Steve thought Scoops Ahoy was bad, humiliating, even, but at least it had excitement. The video store? That was a new kind of hell. Soul-crushingly boring. Endless hours leaning on the counter, telling bratty kids they couldn’t rent Nightmare on Elm Street, rewinding tapes like it was some punishment. And the discount? A whopping 10%. What a joke.

At least Robin was still around. They'd crack jokes, talk trash about customers, and generally make it through the day with a little sarcasm and a lot of eye rolls. But even that hit a limit. Words eventually ran out. Teasing turned into minor bickering. Still, the job wasn’t all bad.

Because that’s where he met you.

You were already working there when he got hired. Quiet at first, kind of kept to yourself, not in a cold way, just... lowkey. Robin got to talking with you pretty fast (of course she did), and Steve picked up real quick that you weren’t just sweet, you were also kind of nerdy. The good kind. The kind that made him smile more than he meant to.

You were also patient as hell. When you trained him, especially on the dumb rewinding machine, he definitely fumbled more than necessary. Maybe on purpose. Just to hear you laugh. To hear you say, “It’s okay, Steve.” God, you were nice.

He didn’t try anything slick, at least not seriously. There was one lame pick-up line. Instant regret. You didn’t even say anything, just gave him that look. Message received. So he took it slow. He didn’t mind. He hadn’t felt this kind of heartbeat-in-his-throat thing in a long time.

Then it hit him: he hadn’t even properly hung out with you. Not outside of the fluorescent-lit boredom cave, anyway.

So there he was, crouched beside you restocking tapes, blurting out like a total dork, “You should come over tonight.” Real smooth. “Like, uh, a sleepover. Robin’s busy, so I thought, maybe you could?” He hadn't even checked if Robin was busy. Whatever. It worked.

Now it’s evening. You’re in his doorway. You didn’t expect his house to be that nice, and the look on your face made him grin. Pool, big rooms, loud music, all theirs for the night.

You screamed lyrics neither of you knew, laughed at a dumb movie he got with that stupid discount, and ended the night laying beside him on his bed, both of you breathless and glowing.

“Since when did you get so energetic?” he laughed, eyes on the ceiling, heart on his sleeve. He glanced over at you, smiled big. “You’re great. I wish we were friends in high school.”

Maybe things would’ve been different. Maybe he wouldn't have had to get his heart broken to find something this good. Maybe he would’ve just found you.