Don't You Want Me? ✵ Steve Harrington

Chapter 22

"Oh, yeah," Steve sighed, looking around the junkyard at the top of the hill. "Yeah, this will do. This will do just fine. Good call, dude."

Dustin smiled at the praise from the boy that was quickly becoming his idol.

The trio looked up when Lucas yelled something incomprehensible, waving at them.

"Who's that?" Steve asked, nodding at the red head next to Lucas.

"Oh, I think that might be Dusty's little crush, Max," Kim teased her little brother. "I like her hair. It's even better than Steve's."

"Hey! No one has better hair than me," Steve argued.

"Yeah, okay, loser," Kim said, rolling her eyes and pushed him forward. "Let's get to work. We don't have much time until it's dark out."

•••••

Once they had boarded up the bus, surrounded the area in gasoline, and done anything else they could think of to protect themselves against the demogorgon, Kim and Steve lay on top of the bus.

"You scared?" Steve asked her as they watched the sun sink below the horizon.

"No way," Kim lied. "Last year we fought a full grown one, remember? This time it'll just be the one little baby and we're more prepared."

He looked over at her, knowing she was just putting on a brave face, but he didn't want to call her out for it. The way the setting sun made her skin glow entranced him. It was the most beautiful thing he had seen in all his life.

"Max seems cool," Kim said, breaking him out of his reverie. "I get why Dust would like her."

He nodded absentmindedly, still watching the sun dance across her skin. "Hey, did you really mean that advice you gave Dustin? Do girls really like that stuff?"

"I mean, most girls do. I do," she added the last part quietly, but Steve still heard her.

"I guess you're right," he chuckled. "I really don't know anything about what girls actually like."

"Maybe you could use my advice to get back with Nance," Kim suggested, caring about Steve's happiness more than her own.

"I don't think I really want to get back together with Nancy," he looked over at her again, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Oh," Kim said quietly, feeling a blush creep across her face. "So, who's the next Steve Harrington victim?"

He laughed. "I don't know. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me back though."

Kim raised her eyebrows. "I didn't think anyone could turn down King Steve with all that Farrah Fawcett spray in his hair."

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" he chuckled.

"Oh, no, never," Kim agreed. "It will haunt you to your grave."

"But, really, you can't tell anyone," Steve pleaded with her.

She laughed again. "Fine. I get it, you can't have your cool dude reputation ruined. Toxic masculinity's a bitch."

He grinned at her, loving everything about her; every word that came from her lips, the mischievous glint in her eyes that always made shop owners keep a closer watch on her. The electricity pulsed between them again, both of them noticing it.

"Do you really like Billy Hargrove?" Steve asked, still trying to figure out how she felt about him.

She laughed. "No, I was just messing with you before."

He took a leap of faith, playing off of his Steve Harrington swagger and confidence. "Good, because I like you."

She looked over at him and laughed, not realizing how much it scared him. "That's funny, Steve. Good joke."

He shook his head. "Kimmy, I'm not joking."

She looked him in the eyes, still trying to figure out if he was actually being serious or not. "Why?" was all she could ask.

"What do you mean 'why'?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Well, you just ended it with Nancy a few days ago, and I'm not nearly as pretty as she is," Kim said.

Steve stared at her in shock. Kim had always had this charisma, just like he did, but he had never guessed that her's was just as fake as his was. "Kim, you're perfect," he said softly, bringing his hand up to her cheek. "You're funny, and sweet, and beautiful, and you always put others before yourself even when you shouldn't."

She blushed, the kind words overwhelming her. "I see you took my advice about complimenting a girl," she joked.

He laughed, his hand still resting on her face. His eyes flicked down to her lips. He remembered the last time he had let himself look at her like this. It had been right after they had beat the shit out of the first demogorgon. Both of them had been exhausted, batter, bruised, and bloody. She had looked like a goddess to him then, but even more so now. The hand on her cheek slid to the back of her neck, while with his other hand he intertwined their fingers. His eyes flicked back up to hers, asking for permission to kiss her.

Terrified of what she would say if she opened her mouth, she just nodded, leaning closer to him. His lips were sweeter than Kim had thought they would be, his hands soft and gentle on her skin. One of his hands trailed from her fingers, up her leather jacket sleeve, to her back, and then pulled her closer to him. The two fell backward, but Steve's head banged against the metal roof of the bus ruining the moment. Kim laughed, and after making sure the world wasn't spinning Steve laughed too.

"Hey! What's going on up there?" Dustin called up to them.

"Nothing!" the two teenagers called back, quickly moving away from each other as Dustin climbed up the ladder.

"Then what was that noise?" Dustin asked, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.

Kim quickly tried to come up with a lie. "Steve, like the idiot he is, almost fell off the side of the bus."

"Yep," Steve quickly agreed. "That's me, total idiot."

Still not totally buying it, Dustin rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I want you guys down here and Lucas on lookout instead."

As Dustin climbed back down to the main part of the bus, Kim and Steve exchanged a large grin. "We were supposed to be on look out?" Steve whispered in her ear.

"Well, you were certainly looking for something," she smirked, starting down the ladder as well.