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Steve bought a minivan. He could barely believe it himself. It had three rows of seats. The normal driver and passenger was the front row. Two seats in the second row, a small isle where a third seat normally would have been. The third row consisted of three seats. So it could fit 6 kids plus a driver. He bought a minivan.
He looked at it, keys in hand, as he locked the doors. He bought a minivan. He, Steve Harrington, bought a soccer-mom vehicle. His Beemer was next to it, still looking great just like he remembered.
Next to it was a minivan.
A minivan he just bought.
He may have been freaking out.
Correction, he was freaking out.
In fact, he pretended like he saw nothing. He stuffed the keys in his pockets and went inside his big, empty house.
The next day when he went to work at Scoops, he drove his Beemer. He never mentioned it to anyone. Even with the Starcourt Mall battle. He didn’t show anyone.
-
Robin saw it the weekend after the epic showdown. She immediately started laughing, “Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington loves kids so much he bought a minivan!” She laughed so much that Steve had to drag her into his house. And even then, she was still laughing.
“It’s not a big deal,” Steve lied.
“Yeah, sure, whatever, Mr. Mom.”
“Mr. Mom?”
“Mr. Mom,” she confirmed. “Don’t worry, it’s adorable.”
“Why are you my best friend?”
“Dunno. Ask Dustin. Or maybe Erica. She’s a nerd, right? She’s one of us.”
“Not an us.”
“I’m referring to the rest of the group but you.”
“Rude.”
“True,” she confirmed. “Come on, let me have this. I need this.”
“Friendship. Over.”
“Good luck with that, dingus. I don’t go away.”
Steve felt warmth well up. A true friend. It’s kind of sad he just found it this year, though.
-
It was half-way through July when the kids called him. Well, when Max called him. Steve picked up the phone, “Hello.”
“Steve?”
“Yes.”
“So, um, we’re at the arcade, and Billy just bailed on me. The others offered to stay with me until someone can pick me up, but I know that Eddie's busy with HellFire and, uhm,” she said over the phone in a hushed tone.
“Billy bailed?” Steve questioned. He was still an asshole even after his near-death experience, but he was starting to be better. Well, kind of.
“Yeah. I think Neil called him home or something. Can you just pick me up? The others have their bikes, so it’s just me.”
“How many are with you?”
“Everyone but El. She's grounded because she used her powers to lock her door shut, remember? Will's been petty about it all day.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Ask the boys if they want fries and milkshakes.”
“Okay,” Max’s voice sounded like she was smiling. “See you soon.”
“Stay safe,” Steve said before he hung up.
He got redressed. He had previously taken a shower and changed into pajamas. He slipped on a sweatshirt and sweatpants, not caring about style, and exited after sliding on flipflops. He looked around. Which vehicle shall he take? He sighed, unlocking the minivan.
-
Steve arrived at the arcade a few minutes later. He saw everyone grinning, probably hoping for quarters. On cue, Dustin came up to him with a sheepish grin on his face. “Hey, Steve, so do you have any quarters? I can beat Max, for sure, I can.”
Steve looked amused, handing over a few quarters from his pocket. Dustin scattered off to the others. Steve watched Dustin lose once again. He tried once more, still losing. Once he ran out of quarters he gave up.
Max smirked like she won the world, “None of you will ever be able to beat me.”
“One day,” Dustin swore. “One day I’ll beat you, Mad Max.”
“Good luck, buddy,” Lucas said, tapping Dustin on the shoulder.
Will then turned to Steve and asked, “Max said something about free food.”
“Yes, how does Benny's sound like?” Steve asked. An array of hungry teenagers looked up at him. “Yeah, I thought so. Let’s load up.”
A few minutes later the kids were getting their bikes, figuring they could ride over to Steve’s quickly before getting a ride across town to Benny's. They looked around for Steve’s Beemer, seeing nothing.
Lucas sighed loudly, “Did we get ditched again?”
“Steve wouldn’t do that,” Dustin argued, but still looked around in worry.
And then a minivan pulled up in front of them. Steve got out, his fingers pinched together, meaning to not talk. He said, “No one speaks of this, okay? No one.”
“You got a minivan?” Max burst out laughing.
Will smiled, Mike sighed, Dustin cackled, Lucas smirked, and Max looked on in happiness.
Steve sighed, “Not a peep or you're all dead, shitheads. Now, load the bikes in the back. There should be enough room.”
Just a few minutes later, the minivan was packed with skateboards and bikes. All that was left was deciding who got the passenger’s seat.
Dustin said, “I get it. I’m the best friend of the owner.” Steve had to bite his tongue to not counteract that argument.
“I’m the only girl. I get the front,” Max said.
“I should get the front because I’m obviously the best choice,” Lucas said.
“I’m the tiniest,” Will piped up.
“I’m the best friend-”
“If you can’t decide, no one gets it,” Steve stated in his mom-voice. Normally the kids would laugh about it, but this was serious. They would have to put their differences aside.
“Fine,” Mike said, “I guess I can take it.”
“No way,” Dustin said, “I get it.”
“Kids,” Steve said sternly.
“Dustin can have it,” Lucas said with a sigh. “He is the reason why we get rides.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Steve asked.
“He’s your favorite,” Max said, explaining Lucas’s words.
“You think he’s my favorite?” Steve raised his eyebrows.
“Aren’t I?” Dustin asked.
With the kids looking up at him expectantly, Steve sighed on the inside. “Look, I don’t have favorites, but I like El and Will the most.”
“What?!” Dustin squeaked. Will smiled softly while Lucas was left gaping.
“El and Will are the most tolerable and mature,” Steve stated. “Plus she could kill me at any moment if she really needed to.”
Max hummed in agreement, “El’s my favorite too.”
“I don’t think she would kill you, though,” Will added.
“Who gets the front?” Steve asked, changing the subject.
“Dustin does,” Mike said looking a little deflated.
“Yeah!” Dustin cheered, hopping in.
Steve drove off with Dustin next to him, Max and Lucas in the second row, Will and Mike in the third row. Everyone wore their seatbelts. He drove to Bob’s Burgers. They ate. And then he dropped them off at the appointed homes. Max’s was last.
Max stayed in the front seat, not getting out quite yet. She turned to Steve and said, “Thank you for this. I know that you’re probably planning for college-”
“Nope.”
“But I… thanks.”
“No problem, kiddo,” Steve said. “Just make sure you stay safe. Billy too. He doesn’t reach out to people, and you’re both super stubborn.”
“Only as long as you promise to make sure El is okay. Hopper and Mrs. Byers are a thing now, and I know it’s affecting her.”
“You got it.”
“Bye.”
“Bye,” Steve gave a wave as she entered into the house through a window, her skateboard under her arm. Steve drove away, praying Billy wasn’t around to see him drive a minivan. He can’t let Billy Hargrove have dirt on him. Or let anyone tell Nancy or Jonathan. Or Eddie Munson, for that fact. He'd call him "Mr. Mom" again.