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I made Spotify playlists for my fixations cuz why not

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UNLUCKY: A STRANGER THINGS STORY (OC) - CHAPTER TEN

Chapter Ten: A Night to Remember

Series Masterlist l OC Profile

Plot: It’s prom season at Hawkins High for Jonathan and Christine, but the favor between friends comes with complexities.

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: none really

A/N: Welcome back! We’ve only got a few more chapters till we’re in s2, but I’m loving building some backstory for future seasons. Hope you enjoy this one!

UPDATE: Two years later, I’ve converted this to an OC story. All chapters are being rewritten ☺️

————————

April 16th, 1984

Spring in Hawkins was its most beautiful time. We came out of a particularly harsh winter to be greeted with flowers blooming and trees sprouting bright green leaves. It was a season of hope.

Unbeknownst to me, spring meant something more for if you were in high school. It meant it was prom season. I quickly learned that prom wasn’t just a dance; it was the event of the year. It made or broke relationships. It was a death sentence if you didn’t find a date. It was a competition of who could look prettiest. In high school world, it was everything.

Naturally, I wasn’t going.

Jonathan and I had been making a habit of eating lunch on the hood of his car. Neither of us loved being a third wheel to Nancy and Steve and since they were always together, we’d formed a tighter bond.

“You’re not missing much,” he said, mouth full of ham sandwich. I’d broached the subject of prom.

“How do you know?” I took a quick swig of my soda, “You’ve never been.”

Jonathan shrugged, “Some things you don’t need to experience to know they’re stupid. Like movies or bands.”

“Very optimistic,” I smiled, “I don’t know, I think it sounds fun.”

Jonathan’s unbothered side was one of the things I loved about him, but we were two different people when it came down to it. He had never tried to fit in, I was trying doing everything I could to.

“You really want to go, don’t you?” He asked.

It was my turn to shrug. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I don’t have a date. And apparently it’s social suicide to go without one,” I looked down at my pb&j, “Don’t need to stoke that fire anymore.”

There was a long beat of silence before Jonathan spoke. “What if…what if we went together?”l

I looked up at him, “What?”

“If you really want to go,” he shrugged, “I’d take you.”

“You just finished saying how much you hated prom.”

“I mean, it’s probably not that bad-“

“Jonathan,” I laughed.

He joined in, the offer seemed too ridiculous not to laugh at.

“Think of it as” Jonathan lowered his voice, “You helped save Will and I’m repaying the favor.”

“Oh, those two are equal?”

“Sure,” he replied, smiling warmly, “Come on…”

Jonathan was constantly doing for others. It made me almost uncomfortable that he would put himself through something he was so against just to make me happy.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do.”

We smiled at one another until I finally gave in. “Okay. You take me to prom and we’re…what’s the phrase?”

“Square,” Jonathan held out his hand.

“Square,” I shook his hand. My imagination was already setting off confetti and fireworks.

——————

For once, when Hopper picked me up, I had good news.

“How was your day?” Hopper asked, expecting the same groaning answer as always.

“It was decent.”

“Really?” he raised a brow, “Well, that’s an improvement.”

“I actually decided that I’m going to go to prom,” I continued as we pulled out of the school parking lot.

“By yourself?”

“No, someone asked me.”

“Someone asked you?” his voice grew serious, “Who’s ‘someone?’ Is it the kid with the hair?”

“Okay, for the hundredth time,” I spoke slowly, “Steve is dating Nancy-“

“Yeah, well, things change quick in high school.”

I smiled to myself and leaned my elbow against the windowsill, resting my head in my hand. This was going to be fun.

“And come to think of it, I don’t remember giving you permission to go to a school dance,” Hopper was gaining speed, “And definitely not with a date.”

“It’s Jonathan.”

Silence. “Jonathan?”

“Mm-hmm,” I nodded.

Another bit of silence. “Joyce’s kid?”

“The very one.”

Hopper paused, “Huh.”

“Yeah,” I smiled, “So I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He doesn’t even want to go really, he’s just taking me because he knows I want to.”

Hopper knew how good of friends Jonathan and I had grown to be. He’d picked me up from the Byers’ house nearly as much as he did from the Wheeler’s. Jonathan was the only boy from school Hopper would let take me anywhere, let alone prom.

“Then….” he trailed off while trying to recover, “I think you two will have a great time together.”

I smirked at him, “Oh, you do?”

Hopper shot me a look from under his sunglasses. “Don’t be a smartass.”

——————

Nancy had already asked for my help that weekend finding a dress. We had to drive to the next town over as our department store had already been cleared out of most options.

“What do you think of this one?” Nancy held up a turquoise dress with big puffy sleeves.

I made a face, “It’s…poofy?”

Nancy took a second look, before putting it back. “Why is shopping for one dress so hard? Honestly, count yourself lucky you don’t have to.”

“Yeah,” I tried to laugh as if I hadn’t been secretly scanning the racks.

I’d had days to tell Nancy that I was indeed going to prom, but I’d chickened out each time. If it had been anyone else who’d asked me, she’d have known immediately. But Jonathan was…to be honest, I still wasn’t sure what Jonathan was to Nancy, but he was clearly something. I hadn’t imagined the way they looked at each other. I didn’t want to hurt my friendship with Nancy, but Hopper had uncharacteristically given me money and I needed to find a full outfit before he realized he’d gone insane.

“What about….” Nancy pulled out a strappy gold dress, “This one?”

“Oh,” I rubbed the material between my fingers, “I like it.”

“Yeah?” Nancy was beaming, “I’m gonna go try it on.”

As she walked off towards the fitting room, my nerves became too much to handle. “I-I forgot to tell you,” I said before she got too far, “I actually am going to prom.”

“What? Chris, oh my gosh, that’s awesome!” Nancy lightly smacked my arm, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know,” I tried to smile.

“Who asked you?”

My stomach twisted. “Um…Jonathan, actually.”

Any thoughts going through Nancy’s mind clearly stopped. Her smile dropped ever so slightly, a little bit of the signature light in her eyes faded.

“Just as a friend,” I clarified, “He doesn’t even want to go but he knows I really do. I-It’s basically a favor.”

“That’s…” Nancy tried to regain her joy, “That’s great. I’m so excited for you.”

“Is that…okay?” I hesitated.

“Yeah, of course,” she said quickly, “I mean, why wouldn’t it be okay?”

“Well, I mean…you and Jonathan are….” I struggled before backtracking all the way to Hawkins, “You guys were friends way before I got here and I just didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“Why would it be awkward?” Nancy asked, “You guys are friends, we all are…” she shook her head out from whatever haze she was in, “And I’m going with Steve, obviously, so everybody wins.”

Nancy started sifting through the nearest rack of dresses we’d already looked at. She was way more affected than she’d ever admit.

“It’s great,” she smiled.

“O-okay…” I replied, “Great.”

A beat of awkward silence passed before Nancy snapped out of it. “And, oh my gosh, you’re getting to go to prom. That’s awesome!”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “Which means I kind of need a dress too.”

Nancy pulled out a bright green dress made of taffeta, a word I’d only just learned. The laugh she was holding in showed she was joking.

I quickly searched for a long sleeved red and black dress covered in sequins she’d had already made a face at.

The two of us burst into giggles and somehow the Jonathan matter was put behind us…for a little while, at least.

——————

The lead-up to prom went by way quicker than I’d expected. Nancy and I had worked each night after school on hair and makeup until we’d perfected our looks. As soon as Jonathan had told Joyce he was taking me, she’d called Hopper and told him she wanted to do pictures at their house before the dance. It was all a little overwhelming, but the best kind.

The night of, I spent an hour in front of the mirror with the curling iron and my makeup bag. All the products and devices were still foreign to me but I managed to do a near perfect duplicate of what Nancy had done on me.

When I looked in the mirror at the finished product, I realized I looked exactly like I’d wished to for so many years. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful.

“Pretty.”

I caught El’s reflection, she was standing in the doorway.

“You think so?” I reached out for her to come stand next to me. “You know you’re pretty too, right?”

El twisted her lips. “You are,” I wrapped an arm around her, “All this stuff I’ve got on my face is just for fun.”

“Can I try?” she asked timidly.

Hopper didn’t even like me wearing makeup. He’d kill me if I got El involved in it at all. But more important than Hopper was the little fact that sisters could have secrets.

I dug through my bag and found some tinted lip balm. El turned to me and I held her face to apply a light coat. It added the tiniest bit of pink to her mouth.

“There,” I smiled, pulling back to admire her, “Just don’t tell Hopper.”

El looked herself over in the mirror and lit up, “Don’t tell Hopper.”

I giggled just as a knock sounded on the doorframe. “You about finished in there?” Hopper asked without entering.

“Yeah,” I got up and waited for him to leave. It was all building to a grand reveal. “Let me get changed.”

The dress I’d ended up choosing was dark blue and off the shoulders. It felt ridiculously fancy and I was still a bit nervous about wearing it. I was also too excited to listen to myself.

“Clock’s a ticking,” Hopper called just as I’d zipped up.

“Coming,” I gave myself one final look in the mirror, beaming at my reflection, before heading to the door. “Okay…”

I came out of the bedroom on full display. El’s eyes widened and she immediately came up to me, touching the bodice of the dress.

“Pretty?” I smiled down at her.

She nodded, “Pretty.”

I looked to Hopper, who didn’t look nearly as thrilled but just as shocked. “Well?”

“I, uh…I…” he mumbled, clearing his throat, “You look…grown up.”

I furrowed my brow, “Is grown up good or…?”

“It’s good—I mean, not if you’re planning on doing something you shouldn’t, but you’re not so…” Hopper recovered his answer and slowly smiled, “It’s good.”

I matched his expression, feeling a new kind of connection with him. Something like what I’d felt on Valentine’s Day or when I was around Mr. Wheeler and Holly.

Hopper’s smile faltered, “And Jonathan and you are just friends, right?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m leaving now.”

When we got to the Byers, the sunset was just starting to set. Jonathan was trying to teach Joyce how to work his camera as Hopper and I pulled into their driveway.

“Oh! You look beautiful!” Joyce exclaimed as she came over to hug me, “Are you excited?”

“Despite your son’s best efforts,” I shared a knowing smile with Jonathan, “Yes.”

Joyce went about posing the two of us. Almost all of them made us look more like a couple than friends. At one point, she had me wrap my arms around Jonathan’s neck and had him wrap his around my waist.

“Mom…” he laughed.

“What?” Joyce said as she lined up the shot, “Friends can look adorable too.”

At one point, while she was roping Hopper into finding another good spot, I let go of Jonathan and grabbed Will, who’d been enjoying the chaos from the porch.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I announced, “I want only the best Byers to take me to prom.”

Joyce snapped a few pictures of the two of us. Will and I had bonded once given the chance to get to know each other. I felt tied to him in some way after fighting to rescue him and he’d told me how he liked that I didn’t treat him like he was weird.

After taking pictures of me with both Byers boys, a few with Hopper plus some by myself, Jonathan and I were released. Hopper made him promise to be back in the driveway by 11, something I didn’t suspect would be a problem.

“Ready?” Jonathan asked as he put his keys in the ignition.

I smiled at both his kindness of taking me and his absolute dread of going. “Ready.”

——————

We arrived to the school a little after 7, minutes after it had officially started.

“Okay,” Jonathan said as we got out of the car, “Here we go.”

I looked down at the elbow he was holding out and back up at him.

“Did you hurt your arm driving?” I asked.

“No,” he smiled, “It’s for you. To take.”

I didn’t feel any more clued in. “Take…?”

Jonathan grabbed my hand and looped it through his arm. One glance up at the other couples walking in showed what he was going for.

“Ah,” I smiled and we headed off. I was getting the full experience.

The moment we stepped inside, it was like another place. The gym had been completely transformed. There were beautifully decorated tables with big floral centerpieces. Lights, streamers and balloons were strung from the ceiling. A DJ was positioned underneath the basketball hoop. There was a photographer at the door taking pictures in front of a backdrop.

“Wow,” I muttered.

Jonathan shared my surprise, “They actually made it look nice.”

We got our photo taken by the over-the-top photographer. Jonathan spent a good ten minutes critiquing his subpar skills and what he would have done differently.

Afterwards, we found a table with two free seats and Jonathan went to grab drinks. I watched the girls that passed by, admiring their dresses and complimenting them if they were close enough. Some thanked me, some told me they liked mine, but the majority passed me by without a word but with plenty of disdain.

“Look,” one girl said to her friends, “Freak’s playing Cinderella for a night.”

As they left giggling, I took a deep breath. I was not going to let reality ruin the night.

“Friends of yours?” Jonathan quipped, returning with two glasses of punch.

“I’ve decided not to let it bother me,” I stated, “Cinderella’s a princess.”

“So that makes me…the pumpkin?”

“You’re the best friend they don’t show in the movie,” I answered, “The one who cheers on her positive outlook on life.”

Jonathan nodded, “I can do that.”

I grinned as we knocked our glasses together.

Eventually, Jonathan couldn’t hold out on me any longer and we made our way to the dance floor. The great part about going as friends was that none of the invisible rules applied to us. Neither of us cared if we held hands or got too close. Jonathan spun me around until I was dizzy and giggling. At some point even he was enjoying himself.

“Christine!”

I twirled around and saw Nancy coming over, Steve right behind her. She looked gorgeous in her pale pink ruffled gown with her curly hair all pinned up.

“Aah!” I exclaimed as we hugged, “The dress looks so good on you!”

“You too!” she replied, looking over to Jonathan after. Her tone dropped from ecstatic to pleasantly polite, “Hey.”

“Hey,” he mumbled, holding up a hand before extending it to Steve, “Hey.”

“Hey, man,” Steve replied, the two of them were cordial and nothing more. They’d made up to some extent after the fight but the awkwardness was still there.

“Can you believe how nice they made this place look?” I tried to lighten the mood.

“Right?” Steve jumped in, “Takes the sting out of losing to the Falcons last week.”

Jonathan, who couldn’t have cared less, tried to smile. He kept his gaze down, if he didn’t, his eyes darting up to Nancy every couple seconds.

“Alright, crazy kids,” the dj announced into his microphone, “Time for a little who’s-who switcheroo. Grab someone’s who you didn’t come with and hit the dance floor.”

The four of us exchanged awkward glances. I was the only one who wasn’t sweating at the idea of dancing with someone else.

“Steve,” a blonde called sweetly from behind him, “Dance with me?”

Another two were closing in, each of them just as eager to score a dance with Steve all dressed up in a tux. He chuckled a little nervously before regaining his cool composure.

“Sorry, ladies,” he looked to me, “I already asked Christine.”

I took Steve’s outstretched hand and turned to Jonathan and Nancy, “Are you guys…?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nancy rushed out, taking a hesitant step towards Jonathan.

With that, I let Steve lead me a few feet away. I settled my arms around his neck, feeling highly uncomfortable. It didn’t matter if everyone had to switch partners, I had a feeling I’d be singled out for stealing Nancy’s date.

“Am I that bad a partner?” Steve noticed what I couldn’t keep off my face.

“What?” I startled, “No, no…I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to dance with my best friend’s boyfriend.”

“You’re doing alright,” Steve assured, slowly swaying us to the music with his hands on my waist, “Is all this living up to your expectations?”

I fake gasped, “Are you kidding me? A dance with Steve Harrington? Nothing will ever compare.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Alright, alright…Hey, last time we were this close, you punched me. I’m taking a big risk.”

“When are you going to let that go?” I asked, he never missed a chance to bring up the moment we’d met.

“I think I still have the scar right here,” he continued as he touched his chin.

“I don’t regret it,” I shrugged.

“I still flinch when someone makes a fist.”

“I’m guessing that happens to you pretty often.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised…”

“I don’t think I would.”

Steve smiled down at me, I could tell what he was doing. He was distracting me into not overthinking. It was working.

“Don’t worry,” I said, “I keep my promises. No more punching,” pausing, I smiled, “So long as you don’t give me a reason to.”

“Deal,” he replied, “So does that make us….friends?”

Steve and I had done a remarkable job of spending a ton of time together without actually ever calling ourselves anything. To me, he was Nancy’s boyfriend who wasn’t completely unbearable. To him, I was Nancy’s friend who he could tolerate. It worked. But somewhere in between my first day when he’d bailed me out of detention and now, talking so naturally, something had changed. We’d become friends without even realizing it.

“Yeah,” I mused, “I guess it does.”

Steve smiled, “Good. I like it better when I’m on your good side.”

“I like it better when you’re not an asshole,” I replied.

Steve scrunched his face up, “Sure we’re friends?”

I giggled, “Sadly, yes.”

The song played its final notes and everyone started to reunite with their dates.

“Hey,” Nancy found us, “Is Jonathan okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“The second the song was over he just ran out the door,” she explained and looked to the entrance, “I-I don’t know what happened.”

“I’ll go find him,” I said, leaving her and Steve to themselves. Jonathan wouldn’t have left me by myself if something wasn’t really wrong.

The dark halls were completely empty. I pushed the boy’s bathroom door open but heard nothing. I glanced out one of the windows facing the parking lot, where Jonathan’s car was visible, but didn’t see him. Not knowing where else he may go, I took a shot in the dark and headed outside toward the football field. Something told me I was headed in the right direction.

Sure enough, there he was. Sitting on the bleachers alone.

I picked up my dress and climbed the steps, my heels clicking against the metal. Jonathan had wrapped himself in his own arms. He said nothing as I approached, he couldn’t even look at me. His eyes were shut and his head was lowered. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought he was sick or in pain.

If I hadn’t known better. It was very clear what was wrong.

He was heartbroken.

Over a girl who wasn’t his.

Of course it was Nancy that was bothering him. It was so painfully clear that he had feelings for her. Dancing with her, holding her close, gazing into her eyes…it had killed him.

There was nothing to say and nothing to do. It was an impossible situation. I simply sat down beside him, looped my arm through his and settled my head on his shoulder. It was the only comfort I could offer. To let him know I knew.

Eventually, I felt his body stop trembling and his muscles unclench. The two of us sat there, muffled music playing in the background, heartbroken on prom night.

————————

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