The babysitters club|| Steve Harrington

27

"Do you remember, um, Mrs Click's sophomore history class?" Robin asked, Steve just shook his head, which she obviously couldn't see.

But Matteo imagined it didn't feel good to have people ganged up on him like this. "What?"

"Mrs Clickety-Clackity" Robin grinned, "That's what us band dweebs called her and I roped Teo into it"

Steve rested his forehead on the floor and Matteo tried to shift away as much as he could. He imagined Steve probably didn't like a guy crushing on him or a gay guy so much as touching him.

He remembered walking past an alley— 1983. It was nice weather out so Robin had tried to get him to join the school band, only to realize he was terrible at any music related thing. So they bought ice cream and walked past the theater.

And Matteo had heard Steve's unmistakable voice, calling Jonathan Byers a queer. He went on to insult his (now alive but then believed dead) brother.

And now look at Matteo, crushing on the very same Steve Harrington.

Fuck.

The same Steve Harrington who was a homophobic prick. The same Steve Harrington that made Robin buzz with jealousy. The same Steve Harrington who was in an underground Russian bunker pressed next to him, having been beaten up.

"It was first period" Robin went on about Mrs Clickity-Clackity. "Tuesdays and Thursdays so you were always late"

Matteo remembered mentioning this very fact to her. Both of them had sort of been obsessing over Steve at that point, both for a very different reason.

Steve still looked confused, like he hadn't processed anything that happened since they fell into the bunker.

"And you always had the same breakfast" Robin snorted, no doubt remembering the way Matteo would always point it out, "Bacon, egg and cheese on a sesame bagel"

"We sat behind you" Matteo tried his best not to look at Steve, "Two days a week for a year"

"Mister funny" Robin went on, "Mr Cool. The king of Hawkins High himself"

Matteo remembered telling Robin he used to be friends with Steve and the way she had laughed, not believing it. A thousand memories rushed back to him, Robin staring at Tammy Thompson, Robin sobbing into his hug, Robin hating that part of herself, Robin getting called slurs by Tommy Hagan.

Robin, Robin, Robin.

But also— Steve, Steve, Steve.

They all had so much history, though Steve had been too busy to acknowledge them. So it was mostly just Robin and Matteo. Robin, Matteo and Steve. History.

They started this together, the three of them, even if they didn't know it at the time. And now they would end this together, dying right there in the doctor's office.

"Do you even remember me from that class?" Robin asked, "Do you remember Teo from when you were kids in a playground?"

Matteo would have bit his tongue again if it wasn't already in so much pain. Ice cream, he could really go for some ice cream right about now.

"Of course you don't" Robin scoffed, "You were a real asshole you know? Matteo told you most of it in Scoops Ahoy, but I need to tell you too"

"Yeah, I know," Steve mumbled, his voice gravelly.

"But it didn't even matter" Robin kept going, "It didn't matter that you were an ass. I was still... obsessed with you"

"Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just.." Matteo reached out to Robin, threading their pinkies together, "We still just want to be popular, accepted, normal"