Chapter Text
Steve Harrington was irritated.
Steve had been the king of Hawkins High, and he had taken pride in it.
But then one day, out of nowhere, a complete asshole named Billy Hargrove showed up and ruined everything Steve had built for himself.
Billy was an openly arrogant jerk.
He beat Steve at basketball, then beat the shit out of him in a fight too.
And after that, loud enough for the other students watching to hear, he sneered:
“Seriously? *This* guy’s the king of Hawkins High? This useless loser?”
Steve couldn’t even come up with a comeback. He just walked away while Billy and the other students laughed behind him.
Back then, whenever Steve got pissed off, he’d throw a party and blow off steam. But now, there wasn’t anyone left willing to party with him.
After Billy humiliated him, the basketball team had started obviously distancing themselves from Steve, and Tommy and Carol had already become part of Billy’s little entourage.
All the people who used to crowd around Steve Harrington when he ruled Hawkins High had vanished from the stage of his life like they’d never existed at all.
The popularity and admiration he thought he had crumbled so easily it almost felt fake in hindsight.
Even Nancy, the girlfriend he’d believed was still on his side, had spat out that their relationship was built on lies and bullshit before leaving him behind.
Before he realized it, everyone had started calling Hargrove the *real* king of Hawkins High.
And Steve?
Steve was nothing more than a pathetic loser now. A lonely, stupid guy.
---
Class ended, and Steve walked out of the room.
Not long ago, this time of day had been loud and lively — making party plans with Tommy, Carol, and his girlfriend Nancy, throwing winks at girls staring at him dreamily in the hallways.
Now, not a single person spoke to him.
Everyone acted like nothing had happened while whispering amongst themselves from a distance, watching him with those awful curious stares.
Unable to stand it anymore, Steve hurried toward his car in the parking lot without looking at anyone, tossing his bag into the passenger seat.
At the exact same moment, a crude whistle and mocking shout rang out behind him.
“Looks like the pathetic ex-king nobody wants around is heading home already!”
Steve didn’t even need to look up. Tommy.
And beside him were probably Hargrove and Carol too, both wearing those smug irritating expressions.
Ignoring them, Steve climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Just as he was about to pull out, someone slammed hard against the window.
“What’s wrong, loser? Tucking your tail between your legs and running away?”
Steve shot Billy Hargrove a glare as the other boy grinned and spat on the ground.
He wanted to snap back. Even just once.
*Arrogant piece of shit. Learn some fucking shame.*
But then the memory of getting completely beaten down flashed through his head.
It wasn’t that he was scared.
There was just no point. Don’t take the bait. Don’t be an idiot.
Repeating that desperately to himself, Steve finally slammed his foot on the gas and drove away.
---
As Steve drove, his house gradually came into view.
But right before reaching it, he turned the wheel and took a side road instead.
He already knew nobody would be home in that unnecessarily huge house.
His parents were probably off at some party or vacation somewhere.
And honestly, even if they *were* home, they wouldn’t comfort him or offer him any kind words.
Steve’s parents barely cared about him at all.
As long as he behaved in a way that didn’t embarrass the Harrington name, nothing else mattered.
To fill that emptiness, Steve had spent years packing the house with people and throwing party after party.
But he couldn’t even do that anymore.
The irritation inside him only kept growing.
Still, he had nowhere to go and no real destination in mind, so he just kept driving aimlessly.
For nearly thirty minutes, he stared blankly at scenery slipping past the windows.
But eventually, he realized he couldn’t just keep wandering around all night. The last thing he wanted was for someone he knew to spot him pathetically driving around with nowhere to go.
Right as he was wondering what to do, he noticed a sign.
One mile ahead.
Not bad.
Without thinking too hard about it, Steve followed the sign toward the lake.
---
Steve stepped out of the car and stretched.
His lower back gave a faint creak.
He’d been to this lake a few times before on dates.
Different dates. Different people every time.
Steve snorted quietly when he noticed the sign reading *Lovers’ Lake.*
How ironic was that?
Being completely alone in a place with a name like that.
At least one thing worked in his favor — maybe because of the time, or maybe because of the season, there weren’t any couples around.
Actually, there wasn’t anyone there at all.
Normally, Steve would’ve hated spending even a second somewhere this lonely.
But right now, he was grateful for it.
He didn’t want to see anybody. Not people he knew, not strangers, nobody.
He wandered aimlessly around the lake.
At times like this, Steve found himself wishing he had even one person he could talk to.
Someone he could confide in. Someone who would listen to his problems and encourage him in return.
Tommy and Carol briefly crossed his mind, but he dismissed the thought immediately.
Come to think of it, he’d never once talked seriously with either of them about anything important.
Their conversations had always been stupid party plans, gossip, and talking shit about other people.
And still, when they’d all been together, Steve had believed they were his close friends.
But seeing how easily they threw him aside and latched onto Billy instead…
Apparently Steve had been the only one who thought that.
The sun slowly began to set.
The air grew colder too.
Standing in such a wide open place made Steve feel like he was truly alone in the entire world.
---
A sudden camera shutter snapped through the silence, and Steve immediately stiffened.
Someone was here?
Had somebody followed him just to laugh at him for being alone?
Startled, he looked around — and spotted a guy holding a camera.
That’s… Jonathan Byers?
Steve frowned instinctively.
Why the hell was *he* here? Since when? How long had he been there?
Jonathan was the kind of person Steve really didn’t want to run into right now, though for completely different reasons than Billy.
Steve had smashed Jonathan’s camera once. Worse, he’d insulted Jonathan’s family too — and Jonathan had punched the hell out of him for it.
Afterward, Steve *had* regretted it. He’d even gone to Jonathan’s house intending to apologize and make peace.
But then the whole monster situation happened, and everything became muddled after that.
Steve had considered buying Jonathan a new camera himself, but in the end he’d had Nancy give it to him instead.
(He really hoped that wasn’t what triggered it.)
After that, Jonathan and Nancy only got closer, and eventually Nancy broke up with Steve.
He’d already suspected they were drawn to each other, so it wasn’t like he blamed them anymore.
Still, actually talking face-to-face with Jonathan now sounded painfully awkward.
Luckily, Jonathan didn’t seem to have noticed Steve yet.
Steve hurriedly started backing away so he could leave unnoticed — but then stopped himself.
What was Jonathan doing out here?
The camera answered part of that question. Obviously he was taking pictures.
But he was alone.
Taking pictures by himself at Lovers’ Lake…?(Okay, fine. Today’s Steve was also an exception.)
Curious, Steve carefully scanned the area again, but Nancy was nowhere in sight.
Then again, Jonathan was always alone at school too. Steve could barely remember ever seeing him hanging out with anyone.
Did Jonathan not have friends either?
A few months ago, Steve probably would’ve mocked him for that.
Now, though, he didn’t feel like laughing.
After all, Steve didn’t have any friends anymore either.
And then, suddenly, a ridiculous idea occurred to him.
Could he maybe… become friends with Jonathan?
Jonathan didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d side with Billy, and he seemed good at keeping his mouth shut too. If Steve told him about his problems, Jonathan probably wouldn’t spread them around.
Since Jonathan was basically Steve’s complete opposite, maybe he’d even give useful advice.
Their hobbies probably wouldn’t match, but Jonathan also didn’t seem like the type to judge people for theirs.
And honestly, he definitely seemed more reasonable and smarter than Tommy or Carol.
Nancy was the only potential issue there, but… whatever. Steve could probably deal with that somehow.
The more he thought about it, the more it started sounding like a genuinely great plan.
Maybe if he fixed things now — the apology he never properly gave back then — things could actually work out.
Okay. First things first.
He needed to talk to Jonathan without making him defensive.
Steve took a deep breath and turned around.
Jonathan still hadn’t noticed him, too focused on aiming his camera somewhere off in the distance.
If Steve rushed over too fast, Jonathan might bolt, so he approached slowly and cautiously, like he was trying not to scare off a wild rabbit.
Honestly, it would’ve been easier if Jonathan noticed him first and casually said something like, *“Hey, Steve! How’ve you been?”*
But Jonathan didn’t even glance his way.(Not that Steve could realistically imagine Jonathan greeting anyone that cheerfully.)
Once he got close enough, Steve inhaled deeply one more time.
Then—
“Hey, Byers! What’re you doing out here?!”
Jonathan practically jumped out of his skin.
Birds scattered from the lake in a burst of startled cries and beating wings.
Crap.
Steve’s voice had come out way louder than he intended because of how nervous he was.
As he stared dumbly at the birds flying away, an exaggeratedly irritated sigh rang out nearby.
When Steve turned back, Jonathan was glaring at him with an expression even grumpier than usual.
“…Were you taking pictures of those birds?”
Steve asked cautiously.
Jonathan ignored the question completely.
“…What do you want, Harrington?” he growled instead.
Fantastic.
Absolutely perfect timing.
At this point, the odds of them becoming friends had probably dropped to astronomically low levels.
Any tiny bit of goodwill Jonathan might’ve gained toward Steve after fighting monsters together had probably just plummeted straight into the negatives.
“Uh… I saw you were out here alone, so…”
Steve forced a smile, trying desperately to recover.
Jonathan immediately shot him down.
“What, is this the first time you’ve ever seen me alone?”
The sarcasm hit like a slap.
Inside Steve’s head, giant neon letters flashed:
NO OPTIONS LEFT. RETREAT IMMEDIATELY.
Maybe he should at least apologize now. Maybe he could still salvage enough goodwill for another chance later.
But Jonathan had already looked back down at his camera, refusing even to make eye contact.
Then Steve suddenly recognized the camera.
Staring closer, he realized it was definitely the one he’d bought.
For a second, Steve considered telling him.
Telling Jonathan that it hadn’t been a gift from Nancy — that *he* was the one who bought it.
Maybe then Jonathan’s whole attitude would soften immediately. Maybe he’d thank Steve. Maybe they could actually become friends.
It was an embarrassingly convenient fantasy, but right now it felt like the only possible way to change the suffocating atmosphere between them.
But before Steve could open his mouth, Jonathan looked up sharply and glared at him.
“How long are you gonna keep staring, pervert? Stop bothering me and go somewhere else already.”
…What?
“Hey, I’m not a pervert!”
The accusation slipped out before Steve could stop himself.
“I didn’t scare those birds away on purpose, so why the hell are you taking it out on me?! That’s completely unfair! Maybe the reason you don’t have a single friend is because you’re always acting like this!”
The instant the words left his mouth, Steve regretted them.
But it was too late.
Jonathan’s eyes widened briefly before his expression twisted bitterly.
Without another word, he turned and walked away quickly.
Game over.
For a second Steve considered chasing after him, but immediately killed the idea.
What would he even say? What excuse could possibly fix that?
Who in their right mind would want to be friends with someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, scared off their subject, and then insulted them by saying *that’s why you don’t have any friends*?
If only he’d apologized immediately, maybe things could’ve gone differently.
Letting out a long sigh, Steve finally turned back the way he came.
That’s why you don’t have any friends.
What right did *he* have to say that?
Steve had only approached Jonathan in the first place because he couldn’t stand the loneliness of having nobody left either.
By the time he got back, the sun had completely disappeared and darkness had settled over everything.
Steve climbed into his car and started the engine.
Feeling even more miserable than when he’d first arrived at the lake, he quietly began the drive home.
All the while, Jonathan’s bitter expression kept surfacing in his mind over and over again, disappearing only alongside Steve’s tired sighs.