Christine Wheeler had been invited by her dad to come to Colorado where he was working for spring break, the girl jumping at the opportunity to get out of Hawkins. It had been months since the mind flayer, since the Christmas party, and things had improved a bit at home. Christine and Nancy had formed an uneasy alliance, the two girls realizing that if they had to live together then they could at least be civil. Christine had gone out of her way a number of times now to spend time with Nancy, and she was even starting to get along with Jonathan. Their uneasy alliance had turned into a blooming friendship, and the Wheeler girls actually found themselves enjoying each other, both of them realizing that maybe the other wasn't as bad as they had thought. Christine spent some days hanging out with Max, trying to learn how to skateboard, hanging out with the boys at the arcade and even being invited to a weekly dinner at the Chiefs cabin with all the boys and Eleven. But her time with Steve was still the best time she had, the two of them spending every possible second together that they could and still never getting tired of each other. Christine and Steve had made an unspoken agreement to not bring up the Christmas party night, and to just pretend like nothing had ever happened and that they definitely 100% had no feelings for each other. But Steve knew that the more time they spent together, the more he felt for her and Christine was the same way, but there was something that held them both back, neither of them really entirely sure what it was.

Christine had invited Steve to go with her to see her dad, he had told her he wasn't doing anything for spring break. He gleefully accepted, and they had spoken excitedly about it  all the way up until it was actually time to go,  the two of them getting nervous about the drive. The first day was a 7 hour drive, the two of them getting a motel in the middle of nowhere. Steve drove the first day,  Christine sleeping for some of it, the two of them doing some impromptu karaoke and  road games for most of it. Christine and Steve talked about everything under the sun, they joked and laughed and enjoyed each other and by the time they got to the hotel they were beyond tired of being in the car.

"You know I've never  been on a road trip before." Steve said as they brought their bags into their room. Christine turned back to look at him, a small smile on her lips as he sat his bags on the bed closest to the door.

"Me and my dad used to drive coast to coast every July when I was growing up.  It was his way of apologizing for never getting to go on vacation during the rest of the  year because he was working. But it's not really like I ever was upset about it, that road trip was what got me through the year most of the time." Christine said, sitting on the edge of her bed and  giving Steve a nostalgic smile. He sat on his bed opposite to her, a smile on his face as he learned something else about her.

"That must be nice. My parents were more of a 'take a trip to the beach every few years' kind of family but we always flew." Steve said, feeling a small pain in his back from where he had been sitting all day  and deciding to lay down. There was a silence that followed, Christine finding the tv remote and turning the tv on. She rounded Steve's bed, sitting beside him and leaning her back against his headboard.  He looked up at her from his laying position, his eyes studying her as she looked for a channel. Her tongue went to the edge of her mouth as she concentrated, Steve feeling a smile cross his lips as he watched her.

"I hate motels though because I never know the channels. I mean back home I have all the good channels memorized but I don't really know what they are here." Christine said, looking down at Steve with a little bit of a frustrated look. He nodded to what she said, grabbing the remote from her hand and starting to turn the channel.

"What do you wanna watch?"

"I don't know. Anything interesting." Christine watched the tv as he flipped through the channels, her eyes glued to the screen as they tried to find something to watch. "Oh stop it! Family Ties is on."

"Ugh I hate that show." Christine gasped, her eyes widening as she looked down at Steve.

"You hate Family Ties? Are you even a person?" Steve laughed at her reaction, pushing himself up to sit with his own back against the headboard, the boy shaking his head as he kept it on Family Ties.

"Yes I'm a person. I just don't like the show that much. But we can watch it. Whatever." He said, feigning surrender as she gave him a faux death glare. She smiled at the fact that he said they could watch it, the girl sitting back against the headboard again and keeping her eyes on the tv.

"I mean Michael J. Fox? He's so hot." Steve couldnt agree there, his face contorting into one of disgust as he looked over at her.

"No he's not. Why would you even think that?"

"I mean look at him. The great hair, the cute face, he's adorable." Steve still wasn't convinced, his nose scrunching up as he watched the guy in question on the tv. "Oh I forgot to call my aunt and tell her we made it to the motel."

Christine reached over Steve, the boy putting his arms up as she grabbed the phone from the table and sat it on his lap. She started dialing the number, Steve letting out a sigh and grabbing the remote again. He started flipping through the channels as the phone rang, Christines eyes focused on the fabric of Steve's shirt as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" The voice that came from the other side was not her Aunts , but Mikes, the girl quickly answering him.

"Hey Mike. Listen can you tell your mom we made it to the hotel?"

"Ew you guys are staying in a hotel together? Single or double beds?"

"Double beds, Mike."

"Are you- hey stop! Stop! He—" The phone went silent for a second before another voice came over the phone, Christine rolling her eyes as she heard who it was.

"Are you and Steve canoodling?" Dustin said from the other side of the phone, Christine groaning as Steve chuckled a little bit.

"No we're not canoodling. Dear god where did you learn that word? Just tell my aunt we made it." Christine said, letting out a sigh as she hung up the phone. Steve was laughing a little bit, stopping the tv on the Brady Bunch and putting the phone back on the table instead of on his lap.

Christine shook the phone call from her mind, turning back to the tv. The two of them watched the show in silence for a little while, Christine smiling every time Steve laughed at the show.

"So you like The Brady Bunch but not Family Ties? How's that work?"

"I was raised on the Brady Bunch. It's good. Listen, this show is part of the reason why I am the way I am." Steve defended, pointing at the tv.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the Brady Bunch...this big giant family. I grew up watching this show and I never had any siblings. So watching this show made me realize that in the future I wanted a big family." Steve explained, his eyes glued to the tv as he gestured towards it. Christine was actually interested in what he had to say,  her eyebrows raised as she scooted a little closer to him.

"How big?" She asked, Steve finally turning to look at her as she spoke.

"I don't know. Like 5 or 6 kids. Bunch of Harrington's. And we all go on...road trips together. And I'm just...a better dad than mine." Steve revealed, feeling a bit vulnerable as he refused to look at Christine. She was looking at him in admiration, her lips turning up at the corners as she heard about Steve's aspirations.

"When I was younger my dad had to pry me away from the tv when this show was on. You're right about the family thing...growing up alone only made me want to have a big family too." Christine said, shrugging her shoulders as Steve felt his heart rate pick up. "And I guess you're right about the dad thing too. I'd love to be a better mom to my kids than my mom was to me."

They looked at each other for a second, a silent agreement going between the two as they both thought about their dreams and shared views on life. Steve's mind started wandering before Christines did, the boy imagining Christine in those images of his future, but also being able to see Nancy there as well. His smiled slightly dropped, Steve shaking his head and then turning back to look at the tv.

"It's all just stupid dreams though. I'll probably die alone." Steve said, not wanting to look at her now. Christines dreams floated away, the girl seeing that Steve was beginning to get away from the thoughts that they were sharing. Christine dropped her head onto his shoulder, her lips tightening into a thin line as she spoke.

"I don't think you should give up too soon Steve.  There's somebody out there for you." Christine said, feeling her heart drop as she said it.  Her heart broke for Steve, whos self esteem had dropped tremendously since Nancy had broken up with him.  Christine wished more than anything that she could make him see how much he really meant to her and to all of their friends,  and how he was just as deserving of love as everyone else. Christine had been through her fair share of breakups, and this was ways the hardest part. Steve had been more of a player before Nancy,  and so when he had went all in for her, it had hurt way worse when she gave up on them.

Christine and Steve watched tv for a little while longer, the boy being the first to yawn. After a little while he leaned his head onto hers, another yawning coming out of his mouth and making Christine speak.

"You tired?" She asked, Steve lifting his head and initiating a stretch. He yawned as he stretched, nodding his head and looking at the girl with tired eyes. She thought he looked pretty cute like that, the girl scooting off of the bed and going to her own. She pulled pajamas out of her bag,  quickly going to change and  coming back out. By the time she came back out in her t-shirt and bed shorts Steve was asleep, his arm hanging over the side of  the bed and  his mouth slightly open. She held in her laugh, grabbing the remote and turning their show off before looking at him one last time, the girl cutting the light off and getting into bed.

"Goodnight Steve."