FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

seventy-two.

Christine Wheeler cursed the kids in her head as Steve pulled over in front of her car, the engine shutting off and his drivers side door opening. She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for the interaction before turning to look at Steve over her shoulder.

Steve thought it was criminal how good she looked after a month of healing, his heart skipping a beat as he looked at her. Her hair had curled up in the heat, her bruises healing nicely after not seeing her in 32 days. His eyes dropped over her figure, the girl leaned over in front of the car hood,  her hands covered in dirt from having messed with the tire. She had a tiny black tank top on, her legs covered by a pair of jeans that fit her very nicely. She had a flannel tied around her waist, Steve noticing the sweat that was lining her forehead as he got closer to her.  It was a relief to see her, the boy letting out a breath as he finally returned to her proximity, feeling nervous to talk to her but better now that he actually got to see her.

"Hey." Christine said, watching as Steve  looked
her up and down. 

"Hi." Steve said back, the boys eyebrows twitching together for a millisecond before he crossed his arms over his chest. "You healed up nicely."

Steve gestured to his own face to show her what he meant, Christine putting on an awkward smile and nodding at his comment. They stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a whole minute, Steve finally clearing his throat and looking over at the car.

"So what seems to be the problem?"  Christine turned with him, her chest rising as she sucked in a deep breath before pushing some hair behind her ear and gesturing towards the car.

"Well I- first off the car is a piece of shit. And not only that but the tire...the tires flat." She pointed to the side of the car, Steve rounding it and raising his eyebrows at the terribly flattened tire.  He nodded slightly, and then looked at her, giving her a smile.

"Open the trunk for me." Steve started towards the back of the car, Christine  following him back there and  opening the trunk. He reached inside, pulling up the flooring and revealing a beautiful spare tire, Christine shaking her head as he stood back from it.

"Steve if you could just give me a lift to the phone I can call a tow or so-"

"No no. I got it. I know how to change a tire. Don't worry." Steve insisted, the boy pulling his jacket off and throwing it into her back seat. She tightened her lips into a straight line, the girl feeling like this was not a situation that was arguable. He pulled the spare tire from the boot of the car, taking it out and rolling it across the ground to the front side. He sat it beside the flat one, making his way to his own car to open the trunk. He pulled out a car jack and a few more tools, Christine standing with her arms crossed as she watched him make his way back over to the car. He immediately started getting to work,  Christine watching  him, rather impressed that he knew how to change a tire.  Her eyes wandered as he worked, the girl looking at the white tee that he had tucked into his jeans, the fabric pulling against his back muscles and making her slightly blush. She looked at his jeans, the ones that fit just right and then to his sneakers, the girl shaking her head as she checked him out.  She felt a lump grow in her throat as she  realized he must have been working out over the past 32 days, because the short sleeves of the shirt were hugging his biceps rather perfectly. Christine cleared her throat, shaking her head and looking away from him, this action catching his attention and making him look up at her for a second. He looked back down at the wheel before looking up at her again, the sun catching his eyes and making him close one as he pulled at the tire.

"What?" He asked, knowing she had something on her mind. He continued to tug on the tire, the boy looking at it and waiting for her reply.

"Nothing."

"Oh you're not going to apologize?" Steve spit out, pulling the tire off the axel finally and then standing up. He wiped his hands off on his jeans, grabbing the spare from the ground and rolling it towards the hole where the tire should be. He looked back at her, taking in her confused and already pissed expression.

"Apologize for what?"

"For just dropping out of my life for 32 days." Steve said, grunting as he pushed the tire back on. Christine felt a bolt of anger go through her, her mood already bad and being chastised making it worse. She wasn't sure if he was insinuating an argument but he was going to get one.

"I didn't just drop out of your life." She began to defend, knowing damn well that she had done just that. Steve chuckled as he started to put the bolts on, the boy shaking his head as he looked back at her for just a moment.

"So you drop out of my life and absolutely cut me off for over a month and then when your car breaks down and you need help you call me. Just when you needed something?" Steve asked, not able to look at her as he accused her. She clicked her tongue, the girl getting snooped at his accusation that the only reason he was there was because she wanted something.

"I didn't call you for help. So I don't know why you're insinuating that I'd just use you like that but -" Steve cut her off, looking back at her over his shoulder as he spoke.

"No Dustin said you specifically asked him to call me. Listen Chris I'm not mad, okay? I just want-" He started to reason, but she was quick to fact check him, feeling confused as to why he was  saying that she wanted them to call him.

"No I didn't tell him to call you. Actually I specifically said—" Christine stopped mid sentence, the girls eyes widening as she looked down at the  flat tire. She crouched down, Steve looking at her in confusion as she did so, a comment hot on his tongue before he saw what she was looking at. "What the fuck."

On the tire there were about 6 nails lined up in a perfect row, each one embedded deeply into the tire. It became clearly evident that this was not an accident at all but a premeditated and planned thing, Christine putting the puzzle pieces together that the kids must have sabotaged her car and then called Steve.

"Those little shits." She said, slightly chuckling as she looked up at Steve who was tightening the last bolt on the tire. He shook his head, chuckling himself and then giving her a knowing look.

"They're some clever kids I'll give them that. What was the goal of all this?"

"To get me and you to talk." Christine said, gripping her keys in her fingers and thinking about the absolute torture she was going to bestow on the children.

"Well...the tires done. And there wasn't too much talking. So their plan failed. Start her up." Steve said, standing up from his spot on the ground and looking to her with crossed arms. Her eyes went to where the white t-shirt was tucked into his pants, then to his biceps, her stomach stirring at the sight of him. She was surprised that she was even able to talk, even able to think with him around her right now, considering how intoxicating his unexpected presence was. The longer they stood in silence the more alluring he was.

Christine got into the car, nodding at him as she pushed the key forwards. The car sputtered, Christine realizing that leaving the radio on for a long period of time had drained her battery. Steve approached her window from his trunk, his face apologetic and amused as he leaned in the window and he spoke.

"So I'll give you that lift now."