A/n: I am so ready for this Story you guys aren't even ready

-

"What type is Nancy?"

"Nancy is... different."

"That's how this girl is. She's not like the other girls. She's different."

"Hold up, you're not in love are you?"

"What? Psh- no!"

"Good. Cause all love does is break your heart and you're too young for that shit..."

-

"Dustin you're here!" Y/n called as the said boy and her brother ran up. Dustin froze, his eyes going a little brighter and hi cheeks warming up a bit. He smiled. Y/n's eyes landed on her older brother. "Oh. You're here."

Steve frowned. The two used to be really close before Steve hit high school. Then they kind of diverted paths. Steve decided not to be a dorky loser and use his looks to his advantage. To do sports like he kind of wanted, despite his insecurities, and go for whatever would work so he would stop getting pushed around. His younger sister did not agree. Peoples opinions didn't matter to her. She wore glasses and had quite the jack at being smart and when she found her little group just when Aill, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin were taking openings. She'd been mad at first, for her brother abandoning her. By as time passed, she started to care less and less. If he hadn't, she never would have felt the need to make other friends than just her older brother. Then she never would be in the AV club or have those weakened D&D games or know Dustin. And where would she be be if her life wasn't ruled by her giant crush on the curly haired dork?

The thing was, they'd started to bond again, on this new playing field. Had started to accept the others' life choices and be friends in this new way. Not best friends p, only caring about each other and no one else. Just really close, carin siblings.

Then Nancy happened. And the Demigorgon attacked. And El went missing. Mike and Y/n bonded in a serious way after the loss of El, because El had been her best friend. Mike might have liked her and they were probably closer than Y/n and El, but Eleven sensed the hole that was in her life. Even in her group, she spaced herself from Dustin so he wouldn't get to close and realize she liked him. Lucas and Mike were best friends already so it was kind of her just there, fourth wheeling it. Which was as weird as it sounded. El and Y/n were both the only girls so El leaned on her for female support. Friendship in a way that the other boys really couldn't fill by themselves.

Once she left, Y/n and Mike would meet before or after D&D sessions and call out to El on the walkie talkie. As time that year passed, though, Dustin stepped up for Y/n and she stopped pushing him away. While he became her closest friend, Will definitely became her little brother. The boy could see her crush on Dustin from a million miles away.

But, even when all this good and bad and in between stuff happened and Y/n found her place in the group on a whole new level, Steve still broke away from Y/n to run after Mike's older sister, Nancy, like his life depended on it.

He'd left her all by herself.

Again.

This time, she was in no mood to make up and forgive. Steve could sense that.

"Yeah," Steve mumbled, breaking the momentary awkward silence that had quickly built up.

Dustin coughed. "I didn't know you'd be here," Dustin told her, giving her a guilty half smile. "No one was answering." He weakly motioned to his headset.

"It's fine," Y/n dismissed. "I was riding my bike when I saw you guys on the track, heading this way. So I rode a bit ahead... but I guess you were father off than I thought. I thought something bad had happened. But I've prepared myself already for other company."

"So you weren't upset to see me, you were just making sure I knew you didn't want me here?" Steve snapped, glaring.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does it suck to feel unwanted and ignored? Huh!" Y/n sneered back, looking at him coldly. Steve stepped down instantly, swallowing hard. Guilt choked him. Y/n looked away, her jaw working. She hated this. "Anyway, what have you been needing? My dad took away my walkietalkie this morning because I was 'being obsessive and unfocused in school because I'm distracted by my friends' and I had to do school work in order to get it back." Dustin cockedana eyebrow. Her tone had changed as she mocked her dad and her hands had risen into the air, out of her arm-folded position, her fingers wiggling in bunny ears to indicate where the quotation marks started and ended for her dad's referred to words.

"I'll explain as we work," Dustin said slowly. "We don't have a lot of time." Y/n nodded and the three of them got to work. When Lucas showed up, Y/n was all caught up and Dustin over to Lucas. When Y/n saw Max, her eyebrow shot up.

Max approached her. "What do you need help with?" She asked.

Y/n snorted. "Oh hun I don't even know where to start." Max followed your eyes to where Dustin and Lucas were crouching behind a car, arguing. She chuckled lightly. Y/n had seen the many times Dustin stole looks at the pretty red head, and it made her stomach turn. Geez was Max pretty too. Not just pretty, but talented, spunky, brave, headstrong, stubborn, strong, hard working, defiant, and seriously skilled at video games. Even more than Dustin and Lucas. Y/n was only barely less good at video games than the two and had actually been the one to discover the arcade. Though, because her (and Mike as well, really) preferred D&D, she just didn't put as much work into it. Max was everything that Y/n wished she could be. On a level that Y/n couldn't reach. She didn't even know how hard it would be to reach that level or how far away it was. But it was over the threshold of "just friends" for Dustin, so Y/n craved it.

"You know, I'm glad you're here," she said quietly. I'd begun moving over to some piles of wood that we had to move out of the way and she'd followed to help, silently stepping in without me having to suggest a different job for her first.

"Why's that?" Y/n asked.

Max sighed. "It's just, Dustin and Lucas seem to have a goal more than just friends with me, and Will isn't really.... around ever. And Mike...." she looked at her feet, frowning deeply. "I don't know why this El girl is a special but geez-"

"El was a lot more than just special," Y/n cut in. "She was... magical." Y/n smiled at her own joke. "She was my best friend," she whispered so quietly that she thought Max didn't hear. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Anyway, Sorry, you were saying something?"

Chuckling, Max nodded. "Just that it's nice, ya know? Nice that I'm not the only girl. Nice that I have a friend in this group."

I am glad that we... are friends. That you... help... me. That... I am not alone.

The memory hit Y/n so hard that she stopped walking and gasped, dropping all the wood in her hands. Max turned to face her, eyes wide. "Are you ok-?" She began.

"No!" Y/n snapped, loudly. "We are not friends!" Her chest heaved and she soun around, leaving Max gaping, looking at her retreating figure with hurt eyes and a tight chest. Because, yes, she HAD heard Y/n's words. She did realize that El and Y/n had been best friends. She also realized that this damn girl had now cut off her ability to join the party and had severed the chance of a female friend, a real, actual friend, as well as friends at all.

She was beginning to hate this Eleven girl. Which she didn't like, as she'd never met her. And yet.... Max watched Y/n storming away and then her eyes dropped, jaw clenched.

Fine. Who needs friends anyway?

-

Dustin and Y/n leaned against the inside of the trailer as Max stormed to the top of the roof. Dustin was picking up on Y/n's annoyed vibes and had snapped at Max. Steve, who thought he'd been talking about Max as they'd walked here, had made a comment about doing a good job of not caring, had irritated Dustin further.

This poor boy.

Dustin had liked Y/n for a while. Alas, once she started pushing him away and getting close to Will, he thought that something must be wrong with him. So he'd let himself forget his stupid feelings. Then Max came. She was pretty and fiery and new and interesting. He saw the connection between Lucas and Max though and had decided that this little growing, minuscule crush was not only nothing compared to his feelings for Y/n but also just another dead end. So he'd been pushed to the side by his best friends, shut down by two girls, and been stuck in between his new idol who had been good and kind and actually really supportive and great and his younger sister, who was also one of his best friends who pushed him to the side and also his crush. Did I mention these two siblings were upfront arguing because they were both too prideful and guilty and unsure about what was really going on between them that they wouldn't just make up and kept arguing instead? And that Dustin rekaized this and was trying to help them but it really wasn't working? Oh yeah, and his only other friend that he'd connected with and felt some bond with was a fucking dEMIDOG FROM ANOTHER DEMENTION THAT ATE HIS FUCKING CAT!

Seriously. Not his week. Or year. Or life.

Ugh.

He took it out on Max, though, and he felt bad. But Steve's comment had returned all the irriatation again. Not like Dustin was going to correct him. Y/n was right there. Even if she wasn't, Dustin knew was protective and had no intention or want to get on the older boy's bad side by admitting he liked his younger sister.

When the Demidogs came and everyone rushed to the windows and Dustin noticed they weren't taking the bait and then Steve rushed out - that's when his horrible night took a loopty-loop back spin handspring sharp u-turn and went the complete opposite direction. Y/n was breathless and scared and stared at her brother like he was really about to die. Everything about her stance screamed "YOU'RE FORGIVEN! OH MY GOSH JUST CONE ABCK TO SAFETY YOU MORON!"

So that cheered Dustin up a bit.

Then he noticed Lucas and Max take hands. Which didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He was happy for his friend.

So that lifted his mood some more.

It was when Steve started running back and Y/n scrambled basically into Dustin's lap to help him and then even later curled into his chest when the Demidogs really attacked and then a little later grabbed his hand when it was all over after she pulled away, simply looking for so,e kind of physical reassurance that his night became GREAT.

As well as his mood.

-

"You're not doing this," Steve said, tossing the rag over his shoulder and placing his hands on his hips.

"You can't stop us," Y/n sassed. "Not ALL of us."

Steve's eyes slit. "Try me, short stuff."

"Bring it on."

Siblings were chest to chest, mimicking the exact same standing position, when Billy bust in and all the shit hit the fun. Maybe you read that and thought "oh no this is bad" or "a lot of shit hit the fan." But you would be wrong. Not a LOT of shit. ALL OF THE SHIT.

The two older boys went at it and Y/n screamed and Dustin had to completely hold her back. Max went after her older brother as Lucas stood, wide eyed and shocked. Dustin's hold on Y/n loosened in his own shock but Y/n suddenly went limp and he had to hold her up again. Billy was completely immobile and in a weak pile of mess on the floor. Steve was her concern though. Her chest heaved and she was choking on air. She gained her footing and fought her way out of Dustin's arms easily and then she was tripping, falling to be kneeling next to Steve. She pushed his hair out of his face and her eyes welled up with tears. She grabbed his wrist. "Alive," She croaked. She practically melted on her older brother. She hadn't been able to apologize and make up yet. "He's alive." She looked back at her friends and there passed a moment between the three of them.

"We have to go," Lucas spoke up rather reluctantly. "Like.... now."

Y/n nodded. Max pulled out keys and tossed them to Lucas, who caught them. "Get in the car and make a space for Steve. Dustin, Y/n and I will get him into the car. Just make sure there's room in the back." Lucas nodded and took off. "I'll grab his arms, you grab his legs," Max added, turning to Y/n. The girls scarambled to take their position.

"And me?" Dustin asked, unsure.

"Go ahead of us and make sure we won't run into anything that we can see in the dark until it's too late or won't drag Steve over anything damaging. Max will be walking backwards so she won't be able to look out," Y/n said, stepping up. Dustin nodded and jogged to the good as the girls started moving Steve.

Quiet sat between the two females. Awakrd silence. They drug Steve to the car, slipped him inside, and then Dustin sat in the far window seat to watch his head as Lucas crawled in the passenger's seat. As Max crossed to get in the car and drive, Y/n caught her arm. The girls faced each other. "Thank you," the girl said quietly. Max nodded but as she turned to leave she was stopped again as Y/n didn't eat go. "No," Y/n continued. "Thank you. For everything. For helping out. For saving my brother. For driving us. For diving into this mess head first and putting up with Mike and my shit and being a good friend."

Max's eyes went wide and she froze, jaw working but no words coming out. She finally shut her mouth, nodded, and even smiled a little. "Friends."

"Friends," Y/n returned. "We have been. I just take a long time to open up... and I'm... I kind of.... I'm sorry." Max shook her head and that's all that was needed. The awkwardness between them disapated. Sorry my brother beat up your brother, the red head seemed to be silently telling her. The girls exchanged grins and then they got in the car. Dustin moved out and then back in after Y/n, so that she sat in the middle with Steve's head in her lap and Dustin returned to his window seat.

With one hand, Y/n brushed Steve's hair out of his face and looked down at him, putting pressure on the wet rag that Lucas had run in and gotten while Dustin, Max, and Y/n had put Steve in the car. She was shaking. Shaking with guilt and fear and worry and helplessness and even a little, eeny tiny tiney bit of hate for Billy. Only Billy. To comfort her, Dustin took her hand and she looked over at him, thankful.

-

"I'm sorry," Y/n whispered. Her breaths came fast and hard and desperate and tears streamed down her face like a broken dam. Steve faced her. They were outside of the mass of crazy on the inside of the cabin in the woods.

Steve shook his head, hands in his pockets. "No, Y/n. I am sorry. I'm sorry Nancy took precedence over you. I'm sorry that I changed so much. I'm sorry that in the chaos of my feelings for Nancy and all this high school and life stuff that I wasn't there for you whenever you needed me." There was a pause. "Dustin told me you've been struggling with math."

A small half-chuckle came out of Y/n, broken and wet. "A bit, Yeah." It seemed like such a regular conversational topic in the midst of all the crazy on the night. "I mean, it's math." She shrugged.

Offering a little smile, Steve looked down at his feet, nodding. "Fair enough." He looked up at her again. "How about this. Friday nights, I'll tutor you. Just you and me. And I'll help you with homework whenever you need it."

Y/n smiled a small, closed lipped smile. "I'd love that."

"Great."

"Just hug and tell each other you love each other already, oh my gOSH!" They both looked over to see Max strolling up. "I thought boys were bad. Siblings are even worse." She rolled her eyes, shot Y/n a teasing look, and then turned and walked away again, back into the chaos. Y/n and Steve looked at each other and she moved, barreling into his arms. He held her, resting his lips on the top of her head.

He had chnaged. And he had left her. But he was back now. That's all that mattered.

-

"It's.... over." Y/n seemed to be in complete disbelief. Dustin took her hand and she looked over. Their fingers intertwined and they exchanged a knowing look. Something had changed. Had snapped. They both just knew now. No doubt. They liked each other.

"Uh, What's this?" Steve asked. His bat was over his shoulder and he looked between Dustin and Y/n with protective older brother eyes. The kind of look that made Dustin drop Y/n's hand immediately and look away, shoving his own hands deep in his pockets. Y/n felt a stab of regret. Dustin gave inbthat quickly.

"Nothing," Y/n mumbled, crossing her arms. "Obviously." And then she walked away. Dustin turned and watched her go, a guilty look on his face. Steve didn't know how to feel, but this kid was obviously not good enough for his sister. He was a cool kid. Smart. But.... not stubborn enough. Not brave enough. Brave enough to face down a Demidog and kind enough to give Dart one last candy and save them all, but not enough to be with his sister.

No, she deserved someone who was perfect.

Steve knew it sounded dumb but he was stuck on that idea for sure.

-

When Steve dropped Dustin and Y/n off at the dance, he knew that he'd been wrong.

Dustin had arranged for Steve to drive them (asking, of course, but with very little room to argue) and had asked Y/n, standing up to Steve when the older boy had shared his thoughts on it. His "no" on them going. He'd simply responded, "Good thing I'm not asking you," and looked to Y/n who looked back, beaming. Then the two had sat in the back, Dustin respectively keeping his distance one seat away until Y/n scooted over, taking his hand, and rolling her eyes as her brother groaned. Once they'd gotten there, the younger boy had gotten out, opened her door, and helped her out. Then he looked at Steve, that is when Steve went from protective older brother that was against Dustin to the protective older friend who was nothing but Dustin's wingman.

"May I see you inside?" Dustin asked ever so politely and shyly. "Steve said he wanted to talk to me before I went in." He said this loud enough for Steve to hear him and Steve nodded firmly once behind Y/n's back to let Dustin know he'd gotten the message then a few times in a sterner, fake way to keep up the pretence once Y/n looked over. When she nodded nad left, Dustin slipped in the front seat and looked at Steve, pleading with his eyes.

Steve smiled. Oh yeah. This was kid was great.

Once they finished talking and Steve finished going over everything he'd taught Dustin and everything Dustin had to remember, he chuckled.

"You know what, kid?" Steve asked, turning a bit and leaning his elbow on the steering wheel.

"Hm?" Dustin hummed, fiddling with his fingers and swallowing hard, looking at Steve like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You're not too bad." There was a moment's pause.

"Really?"

"No," Steve replied sarcastically. When Dustin's eyes went a bit wider, Steve rolled his own and snorted. "Yes, Dustin, really." Dustin beamed and Steve looked at the entrance to the dance. Y/n had moved to the opening, waiting for Dustin rather anxiously. "Go get her, Tiger."

Dustin laughed. "Okay. Yeah. Sure."

As he got out, Steve yelled at him. "HANDS ON HER BACK OR I SWEAR TO GOD-"

"You'll kill me!" Dustin yelled back, nodding. "I got the message!" It was a running joke after Steve had started 'their talk' grilling the younger boy. Dustin jogged up to Y/n after Steve caught sight of Nancy, sighed to himself, readjusted his sitting position, and then pulled away. "Hello," Dustin greeted.

"Hi," Y/n replied. Her hair wa all done up. Steve and her had gone crazy trying to figure how to do her hair in a really pretty way but once they'd figured it out, Steve had done it and he'd been extremely proud of himself. She wore a smooth, silvery dress with black designs and her makeup was light but shimmery. Dustin thought she couldn't get more beautiful, but he'd been proven wrong. It wasn't that the make up had made her pretty, but had simply popped her already attractive features more to accentuate them and they were more easily noticed by those besides just Dustin now.

He had the prettiest date in the whole room and not one person could convince him otherwise.

-

The slow song started and Y/n pulled Dustin to the floor. Mike and Eleven were a little ways off, but were soon lost in the crowd. Eleven and Y/n had talked earlier and shared excited looks before El and Mike disappeared. Max also caught Y/n's eye and the two girls shared slightly nervous looks. But then Lucas grabbed Max's attention again and they talked a second before kissing, so Y/n looked away.

She was glowing.

Her face was redder and she couldn't stop smiling. She was practically floating. "You're beautiful, did you know that?" Dustin asked. He took himself by surprise as well as Y/n. He didn't realize he had the level of courage to admit it.

"Thank you," Y/n breathed out more than said. She was out of air. "You look rather dashing tonight as well."

"Not just tonight," Dustin rushed to explain. She dropped her fake, joking hoitytoity expression and looked at him, a little unsure. "Always. You're beautiful."

She smiled, rather shy, and then leaned close, pecking a quick kiss on his cheek. She didn't think she had the courage to kiss him in the mouth like Lucas and Max did. Dustin didn't mind. He loved it either way.

The rest of the night only increased, and soon it was so good it was practically magic.

That night didn't really chnage anything, but it did improve a lot of things, especially for Y/n. She got her bestest friend back, made another female friend, and the three of them spent a LOT of time together. Max joined the party. The whole group started to balance more D&D with Arcade time and those sessions were more fun as well. They also had some group date nights. Lucas and Max, Eleven and Mike, and Dustin and Y/n. Will did tag along as an extra wheel sometimes but he honestly never minded. Other times he'd just bring someone as a friend. Ad they were all young, but they'd been through a lot. Like, A LOT. They were, in a way, far more mature than o5ers their age.

And, eventually, Dustin DID get that kiss from Y/n.

——

A/n: I don't know who I few, about that WHOO

I literally wrote all of that just now, in one sitting... I'm sorry it's such a mess 😂