stranger things imagines.

tell me what you need

POSTED ON: steve-hairingtons

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You and Steve had only been dating about a week when he came to your house for the first time. You lived pretty much on your own, your parents working five to six days a week all day, leaving you home alone the whole time. It was a small house, only one story with two bedrooms.

But Steve liked it. His house was large, almost a mansion. His parents weren't ones to hide their money, but they were mostly involved in his life, which you envied.

It was finals week in Hawkins, which meant you hunkered down and studied all day every day. Steve didn't understand it. He went with the flow and didn't let his final grades affect him. Which was something you didn't understand.

When he came over, you were studying for your AP calculus final, which caused you to have more than one mental breakdown. It was your worst class, and your final would make or break your grade.

Your eyes were red and puffy and your nose was stopped up. You'd been crying out of frustration and anger. You were finishing a twelve-step problem when there was a knock at your bedroom door.

You looked over to see Steve standing there with a bag of Doritos and a two-liter of Dr. Pepper.

"Look what I-" he started. When he took in what he was seeing, he raised his eyebrows.

You were wrapped in a gray, fuzzy blanket. You had on sweatpants and one of his shirts. Your hair was in a bun on the top of your head. Your left foot was in the chair and your knee was against your chest. It was very obvious you'd been crying.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No." Your voice was nasally and you sniffled.

"What's wrong?"

"My AP Calc final. I'm gonna fail it, and then I'm gonna fail the class." A sob left your mouth.

He walked over and squatted next to you. He took the pencil from your hand and laid it down, closing your book with your paper in it.

"What are you doing?" you asked.

"You need a break."

"No, I can't. It's late and my test is at nine in the morning."

"Sh. Come here." He stood up and grabbed your hands, pulling you onto your feet. "Tell me what you need."

"What?"

"Tell me what you need. Anything. Food, a movie, music, anything." You started to say I need to study when he cut you off. "Something other than studying." You sighed.

You knew what you needed, and it was simple: a hug. You just needed someone to hold you and let you cry, but you didn't know how to ask for that.

Not having your parents there to give you hugs or any type of reassurance impacted your ability to ask for affection. Steve caught onto this a week after you guys met.

You had a big exam coming up in your English class and he tried to give you a hug, which you rejected. He tried a few more times to hug you, which only ever ended in you being more stressed, so he eventually gave up.

"Come on. I know you need something."

"I need to study."

"No. No more studying for right now. You're taking a break. And then you can study to your heart's content. I just... I hate seeing you upset and stressed."

You sighed. "I know what I need, but it makes me uncomfortable."

"If it makes you feel better, tell me. You know I won't judge."

You nodded. "I think I just need... a hug."

"That's it? Just a hug?" You nodded. "Well, that's easy." He opened his arms and pulled you in. You didn't hug back at first. You weren't used to feeling someone's arms around you. But the longer he hugged you, the better it felt. The more natural it felt.

You raised your arms and wrapped them around his torso. You buried your face in his chest and another uncontrollable sob filled the room.

"Sh, it's okay," he said. "I'm here, and I won't leave until you ask me to, okay?"

"Okay," you whispered.

"You wanna lay down?" You nodded. "Alright. First, let me do something." He pulled the hair tie out of your hair and let your hair fall to your shoulders, smiling. "Beautiful," he said. You smiled. "There's that smile."

He ushered you to your bed and laid next to you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest.

"Thank you," you said.

"Absolutely. What, you think I'm gonna let my girlfriend suffer in silence?"

You smiled. "What a gentleman."

You looked up at him and he kissed your forehead. "I wish we could just stay like this all night."

"We could."

"I have to study, Steve."

"I know, I know. But we're doing this after your final. You're already way more relaxed. I can tell."

"You're not wrong."

"I'm never wrong."

"Not wrong about that, either."

It wasn't long before he fell asleep. You listened to him snore for a few minutes before slowly pulling yourself out of his arms and walked back to your desk, beginning to work on your study guide again.

Having Steve there made it less tense and more relaxed, and you finished pretty quickly with him there.

Steve was your lucky charm, and you were more than grateful to have him in your life.