PAIRING - unrequited Steve/Alex, Herobrine/Steve

WARNING - Language

POV - Alex

Alex and Steve are best friends. And Alex wouldn't have it any other way.

Any, other way.

"No, Steve." She says, crossing her arms.

"Ah, come on Alex! Please?" It's hard to resist his puppy-dog eyes, but even if he's the cutest darn thing within a thousand blocks, her opinion doesn't change.

"I don't know why you keep asking when you know how I feel about you. Trust me, if I change my mind you'll be the first to know."

"Aaaw." The look of sadness on his face makes her feel guilty, but she pushes those feelings away. This has happened before and it'll happen again. Steve loves her. Alex doesn't love him. She's accepted that. He hasn't. Yet. Hopefully.

Steve drops the subject about dinner and they return to mining. Their relationship is weird, she'll admit it. They're best friends, they'd grown up together, and she understands how Steve's feelings had developed beyond friendship. But she can't return the sentiment.

The air of despair hangs around Steve all throughout the day, but Alex ignores it. He'll bounce back in the morning and wait a few days before attempting again to ask her out, to which she'll decline and he'll be sad again. A cycle that she knows probably won't end until she either says yes or Steve loses his voice. Actually, even then he'd find a way to ask her.

Ugh.

She sets her pick down and wipes her brow, walking a few blocks to see where the sun is. Almost setting.

"Steve!" She calls into the mine, hearing a faint, "Yeah?" in response. "The sun's almost down, come one up!"

"One second!"

She stretches, groaning as her joints pop. Mining is fulfilling but taxing. And with her and Steve as their village's only miners, doubly so. But today had been quite the haul, and she's satisfied with her take. Several iron ores and more coal than she can shake a stick at., plus several diamonds. With whatever Steve's collected, their haul will tide the village over for another month.

Steve climbs back up from the mines, stretching as well before setting his things down. Alex helps him organize everything into a storage minecart before sending it down the line to the village. They follow at a more leisurely pace.

"So, what do you got planned for tonight?" Alex asks, holding her pick on her shoulders and kicking a pebble. "Gonna go drown your sorrows at the tavern?"

"Ha ha," he glowers. "I actually do have plans though."

"Oh?" Alex says, wagging her eyebrows and elbowing Steve in the side.

"It's not like that," he says, but there is a blush on his cheeks now. Alex smiles.

After a few more moments of silence, during which Alex practically vibrates which the need to know, she finally cracks.

"Well?! What is it?"

Steve sighs, frowning. "You're…not gonna like it…"

"What? Why?"

"I'm going to…Herobrine's…"

Instantly her excitement turns to disgust, and she scowls. "Ugh, I don't know why you humor him. You know he doesn't care about humans right?"

Steve shrugs, not looking at her. "He's not that bad. You just have to get to know him."

She scoffs. "No thank you."

Steve rolls his eyes and keeps his mouth closed. He won't bother trying to convince her that Herobrine's not as bad as she thinks. But she really doesn't like him, so Steve knows it's futile.

They reach their village and begin to part ways. Alex urges him to stay in town so they can hang, but Steve declines. She shakes her head and walks away, mumbling to herself. Steve smiles at her back before making his way to Herobrine's.

The next few days are strange for Alex. Steve and her continue mining and hanging out, like they have all their lives, but she quickly realizes that something's off with Steve.

For one, he hasn't asked her out again yet.

But more than that, he seems frazzled. He's super disorganized, and secretive. She'd noticed a bit of dirt on his neck one day and had pointed it out, but instead of wiping it away he'd clamped a hand over it and turned as red as an apple. He'd then retired early that day, but when she'd swung by his house later that night he hadn't answered, and all the lights had been off when she'd peered through the window.

And then, everything comes to light.

Alex walks towards the mines, whistling nonchalantly and smiling at nature. She sure loves it. She almost opens her mouth to call out for Steve, wondering if he's already here, but she pauses, hearing voices up ahead.

She quiets her steps and creeps slowly toward the mouth of the mine.

"You really should go, Alex will be here soon and you know how she is." That's Steve's voice.

"I don't care about her feelings." Her eyes widen before narrowing. Herobrine. That jerk face. She feels her blood boiling just thinking about him.

"That's mean, you'll never be friends if that's what you think about her." Oh Steve. You're too good for this world.

"Who said I want to be friends with her? You're all I need." Confusion draws her brows in, and she leans closer to the wall. Is it bad that she's eavesdropping on her friend? Probably, but it's also Herobrine. She keeps listening.

"That's…sweet, but still mean. I don't see why you two can't work out your problems." Steve sounds tired, as if he's talked about this with Herobrine before.

"I have tried!" Herobrine bursts, continuing quieter. "It's her fault. She can't keep her temper in check." I'm not the only one, she thinks hatefully.

"I'll admit that she…hasn't been the nicest person to you. But you can't blame her—"

"Yes I can, and I do." Herobrine interrupts. Alex scowls. Does he have no manners?

She hears Steve sigh and the sound of muted footsteps. It's silent for a few moments until she hears a loud crack, making her jump. It'd sounded like…metal?

"Ah! Herobrine! What the hell?"

"Sorry, sorry," he says, sounding genuine. It takes her by surprise. But what Herobrine says next startles her even more.

"You know I can't control my strength around you."

It's not so much what he says, it's the way he says it. Alex has heard that tone before, from Steve himself, directed towards her. He sometimes thinks talking suave will boost his chances. It never works. But why would Herobrine use it?

Steve laughs and she hears more shuffling of feet. "You're such a dork. I don't see how anyone can be afraid of you."

"They have good reason, believe me. And are you implying that you don't fear me?" He sounds incredulous, and Steve hums.

"I'm not afraid of you," he says, matter-of-factly, and Alex has never been more confused. Why are they interacting so…nicely? She'd had no idea they're apparently friends.

A growl sends shivers of fear down her back, and she hugs her arms to herself. With all this friendly talk she'd forgotten that Herobrine is a very real danger that people fear for a reason. His voice or eyes alone can petrify someone.

"I'll have to do something about that."

But Steve seems nonplussed as he laughs. "Yeah right, I know the real you, ya big softy. It's too late now to change that."

Herobrine let's out a loud sigh and groans, and she hears something heavy and metal hit the ground. "I hate when you're right."

"Well it doesn't happen often."

"Damn right. Come here."

There's silence again and Alex feels her curiosity get the best of her. Slowly, she peeks around the corner into the mine, and gasps aloud.

They notice her immediately of course, Steve's face turning beat red as he pushes Herobrine away from him. "Alex! W-What, ah…w-what are you doing h-here?" While Steve appears to be having a breakdown, Herobrine shows a suspicious lack of emotion.

"What am I doing here?" She repeats, getting angry. She stomps into the mine. "What were you two doing?!" What she'd seen…she'll never be able to get it out of her head. It's burned into her memories forever.

"Just having a bit of fun," Herobrine answers, as Steve seems incapable of speech at the moment. He throws an arm around Steve's shoulders, finally smiling at her, but it's a smile of mischief. "Nothing wrong with that." He shrugs.

"Nothing wrong…? Steve." She looks at her friend, frowning. "How could you—"

"How could you be so nosy?" Herobrine interrupts, and she grits her teeth. "It's really none of your business."

"Herobrine, no…" Steve mutters. "Oh Gods…"

"Steve's my best friend, of course it's my business!" She yells, pointing a finger at him. "What did you do to him, huh? What kind of dark magic did you use of him?" Because surely that's the only explanation. Steve would never…not with Herobrine of all people!

"Yeah? Well he's my boyfriend, I think it's well within my right to kiss him wherever the hell I feel like."

She sputters, unable to form a retorting sentence. Stunned and in denial, she shakes her head and flicks her eyes over to Steve. His face says it all.

"Steve..." She whispers, horrified. "What—"

"Look," Herobrine interrupts. Again. What a complete asshole. "You clearly want nothing to do with him. What do you care what he does with his life?"

She glares at him, tightening her grip on her pickaxe. "You shut your mouth! In fact, why don't you just leave!"

Herobrine stares at her like she's lost it, and Steve looks uncomfortable. Herobrine laughs and it grates on her ears.

"Can you believe her?" Herobrine says, gesturing towards her haphazardly with his arm still around Steve's shoulders. "She thinks she can boss me around!" His tone is laced with smugness, and oh how it rubs her the wrong way. He's beside himself with glee, and Steve's lack of any rebuttal worries her. Herobrine...he must have down something. Yeah, that's it. No one knows just what Herobrine is anyway, he could have all sorts of powers she doesn't know about. Powers Steve doesn't know about. "She's...!"

"That's enough." Steve clamps a hand over Herobrine's mouth and sighs. "Please, just...let me talk to her." Though Herobrine's eyes are solid white, she can tell he's rolling them. He crosses his arms and pouts. "Fine. But we'll be talking later."

"Alright."

Herobrine then disappears with one last glare her way, leaving Steve and her alone in the mine. She waits for him to say something, to explain himself, but he avoids her gaze and twists his fingers nervously together.

"Steve..."

"Do we have to talk about it?" He says, muttering the words quickly.

"Wha—Yes!" She stares at him incredulously. "I want you to explain what the hell I just saw!"

He puts his face in his hands and turns away, mumbling to himself. She crosses her arms and taps her foot against the ground, impatiently waiting for an exploration.

"Well?"

"Well...it's, you know."

"No, I don't know," she deadpans, glaring. "I just don't understand."

Steve turns back to her and frowns. "Well, what is there to understand? You know how people get when they...uh..." His face is red again. Does this affect him that much?

"Don't give me that bullshit about two people "loving" each other." She takes a step forward and points accusingly at him. "He doesn't feel "love!""

"You don't know that!" Steve suddenly yells, glaring at her. The suddenness of it startles her. "You don't know anything about him! So don't tell me that he can't feel because I know for a fact he can!"

Before she can say anything in her defense Steve stomps out of the mine, seething.

She stares after him in disbelief, gazing back into the mine. A glint catches her attention and she walks over to it. It's an iron pickaxe, laying broken in two. This must have been what Herobrine had broken.

Sighing, she looks into the mine. Well...they have already filled their quota for the month. She supposes that missing a day or two isn't the end of the world.

But it's more than a day or two.

Steve doesn't show up at the mine again for a whole week. And in that time, Alex has had plenty of moments to think.

First of all, Steve's pretty much her only friend, considering she'd stayed home when she hadn't been in the mine. There's just no one else in the village she wants to be around. Despite the occasional awkwardness that stems from Steve's unrequited feelings towards her, Alex never wants to lose or replace Steve as a friend. They've known each other for so long, and they get along well. She doesn't want to ruin that.

And then she thinks that it's not her fault but Herobrine's fault. That demon had done something to her friend, because no way could anyone willing spend time around that lunatic, much less...

Then again, Steve had seemed awfully mad when he'd stormed away several days ago.

Ugh. She props her elbows on her knees and buries her face in her palms. Why can't Herobrine just go away. He's ruining her and Steve's relationship and that bothers her immensely...

Their friendship, she means. Their friendly, platonic relationship. The one without romance. Right...

What does he even see in Herobrine? She thinks. He's nothing but a liar and a griefer. And not only does Steve appear to be under some kind of potion effect but he hasn't asked me out in almost two weeks! That proves there's something wrong with him.

To be honest she has no idea why she keeps rejecting Steve. She tells herself it's because they're friends—or as she's recently realized, Steve's heronly friend—but deep down she knows that's a load of bullshit. They are friends, but Steve's so nice and considerate, always putting others before himself and doing the right thing. It's endearing and it's...grown on her, over the years. Not to mention he's a total cutie.

Which is why his involvement with Herobrine irks her so. If—and that's a big if—Steve had somehow chosen to be with Herobrine of his own volition, what does that say about his feelings for her? She's pretty sure that he's been madly in love with her for several years, and all of the sudden he's going out with Herobrine? Highly unlikely if not down right impossible. The only reason she'd ever believe something like that is because she saw them together herself.

She sighs, lifting her head at the sound of footsteps. She perks up as a figure rounds the corner.

"Steve!" She says loudly, standing up and holding her pick at her side, gripping the handle like a lifeline. Shortly thereafter she feels heat creep into her cheeks as embarrassment slams into her like a ton of bricks. What's wrong with me? She thinks, mentally shaking herself. Get a hole of yourself and calm down!

"...Alex," Steve says in return, at least acknowledging her. Good start. But then he continues towards the mines, as if her outburst doesn't change what he'd come here to do.

"Wait!" She bites her lip, pausing as Steve obliges, a brow raised curiously. He stares at her expectantly and she panics, realizing she doesn't have anything to say. "I-I—"

"It's okay," Steve says, sighing. He walks up to her and puts a hand on her shoulder, looking her square in the eyes with those beautiful...blue...Have his eyes always been so pretty? "I'm not mad."

"Y-You're...not? You're not." She blinks, momentarily stunned before she smiles widely. "That's good, that's great. Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. I just—"

"I understand, Alex, but I'd like to not talk about it." Steve's curtness and distance stabs her right in the heart. Steve takes his hand off her shoulder and it feels like she's been thrown into an ice spikes biome. He walks away and she hesitates before following.

Has she lost her mind?

She watches as Steve walks into his house before turning down the gravel path to her own.

Two weeks of painful awkwardness in which Alex feels like her and Steve have only just met instead of them being close for years. And it doesn't help that she's starting to feel...things...towards her friend.

Okay, so she has a crush on Steve. And it sucks.

She doesn't know why it'd taken her so long to realize, nor why it's manifesting now, when she's unable to act on it. If she did...well, she doesn't know what Steve would do. Herobrine hasn't returned to the mine, but it's obvious that Steve's going to see him regularly. He's hardly ever at his own house.

Though they've started talking again, Steve being unable to hold a grudge for long, Alex finds herself distancing them. Not only is Steve taken, but she's no match for a being of such otherworldly power. Though she doesn't know just what draws the two together(if not magic on Herobrine's part)she knows that Steve's happy. And that should be enough for her.

Of course it's not.

All those times Steve begged for her to go out with him...what had she been thinking turning him down? Such a sweet, genuine guy...

She deserves to have realized this only after he's found someone who actually wants to be with him.

She's usually the first to the mines nowadays. They used to walk together, they'd meet up on the gravel path in their village and talk and laugh about nothing.

Now she walks it alone, feeling a mix of emotions she can't explain nor make sense of. She wishes Steve would talk to her, but their conversations, though more substantial than a few days ago, are seriously lacking and leave much to be desired.

She sighs when she walks into the mine. Once again, she's—

"Alex! Nice of you to finally show up." She jumps, spinning around to find Steve leaning against the wall. He smiles at her. "Finally we can get to work."

"Uh..." She doesn't care that she probably looks and sounds like an idiot, because Steve pushes off the wall and strides right up to her. When he gets closer he doesn't stop and forces her back against the wall, putting one hand against the wall by her head and leaning in. Her heart pumps double and she feels shivers run down her spine as Steve smiles at her.

"You know...I've been thinking..." He starts, bringing a hand up to play with the end of her pony tail, which hangs over her shoulder. She hardly breathes. "What happened a couple weeks ago...we can push past it right? I'd like us to."

"We—uhhh." Is she dreaming? That can truly be the only explanation. Or she accidentally ate a poisonous potato and she's hallucinating. She swallows. "We c-can?"

"Oh yes," he says, leaning in even more, until they share the same breath. She might faint.

"W-What a-a-about...you know..."

"Herobrine?" The smirk on his face makes her throat dry. She'd had no idea he could be so forward. "Don't worry about him."

"B-But...I don't understand." Something is definitely off here. Steve's behavior is so...not him. It's like he's a completely new person, someone she's doesn't know. That's not what she wants. She wants the kind and loveable dork who chases after his chickens when they escape.

"You don't have to—"

"Alex?"

She sees Steve frown and close his eyes, before he turns around to face the owner of the voice, allowing her to see as well. It's...

"Steve?" She asks. She flicks her eyes between the Steve close to her and the one standing at the mouth of the mine, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at them. She's at a complete loss for words.

He quickly turns his gaze from her to his double, and his expressions turns angry. "What the hell are you doing? Trying to give her a heart attack? What did I tell you about doing that?" He grabs the other Steve's arm and drags him away from her. Her brain starts kicking into gear and she gasps, pointing at them.

"No! You're—ech!" She makes disgusted noises, and the other Steve crosses his arms and blinks, returning his eyes to normal.

"Where's your sense of humor?" Herobrine says, tapping his foot against the ground. Alex remains silent, never having seen Steve look so angry, not even from a couple of weeks ago.

"This isn't funny! This is cruel!"

Herobrine takes being yelled out well enough, not seeming affected at all, if his look of absolute boredom is anything to go by. She feels herself getting angry at Herobrine's utter lack of empathy for others. Once again she questions why Steve's with him.

"I was only about to confirm your suspicions. She totally would have kissed back." He shrugs, and Steve closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. She feels heat rush to her cheeks.

"Just...leave. We'll talk about this later."

Without another word, but with one last glare at her, Herobrine disappears, and Steve deflates, looking at her tiredly. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what he was thinking."

"It's alright," she mutters, stooping down to pick up her pickaxe. She holds it tightly against her chest, keeping her gaze away from Steve. The embarrassment of what just transpired—and what almost transpired between her and Herobrine—leaves her unable to look him in the eye, until he sighs again and speaks.

"Alex. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I-Is there?" She says, feeling heat return to her cheeks again. But not from embarrassment. Steve looks so genuinely concerned for her, she wonders how she'd never noticed the extent of his feelings. A horrible thought crosses her mind—is she no better than Herobrine? Herobrine who lacks the capability to sense others' emotions? Had she known the depths of Steve's feelings and willingly ignored them without a second thought? Just like what Herobrine had done to her. She's tense as she stares back at Steve, and lowers her shoulders, her pickaxe making a racket as it hits the stone ground. "I guess there is..."

"So it's true?" Steve asks. He looks confused and a little hurt. "Since when?"

"Since the last time that jerk was here." She rubs her arm nervously. This is not the way she'd wanted this to go.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He sounds so hurt by this, so frustrated, as if...as if he still has feelings for her.

"I didn't know what to do!" She explodes, tired of feeling helpless and lonely and insecure. "For years I rejected you but you kept asking, and I wouldn't admit it to myself but I was slowly starting to think of you as something other than a friend. I just hadn't realized it yet. And then that...demon! He comes along and—what do you even see in him anyway, huh? He's a rude, inconsiderate, hell spawn who doesn't care about anyone but himself!" She's breathing hard and glaring at him, but her eyes are dry. She just wants this to be over.

"That's not true."

"Isn't it? He clearly didn't have either of our feelings in mind when he pulled that stunt."

"You can't judge him without knowing his past. I'll admit that's he's a little rough around the edges, but he's not what you think."

"He's—He must not be...not if you could fall for him."

Now Steve looks slightly uncomfortable. "Look, Alex...I still like you. But!" He says as she opens her mouth. "For so long you didn't show any signs of returning the sentiment. When I went to Herobrine's after the last time you rejected me, I told him what was bothering me. And he'd told me that it didn't matter if you didn't like me, because there'd always be someone who would return my feelings. Apparently Herobrine had been in the same situation as me. He says that few ever show him compassion and friendship, and he'd started falling for me shortly after we'd accidentally set him free from the Nether."

"That long?" She whispers. That had been three years ago. "But why him?"

At this Steve smiles. "I know you don't ever go to his house. You don't like spending time with him. But I do; I always have. Ever since we freed him I've been curious about him. Things here are different now, then when he last set foot in the Overworld, and I took it upon myself to show him the changes. I don't expect anyone to understand why I like him enough to be with him, and that's okay. I know him in ways no one else ever will, I've seen how kind and compassionate he can be, even if it seems like he's a heartless monster. It's enough for me to know the truth."

Steve walks up to her and gently takes her hand, squeezing it in his own. "I know that you wish things were different, and I do as well. But I don't regret being with Herobrine. I'm sorry that you realized your feelings too late, and I hope it makes you feel better to know that I still love you." She blushes, impressed by his confidence to admit that, and how easily he can say it. "But I feel I can learn to love Herobrine as well, and I would never hurt his feelings on purpose. And for that I am sorry."

Alex takes a deep breath and brings her other hand up to rest on Steve's cheek. "I'm the one who should be apologizing Steve. I'm...sorry that I've been so closed-minded when it comes to understanding and accepting Herobrine, and for you I can try. I just—I want us to still be friends."

"Of course were friends still. I don't ever want you out of my life." Steve smiles warmly and pulls her into a tight hug. She closes her eyes and revels in the feeling, before Steve pulls away and takes her hand again, leading her out of the mine.

"Come on, we can wait another day to mine. I want Herobrine to apologize to you. Then I'm going to yell at him for you, and give you the chance to see him become humble."

She giggles, tightening her grip on Steve's hand as she allows herself to be dragged behind him(she doesn't know where Herobrine lives, after all).

Maybe they can never be together. But they'll always be best friends, and Alex feels relieved to know that no matter what happens in their lives, Steve will always be there for her.