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hargrove-mayfields · 9 months

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Disabled Billy and Steve Week

Day 7- Invisible Disability Awareness

My prompt: Steve on a low spoons day

-•-•-•-

Steve wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Literally. He’s face down in his girlfriend's pillows, drooling on her favorite squishmallow.

It isn’t rare for Chrissy to get up in the middle of the night and move to sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. Her condition is more rare than Steve’s, a type of synesthesia that mimics touch. So if Steve had his face squished against a pillow and hair all over his eyes, Chrissy would feel the same sensation.

Sometimes it could get frustrating, especially if she was having a bad sensory day, so it wasn’t surprising or offensive that she would put a little distance between herself and Steve.

The part that makes him admittedly sad is that he’s having a bad day too. He hadn’t just woken up normally, it had been from a tic. It was a subtle one, but his sleep had been light enough that kicking his leg and knocking his blanket off had been enough.

That one annoying twitch of his leg has quickly turned into a full scale tic attack.

“Chrissy- Chrissy- Chrissy-“

That particular name tic was born from a time he’d called for her, and she couldn’t hear him because of her noise canceling headphones. So he’d yelled out a second time and suddenly his brain decided it needed to say her name as many times as possible.

These days it usually only pops up during tic attacks, but that only makes it more frustrating, since he’s probably trying to communicate something he needs when it takes root.

But that isn’t what gets Chrissy to actually come in. It’s probably the loud, somewhat squeaky shout that alerts her that Steve is both awake and probably not doing so well.

She’s there by his side within a few minutes, her hand on his chest and soothing him softly, “Steve, darling, deep breaths.”

His shoulders slam backwards into the mattress before he can answer, another tic cutting him off, because of course it would, “I’m sorry -Chrissy- Chrissy- Chrissy- Today’s not a good day..”

“We can rest, baby. There was nothing important to do today anyways.” Chrissy offers, getting settled back in next to him.

“Fudge!” Steve shouts unexpectedly, his arms flying up like he’s frustrated with something.

Chrissy looks hesitant now, taking that tic as maybe a reflection of how he feels, just in case, “Is that okay with you?”

But Steve assures her, “Sure. Napping sounds- fudge! Fuck! -fun.”

A long, frustrated hum trails off after his words, deepened when his closed hand pounds on his chest exactly three times.

He’s already so over this, “Nevermind.. I can’t sleep like this.”

“We don’t have to. Just get comfy, Stevie. It won’t fix it but, maybe it will help a little.” Chrissy keeps him from giving up.

They ran out of the medicine they could give him when his attacks got too severe, but Steve didn’t like to take it anyways. Not that he enjoys his tics so much, but they’re a part of him, and being without them after almost fourteen years of doing this makes him feel strange.

He bets Chrissy probably feels strange too, with all the physical sensations Steve is having that are undoubtedly mirroring in her body. If it weren’t for the amount of times they’d talked about it and Chrissy said she didn’t mind since it’s not Steve’s fault, he would’ve felt guilty.

Instead he lets her pull the weighted blanket up over him gently, and even hands him his chewy scarf, the red one that’s his instead of the pink one she wears, instead of the blanket when it’s clear he’s about to bite the hell out of it. He would’ve too, because his tics make him bite down on that chewy fabric until his jaw almost hurts.

When it releases, he makes sure to let Chrissy know he appreciates her gentle pampering, “Thanks.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Stevie.” Chrissy reminds him lovingly.

This time, not for tic reasons, he blurts out, “I love you.”

It makes his beautiful girlfriend smile, a sight that is instant comfort on its own, “I love you too, honey.”

All this repetition of words triggers some kind of tic response, “Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, all the tiiime.”

For some reason, Steve’s Tourette’s loves music. He isn’t really sure about any of the science behind it, but his mouth is always blurting out random song lyrics, no matter how situationally inappropriate. Like the time he shouted a few lines of Fat Bottomed Girls in a butterfly garden he and Chrissy were visiting.

This time though, a couple of lines of some 1950s love song is just cute enough to get a pass. Chrissy at least thinks so, since she giggles and says, “That’s very sweet.”

When Steve bonks himself on the nose, it’s not quite as nice. It actually really hurts.

Steve seeks comfort for the pain, “Can I cuddle you?”

Chrissy opens her arms up wide to make room for him, “Of course, snuggle bunny! Come here!”

That’s an invitation Steve wastes no time to accept, laying his head on Chrissy's chest and breathing deep to stay relaxed. It works a little, in that her cuddles at least eases the frustration and the exhaustion mixing together in his mind.

Maybe Steve can’t sleep, but he can relax, and this is the peak of his bliss. Just lazing about with his girlfriend Chrissy, a beautiful and positive force in his life he never expected to have when his diagnosis came at fourteen.

It was through his Tourette’s that they became close though, since they’d met in a neurologists office while Chrissy was still seeking a diagnosis. He’d rolled up a waiting room magazine and hit himself in the head with it. She’d been the only one to ask if he was okay instead of trying to hide a laugh like a few others, and the rest was history.

Chrissy always says someone should make a movie about them and their fantasy disabled romance. Steve doesn’t think any actress would be beautiful and charming enough to play her.

The romantic ideal can’t always be their reality though. As Steve learns when he makes a velociraptor-esque screech and his head slams back into the headboard.

Chrissy shifts a pillow there and kisses Steve’s forehead, wordlessly trying to make it better, since it’s clear that banging your skull against hardwood definitely hurts. She winces too, probably feeling the sensation herself. It makes her shake and wiggle her wrists to get the bad feelings out.

He appreciates that a lot. She’s always here for him, even when it’s hard for her, but never makes a big deal out of Steve’s tics in a way that would just make him more upset.

Steve wants to try something to make him feel even better though, using one tried and true trick, “Can we -fuck- no. Can we sing a song?”

For probably the same reason he has so many musical tics, music therapy and singing works really well for Steve. It soothes some part of his brain that is otherwise quite unpredictable. Not that it stops his tics, nothing but medications could, but it does make them a little easier to bear. Hell, maybe it’s just a coping mechanism and it’s got some placebo effect. Whatever the explanation, Steve wants to try it.

Chrissy of course agrees, though she asks first, “What do you wanna sing?”

“Magic.” Steve answers automatically.

He had first heard the song performed by a cheerleading animatronic mouse that looked suspiciously like his girlfriend, and it had rapidly become one of his all time favorites. Olivia Newton-John had held that position since Grease, and any love song of hers, even the ones he learned in an overcrowded, kid-infested pizza restaurant, was going to cement itself in his heart.

Though, and maybe it’s because he’s biased, Steve thinks Chrissy sings it much better than the mousey showbiz mascot.

She’s very gentle about starting, combing her fingers through Steve’s messy sleep hair, and humming a moment before she leads, “Come take my hand,

You should know me,

I've always been in your mind,

You know I will be kind,

I'll be guiding you.”

Steve’s verbal tics are calming down, no more shouts or squeaks interrupting the soft melody, but he does still have the motor ones. At one point, his hands try to go for Chrissy's mouth to stop her from singing, obviously not an intentional action, but one she intercepts softly, taking his hands and holding them loosely despite the way his body twitches and shakes her.

“Building your dream has to start now,

There's no other road to take,

You won't make a mistake,

I'll be guiding you,

You have to believe we are magic,

Nothin' can stand in our way,

You have to believe we are magic,

Don't let your aim ever stray,

And if all your hopes survive,

Destiny will arrive,

I'll bring all your dreams alive,

For you,

I'll bring all your dreams alive,

For you.”

Steve relaxes more and more, closing his eyes and just letting the words and the light harmony of their two voices take the tension out of his body.

“From where I stand, you are home free,

The planets align so rare,

There's promise in the air,

And I'm guiding you,

Through every turn I'll be near you,

I'll come anytime you call,

I'll catch you when you fall,

I'll be guiding you,”

In the midst, where the instrumental would be, Steve’s tics decide to make a couple of beeping sounds. These ones feel like normal tics though. Not the violent, never ending electricity that courses through his veins until it hurts during a tic attack.

“You have to believe we are magic,

Nothin' can stand in our way,

You have to believe we are magic,

Don't let your aim ever stray,

And if all your hopes survive,

Destiny will arrive,

I'll bring all your dreams alive,

For you,

I'll bring all your dreams alive,

For you.”

Chrissy kisses him again as they finish singing their song. Finally, Steve feels at peace.

He also feels exhausted, and with the intensity of his tic attack stamped out, he’s feeling beyond tired. Looking up at his girlfriend, he can tell Chrissy is too after a night of sleeping alone.

“Pretty.” Is the short phrase he mutters to describe their song and the way it connected them.

Chrissy doubles the sentiment, “Mhm! You sounded amazing, lovely!”

Steve cuddles impossible closer to her, which he knows Chrissy likes, because it’s a sensation she feels in her own body, not one through Steve’s or anyone else’s. Plus it works much better at decompression when Steve lays on her than if she was just using the weighted blanket.

He also lets her know, “Feels better.”

“I can tell, honey. Get some sleep now.” Chrissy supports him, rubbing his back soothingly.

It’s not long before Steve is dozing off. Drifting deep into the rest hadn't gotten through his sleep last night. He’s probably drooling on Chrissy, and he’s definitely snoring, but they’re at a place where they can feel comfortable doing those kinds of things in front of each other. It’s a part of him just as much as his tics are, or Chrissy’s autism is part of herself.

Steve didn’t have any spoons to get out of bed this morning, but he didn’t need to. Chrissy would love him any way she had him.

~~~~~

For my final charity, I’m delighted to highlight the Autistic Self Advocacy Network!

“Nothing about us, without us” is their tagline, which represents their ideals that autistic communities should be organized and empowered to speak and advocate for ourselves, rather than legislators doing it for us. This of course means they have members who are autistic themselves.

Their goal of empowerment is achieved through means such as creating education resources, lobbying for policy changes, creating tools for self-advocacy to be possible, and providing leadership training to autistic folks. ASAN currently also is working towards getting funding for community events that would help autistic culture thrive, and conducting research on the best ways to give support. They publish reports and books to make their findings accessible and provide education among our own community as well.

On the ASAN site, there is access to updated information about current social issues that affect our community that can be accessed. You’ll also find a resource library there.

To support this network, there are ways to join the cause, such as volunteering, signing up for a newsletter, contacting a local affiliate group, or donating money.

If any of this information is of interest to you, visit the sit by clicking here.

~~~~~~

Now that that’s over, if you’re still reading this far, I’d like to thank everybody for the success of this event!!

My dear friend @intothedysphoria and I conceived this while we were going through a personal low point, and it means a lot to both of us that so many of you folks would be interested in or works!! And to those who have participated, thank you so so much as well!! We’ve been truly delighted by all the content we’ve gotten, and that warms our hearts. It’s nice to see our community coming together.

Fret not though! We may be nearing the end of this event, but there is an upcoming men’s mental health themed event in November! Additionally, we plan to do this event again next year!

Also, if you want to submit something but are worried because you ran out of time, that’s okay! For two or three days after the event, we’ll be checking the tags still to see if any new content has popped up! This is because we accept late submissions as long as we’re tagged!!

Once again, you guys have made this a dream and I can’t thank y’all enough!

Love from EJ ❤️❤️❤️

#disabledbillyandsteveweek #stissy #cheerscoops #steve x chrissy #steve harrington has tourette’s syndrome #autistic steve harrington #chrissy cunningham has synesthesia #autistic chrissy cunningham #my writing #ej writer #song fic

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keerysquinn · 6 months

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Wherever You Point To I’ll Find ~ Steve Harrington x Chrissy Cunningham

Nobody expected a budding romance between Steve and Chrissy when they were invited on this graduation road trip. But, as the two spend more and more time together away from the pressures their families, they just might find that they’re the perfect match.

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Tags: modern au, road trip, mutual pining, fluff, angst, discussion of mental health and body issues, eventual smut, adult themes and swearing throughout

Word Count: 12.3k

A/N: It's been far too long since I've updated this story, so thank you all for your patience with me. Specifically, thank you to @quinnkeerys for reassuring me about my writing abilities when I was feeling down about the lack of interest in my writing and encouraging me to keep writing. This is their story as much as it is mine, and I'm so excited for you all to see what's going to happen next.

Chrissy woke up cuddling with the gator plushie that Steve had gifted her the day before. She was still having trouble believing that that had actually happened. She hadn’t even realized that he’d seen her considering it before deciding that her parents would think it was a waste of money if she bought herself any more cuddly toys. They barely tolerated her attachment to her Fozzie Bear plushie and regularly told her that she was too old to rely on a stuffed animal for comfort.

Steve hadn’t known any of that though. He’d just seen her smiling at it and bought it for her without her noticing. This, of course, only brought up more questions that Chrissy just didn’t have the answers to. Jason had very rarely bought her any sort of surprise gift, and the few gifts he gave her tended to be more for show - a pendant with his initials, his letterman jacket - things that were meant to scream that Chrissy was his and only his even when he wasn’t around to act overly possessive of her. He’d certainly never given her a stuffed animal just because. So, what did it mean that Steve was surprising her with a gift when he barely knew her?

Of course, she had an inkling that Steve was maybe flirting with her. It felt obvious after the conversation they’d had the night before. He'd kept her pictures because he was jealous of hypothetical men that she hadn’t even met yet. That had to mean that he was at least a little bit interested in her. And she was definitely a little bit interested in him. She just didn’t know if she was ready to jump into something right now. She was going to be going off to college soon, and the idea of starting something new when she was about to be in a big transitional period of her life scared her more than she was willing to admit. She liked the idea of putting Hawkins behind her and starting fresh without anything holding her back.

But then she thought about the way Steve looked at her when he told her she was beautiful, and the idea of being tied to something in Hawkins didn't sound so bad.

"Can I ask you something kind of personal?" Chrissy asked as she leaned up against the open bathroom door. Nancy was already up and ready for the day, and she was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

"Depends on the question, but go ahead."

"Was Steve a good boyfriend when you dated him?"

"I wouldn't have stayed friends with him, and I definitely wouldn't have come on this trip with him if he hadn't been."

"But did he include you in things? Like, did he invite you to parties with the basketball team and actually talk to you during them? Did you feel like he really wanted you there?"

"I mean, I didn't exactly want to go to most of those parties, but I was always invited, and he always made sure I felt included in the conversation when I did go. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious, I guess."

Nancy glanced over at Chrissy who was staring down at the bathroom floor and seemed entirely too invested in the tile pattern. She could pretend she didn't know why Chrissy was asking her about Steve all she wanted, but the answer was obvious: Chrissy was into him, and she was trying to figure out if being into him was a good thing or not.

That wasn't what stuck with her the most though. It was the way that Chrissy seemed nervous whenever she spoke. It was like she was afraid of what Nancy was going to tell her, and that's when everything clicked for her.

She'd always known that Jason wasn't exactly great to Chrissy. Eddie had complained about him and his treatment of her enough that Nancy was well-versed with how horrible he was even if she didn't know the full story.

There had been some overlap between her relationship with Steve and Chrissy's relationship with Jason, and she couldn't remember seeing her at any of the team parties she went to. She couldn't count the number of times where Eddie had told her that he was hanging out with Chrissy or that she was joining them for a movie night because Jason had ditched her or told her that none of the guys from the team were bringing their girls to the party, so it would be best if she stayed home. Nancy had never given it much thought at the time, but this had clearly had a lasting negative effect on Chrissy. She wondered what else had stayed with her, but she didn’t think it was her place to pry.

Maybe it was a little presumptuous of her, but if Chrissy was asking these questions about Steve, Nancy couldn't help but think it was because she'd been right about something starting between the two of them. And, if that was the case, she knew that Chrissy was probably just making sure that she wasn't getting into a relationship with another asshole jock who wouldn't treat her the way she deserved to be treated.

"You know, Steve's a really great guy," Nancy said as she set down the mascara that she'd just finished applying and turned to face Chrissy. "Even when he's pursuing someone that he's so clearly wrong for - like me - he has this way of making you feel so special. Like you're the most important person in every situation. I never felt left out or like I wasn't wanted when we were together, and if I had, he would have done everything in his power to let me know I was the only person he cared about. You could do a lot worse than Steve Harrington."

"Oh, I'm not trying to be with him or anything like that," Chrissy insisted. "I was just curious is all."

"If that's what you need to tell yourself to finish this road trip with him, then I'll let you keep believing that. But that blush of yours is telling me an entirely different story." Nancy moved to exit the bathroom.

"Bathroom's all yours," she said. "We're supposed to be down at breakfast in about twenty minutes and we wouldn't want to keep Eddie and a certain someone that you totally aren't interested in waiting."

After that, Chrissy found herself rushing through her morning routine. She was so embarrassed that Nancy had seen right through her, but she was eager to spend more time with Steve. Everything was telling her that she could trust him with her heart, but she wanted to get to know him a little better before she did anything about this crush. No amount of reassurances from Nancy about how great of a guy he was could change the fact that she barely knew him. She had to figure out if she was actually interested in him or if she was just enjoying the attention he was giving her.

She had almost decided what she wanted to talk to him about when Nancy approached him and held out her hand.

"Keys, please," she requested. "I'm driving."

"Why?"

"Because you look exhausted, and I'm perfectly capable of driving us for a couple hours. You can sit in the back and try to get some more sleep."

Steve reluctantly handed over his keys. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Nancy's offer. He'd slept terribly the night before - probably from the guilt about making Chrissy feel bad about herself even though he’d apologized and attempted to make things right - and he really could use the extra rest. It was just that he'd never been able to comfortably sleep in the car, so he knew he wasn't actually going to sleep in the back, and he much preferred driving to being a passenger anyway.

He tried to make himself comfortable in the backseat, but there was a moment where Nancy hit a speed bump, and he was soon grimacing as his head thumped against the side of the car.

"Are you okay?" Chrissy asked.

"I have a hard time sleeping in cars if I have to sit up. It's okay though. I promise I'm fine."

"You can lay down if you want to. I mean, I wouldn't mind if you used me as a pillow."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"If you're comfortable, I'm comfortable," she told him.

They shared a small smile before Steve moved to curl up on the seat with his head resting against Chrissy's thigh. As soon as he was comfortable, Chrissy threaded her fingers through his hair and started lightly scritching at his scalp.

"Is this okay?" she asked.

"Mmhmm. Feels nice," he replied as he started to melt under her touch.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.”

“Never.”

Chrissy wasn’t sure how long it took Steve to fall asleep, but the second Eddie noticed the soft snores coming from the backseat, he turned around to talk to her.

“You’re looking awfully cozy back there,” he said with a knowing smirk.

Chrissy shushed him before looking down at Steve to make sure he hadn’t woken up.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She did her best to speak softly. She didn’t know if he was a light sleeper or not, and she didn’t want to risk waking him up so soon after he’d finally started to rest.

“You know, if you’re trying to convince yourself that you’re not interested in him, playing with his hair while he sleeps isn’t gonna do it for you.”

“I will repeat: I have no idea what you’re talking about. This is a purely platonic gesture, thank you very much.”

“Uh huh. Sure. Because everyone thinks that head scritches are the most platonic of platonic gestures.”

“Is this you confessing that you’re secretly in love with me?” Chrissy asked, trying to do whatever she could to change the subject. “Because I seem to recall you giving me head scritches when I stayed over after Jason - well, you know.”

“That was a completely different situation, and you know it.”

“Sure. That’s just what you want us to think. How can you openly admit that you’re interested in another girl right in front of your girlfriend? Don’t you have any common decency?”

“Yeah, Eddie,” Nancy continued with the teasing. “How could you do this to me? I thought we had something special? And I thought she was your sister? How messed up is that?”

“If I didn’t think it would wake up Steve, I’d start playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ right now.”

“Deciding that you two should be friends is maybe the worst thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.” Eddie slumped down in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

Chrissy covered her mouth with her free hand to keep her giggles from spilling out. She was trying to contain her laughter as much as possible because she didn’t want to be the one to accidentally wake Steve.

"Since we're on the topic of crushes," Nancy started after they'd had a moment to calm down. "Chrissy, did I ever tell you that Eddie has the biggest crush on Taika Waititi."

"No, he does not!"

"Oh, but he does. We had to stop watching ‘Our Flag Means Death’ because his bi panic was too intense."

"I just don't know if I want to be him or be on him, okay? He's weirdly hot as Blackbeard, and I was not mentally prepared for that."

"You wore your bandana on your head for a week trying to emulate him," Nancy teased.

"That's why you did that?" Chrissy asked through her giggles.

"I was unaware that my girlfriend and my best friend actually hate me and only keep me around to make fun of me, and I don't think I'll ever recover," Eddie pouted. "Also, Nancy has a crush on Aubrey Plaza. Tease her now."

"Nice try, but I'm not embarrassed by that."

"What about Chrissy's most embarrassing crush then?" Eddie asked.

"Hey! You've been sworn to secrecy on that!"

“Well, if we’re all talking about our embarrassing crushes, it’s only fair that we talk about yours, too. And yours ties in perfectly with Nancy’s. In fact, you could experience your crushes together if you really wanted to.”

“We could?” Nancy asked.

She was going to strangle him. The only upside to this situation was that at least Steve was still asleep, and he wasn’t going to be an audience to her embarrassment.

“Why’d you stop?” Steve asked, startling Chrissy and making her realize that she’d stopped giving him head scritches in her urgency to stop Eddie from talking.

So much for that positive.

“So needy,” she said with a small smile. “Did you really wake up the second I stopped?”

“Maybe,” he replied. “It just felt really nice is all.”

Before Chrissy had a chance to respond, Eddie piped up from the front seat again.

“Welcome to the party, Steve,” he said. “The girls seemed dead set on discussing my most embarrassing celebrity crush, so now we’re talking about Chrissy’s.”

“No, we most certainly are not,” Chrissy protested. “And you’re breaking the best friend code by bringing it up.”

“I’m only bringing it up because you and Nancy were bullying me first. I’m the real victim here, Steve.”

“Can it really be considered bullying if we’re doing it because we love you?” Nancy asked.

Steve moved to sit up, and Chrissy missed the weight of his head in her lap immediately.

“Depends on how embarrassing the crush is,” he said as he re-buckled his seatbelt.

“Eddie’s is Taika Waititi, and mine is Aubrey Plaza,” Nancy replied. “But I’m not embarrassed about it the way Eddie is.”

“Fair enough.” Steve turned to face Chrissy. “You don’t have to say it if you really don’t want to, but I’ll tell you my most embarrassing one if you tell me yours.”

“I don’t know. What if your crush isn’t even that bad? It’s probably something really basic like Ryan Reynolds or Margot Robbie,” she teased.

“Why would he be embarrassed by that?” Eddie asked. “Everyone has a crush on Ryan Reynolds.”

“Even you?” Nancy asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“No comment. Besides, we’ve moved on to Chrissy and Steve now. Leave me out of this.”

"Two words: Chris Motionless."

"That doesn't even count because you like him, too. And Ricky. And probably Vinny too if it wouldn't send Gareth into a panic thinking he'd have to fight you for his affection."

“I promise it’s not basic,” Steve told Chrissy, ignoring whatever was going on with Nancy and Eddie teasing each other in the front seat.

“You have to go first, and then I’ll decide if it’s juicy enough for me to tell you mine.”

“No way. If I tell you mine, you have to tell me yours. That’s the deal.”

He held out his hand, and Chrissy hesitantly gripped it and shook.

“Deal. But you still have to go first,” she said, not letting go of his hand just yet.

“Laura Dern."

"The mom from Little Women?"

"I mean, I was thinking of her as Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park, but yes. Now yours."

"I can't," Chrissy said, shaking her head. "Yours was nowhere near as embarrassing as mine."

"That wasn't the deal."

Chrissy started to pull her hand away, but Steve tightened his grip and gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Nope. You went back on our deal, so this hand is mine until you tell me."

"I guess you're just gonna have to hold my hand all day then."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Chrissy didn't have time to react to Steve's blatant flirting because Eddie had turned around in his seat again.

"She has a crush on Sonic the Hedgehog," he said with a grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat.

"I do not!" Chrissy could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She was past strangling him. He was getting thrown from a moving vehicle now.

"That's not what you told me."

"I don't have a crush on Sonic," she said as she stared down at her hands - one of which was still in Steve's grasp. "I have a crush on the guy who voices Sonic. There's a difference. I just really like his character on Parks and Rec is all. He's funny and cute."

"Why is that so embarrassing?" Steve asked.

"I don't know. It just is."

That was a lie. She knew why. She just didn't want to admit it out loud. Like so many other things that made her feel bad about herself, this all stemmed from her relationship with Jason. Every time she showed an inkling of attraction towards anyone in anything they watched together, she was made to feel like she was weird for finding that person attractive, or there were subtle digs about how silly it was to pretend she had a chance with someone like that. It broke her to the point where she didn't feel comfortable joking around about celebrity crushes the way that her friends did, and she didn't know if that would ever change.

"Well, I don't think it is," Steve reassured her. "I mean, I don't really know who that guy is, but c'mon. Funny and cute? He's gotta be the total package, and I say this as someone who is also obviously funny and cute."

"You are? Since when?" Chrissy teased.

“Since always,” he teased right back. “Haven’t you noticed?”

Chrissy could feel her cheeks heating up again because of course she had. She would have to be blind not to have noticed, but that wasn’t exactly something she was ready to say out loud just yet.

“Can I have my hand back now please?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, technically, Eddie told me and not you, so you didn’t fulfill your half of the deal which means I think you’re just gonna have to hold my hand until we’re done at the museum later.”

“Oh no. My worst nightmare,” she said through her giggles.

And Steve stayed true to his word. The second they got out of the car to stop for lunch, he was jogging around to her side and holding out his hand for her to take. The fact that he seemed to be offering his hand rather than forcing her touched her. He wanted her to be in on the joke with him. When she took his hand in hers and he laced their fingers together, she couldn’t help but think that this felt right.

Other than letting go of her hand so she could eat lunch and run to the restroom with Nancy, Steve held Chrissy’s hand every moment that he could. He even let Nancy drive again after their lunch stop.

“How am I supposed to hold Chrissy’s hand hostage if I’m driving?” he’d asked. “That just feels unsafe for everyone involved.”

Chrissy laughed along with him, and it wasn’t like she actually minded having to hold his hand anyway. She realized that she felt safe with him in a way she hadn’t really expected, and her heart melted a little bit whenever she felt him absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against her own. She knew that this was just him joking around with her, but when he offered her his hand again when they got out of the car, she couldn’t help but think that she wouldn’t mind it if he made her hold his hand for the rest of the trip.

Their next stop was the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Shocking no one, this was another one of Eddie’s requests. He’d spent enough time joking about how his goal in life was to be weird enough that he became known as the trailer park cryptid that it only made sense that he’d want to spend time at a museum dedicated to the history of his own favorite cryptid.

Typically, this wouldn’t have been something that either Chrissy or Steve was interested in, but they made it fun for each other. Every so often, he would lean over and whisper the headlines off of the different newspaper articles and the words off the plaques in increasingly ridiculous ways leaving her giggling both from the silly voices and the fact that his breath was tickling her ear.

“Stop it,” she said through her giggles as she turned and pressed her face into his shoulder. He had to know the effect that he was having on her.

"I'm sorry," he said with a smirk. "Am I being too funny and cute for you to handle?"

"You're being a menace actually, Stephen," she told him, using what she assumed was his full name to emphasize her point.

She peeked around where she was hiding her face in his shoulder and looked up at him, and he felt that same grip in his chest that he’d felt when she was making faces at him the day before. If he wasn’t convinced she’d hide her face again or ask him to delete it immediately, he might have pulled out his phone to take a picture of her just to save this moment forever.

“And being cute won’t get you out of your punishment early, Chris,” he said as he gave her hand a small squeeze.

“Would you mind not calling me that?” she asked. “I don’t really like that nickname.”

Jason had always insisted on calling her Chris, and she’d always loathed it. But, no matter how many times she asked him to stop, he never would and insisted that it was their thing. He liked calling her that, and that was all that mattered to him. Forget her feelings or the fact that being called Chris made her skin crawl. His preferences were more important.

Now, in addition to the distaste she originally had for the nickname, it had a cloud hanging over it in the form of a guy who never really loved her. She just hoped that Steve was the kind of guy to respect her boundaries and not call her that when she said she didn't like it.

"Sorry," he said as he gave her hand another little squeeze. "I won't use it again. Permission to try out other nicknames until I find one we both like?"

"Permission granted. You better come up with some good ones though. I'm very picky about what I’ll let people call me.”

“I’m up for the challenge.”

They made their way into the small gift shop next, and Chrissy was immediately drawn to the little mothman plushies on display.

“He’s so ugly,” she said with the biggest grin on her face. “I love him.”

"You do?" Steve asked.

"I do."

"But you just said he's ugly."

"That's why I like him. He's weird."

"Then, he's yours," he said as he pulled one of the plushies off the shelf.

"You really don't have to do that. I don't need another stuffed toy."

"I know I don't have to. I want to. Think of this as a reward for being such a good sport about your punishment."

He punctuated his statement by giving her hand a small squeeze.

"I thought we'd determined this wasn't a punishment," she said as she squeezed his hand back. "And even if it was a punishment, isn't the whole point of a punishment that it's the opposite of a reward?"

"Quit using logic and let me be nice to you."

Chrissy could feel her cheeks warming, and she moved to hide her face from him again. She wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, and she didn’t know how to respond. But, more importantly, she didn’t know how to thank him properly. The few times Jason had given her a gift, she’d given him a kiss along with her thanks and then snuggled up to him until he inevitably got angry at her for being in his personal space without being willing to put out. She couldn’t exactly do that with Steve. This could all be a purely platonic gesture of friendship on his part, and she’d hate to make things awkward just because she’d misinterpreted everything.

And it wasn’t like she could buy him a gift either. Even if there had been something in that gift shop that he would have liked, she was trying to spend as little money as possible on this trip. Her parents weren’t exactly supportive of her chosen major, and even with her various scholarships, she was afraid that she was going to be left on her own to pay for everything when her parents inevitably decided to stop throwing away money for something as frivolous as they thought her dreams were.

These thoughts stayed swirling around in her head as she let Steve pull her over to the counter to pay for her gift. When he handed her the plushie, she hugged it to her chest with her free arm.

“I wish there was something more I could do than just saying thank you.”

“My gifts aren’t conditional,” he said with a shrug. “You don’t have to do anything other than what you’re doing right now.”

Chrissy could feel herself starting to blush again as she smiled up at him. He was just so genuine in his kindness towards her, and he was acting like it wasn’t a big deal when it was to her. She just didn’t know how to tell him that without making things awkward.

Meanwhile, Steve was trying to play it cool, and he felt like he was failing miserably. Before they’d even entered the gift shop, he’d told himself that he didn’t need to buy anything there. The only person in their group that needed a souvenir of their trip to the Mothman Museum was Eddie, and Steve certainly wasn’t going to buy one for him. But then Chrissy said she liked the weird looking cryptid plushies, and he was rushing to buy her one in the hopes that he’d get to see her smile again.

That was how she could thank him. Just keep holding his hand and smiling at him and looking at him like he was a much better person than he thought he was. She had to realize that he was flirting with her at this point. He felt like he was being so obvious about it, but she was still so closed off with him. Even if she was joking around with him and smiling at him, he could tell that she was hesitant to really form a connection with him. He didn’t know why that was. All he knew was that he wanted to find a way to prove that he was a safe person for her, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chrissy spotted Nancy and Eddie looking over at her and Steve. They were huddled up together and talking, but their attention was clearly on the other couple. Chrissy started to feel self-conscious about what they must be thinking about her. How she’s being so obvious about enjoying her punishment and taking advantage of Steve’s lighthearted fun. In theory, she knew her best friend would never judge her like that, but she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with them watching her, and she was desperate to not be the center of attention.

“Does you giving me a reward mean that my punishment is over?” she asked.

She didn't really want it to be over, but she felt like if she let it go on any longer, she'd never let him go, and that wasn't something she thought she was allowed to do.

"It can be," he replied as he loosened his grip on her hand.

He didn't want to let go of her, but now he was questioning if he'd gone too far with the whole hand holding thing. She hadn't acted like she'd disliked it, but maybe she'd just gone along with it to avoid hurting his feelings. Those thoughts only made him feel worse about the whole situation. He watched as she let go of his hand and hugged her new plushie to her chest, and he couldn't help but think he'd just bribed her into being okay with him pushing her boundaries. There was no way he could have known that she wanted to be holding his hand as much as he wanted to be holding hers.

Maybe he should have just left things there, but he had to check in with her about this and make sure she was okay. So he placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to the side away from the cashier in order to give her the illusion of privacy.

"I know this teasing and the hand holding and everything was all supposed to be for fun," he started, "but I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed alright with it in the moment, but I don't know. You just got kind of quiet on me, and the last time that happened, it was because I'd made you feel uncomfortable. That's the last thing I ever want to do, so you can tell me if I overstepped at all, and I won't ever do anything like that again, okay?"

Chrissy hugged the plushie to her chest a little tighter and smiled up at him.

"I liked holding your hand, Steve," she reassured him. "I'm just not used to anyone paying this much attention to me, and I'm definitely not used to people caring about my comfort over their own. Me feeling overwhelmed had everything to do with me and nothing to do with you."

"Are you sure? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"I promise you didn't do anything wrong. I will happily hold your hand again in the future - as a punishment or not. I just needed a moment to feel invisible."

He simultaneously felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest and like he needed to go fight someone. He had a pretty good idea about who made Chrissy feel like her comfort wasn't important, and the idea of Jason pushing at her boundaries made his blood boil. He didn't know how he'd do it, but he was going to make it his mission to help her realize she was worthy of being the center of attention sometimes.

Before he could say anything else to her, they were rejoined by Eddie and Nancy.

"How do you feel about cryptid hunting tonight?" Eddie asked them.

"Cryptid hunting?" Steve asked.

"What Eddie means is who wants to go camping tonight?" Nancy asked. "There was a brochure advertising a campground that has tent rentals, and we were thinking it might be fun to do that instead of finding a hotel for the night. My family used to go camping every summer when Mike and I were kids and Holly hadn't been born yet, and Eddie's been loads of times with his uncle, so it's not like we'd be going into this blind. What do you think?"

Steve was against camping. He didn't see the point of sleeping on the ground when beds existed. He was about to voice that opinion, but Chrissy spoke up first.

"That sounds like fun to me," she said. "I always wanted to go camping when I was little, but my parents aren't exactly outdoorsy people. But going with you guys would definitely be more fun than that would have ever been. I say we do it."

"Sounds fun to me, too," Steve agreed. If Chrissy wanted to go camping, he'd pretend that he wanted to go too. This was their graduation trip anyway. He was just along for the ride, and if they all wanted to do something, he wouldn't be the one to stop them. Plus, he wasn't going to be the one who kept Chrissy from doing something she wanted to do. Especially when he'd just decided that he wanted to make her see that her wants were just as important as everyone else's. He could put up with sleeping on the cold, hard ground if she wanted to try it out.

So the group made a quick stop at a camping supply store to pick up sleeping bags and any other equipment that Eddie thought they'd need as well as a grocery store to pick up whatever they needed to make dinner and breakfast, and then they were off to the campsite.

Since they had tents of various different sizes, Eddie and Nancy decided that they'd get a two-person tent to share, and Steve and Chrissy each chose smaller, single-person tents for themselves. They made quick work of setting up their campsite with Eddie helping out the less experienced members of their group to get their tents erected.

Steve tried to be as useful as he could, but setting up tents and starting fires weren't exactly his forte. He wasn't the outdoorsy type by any means, and it was hard to feel like he was really contributing when all he could do was hold things in place while Eddie did all the real work. He wished he could be more helpful, but he was so out of his element.

But, just when he was starting to feel completely inadequate, Chrissy chose to sit down next to him while Eddie and Nancy got to work on starting a fire for them.

"I feel so useless here," she said as she smiled up at him. "My only camp experiences are from cheer camp, and those had zero really outdoorsy elements to them."

"You'll be the first we go to if we're in need of any backflips then."

"You sure about that? Eddie might try and beat me to the punch."

"He can do a backflip?"

"Oh, he can barely do a somersault, and he'd probably break his neck if he tried. Doesn't mean that'll stop him though."

"Sounds about right. For the record, I probably feel just as useless as you do. This isn't really my thing either," he told her.

"Maybe so, but I'm sure you have plenty of skills that could be useful out here. I mean, you spend a lot of your time entertaining those kids, right? I bet you're great at telling scary stories around the campfire."

"Oh yeah. The king of keg stands and scary stories."

"I'm expecting something pretty impressive from you then," she said as she nudged him with her elbow. "I don't scare easily, so you better make it really good. I want to have nightmares."

"I'll do my best."

And, just like that, he didn't feel so useless anymore. Somehow, she was able to say exactly the right thing to wash away all of the insecurity that he was feeling, and he felt better just sitting next to her. She rarely left his side for the rest of the evening almost as if she could tell he wanted to have her around.

She stayed sharing his space as they made their dinner, and she let him convince her that she would be doing herself a disservice if she didn't have a second s'more. She laughed at his jokes and seemed genuinely interested in everything he had to say. He'd made it his mission to make her feel better about herself, and here she was doing exactly that for him.

When they were done eating, Chrissy was the first to suggest that they tell scary stories around the crackling fire, and she urged Steve to get up and be the first to perform. And he did just that.

Truthfully, it wasn't even his story. It was one that Dustin had told to the party during a sleepover at Steve's. Something about monsters in the woods that prey on their victims' worst fears and contort their bodies into pretzels made of broken bones as they grow stronger at the sounds of their screams. It had even shaken up Max who prided herself in being unaffected by anything scary, so he figured it was the perfect one to tell Chrissy when she said she didn't scare easily.

He put everything he had into that story, and the fact that Chrissy seemed completely enthralled by him only urged him to be bigger and bolder in his storytelling. Anything to keep her attention on him.

When his story came to an end, Chrissy could feel the goosebumps prickling her skin. She was about to say something - maybe congratulate Steve for successfully spooking her - when Eddie snuck up behind her and grabbed her waist causing her to shriek.

She jumped up from her seat as she pulled Eddie's wiggling fingers away from her sides.

"You jerk," she pouted. "Why would you do that?"

"I needed to get back at you for ganging up on me earlier."

"Why didn't you scare Nancy then? She was the one who started it."

"The last time I tickled Nancy, she almost broke my hand, so I figured scaring you was the safer option."

"Leave her alone, Eddie," Nancy said as she beckoned for him to sit back down next to her.

Eddie crossed back over to sit with her and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend to half pull her into his lap.

"What kind of brother would I be if I didn't mess around with her on occasion?"

"A nice one," Chrissy said as she sat back down in her original seat.

Eddie scrunched up his nose and shook his head.

"Could never be me," he teased.

Steve moved to sit back down next to Chrissy and fully turned his attention on her.

“I didn’t freak you out too much, did I?” he asked.

“I’m okay. Some people just like to mess with me a little too much for their own good,” she said as she gave Eddie a very pointed look.

"I'd suggest we stick something gross in his tent while he's sleeping, but that would also punish Nancy, and she definitely doesn't deserve that."

"It's fine. I don't need to get revenge. Not tonight at least."

"You sure you're okay then?"

"I promise. I told you that I wanted to be scared, and you delivered."

"And here I was hoping that you'd want to hold my hand again for comfort."

"I guess you'll just have to wait until I go back on my word again for that."

Their night wrapped up shortly after that. Nancy was starting to get tired, so she and Eddie put out the fire before she dragged him over to their tent with Steve and Chrissy retreating to their own tents shortly after.

It was only once she was alone and fully enveloped by the darkness of sleeping outside that Chrissy really started to feel spooked. She hadn't realized just how dark and isolated it was going to be alone in her tent when she'd said she wanted to go camping. She had almost calmed herself down enough to sleep when she heard a few twigs snap entirely too close to her tent for her comfort, and she was putting herself into a panic again.

Part of her wanted to go to Eddie since it was his fault she was so worked up to begin with, but she didn't want to punish Nancy for his bad behavior. She just didn't think she was ever going to be able to fall asleep if she stayed in her own tent by herself, and that meant her only other option was to go to Steve. She just hoped he wouldn't be annoyed by her intrusion.

When she poked her head out of her tent, she noticed that Steve's tent was still lit up by his lantern, so she figured she at least wouldn't be waking him if she went to him. She was still trying to decide if that was a good idea or not when she heard another twig snap, and the next thing she knew, she was gathering up her sleeping bag and pillow and racing over to Steve's tent.

"Steve?" she said from outside the tent.

"Chrissy?"

That was all she needed to hear before she pulled open the tent flaps. When she could see inside, she was surprised to find Steve wearing glasses and holding a book open in front of him.

"Oh. You're reading?"

She hadn't meant it in a negative way. Honestly, she hadn't. That just wasn't something she'd expected from him. The Steve that all of the other cheerleaders talked about just didn't seem like the type to spend his free time reading novels. But the hint of surprise in her voice was still enough to hurt him.

Steve was used to people treating him like he was just another dumb jock. He'd been hearing digs about his intelligence from everyone in his life for as long as he could remember. His parents, his teachers, even his closest friends - they all had something to say about how stupid he was. But Chrissy hadn't said anything like that to him in the short time he'd known her. She never made him feel dumb.

And yet, she was standing there surprised because how could someone as dumb as Steve Harrington even know how to read in the first place. Maybe it was dumb of him to think she was different, but that didn’t stop the pain in his chest from growing.

“Yeah. I do that on occasion.”

“Of course, you do,” she stuttered out. “I never said you didn’t.”

“Sure. Did you want something or can I get back to this?”

He was being short with her, and he regretted it instantly when he saw the way she flinched at his words, but he didn’t have the patience to deal with yet another person who thought the mere idea of him reading was ridiculous.

“It’s nothing,” she said, staring at the ground to avoid looking at him. She didn’t understand why he was being so cold to her all of a sudden when they’d been fine an hour ago, but she didn’t want to bother him and make things worse if she had somehow ruined things between them. She should have known that she was nothing more than a nuisance to him. “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

It was only when she turned to leave that he realized she was carrying her sleeping bag and pillow with her. As hurt as he was feeling, he couldn't let her walk away. Not when it seemed like she was looking for somewhere else to sleep.

"Wait. What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"It's stupid. I just - you know how I said I don't scare easily? Well, I lied. I love scary stories, but I can't handle them, and Eddie grabbing me like that only made it worse. Put me on edge even more. And I thought I was going to be okay, but then I heard something in the woods, and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. I thought about getting Eddie and making him sit with me until I calmed down, but I didn't want to bother Nancy, and I can't keep stealing her boyfriend from her just because he's my best friend, and he gets me. And I was just going to deal with it on my own, but I saw your tent was lit up, and I thought maybe you'd be okay with me staying in here with you just until I could calm myself down. Or maybe the whole night even though that would make it kind of crowded in here since this tent isn't really made for two people. I don't know. I just know that was apparently the wrong thing to do because you're clearly upset with me, and I'm probably making it worse right now. So, again. I'm really sorry I bothered you. I'll just go back to my tent and leave you alone."

She was practically shaking as she spoke, and he could tell she was close to tears. It broke his heart to see her this way, and he couldn't help but think that it was primarily his fault since he'd only told that stupid story in the hopes that it would impress her. Even if she'd hurt him, he couldn't let her go back to her own tent. Not when she was this upset.

"You can stay here if you want," he told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I really don't want to impose and take up too much of your space."

"There's plenty of room in here for you. It's fine. I promise."

Chrissy let herself the rest of the way into the tent and started to set up her sleeping bag. She attempted to keep her space as far away from Steve as possible since she was pretty sure that he was only letting her stay there out of pity, and she didn't want to invade his space any more than she actually had to. It was such a small tent though, and she found herself practically on top of him anyway.

"Thank you," she said as she crawled into her sleeping bag. She was still a little on edge, but she already felt safer just sharing Steve's space. She didn't know why, but she was certain nothing bad would happen to her while he was there.

She didn't want to bother him anymore, but now that she was already there, she was curious about what he was reading. If Steve Harrington was a reader, she needed to know what kinds of stories he was interested in.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

Before Steve could respond, Chrissy heard a crunch of something outside the tent, and she flinched again. He wasn't exactly interested in starting a conversation about his book when he was pretty sure that the mere idea of him reading was ridiculous to her, but with the way she was curling in on herself at every little sound, he figured that she could use a distraction.

"The Princess Bride," he told her. "Eddie threw it at me last week and said I needed to expand my horizons and open my mind to one of the greatest stories ever told."

"He's been telling me the same thing for ages. I've never gotten around to it though."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. School and cheerleading and everything else just seemed to take up all my time. I'm sure I'd like it if I ever actually sat down to read it. I just haven't. Is it any good?"

"I'm not very far into it, but I'm liking it so far."

There was another noise outside the tent, and Chrissy flinched again.

"I could read it to you if you want?" he offered. Anything to take her mind off of the noises outside the tent and help her calm down a little.

"You don't have to do that. I don't want to impose on you any more than I already have."

"I wouldn't have offered to do it if it wasn't something I was willing to do. Sometimes people do things just because they're nice and they want to, you know?"

It wasn't that simple for Chrissy though. She'd spent so much time being told that doing anything for her was a chore that she was always second guessing whether people actually wanted to be around her and were genuine in the kind things they said and did for her. It had taken her months to come to terms with the fact that Eddie genuinely wanted to be her friend. How could she be expected to understand Steve's motives so soon after meeting him?

He seemed genuine though, and she felt like she could trust that he was telling the truth right now. Even still, she couldn't let him burden himself for her.

"You're already a decent way into the book, and I'd hate for you to restart it on my behalf. Especially when I'll probably fall asleep soon now that I feel safe. You don't have to do anything special for me."

It wasn't lost on him that she said felt safe now that she was in his tent. After she'd been so afraid in the car the day before, all he'd wanted was to make sure she knew that there was no reason to be scared around him, and now she was seeking him out for protection. It made him feel a little bit better about himself.

"So I won't start over," he told her. "I just feel like you could use the distraction, and if I'm reading out loud, it might drown out the noises outside the tent and help you get to sleep a little easier. And I can always go back to reading silently after you're asleep. It doesn't have to be a big deal."

"Okay. You can read to me."

Steve picked the book back up and began to read to her. In the passage he was currently on, the lovers had just been reunited, and Westley was waxing poetic about how beautiful Buttercup was. But, then she asked what he thought of her mind, and all of a sudden there was no time to talk about anything because they had to get moving. Chrissy felt a pit growing in her stomach the more she thought about it.

How many times had she been told that being beautiful was her only real skill? Jason had only cared about having a beautiful, popular girl on his arm. All of his compliments had been about her appearance, and there had been the subtle digs when he felt like her beauty wasn't up to his standards. He hadn't cared about anything she'd ever had to say or her thoughts and feelings. And maybe Westley hadn't meant it that way in the story, but his dismissal of Buttercup's request to hear what he thought of her mind put her right back into her relationship with Jason and that constant nagging feeling of inadequacy.

She was close to a full on hate spiral when she was broken out of it by a rustling of leaves and the sound of a twig snapping outside the tent. She flinched and moved closer to Steve, and he paused in his reading to make sure she was okay. She just looked so small and scared. He finally understood what she meant when she said Eddie had told her she looked like a bunny rabbit when she was frightened.

He wished there was more he could do, but his reading to her clearly wasn't enough on its own. The more Chrissy clung to him, the more he wanted to help her. He had to find another way to distract her.

"She remained unconscious for a very long time," he continued reading. "Westley busied himself as best he could, cleansing the Snow Sand from ears and nose and mouth, and most delicate of all, from beneath the lids of her eyes."

As he listed the features of Buttercup's face in the book, he traced those same features on Chrissy. A finger trailing down the bridge of her nose. Caressing the shell of her ear as he pushed her hair back behind it. The swipe of his thumb along her lower lip. Gently using his index and middle fingers to close her eyelids. And as he did this, she seemed to relax beside him. She curled up close to him and rested her head against his shoulder. Her hands rest against his arm right where his t-shirt hit his bicep. She clung to him not because she was scared but because he was a source of comfort for her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it."

He kept reading aloud for only a little bit longer - only until he was certain she'd fallen asleep - and then he set the book aside, took off his glasses, turned off his lantern, and drifted off to sleep along with her.

"Chrissy is missing," Nancy said as she climbed back into the tent she was sharing with Eddie.

"What are you talking about?" He was still half asleep, and it was way too early in the morning for him to fully comprehend what she was telling him.

"When I came back from the outhouses, I noticed Chrissy's tent was open, but she wasn't in there and neither was her sleeping bag."

Eddie pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Her sleeping bag was gone? I have an idea of where she might be."

Eddie left the tent with Nancy following close behind him.

"Five bucks says she's in there with him," he said as he crept over to Steve's tent.

Nancy placed a hand on Eddie's arm and pulled him back slightly.

"Maybe we don't bother them. I don't hear anything, so they're probably still asleep. Why don't we go back to our own tent and wait for them to wake up?"

"But I want to bother them about it now."

"For someone who's supposed to be Chrissy's best friend, you're terrible when it comes to knowing how she'll react to things. If we ambush them now, she'll be too embarrassed to say anything, and I know Steve. If she's embarrassed and doesn't want to talk about what happened between them, he's not going to say anything either just because he won't want to do anything to upset her further. We need to let them leave the tent on their own terms, and then we can divide and conquer to find out what happened last night."

Eddie sighed.

"Why do you always have to be right?"

"Because one of us has to be." Nancy reached up to kiss Eddie's cheek. "Now get back in our tent. I don't want them to overhear us."

Meanwhile, back inside Steve's tent, Chrissy was just starting to wake up. Camping wasn't exactly what she'd hoped it would be, and she was a little stiff from sleeping on the ground. It took her a moment to remember that she wasn't in her own tent, but it was hard to forget that she'd slept next to Steve when she was still curled up against his side. She tried to put a little distance between their bodies, but when she moved away from him, he stirred.

"G'morning," he mumbled as he rolled over to face her.

"Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Okay. Thanks to you."

"I told you not to mention it. It's no big deal."

"It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. So I will mention it, and I will thank you. I know I was maybe a little irrational, but you calmed me down and made me feel safe. Most guys wouldn't do that."

"You must not know many decent guys then."

"I didn't. Not until this trip at least."

And she meant it. Steve was clearly one of the good ones. Not the type of guy who only said he was a good guy until he was actually presented with the opportunity to be a decent human being and failed. No, Steve was genuinely a good person. Last night proved that she didn't have anything to be afraid of when it came to opening her heart up to him.

"Should we get up?" she asked. "I'm sick of laying on the ground."

"Me too. Remind me to never go camping again unless it involves an RV so I can sleep in a real bed."

"Only if you remind me to never try to sleep outside again. I need real walls and a door that locks for my peace of mind."

"Deal."

The two got up from their sleeping bags and readied themselves to exit the tent. Before they could leave, Chrissy stopped them.

"I meant to say this last night, but I was a little preoccupied. I just wanted you to know that I really like your glasses. They suit you."

"I only really need to wear them when I'm reading, but I try not to wear them when anyone else is around. You don't think they make me look like a dweeb?"

"A very handsome dweeb."

"Oh, so you think I'm handsome now?" he asked with a teasing smirk. "I feel like that's a step up from funny and cute, don't you?"

"I think I need to stop complimenting you. Your ego is going to get too big to fit in that car with us," she teased right back.

He reached out and gave her hip a tiny pinch which earned him a giggle from her as she flinched and swatted his hand away before exiting the tent. He followed close behind her, and they'd barely been outside for a full minute before Eddie was bursting out of his own tent and racing over to Chrissy.

"Chrissy, come take a walk with me," he said as he started to pull her away from Steve. "I saw the most amazing tree last night, and I need to show it to you. Right now."

Chrissy let herself be dragged away by her best friend, but that didn't stop her from being confused.

"Alright, Evan Hansen," she started. "Since when have you been interested in trees?"

"Since always," he replied. "But a better question would be is there anything you want to share with me about last night?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

“Oh really? So nothing happened between you and Steve?”

“Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

"Sure you don't. Then why was your sleeping bag not in your own tent?"

"Well, I'm not sure if you know this, but my best friend is kind of a jerk, and he scared me half to death last night even though he knows I scare easily and don't do so well with that kind of thing. And I couldn't very well go bother him without punishing his girlfriend who did nothing wrong, so I asked Steve if he wouldn't mind me sharing his space for the night. Nothing happened in that tent other than sleeping."

"So you didn't snuggle up with and smooch his face off?"

"What are you? Five?" Chrissy asked through a laugh. "No. Nothing happened between us, and we kept our hands to ourselves the entire time."

That wasn't exactly a lie. Eddie just didn't need to know about the way that Steve was finally able to get her to calm down. She'd never hear the end of it if she told him about every gentle touch of her face or the way that she gripped his bicep for comfort as she tried to fall asleep. Some things were better left between her and Steve.

"That's a shame," Eddie replied. "Because I was thinking that he'd make a good temporary replacement for that Fozzie Bear plush of yours. They're practically twins when you think about it, what with Steve being so hairy and all."

"Don't you dare bring that up in front of him. Any mention of the Muppets around him, and I will never forgive you."

That's how Eddie knew that Chrissy was actually starting to have feelings for Steve. Her love of the Muppets wasn't exactly a secret, but she didn't broadcast it to the world, and he knew for a fact that she'd never told Jason about it. She'd said that it would make it impossible for anyone to be attracted to her if they knew that she watched every piece of Muppets media that she could get her hands on, and it would be doubly impossible if they knew she drew comfort from a rather sizable Fozzie Bear plush. So, if she didn't want Steve to know about this, it meant that she wanted him to be attracted to her. She wouldn't have cared if a guy that she just wanted to be friends with knew about it.

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, Nancy was being much more direct with her interrogation.

“Did you spend last night making out with Chrissy?” she asked as soon as Eddie and Chrissy were out of earshot.

“Excuse me?” Steve practically choked on air.

“You heard me. She very clearly slept in your tent, and I need to know what happened.”

“How do you know she slept in my tent? Were you spying on us?”

“What? No. You didn’t zip up your tent when you left it this morning, and I can clearly see that there are two sleeping bags in there.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” he insisted.

“Steve, I know you, so I can tell when you’re lying. I just want to know if I need to keep Eddie from murdering you over you taking advantage of his best friend.”

“Jesus. It was nothing like that,” he promised. “Chrissy was spooked by something in the woods, so she asked if she could stay with me. She just didn’t want to be alone, and she slept in my tent in her own sleeping bag. Literally nothing happened.”

Nancy could tell that Steve was telling the truth. He’d never really been the best at lying, so she could typically see right through him. However, she could tell that he wasn’t telling her the full story. She figured that he wouldn’t tell her anything else, so she’d have to see what Eddie was able to find out and then see if Chrissy was more willing to fill her in on what happened.

She found her opportunity shortly after they’d finished their breakfast. They had a long day of driving ahead of them if they wanted to get to Myrtle Beach before they were all too tired to function, so Steve wanted them to get on the road as soon as possible.

“Why don’t Chrissy and I start bringing the bags to the car while you and Eddie return the tents?” she suggested. “That should save us a little time.”

She didn’t wait for anyone to respond. She just grabbed some of their bags and started ushering Chrissy towards the campground’s parking lot.

“So, I hear someone slept all snuggled up next to Steve,” she teased.

“Did he tell you that?” Chrissy asked, her eyes going wide.

“No, but I think you just did.”

“Oh, it wasn’t like that. Those single person tents are just so small that it's hard not to be right up next to someone if you're sharing."

"Well, I hope you weren't too close to each other for your sake. Just because Steve is really ticklish along his sides, and I would hate for you to be on the other end of his flinching."

Of course, Nancy knew that Steve wasn't sensitive enough to flinch at every little touch. He was only really ticklish when you actually tried to tickle him. However, she also knew that you didn't go around tickling just anyone, so she was planting a little seed of a way that Chrissy could flirt with him if that's what she was trying to do.

Chrissy could feel her cheeks warming at the mere idea of being that close to Steve and touching him in that way. She had an inkling that he would be open to goofing around with her in that way from the little teasing and poking at her that he'd done so far. She just needed an opportunity to arise where it wouldn't be weird for her to touch him in that way.

Meanwhile, Eddie was having his own similar conversation with Steve as they walked back from returning the tents.

"So, have you kissed her yet?" he asked.

"What is with you and Nancy having this weird obsession with whether or not I've made a move on Chrissy? Which, for the record, I haven't. I doubt that's something she'd want anyway, so nothing is happening there unless she makes the first move."

"You're kidding right?"

"Why would I kid about something like this?"

"I don't know. But she's clearly interested in you, so I also don't know why you'd think she wouldn't want you to kiss her."

"She doesn't think I'm good enough for her."

"You're full of shit. Why would you think that?"

Steve sighed.

"When she came to my tent last night she was surprised that I was reading. Like she was audibly and visibly shocked that I was smart enough to read, and that stung. A lot."

"Did she actually say that she didn't think you were smart enough to read?" Eddie asked.

"Well, no, but it was all in her tone. The idea of me holding a book was ridiculous to her."

Eddie placed a hand on Steve's shoulder and stopped him from walking any further.

"I promise you that Chrissy's not like that. She would never outwardly judge someone like that. I'm living proof. She may have threatened to kick my ass if I didn't graduate, but she never made me feel bad about myself for struggling with school. I don't know what you think happened, but she wasn't judging you."

Steve shrugged.

"Whatever you say. I'm still letting her make the first move. I don't want to make the rest of the trip awkward if we're both wrong about her."

"I could talk to her if you want. Put some feelers to see if she's open to kissing all over that pretty face of yours."

"Don't. I think I've got this handled on my own."

"If that's what you want. The offer's still there though."

Once the group was back together, all talk of whatever was starting between Chrissy and Steve ceased. They got back on the road, and Chrissy abused her aux cord privileges by using them to allow Nancy to put on her personal metalhead playlist. They were making good time, but they didn't want to have to make too many stops if they didn't have to, so the group consensus was that it would be best if they just pulled through a drive-thru for lunch.

Of course, this only made Chrissy self-conscious of her eating habits again. She was trying to ignore the little voice in the back of her head that said she was too fat to enjoy fast food, but no matter what she did, it was still there.

When it came time for her to order, she got a children's order of chicken nuggets and a side salad with no dressing. It wasn't exactly an ideal lunch, but it would do in a pinch. And, since she ordered two items, maybe no one would notice that her lunch seemed so small compared to everyone else's.

Steve noticed though. He was the one placing all of their orders, so he knew exactly what each person was getting, and that meant he was well aware of how pitiful Chrissy's lunch was. She was the only person in the car who didn't ask for fries, and he knew that if it was him who hadn't ordered fries, he'd regret it as soon as everyone else had their food and he saw what he was missing out on.

So maybe he ordered extra fries for himself. That way he would be able to find a way to offer her some.

"Alright, I have another very important job for you as my passenger seat rider," he told her after they had their food and were back on the road.

"Lay it on me."

"I need to keep my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road, so I need you to be my official fry feeder if you're up to it. Your reward for doing this very important job is that you can have as many of my fries as you want. I think I ordered way too many anyway."

"I think I can do that."

Chrissy fed Steve fries every so often. Mostly when he prompted her to, but occasionally she would just know when he was ready for another and have it waiting for him when he turned his head. She knew he told her to help herself, but she was struggling with whether or not it was okay to have them.

But she was on vacation. That was what Steve had told her the other night when they got ice cream. There was nobody there to tell her that the fries were bad for her, and it wouldn't kill her to have a little treat. Plus, her lunch wasn't exactly filling, and the fries were right there. She could let herself enjoy just a few right now and then choose something healthy for dinner. It was all about balance.

So, after feeding Steve another fry, she snagged a couple for herself and allowed this one tiny indulgence. The smile on Steve's face when he saw that she was eating went completely unnoticed.

"Pull over at the next rest stop," Nancy said from the backseat. "I need a bathroom break."

"Me too," Chrissy agreed.

Steve pulled in at the next gas station, and the girls ran off to get the restroom key from the gas station attendant.

"I'm gonna go grab a drink while we're here. You want anything?" Eddie asked.

"Nah. I'm good. I'll just stay here and keep the air running while you're gone."

Eddie started to make his way towards the gas station entrance, but he got distracted by a sign by the door. After a quick investigation, he was running to meet the girls by the bathroom door.

"Come with me if you wanna see something that has the potential to be really cool," he told them before leading them back behind the building. Waiting for them there was a small structure with a sign that read 'Museum of Weird Things.'

"Can we go in?" he asked practically bouncing with excitement.

"Only for a little bit," Nancy said. "I don't want to throw us too far off schedule."

Eddie practically pushed the girls into the building. None of them really knew what to expect, but it was actually a pretty interesting little shack. Sure, some of the weird things were random rocks that were supposed to look like celebrities and obviously photoshopped pictures of cows levitating because of UFOs, but there were some genuinely interesting weird things in there along with the laughable ones. The centerpiece of this roadside shack was a taxidermied squirrel with two heads and three extra arms. Eddie was the most fascinated by it, but Chrissy and Nancy thought it was pretty cool as well.

As they were examining the squirrel, Chrissy couldn't help but feel like something was missing, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what. Just as she had that thought, her phone went off in her hand. She checked her notifications, and the most recent one was a text from Steve in their road trip group chat. It was a selfie of him sitting in the car with a very forced and awkward smile, and he'd captioned it with 'having so much fun on this road trip with all my friends.'

"Oh no."

"What is it?" Nancy asked.

"We forgot about Steve."

"Shit," Eddie muttered. "Let's just go back to the car. He's probably pissed."

"No," Chrissy said as she stopped him from leaving. "You guys stay here, and I'll go grab him. The least we can do is allow him to give this place a look after coming here without him."

They let Chrissy run off, and as she approached the car, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She hadn't meant to forget about him waiting in the car. She'd just let herself get wrapped up in what Eddie wanted to do, and now she felt awful.

When she got to the car, she knocked on the driver's side window and got Steve to roll it down for her.

"I'm so, so sorry," she said as she leaned forward and rested her forearms on the car door. "Do you want to go see a squirrel with two heads and five arms?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Are you sure I'm wanted? Feeling pretty forgotten and lonely out here."

Steve was content to keep up the bit and play the jilted friend stuck waiting in the car, but he also really wanted to see that squirrel. She could see through his act though. If he wanted to play, she could play, too. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout and batted her eyelashes.

"Please come see the shack. For me?" she pouted. "How can you say no to this face? You can even hold my hand hostage again as a punishment again if you want."

Steve was not immune to how cute Chrissy was. There was no way that he could say no to her. Not when she was looking at him like that and offering to hold his hand again.

"I thought we agreed that me holding your hand wasn't a punishment?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

"So, I'll owe you one then. Two actually since I still owe you for sharing your tent with me last night. Now, will you please get out of the car and come with me?”

Steve rolled up his window and turned off the car before climbing out.

“I’m only going with you because I want to see the squirrel. I reserve the right to give Eddie and Nancy the silent treatment for as long as I want until they sufficiently make it up to me.”

He held out his hand for Chrissy, and she took it happily.

“Go easy on them,” she told him. “The squirrel is cool enough that you’d forget all about us, too. And maybe you could take a picture of Mister Fibbley with it? That might be cool, right?”

He gave her hand a small squeeze.

“I like the way you think.”

#cheerscoops #harringham #stissy #steve x chrissy #chrissy x steve #steve harrington x chrissy cunningham #chrissy cunningham x steve harrington #my writing #wyptif

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