Stranger Things Oneshots

You Should Be Happy - Steve Harrington x Fem!reader

The date was going about as well as she'd expected it to from the moment they stepped into the small cafe on the corner of the main street and saw Nancy sitting in a booth with Jonathan. She had watched Steve's eyes immediately find her without any attempt to try and hide it from her, even though they were on a date and his focus should have been on her. The thought had left her feeling quite vain but she had planned to have her full attention on Steve and not staring at someone else in the cafe like he was doing now.

It wasn’t even like it was a one off thing, it happened anytime Nancy was in close proximity to him, he just seemed to ignore her and she knew he wasn't trying to be rude but to her it felt that she was being used as a rebound to help him get over Nancy. At first she thought it would pass that the constant longing looks would gradually get less and less but nothing had changed and she had come to the point where she had decided that she couldn't do this anymore. The longer she left it the more it was going to hurt her but when was it the right time to tell someone that it just wasn't working. Maybe there wasn't a right time so she was just going to have to go for it or else she was going to be stuck watching Steve throw longing looks to his ex everytime they were out, stuck knowing that he'd never feel the same for her as he did for Nancy.

"Steve"

No answer, great now he was ignoring her. She tried again, a little louder this time but not loud enough that it would draw attention to them. Still nothing, with a sigh she reached out to rest her hand over his toying with a napkin. He finally turned to face her, guilt filling his eyes knowing that he had been caught staring when he'd come here with her.

"I don't think I can do this anymore" she says quietly, a sad smile on her face. Hating the way Steve's face fell even though none of this was her fault, it was no one's fault really just more of a wrong time, wrong place situation. He tried to reply but she stopped him before he could say anything. "It's okay Steve, I know you're still in love with Nancy but I can't sit here and pretend that it doesn't hurt when I care so much for you but I know that it will never be the same for you" she explains, heart heavy but she knows it's the right thing to do.

"I do care for you" is all he says and she can feel that there should be a but following it that he's not prepared to say.

"I know but not in the same way that you care for her" she smiles fondly at him, "maybe in time it might work out for us but I'm not willing to take that chance while I know you're heart isn't fully in it, it's not fair on either of us Steve" her voice is strong but inside it feels like her heart is tearing in two as she watches Steve slump into the chair. She hated seeing him look so defeated but when he met her eyes for the first time since they'd sat down, she could see the mixed emotions swirling around. Relief, guilt, fondness, pain.

"You know, I knew there was a reason I liked you" he says, attempting a laugh to lighten the mood but it falls flat. Clearing his throat he sits up straighter, twisting his wrist so that he can take her hand in his own, "I'm sorry for everything but I want you to know that I do care for you even if it doesn't seem like I do, I just, I guess you're right, it's just" Steve tries, stumbling over his words and she squeezes his hand gently.

"It's okay" she smiles, shaking her head slightly as she pulls her hand out of his grasp, "but I should go, take care of yourself Steve" she says almost as if it's a farewell forever and as she stands she leans forward pressing a kiss to his cheek before walking away. Out of the cafe into the sunlight, her whole being feeling lighter now that the weight of the confession had been lifted letting her move on for herself and for Steve.