cycat4077

[cycat4077]

Invisible

Pairing: Steve Harrington x shy!reader

Summary: A longing to be noticed finally fulfilled.

Tags/warnings: mention of partying, Steve finally went to college, shy MC, no use y/n, angst with a sprinkle of hope

Words: 922

A/N: This one's dedicated to all the peeps out there who have ever felt invisible. For those who others disregard just because they're not outgoing. You will the center of the universe for the right person <3

Also, this one was sitting in my drafts so I decided to throw it out there into the interwebs. It's a short little idea I had one day and is the original start to a different fic idea I had. That one is still in the drafts though lol.

Fic below the cut or on AO3

He was just a boy at the opposite end of a dark room. A sea of people between you. Never knowing you existed. With perfectly styled hair and a charming smile, he drew others in like a magnet. Solo cup in hand, he engaged with everyone around him. So many faces, how could he possibly have known them all?

But he is Steve Harrington. Everyone knew him and wanted to bask in his aura, even for just a moment. It was as though his mere presence would elevate theirs in the social circles of Hawkins High.

That is, except for you. You were always the shy one that flew under the radar. The one who no one knew until they would lean over, whispering for answers during class. And out of politeness, and perhaps a hidden longing, you would always concede.

Maybe that was what you were hoping for that night too. Some piece of recognition, however small. Acceptance from the popular boy and his friends. Yet, invisibility was once again your only identity, having failed to be noticed amongst the fray.

And then years passed, high school a mere checkpoint along your path to success. You often fantasized that the popular crowd now spent their days floundering in academics that they wished they had paid attention to in high school.

You sometimes even imagined Steve Harrington, with his perfect hair and charming smile, lost in a crowd of college students who don’t really care who he is. The same as you had felt during all those years of high school. A revenge of sorts for the unrequited crush you harbored for a boy who didn’t even know your name.

Fantasies, however, sometimes have a way of becoming reality.

You don’t know why you had agreed to come to this awful dorm party, with its drunken crowds and loud music. But perhaps a craving for a sense of belonging you still had not achieved was an underlying, driving force. Yet, just like during your Hawkins High days, the house party was filled with gorgeous cheerleaders and handsome jocks, each flaunting their money and popularity to one another, with you still very much out of place.

Except, as you look across the dark room, with a sea of people between you, you notice a familiar face. Perfectly styled hair is still his signature feature, but the charming smile he once wore is now tired and sad. People flow around him, like a boulder in a stream. He is no longer a magnetic force. And, while you should feel vindicated that Hawkins’ hotshot no longer sits atop a pedestal, your stomach instead twists with sympathy.

Lost in your thoughts, that is when his gaze finds yours. A flicker of recognition ignites in his eyes. A slight pinch of a smile edges the corner of his mouth. And then he’s moving. The crowd seemingly falls away as you realize that Steve Harrington is making his way over to you.

Perfect hair, honey eyes, and the overwhelming scent of his expensive aftershave confront your senses.

“Hi,” he mouths through the pulsing bass of a nearby stereo.

You take in his smart blazer and slick jeans, trying to bring yourself back to reality. Surely, he must only recognize your face from his senior yearbook.

“Hi,” you utter timidly in return.

Then, he speaks your name.

It takes you by surprise.

You have never spoken to him beyond necessary classroom interactions or when he, too, would lean over to ask you for answers.

“I always knew you’d end up in college,” he compliments when you only respond with a nod. “I never thanked you for all those times you helped me out in class, but I hope you know that I appreciated it even if I didn’t seem grateful at the time.”

Hawkins’ most popular boy knows your name and remembers you well enough to thank you for something as insignificant as homework answers given years ago.

Shock still paralyzes your system.

You watch his kind eyes blink once, twice, waiting for you to respond.

“You know my name?” is all you manage.

The boy’s brows knit with confusion. He nods affirmatively. “Yeah,” he speaks gently, despite the deafening music. “I’m Steve. Steve Harrington,” he adds innocently as if you genuinely wouldn’t remember him. “We went to Hawkins High together.”

“I—I know who you are; I just didn’t think you would remember me.”

Hurt flashes across Steve’s face. There is a disappointment embedded in his features that existed long before this moment.

He glances at the ground. “I’m sorry.” His words hold the weight of a thousand years. “I know I was a colossal jerk in high school, but a lot has changed since. And despite how I acted, I never meant to make you feel like you didn’t exist.”

The smooth words and cocky demeanor that Steve had back in Hawkins simply aren’t there. That persona has been replaced by someone who carries a heavy burden in their heart and their mind.

“Do you think we could start over?” Those honey irises flick up towards yours once again.

Your stomach lurches, an old flame reignited.

Despite the past, despite the logical reasoning of your brain, you finally allow yourself to smile. “Yeah,” you speak, almost in a whisper. “I’d like that.”

The boy with the perfect hair and charming smile is now back in front of you, except this time you are no longer invisible. This time, as he offers you his hand, you are seen.

Fin

Feedback is loved ♥

[cycat4077]

I heard Delete Ya out in the wild today!

I'm so happy that Djo is getting more mainstream attention, even if it was only in a Marshall's 🥲

[cycat4077]

[cycat4077]

I think a lot about how in Ice Age 1 a huge theme is the slow but unstoppable advancement of the human species as they start to threaten previously unchallenged megafauna (hunting the pack of the antagonist sabertooth and killing Manny the mammoth’s family) and then in all the sequels they just fuckin disappear

[cycat4077]

sonny carisi svu rewatch

 Season 19, Episode 15, In Loco Parentis

[cycat4077]

*screeches into the tumblr void*

Is this fandom still alive? Because I'm only 5 episodes deep into season 1 and I'm already hooked but it's so hard to find content for this show on here? I need to hyper-fixate on and overconsume media for this series! Where are the gifs? Where are the meta posts? Where are the fanfics? (And equally important, would anyone read fanfic for this series, because 1960s, former SAS Pennyworth is quickly becoming a muse and there is a draft, people!)

[cycat4077]

Pennyworth 1x1 Pilot

[cycat4077]

thank god for american public transit !!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[cycat4077]

The moon is bright in that treetop night

I see the shadows that we cast in the cold clean light

My feet are gold, my heart is white

And we race out on the desert plains all night."

-Song for Zula, Phosphorescent

[cycat4077]

things no one warned me about

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he’s the most precious thing in this world and he deserves everything

[cycat4077]

you're in a state but i'll stay here for you

via kiszkasun on Twitter (X)

[cycat4077]

lord have mercy…

via updatingkeery on twitter

[cycat4077]

🙃

[cycat4077]

#Not Their Type

[cycat4077]

#Both Of Them Having A Moment Of Growth In The Season 1 Finale

[cycat4077]

When incredibly amazing videos appear online from the concert you wanted to attend but couldn't because you wouldn't have been able to get time off work or find affordable accommodation in time or have a way of traveling hours to get there...

T-Dot peeps, I'm so very happy for you but also extremely envious 🥲

Manifesting this for all us folks who missed out on the Back On You Tour:

✨️🎸He'll tour again!🎸✨️