your intrusion is my allusion | Steve Harrington x Reader

how can i be sure?

Being friends with Steve Harrington was something that felt like it was engraved in your DNA.

It didn't take an extreme amount of effort, or meddling via your parents; it was something that happened. And it happened so naturally.

You two had been friends since you were young, when exactly was a mystery to you both seeing as you couldn't remember meeting. There didn't seem to be a single memory you had in which Steve wasn't present. You two were inseparable, practically attached at the hip. If you weren't at home, you were at Steve's house, and vice versa. Your and his parents accepted that you two were close, and almost your entire childhood was spent together.

"C'mon!! You just gotta put your foot on the branch!!" Steve shouted from several branches above you in between giggles.

You rolled your eyes. "Easy for you to say! You've been climbing trees for years, I rarely climb them. You know I don't want to break my arm, right?"

The nine year old Steve laughed, his head titling backwards in glee. You laughed as well. He clambered down the tree and grabbed your hand, pulling you towards your bikes.

"Race you to the diner?" he questioned, eyebrows raised.

"You're on."

Your parents had quite a few photos of the two of you hanging along the walls of the house. Pictures in which the two of you held hands and smiled towards the camera, not a care depicted in your childlike visages. Photos of your first day of each school year portrayed the changes you both went through. Each photo was taken in the same spot, and it easily became tradition to take your picture with Steve by the tree in your front lawn, this signifying the start of the new school year.

During your grade school years, your teachers would separate you and Steve, mostly because they couldn't stand your incessant talking with one another. Report cards would come back to your respective parents, with the comments reading Struggles with focus, distractions lie in vociferous friendship with one particular student. Your parents never punished you for it; they knew that it was hard to keep two people who found comfort in each other apart. And your actions only proved your connection to each other.

You'd made him a bracelet during your third grade year. He'd been reluctant at first, but after you'd done a little bit of convincing, he agreed to wear it.

"Steve, let me see your wrist! I want to put this on real quick. Plus, you agreed to wear it forever and ever!! Don't be a liar!"

Steve smiled, finding your persistence very amusing. He handed you his left wrist and watched as you stuck your tongue out ever so slightly in intense concentration. After you'd tied it, you back away from him to admire your work. He looked down at his wrist and grinned.

"You have one too, right? So that way we can match?" he asked, voice timid as the words left his lips.

You nodded in reassurance, holding up your wrist in affirmation. "Of course I do! That way, everyone will know that we're the bestest friends."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, the bestest friends."

You were there for all of Steve's childhood. When he got that awful haircut in the 5th grade, (you'd laughed so hard you fell to the floor, completely doubled over) you were there to comfort him and help him figure out a way to style it so that the uneven strands were hidden. When he lost his tooth after falling off a swing set, you were there to hold a sweatshirt to his bleeding mouth in attempt to stop some of the excess blood, despite the fact you were internally panicking as any child would be. When he broke up with his first girlfriend, you were there to give him a bone-crushing hug and let him totally soak your shirt in tears and snot. And he was there for you just the same.

But everything good seems to come to an end far too quickly.

The second you both got into high school, Steve had found his place amongst the popular crowd. He had grown into his features well, with nearly every girl in school swooning at his mere breathing and nearly every guy wishing they had an ounce of his demeanor.

You, on the other hand, ran with a very different crowd. You preferred to keep to yourself, focusing feverishly on your studies. You and Steve had always talked about getting the hell out of Hawkins as soon as possible, and you knew that one of the only ways that was going to happen was if you were to get accepted into your dream school. If your grades were high, hopefully scholarships would follow. That was meant to be your ticket out of Hawkins, and Steve was always meant to follow.

Yet, it felt like he just wasn't as present in your life. He hung around people that didn't particularly like you, and that made you wonder if he was starting to feel the same. You still talked with him, but the conversation never went beyond pleasantries and stifled attempts at politeness.

Your parents didn't know. You wish they did. It would've made things a lot easier. But every year, you were forced to take a picture next to Steve, standing in front of the tree in your yard. You both had to act as though you were still close, like you both still knew what the other was thinking without them ever having to voice it.

It hurt. God did it hurt. But you assumed that Steve was happy, and that was enough for you.

During your junior year of high school, you befriended Jonathan Byers. He seemed to be shoved to the side by everyone in school, and in some way you could relate to him. You had met in photography and quickly hit it off. He was quiet but friendly, and you were glad you had someone to spend time with. You both would walk the halls with hushed voices, laughing at inside jokes. But you couldn't help but remember how you had done the same with another boy years before.

It didn't help that because you and Jonathan were quiet observers, you were able to quickly find out of Steve's growing interest in Nancy Wheeler. You'd met Nancy a few times, mostly when you had gone with Jonathan to drop off Will for a campaign with the rest of the Party. You knew she was nice, as you'd interacted with her in passing before. But something about Steve being with Nancy rubbed you the wrong way. They seemed so different.

What probably hurt the most, however, was the fact that you could see traces of your own personality in Nancy's. Did he even see the similarities? Was he blind to them, despite years spent at each other's side?

You watched them grow closer and closer, and your heart ached. It longed for when you and Steve were able to discreetly talk to each other during class. Your heart yearned for the moments where you and Steve could laugh at practically anything and everything. You couldn't help but continually wonder why did things change?

As the air began to cool and the wind gained a biting chill, something happened. It was strange, honestly. You'd shown up to school, looking for Jonathan only to find he wasn't anywhere to be found. It confused you, really. As often as he missed school in favor of work, he would always let you know when he wouldn't be there. You walked towards one of the doors leading out of Hawkins High, trying your best to see if you could see any trace of the Byers' family car, but you had no luck. What you did see, however, made you feel a little woozy. Steve and Nancy were practically on top of one another next to her locker, Barbara standing not too far away. You glanced at them, taking note that they hadn't noticed you yet. You walked off to class, making a mental not to look for Jonathan during lunch.

When lunch did finally arrive, you scanned the cafeteria. You came up completely empty handed. You decided that it would be best to head to one of the empty classrooms of the school to eat lunch. It was better than having to deal with Tommy, Carol, and 'King' Steve. You hated to say it, but the way Steve acted made you sick to your stomach. You could no longer see the bright, smiling boy that would put on a bandaid to rip off along with you just so you wouldn't be alone in your pain. You could no longer see the sweet preteen who you could trust with every single one of your secrets. You wondered if that Steve was permanently erased, left to haunt your memories.

As you walked down the emptied hallway, a small poster caught your eye. You instantly recognized the picture of the young boy, as well as the implication of the words on the paper and felt bile creep up your throat. Will Byers was missing.