#but I suppose it’s okay because Joe Keery first came to my attention in full millennial adulthood in free guy

[stevesaxetogrind]

On the one hand, lingering popular brain where he wants everyone to like/admire/think he’s cool.

On the other hand, something has been awakened.

No one: Absolutely no one: Steve:

[allfandomxreader]

The Interview

Pairings: Joe Keery x Reader Words: 2,146 sorry Request: I absolutely loved the Joe Keery x reader one you made. Could you do a similar one where joe is still dating Maika but somehow starts to fall for the reader? I love all your imagines, you’re so talented! xx Summary: You portray the new character Olivia Henderson in season three of Stranger Things. You and Joe go on a Jimmy Fallon interview together to talk about the recent season together. Part: 1/5 Warnings: Joe likes the reader but is dating Maika, so if you consider that cheating. A/N: I absolutely loved writing this, it's probably one of my favorite fics I’ve written, so I hope I did your request justice! I cut this into two parts because there’s just so much more I want to do with it. (Also I have no idea how interviews work so if this is really inaccurate, I’m so sorry.

Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Your foot bounces as nerves run through your leg. You watch the TV backstage as Jimmy tells jokes to his audience. You stand beside your co-star, Joe, preparing to walk in front of the boisterous crowd. Joe playfully bumps your shoulder with his own, a smile tugging at his lips. “Relax,” He maneuvers himself behind you and begins to rub your shoulders, Joe’s touch calmed you down immediately -much to your dismay. “You’re going to do great, okay?” He reassures, “And if you panic just know I’m right there next to you. Jimmy’s interviews are always the best, he makes you feel right at home. There’s nothing to be worried about, I promise.” You nod along with Joe’s words. You can do this, you’re Y/N Y/L/N.

“Without further ado, everybody, Joe Keery and Y/N Y/L/N from Stranger Things season three!” People in the audience screech as you step onto the stage to meet the host. You and Joe quickly shake hands with Jimmy and situate yourself onto the couch as Jimmy gets comfortable behind his desk. “Welcome, welcome!”

“Thank you so much for having us!” You gush towards the man and the crowd cheers, you wave slightly to the crowd as their voices die down. “Ah, I’m so nervous, this is my first night show, I feel like the pressure is on.” You mention, Jimmy lets out a loud laugh and the crowd mimics his actions.

“Well I am honored to be your first host,” Jimmy grins towards you before jumping right on into the interview, “So Stranger Things 3 aired on Netflix about a month ago, correct?” You and Joe nod to answer his question. “Y/N, you’re the newest member of the cast this season, would you mind telling us about your character and her background? I believe it was mentioned here and there but just to make sure everyone is familiar with you.”

“Of course!” You cheer, your nerves subside as you begin to speak, “My character was Olivia Henderson, she is Dustin’s cousin who lived in New York. Her father was re-marrying a woman  who Olivia wasn’t fond of and she just wanted to escape for the summer, so that’s how she ended up in Hawkins.” You explain the backstory of your character like the back of your hand.

“Your first scene as Olivia was really badass. You came into town on this really cool motorcycle -here I’ve got a little picture of it,” Jimmy pulls out a card off his desk to show the audience a picture of the blue and white Suzuki Katana motorcycle. “When you get to Dustin’s your wheels skidded and dirt was kicked up, how was filming this scene for you?” Jimmy questions.

“This was a surprisingly terrifying scene, it was the big reveal of my character so I had to make it look super cool. I’ve never driven a motorcycle or had the need to be a total badass so the scene was really stressful for me.” Jimmy nods along as you relive your first moments on set as Olivia.

“The first two seasons there was a small love triangle happening between Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan. This season, however, Olivia and Steve form a really strong romance,” Joe smiles at the beginning of Jimmy’s question, “In the show it’s obvious that the two of you have a really authentic connection, would you say that’s true as well off camera or is it all for the show?” Joe chuckles as he opens his mouth to answer.

“Y/N and I quickly became really good friends, and I would say by the second week of filming we were already best friends.” You nod along in agreement, “Originally, Olivia was supposed to fall for Billy Hargrove but when Matt and Ross saw how well we got along together they completely changed the whole thing.” Jimmy’s eyes widen in shock at Joe’s reveal.

“I believe that was a good call,” Joe and you glance at each other flashing cheesy smiles before listening to Jimmy’s next question. “The two of you had an episode basically all to yourselves called, The Disappearances. This is when you traveled to nearby cities to ask about the disappearances of more kids and you actually come head-to-head with a new villain in season three. Can you tell us a little bit about this?”

“That was probably my favorite week to shoot,” Joe admits sheepishly and you hum in agreement, “It becomes clear that these missing children are being taken to the Upside Down and Steve and Olivia just want to figure out how to save them. So, them being them they follow all the clues and find a way into the Upside Down once again. It was a really cool episode because it expanded the whole show even further than season two did. There were wicked effects and the Upside Down was even creepier and all around just really cool.” Joe explains.

“Yeah, I can agree with that. Besides all of the creepy stuff, it was also where Olivia really opens up to Steve and you get to know her more as a character and you begin to feel really feel connected to her.” You smile to your co-star as you expand his idea.

“The Disappearances is where Steve and Olivia’s feelings start to grow for one another, you can really tell the exact moments where Steve falls for her and vice versa.” Joe couldn’t tell if he was still talking about the characters or how he really felt towards you.

“The kissing scene in that episode was probably one of my favorite scenes of the three seasons. I’ll pull it up on the screen for the audience to see,” The room goes dark as you and Joe flash onto the large screen behind your seats, your attention averts from the host and onto the moving picture.

Your heart hammered in your chest as you screamed your lines to Joe, “Would you just thank me for being there and saving your ass? Without me, that thing would’ve killed you!”

“I knew what I was doing, Olivia. I’ve fought off that thing before and from the looks of it, I’ll do it again. I don’t need you to save me, I can save myself.” Joe strided towards you and stopped inches away from your face, his breathing is heavy due to his angry character. Joe’s eyes softened as they stared at the fake bruise from where Olivia hit her head. “You’re hurt,” He whispered, taking your head in his hands.

“Don’t worry about it.” You whimpered. Joe’s cologne wafted into your nose, your eyes flutter shut savoring the moment you know won’t happen off camera.

“What you did was stupid,” Joe admitted without yelling.

“Well next time, remind me to leave you there to die,” Joe’s lips were on yours almost as soon as the words tumbled out. He kissed you so hard it made you woozy, you never wanted to stop. He pulled away moments later, your eyes both searched one another’s.

“What was that for?” You whisper.

“Don’t ever make me worry about you like that again.”

The audience erupts with clapping as the scene comes to an end. Your cheeks burn witnessing the scene once again but this time next to Joe. You’ve made it your mission for him to never know how you felt towards him, the last thing you wanted was to get in the way of him and Maika.

“Wow,” Jimmy speaks as if he’s at a loss for words, “I just can’t get over the acting in that scene, as well as throughout the whole season from you, Y/N. You really brought an amazing personality to Olivia, it’s stellar.” Jimmy gushes making your cheeks grow even warmer.

“Thank you so much!” You beam, “I’ll have to agree with you, I think that was my favorite scene as well. It was just so surreal and full of unidentified feelings. Olivia thought she had proven herself to Steve and deserved to be thanked, while Steve just wanted to impress the girl he had been swooning over for awhile, and when it didn’t work out that way he discouraged which led to anger. Throughout that whole scene, the emotion just became so intense and the only thing that seemed right in the end was to kiss. I think it was a very special and raw moment Steve and Olivia shared together.” Joe’s heart flourished at your rambling, he wished that you felt that way about him and not just your characters. The crowd -and Jimmy included- clapped at your thoughtful take on the scene.

“While we’re on the topic of romance, Joe, we know you are still with the beautiful Maika Monroe, correct?” Jimmy averts the conversation to Joe as the clapping subsides.

“That is correct,” Joe glances at you a ping of sadness grows inside of him, being brought back to reality. He watches as your eyes find the floor and your smile falters. He’s spent so much time with you in the past year he knew every single one of your expressions, and this one wasn’t good.

“Y/N, how about you? Is there a lucky man out there?” You laugh at his question, awkwardness suddenly engulfing you.

“I’m currently not seeing anyone at the moment,” A loud cheer comes from a man in the audience causing the room to burst with laughter, “I will admit I’ve liked someone for a long time, but other than that my love life is pretty much non-existent.” You know you should’ve just left Jimmy’s question at just a simple ‘no’ but for whatever reason, your mouth kept moving.

Joe’s eyes fall to the ground just like yours did seconds before. He wasn’t fond of hearing you talk of another man, you’ve never mentioned this mystery guy in the months he’s known you. He was shocked that you admitted something on live television before you admitted it to him.

“Due to Olivia and Steve’s relationship, there’s been a whole bunch of memes going around on social media about you being the ‘mom of the party’. Have you seen any of these?” Jimmy asks.

“I have not,” Your eyebrows raise at the new information.

“Well, today is your lucky day!” You giggle at Jimmy’s excitement as he directs his attention back to the screen. A picture of all the kids hugging you flashes onto the screen as Jimmy reads the caption “Single dad, Steve Harrington finally brought home a woman worthy enough of his children’s approval.” You cackle along with the audience at the photo before Jimmy changes it to another one. “The best moms of Stranger Things 3,” A picture of Claudia Henderson, Karen Wheeler, You, and Mrs. Saintclair are in a collage, you chuckle as the screen goes dark once more.

“I can already tell, tonight I’m just going to google Olivia Henderson memes and stay up until three in the morning.” The audience laughs at your joke.

“Step up your game, I’ve been doing that for months now.” Joe playfully shoves your shoulder for the second time of the night as the crowd's laughter dies down.

“Well, I’ll bring our interview to a close with this last question. Did you get really close to anyone else on set besides your best friend Joe here?” Jimmy questions.

“I did! I hung out with Natalia a lot. We’d sometimes go out for brunch and on our off days we’d go explore and do really fun touristy stuff,” You explain with a smile. “I also got really close with Sadie and Millie, they’d come into my room after filming and complain about all the boys with me and we’d do really fun girlie stuff together like mani-pedis or makeup. We’d just have a really great time together.” You smile at the fond memories you had with your co-stars in the months prior.

“Watching Y/N get really close to everyone on set was wonderful. I knew she would have no problem fitting in but when we first met I could tell she was a little nervous and befriending everyone really made her blossom in a way and really be herself which was great to see.” Joe smiles fondly towards you and gives your hand a slight pat. Your skin tingles where he touched even after he removes his hand.

“That’s really great you guys,” Jimmy smiles one last time at the two of you before directing his attention to the people sitting in rows before you. “That is all the time we have for this interview, give it up one last time for Joe Keery and Y/N Y/L/N!” The crowd goes wild as you wave farewells to them as you exit the stage as a commercial break takes over Jimmy’s show.