Stranger Things - Imagines

Steve Harrington X Reader - Here With Me

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Here With Me by Marshmello ft. CHVRCHES. I hope you all enjoy it.

When you first got into Purdue, you were delighted. It was the next big step after high school. It was something you'd been hoping for ever since you'd started high school. And you had done it. You had put in the work and secured your place. Steve could still remember the phone call he'd got, you were all squealy and excited, crying out your news the second he answered, and he'd been so happy for you that he'd almost forgotten that it meant you'd be moving halfway across Indiana. 

Neither of you was too proud to admit that you'd become pretty codependent over the years. I mean, he was your best friend, he had been since the first day of Kindergarten, and you'd spent the last 14 years together. 14 years of seeing each other every single day. Hell, for a while, Steve had basically lived with you and your parents. They fed him and invited him over for dinner and looked out for him whenever his parents left town, which had been getting more and more often as you got older.

But, now that you were living at least 2 hours away, a drive that in your shitty old car took way longer, you were definitely feeling the effects of being away from him. Christ, you were so homesick that you were starting to miss the parts of Hawkins that you'd used to hate. And your shitty dorm mates weren't exactly helping. They were loud and obnoxious, and all you wanted was to get in your car and drive straight back to Steve without stopping. 

You'd been trying to push the thought out of your head for the last couple of days, reminding yourself that he had a life, that he was busy and couldn't just drop anything for a phone call from you. But after another attempt at restless sleep had gone awry, you'd given in, getting out of bed and padding down the hall to the pay phone at the far end of the dorm. 

You slipped a couple of coins into the phone, punched in the number and waited patiently in the dark hallway as it rang. When the line finally clicked in, you let out a soft sigh, relief flooding over you that he had even picked up. 

"Hello?" his voice was thick and clearly half-asleep still, and suddenly you felt a little guilty for calling. "Hello?" he repeated, launching you into action.

"Hi," you murmured, swallowing down the lump in your throat. 

"Y/N?"

"Sorry it's so late," you pressed on.

Steve hesitated for a moment. "Are you okay?" he started, clearly far more concerned than you had been expecting. "Is something wrong?"

"No," you breathed out, tucking the phone against your shoulder as you pinched the bridge of your nose. You couldn't let yourself cry, not out here in the hallway where anyone could come along and find you. You couldn't be known as the girl that cried down the phone because she couldn't cope. "No, I'm fine," you added softly, knowing that he wouldn't believe you for even a second.

Steve knew you better than anyone. He knew when you were lying and he knew when you are upset, and right now, he knew that both were taking place. "You want to talk about it?" he hummed, shuffling around on the other end of the line, making himself more comfortable. 

"Not really," you murmured. "I just miss you," you added softly, hearing him let out a gentle sigh on the other end. 

"Yeah, I miss you too," he told you. "But you'll be coming home for Thanksgiving right?"

You let out a soft hum of agreement, still frowning slightly. 

"That's only like a month and a half away, alright? You'll be back before you know it."

You swallowed around the lump in your throat. "I don't know if I can do it," you murmured. "Everyone here is so smart and it's like they don't even have to try. No one studies. No one cares whether they fail an assignment. I feel like an alien or something."

"You're still settling in-"

"It's been a month, Steve," you bit out, interrupting him. "No one here likes me. I don't have any friends. It's horrible."

Steve let out a soft sigh. "What are you going to do?" 

"I don't know," you murmured, your voice softening. "Mom and Dad will be so disappointed if I drop out, but I hate it here." 

"You could look into transferring," he offered up. "But you always had your heart set on Purdue, Sweetheart," he breathed out. "I don't remember a time when you didn't want to go there."

You sniffled slightly. "I guess I was wrong," you uttered. "I just want to come home," you pressed on, twisting the phone wire around your fingers. 

"You need to talk to your parents," he told you, his voice a little firmer than you were expecting. "You can't just drop out because you miss home," he added.

"Steve, it's miserable here. Everyone hates me-"

"Sweetheart, I don't think they hate you," he hummed.

"They do. No one talks to me. They barely even look at me," you cried out. You paused for a moment. "Steve, I don't know how to make them like me," you pressed on. "I don't know what to do. I just-" your words got stuck in your throat, coming out as a gentle sob instead. "I just want to come home."

"I know, Sweetheart. I know," he hummed. "Shit, I hate not being with you when you're upset, Sweetheart," he added softly. "I don't know how to make it better," he pressed on, listening to your crying on the other end of the line. "Just hold tight tonight, okay? Call your mom in the morning, and tell her you want to come home. You can transfer to Hawkins Community, even if it's just for the year," he told you. "It's going to get better, alright?"

You nodded, sniffling slightly. "Alright," you breathed out, biting down on your bottom lip to stop another wave of tears. "Okay," you added. "I'm sorry for waking you up," you murmured.

"Don't apologise for that. I was just happy to hear your voice," he reminded you. "I'll see you soon, okay, Sweetheart?"

"Okay," you uttered. "I'll see you soon."

*Time Skip*

You were still half asleep when there was a knock on the door of your dorm, and you grumbled as you rolled out of bed to open it, finding one of the other girls waiting on the other side. 

"There's a guy downstairs harassing people asking for you because security wouldn't let him in without you being there to okay it," she told you. "He's kinda cute though, so good job, I guess," she added, offering you a half-smile before wandering off down the hallway, leaving you a little confused. 

There wasn't a single guy at college who even knew who you were, let alone someone who would show up asking after you. Hell, no one in a hundred-mile vicinity would ever come looking for you.

You quickly shoved your feet into some shoes, making a beeline for the stairs and hurrying down to the foyer of the building. The sight in front of you was enough to send your brain into chaos. 

Steve looked completely insane, asking random girls on the sidewalk if they knew you, looking more and more frustrated as they shot him startled looks and hurried away from him. 

You shoved through the door, your breath catching in your throat as he finally caught sight of you, his frustration melting off of his face as he rushed to you, wrapping his arms around you. 

"I was worried I was at the wrong building or something," he murmured, drawing a snort of laughter out of you.

"What are you doing here?" 

He pulled back to look down at you. "You sounded so sad," he told you. "You sounded like you needed me," he pressed on. You nodded, surging forward to bury your face into his chest. "I called your mom too; she's coming up this afternoon to talk to the dean. She thinks you should move home too."

Your grip on Steve tightened slightly, your fists balled up in his shirt. "I missed you," you murmured against him.

"Yeah, I missed you too, Sweetheart," he told you, giving you a tight squeeze. "Come on, let's go start getting you packed up."

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