Christine awoke in the pitch darkness, her eyes fluttering open. She looked over at Steve first, the boy covered in the blanket and laying on his back, the book they were reading still open on his chest and snores escaping him. She spared a smile for him, reaching over and pushing some hair out of his face before sitting up.

She pushed her legs over the side of the bed, stretching her arms over her head as she made her way to the bathroom in the hall. She was quick to go, wanting to preserve as much sleep as possible so that it wouldn't take her too long to go to back to bed.  She washed her hands, looking at herself drearily in the mirror and then making her way back out into the hallway.

She reentered Steve's room, her eyes halfway closed  as she walked towards the bed. However something was different. She opened her eyes fully, her heart dropping into her stomach as she looked at the bed. It was empty. The bed was perfectly made, and Steveless, Christine furrowing her eyebrows in confusion at the sight. She looked around her, wondering where exactly Steve would be and if she had woken him up. It was very unlikely that he would leave the room, because his parents were home and asleep and he wouldn't want to make too much noise. Christine made her way to the door, knowing there was no way she would be able to find him by calling for him. So instead she started down the hallway,  knowing he wouldn't be in his parents room. She searched the downstairs, going into the kitchen and the living room and looking out the window to the pool. The longer he was gone the more her heart started to pound. Something was wrong.

She passed by the front door but quickly stopped, her breath stopping as well as she realized the door was open. She felt every hair on her body stand up and she took slow steps towards the door, because if something was wrong she needed to help him. She finally grabbed the doorknob, the handle ice cold as she pulled it open. She walked out into the porch, her arms wrapping around her as she tried to keep warm.

"Steve?" She said in a regular voice, hoping she wouldn't wake anybody up by calling for him. She could feel herself starting to panic, and she was trying to stay calm. "Steve are you out here?"

"He's not out here."  A voice said from behind her, and Christine was quick to turn around. When she did she was no longer at Steve's house, the doorway she was standing in was a distantly familiar one, cold and deserted. Her heart beat quickened as she looked in terror at the house, the pit in her stomach deepening.

"No." She whispered to herself, her eyes glued to some blood on the floor. She was in her childhood home, and this was the day her mom left. She knew it. She thought that the next sequence would play out in a scene but it didn't, because when she walked back inside the house it was still just empty and cold. She was confused, but most of all she was scared, she didn't know where Steve was.

"He's gone, Christine." It was an empty room, except for one woman, standing in the middle. That woman was none other than Alice Cohen, her mother.

"He left and he's not coming back."

"Why?" She asked her, her eyes studying her mother who she hadn't seen since she was 5. She knew this wasn't her mother present day, this was her mother from the day that she left. The last time Christine had seen her.

"You know why." The woman said, Christines face contorting into one of confusion. She shook her head, her mother giving her a sympathetic smile.

"He doesn't love you. Just like I never loved you. Just like your dad never loved you. And Jim never loved you." Christine took every word into her heart, her heartbeat quicker than it ever had been.

"Why would you say that?" She whispered, knowing that the words were right.

"Because none of them do. No matter how much you try and earn it they'll never love you."

"Why are you saying that?!" Christine shouted this time, her heart feeling like it was going to explode. "You're my mother!"

"No I'm not." The voice that came from her mothers body wasn't hers, it was deep and grisly and terrifying. Christine felt her hair stand up on her body again and she felt tears prick her eyes as she watched her mother's body melt away, the girl gasping and crying as she tried to figure out what was going on. She wanted out. She wanted out. There was a familiar chittering noise that made her breath stop in her body, she knew that sound. She had heard it before. It came from the shadows, terrifying and true and Christine started backing away. She ran with her eyes glued to where the sound was coming from, the girl tripping and hearing the familiar demogorgon screech. She gasped out her breaths as she started crawling away, her face flushed as she made a break for the door.

The second her fingertips touched the door knob she heard a yell, a voice that sent a chill down her spine and shook her to her core.

"Help! Christine please! Please help me! Oh God! Christine!" Steve. Her entire body shook as she gripped the doorknob, the option between getting out and help Steve. She flinched when she heard him scream her name again, pure terror in his voice that snapped her back to reality. She dropped her hand from the door knob, the girl slowly turning around, her lip trembling as she followed the sound of his terrified voice.

"Christine." He said, and she had never heard his voice sound so weak and terrified. Her blood ran cold when she realized the yelling was coming from behind a door. A door she had never seen before. She grabbed the door knob, her breaths heavy as she hesitated to push it open. The door swung open and she screamed, because what she saw was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen.

Everyone she loved...dead.

:::

Christine sat up with a jolt, a short yell leaving her lips as her hands immediately reached for her chest. She tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness but it was taking too long. She wasn't entirely sure where she was, but her main concern was telling if that was reality or not. She reached beside her in a frenzy, feeling the warm and sleeping body of Steve Harrington. She wasn't entirely sure if he was okay, the girl shaking him. He took a moment to wake up but she let out a relieved sigh when he did.

"What's wrong? What time is it?"

"Steve are you—are you okay? Are you hurt?" Christine asked frantically, her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness as she ran her hands over him. Steve looked up at her with pure confusion, the boy taking a second to process her words before reaching over to the bedside table and turning the lamp on. The second the light filled the room Steve was alarmed by how terrified she looked, and by how pale she was. He immediately sat up beside her, the book falling into his lap as she took heavy breaths. "Steve are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Chris what's going on? What happened?" He asked worried, his eyes not leaving her. He had never seen her so frightened before, and that was saying something considering the situations they had been in.

"I—I got up and I went to the bathroom and you...when I came back you were gone and—"

"Was this your dream? I'm just—I'm confused."

"I guess so. I guess. It was a nightmare." She revealed, Steve nodding to process what she had said. Christine took a couple of shallow breaths, the girl dropping her face into her hands and leaning forwards. Steve knew this move, he knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. He used his hand to rub up and down her back, trying his best to soothe her as she tried to catch her breath.

"Breathe with me. Okay? Breathe. Come on." Steve spoke softly into her shoulder as he pressed a kiss to it. She nodded in her hands, listening as Steve started to breathe deeply. She did her best to follow his breaths, and they stayed like this until she finally got her breathing under control. Once he knew she was okay he sat back, closing his eyes for a moment at the scare she had given him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked her with uncertainty, wondering if it was the right thing to ask, and she finally looked at him. She took him in, his messy hair, his drooping eyes, his sleepy voice and his bare chest. He was okay. She had finally gotten it through to herself that he was alright. She still couldn't shake the images from her head, the sound of his terrified and pained screams. She never wanted to hear that again.

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I just...couldn't find you." She said, her eyes unblinking as she looked at him. He gave her an understanding nod, the boy pulling her by the arm back down into a laying position. She laid against his chest, Steve pressing a kiss to the top of her head, hoping that she was calmed down now.

"I'm here. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere. And what did I tell you about apologizing all the time. Jeez." He whispered to her, and it was almost as if he was saying he loved her. The words were meaningful and endearing, and she needed to hear them.

"Okay." She whispered back, the both of them settling back into their spots. Christine wasn't entirely sure if she would be able to sleep again, but Steve...he was already halfway there. Right before he fell asleep the smell of her hair wafted towards his nose...strawberries. He could feel how tight her grip on him was and he found it sweet that she was so worried about him. He reopened his eyes, looking down at her and seeing how scared she looked even still.

"I love you, Chris." He said, and they seemed to be just the right thing. She didn't say it back because he knew, but instead she let the words soothe her, calm her, and put her back to sleep. Her mother was wrong. He did love her.