#steve likes to gossip but you didn’t hear that from me 👀

[goggles-mcgee]

If y'all thought I forgot about Jeff in my, what I am now dubbing, Ride-or-Die AU where Gareth joined the end of the world party because he was worried about Eddie. You are dead wrong!

If you haven't read that little post here is it -> [ 🏎 or 💀 ]

Jeff comes a little later after Jared (the name I gave the other Hellfire member/who I imagine is Eddie's friend). He was also taken out of town by his mom and dad because they were worried for their son, not just because he was in "affiliation" with Eddie, but also because he is black and they knew there are some racist bastards in Hawkins who would have hurt their boy just for their prejudices and would have called it justice.

So Jeff comes back and of course Gareth, Jared, and Eddie tell him everything. Steve knows they did this, so does Robin because Steve tells her literally everything. Jeff just comes over to movie nights, pool parties, barbecues, etc. And like no one notices for a while until it's like a Party/Family dinner night and Hopper is looking out over his sea of children and thinks he mis-counts because hahahahahaha no. He did not have 15 kids. Unless Argyle was there but Hopper did not see any long ass hair and besides the boy would be sitting next to Jonathan.

He keeps looking over all the kids, he's squinting, he keeps getting 15 damn kids but that literally can't be right. Then he notices Jeff and is just like "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

And Jeff the sweet angel is like: "Are you okay chief? It's me. Jeff? I uh, I brought the chocolate chip cookie blondies that my mom made to last weeks pool party at Steve's."

Eddie sighs dreamily: "Oh yeah those! Tell your mom I love her and would die for her."

Steve without looking up from twirling his spaghetti that he helped Joyce make: "He will not tell her that. Do you remember how she reacted to that last time? The poor lady looked like she was going to cry and said 'please don't die, my son needs friends.'"

Jeff flipping off Steve: "Did you have to quote my mom word for word jackass?"

Steve: "Look I can't remember all 50 states but my brain likes to dedicate conversations to memory."

Robin: "It's the former mean girls in him, I swear he's reformed it's just like his brain soaks up what it considers gossip so he has it for later."

Eddie: "GASP! Stevie Boy? A gossip? Say it ain't so?"

Steve: "Literally shut up."

Joyce a little reluctantly: "I mean...Steve, you did tell me you say Mrs Blake exiting Mr and Mrs Caldwell's house when you came to help make dinner. And in your words 'she was sneaking out but trying to play it off like she was meant to be there. There's no way she's not having an affair with Mr Caldwell."

Steve is just blushing while everyone laughs and Hopper is still sitting their confused off his damn ass because everyone is acting like this new kid was always here and Hopper knows! He knows he hasn't! So he just has to sit there and slowly accept he has a new kid to add to the list. It's 15 sometimes 16 when Argyle comes down and considering the boy mentioned property prices here in Hawkins being a steal after the whole "earthquakes/serial killer" thing, Hopper was just gonna have to keep the counter at 16.