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3rd Person Limited - Steve
It had been almost 10 months since everything went to shit. Hopper got his job back, Eddie got his name cleared and a proper funeral, and Max had finally woken up, just in time for Steve’s 21st birthday. Boy, he was getting old.
Steve may not be the smartest guy, the sharpest tool in the shed, if you will, but he knew he was getting a surprise party. The munchkins thought they were so clever but it was really pretty obvious.
It was the day of and Dustin was acting as though he forgot, being all suspicious, and demanding to be driven all over town. Steve was on his last nerve.
“Alright, that’s it,” Steve said, pulling out of the parking lot of Walgreens with several bags of candy -none of which was for him. “I’m not driving you anywhere else. If you want, we can sit in the car until my surprise party, but I will not waste my hard earned money on expensive gas used to drive you to places you could bike to.”
“Wha- how did you know about the party?” Dustin demanded.
“You little shits think you’re so secretive. Whispering to each other when you think I’m not paying attention and shutting up whenever I come into the room. Also, Robin and Max came home with a bag full of party supplies and a candle that said ‘21’. I may be an idiot, but I’m not stupid.”
“Okay, fine, we are, but don’t tell anyone I told you.”
“You didn’t tell me, I figured it out myself!”
“Good,” said Dustin, winking.
“Why are you winking? Stop it.”
“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Y’know, you should be thankful. We all got you gifts. Max got you two. Oh, and be sure to let her down easy, okay?’
Confused, Steve asked, “Wha-What do you mean ‘let her down easy’? What are you talking about?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yeah, so when you were getting ready to dive into Lover’s Lake, Lucas and I found out that she maybe, sorta, kinda has a crush on you.”
“WHAT?!” Steve yelled.
“...Yeah. But, be sure to be kind and gentle. Girls are very sensitive at this age.”
“Oh, my God. I am so screwed.”
Dustin gave a small laugh under his breath as said, “Yup. When you break Max’s heart, Robin will break your face.”
“Dude!”
“Yeah?”
“So not helping, okay.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Okay, good. Now help me figure out how to deal with this.”
“Okay.”
Time Skip To Party
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cake had been eaten, gifts had been given, and everyone was headed home. Robin had gone to take a shower and it seemed like Max was about to do the same. Dustin, who was raiding their fridge, gestured towards Max with an awkward shake of his head. Steve took the hint and approached his surrogate sister.
3rd Person Limited - Max
“Max! Max, wait up!”
“Yeah, hey, Steve, what’s up?”
“Well, I- Uh- Oh boy this is difficult. I’m just gonna be blunt. I, uh, I heard you have a little crush on me.”
Max was shocked but, nonetheless, had to press her lips together to hold in a laugh. “Oh, yeah?” She feigned.
“Yeah. So, I, uh, I want you to know that these feelings are perfectly normal. Y’know, especially when it comes to all this,” Steve said as he gestured to himself. “And-”
Max couldn’t hold her laughter in anymore and let out a very unladylike snort that her mom would definitely have been embarrassed by.
Steve stopped whatever he was going to say and asked, “What?”
Max, who had long since given up on containing her laughter, said, “Steve, I don’t have a crush on you.”
“You don’t? But Dustin said-”
Max whirled around to glare at the younger boy.
“Uhhhhh,” Dustin gets out around the oreos in his mouth.
“And where did you get this information, Henderson?”
“Well, when we were watching Steve get ready to dive into Lovers Lake you took the binoculars from Lucus and just kinda stared for a minute when he took his shirt off.” Dustin explained.
Max rolled her eyes and said, “Dustin, I can find a man attractive without actually having a crush on him! Plus, I was kinda doing it to mess with Lucus.”
“Oh,” he said. “Well, this is awkward. Hehe.”
“Yes, Henderson. This is awkward.” Steve glared at the boy.
“I’m just gonna leave now,” Dustin said.
“Yeah, that would be smart,” said Max.
“I’ll see you out,” Steve said, already walking to the door, ushering Dustin in front of him.
Once they’d left the room, Max rubbed her temples, trying to relieve herself of the irritation she felt at being wrongly accused of having a crush on Steve.
Robin came down the stairs, hair wet, a questioning look on her face.
“Don’t ask.”