Steve Harrington pulled up outside of Dustin Hendersons house, the boy quickly getting out of the car and heading towards the house. He rang the doorbell, a small smile on his lips as he thought about helping Dustin out. The door opened, Dustins mom greeting him and sending him back to Dustins room.

"Henderson. Alright man lets fix this up." Steve said, giving Dustin a concentrated look as he grabbed the Farrah Fawcett spray from his hand. Once Steve was satisfied with Dustins hair and Dustin was satisfied with Dustins hair they headed out, Steve thanking his mom on the way out. They hurried to the car, Dustin buzzing about the dance as they drove.

"I'm just nervous." Dustin said, making the corner of Steves lips turn up as he said it. He shook his head, looking over at the younger boy before looking back at the road.

"No need to be nervous." He reassured, Dustin nodding at his words. They sat in silence for just a few moments before Dustin spoke again, a curious look on his face.

"Does Christine make you nervous?"

"Woah! Dude what? Out of pocket! Where did that even come from?" Steve said, shaking his head as he refused to answer that.

"I saw the way you two were after the tunnels. You should have kissed her." Dustin said, raising his hands in surrender as he kept his eyes on Steve. 

"Dude." Steve said, shaking his head. He thought about it for a moment, realizing how damn right he was and then letting out a sigh. "I know."

"Alright buddy here we are." Steve informed Dustin as they pulled into the parking lot of Hawkins Middle School. He pressed the break, both of them looking at the gym doors . Steve's eyes wandered to Dustin, noting the worried look on his face and leaping into reassuring the young boy. "So, remember, one you get in there...."

"Pretend I don't care." Dustin gave him a short nod, looking at Steve like he was about to ace a test. Christines words bounced around in the back of his mind but in the grand total of girls that Steve had gotten and girls that Christine had gotten, Steve was the winner.

"You don't care."

"I don't care." Dustin reassured, Steve and him both looking in front of them.

"There you go. You're learning my friend. You're learning." Dustin reached up and moved the rear view mirror, pulling it down so he could see himself. Steve furrowed his eyebrows, reaching for the mirror and slightly shaking his head.

"Hey..."

"What?" Dustin said guiltily and without certainty,  Steve quick to remind him of what he was calling him out for.

"Come on. You look great okay? You look...you look great. Okay? Now you're gonna go in there—" Steve started, Dustin agreeing with him.

"Yeah."

"—look like a million bucks—"

"Yeah."

"And you're gonna slay 'em dead." Steve said, a finality in his tone as he gave Dustin a overly certain look.

"Like a lion." Dustin purred after that statement, Steve giving him a forced smile and a cringing face.

"Yeah don't do that okay?"

"Okay." Dustin nodded, his eyes going to Steve's hand as he lifted it. He grabbed it, giving him a handshake as Steve spoke again.

"Good luck." Steve didn't know how much that meant to Dustin, the boy giving him one last nervous smile before opening the car door. He shot one look over his shoulder as he entered the dance, Steve leaning against the wheel a little bit so that he could watch him enter.

He watched as Dustin started conversation with a teacher, a small proud look on his face as he watched him. His eyes wandered slightly, going to a figure in a door past Dustin, his breath catching for a moment in his throat. He felt his heart drop as he saw Nancy, her red dress and updo making her look as perfect as ever. He felt the longing, the pain, seeing her hurt him still. But he would admit, he enjoyed seeing the smile on her face. He let out the breath, feeling  like perhaps he had made a mistake from letting her go. His heart was still full of love for her, and it aches at just the thought of never getting to be with her again. The reality was much worse. He kept his eyes on her for a moment longer before a waist appeared, blocking his view of Nancy and confusing him. The woman attached to the waist bent down, her face covered in an amused grin as she looked at the boy in the car.

"What are you doing here Stevie?"  Christine Wheeler asked the boy in the car. He was equally confused, and also a bit amused that the girl who had blocked Nancy from his view was Christine. How fitting. She reaches her hand in the door, pulling the lock up and opening it, her body in his passenger seat before he could even react. His face was littered with confusion, and through her head he still couldn't see Nancy. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

"I dropped Dustin off. What are you doing here?"  Steve asked. Christine raised her eyebrows slightly, trying to figure out how she could explain her  appearance to him. She chuckled a little bit, her hands on her arms as she hugged her jacket closer to her. Steve took this opportunity to drop his eyes over her, the boy studying her outfit. She didn't look like she was helping at the dance, nor did she look like she meant to go out. She was wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and a tank top, her stomach showing proudly at the bottom. She had a gray jacket on and he noticed that she didn't seem to have any makeup  on or have her hair done in the slightest.

"I came with Hopper." Steve looked at her even more confused now, wondering what business she had with Hopper. She sighed when she saw the look he was sporting, the girl turning in her seat to face him.  "Can we just get out of here? How long is this thing? Like 2 hours?" Christine supposed that he probably had to take Dustin home too, meaning he had to wait until he was done at the dance.

"Yeah it's like...2 hours. I'm sorry- why were you with Hopper?" Steve had a dirty thought run through his head, his lip curling up in some disgust at the thought and Christine seeming to hear it as well.

"Nothing weird. He just...offered me a job. Not as a cop but kind of like a receptionist or something.  I don't know."

"Are you gonna take it?"

"Well I've never thought about being a cop before. But I—I don't know I think I could actually do it. Be a police officer I mean. Or at least take this job and get something good for my resume." Christine said, pushing s hair behind her ear as Steve pulled into a parking spot. He nodded, trying to think of something to say before letting out a short chuckle.

"So if you take it do I have to call you officer?" Christine giggled at this,  her hand flying to hit him in the shoulder.

"Shut up." She laughed out, Steve rubbing the spot on his arm as he looked at her with a smile. She thought for a moment before giving him a look of acceptance. "Actually I kind of like that. Officer Christine or Officer Wheeler. Not bad. Yes! You do have to call me officer."

"Alright officer. So what ...did he like pick you up in the middle of a nap?" Steve asked, his eyes tracing giver her again. Christine noticed it this time, the girl looking down at her attire herself and then becoming extremely thankful for the heat in Steve's car.

"Yeah actually. I was about to go to bed but he showed up at the house and asked to take me on a ride. And we ended up here." She pushed a unkempt piece of hair behind her ear, Steve following her fingers all the way as she did it. He liked being with Christine, there was something so exhilarating about just being in her presence. Sometimes the tension would be unbearable, but sometimes...sometimes they were just the best of friends, and he liked that divide.

"Did you see Dustin?" Steve asked in an excited tone, Christine shaking her head.  For the next two hours or so they conversed about everything they could think of, the laughter flowing heavily between them. Christine was in a particularly flirty mood tonight and Steve was quick to catch on.  New friendships were always exciting.

Dustin caught the two of them mid laugh, the boy leaning down and knocking on the passenger side window with furrowed eyebrows.  Why was Christine here?

"Oh my God! He's adorable Steve." Christine pushed the door open, the girl jumping out of the car and grabbing Dustin by the shoulders. She had her mouth opened widely as she looked at him in awe, his face scrunched up in confusion as she spoke.

"Wow! You look so handsome." Christine cooed, Dustins cheeks burning red as she looked him over. He fixed his jacket a little bit, showing off the slightest bit and making Steve roll his eyes with a smile. "Lady killer. Jeez. You look great!"

"Thank you m'lady. You look...pleasant. As always." Dustin said, looking over her with a contented smile. She laughed a breathy laugh, her head turning to look at Steve with some kind of faux awe.

"Did you hear that Stevie? I look pleasant as always." She joked, Steve rolling his eyes again as Christine lightly pushed Dustin towards the passenger seat. She leaned against the top of the car as she closed the passenger door, both of the boys looking at her with smiles.

"Well I'll see you two around. And you—" Christine pointed at Dustin, her lips turned up as she finished her sentence. "—call me sometime." She tapped the top of the car, giving Steve a swoon worthy wink before walking off and back towards wherever she came from. Dustin looked at Steve, a grin on his lips as he nodded his head.

"She's amazing."