Christine Wheeler was holed up in the basement of the Wheeler home, her eyes glued to the game board in front of her and her stomach in knots from the campaign the five of them were currently working through. Will was overjoyed when Christine had petitioned all the boys to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons, the girl insisting that she wanting to finally try it out now that they had the time.
It had been a month and a half since the mall, a tremulous month spent doing absolutely nothing but wallowing and trying to pick up the scattered pieces of their lives. The kids were starting school in a couple days, and a few nights before Joyce Byers had informed Christine that she was moving, she was getting out of Hawkins. Christine made an effort to try and enjoy every moment she had with the kids and Nancy, in fear that anything could happen to them at anytime. And also to have an excuse to not see Steve.
After Billy's funeral things went back to how they had been the week following the mall fire. It was almost a cold cut, except Steve tried to call and visit as often as he could. For the first week Christine cut him some slack, but after that the girl went to completely ignoring him. However they were still hardly seeing each other, and every moment that Steve wasn't spending pining after Christine, he was spending with Robin. It wasn't that Christines feelings had changed or gone away, but she didn't know where to go from there, and she was too afraid of repeating the Colorado trip argument to try and proceed. She avoided him in fear of having to ask what the next step was, not really wanting to get her heart broken like she had the first time. They had officially not seen each other in 32 days, and Christine had no intention of changing that.
"So do...do you win?" El asked from where she was sitting on the couch, Max wondering the same thing. Christine had rolled the dice and landed in a very convenient number, Will groaning while the other boys cheered. Christine shrugged her shoulders, the girl hardly knowing if she had won or not. She hardly understood the game to begin with.
"Yes she won! She did it!" Mike cheered, the two girls on the couch smiling as he said it. Christine stood from the table, her eyes wide in shock and confusion as she pumped her fist in the air, a smile taking over her lips.
"Awesome! Now what?" She asked, all the kids looking between each other and then at her. She knew that look, the one where they wanted her to drive her somewhere, the girl groaning internally and externally as they all gave her puppy dog eyes. "Jesus Christ what do you want?"
"Ice cream?" Lucas asked for them all, the girl looking at them with an irritable look and then shaking her head.
"Ugh fine. Fine. But it's only because I won and I want to celebrate."
"We won. So...victory ice cream on you?" Mike suggested, Christines mouth dropping open as he said it. She looked between all of them and their sickly sweet smiles, rolling her eyes and then letting out a defeated scoff.
"Fine. Victory ice cream on me because I'm in such a deliciously great mood. But we're gonna have to take your moms car." Christine said, pointing at Mike.
"No it's fine we can squeeze and Dustin can sit in the trunk." Mike offered up, Dustin scoffing are his suggestion as everyone else just nodded along. Christine shrugged, making her way up the stairs in front of them all.
Once they all got to the car she was quick to start towards the malt shop on the other side of town, Will having claimed the front seat and fiddling with the radio. The seven of them were screaming out the lyrics to some song on the radio when Christine felt a shaking in her foot, coming from the tire. Everyone else seemed to notice the change when she pulled the car over, the kids groaning as they all saw the front side of the car slightly lower then the rest of it.
"Great. Just great." Christine said, cutting the car off and then trying to turn it back on, hoping it would help. When all it did was cut back on she let out a frustrated yell, the girl hitting the wheel and dropping her head down onto it. She knew that wasn't going to help, but she really didn't want this to be happening.
"Christine what ha-" She was quick to get out of the car, throwing her door open and rounding the side it. Her eyes widened when she saw the cars front left tire was flat, her entire demeanor changing.
"Piece of shit!" She yelled, kicking the flat tire and then reaching down to touch it. She heard the air blowing out in her face and she cursed again. When she turned her head all six of the kids were standing in the side of the road, Christine sighing as she dropped her head in defeat.
"What do we do?" One of the kids asked, Christine sighing again before reopening her eyes and walking towards Dustin. She pulled a twenty out of her back pocket, pushing it into his hand and giving him a serious look.
"Ice cream shop isn't far from here, you guys run there and get some ice cream, pass a pay phone on the way and call for some help alright? Once I get this figured out I'll pick you guys up from the ice cream shop." Christine said, Dustin nodding at her words. She looked at the rest of them a serious look in her eyes as she spoke again. "I swear to god if you little shits call Steve you're done. Done!"
They all nodded frantically, Lucas snatching the $20 from Dustins hand and running off in the direction of the nearest pay phone. Christine watched them until they were out of her sight, the girl groaning and turning around to look at the hood again.
:::
Steve Harrington had been in the middle of looking through the newspaper for jobs when he heard his phone ring, the boy looking at it suspiciously as it did so. It wasn't very often that he got calls at home, because the calls were always for his dad for work, and his dad was currently on a work trip. Steve refolded the newspaper, the boy standing from his spot on the couch and walking towards the ringing phone. He pulled it from the wall in confusion, lifting it to his ear and speaking.
"Hello?"
"Steve! Thank God. Christines car broke down and I feel like we've been walking for miles. She's on Ridge Street and she didn't come with us. I don't know she told us to call you because she knew you could help." Dustin Henderson's voice came from the other side of the phone, the curly headed boys lips turned up into a smile as he said it. The other kids gave him a nod at his clever idea, all of them having noticed how absent Steve had been from her life over the last little bit. They had been thinking of ways to try and get them together but Mike had come up with the clever idea to stick a nail under the car, so that the tire would flatten. The overheating happened entirely on its own, but they took it as the universes way of telling them it was a good plan.
"Alright I'll go there. Yeah I'll- okay I'll be there." Steve said, the boy quickly hanging up the phone. He ran to grab his keys, pulling his jacket on quickly and running to his car.
Christine Wheeler had the radio on in the car, happy that at least she could listen to some music while she fiddled around in the hood, the girl having no idea what she was doing. The familiar beats of Madonnas 'Crazy For You' started, Christines head lifting from the engine and towards the road, her entire face dropping as she saw the familiar red car approaching. She prayed he wouldn't stop, prayed that Steve Harrington would just keep driving and pay her no mind but when he pulled up beside her and rolled the passenger side window down she realized that was wishful thinking.
"Need a hand?"
