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constantcrisis19 · 2 years

Text

Perfect Match

Steve Harrington x GN S/O

AN: Dustin's POV

Word Count: 2,305

“No! Max! I just beat your high score three days ago, you can’t do this to me!” Dustin lamented as he and the party watched her absolutely demolish Dustin’s previous high score on ‘Dig Dug’ with terrifying ease.

The ginger scoffed at Dustin’s perfectly valid complaints, not even bothering to pry her eyes away from the arcade game as she replied.

“If you’re so worried about it, you shouldn’t make it so easy to dethrone you.” Max stated heartlessly while completing an intense combo, her fingers a blur on the buttons as her character deftly dodged one of the monsters, the impressive maneuver only making the difference in skill between them that much more obvious.

Max cranked the joystick in order to circle around, coming up from underneath the other monster and taking it out with a mash of buttons before moving into a position that would allow her to attack the second and final creature.

Dustin watched as her score in the top right corner flicked by, the number rapidly increasing with every pixel of dirt that Max moved out of her way.

Max jerked on the joystick when the creature fell into her carefully crafted trap, causing the monster to explode in a spray of red.

The usual browns of dirt faded as the screen was overtaken by a spray of fireworks, words flashing across the screen to congratulate Max on being the holder of the new high score. Then the screen went dark and a white bar appeared, prompting her to type in her name.

“Damn it.” Dustin muttered as he squinted at the impossible score next to her nickname, already trying to figure out a way to beat it so then his name would be back in first place.

Unfortunately, he currently didn’t have the kind of cash it would take to try and steal back the number one spot from Max so -with one last look towards the game- he followed the Party to the table in order to wait for Steve to arrive to buy them lunch.

“Man, that was pretty brutal. Sorry Dustin.” Lucas shrugged, not sounding apologetic in the least as he slid into the booth next to Max, the ginger allowing the close proximity with an eye roll.

“Don’t think that you’re safe, Sinclair. I’m playing Dragon’s Lair next.” Max stated as she sat back into her seat, taking the betrayed look that Lucas shot her in stride.

Mike snorted at the deadpan stare that the ginger gave in response to Lucas’ expression, causing Max to pry her gaze from the boy next to her in order to regard the pale preteen sitting across from her with a raised brow.

However, before Mike could get himself punched by saying something insulting, Dustin took over the conversation by bringing up a question that he was sure was on everyone’s minds.

“Do you think that Steve will bring his new partner?”

The table went quiet all at once as the question was processed by the group, Will being the first to collect himself enough to respond. “I mean… maybe? We haven’t met them yet.”

Max barked a mean laugh that had all eyes turning to her, her smile mocking as she looked at all the boys, scoffing and crossing her arms defensively when she was met with confused stares.

“Come on guys, there’s no way that he wants to introduce his new piece to the weird children that he -for some reason- hangs out with. That would scare anyone sane away.”

Dustin thoughtlessly blew a raspberry at the ginger’s ridiculous comment before he slumped back into his seat and, while Max did seem offended by his dismissal, Dustin counted himself lucky that she didn’t try to retaliate with physical violence.

“You can’t be sane and date Steve. Take Nancy for example, she’s crazy.” Dustin defended when Lucas gave him a judging look. He knew that he was right. With the stuff that they had lived through, there was no possible way that anyone functional could deal with all of Steve’s baggage.

But, however logical his comment was, it still caused Mike to lean forward with his elbows on the sticky table and shoot him a glare.

“Hey! That’s my sister!” Mike snapped, only sitting back when Will placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and gently tugged him away.

“The same sister that not only owns a firearm but knows how to use it?” Dustin asked sarcastically and Mike’s eyes narrowed even further, the only thing probably keeping him from lunging forward again being the hand that Will still had on him.

Dustin could admit to himself that the two had always been closer to each other than anyone else in the group, which he guessed made sense since they’d known each other the longest.

“What would be the point of having a gun if she didn’t, idiot.” Mike rolled his eyes, some of the anger that had previously been boiling just under the surface dissipating.

Before Dustin could continue the argument by bringing up the fact that bluffing was a thing that existed, Lucas cut into the conversation and brought their attention back to the original subject.

“There’s no possible way that he’s bringing them.” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as his gaze jumped from one party member to the next.

“Do you think that he’s embarrassed by us?” Will asked hesitantly, his hands wringing together in his lap as his gaze periodically darted up from the surface of the table.

Dustin opened his mouth in order to say something reassuring but was interrupted by Max snorting loudly, the harsh sound drawing all eyes to her.

“He should be, you’re all fucking strange.” She stated rudely with a pointed look at the lot of them. Dustin really should have seen a comment like that coming from a mile away, since being polite for the sake of sparing someone’s feelings wasn’t exactly the ginger’s strong suit.

Dustin shook his head as the table erupted in noise, both Mike and Lucas talking over each other in a vain attempt to defend themselves against Max’s statement.

The ginger seemed unbothered by the chaos she just caused, merely leveling the two frantic boys with a flat look as they talked at her and Dustin glanced away from his friends, trusting that they had the situation handled.

He was blankly staring out the window when a familiar car pulled up in one of the open parking spaces out front, causing him to perk up.

“There he is!” Dustin shouted in order to be heard over the others and the table quieted down in favor of all glancing in the direction of the door in anticipation of Steve’s imminent arrival. Dustin on the other hand still had his attention on the window, watching as Steve slid out of the driver's side.

He felt his jaw drop as Steve trotted around the front of his car before opening the door to the passenger side, the very subject of their earlier conversation fluidly stepping out of the vehicle, giving Steve a bright smile when he wrapped an arm around your waist.

“And they're with him!” Dustin shrieked, his voice cracking in the middle of the sentence as excitement and terror suddenly flooded his system in equal measures. “Oh my God, be cool!” He warned, crossing his arms and slumping down into his seat right as the bell on the door rang, signaling Steve’s entrance.

Dustin could hear you talking as you approached and found himself surprised by the sound of Steve’s easy laughter, it was relaxed and genuine, which were two things that Steve never was when dealing with the Party or the Upside Down.

“Hey guys!” A new voice chirped and all eyes at the table turned to you, Dustin’s own gaze darted down to the arm that Steve still had comfortably slung across your waist.

“I’m Y/n, it’s awesome to finally meet you, Steve talks about the Party a lot.” You confidently introduce yourself with a little wave, your smile never leaving your face.

“He talks about us?” Mike asked dubiously and Steve’s happy expression shifted into one that looked offended, his brows coming together to scowl at the pale teen.

Before Dustin could even try to begin to play mediator in an attempt to wipe that hurt look on his friends face, Will thankfully piped in and derailed Steve’s mounting distress.

“What does he say?”

Steve’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click as his expression flew through several different emotions before settling on fond exasperation.

Your smile somehow brightened even more at the question and you leaned into Steve’s side, briefly looking up at him before returning your attention to Dustin and the others at the table.

“He says that you’re some of the bravest kids he knows.” You hummed, your lips pursing as your eyes slid up to the ceiling as if in thought. “And that you always manage to get yourselves into trouble. Though, that’s expected considering where you live.” You shrugged while bringing your gaze back to the shocked group sitting before you.

“Y/n-” Steve began, sounding resigned, but was cut off when Max straightened in her seat in order to stare you down.

“What does that mean?” The ginger snapped, glaring at you with blatant suspicion. You surprised Dustin by standing your ground against Max -something most adults couldn’t even manage- merely raising a brow as you noticed how defensive Dustin and the others have become as well as the unexplained tension in the air.

“You know.” You began only to be met with blank stares. “The Upside Down? Demogogons, Demodogs, gateways to another dimension that parallels our own. Ring a bell?” You continued, watching them with thinly veiled amusement as the Party slowly registered your blunt statement.

“Holy shit! You know!” Lucas hissed, Dustin’s betrayed stare locking onto Steve, who at least had the humility to look sheepish as he winced under his intense gaze.

“Steve! You told them!?” Dustin scolded loudly, ignoring Mike and Max when they both tried to shush him in favor of leveling Steve -his best friend- with an incredulous look.

Steve raked a hand through his hair -a gesture that Dustin knew meant that he was anxious- avoiding looking at any of the kids at the table as he spoke, his voice quiet and nervous.

“How the hell else was I supposed to explain the nightmares? Or the bat?” Steve asked desperately and Dustin’s gaze zeroed in on you when you shifted your weight, the hand that you had slung around his waist rubbing soothingly over his ribs.

Dustin spluttered, his brain unable to comprehend the ridiculous situation, before he managed to blurt out a response.

“Lie!” He insisted and refrained from getting up to swat at Steve until the guy grew a brain.

“Don’t worry, I know better than to tell anyone. I don’t even know what they look like, I only know what Steve told me, and he didn’t give many details. No offense, babe.” You grinned, and Dustin’s anger left him all at once.

You were clearly not a threat but he couldn’t help but be wary because of everything that they’ve been through. However, that being said, he owed it to Steve to at least give you the benefit of the doubt.

“None taken.” Steve sighed, motioning for Dustin to scoot over so that he could fit on the bench next to him. Dustin dutifully shifted over into Max, who shot him a glare before obediently moving further into the booth.

“Well, if you’re going to get involved in this then you need to know what to watch out for.” Dustin declared, being immediately met with protests from the rest of the Party that he was quick to shut down.

“Steve trusts them and I trust Steve, it’s not that difficult.” Dustin shrugged and, when no one spoke up to refute him, he took that as permission to continue.

He started from the beginning, telling you about Will going missing and finding a girl with superpowers out in the woods during a storm. When Dustin got to the Demogorgon and the lab, Steve had briefly left, returning to the table with drinks and pizza, the kids warming up to your presence and taking turns telling the story.

“So the Demogorgon is super freaky. Its head looks like a bulb and, when it’s going to eat you, its face flowers open to reveal tons of razor sharp teeth and vicious strings of drool.” Dustin stated between bites of pizza and you nodded along to his explanation, taking everything surprisingly well considering.

“So it looks like a flower?” You clarified and Will choked on his mouthful of coke, your innocent simplification of Dustin’s in-depth description making Steve snort. Dustin shot the traitor a look before turning his attention back to you, who was staring at him expectantly.

“That’s what you got out of that?” Dustin asked with a raised brow and you just flashed him a cheerful grin as you popped the last of your pizza slice into your mouth, taking a large drink of your own soda as you shrugged.

“Yeah, they’re perfect for each other.” Mike muttered under his breath, the table jerking when someone’s foot violently struck the bottom of it.

“Shut up, Mike.” Max snarled, revealing who had caused the disturbance -the ginger was most likely to kick the other teen- as the two glared across the table at each other.

Your laughter eased tensions and made Max’s death stare shift into a smug smile while Mike’s own angry frown twisted into a pout.

Overall, Dustin had to admit that he had been worried about nothing, he should’ve figured that whoever Steve picked to be with would be a good person.

Prompt: Flower

#stranger things #st2 #season 2 #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #the party #the arcade #slice of life

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