FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

forty-eight.

"Steve I need to talk to you really quickly." Christine said to the boy, Steve turning his head and looking at her in confusion. They were waiting for the clocks hands to meet on the west side so that they could try and catch the Russians, and they were currently concocting a plan. He gave her an expectant look, the girl fiddling with her hands nervously before specifying. "Alone."

Dustin and Robin shared a look that was not missed, both of them watching as Steve practically jumped up at her request. Christine made her way out into the hallway behind the Scoops Ahoy, Steve following her with a lost puppy look and concern written all over his face as his hand pressed against the small of her back in an attempt to always be close to her.

"I know you're 14 and everything but...they totally did it right?" Robin asked, her eyes stuck to the door that the two disappeared behind. Dustin looked over at her, his lips tightening into a straight line as he nodded.

"Without a doubt."

Steve closed the door behind him,  turning to look at the girl who was nervously chewing on her nails, her arm wrapped across her stomach as she looked up  at him.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, his hands lifting to grab her arms. He squeezed them, letting her know that she could tell him. Christine pushed a hair behind her ear,  the girl stepping closer to Steve with a worried look.

"Somethings not right about all of this."

"It's evil Russians. Of course it's not right." Steve said in an obvious tone, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at her.

"I know but I'm just—I went to Hopper house last night and El and Max were there." Christine revealed, thinking back to what had happened with El, Max, and Billy.

"Your boyfriends house?" Steve joked, Christines face falling as she looked up at him.

"I'm being serious Steve. Something happened and I think theres multiple things going on."

"Well what happened?" He asked in a curious tone, hoping that he could help her anxiousness and make her feel less worried.

"It was Billy." Steve's face was the one to fall now, his head starting to hurt from the thought of Billy. Steve felt a tingling sensation in his nose, the boy shaking his head in confusion.

"Billy was there?"

"No Billy- El used her powers or whatever to spy on people and she saw Billy doing some shady shit." Christine sighed, trying to explain what had happened.

"Well it's Billy." Steve deadpanned, his hands falling away from her arms and to his hips. He was looking at her with confusion, completely unsure whether or not he could grasp what she was saying.

"That's not the point okay? El got worried. If El gets worried I get worried. We find out there's secret Russian transmissions and then El gets worried about something else happening? There's something  bigger going on. I've got that bad feeling." Christine said, looking worried sick. Steve didn't like to  see her so tense, the boy lifting his hand again  and dropping it onto her shoulder this time. His finger ran over the thick strap of her white tank top and he was once again reminded of how good she looked, his head shaking as he tried to expel the dirty little thoughts that came from touching her bra strap.

"Relax. I'm sure everything will be fine. We're gonna go out there and nothings going to be Russian and it's gonna be okay." Steve wasn't fully convinced of what he was saying, but he wanted her to feel better about it so he nodded to try and make it believable.

"Steve you and I both know that you believe this." Christine saw right through him, her eyes almost accusatory.

"Still. I'm sure it'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." He reassured her, Christine feeling a stir in her stomach at his words. Still she didn't feel any better, the girl letting out another sigh as she spoke again.

"I'm not...I'm not worried about me Steve."

"Aw are you worried about my safety? That's cute." Steve joked again, the seriousness of the conversation making him a little wary. He would rather joke than be serious.

"No I'm worried about the kids." Christine said, shaking her head at him. Steve's entire face fell now, the comment hurting his feelings a little bit as she seemed to have meant it.

"Oh okay." He said in a slightly hurt tone, his eyes quickly leaving her face as he lifted his hand from her shoulder. 

"I didn't mean it like that I just mean you can handle yourself." She tried to backtrack, seeing that he looked upset now and trying to fix it.

"No I get what you mean." Steve said, nodding at her as his lips tightened into a thin line. Christine wasn't sure how he could possibly be upset at something she had just said, the girl gesturing towards him and stopping the argument he seemed to be brewing.

"That's not the point. The point is that something weird is going on." She said, her hand moving towards the door. Steve grabbed her wrist, pulling her arm forwards and therefore pulling her forwards. He looked down at her with a concerned look, his mood changing quickly and making her breath stop.

"Whatever it is, I've got you." Steve revealed, looking down at the girl in all seriousness as he said it. There was an unmistakable tension that filled the air around them, Steve staring into her eyes and making sure that she got the memo. "Understand?"

Christine held her breath as she nodded, pulling her wrist from his grip and giving him a confused look. Steve couldn't help himself as his eyes dropped, a severe familiarity in the tension in the air that drove him to do this. Christine noticed, momentarily stalling moving away from him and considering doing something regrettable, the girl soon remembering the things that were said on the way home from the Colorado trip and taking a step back. She let out a huff at the fact that her chest had erupted with a fluttering, the girl getting frustrated and now reopening the door. Steve stood there for a moment, trying to rid himself of the thoughts and feelings that just being alone with her gave him. Something was shifting again, something that had been buried for months now. The possibility of danger always seemed to dig these things up again. She headed back into the break room, Dustin and Robin looking at her expectantly. They both noted her flustered face, and then Steve who walked in with frustration etched into his features, although he seemed a bit more relaxed. Steve pushed past Christine, looking at Dustin who was watching him curiously.

"What time is it?"

"8:40. We should head out soon." Robin answered Steve, the girl choosing to note the flustered faces and stolen glances for another time. Judging by Christines worried look she figured joking about something as sensitive as the two of them at the moment maybe wasn't the best idea.

"So what's the full plan?"

"We're gonna go to the loading area, wait for the lynx shipping for the Chinese restaurant. We just need some kind of basis behind all of this. This is recon, we're not engaging. Do you hear me? Not engaging." Dustin explained, his finger pointing at Christine and Steve with an accusing tone. Christine rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh as she spoke.

"If there's anybody you gotta worry about it's Steve." She said, her mind going back to the time that Steve made himself Demogorgon bait for the sake of a plan. Steve shook his head at her comment, looking at her with a confused and innocent look, his face showing that he had no idea what she was referring to.

"Good point. Steve...no engaging."