Christine Wheeler stood in her bedroom, the girl combing through her curls as she looked at herself in her mirror. She had finally finished her makeup and was almost done with her hair, the only thing left after her hair was the dress. She was fussing over herself in hopes that her nerves would disappear, but the more she tried to focus on other things the more the pit in her stomach grew.

Finally she was content with her hair, the girl letting out a sigh as she turned form where she was standing. She walked over to her bed, looking down at the dress on it and smiling. She was excited for the prom. She was less excited for who was taking her. Steve had asked her and she had accepted, but things were still rather uneasy between them. They hung out all the time, but he was walking on eggshells around her, and she was trying to push her feelings away.

Christine pulled on her deliciously blue dress, the color deep and beautiful. As a true film lover she had found that the only inspiration she had wanted for a dress was from the movie Carrie. So when the time came to pick one, her Aunt Karen helped her search for a silky dress. When they had found one they only had blue, but Christine thought it was perfect.

She pulled her robe off, the girl lifting the dress and holding it to her body for a moment. She was quick to step into the dress, pulling the straps over her shoulders and walking towards the mirror. The back was waiting to be zipped, but the second she saw the dress on her she felt her stomach stir. She looked amazing, and it was the first time in awhile that she truly felt beautiful.

"You need help?" A voice called from the entrance to the room, Christine looking in the mirror to see who has opened her door. Nancy was standing in the doorway, the girl wearing her own prom dress, her makeup and hair done neatly. She had an endearing and awestruck look in her eyes as she looking at her cousin, noticing how beautiful Christine looked.

"Please." Christine said, the girl moving her hair away from the zipper in the back. Nancy nodded, a smile on her lips as she entered the room. She walked over, her heels digging into the carpet as she pressed a hand to Christines back. She pulled the zipper up, noticing how nervous her older cousin looked and furrowing her eyebrows.

"You alright?" Nancy asked, and Christine was quick to nod. "You look nervous."

"I just...didn't go to prom last year. Nervous."

"So you and Steve are going together?" Nancy asked, and Christines face fell again. Nancy noticed this but chose not to comment, instead waiting patiently for her answer.

"Yeah and I hope he got the right color tie. And I hope his hair doesn't look stupid, I mean we have to take picture together and we're always going to-"

"So are you nervous because of prom or because of Steve?" Nancy asked, looking down at the zipper. She had suspected that things were going on between them for a long time, but she didn't really want to pry. Nancy met Christine eyes in the mirror and the answer became clear, the younger girl furrowing her eyebrows and nodding as she felt her stomach slightly drop.

"Is it okay? You know...that we're going together?" Christine asked, turning around and looking at Nancy seriously. She wanted some sort of closure, something to make them both feel better. Nancy swallowed and then spoke, Christine listening intently to her.

"Uh—yeah—yes. I'm—well...I'm happy for you." Nancy said, and now it was Christine's turn to speak again.

"It's not what you think. We're not together. We're not going to be together. He's...he's healing." Christine revealed, and Nancy felt a lick of guilt at that. Christine didn't mean to make her feel bad, it was her own mind that had flooded her with guilt.

"It's okay if you are. I see the way you guys look at each other." Christine thought back to the trip to Colorado, her heart dropping into her stomach as she realized they had definitely missed their chance. She shook the thoughts from her head, reaching and grabbing Nancy's hand, her lips turned up into a grateful smile as she looked at her younger cousin.

"Thank you. I mean it." Christine offered, and Nancy nodded at that. They shared a moment for a few second longer before a yell sounded from downstairs, both of the girls looking towards the open door as they were beckoned downstairs. They both shared an excited smile, Nancy turning to make her way towards the voices.

Aunt Karen was at the bottom of the stair, her camera in hand as she gasped at the sight of the beautiful girls coming down the stairs. She drones on and on about how excited she was and how good they looked, making them lose in pictures together, some of them including Mike, a lot of them including Holly who was so excited by the dressing up that she couldn't help but wander into the pictures. They all shared multiple laughs, Mike not even being able to deny that they both looked pretty, no matter how much he wanted to.

It was a good 30 minutes later when there was a knock on the door, the two girls looking at each other in anticipation as they wondered which one of their dates it was. Nancy rushed to the door, pulling it open and smiling brightly when she saw that it was Jonathan. Christine felt a pinch of disappointment as she watched them greet each other, but the disappointment was short lived when she saw Steve Harrington peek his head out from behind  Nancy and Jonathan.

He was able to keep his eyes off of them, the boy smiling at Karen Wheeler as he walked inside. He looked to Christine, doing a double take as he took her in. He felt his whole body go into a momentary shock, his heart stopping for a moment along with his breath. A lump hilt in his throat as his eyes trailed up the blue of her dress, and Nancy and Jonathan shared a look as they watched him. Christine smiled at Steve and he felt his knees weaken,the boy feeling almost as if dropping to the floor was going to happen.

"You look great. Your tie! It's the right color." Her voice was a melody to his ears and Steve felt something close to straight awe as he looked at her dreamily.  She stepped forwards, grabbing his tie and holding it in her fingers before he finally could swallow the lump in his throat, his wide eyes making him look insane.

"You look amazing. You're—uh...wow. I'm just—wow. You really—" Steve cleared his throat, gathering himself before continuing in. "You look good. Beautiful. Very nice."

He offered a thumbs up, Christine giggling as she felt the nerves fall away. Being with him wasn't as bad as being away from him. It was scary until they were actually together.

"Alright let's get some pictures and get the corsages out and we've got some flowers to mess around with so come on girls." Karen said, gesturing between the two couple with her hands. She lifted the camera, taking pictures while they got their corsages, smiled and laugh, posed for the pictures. Finally it was time to go, Christine and Steve parting ways with Nancy and Jonathan. The couple headed to their respective cars, Steve opening the door for Christine and then joining her on the drivers side. He would admit that being out of the proximity of Nancy and Jonathan was making him feel better. Until he remembered he had a very hot date with a very off limits girl.  Every time he looked at her he was shaken to his core, she was breathtaking. The way her hair fell perfectly on her shoulders, the way the dress clung to her body. He couldn't help but almost imagine his hands on it, his fingers pulling down the zipper.  He could imagine-

"Do you think you'll win?" Christine pulled him from his thoughts, his eyes glued to her lap as she looked over at him. He pushed every dirty thought he had away, shrugging his shoulders and starting the car.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does. I know you want to. I'm gonna vote for someone else though." Christine jokes, a goofy smile lighting up her face as Steve took off. He looked over at her with an unimpressed look, the girl giggling at the expression on his face as he spoke.

"Ha ha. Who are you gonna vote for then? Mark Lewinsky? Billy? Your ex boyfriend would probably love your vote. Tommy H?"

"Actually I'm gonna write in a candidate. Who should I choose?" Christine brought her finger up to her chin, feigning a thoughtful look as she searched her brain for someone that would irritate him. "I'll write Eddie Munson in...we have math together. He is very king like."

"Yeah right... I doubt he even shows to prom. I don't think it's his kind of scene." Steve said, fiddling with the radio controls as he tried to hide his actual disappointment. He knew she was joking, or at least he hoped she was.

"I know you want it. Just admit you want to be prom king." Christine said, looking over at him with narrowed eyes. He bit the inside of his cheek, starting to shake his head as he had a guilty look on his face. He could try to deny it, but there was no way he could pull it off with her.

"Alright fine...I want to be Prom King."

"And you will." She said in a reassuring tone, Steve's eyebrows twitching together slightly. He wondered how stupid he must sound, wanting something so mundane when they had literally fought monsters. But Prom King was the culmination of everything he worked for in high school, he wasn't getting into college, so he truly needed that extra reward so he could feel good about something. Prom King was what he would claim. He hadn't told Christine about the letters from the schools he had applied to, the ones that crushed his dreams and ruined his future every time he opened one. The only thing that made him feel better about it was the fact that Christine would be staying in Hawkins for at least another year...and it was a relief.

Their conversation for the rest of the ride was dry and dull, both of them thinking of other things. Steve had pushed himself onto the track of despising himself for the rest of the night, silently hating himself for how he had screwed up. And he couldn't even say anything because his friendship with Christine was so devastatingly fragile at the moment. All he wanted was to be back to normal. And he could tell that's what she wanted too. But he didn't know how things could be normal again after what happened, after what they did, after the things that were said.

"I forgive you, Steve." Christine voiced pierced the silence as he pulled into a parking spot, the boy looking over at her and seeing a strange amount of emotion in her eyes. He knew exactly what she was talking about because he had begged for her forgiveness for awhile now, and she had never given it. This was it. He felt a weight come off of him, the two of them being the closest to normal they ever had been and once again he couldn't imagine the kind of woman it would take to forgive him for what he had done. She was amazing. He felt a surge of that unfamiliar feeling in his body that he had every time they were together, and he closed his mouth as he tried to stop himself from choking on words. He hated himself for how much he still felt for her.

"Thanks, Chris. Really...it means a lot." He recited, the words being the only ones he could think to say. She gave him a short nod, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. Steve scolded her when he got out for not letting him open the door, but she just rolled her eyes and took his arm. He felt another wave of that feeling when their bodies were so close, when all he had been dreaming about for a month now was her. He hated her for being so beautiful that she never left his mind. It was torture for him when he was trying to heal.

They entered the gym and quite a few people looked at them, whispers starting in a few friend groups. They stood aside for a picture, Steve smiling cheekily as Christine got behind him and held him. They laughed as they got photographed, an ease settling in the friendship now that Steve was forgiven. He had forgiven her long ago, and it had taken Christine awhile to mend her broken heart. It was still torn, but she wanted him to feel better, she hated seeing him to tense.

"Let's find a table yeah?" Steve said over the loud music, his hands squeezing her hips as she lead the way in front of him. She nodded, the boy staying particularly close to her so that he didn't lose her. She found a table, her eyes searching the crowd for a specific person. Nancy. She spotted her not far off, Christine putting her purse in the table and turning to Steve.

"I'll be back." She said, giving him a meaningful smile and making his heart pound. He nodded as she walked off, his eyes following her as she made her way through the crowd. He felt strange, like she was the only thing that could catch his attention in this room full of people, that was until he saw where she had went, his mood souring as he took in the sight of a beautiful Nancy Wheeler. He would admit that seeing her never hurt as much as it used to, being away from Christine hurt more, hurting Christine hurt more. But he still felt that twinge of heartache in him when he saw her, when he saw Jonathan and her together.

Steve turned, letting out a sigh as he sat at the table. He hated how melancholic he was now, wondering how he could possibly be ruining a fun time at Prom with his thoughts. Prom King was long forgotten, the only thing bouncing around in his mind being Christine and Nancy.

"What's up man?! Where's your date?" A few guys from the basketball approached him, Steve feeling slightly relieved that someone was going to bring him out of this slump. He started to talk, Christine turning and looking back at him from afar, her lips turning up at the sight of his smile. She turned back to Nancy and Jonathan, Christine grabbing Nancy by the arm and looking at Jonathan.

"I'm stealing your girl." She said, letting out a short laugh as she pulled Nancy away and towards the dance floor. The song that was playing was upbeat and fun, the girl pulling Nancy into the group of dancing kids and starting to dance with her.

"Are you having fun?"

"I am now!" Christine answered, laughing as she waiting for Nancy to start dancing. "Dance!"

Christine immediately broke into laughter when Nancy started dancing , the both of them seemingly terrible dancers that were having fun. Steve saw her through the bodies of the guys that were talking to him, his lip turning up at the corner as he saw her, laughing and having fun. How could he not love her?

He excused himself, forgetting all the nerves of being around Nancy and instead approaching the two of them. As if God himself was intervening the song ended, a slow song coming on right as he approached her. Steve felt strange when he approached her now, feeling nervous like he was in middle school, asking a girl he didn't know to dance with him.

"Chris?" He said from behind her, the girl turning to look at him. She gave him a breathtaking smile and he felt his whole face soften, feeling like the whole world and everything that mattered was standing right in front of him. Nancy slowly backed away, feeling endeared at the sight. She was happy he was moving on.

He didn't even have to ask her, Christine pushing their bodies together at a torturously slow rate, her arms sliding around his neck as she didn't break eye contact with him. His hands lifted to her waist and he pulled her as close as possible, her head resting on his chest as they melted into the familiar comfort of each other.

Steve had only ever felt this way once before, and he cursed himself for not waiting for her to feel it. He continuously badgered himself when it came to Christine, because he felt guilt that he hadn't waited for her to come along to feel this way. He wished he had waited. He wished he wouldn't have given his heart away, because then Christine would be his and there would be nothing wrong between them. Steve could feel it, right now in this moment. It was Christine. She was it.

The song ended, not a word between them as they split. The rest of the night went smoothly, Steve winning Prom King and dancing with the queen. Christine and Steve did not dance together again, it meant way too much for it to happen twice. They enjoyed the rest of prom like normal teens, like they didn't know about other dimensions and monsters. Everything was alright.

"Holy shit! I cant believe I won!" Steve exclaimed when they got back into the car, his smile wide and childlike and his crown sitting on his head perfectly.

"I can! Of course you were gonna win!" Christine affirmed him, his head turning to look at her and a silence immediately taking over them. They looked at each other with big bright smiles, and Steve wanted to kiss her so bad. He knew he couldn't, and he wouldn't, but he really wanted to. His eyes held nothing but pure joy and love and Christine felt that in her soul, she was so happy for him.

Their moment was interrupted by a growl from Christine's stomach, Steve looking down at it and then back up at her.

"Dinner! Holy shit I forgot...oh my god. Well—we —we gotta eat something." Steve said, starting the car. Christine nodded, she was clearly very hungry, the boy immediately pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. They recounted they memories of the night, both of them building on each other conversations and then finally he pulled into a restaurant, a burger place, and Christine looked over at Steve with a huge smile.

"Best night ever."