Small-town boy in a big arcade...

... I got addicted to a losing game

ARCADE

All I know, all I know...

***

Once, Jules Harrow and Steve Harrington had been best friends.

It was to be expected—the boys' mothers were close, so it was assumed that Jules and Steve would get along fine. But no one could expect how close they'd be, that the minute Jules and Steve met, something seemed to instantly spark between the two boys, an instant connection that only grew stronger when they got older. Where one boy was, the other was close behind, and it was extremely rare to see one without the other, whether it was at school or hanging out, they were together—as if being parted was something terrible, that to seperate Jules and Steve would cause the other extreme pain. Maybe even death.

It didn't matter that the older they got, the more they became opposites—Jules was the academic type, bordering on nerd. Steve was a jock. Jules hated the popular crowd. Steve was quickly earning the moniker of King Steve, becoming popular and hanging out with kids that sneered at Jules behind his back (never in front of Steve, knowing how close they were, that when Tommy tried to do it, Steve had given him a black eye. He'd never done it in front of Steve again). Yet Jules and Steve remained thick as thieves, knowing they could trust each other, could rely on each other—that Jules' window was always open for Steve to sneak through whether it was to hang out or when his dad got too hard on him or the big house he was left in alone when his parents went on their trips felt too lonely, too big, and he needed to be with someone, that Steve would drive over and pick up Jules to take back to his place or to Family Video and rent out movies and watch them while eating junk food and fall asleep on the couch or to just drive around Hawkins blasting music when the screaming matches between his parents became too much for Jules to take, that they both knew Steve's dad was an asshole but he never hit Steve like Jules' dad did when his mom failed to stop him—no, the damage Steve's dad dealt was more invisible than that, yet more cutting than any physical blow—that whenever Jules came at Steve's doorstep sporting a new black eye or bruise or cut  or, occasionally, a bruised rib or dislocated shoulder Steve would help him, no questions asked—once, Jules had come nursing a broken arm, several broken ribs, and a black eye and pounding head and Steve immediately drove him to the hospital. He lied that Jules had fallen down the stairs. He stayed by Jules' side until he was out of the hospital—and after it was done offering he could stay in his house—never begging, though Jules had a feeling Steve was toeing that line, that he was all but pleading for Jules to get out of that house and stay in a place that was safer, to stay with him—but Jules always denied, he needed to be home because if he wasn't then his dad would just take out all his anger on his mom and siblings and Jules would hate himself if he left his mom and his younger brother, Olivier, and twin sister Phoebe in their dad's warpath. 

That he and Phoebe had made a vow they'd protect each other and their little brother, and Jules made a vow to himself to protect his sister and brother. That when Phoebe bleached her hair in an act of rebellion and stuck to it, Jules claimed it was his idea and took the beating. When Ollie refused to go hunting with their dad or  join any sports teams or steadfastly stick to his love of Star Wars and D&D, Jules offered himself up as the bad influence on his little brother's nerdy and socially unacceptable interests. He'd always take the blows if it meant their dad never touched his siblings, and go to Steve's to be patched up and go right back to that house, to endure it all over again so Phoebe and Ollie never could. That his mom never could, no matter how she tried to stop it, to shield him and his siblings, Jules still pushed past and took that beating without a word.

(He never told Steve what his dad screamed at him, the slurs he spat between the blows Jules took without complaint. That he may be right)

But they could trust each other in anything, that they'd find comfort in the other when their shitty home lives were too much. That they could find safety, find home, in the other. No matter what.

Jules Harrow and Steve Harrington were the closest of friends, orbiting around each other like the sun and planets did, an invisible string tying Jules to Steve and Steve to Jules for what seemed to be forever.

Until it didn't.

Until the summer of 1983, where on a sticky July night Steve and Jules were at a party—Phoebe had dragged him to it despite being as much of an unpopular loner as Jules was—and they managed to sneak away. Where, high on both cheap beer and weed, Jules had found courage and acted on the more than platonic feelings he'd felt for his best friend for a couple years now and kissed Steve. And for a moment, everything was perfect.

The look on Steve's face when Jules pulled away shattered it into dust.

Steve had pushed Jules away, demanding why he'd done it, looking shocked, confused and... something else that might have been disgust. Jules had been trying to process it, that he'd been rejected, that not only had he fucked up and kissed Steve and ruining their friendship but also revealed he preferred to kiss boys instead, the look on Steve's face, until Steve said he wasn't like that, that he wasn't some sort of queer. That Jules never should have kissed him, that it was a mistake. That he couldn't be friends with a queer.

That had broken Jules' heart more than the initial reaction did.

And in that moment, shock and heartbreak sharpened into anger as Steve's eyes widened with what he'd said, mouth opening to say something—an apology, more of the hate Jules already heard from his dad and the other assholes—but Jules had shoved Steve away and said with all the anger and hurt inside him that he should be glad he wasn't, because they weren't friends. 

Not anymore.

Then Jules had walked away, trying to hide his heartbreak as he found Phoebe and they left, where he'd broken down in her car and she just silently accepted him, was there for him, decreeing to fuck Steve Harrington, fuck the boy who broke her brother's heart and spat hate back at him and cruelly rub salt in the wound deeper. Fuck their dad. Fuck the world. Fuck everything.

And Jules agreed. Fuck it. Fuck it all. And most specifically fuck Steve Harrington.

Like that, Jules Harrow and Steve Harrington were no longer friends, as Jules now hated Steve with a burning passion and Steve tried to pretend he did too (he didn't really, but it got easier with time, as it got easier to stop himself from going to Jules' house and go into his room through the window or pass by his street without stopping despite how much it hurt—because King Steve hated Jules Harrow, but Steve couldn't bring himself to hate Jules). As Jules watched in bitterness as Steve hooked up with multiple girls before he found a girlfriend in Nancy Wheeler a couple months after junior year started, as he had to keep Phoebe from punching Steve in the jaw at it, rubbing it in deeper, salt in the wound like he was laughing right at Jules as he flaunted off his girlfriend and how cookie-cutter straight he was, saying it wasn't worth it—that Steve wasn't worth it. As he found an unexpected friendship in Mavis Newby when they paired up at the beginning of the year and ended up clicking with not only her, but also Mavis' best friend Naomi Sinclair—helped maybe by the fact their brothers were friends, too. As Will Byers disappeared and reappeared in November, Ollie being withdrawn and distant during that time his friend was missing and, temporarily, presumed dead (odd).

Flash-forward to the fall of '84. Jules' parents had divorced and his mom had won custody of him, Phoebe and Ollie six months ago, moving to a smaller house as she worked at the general store and ensuring the nights of screaming and the abuse would never happen again. Jules, Phoebe, Naomi and Mavis became a quartet, as Mavis' dad even found love with Joyce Byers, leaving Mavis in an awkward stage with her maybe-stepbrothers. Ollie was still oddly distant and Jules knew in his gut he was keeping something from him and Phoebe. And Jules was still an academic, nerdy gay teenager in a small town who'd healed from his broken heart (at least, he tells himself he did).

And he still loathed Steve Harrington with everything in him.

It seemed the way it was going to be... until Jules and Phoebe find themselves roped in by their brother and his friend, Dustin Henderson, to find his missing pet, Naomi being forced to drive her little brother, Lucas, and his new friend Max to the junkyard because of a Code Red from his friends, and Mavis joining her dad to help cheer up a suddenly sick Will that soon includes the four of them finding out what really happened to Will Byers and all the supernatural shit that had happened and is still happening in Hawkins in seperate ways—and, in Mavis' case, bring her tragedy.

Oh, and be in close contact with Jules' ex-best friend and the boy who broke his heart and that he still hated with every single bone in his body, Steve Harrington. Even though as much as Jules tries to tell himself otherwise, he doesn't know if he truly hates Steve—that he may still be a little in love with him. That invisible string still tying Jules to Steve and Steve to Jules.

But that was impossible. Steve would never love him back in that way. He knew that.

And yet, Jules Harrow was still addicted to the losing game that was Steve Harrington.

***

... loving you is a losing game

CAST

Nick Robinson as Julian "Jules" Harrow

The small-town boy

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington 

The losing game

with

Sophie Thatcher as Phoebe Harrow

Wyatt Oleff as Oliver "Ollie" Harrow

Juliette Lewis as Diana Harrow

Sophie Nélisse as Mavis Newby

Ayo Edebiri as Naomi Sinclair

and

the 'stranger things' cast as their respective actors

TIMELINE

s2-s5

WARNINGS

This fic contains mentions or descriptions of: Homophobia, racism, sexism, violence, child abuse and domestic violence, blood and gore, death, horror themes, swearing, underage drinking and drug use and sexual references. This work is rated Mature for horror themes, swearing, underage drinking and drug use, child abuse and domestic violence and sexual references. This fic also contains angst. Much, much angst

DEDICATIONS

To harringtonssss—my number one enabler who's responsible for my impulse-publish of this fic. Love ya, and I hope I won't kill you too much with the emotional pain 🫶. And to stilestastic and starryeyedturtle—my other two fave people on this site. I would say there isn't much emotional pain in this compared to my other Stranger Things fics, but... no promises <3

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Steve Harrington is a raging bisexual. That's it. It's canon, the Duffers told me

Anyway... welcome to this impulsive fic that really shows how little I have of my impulse control! (I blame you, Mara (jk)) But I honestly am low-key in love with the plot despite how hella angsty it is (being based off Arcade, is there any doubt it's gonna be anything but angsty??) and I hope you are as in love with Jules and Steve as I am (they're a mess and I love them so much) and them being the Party's unofficial parents (they are serving childhood friends to enemies to friends to lovers excellence)

However, while there is romance, don't expect it to be the main focus since there will be focus on non-romantic relationships since they're just as important as romantic ones (Jules and Phoebe and Ollie are iconic siblings and Jules, Mavis, Naomi and Phoebe are true friendship goals and Mavis, Jonathan and Will are serving the best stepsibling energy. And yeah, Mavis being Bob's daughter...) But there will also be some romance happening for Phoebe as well (Phoebe and Robin... 👀) and (possibly?) Mavis and Naomi (may be more than platonic...) 

But, since this WAS an impulse-publish fic, and while my mind is racing with ideas, I'm not gonna focus on this until my other Stranger Things fics are done. Once they are, I'll be delving into this and my Yellowjackets fic >:) 

Anyway... hope you enjoy the ride!

GhostWriterGirl out!

Disclaimer

I don't own Stranger Things, that belongs to the Duffer Brothers and Netflix. I only own my original characters and storylines