FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

sixteen.

After a bullshitted explanation from Mike that Christine hardly believed for a second she let him off the hook, realizing the truth would come eventually.  She had went home that night, only seeing Jonathan again when he left before dinner, but making sure that she remembered to  tell Steve when she saw him.

After dinner she had disappeared to shower and then to her bedroom and had fallen asleep, catching up on the sleep she had lost the night before and then finally getting to rest.

The next morning she sat across from Mike at the breakfast table, watching his every move as she tried to gather any information on what was going on with his friends. However she didn't come up with anything. Once it was time for school Mike asked Christine for a ride, to which she nodded a yes.

"Alright let's go." She said, making her way towards the door. She was seconds from opening it before she remembered her Spanish textbook on her night stand,  the girl groaning as she ran up the stairs to get it. She walked into the room, grabbing her book and then looking up, her eyes catching something peculiar in the window. She took a few steps closer, watching as Nancy crossed the street and got into a car that definitely was not Steve Harrington's.  She caught a glimpse of the driver, her eyebrow raising as Jonathan Byers drove off with Nancy, definitely not in the direction of the school. Christine made her way back downstairs,  curious as to where those it would be going but not quite  caring enough to follow.

She dropped Mike off at school, parking her car in a random spot and heading inside the high school. The bell rang soon enough, Christine making her way to her first period class. She sat down in her seat, the girl turning her head to the left to see Steve Harrington already looking at her, his eyes glued to her face.

"Did she say anything about us?" Steve asked, Christine shaking her head as he spoke. His face dropped, her lips tightening as she decided to withhold the Jonathan information  for a little bit.  The wound seemed to still be really fresh.

"It'll be alright Steve."

"She couldn't say it." He said, looking down at his desk as he spoke.

"Say what?" Christine asked in confusion, watching as his face somehow fell even more. He turned his head to look at her as the bell rang for class to begin, the girl  watching his lips as his words fell from them.

"She loved me." Christine almost felt her heart break for Steve. He looked so hurt. But before she could say anything the teacher began to speak, and her window of opportunity had closed.

:::

Steve Harrington turned on his shower water, his back aching a bit from the game of basketball he had just played. His mind was  racing as he thought of everything that was happening, Nancy and him breaking up, Billy Hargrove being a complete asshole, and Jonathan Byers swooping in all while he had to stand back and watch.  His mind also wandered to Christine who he needed to talk to, he needed to get some things off of his chest and she was by far the only person that was close enough to being his friend.

"Don't sweat it Harrington. Today's just not your day, man." Billy spoke, the guy coming to stand beside Steve. Steve looked over at him, already fed up with whatever bullshit he was about to spew from his mouth.

"Yeah. Not your week." Tommy said, walking up the the shower on the other side of Steve.  Steve was now really annoyed, considering he was pretty much cornered by two assholes. He continued to shower, keeping his mouth shut while Tommy continued to speak. "You and the princess break up for one day, she's already running off with the freaks brother."

This was news to Steve, his face contorting into hurt and disbelief as he heard this info. He figured he would need to confirm this with Christine when he saw her.

"Oh shit. You don't know. Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven't shown. But that must just be a coincidence right?" Tommy laughed as he turned off his shower, walking off and leaving Billy and Steve alone.  He started to wash his hair as Billy started to talk, the dread filling him as he did so.

"Don't take it too hard, man. A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. What about Christine...the cousin? Yeah I'll let you have her after I get mine. Play my cards just right, slide right on into her. Don't you worry man. Plenty of bitches in the sea. I'll be sure to leave you some." Billy said, turning off Steve's water and watching as his face reddened at the mention of his friend.  Steve smacked the water back on, his heart thumping in his chest as Billy walked off, the anger making him want to hit something.

His hurt was becoming more evident the more he stood under the water, so he quickly finished up, wrapping a towel around his waist and going to go change. He thought about Nancy and Jonathan, how they could be doing literally anything  right now. Then his thoughts went to Christine, who he needed to warn about Billy. That girl deserved better than that piece of shit.

He dried off,  changing his clothes quickly and making his way out of the locker room. He was surprised to see just the girl he was thinking of standing outside of the  locker room, her eyebrows raising as she caught sight of him.  She grabbed him by the bicep, pulling him across the hall and looking up at him.

"Do you want to hang out later?" She asked, giving him an expectant look as she looked at his wet hair.

"Yeah I do. I need to talk to you." His tone was serious and slightly angry, Christine nodding her head as she saw a drop of water start to drip down his face. She reached up, wiping the drop from  his nose and then shaking her hand off. Steve stared down at her, his eyebrows furrowing as he waited for her to look back at him. Finally she did, the man speaking again. "It's important."

"Alright where do you wanna go?"

"Just meet me outside when school is over and we can decide there." Steve said, running a hand through his wet hair and then giving her a nod.

"Alright."