’s stupid." He turns toward the young boy at his side, "This isn’t some movie. What if she doesn’t even like me?” Steve tries to explain the situation at hand as simply as possible. His feelings for you were complicated, never understanding how he felt towards you and never taking the time to realize that he actually really did like you in more ways that a friend would.
“Max says that she likes you.” Steve’s ears perk up at Lucas’ comment as he shoves a handful of cheese balls into his mouth.
Rushing over quickly to Lucas side, kneeling down beside the couch, “How does Max know that?”
“Well Max said that Robin said that she and Nancy talk about you and it seems that she likes you.” Lucas explains between chewing, every other word slightly muffled by the food.
“Dude you’re in.” Dustin beams, the look of joy washes over his face.
Maybe you do really like Steve. Maybe Dustin, Mike, and Lucas were right and he just needed to finally ask you out. But when? He had the confidence to do it now but you were nowhere to be found. What if by tomorrow he is not able to gather the courage? What if you find someone else by then?
Steve pushes himself onto the sofa, head in his hands, trying to make sense of this situation. "We don’t even know where she is.”
“Well, Hawkins is pretty small. There isn’t much ground to cover.” Dustin explains, reaching for his jacket. The other boys following suit, standing, wait for Steve to make the final decision. Dustin dangling his car keys out in front of Steve's face.
“Fine.” Steve rises while chuckling at their enthusiasm, snatching the keys before leading the group out of the basement into the night.