SEASON THREE SPOILERS

Why did I end up talking about college twice in this whole thing geez way to stress some of y'all out sorry

Also the Alexei one got away from me a little bit but gosh dang it I love him and he deserved better

Summary: He asks you out.

QOTP: Did you cry watching season three?

Word Count: 4097

Alexei -
You were with Hopper and Joyce when they first kidnapped him. He was scared, and you sympathized with him. You tried to explain everything to him, even though you didn't speak Russian.

You got him to Murray, who actually knew Russian. And, through Murray, you talked to him — not just about what he built, but about everything when you had the time. In the back of the stolen car, you sat in between him and Murray, who was your translator.

And he was perfectly happy to be; he saw the smiles on both your faces when you would have those conversations — even just when you looked at each other.

Then, you arrive at the 4th of July carnival. Hopper tells Alexei and Murray to stay in the car so they can discuss the machine. You stay with Alexei, and he and Murray sit on the trunk of the car and sketch and talk in Russian as you just sit and listen. You have no idea what they're saying, but you like the sound of Alexei's voice.

Suddenly, they start whispering. You think you hear Murray speaking English, but you're not sure. Then, Murray hops off the car. "Well, I am going to go enjoy the festivities. You stay with Alexei and meet back here." He winks at Alexei, then heads off.

Alexei looks at you. "Y/N..." he says, then he hesitates, thinking. "Would you... go on a... date... with me?" He points to the carnival.

You blush deeply, understanding what he said even with his accent, and liking the way it sounds when he says your name. You nod. "да [da — yes]," you say, pretty much the only word you've picked up since knowing him.

He smiles widely, and you get out of the car, then take his hand as you walk to the carnival.

You buy tickets, then let him lead you to where he wants to go. He chooses the dart game — you get five darts, and if you pop five balloons, you get the big prize: A jumbo Woody Woodpecker. You give the carney a ticket, and he gives Alexei five darts.

With a few moments' pause before each shot, he pops five balloons. The carney looks amazed as he hands him the Woody Woodpecker.

Alexei immediately turns and hands it to you. "для тебя... Y/N [diya tebya — for you]." You smile as you take it, holding it in one arm as you take his hand again.

You lead him to the Ferris wheel. You spot Murray on the way, and he gives Alexei a thumbs up. On the Ferris wheel, the Woody Woodpecker is sitting on the outside of you, and you still have his hand in yours, and he smiles the entire time.

He looks over at you, wondering how he got so lucky to be here tonight, with you, sitting at the top of a Ferris wheel. "Я люблю тебя [YA lyublyu tebya — I love you]."

You turn to him, watching the lights illuminating his face. You didn't understand him — he knows that, that's why he said it — but, nonetheless, with a slight hesitation, you lean forward and kiss him, just for a few seconds. When you pull away, he kisses you again.

The Ferris wheel rolls back down, and you're forced to get off. You find Murray again, and start walking towards him.

None of you saw the man with the gun.

When you saw what had happened, panic overtook you. Murray ran over. Your vision was swimming. You screamed, alerting the people around you. Luckily, one of them was a doctor, who did what he could while someone ran for their car phone and called for an ambulance.

You went with Alexei when it arrived, pushing Murray to take the sketches and leave with Joyce and Hopper.

In the hospital, you sat by his bedside, holding the Woody Woodpecker until Alexei woke up.

[I wasn't gonna change the end but then I just couldn't bring myself to do it I love him too much]

Dustin -
Dustin had been away for a whole month at Camp Know Where. You, like everyone else, missed him, but you're pretty sure you missed him the most.

Yes, even more than Steve.

Surprising him with a welcome home banner was your idea, and he loved it, even if it scared the crap out of him and caused him to spray Lucas in the face with hairspray. Lucas, of course, wasn't very happy afterward.

Then, Dustin showed you all Cerebro — the radio he built to talk to Peter, a friend he made at camp. He was so excited about you guys getting to talk to Peter — he'd told him about you all — that you all walked up a steep hill so he could set Cerebro up.

Well, most of you did. Mike and El left early, claiming it was due to curfew, which was a bold-faced lie.

Once at the top, Dustin assembled Cerebro, contacted Peter, and then you waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It got late, so Max and Lucas left, then Will did not long after.

"And then there were two," Dustin sighed. But before you could reply, Cerebro picked up on a radio message. A Russian radio message.

You took it to Steve at Scoops Ahoy, then his coworker Robin eventually got roped into the whole mess and helped you translate it, then she cracked the code.

Then, you watched what was going on at the shipment storage place in the back of the mall, and Robin figured out how to get in there — through the vents. Lucas' sister Erica was the only one small enough to fit through the vent and open the door for you from the inside. So, you all went in.

Big mistake.

You're all now stuck in a Russian elevator, which is filled with boxes containing a strange green substance that may or may not have the ability to kill you all.

You sigh, sitting down, leaning against the wall. "This was a bad idea."

"You think?" Dustin replies from his spot next to you.

"We should've just left it alone and let the Russians kill us all. It probably wouldn't be that painful."

"Well, I'm really not in the mood to get killed by a bunch of dumb Russians," Erica butts in.

You lean your head back against the wall. "I mean, yeah, you're young. You've got a lot of things to look forward to. At this point in my life, I don't. College? Gross and stressful. Getting married? Expensive and stressful. Having kids? Expensive, painful, and stressful. Retirement? Too stressful to save up for it. Dying? Now, there's something I can get behind."

Dustin looks over at you. "Don't talk like that. We'll get out of here." You start to open your mouth, so he quickly adds, "Alive."

"Oh, whoopie," you deadpan, half-heartedly punching your fist in the air.

Dustin sighs. "You want something to look forward to? How about this: Whenever we get out of here, you and I go out on a date."

Everyone stops, waiting for your answer. You raise your head, looking at him in surprise. "You wanna go on a date with me?"

"Yeah," he says, blushing a little, "of course I do. I've liked you for, like, forever."

You smile. "Well, then, I am definitely looking forward to our date."

Johnathan -
Interning at the Hawkins post isn't exactly your dream job, considering how awful most of your coworkers are. However, you managed to make friends with Nancy Wheeler early on, and she introduced you to her friend Johnathan Byers. He's an intern, too; he develops photos.

And, although you see him nearly everyday, you spend your most of your time with just Nancy. That doesn't mean you don't develop a crush on him, though.

"So, what are your plans for today?" you ask, making conversation with Nancy as you make coffee.

"Oh, Johnathan and I are gonna grab something to eat after work before he drops me off at home," Nancy replies. They carpool to work as Nancy doesn't have a car.

"Oh," you say, a little disappointed. "Like a... date?"

"What?" Nancy asks, surprised. "No, Johnathan and I are just friends. Why?" She squints at you, smirking. "Do you want to go on a date with him?"

You blush. "I mean..."

"Oh, my gosh, you like Johnathan," she says excitedly.

"It's only a little crush-"

"That could turn into something more."

You frown, pouring coffee into a few mugs. "Oh, no, he doesn't like me like that."

"How do you know?" she asks skeptically.

"We need to take these into the conference room," you say, picking up two mugs and walking off.

Later, in the car, Nancy looks over at Johnathan as he drives. "So, Y/N..." she trails off.

Johnathan raises a brow when Nancy doesn't explain further. "What about her?"

"She's really pretty, don't'cha think?"

Johnathan, confused, answers, "Yeah...?"

"And kind, isn't she?"

"Yes...?"

"And she has an amazing personality."

"Yeah...?"

She stops, already smiling at him. "So, you agree with me?"

"Yes...?"

"So you like her." This time, it's a statement instead of a question.

"What?" Johnathan asks. "What are you talking about?"

"You like her, don't you?" Nancy asks. "I mean, you think all those things about her-"

"I never said I liked her," Johnathan says.

"But you do."

He starts to say something, but stops and sighs. "Okay, maybe I do."

Nancy grins. "Now you have to ask her out."

"Are you crazy?" Johnathan asks incredulously. "I can't do that. She doesn't like me like that."

Nancy rolls her eyes. "Yes, she does. She basically told me she did."

Johnathan sighs. "Okay, then, I'll think about it."

The next morning that you're all at work, Nancy nudges him as she sees you getting out of your car nearby in the parking lot. She hurries inside, leaving you and Johnathan alone outside.

"He-Hey," Johnathan says, walking up to you.

You smile. "Hi."

"I was, uh, just, um, wondering if... if you're gonna be free this Friday night?" he asks nervously.

Your heart skips a beat. "Ye-Yeah, I'll be free."

"So, would you maybe wanna... go out or something?"

You smile. "I would love that."

Lucas -
Dustin's been gone for a month at summer camp, and you all decided you would surprise him when he got back.

So, after he enters his room, El uses her powers to cause all of the electronic toys in Dustin's room to move. He follows them out into the living room, where you're all hiding behind him with a banner, saying, "Welcome Back, Dustin!"

El stops the toys, then, you all blow into party horns, creating a loud, celebratory noise that scares the crap out of Dustin. None of you realized before, but he has a can of hairspray in his hand, which he'd picked up to use as a weapon.

Well, Lucas is standing at the front of the group, and when Dustin turns around and sprays the hairspray out of fear, he sprays it directly in Lucas' face as they both scream.

After a few seconds of shock, Dustin realizes it's Lucas and stops. Everyone holds back laughter as you panic and hurriedly lead Lucas to the sink in the kitchen. "Are you okay?!"

"My eyes are burning, so, no, I'm not okay!" he replies.

You turn on the faucet and push his head down under it. "Wash your eyes out, you should be fine," you say, though you're mostly reassuring yourself rather than him. Meanwhile, everyone in the living room is laughing.

"Yeah, this is really funny," Lucas says sarcastically as he washes out his eyes.

"Hand me the can," you say, wanting to check on the label to see if it tells you what to do if you get it in your eyes.

As Dustin hands it you, Max says, "Why are you so concerned, Y/N? He'll be fine. It's just hairspray. I mean, you're not even laughing, and that was hilarious."

You shrug a little as a response and look back at the can, reading it. "It just says to rinse out your eyes."

"See?" Max says, taking the can from you. "He's fine. You can laugh now."

"I just don't find it very funny," you mumble. The fact that you like Lucas and have nearly lost him to more life-threatening events, combined with your tendency to worry (after everything that's happened, you were bound to develop it) caused the whole thing to freak you out.

After that, everyone else moves on to Dustin's room as he talks about camp. You stay back with Lucas.

"Hand me a towel," he says, so you grab one off the counter and give it to him. "Thanks. And thanks for staying back with me, too. You didn't have to."

"Well, I wanted to..."

He turns the faucet off and dries his face. "Really, I'm okay, though. It was no big deal, it just... hurt in the moment." He smiles a little as if to prove to you that he's okay. He may not have said too much while he was washing his eyes out, but he heard your conversation, and he knew you were worried. If anything, he was touched. He thought it was cute.

"Okay," you reply quietly. You start to turn to go to Dustin's room, assuming he'll follow, but he stops you by gently grabbing your hand.

"Wait," he says. His face feels hot immediately, his hand still holding yours and you looking at him, waiting for him to say something. He swallows. "I just, um... Do you want to go out with me?" he blurts out.

You blush and smile. "Yes."

Suddenly, everyone comes out of Dustin's room, carrying things. Lucas asks, "What's going on?"

"We're going to talk to Dustin's girlfriend," Will replies.

"Girlfriend?!"

Mike -
"I'm so bored," you complain, laying on the couch in Mike's basement.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he replies, laying on the floor next to the couch.

It's summer, and you have absolutely nothing to do.

Dustin is completely MIA, Max and Lucas are busy together, Will is who even knows where — probably at home with his mom, drawing or something — and El is shut up in her cabin in the woods with Hopper for her own safety. So, it's just the two of you.

"We could play DnD?" you suggest.

"With two people?" Mike replies. "And, anyway, I'm kinda getting bored of it."

You sigh. "Honestly? Me, too."

He thinks for a while, then says, "We could go to Starcourt?"

"With what money?"

"My mom's."

You sit up. "Alright, then, let's go."

You both get up, and Mike asks his mom for some money while you put on your shoes. Once you're both outside, you hop on your bikes and ride over, both thinking about where you want to go once you get there.

After chaining up your bikes outside, you walk in, looking around. Mike looks over at you. "Where do you wanna go?"

"The Gap?" you say unsurely.

He shrugs. "Okay." Honestly, he would've gone in any store that came out of your mouth. He's just happy to be hanging out with you alone; he has a huge crush on you.

You walk in The Gap and begin looking around at clothes. Mike just patiently follows you, then answers you when you start asking him if certain clothes were cute.

You hold a particularly colorful shirt up to yourself. "What do you think?"

"It's great," he says. And that's what he would've said no matter what shirt you held up. He thinks you look great in everything.

You grab a pair of pants that very obviously and very horribly clash with the shirt. "With these pants?" you joke.

He laughs. "I mean, I think you could pull it off."

You look over at an empty dressing room. "Let's test that theory."

You go into the dressing room and put on the outfit, then laugh as you walk out, having looked at yourself in the mirror. You pose like a model. "How do I look?"

He laughs again. "I was right; you do pull it off."

You eventually find even more ridiculous combinations to try on, sometimes adding in hats or belts. You leave store, laughing, having bought absolutely nothing.

You look up and see Scoops Ahoy on the second floor. "You in the mood for ice cream?"

"Lead the way."

You go up the escalator and head into the ice cream parlor. Steve is at the counter. "Hey," he says, "where's the rest of the yahoos?"

"Not here," you reply, shrugging.

"What, are you guys on a date or somethin'?" he asks. "It's about time."

You both blush. Mike says, "No, we're-we're not on a date."

Steve rolls his eyes, already getting your ice cream as he knows your orders by now. "Seriously? I mean, you two have obviously liked each other for years now."

"Well, I mean..." you trail off, not looking at Mike.

He, however, looks at you, filling with hope. "Well, I, uh, I wouldn't mind if this was a date."

You finally look at him, a little shocked but mostly happy. "I wouldn't mind either."

He smiles. "Great. So this is a date."

"So it is."

Steve sighs, then deadpans, "Oh, to be young and in love."

Steve -
You're not sure why you're at the mall when there's a hundred other things you could be doing, but you are. You've looked around, but you haven't even bought anything. You internally sigh, looking at the sign for Scoops Ahoy from across the mall. You could go for some ice cream right now.

You weave through the crowd of people, then head into the ice cream parlor. There's no line, and the cashier is turned around, talking to somebody in the back through a little window. Sailor-type music plays through the speakers.

You walk up to the counter, and the cashier in the back — a girl — nods towards you. The other cashier — a boy — turns.

"Ahoy!" he says, causing you to jump. "Didn't see ya there! Would you like to set sail on this ocean of- Y/N?"

It's only then that you recognize him. "Steve?"

He laughs a little. "Hey."

"Hey," you reply. "Gosh, it feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I know."

You went to high school together, and in your senior year — last year — you were chemistry partners. You got to know each other, and you became casual friends. You haven't seen each other since graduation.

"So... what kind of ice cream do you want?" he asks.

"Oh! Right." For a second there, you actually forgot you were ordering ice cream. You look in the freezer at your choices, then order. "Y/O."

He starts to make it, asking. "So, how's your summer been?"

"Oh, you know. Usual stuff. Nothing really interesting," you reply. "How's yours been?"

He gestures around him. "How do you think?"

You laugh. "I'm sure working here can't be that bad — besides having to wear the hat. It makes you look like a dork."

"And the rest of this get-up doesn't?" he asks, turning around to show you the whole uniform.

You laugh again. "Eh, that part is kinda cute."

He blushes but quickly changes the subject, handing you your ice cream. He starts ringing it up. "So, you goin' to college in the fall?"

You sigh. "I'm supposed to."

He looks up at you. "But?"

"But I haven't actually figured out where I wanna go yet. Nothing seems like a good fit."

He sounds relieved. "Oh, I haven't figured that out either. I don't even know what I want to do."

"You could work here," you joke.

He rolls his eyes playfully. "Oh, yeah, that sounds like a fun existence." He tells you your total.

You hand him the money, sighing. "At least you're working. I don't even have a job. That money is my parents'."

"Well, I'm pretty sure we're hiring here," he says. "And, aside from the uniforms, it really isn't that bad."

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea," you reply, really considering it. How could you hate a job where you would get to work with Steve? "I'll have to talk to my parents, though. They want me to focus on choosing a college and figuring out what to do with the rest of my life."

He hands you your receipt. "You'll get work experience."

"Good point. I'll make sure to bring that up."

You both know that this is typically where you would leave, seeing as you've paid and everything. However, neither of you want you to go. Finally, Steve says, "I'll, uh, have to talk to my manager about it on Monday. So, you know, maybe I should have your number or something — or-or you should have mine — so you can let me know what your parents say."

You blush. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

He smiles. "Sweet." He writes his number on a napkin and hands it to you. You take it, putting it in your purse, then look back at him. He adds, "Or you could call me about... anything, really."

"I will," you reply, going to leave.

But his confidence is already up, and if he doesn't ask you now, it'll take him forever to build up the confidence to ask you again. He stops you. "Wait."

You turn. "Yeah?"

"I, um... I get off work at seven on Friday. We could... We could do something?"

You smile. "Yeah, I would like that."

He smiles back. "Great."

"I'll call you."

"Yeah." He turns back around, looking at Robin and grinning.

She grabs her whiteboard and marker and marks a tally in the, 'You Rule,' column. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Will -
All you wanted to do this summer was hang out with your friends, preferably with no imminent death and destruction looming over you.

Well, while the death and destruction hasn't appeared yet, the hanging out with your friends part seems to be a struggle.

Dustin is MIA, and Lucas and Mike are in some sort of fight with Max and El. You and Will have tagged along to Starcourt to help them find apology gifts.

"Do you really need a gift to apologize?" you say. "I mean, if the apology is genuine-"

"No," Lucas says. "There has to be a gift."

"I'm the only girl here, but okay," you say sarcastically. Lucas doesn't hear you.

"What would you want as an apology gift?" Mike asks sometime later.

"A private jet," you reply. "And a yacht. Oh, and a diamond necklace."

Will laughs as Mike rolls his eyes. "You're not helping."

"I wasn't trying to."

You continue to follow them around as they hunt for something, though everything is too expensive. You and Will are starting to get tired and bored.

You slow your pace, lagging behind, and Will slows to walk with you. "This is ridiculous," he says.

"Tell me about it," you reply. "They asked me for help, and then they wouldn't even listen to me. I mean, Max and El aren't obsessed with material things; all they need to do is genuinely apologize. I don't know what kind of apology gift three dollars is gonna get them."

"Unless we've had it wrong all this time, and an apology gift is something you apologize for when you give it to someone."

You laugh, and Will practically beans with pride. He loves your laugh — and your smile. And everything about you, really.

"That was a good one, Byers," you say. You look ahead of you at Mike and Lucas and see that they're starting to get away from you. You sigh and start to speed up, but Will stops you.

"Wait," he says. He starts blushing, then nervously asks. "We could... go off on our own — you know... together...?"

"William Byers, are you asking me on a date?" you ask, your expression somewhere between a smile and a smirk.

"M-Maybe," he half-mumbles.

You grin and take his hand. "Then, let's go."