FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

thirty-four.

Steve Harrington had his hand on Christine Wheelers back, both of their breaths heavy as she bent over by a tree.  They had both underestimated the hike, the hill, and also how out of shape they both were. Christine hadn't done much over the winter, but Steve had played basketball, and  he was rather surprised by how physically  unfit he had fallen during the month since the season ended.

"Fuck! Give me the water." Christine ordered, the girl holding her hand out to Steve as she held onto the tiny tree for dear life. She had been fine when they started at the bottom, but her breakfast and lunch had decided to make another appearance  when she made it halfway up the hill. Steve pushed the bottle into her hand, his other one rubbing up and down her back as he waited for her to be done. She stood up, his hand not falling as she chugged the water, trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She unzipped her coat as she drank the water, pulling it off and throwing it to the ground for a second. Steve reached down, picking it up and holding it, his hand finally dropping from her back as he stepped in front of her.

"You feel better?" Steve asked, his face red and sweaty from the hike still as his hands went to his hips. She held up a finger, swishing water in her mouth and then spitting it out before letting out a long breath and then looking up at him.

"Yes."

"You wanna just go back?" Steve suggested, wanting her to say yes. It was cold, he was tired, and he was almost sure they wouldn't make it up the hill by sundown. Christine however did not look too keen on his suggestion, her nose scrunching up as she shook her head.

"Absolutely not. We're all the way up here, might as well finish."

"You literally jsut threw up." Steve said, gesturing towards the tree with a disgusted face. Christine pulled her coat from Steve hand, quickly putting it back on and shaking her head at him again.

"Exactly so everything's out of my system. Let's go." She said, pushing him with her shoulder and starting off past him. She regretted it deep in the back of her head but she hated quitting. Steve watched her as she walked for a few moments, the boy letting out a sigh as he looked down at the ground. "You got a mint or something? Maybe a ti- dude come on!"

Finally he gave in, sighing one more time for good measure before dropping his hands and walking after her. She smiled as he rejoined her, her eyes narrowing as he stared down at the wet trail. There had been snow there hours before...it was almost fully melted on the trail, the sides of it still covered.  Christine put her arm through his, linking their elbows and smiling up at him as they walked.

"What? I need the extra help." She said when she took in the look on his face, her eyes dropping to his lips and his chin as she said it. Steve thought she looked adorable in her winter hat, it was red, complimenting the color of her cheeks at the matching coat. The fluffy white ball on the top made him smile, she looked absolutely hilarious and yet enchanting at the same time. The best part about the entire moment was the redness of her nose, he thought it was so cute. He also noticed how their attire complimented each other. Christine in a dark red and Steve in a deep blue. He thought that people that passed them would think they were a couple without a doubt, they definitely would.

He thought about them being a couple for a moment, his eyes moving from the side of her determined face to the  muddy footprints in front of him. He could picture it. Waking up next to Christine instead of Nancy, seeing her beautiful smile, hearing her laugh. He loved the idea. He could imagine kissing her, he could imagine it quite nicely because he had been trying to do it for awhile now. He looked at her again, his eyes going to her frost bitten lips and then to the mud again. He could imagine it.