Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
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November 13th, 1983 Hawkins, Indiana
"So, you finally did it," Chris states, handing Steve ice wrapped in a towel.
Steve leans against the large island in his kitchen, pressing the ice to his busted lip. Steve watches as Chris hops onto the counter, sitting with her legs swinging over the edge. "Did what?"
"Well, you punched Jonathan in the teeth, and you finally finally stopped being friends with two of Hawkins biggest idiots."
Steve raises an eyebrow at her. He winces as the cut near his eye throbs. "Whose Hawkins' biggest idiot?" he wonders curiously.
Chris's smile grows. "Definitely you. For fighting Jonathan and for being friends with people like Tommy and Carol."
Steve sighs, ignoring her teasing jabs. He shifts, facing Chris to the left of him. Steve removes the ice from his face. "Well, I hope you're happy now. Hope you get a real good laugh out of it. King Steve is officially friendless."
Chris reaches for the ice, her fingers lingering over Steve's. She takes the ice, pressing it to the cut on his cheek. "Not anymore."
Steve looks at her as she moves some hair from his eye. Chris winks. "Want to go monster hunting with me?"
Steve's eyes light up as the memory of the two of them meeting when they were young comes back to him. "If you'll be my friend," he mocks.
However, his eyes look serious and hopeful. If he can have his best friend back, nothing will matter anymore. Not the stupid pain on his face, or the fact that deep down he knows that him and Nancy were doomed from the start.
Chris laughs a little. "I'll consider." She hands the ice back to him.
Steve nods, knowing he can't press his luck. He watches Chris carefully, looking at her in a different light. The weight of the word friend feels different to him. The question he asked her as a kid was for a friend, but this time it's something else. Confliction rises in Steve's chest as Nancy resurfaces in his mind.
Steve's eyes fall on the scrapes and bruises on Chris's knees. He removes the ice pack from his cheek, placing it on Chris's right knee first. He doesn't look at her when he says, "I can't believe Tommy did this to you."
Chris furrows her eyebrows together, watching Steve survey her injuries with deep concern. He's gentle and observant; something Chris hasn't seen in a long time. "You can't?"
"I mean, I would like to think he had more morals that than," says Steve. He breathes out heavily, his hand and the ice pack slipping slightly. Steve shakes his head as Chris stares at him. They're almost eye level with her sitting on the counter. Steve is in front of her now, his body nearly pressed against her knees.
"It just shows what I'm like, huh? A complete asshole for the last four years...people must've thought the worst. I'd never hit a girl. I'm not okay with that," Steve is rambling slightly now. His hand pushes against Chris's bruised knees firmly. She winces, opening her legs so he fits his hips around her. Neither of them recognize how close they are to each other yet. "I'm not — I'm not cruel. What I did to Jonathan wasn't okay. I'll...I'll apologize to him and Nancy."
