steve harrington | imagines

| college life |

ever since you and steve graduated high school, you feel like your relationship has kinda went downhill. after high school, you went straight to college. steve however couldn't get into college. you always encouraged him to try other colleges but he didn't seem the slightest bit interested so you just decided to give it up. the past few weeks at your college have been non stop tests so any free time you had was just taken up by studying, meaning you hadn't had a lot of time to spend with steve.

just like any other day, you were in your room, sitting cross legged on the floor, books spread out all around you and a notebook in your lap. as you were reading the books, you muttered the sentences out loud to yourself. you didn't even hear your bedroom door open or hear your boyfriend walk in. you heard a faint groan from above you. "i swear, i am literally two seconds away from quitting at scoops." steve said from behind you. you weren't really paying attention. "oh, sounds great." you mumbled back, writing things down in your notebook. steve furrowed his eyebrows. "y/n?" he asked. "hm?" you hummed, still not paying much attention to him. steve sighed and crossed his arms. "are you even listening to me?" he asked. "yeah, yeah." you replied, quickly scribbling some notes into your book. you brought your pencil to the paper once more but just as you were about to write, steve grabbed the notebook and your pencil out of your hands. he shoved the pencil into his jean pocket. "steve! what the hell!? give it back!" you yelled, trying to grab it. steve pulled his arm away. "steve, i'm not joking! i need to study!" you tried to grab it but failed yet again. "you've been studying for weeks, y/n, i'm sure it wouldn't kill you to take a break for a few hours." he stated. you rolled your eyes.

"yeah, it will. if i fail these tests, i'm screwed, steve. just give it back." you pleaded. "y/n, staying in your room for this long isn't healthy. come on, let's go out. just the two of us." he said, smiling down at you. you sighed. "no, i can't." you told him. steve sighed in defeat. "fine, i don't know why i even bother." he mumbled, throwing your notebook and pencil on the floor and making his way towards your bedroom door. "what the hell is that supposed to mean?" you snapped, making steve stop in his tracks. he turned to face you, crossing his arms. "it's just..." he began. "ever since you've been in college, it's like you don't want to spend time with me anymore." he admitted. you moved your books out of the way and stood up opposite steve. "what?" you asked. "you're constantly in your room. whenever i come over, you do what you were literally just doing and don't pay any attention to me or what i have to say!" he says, his voice slightly louder now. you narrowed your eyes and scoffed. "steve, this shit is difficult, okay? i need to study! i can't fail!" you explained. "i get that, y/n, obviously i do but it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with me!" he yelled.

"are you serious?" you asked him. "of course i'm serious! do you know how long it's been since we went on a date or spent time with each other?!" he shouted, throwing his hands around while he spoke. you rolled your eyes. "it's been months, y/n!" you shook your head. "i've been busy, steve." you replied. "yeah, so have i." you scoffed. "you've been busy? with what?" you asked. "with work!" he replied. "what? at scoops ahoy, seriously?!" you yelled. steve frowned at your words and you saw his jaw clench. "working at scoops ahoy and studying for college are two completely different things, steve!" you yelled. steve opened his mouth to say something but you cut him short. "you scoop ice cream for a living, i'm in college so i don't end up with a job like that!" you admitted. all anger left steve for a second, a wave of hurt taking over him. he didn't say anything for a minute. at this moment, he wasn't even sure if you loved him or not.

"i tried to get into college. i tried so many goddamn times, y/n!" he defended himself. "oh really?" you asked. "yeah! i did!" he yelled. you shook your head. "what happened to you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "what?" you said. "you changed ever since you started college." steve said. "i haven't changed, steve!" you shouted. "yes, you have." steve's voice was quieter now. he wasn't yelling but he wasn't talking normally either, his voice was slight raised. "no i haven't! maybe you just don't pay that much attention to me!" you were furious with him right now. "i don't pay attention to you?!" he scoffed and shook his head, his voice quickly becoming as loud as it was before. "not this bullshit again." you mumbled under your breath. steve furrowed his eyebrows at this. "seriously? you're saying this is bullshit?!" he asked. "yeah, yeah i am. you have no right to be mad at me! i'm in college, i'm going to be busy!" you snapped. steve took a breath. "i get that, y/n, but you've just... you've just seemed so distant lately and i just wanted to make sure you were okay. you never used to be this distant with me." he admitted. "oh my god, steve! we aren't in high school anymore! welcome to the real world!" you shouted.

steve looked away from you and ran a hand through his hair as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "somethings changed, hasn't it?" he stated, his voice now softer again. you ran a hand down your face. "what're you talking about?" you were so confused. "something between us. it's changed." he clarified. you sighed. "if i ask you something, do you promise to tell me the truth? no yelling, no arguing, just... just the truth?" he asked, looking back at you. you shrugged and shook your head. "yeah, sure." steve took a deep breath. "do you still love me?" he asked, his voice breaking at the end of his sentence. your eyes widened at the question. do you lie? no. he wanted the truth. if he got mad, he can only blame himself. you opened your mouth to answer but when you looked at him you couldn't bring yourself to say it. you looked away from him and slowly began shaking your head. this is the moment steve's heart broke. tears clouded his vision at your confession and he had a lump in his throat. he took a shaky breath.

"well, uh..." he began, his voice wobbling as he spoke. he cleared his throat. "that's what i get for asking for honesty." he let out a sad chuckle. you looked back at him and saw his eyes were red, tears threatening to spill out. "steve." you whispered. he closed his eyes and quickly shook his head. "don't say anything. please. if you say anything i'll probably just burst into tears." he confessed, a few tears already travelling down his cheeks. you nodded. he opened his eyes and smiled sadly at you. "we had a few good years though, right?" he asked. you nodded again. "at least it wasn't all bad." he tried to joke but nothing was funny at this time. "those years were the best years of my life." you confessed. just like steve said, once you had spoke, more tears fell down his cheeks. he quickly brought his hand up to his face and wiped his tears away, sniffling slight before taking a deep breath. "i, uh, i hope that somewhere deep down in your heart, there's a part of you that still loves me." he smiled sadly at you again, his eyes redder than before. he bit his lip to stop him from crying again. "good luck with college, y/n." he said, his voice breaking. he reached for the door handle and opened it. before he left he turned to you. "i'm so glad i was able to call you my girl for a good few years." he admitted. he turned back to the door and left your room.

as soon as he closed your bedroom door, the tears returned to his eyes but this time he didn't try and stop them. he just quickly left your house and ran to his car. he placed his head in hands and just let it all out. he didn't care if anyone saw him as they walked past his car. steve was heartbroken. that was the simplest way to say it. it felt like someone had literally ripped his heart out of his chest. he loved you so much. correction, he loves you and that's what hurt him. he still loves you with all his heart and you don't love him anymore. he eventually raised his head from his hands and wiped away the remaining tears, starting the car with shaky hands. he drove back home with one thought in his head.

was he just not good enough for you?