FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

ten.

Steve was halfway back to her home when he realized that Nancy also lived there, his nerves getting the better of him and his anger making him sweat. But Christines condition was debilitating and she needed proper rest, so he swallowed his pride and anger and temporary resentment and continued to drive to her house.

He wanted to stop thinking about Nancy. She had hurt him and he hated dwelling but he had went all in for her, he loved her. He was tired of villainizing her in his head and then hating himself for doing it. He didn't understand how she could blame him for killing Barb. How were they supposed to know that she was going to die? How were they supposed to know how fucked up everything would turn out in the end? He wondered how she thought he lived with no guilt, how Nancy thought that he didn't care.  He cared more than he would admit, but it was out of the question to not be strong for her, Barb was her best friend, Nancy needed someone to help her through it, not to break down right alongside her.

"I don't know how Nancy got you Steve."  Steve was pulled from his thoughts by Christines words, his head slightly turning to the side as he tried to gather what she had said  and what she meant by it.

"What?" He asked in confusion, not quite sure if he had heard her correctly. Christine straightened from her slumped position against the window, opening her eyes and  repeating herself with a more meaningful and sure tone.

"I don't know how Nancy got you."

"What do you mean?" Steve knew what she meant, but he wasn't sure where this was going. He straightened as well, glancing over at the girl in the passenger seat and giving her a furrowed eyebrow.

"I mean, Steve you're so nice and you seem caring and Nancy has always been....she's always been not so nice and caring." Christine said, looking out at the road ahead of them as she tried to grasp the right words to continue the conversation. Steve was quick to shake his head, replying just as fast.

"Hey...Nancy is nice and she cares about you." He said, giving her another glance. Christine however was also shaking her head, the girl speaking before the silence could ensue.

"No she doesn't. I've known you for two days and you seem to care about me more than Nancy ever had." Christine revealed, shrugging her shoulders as she told him how she really felt.

"That's not tr-"

"You know when we were younger she used to rub it in my face that she had two parents. She always rubbed things in my face. She always made sure that I knew that she was better than me. So no Steve...she doesn't care about me- and I don't know how she got you."  Christine had a reminiscent look in her eye, and her words made Steve think for a moment...maybe he didn't know everything about who Nancy was. He couldn't imagine her saying things like that, but he didn't know why she would  bring it up if it wasn't true. But saying things about people's parents was an off limits topic, and it was disrespectful.

"Well I wasn't always so nice."  He tried to deflect from Nancy, looking over at her with raised eyebrows. She shifted in the seat, her eyes turned to look out the window as she watched the streetlights whir by. She thought of a reply, her mind stuck on Nancy and how she used to treat the girl. Her mind drifted briefly to her mother, or the lack thereof, and then she spoke again, looking over at him only briefly.

"Well I haven't known you for as long as I've known Nancy. She's just the same old Nancy." Christine admitted, watching as Steve shook his head.

"She's changed. She would never say that to you now." She scoffed, fully turning her body so that she was looking at him, the girl leaning a bit forward as she spoke.

"Oh you're so right Steve. She would never say it. Nancy is a good girl. She's grown and matured and she knows when to hold her tongue and when to not. She knows right and wrong. No, she shows it in a different way now. In the way she looks at me, the way she doesn't trust me, the way that she feel obligated to be around me. She shows it. But it's alright. Because Nancy is a lesson and I've already learned it."  Christine turned back to her original spot, sitting straight forwards and crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't feeling as drunk as she had been before, but the words were still flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. She wondered if this was the right person to be spilling to, this was literally her boyfriend.

"What do you mean? A lesson?"  Steve shook his head in confusion again, wishing she would elaborate further.

"Nancy is a person that when she comes into your life, it's to teach you a lesson. The lesson she taught me was to not take shit from anyone, no matter who it is. She taught me to respect myself, and not let people walk all over me. That's the lesson Nancy taught me."  Christine revealed, feeling her heart tug as she remembered some of the things Nancy used to say when they were younger.

"Oh."

"And whatever lesson she's teaching you right now... you need to listen to it. And learn it." Christine said, admitting to Steve that she knows that there's something going on between them. She had been dying to know the entire time  and now she wanted to work it into the conversation. Her drunk was almost as persistent as it had been when she was laying on the ground, and she assumed that if things went bad she could blame it on that.

"There's nothing going on with us." Steve said, his hands gripping the wheel a little tighter as he looked towards the mirror. Christine wasn't convinced though, realizing how terrible Steve was at lying when he was upset. First off she had known he was upset since he had walked out the door of the house, second, he was unable to look at her when she mentioned it.

"Steve you left the party with me. Not Nancy." Steve seemed to take that comment like a hit, wincing a little as he remembered once again what had happened in that bathroom. "And we've been circling the block for 10 minutes now." 

"Alright you're right. Sorry I'll take you home." Steve said, nodding to himself and sucking up the courage to go to the Wheeler home.

"No! Please don't. We can circle the block all night for all I care I just don't want to be back in that house right now." Christine was quick to say, shaking her head in panic as she realized how much she didn't want to go home right now. She couldn't stand being there.

"Why?" Steve asked in confusion, wondering why she'd rather sit in this car than go home. She let out a sigh before answering, her eyes closing as she tried to find the words to explain.

"This place is killing me. I have nothing. School which sucks ass because I have no friends. No job so I can't leave the house. My aunt and uncle and cousins who are constantly smothering me. No dad. No money. Nothing. I don't want to be in that house any longer."  She admitted, feeling vulnerable for sharing this with an acquaintance. She reopened her eyes when she felt a hand drop into hers, Steve giving her an understanding look as he nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry. I get the whole feeling trapped thing. Like you've got nothing and nowhere and nobody."  Christine looked down at their hands, her eyes dragging up his arm and to his face as he pulled his hand back and circled the block once again. She felt her heartstrings being pulled, she was hoping this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship, and the solemn smile on Steve's face was also a good indicator that it was.

"Yeah exactly."