FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

sixty.

Christine kicked her feet back and forth, the girl struggling against the restraints as Robin began to laugh or cry or make some strange noise. The blood was rushing to Christine head as she tried to lift her head as much as possible, knowing that laying back at this angle was not going to be a good thing for much longer.

"Hey it's okay. Don't cry Robin." Steve comforted the girl, Robin soon making it very evident that she was laughing and not crying. "Are you laughing?"

"Yeah."

"Jesus." Steve said, turning back to the floor and laying his head against it. Christine continued fo panic, not seeming to be in the same state of defeat as the other two.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it's just...I cant believe I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington. It's just too trippy man." Robin laughed out, Steve quick to speak after she finished.

"We're not gonna die. We're gonna get out of here okay? Just—you gotta let me just think for a second." Steve said in reply, sounding extra serious. Christine rolled her eyes at that statement, the girl finally letting out a groan of defeat and laying her head back in anguish. She felt something move under her back, the girl slightly turning as she tried to get a better idea of what it was.

"Do you remember, I'm, Mrs. Click's sophomore history class?" Robin started, Christine no longer paying attention as she fiddled with her new discovery. Steve shook his head in confusion, lifting his head slightly.

"What?"

"Mrs. Clickity-Clackity. That's what is band dweebs called her. It was first period, Tuesday's and Thursdays so you were always late. And you always had the same breakfast. Bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel. I sat behind you two days a week for a year. Mister Funny. Mister Cool. The King of Hawkins High himself. Do you even remember me from that class?" Robin asked, Christines attention going to the girl as she waited for the perfect time to intervene, not wanting to mess up this wonderful little dialogue that was going to happen with her surefire escape plan. Steve slightly shook his head, listening intently at what she had to say as he truly and wholly felt defeated and lost.

"Of course you don't. You were a real asshole you know that?" Robin said, Steve feeling a burn in his chest as he remembered the way he used to be, before he became who he was now.

"Yeah I know."

"But it didn't even matter. It didn't matter that you were an ass. I was still...obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all we still just wanna be popular...accepted, normal." Robin said, making Christine close her eyes. Getting peeks into other peoples lives were often strange, and it was rather strange to hear the truth so bluntly spit out.

"If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn't all that great. Seriously. It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just...bullshit." Steve said, the boy dryly chuckling at the word. An image of Nancy Wheeler ran through his mind, the girl telling him it was all bullshit, Steve not being able to understand it then but finally being able to understand it now. A switch went off in his head, Steve having a moment of realization as he looked slightly to his left, seeing the foot of Christine Wheeler and getting a wildly unfamiliar feeling. "But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?"

Steve thought back to the night in front of the Wheeler house that he told Christine they couldn't be together, figuring that was the biggest mess up of his life. Letting an opportunity like Christine Wheeler go. It was as if a shiny bright image shown in front of him, big red letters telling him that he was really over Nancy Wheeler, and it was an amazing sight to see. Maybe he had finally figured it out. Maybe he had messed up bad enough a few times so that he could finally have his eyes opened.