Stranger Things - Imagines (Book 2)

Steve Harrington x Reader - Oscar Winning Tears (Modern AU)

A/N - Long time no see! Sorry that it's been so long since I posted last but I've had a super busy work schedule lately and have been fighting for that good work/life balance. This chapter was inspired by the song Oscar Winning Tears by RAYE (although the actual chapter has nothing to do with the song) and is set in the modern day, but Steve, Eddie, and Reader are all in their 20s. I hope you all enjoy it.

Steve hadn't really been paying attention as he followed the music through the hallway, far too focused on his phone, flipping through a dating app aimlessly, to truly notice that the voice he was trailing towards wasn't Eddie's at all. 

I mean, Hell, if he'd been concentrating, even slightly, it would've been the most obvious thing in the world. It definitely wasn't Eddie's style of music and his voice wasn't nearly as soft and lyrical. 

And yet, he'd still gone barging through the door, only hesitating when the music immediately stopped, his head shooting up to find you sitting behind a piano, your brow furrowed in frustration at the intrusion. 

"Can I help you?"

Steve couldn't seem to form a single word, his mouth hanging open as he glanced around, as if you were hiding Eddie somewhere in the room, waiting for him to jump out and scare the shit out of him, just like he usually would. 

"Hello?" you pressed on, your frown deepening as you waited rather impatiently for him to answer you. 

"Sorry, I thought my friend had this studio booked out today," he finally started, swallowing down the lump in his throat, quickly flipping through his phone to the text from Eddie. "Yeah, 4B, should be Corroded Coffin, right?"

Your frown faded slightly. "4B is across the hall. This is 4A," you corrected, as gently as you could manage. 

"Shit," he breathed quietly. "So it is," he added, gesturing at the sign on the door. "Sorry for interrupting you." He stayed on the spot for a moment, his eyes lingering on your face for just a second before he was shaking himself out of his daze. "Sorry, I'll get out of your hair."

He made his hasty exit after that, pulling the door shut behind him and hurrying across the hall.

"Hey, man-"

"There's a girl in the room across the hall," Steve interrupted Eddie, all wide-eyed and wrapped up in his head. 

"Yeah, girls do tend to exist-"

"No, you don't get it," Steve pressed on. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I put my foot in my mouth so hard that I couldn't even flirt with her. I was like a fucking teenager again man."

Eddie snorted with laughter. "You got a crush, Stevie-"

"I'm not fucking around, Man, you should've seen her. She's a total Goddess." 

*Time Skip*

You hadn't really been expecting to see Steve again after he had retreated with his tail between his legs. In fact, you never really saw anyone when you were coming and going from the studio, only ever interacting with the guy at the front desk when you needed to book out the space. 

But, of course, today had to be different. You'd made a quick dash for the vending machine at the end of the hall, praying that it would accept the crumpled notes in your hands, only for it to reject the money wholeheartedly, leaving you groaning in frustration. 

"You know, that machine doesn't really like cash," a voice hummed, and you turned around to find two men lingering behind you, clearly waiting to use the machine after you. Just as you were about to open your mouth to thank them for their input, your eyes landed on Steve again, recognising his red-tinted face in an instant.

"You again," you murmured, offering up a small, tight-lipped smile. 

"Me again," he repeated back, looking even more sheepish than he had earlier in the day. 

"Oh, is this-"

"Shut up, man," Steve bit, smacking Eddie roughly on the arm. 

Eddie was grinning, looking between the two of you like he was watching the most entertaining thing in the world. "You know, Steve's got a card," he hummed, elbowing his friend lightly. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind getting your snacks for you."

"It's fine," you started softly, only for Eddie to wave your comment away.

"Trust me, he'd be happy to do it," he pressed on. "Wouldn't you, Stevie?" he added, his smile practically splitting his face in two as Steve glanced at you again. 

"Yeah," Steve finally started, offering you a small smile. "Yeah, of course. What're you having?" he pressed on, fishing his wallet out of his pocket.

You let out a soft, half-assed laugh. "You really don't have to-"

"Let's call it an apology gift," he told you with a small shrug. "To make up for barging in on your practice earlier."

You hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I was just going to grab some Lays-"

"No way," Eddie interjected. "Steve loves those."

Steve shot Eddie a warning look and shook his head as Eddie made the hasty retreat back to the studio. "Ignore him, he's an idiot," he muttered, drawing a sharp snort of laughter out of you. 

"They make the best kind of friends, huh?" Steve's brow furrowed in confusion at your question. "Idiots; they keep life interesting, don't they?" you reiterated, smiling softly at him as he pressed the buttons, summoning your snack for you. 

"They really do," he agreed softly. 

"Even when they're teasing you over something stupid like you making an ass of yourself in front of some random girl," you pressed on, chuckling when Steve let out a deep sigh. "Believe me, my friends would've done the same thing to me if they'd seen you."

Steve paused for a moment, turning to look at you properly, your bag of chips clutched in his hand. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," you confessed quietly. "Think they know my type better than I do at this point," you added softly, watching as a smile crept onto Steve's face. "You know, I won't be able to eat that whole pack on my own? And I've got another 20 minutes of my break left," you hummed.

"Oh, sorry, I don't want to keep you-"

"Steve," you murmured softly. "Do you want to hang out and eat some chips?"

Steve shook his head as if he couldn't quite make out what you were asking him. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I'd appreciate the company."

"Oh, well, then yeah. I'd love to."

Please consider supporting me for just £3 using Ko-Fi. The link is available on my profile page. If you have any questions about Ko-Fi please feel free to private message me. Thank you. L x