Too Early For This

Sunlight filled Lori’s bedroom, warming her skin as she stirred awake. Instinctively, she brought a hand up to block her face but it almost immediately crashed with a body. They let out a breath next to her as she looked up at her boyfriend. Hair was muddled in his face, closed eyes barely visible through the locks.

Softly, she wrapped her arms around his bare torso, him sleepily guiding her into his chest. She felt him start to wake up, his thumb tracing the freckles that lined the back of her arm. 

“I will never get tired of this,” Steve mumbled, bringing in closer.

“Your chest is so comfortable,” Lori whispered. He laughed, chest rising with every chuckle. “No, seriously your chest is so hairy it's like a pillow.” 

She grazed her hand over his stomach and up into the tangled mess on his chest. Twisting her fingers through the hair she heard him breath out in content. 

“Well, I’m glad someone enjoys my chest hair. I used to shave it.”

Picking her head up she brought her gaze to meet his. “Never shave your chest ever again.”

He chuckled. “Mhm, sure.”

“I’m serious!”

He wrapped an arm around her tighter, his hand stoking softly up and down her arm. “I know, babe.”

Laying her head back down, she said, “I don’t wanna get up today.”

“I don’t either. But you have that pep rally and I have work —“

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Steve and Lori shot upright in bed, staring at the handle of her door that was jiggling relentlessly. Lori mentally thanked herself for remembering to lock it the night before.

“Lori, you’re gonna be late!” Her brother, Tommy, shouted.

She shouted back, “I’m coming!” Before turning to Steve. She didn’t need to remind him,  having done this routine so many times before. But still she asked, “Window?”

He nodded, already moving to pull his shirt over his head — an old swim team shirt from high school. The past eight months had been total bliss. With almost no one knowing about their relationship, Steve and Lori were left only to each other, able to get to know each other in a way that wouldn’t have been possible if they went public.

But Lori couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to not have to hide from anyone. To walk hand in hand throughout Hawkins, for Steve to walk in through the front door rather than her window. 

She watched as he threw his bag out the open window, it falling with a distance thump. Steve turned back one more time, giving for a kiss on the cheek before jumping over the sill. Lori’s cheeks grew warm from his touch, they always did. No matter how many times he had kissed her since getting together.

Lori rushed to put the remainder of her clothes on as she watched his head disappear from her view. She threw on a random band tee and reeboks to go with her plain jeans before grabbing her backpack.

Tommy was already downstairs when she entered the kitchen. He was rushing to make breakfast for the two of them. Looking up at the sound of her footsteps, he joked, “You took so long, what were you doing in there?”

She tried her best to stay calm as she sat down at the island counter. Out of all the people to hide her relationship from, Tommy has surprisingly the hardest. Every time they spoke, every time he had almost caught them, she resisted the urge to blurt out the truth.  

She took a bite of toast he placed in front of her. “Nothing,” she said simply.

Steve, rightfully so, had been very hesitant about the idea of telling her brother. The former best friends hadn’t spoken since the Byers's fight years prior and Steve would always remind Lori that dating a best friend's sister was off-bounds. 

She had to keep reminding him that they weren’t friends anymore, not seeing the big deal. But he always insisted it was better to sneak around. He didn’t know how Tommy would react and for the meantime, it was better to just ignore the situation entirely. 

Lori agreed at first, but Tommy had changed a lot in the past few years as did Steve. She would hope by now they could get to a friendly place again, one where her boyfriend could actually leave through the front door. 

“Don’t forget Julie is coming over tonight,” Tommy reminded her. “You can join us if you’d like we’re gonna watch a movie to celebrate the Vernal Equinox.”

Lori dismissed the invite with the wave of her hand. She loved her brother’s new girlfriend, she truly did. The two had met at Tommy’s job while he worked on Julie’s car and from what Tommy had said, they hit it off immediately. So while she would normally jump at the opportunity to see Julie, Lori knew better than to overstay her welcome. 

“No, I don’t wanna intrude on date night,” Lori began, “Plus, I’m going to the basketball game tonight.”

He furrowed his brows as he poured eggs onto her plate. “Why are you going to some stupid basketball game?”

To be with my boyfriend who’s supporting his weirdly younger friend, she wanted to say but instead went with, “Robin’s still in the band, remember?”

“Ugh, I’m so happy you gave up the clarinet. I could never stand you practicing. That sound vibrated the entire house."

She hopped off the stool, grabbing her bag. She took her last bite of toast as she flung the bag over her shoulder. “As if you didn’t constantly blast music. Okay, I’m off.”

“Have fun at the pep rally!” He called after her as she ran toward the front door.

She turned and rolled her eyes at him, “Thanks. Tell Julie I said hi.”

Slamming the door shut, she quickly raced down the street to where Steve was waiting in his strategically parked car. Tommy was clueless when it came to the simple things that changed in her life. He thought that Robin was picking her up everyday. 

Climbing in the passenger side, she felt Steve’s hand graze her jaw, bringing her lips to his. It was short, sweet, and still left Lori blushing after every time.

“What was that for?” she asked, pulling away.

Shrugging, Steve put the car into drive. “I missed you.”

“I saw you five minutes ago!”

“I can still miss you, can’t I?” Giggling at his affection, she pulled her seat belt over her shoulder, just in time as they turned down another suburban road. 

“I don’t understand why Robin can’t drive herself to school,” he complained, driving just a few streets away to where Robin’s how was. He pulled into the driveway carefully. 

“She doesn’t have her license.”

Steve turned his head to her in shock. “She doesn’t have her license?” As the words left his mouth, Robin emerged from her house, running up to Lori’s open window. Turning his attention to her he asked, “You don’t have your license?”

“No,” Robin said plainly, not sure how they got on this topic of conversation. 

“Why?”

“I’m poor. Lori, could you sit in the back? I need the mirror to do my makeup.”

Lori agreed, moving to open her side door before Steve pulled her back for a moment, planting one more kiss on her lips before she stepped out. Robin groaned in discomfort. 

“Save the PDA for later okay? It’s seven in the morning,” she urged them.

Climbing into the middle back seat, Lori said, “You’re the only person who we don’t have to hide in front of.”

“—and who’s fault is that?” Steve tagged on.

Rolling her eyes Robin responded, “It’s not my fault you two decided you couldn’t wait until after work to suck faces!”

A few months after the Starcourt Mall Fire, when Scoops Ahoy and Al’s Records burned to the ground, the three friends were left jobless. Robin and Steve had gotten jobs at a local movie rental store called Family Video. It ended up working out perfectly because Lori had gotten a job next door at the Palace Arcade.

She was able to sneak off on breaks to go visit her best friend and boyfriend and everything was fine. Until the day Robin walked in on them making out in the alley behind the two businesses. She couldn’t argue that there was some weight taken off her shoulders from her best friend knowing. Being able to actually talk to someone else about her relationship. It still irked Robin when she mentioned kissing him but like the good friend she was, she listened. 

“Ugh,” Robin groaned, slapping her hands on both sides of her face. “We have to go to this stupid pep rally and I look like a total corpse!”

Steve scoffed, “You expect me to believe you’re worried about a pep rally?”

“Yeah? Why else would I be worried?” She asked, rubbing more mascara onto her eyelashes.

He turned down another street, leaving the resident side of town. “We all know what this is really about.”

“This is so about Vickie,” Lori said leaning in between them from the back seat.

Steve threw up a hand in gratitude. “Yes! Thank you!”

“Absolutely not,” Robin dismissed.

“It is! You know what?”

“I don’t care.”

“You gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you’re around her. You Just gotta be yourself.”

“You’re literally quoting me to me. You do realize that.” She turned to her best friend. “He’s quoting me to me!”

“I’m aware,” Lori responded. “But that doesn’t mean what he’s saying isn’t true.” Her friend groaned a response. “She likes you, Rob!”

“You don’t know that!”

“You won’t either,” Steve butted in, “unless you ask her out! Maybe you need to listen to your own advice ever think about that? I did and look at me at Lori.”

He looked into his rearview mirror to flash his girlfriend a smile. Even after all these months, she felt like she could go weak from just his grin. It was so sweet and caring, encapsulating everything he felt in just one gaze.

“It’s not the same thing okay?” Robin tried to explain. “If you asked out Lori and she said no, big deal. Nothing happens. Maybe your ego’s a little bruised. But I ask out the wrong girl and bam! I’m the town pariah!”

“I’d buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl!”

“We just don’t know that, do we?” Robin sighed, sitting back in her seat. She turned to her friend with a pleading look. Anything to get out of this conversation. But Lori wasn’t going to let her go that easy.

“I sat next to her for three years in band,” Lori started. “She likes you, Rob, I can tell.”

“And she returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds!” Steve exclaimed. 

That made both of the girls groan. “Honey, not this analogy again,” she begged him but it was too late.

“You know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds? People who like boobies, Robin!”

“Ew gross! Don’t say boobies!” Robin yelled at him.

“S’not a big deal, okay? I like boobies. You like boobies….Vickie likes boobies. Definitely!”

The car fell silent, no one knowing how to respond to Steve’s statement. He had brought it up multiple times since the tape was returned. And having no other knowledge of Vickie, it was his only reasoning as to why she would like Robin.

Turning around in his seat for only a moment, he directed his attention toward his girlfriend. “Don’t worry babe, I only like your boobies.”

“STEVE!” Robin exclaimed, shocked that the words even left his mouth. 

Lori only rolled her eyes, trying to stop a smile from forming on her lips. He could be so blunt sometimes but it was better than never knowing what he was thinking. “Thanks for the clarification.”

Looking back forward, he turned the car into the very busy Hawkins High parking lot. There were a lot more students than usual. The buses had already arrived and teachers tried to guide all the kids toward the gymnasium. Itching to get out, Robin opened her door the minute the car stopped. Lori took more time, slowly grabbing her bag before emerging from the backseat. She walked over to the driver’s window where Steve had already rolled down his window.

She wanted to kiss him so badly but the lot was too full. Too many prying eyes that would spread rumors and out their relationship. Instead she rested an hand on his arm which was perched on the car door. She moved her fingers back and forth slightly, hoping it came across as a loving gesture. 

“I’ll see you later for the game right?” he asked. 

Nodding, she squeezed his arm slightly. “Don’t forget your vest is in the trunk.”

He gave her a wink before driving off and Lori couldn’t help but stand still and watch his car disappear back down the road. 

“Hagan come on, I gotta get my trumpet,” called out Robin, dragging her friend toward the direction of the band room. 

People pushed pass them, hurrying off to their own activities before the morning pep rally, or trying to avoid it all together. The smell of after shave and hairspray was in the air, making Lori scrunch her nose. Her ears were filled with the scuffling of concrete and indistinguishable conversations. 

Robin leaned in to Lori’s ear to make sure she heard her before speaking.  “I can’t believe Steve said all those things just—  she doesn’t like me. I-I can’t risk just asking her—“

“Robin, it’s okay, I know,” she reassured her, letting their shoulders bump for reassurance. “I understand, but believe me when I tell you that she likes you back.”

“Who likes her back?” asked a voice. 

It was barely legible over the sounds of the students around them, but loud enough that the two girls turned around to see who had asked. Vickie Sullivan was standing a few feet away, her ginger hair reflecting in the morning sun. Lori smiled back, waiting for Robin to say hi. She however, was stuck in her place; mouth hung open slightly as she stared at the clarinet player. 

“My brother’s girlfriend,” Lori explained, creating a quick excuse. “Robin met her for the first time and wasn’t convinced she liked her.”

“Who wouldn’t like Buckley? She’s the friendliest person I know,” Vickie responded her gaze drifting over to Robin.

“That’s what I was saying.” Lori looked over at her too to see if she had even recovered from their introductions. It was clear Robin was still too nervous to say anything at all. “Well, I gotta go find a seat in the gym. Have fun playing, guys.”

Vickie turned to her before she left. “We miss you in the clarinet section, Hagan. I wish you didn’t drop out.”

“I miss you guys too but you know clarinet was never really my passion,” Lori responded.

Vickie chuckled, her shoulders moving as she did so. “Yeah, I guess not. You leaving made me first chair so I guess I really can’t complain.”

“See? Better outcome for everyone.” 

Lori waved at the girls as she backed away, giving one last glance toward Robin. They had known each other long enough to read each other’s looks and Lori’s was saying to muster up the courage and talk to her crush. Robin gave her a wide-eyed stare back, one that she knew meant screw you for making me do things outside my comfort zone. Knowing she wouldn’t have talked to her otherwise, Lori continued to leave, watching as the two girls walked off to change into their band uniforms. 

Since Steve was no longer in high school and the few people she was friendly with had to preform in the pep rally band, Lori was left to sit by herself at the very back of the bleachers. The gym was even louder than the front of the school. The banging of shoes against the metal bleachers echoed throughout the room and it felt way hotter with the amount of people crammed into the space. The gym wasn’t small by a long shot but when it came to pep rallies, everyone sat on one side of the basketball court that lay in the center of the room. 

Lori watched from the very back seats which were a little less crowded than the rest of the room. Kids were already cheering as more filled the gym. The teachers were already on the floor with the school mascot and cheerleaders as the band began warming up. She was relieved when she saw a familiar face walk toward her. 

Lori wasn’t ecstatic to start her senior year; college applications still taking over most of her anxiety. But there was one good thing about the new semester and that was Max Mayfield. The redhead girl she had come quite close with over the summer was a freshman for the 1986 school year and Lori liked seeing another familiar face in the halls. 

She learned that the girl was part of the weird group of kids Steve had been friends/babysitting for the past few years and she even saw some of them wandering the halls - though Lori didn’t really know them and doubted they would know her. 

She watched as Max took a seat next to her. The girl pulled her headphones off the let them hang around her neck. She didn’t look toward Lori, instead, staring straight forward with a blank expression.

Over the summer, after the mall fire, Lori learned that Max’s older brother, Billy, was among those who died that night. It broke her heart, knowing that Max lost another family member. It wasn’t like Billy was a good person, but he had still been family, and his loss was clearing hurting her. Max and her mom had moved out of their home, downsizing to the trailer park which Lori had visited a handful of times. 

Ever since then, Max had become more guarded. She talked less, that fiery personality hidden under layers of trauma. Lori liked to think she had been helpful for Max in the past few months. She offered to drive her places to meet up with her friends, even though from what Lori knew she had stopped talking to them, even broke up with her boyfriend - this time indefinitely. So all she could be was a helper, an outstretched arm to help at any moment’s notice. 

“Hey,” Lori said softly, sliding slightly closer to Max. She only nodded back, giving a weak smile that Lori knew was forced. The principal began to introduce the basketball team, his voice loud through the speakers that weren’t mixed properly. Players began filing onto the court but Lori could care less. “Another nightmare?”

Max turned to her and nodded again. “Nothing new,” she responded, her voice hoarse from not talking that day. 

The students surrounding cheered for the team like it was an all-star game. To be fair ,they were going to the championship. But still, this wasn’t the NBA.  She spotted Lucas, the boy Steve wanted to go and support later that night, the boy Max had dated on and off all summer. He gave a wave toward Max, his expression turning sad when he saw she didn’t return a smile.

“Did you talk to your boyfriend about them?” Lori asked. 

Max shot her a glare. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

“Right…” She looked back at Lucas who was glaring at the floor his mouth turned downward slightly. "It looks like he still cares though.”

Max shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t need his pity. I don’t need anyone’s pity.”

“Is that why you're not sitting with little Wheeler and Dustin?”

She nodded. “They won’t treat me normally. I don’t need their pity either.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s why we’re friends huh? I don’t pity you.”

Max scoffed at her sarcasm. They had a weird friendship, one that involved poking fun at each other constantly. But they both knew it was out of care. Lori looked at Max as the strong woman she was, not a grieving little sister. 

“Oh totally, you’ve never felt pity in your life.”

Lori shook her head with a smile. “Never.”

Chuckling, the two girls were drawn out of their conversation as the captain of the basketball team, Jason Carver, cheered for the cheerleaders and his girlfriend. 

“You know,” Jason began. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say it’s been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss…and sometimes I wonder how much loss one community can take?”

The crowd died down, taking a moment to reflect on everything that had happened to the town. Lori looked over at Max, her eyes glued on Jason. She looked angry, her lips flattened, her girl on the bleachers tightening. Jason had no right to talk about them, no right to use them for his little pep talk.

Continuing he said, “In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said, think of Jack. Think of Melissa. Think of Heather. Think of Billy.”

Max’s breath hitched as he said her brother’s name. Lori tried to wrap an arm around her in comfort but she shoved it off, opting to look at the floor.

“Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper Think about each and every one of our friends that perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some…some crap school? No! For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No!”

Students began shouting ‘no’ from the stands, moved by Jason’s words. To Lori, she thought it was despicable. Bringing up the death of people's friends to rally for the game? It felt insensitive. Looking over at Max, it looked as if she thought so too. 

“Let’s win this game!” Jason shouted. “Let’s win this game, for them!”

Without warning, Max got up, dragging her bag with her as she pushed her way down the bleachers. Worried, Lori went after her, calling out her name as she ran for the exit. It wasn’t until they were in the empty halls that Max finally turned to face her.

“What?” she asked annoyed and little out of breath. 

“Are you okay? After what he said—“

“I don’t care that he mentioned Billy. I’m just not going to sit there while he uses my brother's death as a rally cry.”

“I never said that you did.” She walked up to Max slowly, finally bringing an hand down to her shoulder. “Do you want to stay at my house tonight? You know you always can —”

“— no, I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

“Will you come with me and Steve to the game tonight?” she asked hesitantly, trying not to push.

“I-I don’t know. Basketball isn’t really my thing…plus I don’t need to see Steve out with his new flavor of the week.”

Lori nodded, hoping her face wasn’t giving anything away. Steve was amazing but he always had a bad poker face. It was a miracle his little friends hadn’t figured out that he a and Lori had been dating for almost a year.

“Not it’s cool I get it. Do you want me to walk with you?” 

“It’s okay, Ms. Kelley is expecting me soon anyways.”

“Okay then, I’ll see you later.”

Giving a weak smile, Max lifted her headphones from her neck and placed them back over her ears. She walked off, pressing play on the walkman that was clipped into the front pocket of her jeans. 

Something more was going on with her and Lori couldn’t figure out just quite what it was. She seemed more irritable, more prone to outburst. Lori knew her nightmares were bad, she assumed they had to do with Billy, but Max would never tell her. She tried to think of ways to help as she walked off to homeroom early. 

“Babe come on, what’s a couple more hours?”

“Steve, don’t sit on the counter!”

After school, Lori had taken the closing shift at the arcade and Steve had finished his work day just an hour before her. Like most days his shift finished early, he had come to bug his girlfriend while she worked. 

There were barely any kids left, maybe one or two Lori knew she would have to kick out soon. But in the meantime, she had to do her closing duties. As she restocked the prize counter, Steve hoped up on the glass top. Lori gave him a stern look, one he knew meant she was slightly annoyed. 

“You haven’t cleaned this counter yet,” he protested, letting his feet dangle off the edge. “Just answer the question. Go out with me.”

Lori sighed standing up so she was level with him, “I’m already going out with you.”

“You know what I mean. After the game tonight. You said it yourself, Tommy’s off with Jamie—”

“—Julie,” she corrected, moving around to the back counter. Steve swiveled to face her, watching as she grabbed the glass cleaner that was tucked into a side cupboard. 

“Julie yeah, whatever. The point is, you’re free.”

Lori turned back to face him, cleaner and a rag in hand. She let out a long sigh. “If I agree will you get off the counter?” He hopped off quickly, and Lori couldn’t help but smile at his eagerness. “Thank you.”

“Anything to spend more time with you.”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she cleaned the counter. He had been a complete gentlemen since they began dating. Always knowing the right things to say, not pushing her on things she wasn’t ready with. There was only one thing that still nagged at her…Turning to face him, she leaned her hands back against the surface. He was looking up at the shelves of toys aimlessly, waiting for her to finish. 

“Steve,” she called to him. He hummed a reply, turning to her with a smile. “Why don’t we tell people?”

She didn’t need to elaborate. He knew what she meant. 

He sighed. “You know why.”

“I did, at first…but Robin knows, I think Max knows…and I’m sure your other friends won’t care. If this is about Tommy—“

“—he’ll flip out,” Steve interrupted, not wanting to think of the scenario much longer. His voice rose an octave as it often did when he was stressed.  

Lori pushed off the counter and took at step toward him. “He won’t! You haven’t known him in years.”

Steve let her invade his personal space, their bodies only mere inches from each other. “But I did know him. People can’t change that quickly.”

“You did,” she said. He looked taken aback at how she could make a statement like that. “Come on, it’s the truth! You were an asshole when you were friends with him. If you could change why couldn’t he?”

“I just —“ he interrupted himself, trying to find the right words. “I don’t want to change us. I like what we have; I don’t want it to go away.”

Lori’s eyes narrowed and folded her hands across her chest. “And telling my brother would do that?”

“Maybe!” He cried out, waving his hand in the air in frustration before lifted one up to rake through his hair. He always did that when he was nervous, when he wanted to focus on anything but the task at hand. 

Lori dropped her hands to her sides. Was that something he really thought? That theirrelationship would change? It felt like there was something deeper going on, something that he wasn’t telling her. This couldn’t just be about Tommy. That would be ridiculous. 

Did he not want people to know that he was dating her? Did he still have some weird obsession with reputations that she didn’t fit into. She hoped that wasn’t the case, that her Steve didn’t still think that way.

He clearly didn’t want to have this conversation and she knew that they would get nowhere while he was like this. Clearing her throat, Lori said, “Go grab your stuff I’ll be done soon.” 

She turned around, going back to cleaning the counter. Dismissing the conversation was the last thing she wanted to do. But between closing the store and Steve’s annoyance she knew she had to let it slide for now. 

“Lori—“ he began, knowing he messed up but Lori shook her head to stop him. 

She didn’t turn back to face him as she sternly replied, “We’re gonna be late okay? We’ll talk about it later.”

She could hear him sigh behind her and with defeat he said, “Yeah, okay…”

“Oh my god, I am so glad to see you!” Robin exclaimed running up to give Lori a big hug.

There was so much commotion, so much cheering for the now champion Hawkins High Tigers as people began to swarm the players on the court. Even though she was surrounded by sweaty people and loud parents, she didn’t care. Lori fell into the warm embrace of her friend, letting all the noise of celebration drift away.

“You did great!” she shouted back to her friend as they pulled apart.

Robin rolled her eyes, “I only played during halftime, what about the game?”

“Who care’s about the game?” She said, “I just wanted to see you guys play.”

Robin smiled, pointing over to where people were gathering around the basketball team. “Your boyfriend cares.” Lori followed her gaze, finding Steve amongst the crowd. He was hugging Lucas, Max’s ex and one of Steve’s weird kid friends. “You know he used to be on the team, right?”

“That was before we got close,” Lori reminded her friend. 

“You should go congratulate Lucas.”

Crossing her arms, she said, “I don’t even know him.”

“Well Steve does, and so do I, so come on.”

Before Lori could protest, Robin took hold of her arm, dragging her through the swarm of people trying to see the winning trophy. “Robin, stop!”

“Nope, no complaining. He’s a great kid, you’ll love him.” Lori grunted as she collided with Robin who suddenly stopped at their destination. “Sinclair! You were amazing!”

The boys whipped their heads around to face them. Lucas beaming, Steve surprised by his girlfriends presence. “Thanks Robin!” Lucas exclaimed, pulling his friend into a hug. 

Lori caught Steve’s eyes over Robin’s crouched shoulders. His gaze paired with her silent stare was enough for both of them to know they needed to talk. So little was said in those few moments at her work, yet it felt like so much damage had been done. 

There had been very few arguments over the course of their relationship. It any, they were  about simple things like what movie to watch or where to go for dinner. Never had they disagreed as something as important as their relationship before and part of that scared Lori. What if this was it for him? What if Steve would rather break up with her than deal with the consequences of going public? 

As Robin pulled away from the hug, Lori was quick to pull her attention back to the present. She introduced herself to the young boy. “I’m Lori. Robin and Steve’s… friend,” she said, though it pained her as the words came out. “You played great. Uh, yeah it was a good game.”

“Thanks,” Lucas said, not really knowing what else to say. Thankfully, he was being pulled away by his teammates. “Uh, I gotta go. See you guys.” He turned to Lori. “Nice meeting you.”

Lori nodded with a smile as he walked away. She felt Steve’s arm wrap around her shoulder. His touch felt hesitant, like he didn’t know if he was still allowed to hold her while they were still upset. “See?” Steve began, his voice quit. “He likes you.”

Lori leaned into his touch, letting him know it was okay.“I highly doubt that.”

“Trust me, you would know if that little twerp didn’t like you.”

Rolling her eyes, Lori turned to look up at him. His expression was still, mouth unmoving as he gazed back down at her. And for the first time in over the course of their relationship, she didn’t know what he was thinking.

“So… do you still wanna get outta here?” The question came out weaker than she intended but she saw his expression soften at her words. 

“Yeah,” he said, gaze unbroken. “Let’s go.”

Pulling her with him, they began to walk out of the gym. Robin’s voice called after them, barely legible among the crowd of people still on the court. “Hey you were my ride, dingus!”

Looking back for a moment, Steve flashed her a smirk. “I guess you’ll have to ask Vickie to take you home then!”

Lori couldn’t see her friend at that moment, but if she had to have guessed, she was flashing the middle finger. But without a care in the world, her boyfriend’s arm lazily draped across her shoulder, she followed him to the car. 

It had become almost a weekly tradition, heading out to this field. Almost second nature as she watched the familiar windy path come to an end. Steve had taken her there on their fourth date and she had immediately fallen in love. 

The solitude, the feeling of being alone with the sky above… it was a feeling she always longed for. With the wind in her hair, she began her walk up the hill, grabbing Steve’s hand hastily in the process. He tripped forward in surprise before regaining his balance, walking beside her. 

“So I did some reading,” he began to say at the top of the hill came into site. 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? What about?”

“The proper names for all these constellations.” Lori chuckled. “What? I should probably know the proper names by now.”

“Probably,” she said, laying out the blanket they had brought with them. “But I like the names you make up better.”

“Really?” He asked sincerely, to which she nodded. “You would prefer the Three Musketeers over Orions Belt?”

“Definitely,” she relied without hesitation. Leaning back onto the blanket, she felt Steve join her side. “It’s much more fun to hear your names. It’s like having an inside joke the stars.”

She felt his head turn to her. “An inside joke with the stars?”

Nodding she continued. “It’s names only we call them. I like it that way.”

“So I read all those books for nothing?”

She couldn’t suppress her giggles. “I’m afraid so.” Sighing, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close the nestle into the curve of his arm pit. The silence was comforting, but the weight of their earlier conversation still lingered over them.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Steve began. “At the arcade I just…I don’t know. I like what we have, I don’t wanna risk changing it.”

“I’m sorry too,” Lori told him.

Lifting his head to look at her, he scrunched his face. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“Bringing up telling people so much. I know you don’t wanna tell people so I should’ve stopped asking—“

“—hey, don’t be sorry for that. I’m the one who isn’t ready. I want to tell people, I really do it’s just….” He trailed off, not knowing how to form the right words.

He dropped his head back down, staring at the stars above them. She knew what he meant, words or not. His past relationships, or maybe one in particular, left a mark on his heart bigger than he cared to admit. Going public would make it more real, more likely to get hurt all over again. 

“I understand…” she replied softly. 

“Maybe before you leave for college I’ll be ready. When I come up to see you, it could be like a test run.”

“Well speaking of college,” she began. Turning to face him, she let her hands rest on his chest, her head on top of them. “Robin and I applied to some of the same schools. If we both get in this one in Michigan, we were thinking of getting an apartment together.”

“That’s good. I like the idea of you having someone from home when you leave,” he replied with a smile.

She smiled back. “Maybe, you’d wanna move in with us?”

His smile faltered, his eyebrows scrunching in what was…confusion? Fear? She continued hoping that explaining her reasoning would ease whatever internal conflict he was facing. “I mean, you’ve always talked about moving away from Hawkins eventually…and I thought that maybe there were more job opportunities out of town. You could find something you actually liked instead of rewinding tapes all day.”

Steve’s gaze stayed on her but she knew his mind was elsewhere, calculating everything about the situation presented. She felt her palms becoming sweaty, anxious that she overstepped a boundary.

They hadn’t even said I love you yet, was moving in together too big of a step? Maybe she had overestimated how much he liked being with her. Maybe this really was a fling and that’s why he didn’t want to go public. Asking him was a mistake, this whole day was feeling like a big disaster.  Steve stayed silent for what felt like forever, and with each passing moment Lori became more concerned it was a bad idea. 

“Never mind,” she said, suddenly sitting up from her place on his chest. She needed to get home, needed to breathe and think everything through. To convince herself that he wasn’t using her like Wallace did all those years ago. “Let’s just go home, we both have work tomorrow.”

Without another word, she began to pack up their stuff. It wasn’t until she was climbing into the passenger seat that she knew he was trailing behind her. 

Wordlessly, he started the car. They didn’t talk about it, but both of them new she wouldn’t be staying at his for the night. She watched as they turned down the familiar street, her house coming into view. The lights were still on and Lori remembered that her brother’s girlfriend, Julie, was over.

As the car rolled to a stop, still not a word uttered between them, she contemplated leaning over the center console to kiss him. It was a normal thing to do — something she did almost every time they parted. But for some reason, it didn’t feel like the right call.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lori asked, finally looking over at him. She tried to sound sincere but was failing miserably.

He was staring straight, almost zoned out until she spoke. His head jerked toward her, a hum of recognition. “Uh, y-yeah. Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

With a forced smile she got out of the car, not looking back as she entered her home. She leaned back against the door, a sigh of relief to be away from the tension. 

All those months of worrying about college, moving away, and starting a new life were finally coming to an end. But without Steve by her side, it didn’t feel right. A piece of her would always be with him and the thought of how strong she felt scared her. It scared her in a way she didn’t think possible. She had grown so attached to him, but maybe he didn’t feel the same way.

“Lori? Is that you?” Tommy called out.

Regaining her composure, Lori stepped out of the entryway and into the living room. Her brother was there, arm wrapped around Julie as they watched a movie on the couch. 

“Hey,” she called out as she approached them.

“How was the game?” her brother asked.

“They won.”

“Heyo!” Tommy exclaimed, shooting a hand in the air.

Julie chuckled into his chest. With a roll of her eyes she patted him. “Alright tiger, calm down.”

“What? They won!”

“So?” She said, like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Honey you don’t get it, they haven’t won a game in like 15 years. Not even when I was on the team.”

“Oh when you were on the team,” she humored with him. She turned to Lori. “He thinks he’s hot shit doesn’t he?”

Lori chuckled in lieu of a response.

“Hey, I was a good player!” her brother exclaimed before turning to her, “You wanna stay and finish the movie with us?”

Shaking her head she said, “No, I don’t wanna ruin the celebration.”

Julie shook her head, “Nonsense, we’re barely celebrating. I only mentioned it in passing to your brother. My parents didn’t even celebrate when they were still in Japan. Come, join us."

Knowing they wouldn’t take no for an answer, she crouched down to sit on the couch beneath them. She felt her brother’s hand pat her shoulder, a reassurance that it was okay. 

And as the movie continued, some action scene playing out, Lori couldn’t help but let her mind drift back to her night with Steve. About how she might have ruined their relationship.

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Lori was nervous. Had she ever been this nervous before? 

She paced back and forth by the foot of her bed, her brand new shoes stiff with each step. She shook her hands as she tried to calm down. Deep breath in and out. It was just a date. Lori had been on dates before, so why was this one any different?

Well, she knew why. It was with Steve. A guy she really liked. She was hesitant at first, when they began to get closer. But after seeing how much he had changed, how much of his high school persona that was left behind, she couldn’t not fall for him.

There was a knock on her door that made her jump. It took a moment to respond with an okay to open it. The door slowly creaked open to reveal her brother, his head peaking in from the hallway. 

She sighed with relief and rolled her eyes. “You scared me!”

“Sorry!”Tommy apologized. He stood up straight, leaning against the frame of the door. “Why are you so jumpy?” 

Lori shrugged, trying to stop her mouth from running. “I don’t know, I just am,” she spat back. She didn’t mean for it to come out condescending, but she could tell Tommy felt it had. 

He scrunched his eyebrows, raising his hands to cross over his chest. “To hang out with Robin?” 

Lori had lied to him. She didn’t know how he would feel about her going on a date with his ex-best friend. And with things going moderately well for the first time since Wallace, she didn’t wanna jinx it. That would be a hurdle to jump over another day. “We’re going some place new,” she lied. “You know I get anxious at places I’ve never been.”

“I guess…” he looked her up and down. “Y-you look pretty.” She paused, taking in the compliment that was very uncommon. Before she could reply, he raced to say, “I’m going out with some friends. Have fun.”

A small smile crossed her lips. “Thanks.” 

The door closed quickly and Lori heard Tommy’s footsteps as they thumped down the stairs. But even with the sound of the front door slamming, she couldn’t shake out of her daze. What if Steve realized that he didn’t like her? That she was just the girl he couldn’t have while he and Tommy were friends?

What if he was using her like Wallace?

The door bell rang, making her almost jump out of her skin. There was no more time to worry, second guess, or back out. He was here and she needed to hurry.

Slipping on her shoes, she grabbed her bag and raced to the door. She looked decent, jeans and a nice shirt. It was nicer than something she would wear to school but Steve wanted to keep their date a surprise. She hoped she wasn’t underdressed for the occasion. 

With one last deep breath, she opened the front door. Steve was already smiling on the other side, looking her up and down with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Lori relaxed when she saw he was wearing something similar, a button up polo and jeans adorning his body.

“Wow,” Steve said, his cheeks going red. “You look— I mean, wow.”

Lori smiled, her gaze dropping to the floor with a sudden shyness. “S’not something out of the ordinary for me to wear.”

“No of course not,” he re-directed. “I just — I always had to take quick glances at you in public ya know? But looking at you now, just makes me realize how lucky I am.”

“Steve,“ she began to protest, not used to the flattery.

“No, you look amazing okay? Don’t try to deny it.” He held out the flowers. “These are for you.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking them. They smelled amazing, a perfect arrangement from the local florist. 

“I uh, remembered that day at the diner when you told me to get flowers for Nance… they didn’t work with her but I thought they might with you…shit uh, I shouldn’t have brought up my ex that was bad—“

Lori said his name, reaching out a hand to steady him. She had never seen him this nervous before. He was always the King of Hawkins High, the ladies man. Since when did he fluster over what to say? She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb, letting the warmth from her hand travel to his. His breath began to steady as he looked down at her.

“It’s okay, I love them. Let me just put them in some water and we can leave?” She said, reassuring him.He nodded, seeming to calm down a bit.

Rushing to put the flowers in a vase, she came back to the front door to see him patiently waiting. As she shut the door behind them, he held out his arm for her to take. She did so happily, wrapping around it as they walked. He was such a gentlemen, opening her door for her as she climbed into his car. 

“Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?” He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “Is that a yes?” Without saying another word, he started the car. “Oh come on!”

Lori had no idea where they were going. She thought she could guess, knowing their small town of Hawkins by heart. But when he got on the freeway, heading a least two exits away from home, she knew it would definitely be a mystery. 

The music played softly in the background, some pop song on the local radio. It faded into the background, making sure there was no awkward silence between them. Though, Lori had to admit it was still awkward at first. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like she had just run a mile and her foot tapped so excessively it could burn a hole through the bottom of the car. 

Steve’s fingers grazed over the surface of her jeans, squeezing slightly and Lori felt like she could die and go to heaven right then and there. 

She looked up at him, finding him already staring back. He smiled, that warm smile like the first time she saw him in her kitchen that day in seventh grade. It made her troubles fade so far away. So engrossed in his touch, she didn’t even realize they had parked.

“We’re here,” he said softly, trying to stop smiling out of excitement.

Looking out the windshield, Lori was finally able to take in their destination. “Oh my god,” she said softly. It was a mini golf course, a giant fake castle standing in the entrance. People were walking in and out of the drawbridge that lay beneath.

She turned to Steve. “This is amazing!”

“You like it?” He asked as he scratched at the nape of his neck. For someone so cocky it felt too easy to make him that nervous. 

“Like it? I love it! Oh this is going to be so much fun! I hope you know that I’m very competitive.” 

He chuckled. “Well good, cause I’m competitive too.”

Waisting almost no time, she climbed out of the car, Steve quick to follow foot. She reached out a hand for him to take, smiling as they began to walk toward the entrance. 

“I was really nervous you were gonna hate it,” he confessed as he opening the door for her. 

“Steve,” she began, “You could have taken me to the junkyard and I would still be happy.”

He scoffed at her implication. “I would never take you to a junk yard.”

“I’m just saying!” 

She squeezed his hand tighter, not being able to hold in her excitement. They were a few towns over which meant no one would see them, especially not her brother. 

Opening the door for her, they stepped inside. A mini arcade was set up in the main building, lights blaring as the 8-bit characters filled every screen. It was mostly filled with families with a few other people on dates spread throughout. Lori waited by a Pac-Man machine as Steve went to get their clubs and balls.

She looked up from the maze based game and caught Steve’s eye. He was looking back at her as the worker got him change. His smile was so wide, it felt contagious. She could tell he was nervous, so unlike how she had seen him throughout high school and summer break. But then again, she was nervous too. She hadn’t felt this giddy about a boy since…Wallace.

Wait, was that Wallace? 

Her eyes drifted behind Steve, landing on the last person she wanted to see. Wallace Linden, her ex who left her after one night together, was here at the first night she was looking forward to in a long time. Her smile dropped and Steve noticed almost immediately. She didn’t hear him walk over, her eyes transfixed on Wallace and his little sister who were over by an arcade machine. 

“Hey,” Steve said, nudging her gently with his hand holding their clubs. “Is everything okay?”

No, everything was not okay. That boy across the room from her had caused her so much pain at a time that she felt the worst about herself. But she was determined to not let him get in her way.

Putting on a smile, she turned back to her day. “Everything is perfect.” She wrapped an arm around his. “Let’s go play some golf.”

“Oh, so close!” Steve exclaimed, watching as his ball rolled right past the hole. It was his third stroke, meaning he wouldn’t make par. He turned to her holding up his fingers like they were almost touching. “I was this close.”

“Sure you were,” she comforted him, rubbing a hand across the back of his shoulder. She couldn’t help but blush as he leaned into her touch. 

After a moment, she pulled away, walking over to line up with her ball. “Now, prepare to lose, dingus.”

“Hey, only Robin calls me that,” he whined.

“So?”

“So…” She felt his breath behind her, his mouth close to her ear. “Maybe you could give me a new name. One that only you get to call me.”

His breath on her neck, the warmth of his stomach pressed against her back…it made her shutter. She felt herself lean forward, her golf club nudging her ball forward involuntarily. 

“Are you sure I’m gonna lose now?” He whispered. 

She turned to face him, her mouth ajar. “You did that on purpose! Getting me all flustered so it would throw off my stroke!”

He shrugged, not bothering to hide the smirk on his face. “I told you, I’m competitive.”

She playfully slapped his arm. “You really are a dingus.” 

“I’m serious about finding a new word though, doesn’t feel right hearing you call me that.” He lined up his next shot his hips swaying back and forth as he alined with his ball.

“Hmmm how about…”  She leaned into his ear in almost the same way he did to her. “Daddy?”

He practically kicked the ball with how fast he turned around, the ball shooting in the opposite direction of the hole. Steve’s expression made her giggle harder that she thought possible. 

“Oh my god, Lori why would you say that to me?” He said, trying hardest not to smile. She could only respond with laughter as she grew close to him. She felt his hands grip her hips, steading her in front of him. 

“It seemed only fair to level the playing field don’t you think?”

He hummed a response, his eyes too focused on her lips to dignify a response. Her train of thought soon fumbled too, her only goal in mind to kiss him. She leaned in close, her eyes closing thought she caught a glimpse of him doing the same. His breath hot on her face, she knew they were only mere centimeters away. 

“Can you two lovebirds hurry up?” 

She opened her eyes, seeing that Steve too had tried to distance himself from her. There was a man at the beginning of the hole they were on with presumably his wife. They both seemed tired and impatient.

“There’s a whole line over here,” he said to them, motioning to the people behind him.

And just like he said there were. At least three sets of people stood behind the man and his date, done with their course and waiting for the next. Lori scanned down the line of people, Wallace catching her eye. It was too little too late, he had spotted her too. He cocked his head in confusion, he gaze drifting over to who she was with.

Before she could think, Lori pulled Steve close to her, so his back was turned toward them. “Sorry sir!” She called out to the man.

“Lori what—“

“It’s your turn, we’re holding up the line,” she responded frantically. No, this night would not be ruined because of him.

“I think it’s actually your turn —“ Steve began to protest but Lori was too amped up.

“—Just hit the ball!” She interrupted. 

He seemed bewildered, confused at what cause this sudden shift in attitude. But without another response, he closed his drooping mouth, and hit the ball.

The rest of the date went by in one big blur. While Lori wanted to pay attention to the amazing person in front of her. To the kind and gentle boy that she had grown so much to like. But with every strike of her club, she couldn’t help but look back to see if Wallace was still there. 

He was, with his sister same as before, and his presence alone put her on edge. It was the same feeling she felt when he approached her at Tina’s Halloween Bash, the same feeling she got when she dumped him the day after they had sex for the first time. It wasn’t until they had returned their golf clubs that she realized how little she had been paying attention to her date.

“Is everything okay?” Steve asked, a sense of worry in his voice.

It took her a moment to process what he had asked. “Hm? Oh yes, I had a great time Steve.” As she said so, she couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, making sure Wallace wasn’t near.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

She turned her attention back to Steve. “What? Why would you say that I had an amazing time.”

“Ever since those people told us to hurry up you’ve been…distant. Like you’re here but, not here.”

“Steve I —“

She didn’t get too far into her sentence before he continued. “Do you not want to be here? Did you only say yes to pity me?”

“What no!” She protested. Reaching forward, she took his hands in hers. “I like you so much —“

“Wow, Lori, I thought I saw you.”

Lori looked up, her face draining of color. Behind Steve, Wallace stood tall. Instinctively, she pulled Steve toward her. Slowly, he turned around, falling into place next to her. His hands never left hers.

“Wallace, what are you doing here?” Lori responded, trying her best to sound calm. 

“Just here with my little sister,” he replied, motioning to his sister who was standing a few paces behind them.

“Wallace,” Steve said slowly, the pieces of the night slowly falling into place. “Wallace Linden.”

Wallace smiled. “Yep, that’s me. And you’re Steve right. King Steve Harrington?”

Steve laughed, a laugh she had learned over the years to mean that he was hiding his distaste. “Just Steve.”

Lori gripped his hands tighter, willing the conversation to end. With one look in her direction she was pleased to see that Steve understood what she was trying to communicate. 

“We have to get going,” Steve told him. “Nice seeing you.”

“You too,” Wallace replied. He turned his attention toward Lori. “Maybe we could meet up sometime. Our talk at Tina’s last year was so brief.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Steve interrupted, a false smile on his face. “Have a good night.”

He was pulling her away before Wallace could respond. It all was a little bit of a blur, him pulling her away, them getting into the car, driving back and sitting outside her house. She stared forward, not even daring to look at him. 

Did she ruin everything? He was dropping her off at home, did he not want to see her anymore? He turned the car off, the engine slowly rumbling to a stop. They sat in silence, the night looming over them in the most threatening of ways. Lori opened her mouth to speak, but found no words coming out. What was there to say?

“I’m sorry,” Steve blurted out. 

Sorry? He was sorry? “You have nothing to be sorry for,” she told him. 

“Yes I do.” He turned his attention from the steering wheel to her. “Was he there the entire night?”

She slowly nodded. “Yes.”

Steve scoffed, his hands folding across his chest. “That asshole. Why would he come up to you like that? After everything he did to you?”

“I don’t know,” she replied in a slow whisper.

He paused for a moment, debating the next words out of his mouth. “I…I shouldn’t have questioned you like that, I’m sorry.”

“No I’m sorry,” she replied, sitting up in her chair more to face him. “I should’ve told you why I was so tense. It was wrong of me to hide it from you, especially on our first date.” Steve laughed, an honest laugh. “What?”

“We’re already arguing like an old married couple,” he said. “And like you said, it’s only our first date.”

Lori felt a smile creep on her face. “Yeah it seems so. But I promise to tell you the next time I feel uncomfortable like that. I’d hate for you to think that I wasn’t happy to be with you.”

“Good that’s good,” he said, his gaze dropping along with his arms. “It’s uh, nice to hear someone say that. And to know it’s the truth.”

He didn’t have to say more, she understood perfectly well. Nancy may have helped change his egotistical outlook on life, but she didn’t stay around long enough to seem him truly become a new person. Lori had heard their conversation:

Bullshit. We’re bullshit, it’s all bullshit.

To Lori, he would never be bullshit.

“Let’s make a pack.”

He looked up at her. “A pack?”

“Yes.” She moved closer to him, her lean crossing over the center console. “When we’re together, we can be who we are. No topic is off the table, no opinion unheard.”

He leaned closer. “I like this pack.”

She hummed an agreement, her thoughts too focused on hips lips inching closer and closer to hers. He was the one to close the gap.

The light brush of his lips against hers made Lori’s heart flutter. They were soft, gentle, and everything she had remembered it to be. She heard him groan against her mouth, his hand coming up to cup her jaw. The touch of his fingertips against her only made her melt deeper into the kiss. 

She wanted all of him, insecurities and all. And this felt like a new beginning for the both of them. One where he could accept himself and she could believe she was capable of what she dreamed. 

A fresh start.

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“Steve,” Lori said, almost in a whisper. She tried to open her mouth again, to find the right words to say but came up empty. It was like her lips were sewn shut, his presence sucking every thought from her head.

Steve stood in front of her, hands in his pockets and scrunched up his shoulders; as if he was embarrassed to be there. “Hey,” he replied. “Can we talk?”

Lori only found herself nodding as she shut the door behind him. She started to guide him to the living room but he walked in front of her, remembering where to go. Muscle memory, she thought, from the countless times he had been over before.

The room fell silent as they sat down on opposite ends of the couch and Lori hated it. She fidgeted with her hands and looked down at her socks, willing him to say anything. He wanted to talk right? So why wasn’t he talking?

Well she knew why. You don’t kiss your friend and then forget it ever happened. It would be an invisible noose hanging over their heads for as long as they stays friends. They had to talk, but it was clear both of them didn’t know how to begin. Even though she had tried to deny it in the past, kissing Steve was the most exhilarating thing to happen to her in a while. It made her realize why so many girls fawned over him in school. Why Nancy Wheeler of all people fell for the high school jock. 

Lori glanced at him, trying to get a read on what he was thinking. But he was looking down at the carpeted floor, thinking over how to phrase what he wanted to say. That made her more anxious. Sitting quiet, not knowing how he felt about their situation. It made ever second feel like an eternity. Like whatever he said would change the outcome of their relationship forever. 

After another moment, Steve finally looked up. Lori straightened her back, looking him in the eyes. They were softer that normal, and in that moment she knew how this would play out.

“I’m sorry for kissing you,” he said plainly.

Even though she knew it was coming, her heart still dropped to the floor. “O-Oh…” was all she could muster. 

“It’s just—” he repositioned himself on the couch. Moving a little closer as he turned to face her, one leg cross in front of him. “You’re Tommy’s little sister that’s a big no no.”

Lori scoffed, trying hard not to roll her eyes. “You guys haven’t been friends for almost two years.”

“Still,” he said, shifting closer. 

She stared into his eyes, his pleading eyes that now felt like they were telling a different story. He looked almost disappointed in himself. Like he wasn’t letting himself be happy. Lori knew how that felt. To not let herself enjoy the things she wanted to enjoy. And maybe it was her confrontation with her mom or something else, she found the confidence to move a little closer to him. Her leg brushed his as she spoke again.

“I-I didn’t mind it.”

His eyebrows raised slightly. “Really?” he asked, a sense of hope in his voice. She nodded and it was like she had broken through a dam. “Good, cause I didn’t mean any of what I just said.”

Her words flipped a switch in him and before she knew it, he was leaning forward, pressing their lips together. The kiss was more intense that the one before. If the last kiss was like a rain drop, this one was a storm. A storm that rained down hard and fast that Lori felt she could barely keep up.

There was passion behind him lips that she never knew could exist. Passion she certainly didn’t feel with Wallace. His arms went from gripper her face to sliding down her back and Lori instinctively held on to them. She clutched him tight, like if she let go it would all fade away. 

The desperation with every kiss made her long for more. And after so long of dreaming, thinking that this would never happen, she decided to take the next move. Lori hoisted her legs on either side of him, climbing onto his lap as he leaned back against he sofa. He moved from underneath her, adjusting his position to more align his hers. She felt his hands grasp the back of her shirt, pulling her into him more though she didn’t know if that was even possible. 

It was all happening so fast as she felt his tongue asking her for access. She gave it to him, let their mouths dance in unison. Her heart began to race, settling into what was happening. And as her brain caught up, she felt herself pull back. Was this a one time thing? Did he think it was just a hookup? What would happen when this was all over?

“Wait,” she cried out, placing both her hands on his chest to separate them. She looked down at him as she panted for air, him doing the same. He looked so beautiful like that. Huffing his breath, lips plumped, eyes wide with desire. She did that to him, she had that affect on him. “We should talk about this.”

Nodding and still out of breath, he replied, “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

Reluctantly, she claimed off his lap, shifting to sit next to him. She caught the smile on his face, finding it hard to resisted smiling too. Leaning her head onto his shoulder, Steve placed a hand on her thigh. With his other, he checked the time on his watch.

“Shit!” he exclaimed, sitting upright. Lori sat up straight, not wanting to fall into the couch behind him. “Is that the time?”

She leaned in to look at his watch. It was really late, like sun was going to be coming out soon late. He turned to look at her. “I have to go.”

Lori felt herself falter for a second. “W-what?”

Standing up quickly, Steve adjusted his hair and shirt. “I have to meet someone and— I have to go just—I’ll call you okay? I really want to talk about his.”

Lori tried to stand up. “Steve I don’t wanna —“

“Please,” he said, leaning back down, placing his hands on her thighs. “I’ll call you I promise.”

Nodded, she watched as his eyes darted back to her lips. Deciding to take action she captured his lips for only a second before pulling back. “You better be telling the truth, Harrington.”

“Believe me, I so am.” Racing towards the front door, he turned back one more time. He chuckled to himself, giving a smile before turning and running out. 

Fuck Steve Harrington.

Why did Lori think things would be different this time? Of course he hadn’t changed. After all these years she gave him the benefit of the doubt. She was nice to him, comforted him after his breakup and when they finally kissed, he ghosts her?? Lori was livid.

It had been two days since he stopped by her home and kissed her better than anyone had before. And then, radio silence. After a day of no call, she left him a voicemail. It wasn’t anything harsh, just a little reminder that she still existed and he had yet to call her. She went into work the next day and passed by Scoops on her way. Steve nor Robin were working— two strangers, standing where her friends usually did on Wednesday mornings. 

Were they avoiding her? She used the phone at work to leave him another message, becoming a little more stern in her tone. She tried not to think too deep into his absence as she hung up and tried to focus on the 8 hour shift in front of her. People were coming in and out rapidly, finding records last minute for their Fourth of July parties. Lori didn’t think she had helped that many people, since starting her job.

She wanted to home and check her messages and groaned in realization that she had a volunteer shift at the rec center. But then, maybe she could find answers there. She knew Max had some weird connection to Steve. A babysitter or something like that. 

Driving over to the Mayfield-Hargrove residence, she saw that there was only one car in the driveway — Billy’s. She groaned, knowing that more likely than not she would have to face him. Knocking twice, she waited patiently on the front porch. It took a minute but eventually the door swung open revealing the person she was dreading to see. 

Billy opened the door open fast, his eyes wide as he stared down at her from his high stance. Usually she would back up slightly, afraid of what he might do. He was a lose canon, and not just at Halloween parties. Lori had heard the countless stories of desks being flipped over in the middle of class, fights breaking out in the middle of P.E. She didn’t want to get on his bad side. 

Except now, as she stared up at his wide expression, something was…wrong. His hair was a curly mess, like he hadn’t brushed it in days. He sported a bruise on his cheekbone; it looked bad, the kind you only get from being punched hard. And somehow he was wearing jeans, a white tank top tucked in that was dripping with sweat. There were circles under his redden eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days. She was actually more concerned for him than scared. 

“Hey,” Lori said cautiously. “Is Max home?” He didn’t answer her, staring down with an unblinking expression. “Uh, can you check if she is?” 

Still no response. He stared at her but in reality, it was like he was staring through her. His chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took, his eyes glossing over thought still trained on her. Suddenly he stepped forward, just a little too close for her liking. That made her step back slightly, careful not to trip down the porch steps.

“Building…” he muttered. “We must keep building it.”

Lori pursed her lips, her head tilted left slightly. “Um okay? You keep doing that, I’m just here for your sister.”

Another statement ignored. But this time, he didn’t stick around to listen to anymore. He strode past her and down the steps, leaving the door behind him wide open. Lori watched as he climbed in his car, driving off at a high speed down the street. She was dumbfounded. Of all the things racing through her mind, all the things Steve had made her feel, somehow, this had topped them all.

Turning back to the house, she peered through the door. “Max?!” She called out to no response. The girl probably wasn’t home, and with the only other occupant driving away, she politely shut the door, making content with the fact that she would be all alone during her rec center shift. 

Finally, after what felt like the longest day on the summer, she had made it back home. The rec center wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Helen was kind enough to schedule her at the front counter. It was boring sure, signing people in and out all day, taking phone calls; but it was in an air conditioned room so she couldn’t complain much. 

Tommy was already home, walking in to the foyer as he used a towel to dry his shower damp hair. He was more cheerful than normal and while that usually would please Lori, she was still livid by his ex best friend.

Steve needed to hear her out, to know that she was not someone he could toss aside. Storming upstairs, she grabbed the phone, dialing his number — the one she memorized at the beginning of the summer. 

It rang and rang and rang until the answering machine picked up, again. She was fuming so hard it felt like smoke was coming out of her ears. Not going to work and now avoiding her at his own home? She waited for the line to beep before she unleashed her remarks.

“Hey it’s me,” she started. “If you think you can just kiss me out of the blue at Scoops, show up to my home, confess you liked kissing me, and then not call me back than you are surely mistaken. You are cruel, Steve Harrington cruel as they come. I am not some one night fling that you can avoid for the rest of your life. I shared things with you that no one else knows and I thought you did the same. Don’t even bother trying to call back or show up at Al’s. I am done, Steve. Just, done.”

She slammed the phone down hard, letting out a loud huff. Laying back on her bed she crossed her fingers, satisfied that she got in the last word. It felt good, letting out all her emotions like that, laying all her cards out on the table. But on the other hand, she felt she was a little harsh. Lori knew from experience how much words could hurt a person and as mad as she was at Steve, he didn’t deserve that kind of hurt — no one did. 

Trying to clear her mind, she trotted downstairs, turning on the tv for an easy night in. The news channel ran some story about a food drive the next town over as she walked into the kitchen in search of a snack. That’s when she heard the report echo from the tv. 

“Breaking news, Hawkins’ new hotspot, Starcourt Mall, goes up in flames! Sources say—“

Lori didn’t need to hear anymore before she was out the door. She didn’t know if Robin or Steve were there, neither of them showing up to their shifts that morning. But there was still a small part of her that wouldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t drive down and find out. 

With sweaty palms, she began her drive across town, the unknown making her hands shake on the wheel. She felt so angry at Steve, so mad for ignoring her. But if he was in a burning building she wouldn’t hesitate to run in after him.

The sound of sirens grew louder, the smoke in the air became thick. When the mall came into view, devastation hit Lori like a ton of bricks. The building was in shambles, looking like more that just a fire had broken out. Then again she didn’t have much experience when it came to the look of burnt buildings. 

The lot was brightly lit by police cars and fire trucks, at least a hundred people moving through the scene. Lori parked a couple spots away from where the chaos began, careful to slip past any officers walking her way. 

The site before her was one she would never forget. There were cots covering the ground, firemen lifting people into ambulances, kids holding each other in blankets. A helicopter emerged from the sky, lowering down onto the lot. All Lori could do was scream out the names of her friends. 

“Robin!” she yelled. “Steve!” It was so loud that she didn’t think anyone would hear her. Nevertheless, she shouted again and moved further into the chaos. “Robin! Steve! Are you here?”

Maybe they weren’t at the mall. Maybe there were safe at home, ignoring her like bad friends but she wouldn’t care. All she needed was for them to be alive. The more she shouted, looking around at the victims of the fire, doubt started to creep in. Maybe they were here after all, and maybe they didn’t make it out…

“Robin!” Lori shouted again, still moving through crowds of people. “Steve, just answer me please!” her voice began to shake and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold back tears any longer. 

“Lori!” a voice yelled back. 

Lori turned quickly to see Robin in possibly the worst shape imaginable. She was still in her Scoops uniform, though you could barely tell as her chest was soaked in blood — Lori prayed it wasn’t her own. Her eyes were swollen, knees scrapped up and hair all over the place. Running towards her, Lori engulfed her in a huge hug. 

“W-what are you doing here?” Robin asked, still shaken up by whatever had happened in the fire.

She hugged her friend tightly, not wanting to let go. “I saw the fire on the news I had to come down and see if you were here. I-if you had died and I wasn’t there—“

“Hey,” she interrupted, pulling Lori from the hug. She grabbed Lori’s shoulders tight, shaking them slightly as she spoke. “I didn’t die, I’m right here.”

“You fucking scared me!” Lori exclaimed. “Are you okay? Was Steve with you? Is he okay?”

Robin nodded. “I’m fine, the officers just needed a statement from me. Steve’s okay too, though he’s definitely worse than me.”

“Where?” was all she could say, her heart pounding out of her chest. Worse than her? How could he be worse that Robin when she already looked on the verge of death?

Robin pointed off in the distance where an ambulance was. Sitting on the edge where the back doors were swung open was Steve. A beat up and barely conscious Steve.

“I—“ Lori turned to her best friend. “My car is parked behind this firetruck. Go wait there I’ll drive you home just let me—“

“It’s okay, go. I’ll wait for you.”

Lori wasted no time running off toward Steve. Nothing else mattered but him. The anger she had felt for him mere minutes before had vanished. All that mattered was that he was okay; that he was alive. Her feet pounded against the basement, ever step deteriorating the bottom of her over-worn sneakers. 

“Steve!” she yelled to him, now only yards away. 

Confused, he looked around, wondering who could be calling out to him. His brows furrowed when he realized who it was. “Lori?”

Still running forward, she through her arms around him, hugging him tighter then she thought possible. She felt his hands slowly creep up her back, not fully processing she was there. Pulling away enough to look at him, she brought her hands up to cup his face, examining it as she stood between his legs.

“Oh my god who did this to you? Are you alright?” she asked worriedly her eyes scanning over his features. He had a black eye so bad he could it could barely open. It was severely swollen, purple discoloration surrounding the entire thing.

All he could ask was, “Lori what are you doing here?"

“I saw on the news about the fire I came to see if you were okay….Look I’m sorry about the voicemails I was angry and —“

“Voicemails?” he interrupted. “What voicemails?”

Lori stuttered.“T-the voicemails I left you?”

Steve shook his head. “I haven’t been home in days.”

“Oh…okay then just ignore them cause —“

She didn’t have time to finish her sentence as she felt his lips pressed against her own. Her hands snaked around his shoulders as she melted into his touch. It was such a soft kiss, one she didn’t think he would be capable on in his current state. Slowly pulling apart, Steve kept his eyes close for a moment, leaning his forehead against hers. It was caked in dirt and blood but Lori didn’t care.  Nothing else mattered in this moment but him.

“I wanna take you out on a date,” he said in a soft whisper.

Lori pulled her forehead away from his, making sure she was still wrapped in his embrace. “Really?” she asked, trying hard to contain her smile.

Steve smiled back. “Really. Is that okay?”

Lori felt her cheeks getting flushed. She looked down between them to compose herself before meeting his eyes again. “Y-yeah, that’s okay.”

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“I just don’t see the big deal okay?”

“Oh come on, it was a good movie!”

“Yeah but people were overstating how good it was; it let me down a little.”

“Well, I don’t know if I agree with that.”

It had been a full five minutes since walking out of the theater that Lori’s brother confessed he didn’t like watching The Goonies. The movie had been out for almost a week and it was already breaking box office records. Every article written said it was amazing, yet for some reason, Tommy didn’t feel the same.

“Was it because of Josh Brolin?” Lori asked to which Tommy shrugged. He kept his head low, avoiding her stare. “Oh, it so was! Why don’t you like him?”

He threw up his hands in defense, waving them at his sides. “I don’t know, okay?” 

“He’s gonna be a star, I can just feel it.”

“I didn’t think he was that good.”

“Carol would agree with me,” she protested, knowing it was a low blow to bring up his ex.

He rolled his eyes. “Then you and Carol have poor taste.”

After his breakup, Tommy wasn’t as distraught as Lori thought he would be. He and Carol had been dating for almost three years and even though she was a bitch most of the time, Lori couldn’t help but notice the smile on his face when he was around her. She knew some part of Carol genuinely made him happy and how sad it would be when he lost that. He tried to get her to change, making little comments here and there. But she always came back with a snarky remark, failing to see what was wrong. Lori had shown him a way to be better and it was heat breaking that Carol didn’t see it too. 

For two weeks, he stayed home, calling out of work or cancelling plans. He had barely left his room at all. But as that second week came to a close, it was like there was nothing wrong at all. Tommy emerged back into society, newly single and without a care in the world. Lori tried to get him to talk about it, but it seemed like all he wanted to do was move on from the subject.

“Would you wanna see Back to the Future with me when it comes out?” she asked him. “That guy who plays Alex Keaton is gonna be in it.”

She didn’t get a reply, feeling Tommy leave her side as she kept walking. Turning back she saw him staring off into the distance. People passed by, almost shoving him out of the way but his gaze didn’t even falter. Walking back over she was going ask what the problem was, until she looked off to where he was starting. 

Scoops Ahoy was directly across the fountain from them. Inside, Robin and Steve were bickering about something she couldn’t tell. Steve was being very animated, waving his hands back and forth, brining one up to constantly correct his sailor hat. Lori smiled at that; he was always messing with that damn hair. 

Tommy swallowed, like there was a lump stuck in his throat. He hadn’t spoken to Steve since that day in ’83. Right after Jonathan Byers had beaten Steve to a pulp. She wondered if losing his best friend hurt more than his girlfriend. They had known each other significantly longer than Tommy had ever known Carol. And while most would say their partner was their best friend, that was not the case for him. 

It looked like he wanted to reach out, to let Steve know that he was there and he had changed, just like him. They had both changed so much since their bullying days and while they might not be the best of friends, they definitely wouldn’t be enemies. 

“I’m gonna go over and say hi,” Lori said, pulling Tommy’s gaze back to her. He looked panicked as his eyes went wide, freckles stretching across his summer-tanned skin. He looked back over to the ice cream show where Steve had disappeared behind the employee doors. Robin caught their staring, waving at them with a smile. “Do you wanna come with me?”

Tommy opened his mouth, no words forming as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Eventually, he turned back to her and said, “Not today. I’ll meet you at the car, and maybe we can go to The War Zone.”

She scrunched her nose, her eyes brows folding in slightly. “Why do you wanna do to a gun store?”

Tommy shrugged. “We’re of age, people have been going missing more and more. Just last week I saw a poster for three missing siblings. Can you imagine it? A whole family just…gone.”

Lori understood what he meant. Ever since Will went missing two years prior, more and more strange things had been occurring in their quaint little town. Having a weapon might bode well for protection. 

“Alright, sounds like a plan,” she told him. Taking another glance over at Scoops Ahoy, she could still see her brother eyeing it. There was a small part of him that wondered what it would be like to go with her. To see Steve and really talk for the first time in years. “Last call.”

He turned his attention back to her, forcing a smile. “I’ll see you at the car.”

She nodded. He didn’t need to say more. Not today. But maybe someday. Giving a weak smile, he turned, continuing his path out of the mall, getting lost in the sea of people. Lori faced toward Scoops where Robin was leaning over the counter, waiting for her to walk over.

“What was that about?” she asked as Lori approached. 

“I don’t think he’s ready to talk to Steve again,” replied Lori. There were barely any secrets between the two of them at this point, having been friends for so long. Robin nodded, standing straight up as she grabbed a rag. “I just came to say hi before I left. Can I grab a banana for the road?”

Rolling her eyes, Robin said, “Yeah, sure you know where to find them.”

Smiling, Lori darted past her friend and into the employee-only section. She forgot Steve had walked back there but was pleasantly surprised when she saw him wrestling with a new tub of ice cream. 

He crouched on a chair that sat at the center table, digging a scooper into the ice cream. The veins on his arms popped out as he attempted to break up the surface and ready it to be served. His shirt inching up, exposing his mid-drift did not go unnoticed. 

Looking up, he relieved the tension in his hands, trying to find a way to smoothly get off the table. 

“Hey,” he said with a smile. She loved how much he smiled. “What are you doing here.”

“I-I came to see a movie,” she stuttered out, watching as he ran a finger through his hair. “Just stealing a banana from you guys before I leave.”

“Not staying?”

She shook her head, wishing she could have given him a different answer. “No.”

“Dang, that’s unfortunate.” He reached behind him, peeling a banana off the stack of fruit. “I like when you stop by.”

Lori felt flushed, the room getting slightly hotter as he extended his hand out with the snack. Why was he having this effect on her? It’s Steve — the boy that broke Jonathan’s camera, the boy that wept with her in a bathtub, the boy that bought her a comic book…

She reached her hand out just grazing his finger tips as she took hold of the banana. His touched lingered for a moment before dropping it and his head to the floor. He cleared his throat like he too was coming out of a trance. 

“So,” she said with a big breath. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, later,” he was quick to get out, picking up the scooper again.

She waved a small goodbye, dipping out to the front of the shop. A relief washed over her as she stepped out of the room, her shoulders relaxing.

“What’s got you so red?”

Lori’s gaze snapped toward Robin who was sitting on the back counter, her feet swaying beneath her. She leaned against the wooden window which was closed, hands folded across her chest. 

“Nothing,” she replied quickly. She fidgeted with her fingers, slowly walking to the front of the store. “See you later, Robs.”

Lori didn’t bother to wait for a response needing to get out of the store before she spoke before speaking. She didn’t know why she felt the need to hide her attraction towards Steve. Robin was her best friend, they told each other everything. But when it came to Steve, things felt delicate. It wasn’t just some crush that she could get over in a week. It was more than that; and in some way, speaking it out loud would make it more real, more easy to slip away from her. 

So for the time being, no, she wasn’t going to tell Robin. She would walk away quickly, ignoring her friends yells as she pushed through people in the mall, hurrying to get to her brother’s car in the parking lot. As she closed the door to the car, she let out a long needed breath.

“You all right?” Tommy asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. 

Her brother’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. It startled her slightly. She was so focused on getting to the car that she forgot he would actually be there. Sitting up from her slumped position, she put on her seatbelt. “Never better,” she answered. She was still holding the banana from Scoops, a slight indent in its form from where she had gripped it too hard.  Peeling back the banana, she split it in half. “Want some?”

Thinking for a moment, Tommy reached forward and took one of the chunks. “Sure.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Elaine and Robert Hagan wouldn’t be spending summer in Hawkins. They never did, and Lori was surprised they waited until so late into June to leave. This year, they decided on the Bahamas. So exotic and fun; so far away from their children. 

But this time as they packed to leave, Lori didn’t feel that disappointed. With each trip they took without her and Tommy, Lori’s faith in having a happy family dwindled. But now that Tommy was being almost entirely bearable, she found that she wasn’t that upset her parents were skipping town. 

“There’s money left on the counter, it should be enough,” Elaine Hagan said. She folded a dress and neatly put it in her suit case, grabbing another from her closet.

Lori stood across from her, leaning against the entrance to her mother’s walk-in closet. She watched as her mother grabbed a dress, before decided against in and putting it back. It was some ugly floral pattern that was clearly something her father picked out, not knowing his wife’s taste at all. Lori could see why she thought twice about it. 

Elaine continued, “But you know where the emergency credit card is if you need it.”

She and Robert never returned from their trip on the actual return date, always extended their visit for at least another week. Lori wasn’t surprised to know that her mother didn’t realized the emergency credit card wasn’t in its usual spot. Tommy had snatched it almost two years ago, it being easier to carry since the money their parents left was never enough. Nevertheless, she nodded to what her mother was saying, letting her continue on the with the same lecture she spoke every time she left for a vacation.

“Don’t forget to practice your languages, and clarinet. You’ll need to make first chair again next year for any college to take you seriously.”

Lori don’t know what possessed her to correct her mother. It was usually easier to just nod along and avoid an argument. But part of her wanted to her mother to know that she had control over her own life. That as she was creeping towards adulthood and Elaine Hagan had less say over her. 

“Actually I’m not continuing band next year,” Lori said, crossing her arms across her chest. “I already told my instructor I quit.”

The room felt silent, the rustles of fabric softening so much you could hear a pin drop. Elaine’s hand was frozen in the air from where she had grabbed a dress. It slowly lowered to her side as she turned to face her daughter.

“You did what?” She said sternly. Her eyes were already popping out of her head, a vein of her head pulsing with every rapid beat of her heart.

If she were to see her mother in this state, Lori would usually, back down, apologize for what she had said and try to move on. But not today. Today she would stand her ground, despite her heart moving a thousand miles a minute. Despite her palms now dripping with sweat. 

She straightened the stripped shirt she was wearing, letting it fall just above her jean shorts. “I decided I’m not going to continue playing. It was making me unhappy so why continue?”

The dress her mother was holding dropped to the floor as she clenched her fists. “Because classical music is well respected. How are you going to get through life if you don’t get into college?”

“There are other things besides music that can get me into college. I don’t even wanna major in music!” She exclaimed, her voice increasing in volume slightly. 

“It doesn’t matter what you like, it’s about what is right!” Her mother yelled back, her tone growing more angry by the word.

“Well it should matter!” Lori took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She knew this would happen. She knew her mother would get mad and throw a hissy fit. But she needed to be the bigger person. After centering herself, she tried to speak in a normal voice. “I never liked clarinet mom, it was always your thing. I will be fine okay? One class won’t make or break my chances.”

Her mother scrunched her eyebrows, her mouth pursing as she picked back up the dress she bought. “We’ll talk about this when I get back from this trip.”

That’s what her mother always did. Redirected the conversation to a later date and then never discussing it again. If she ignored the issue, it never happened and Lori knew they would be having this conversation all over again every couple of months. 

“Fine,” Lori told her. “But I won’t be taking the class, no matter what you say.”

Her mother ignored her, folding the dress neatly into her suitcase. Lori huffed as she turned out of the closet. She walked to her room, careful to not slam the door behind her. If she did, then her dad would get involved and that was not something she could deal with. She hated that her mother’s silence made her angry. Hated that she still had that little control over Lori. She had done so much work to become her own person, to push away the expectations her parents put on her. So why was this still making her upset? It felt like a step back in progress, like everything she had done was for nothing. 

Ring! Ring!

The landline on her nightstand rang out, loud an obnoxious as the sound echoed through her room. 

Ring! Ring!

No one was answering the phone, her mother probably trying to prove that she still had control. Lori hated that it worked. Leaning over, she picked up the phone. 

“Hagan Residence.”

“Lori! Hey!”

“Steve?” Lori sat up on her bed, the phone chord dropping over her chest. To say she was surprised was an understatement. Listening closely, she could hear muffle noises through the phone, static filling the background. “Where are you calling from?”

“Scoops, listen — those languages you can speak. Is Russian one of them?”

“Y-yeah why?” She asked, curious as the why he needed that information.

“That’s amazing! Could you come down to Scoops, like now?”

Why did Steve want her to go down to his work? Why did he need her? She couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter a little, that maybe she was the first person he called for whatever problem he had. It probably wasn’t the case but she couldn’t help but let herself imagine it was true. 

“Why do you need to know I speak Russian?” she asked, still confused.

“I’ll explain when I — I’M COMING ROBIN JEEZ — sorry, just, come down and I’ll explain when you get here.”

The phone went dead before she could get a change to respond, leaving Lori completely and utterly confused. Naturally, she put on her shoes and left immediately. 

It didn’t take long for her to arrive at her friend’s place of work, the path becoming muscle memory after walking it so many times. She passed under the neon ice cream sign, curious at the lack of customers in the store at a usually busy time of day. There was only one person inside, Robin handing them a scoop of ice cream. When she looked up, she saw her friend.. 

“Lori!” 

Lori moved further into the shop, meandering around the person just served. Robin was putting change in the register, carefully putting each bill into its correct place. “Steve is in the back!”

“Okay!” Lori shouted back over the noise. 

She had barely stepped through the door to the back room, it still swinging behind her as she felt a hand grab hers, pulling her fast into a seat. It was Steve who sat down across from her, a smile displayed proudly across his face. He looked antsy, his leg bouncing rapidly, his hand still entangled with hers. Lori tried not to think about how sweaty her palm must be.

“Hi,” she said awkwardly, not how what else to say

“Hi,” he said back, blissfully unaware that he was running circles on the back of her hand.

“Do you wanna tell me why I’m here?”

“Right!” Feeling his grasp leave hers, he reached for and object that was set on the table —  a tape recorder. “There’s someone speaking Russian on this and I need you to translate it.”

“Okay,” she said with a slight laugh. “I’m still confused.”

“Henderson found it while he was going through radio signals.”

“Because that’s totally normal.” 

Reaching forward, she took the recorder out his grasp, turning it over in her hands. It felt rough under her fingertips, the metal full of scratches and dents from no doubt being dropped a million times. Pressing the red play button, she leaned in close to listen to the message. 

It was hard to make out a first. There was music playing in the background along with an onslaught of people talking. But if she focused hard enough, she could hear the Russian peaking through. It took a couple of plays to get it right because Lori found it hard to concentrate with Steve leaning in so close to listen to. She could smell his cologne, his breath tickling her neck in a way that made her want to sigh of bliss. But, she willed herself to focus, making out the first batch of words. 

“Okay the first sentence is, The week is long.”

“Holy shit!” Steve exclaimed, sitting back quickly. He flung himself so hard the chair began to tip back but he steadied himself with the table.

“What?” She asked, confused as his joy-filled outbreak. 

“That’s incredible! The way you can just translate that.”

Lori looked down, trying to hide her smile. Speaking Russian always felt like a chore, something she had to do to please her mother and she found she was never good enough. But the way Steve cheered for her, excited by the concept of just a few words translated made her feel warm. Like a pie fresh from the oven, a warm cup of soup on a cold day. 

She shrugged, trying to play it off cool, “I don’t know it’s just Russian. I’ve been speaking it basically my whole life.”

He leaned back on the table, arms crossed but still outstretched in front of him. He let his head rest on top of them. “Why do you know Russian in the first place?”

“My mom’s Russian, wanted to pass along the family language I guess. Tommy can speak it to, did you not know that?”

He shook his head, chin still firmly planted on his arms. “No, I guess it never really came up.”

“Oh… well yeah we both can speak it.” She stared at her as she spoke, eyes never leaving hers. It was hard to tear her focus away. “Uh okay, let me listen to the rest.” A few more listens and she was able to get the rest. “So then it goes…. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west….A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly.”

“Holy shit!” He shot up again from the table. 

“Steve!” She exclaimed thought it almost came out as a laugh. It was nice having someone so excited over a part of her life that was so mundane and boring. 

“Sorry!” he apologized, standing up from the chair. Quickly, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down what she said. Lori stood up, meeting his gaze as he waved the paper in front of her. “You are amazing. Truly amazing!”

“It was nothing,” she tried dismissing.

“It wasn’t nothing it was spectacular!” He held his arms out wide. “I’m gonna hug you now.”

“Steve,” she warned him.

“Nope, you’re getting a hug!”

Before she could warn him again, he wrapped his arms around her waist, twirling her in the air. Lori laughed as she was lifted from the ground. It was such a ridiculous thing to do but it made her smile nonetheless.

Placing her back down, his hands never left her waist. Lori pressed her hands against his chest for balance, trying to stop from giggling. She looked up at him. He was smiling too, his eyes darting back and forth from her eyes to her lips.

Slowly, the laughs faded, the smiles began to disappear, and Lori still found herself in Steve’s arms. As his eye traveled back up from her lips, she thought about what it would be like to kiss him. 

It was almost as if he read her mind. 

The gap between them closed as Steve leaned in, capturing his lips on hers. Lori was taken aback for a moment. It was one thing to think about kissing your friend but to actually be doing it? It…was kind of nice. His lips felt soft, so light as if not to scare her away. She pressed firmly into the kiss, gripping the fabric of his shirt tight. 

As his arm snaked further around her side, a voice rang out from the front of the store. “Hey dingus! Did she crack it?”

Robins voiced pulled both of their eyes open. Quickly Lori pushed away from him, just in time as her best friend bursted open the barn door window. She wiped her lips with the sleeve of her sweater, Steve itching the back of his head. Giving him a glance, she could see he was still staring at the ground, not meeting her eyes. 

“Well I’m gonna get going. I’ll see ya later!”

She could hear Robin call out an awkward bye as she raced out of Scoops Ahoy. Her heart was beating out of her chest, thumping a hundred miles a minute all the way back home. What had she just done? Did she just kiss Steve Harrington ? No, he just kissed her. 

Her. 

Taking a breath she shut her front door of her house. She needed to think this over. Why did he kiss her? What did this mean? Did he like her? Did he—

“What are you doing?”

She snapped her head up to see Tommy standing in the kitchen archway, a bowl of grapes in his hand and a face covered in grease, clear that he just got back from the auto shop.

“What?” She asked full of breath. 

“Why are you just standing by the door?” He asked again. 

“I just got home.”

“Oh, right….” He plucked off a grape and ate it. Holding the bowl forward he asked, “Want one?”

“Covered in your greasy car oil? No thank you.”

Tommy laughed, taking another grape. “Hey it shows a hard days work, okay? Lori laughed along, knowing how ridiculous it was to hear her brother utter those words. “I’m going out with some work friends later. Wanna tag along?”

She smiled to herself at how inclusive her brother was being. But right now, after what just happened, she needed to be alone with your thoughts. “No, it’s okay I’m gonna stay home and read. Go have fun with your friends.”

He nodded, retreated back into the kitchen to put the grapes away. Meanwhile, Lori raced upstairs to her room, shutting the door and locking it. She knew nowadays Tommy wouldn’t barge in without knocking but there was still some sense of security she got knowing no one could enter. That she was in a safe space alone with only her thoughts. 

Sometimes that could be dangerous though. She paced back forth in her room, trying to figure out what had truly happened and what would happen next. Steve kissed her. Was it a heat of the moment thing? She had clearly cracked that Russian text he cared a lot about. And why was he cracking a Russian code— you know what, that didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered was that Steve kissed her and it was everything. 

She would be lying to herself if she said she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to kiss him. So many girls in the school had their hookup encounters with him that he was basically seen as a god. That always pissed her off, the way they held him such in high regard. Like he was better than the rest of them. But on those nights where her brother was a dick and he was left alone with her in the dimly lit kitchen, he was just Steve. Her brother’s best friend, Steve.

That was the Steve she dreamt about kissing, the one that would listen when she had a problem, the one that she told about her first relationship. She never told anyone about what happened with Wallace apart from Robin. But when she was with him, it was like the words just floated out of her body. She felt safe speaking to him, even in public settings like school or at Scoops. It was the same feeling she got when she closed her door for the night, locking it so no one else could get it. Except someone did get in, Steve, and she wasn’t the slightest bit mad. 

No matter what he felt, she knew she couldn’t go back to just being friends with him. There was too much there, unspoken lust, at least on her end, that wouldn’t go away any time soon. 

At some point during the night Tommy had come to tell her that he was leaving. She waved him a goodbye before picking up the phone to order a pizza for dinner. She opted to put on a movie, trying to let the idea that her entire social life was about to change out of her mind. It was some blockbuster that was a couple years old and Lori didn’t feel too invested in the story. She was, however, focused enough that when the door bell rang, she yelped in surprised. 

Quickly calming herself down, she grabbed some cash and headed toward the door. The pizza had arrived surprisingly fast, she thought, opening the front door. But it wasn’t the pizza man, very far from it. 

“Steve.” 

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The summer of ’85 was proving to have a grueling start. Stupidly, Lori forgot to apply for jobs before the school year was over, leaving her with the scraps her classmates didn’t want. Even Tommy had been smart; securing a job at the auto shop before his graduation. Though she guessed that had more to do with his break up with Carol than actually wanting to work — just something to keep himself busy with. 

Nevertheless, Lori was persistent. She would get a job this summer if it was the last thing she did. She had still been volunteering at the rec center, taking Max there and back when she could. Robin had even gotten a job scooping ice cream, urging her to find work in the same newly built mall. 

Luckily, one place did have an opening, Al’s Record Store. The only problem — Lori didn’t know jack shit about music. Sure liked, to listen to Supertramp and Tears for Fears, but her taste mostly consisted of musicians her dad used to show her when she was a kid, along with the few artists she could remember Robin telling her. It was going to be an interesting interview to say the least. 

But first, ice cream.

As Lori walked through the mall for the first time, she stared in awe of the brightly-covered signs. It was like someone picked all the leftover covers out from a paint catalog and splashed them together. Light shined bright on them from the skylight above, letting the warm summer rays pierce through. There were clothing shops, and workout stores. Books and jewelry; anything you could imagine all in one place. 

People passed by with their large shopping bags, a few with churros in their hands. Lori knew that meant she was heading in the right direction. The food court was in sight, escalators leading down in all directions to the first floor where a large fountain stood in the middle. Surrounding it were more tables than she could count, people sitting and enjoying all different types of food. Popcorn, barbecue; she could smell something spicy too. 

She avoided touching the railing of the escalator as she made her way down gripping a folder with her resume in it. She came face to face with large crowd of people and someone passed by with a large soda cup. Lori had to swerve out of the way to not get hit with it. When she looked back up, brushing her hair out of her face, she saw a giant sign for Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Parlor. Lori didn’t know the name of the shop Robin was working in but judging by the ridiculous sailor costumed Robin had shown her, this place was probably it. 

She walked inside, unsure of what to expect. The walls were lined with booths that vaguely took on the shape of a pirate ship and the ice cream names…they were just as odd. U.S.S. Butterscotch, Triple Decker Extravaganza — it really leaned all into the theme.

Lowering her eyes from the chalkboard menu, she expected to see her best friend miserably slinging ice cream for stuck up middle schoolers. Instead, someone entirely different was in her place, big hair and all.

“Steve,” Lori said stepping back a little. She gripped her folder a little tighter. “I-I didn’t know you work here.”

Steve Harrington looked up from behind the counter, his eyes peeling off of the ticking watch on his wrist. He was wearing a similar costume to the one Robin had shown her, a sailor hat sitting just barely still on his large head of hair. Straightening his posture and hat, a smile formed on his face. “Lori hey. What are you- w-what are you doing here?”

It wasn’t the smoothest recovery but she still smiled at the effort. “Looking for some ice cream…and my best friend.”

He placed a hand on his chest. “I’m your best friend, Hagan, really? I didn’t think I was qualified.”

Laughing as his stupid joke, she replied, “You wish you could be my best friend. I uh, came to see Robin. Robin Buckley? She said she was working here.”

“Oh shit, you’re friends with Buckley?” Lori nodded. “You’re early.”

Lori squinted. “I’m early?” 

Steve hummed a yes, checking his watch. “32 minutes to be exact.”

“Oh, well. I guess I’ll come back later then,” she said. Starting to walk away, she gave him a small wave. “See ya, Harrington.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” he called out, running around the counter, gripping the silly sailer hat he was wearing as to not fall off. 

She turned back to him. “Yes?” For a moment he only stared at her, taking in her features. Was there something on her face? She was sure to wipe it after finishing her peanut butter and banana breakfast. Reaching up, she pawed at her cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, no, just…” he began to mumbled before shaking out of his daze. “You could always wait here until she comes? It gets really boring in here when you’re working alone.”

She smiled down at her feet. Staying at Scoops seemed like a fun idea and Lori couldn’t push the thought away of him bending over to scoop ice cream — his shorts were way to tight and didn’t leave much to the imagination. But unfortunate for her, that couldn’t happen. “I wish I could but I actually have an interview in—“

“An interview? Where?” he asked, hopping up on the counter. 

Chuckling at his curiosity, she replied. “Al’s Record Store. It should be somewhere on this floor.”

“Turn left, walk until you hit the Merry Go Round and then turn right, should be right in front of you, can’t miss it.”

“Thanks,” she said, starting to walk off again.

“Wait!”

Lori turned around again. “More directions to get there?”

“No,” he said, getting off the counter and walking up to her. He plucked her folder from her hand, pulling a pen from his pocket and writing something down on the cover. “If Ethan is working there, tell him that you love Minutemen and Viet Nam is your favorite song.”

“Huh?”

“Minutemen. Some band he listens to. I overheard him in chem last month saying he got a manager position there so… It’ll probably make a good impression.”

She stared down at his scrawled handwriting on the cover of her folder before looking back up at him. “Thanks, Steve, this really means a lot.”

“Anything for you,” he said, recoiling the minute the words came out. His shoulders scrunched up as he began waving his hands. “Not anything for you, I mean I would do anything—“

Lori stretched out a hand, gripping his wrist in an attempt to get him to stop making a food of himself. “I get it, Steve, thanks.”

Blush filled his cheeks as he laughed, stepping back as her hand left his arm. “Right, well. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t.”

And she wasn’t. She got the job all thanks to Steve. Of course Ethan was the one interviewing her. The minute she talked about the band his face lit up. And that made visiting Scoops Ahoy that much easier. 

She fell into a comfortable pattern of visiting her two friends after work, making fun of the Steve as he tried to hit on every girl that came in. Sometimes she wondered why he didn’t hit on her — too much history she had to guess, but that didn’t stop Robin from teasing her about it constantly. 

On one particular day after a morning shift, she stumbled through the mall hoping to get her daily, totally legal, a cup of free ice cream. As she passed the tables right outside the ice cream parlor, she heard a familiar voice talking to someone.

“Hotter than Phoebe Cates? Come on, man.”

“I’m dead serious!” 

Lori turned, seeing Steve sitting in a booth with a younger boy, probably around 13 years old. He was wearing a green hat, a camp title etched across the top. It masked his curly hair which was budging out on the sides of his head.

“Who’s hotter than Phoebe Cates?” Lori asked, forcing herself into the conversation.

Steve looked over the boy’s shoulder, an instant smile forming as he saw her. “Lori, hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” she replied, trying not to blush. 

Ever since she started seeing him on a regular basis, it was like something in her changed. She wasn’t disgusted by his behavior or company like when she was younger. Apart from the horrendous flirting with customers, he was shaping out to be a pretty decent guy. He would visit her at work, bring her lunch some days. And he along with Robin would have weekly movie nights at Steve’s house. 

They continued to stare at each other and Lori felt like she could get lost in his eyes forever. They were brown, nothing special, but it was the way his face shifted at her presence — it made her feel seen and cared for. 

“Uh, hi?” The younger boy interrupted, pulling them from their stares.

Steve blinked, shaking his head slightly as he gestured to the kid next to him. “Oh right, Dustin, this is Lori Hagan. Lori, meet Dustin Henderson.”

“Henderson,” she repeated, the name familiar on her tongue. “You’re the smart young man who helped pick out my X-men comic.”

“This is Lori?” Dustin asked in surprise. Steve nodded. Dustin shot up from his spot at the table, reaching out to shake her hand vigorously. “It’s so great to finally meet you Steve mentions you a lot.”

“Does he now?” She asked with a smirk in Steve’s direction. 

The boy hid his face in his hands, embarrassed by the situation. “No, I don’t. Jesus, Henderson, you can stop shaking her hand.”

Letting go, he smiled and sat back down at the table. “It’s nice to meet you too, Dustin.” She looked back at Steve. “I’m gonna go say hi to Robin.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” said Steve. 

“See ya,” she replied turning around before he could realize how much she was blushing. 

She headed into Scoops Ahoy, passing the last customer as they made their way out. Robin was ecstatic as she saw her. 

“Lori!” Robin exclaimed. “Thank god you’re here I’ve been getting so bored.”

“Don’t thank me so early, I’m only stopping to say hi,” Lori said, leaning across the counter.

Her friend groaned. “Why? I need you to relieve me of the mess that is Harrington out there. Did you know he’s friends with a bunch of kids?”

“He’s mentioned it in passing, yes. I just stopped by to see you; I have to get Tommy his birthday present.”

“Stop lying to yourself, you’re only here to see me.”

Lori laughed at her friend's ridiculous comment. “No, I’m not!”

“Oh, you’re right not just me. You came to gawk at Harrington too.”

She gasped. “Robin!”

“It’s true!”

“It’s so not.” She looked back at where Steve was sitting. He and Dustin were still deep in conversation, whispering about something that looked pretty serious. Lori watched the way Steve’s forehand scrunched down in concentration. It was adorable, how intently he listened to his younger friend. She could tell that he truly cared about the kid. That he wasn’t just some babysitting job to throw aside when he was done. Lori turned back to look at Robin. “He was my brother’s best friend for like, 6 years.”

“That literally means nothing to me.”

“What it means,” Lori said, walking around the counter as if their close proximity would stop their voices from spreading out of the store. “Is that he’s practically like my brother.”

Robin gave her a deadpan stare. “That is the stupidest this you’ve ever said.”

She rolled her eyes, stepping away. “I’m not talking about this anymore. I’ll see you later!”

“You won’t escape this conversation!” Robin yelled. 

She yelled back. “Yes, I can!” 

Lori made her way out of the store, waving at Steve and Dustin as she passed. She couldn’t help but blush as he smiled and waved at her. Why did he have to have a smile that made her feel like she could melt at his feet? Better yet, melt into his arms. 

Pushing the thought from her head, she went off to Merry-Go-Round in hopes of finding a shirt her brother would like. It didn’t take too long. Tommy wasn’t picky about the things he wore, but she did like the selection of shirts she picked out. Knowing she should probably get home, Lori opted not to return to Scoops. 

Though Robin's words kept getting in her head. That she liked Steve or that a small part of her wished he would flirt with her. She tried to stop thinking about him entirely but it became incredibly hard when he physically ran into her. 

They fell to the floor with a thud, her shopping bag sliding just a few feet away. She went to reach for it but he beat her to it. 

“I’m so sorry ma’am,” Steve started before looking up to see whom he had run into. 

“Ma’m? I didn’t think I was getting that old,” Lori joked, taking back her bag. 

“I’m so sorry Lori I—“

In the distance, Dustin interrupted her. “Keep moving Harrington, we’ll lose him!”

She peered over Steve’s shoulder to look at the younger boy. “Lose who?” she asked. 

“Just— come on,” he stuttered grabbing her arm as he took off running again. 

It took a second for her mind to catch up with her feet, running through the mall as Steve dragged her. His hand stayed on her wrist, even as he pulled her behind a pillar to hide with Dustin. 

The two boys stared off down the walkway of people. Some had shopping bags, others trying to control their kids; Lori had no idea what they were looking at. 

“What are you two—“ Lori tried to speak before Dustin shushed her. 

“Not now!” He tried to shout in a low voice. 

Confused, she felt Steve lean closer, whispering in her ear, “Henderson thinks that guy with the duffel bag is dangerous.”

“Dangerous how?”

“Stop talking!” Dustin said again. 

“Kid, he’s not dangerous that’s Paul.”

Both the boys turned to look at her confused. “Paul?”

“Yeah, he teaches a jazzercise class. Look.”

Pointing off in the distance the three of them watched as Paul made his way inside a studio, beginning a workout class with a bunch of middle-aged women. Dustin’s face faltered for a minute as he cursed himself for the confusion. 

Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, dude. Let’s get back.” He turned to Lori as they began to walk away. “You coming?”

She felt her heart warm at his words. They were so small, so meaningless, but the fact that he wanted her to come with them made her smile. 

“Uh, n-no I can’t,” she stuttered out, holding up her shopping bag. “Presents to wrap.”

Steve nodded. She didn’t have to explain who they were for. “Tell him I said happy birthday.”

“Will do.”

She watched as they walked off, Henderson already talking Steve’s ear off. Scoops would have to wait another day. 

There were many jobs Lori was assigned to at the Roane Recreation Center. The front desk, arts and crafts, the swimming pool. But the one she found herself hoping to get day after day was the skate park. It had become sort of a routine, picking up Max from her house to take her to the rec center and then driving her home at the end of a shift. The young redhead had even warmed up to her in the months since they had met and her true personality had begun to shine through. 

She was loud, direct, and sassy in the best way possible. If Lori did something wrong or weird, Max wasn’t afraid to call her out for it. Lori didn’t know how much she needed someone like that in her life. Robin was amazing, better than amazing. But like Lori, she was an anxiety filled teen who was just trying to get through life. Max on the other hand, called everyone on their bullshit, and Lori felt herself gaining a little more confidence every time they talked. 

She understood why Steve was friends with Dustin. It was the same way she was friends with Max. Sometimes the younger teenagers can see the world more clearly; their judgment not clouded by adulthood. So anytime she needed a ride to the rec center or just a place to lay low while her bother was being an idiot, Lori was there for her. 

Lori sat in her chair, covered by the hot summer sun. She flipped the magazine she had placed in her lap as the sounds of wheelers rumbling against the pavement filled her ears. Someone had brought a stereo, a rock song faintly playing in the distance. 

Since school had ended, there an increased of kids attending the rec center every day, and the skate park was more crowded than ever. Most of the skaters were boys, which was normal for the sport, but Lori was happy to see Max wasn’t the only girl trying to improve their skills. 

Since starting to pick her up, Lori convinced Max to get a pair of pads for her elbows and knees. She had been around volunteering enough to know that scrapes and bruises were inevitable, no matter how good the rider. Those pads were all she could see in the distance, kids obstructing her view. There were more than just skate boards now. Bikes, scooters, and even skates filled the park. 

Looking down for a moment, Lori flipped to the next page of her magazine. When she looked back up, she could no longer see that familiar red hair nor the black knee and elbow pads in the distance. She tried to peer through the onslaught of kids with no luck of seeing her friend. 

“I got Ralph Macchio,” said a voice next to her. 

Lori nearly jumped out of her seat, magazine flying against her chest and she peered up at Max who had suddenly materialized next to her. The girl was panting, a little red from the sun beating down on her freckled skin. She took a sip from the water bottle she left near Lori’s chair and pointed at her magazine. 

“Jeez Max you scared me!” Lori exclaimed. “Where did you come from?”

“I did that quiz last night,” she said, ignoring the previous statement. 

Lori peeled the magazine off her chest, looking down at the Which Dreamy Star Would Be Your Boyfriend? quiz on the page. “Oh uh, I haven’t done it yet.”

Max took at seat on the concrete next to her, careful to sit under the shade of the umbrella. “Do it now. I think I’m done skating for the day.”

“Okay well I have at least another 30 minutes before I can drive you home.”

“It’s okay, I can wait.” She looked off toward the ground, playing with the rim of her water bottle. 

Something felt…off. Usually, Lori would have to pull her from the bowl. Urge her to get going as someone took over the watch shift. But now, as she sat on the floor next to her, absently staring at the ground, Lori knew something was wrong.

Taking a quick survey of the skate park, and making sure no one was hurt, she turned her attention toward Max. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

Max checked around them, making sure she was taking to her. “What me?” Lori nodded for her to continue but she only shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Max, I may have not known you for long, but I know you well enough to know that you’re lying.”

The young girl looked up at her, still fighting with her water bottle. Her eyes darted back and forth, like she was surveying if it was okay she could tell the truth. Lori tried to give sincere expression, softening her gaze to tell her that it was okay. That she needed someone to talk to about this stuff and she could be that person. Luckily, it seemed to work.

Max shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing’s wrong it’s just…Neil and Mom have been fighting more and Billy’s been a real pain in the ass…I think something’s wrong. Like more wrong that he already is.”

“How so?”

“Just — I thought things were getting better, you know? Ever since Lucas and I started dating he had been more kind to me. Protective but in a brotherly sort of way.”

Ah yes, Lucas. The boyfriend Lori had still yet to meet. From What Max had told her he was kind and sweet but sometimes said the wrong things. They had broken up at least three times over the course of the summer but always would get back together. Lori wanted to tell the girl that fighting without breaking up was okay but it was her first relationship and sometimes it’s better to leave it be than meddle.

“I think Mom and Neil might get a divorce,” Max continued and Lori’s eyes went wide. “It’s okay because fuck the guy right? I just got used to having other people in the house and I’m not sure what’s gonna happen if they leave.”

Lori understood her pain. The first time her parents had left her and Tommy alone for a month, she almost went crazy. Being in that big house with just one other person who at the time she didn’t get along with…she definitely had some dark moments. But the thing that helped her get through was Robin. She would come over every chance she got, spending the night or offering for Lori to come to hers. Maybe Max just needed to be reminded she wasn’t alone.

“You know you’re always welcomed at mine, right?” Lori said once she was finished speaking. “If you ever feel down or not in the best place, my door is open. And I bet a lot of your friends are the same way. Lucas, the other nerds as you put them. You have a great support system, Max. It’s okay to lean on them.”

Max looked up at her, brows turning upward in a way Lori knew meant she was trying not to cry. When surrounded by so much anger and hurt, it’s sometimes hard to accept help when it comes along. Max only nodded, a silent acknowledgment of what she had said. Lori smiled back, hoping that one day, the young girl might actually take her up on her offer. 

In the distance, Lori spotted another volunteer heading their way. “Come on,” she said standing up, “My time’s up. Let’s head home.”

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“Tina, why can’t I bring something easier like marshmallows or something?” Lori groaned over the phone. She leaned against the kitchen wall, careful not to tangle the phone chord.

“Do you really think we’re gonna need marshmallows? It’s just called a bonfire we’re not actually making s’mores and shit,” Tina answered on the other side of the line. “Besides, Jess is already bringing the booze so firewood is all we have left.”

“I don’t even know where to get any, my family never lights our fireplace.”

“I’m sure you can figure it out, Hagan,” Tina sighed on the other side of the phone, clearly wanting the conversation to be over. “Oh shit my mom is calling for me, gotta bounce.”

Lori turned to face the wall, oblivious to her brother walking into the room. “No wait, Tina—“ The line went dead before she could plead more. “Shit.”

“What was that about?” asked Tommy.

She whipped around to see her brother, backpack lazily on his shoulder as he sat down at the kitchen counter. He made it seem so casual, so normal. Like this time last year he wouldn’t have scolded her for using up the family’s minutes. 

“Uh, junior bonfire stuff. I have to bring the firewood.”

“HA!” Tommy cackled. There was the old him. “You got stuck with the wood? Good luck with that. You know, if you were more prepared, you would have signed up early, gotten the easy shit like cups or something.”

“Oh, am I to believe you signed up for your bonfire? You don’t show an ounce of school spirit.”

“Hey,” he defended. “If there’s booze, I’m there. Sucks to be you right now.”

Lori crossed her arms, giving him a death stare. Ever since he had decided to become a decent person, she would give him a look if he acted up. It was a way for her to call him on his bullshit without actually saying it. She had tried talking with him once and it did not end well.

After seeing the look on her face, Tommy slumped back into his chair with a sigh. “I’m doing it again, huh?” She nodded. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Tommy. We’re allowed to make fun of each other as long as it's in a playful, not in a hurtful way.”

He nodded, thinking over his next words carefully. “I’m sorry you got stuck on firewood duty.”

“It’s whatever, it is my fault for not signing up early. I’ve been too preoccupied with college stuff. I don’t think I have enough extracurriculars to get in anywhere.”

“You’re like, crazy smart how is that possible?” Tommy asked.

“This town is too small, too shitty for offer anything big colleges will look for.”

“At least you’re going to get in somewhere…”

Lori shot her head over to look at him. “You got your letters back?”

He nodded, crossing his hands across his chest. “Not a single acceptance.”

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t expecting to get in…maybe I’ll go to community college, stay around here for a while.”

“I would get out if you can,” she told him. “Leave this stupid town.”

“But then you would be all alone.”

Turning to smile at him she said, “You know, you’re actually not the worst brother.”

“Okay, don’t go all sappy on me, I said I’ll try to get along not pronounce my love for you.”

“You don’t love me?” she said, grasping her heart. She was being more dramatic than she usually did when making fun of him. “But Tommy I’m your sister!”

Realizing what she was doing, he rolled his eyes. He picked up his stuff, walking toward the rugged staircase. “Yeah, yeah, cry all you want. You know, there’s a camping shop on Bundy. You should be able to find wood in there.”

Chuckling, she dropped her act, knowing if she went any further he would get uncomfortable. “Thanks Tommy, really.”

He gave a nod before turning to walk up the stairs.

The trip to Bundy was short, only a few miles from her house. Lori mumbled to herself as she walked up to the strip mall. “Why would they put me in charge of this?” 

All of the store’s names were just people. Danny’s, Joey’s, Trevor’s. How was anyone supposed to find stuff in this town? She guessed she would just go down the line, try each other until she found it.  Opening the door to the shop farthest to the left, she heard the bell ring above her. 

“Excuse me is this the—“ Her voice trailed off as she peered into to the shop that she entered. 

It definitely wasn’t the camping store. She looked around the poorly lit room. There were cases set up separating the counter from the rest of the store, all storing meat. And standing in the room, peering down absent minded at said meat, was Steve Harrington. He turned at the sound of the bell, his eyebrows raising at the sight of her.

“This isn’t the camping shop,” she said hesitatingly.

He gave a small laugh. “No, it is not. Hey, Lori.”

“Hey,” she responded, walking fully into the shop. She hadn’t seen him since she he dropped her off after the Halloween party. It felt awkward seeing again after their last very personal talk. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting leftover meat it’s…. it’s a long story.”

“Okay,” she said confused. Why wasn’t he giving her a straight answer?

“What about you? Why are you looking for camping supplies?”

“This thing some of the kids in my grade are doing. Bonfire night — I’m in charge of bringing the wood.”

Nodding at her words, the room fell into silence. There were distant sounds of hacking, clearly the butchering doing something in the back room. Lori didn’t know what else to say, trying to find something anything to feel the awkwardness to a minimum.

“H-how did the flowers go?” she asked.

“Hm?” Steve mumbled confusedly.

“The flowers… for Nancy?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, it went well…I mean bad….I mean—“ he let out a breath to regroup his thoughts. “I haven’t spoken to her yet but… I don’t think I’m gonna.”

“Really?” she said surprised. After how emotional he was she thought he would have jumped at the chance to get his ex back. 

“Yeah…I’m gonna try and stay single for a little while and see how it goes.”

“Wow, Harrington. You’ve changed a lot.”

“Hopefully for the better?” he asked, a small smile creeping on his lips.

Lori smiled back, looking down in embarrassment. “Yes, for the better.”

“All right, two buckets of expired meat.” The two teens looked over to see the butcher emerge with the meat Steve had asked for, handing it to him across the counter. “You’re doing me a huge favor taking these off my hands.”

“Thanks,” Steve said.

The butcher responded, “No problem,” before turning to look at her. “Can I help you?”

“I-I was looking for the camping store?”

“It’s one door over.”

“Got it, thanks,” she told him before looking back at Steve. “It was nice running into you.”

“Yeah, likewise.”

Turning around, she headed out of the store and into the correct shop. She got the supplies, and even helped set up the fire in the woods — but it felt like her brain was on autopilot. 

The bonfire was proving to be a success, with students laughing and singing along to the music that softly played out of a stereo. Robin had gone off to talk to some of their friends from band but Lori decided to hang back. 

Taking another sip of beer, she stared off at the fire from her place on a fallen tree log. She felt like she was floating through the party— well, not just the party but the entire week. 

Things at home had been getting better with Tommy. But there was only so much excitement in a small midwestern town. With the days blending together, it was scary to imagine never escaping that boring life. It wasn’t until someone sat down next to her that she was brought back to reality. 

“You look kind of down. Interested in changing that?” Lori looked over at the boy that sat down next to her. Opening the side of his worn-out leather jacket, she could see small bags with white powder inside. 

“No,” she told him flatly. “I don’t do drugs.”

“Oh well your loss,” the boy replied, reaching into a different pocket and pulling out a cigarette. “You at least wanna cig?” She shook her head. “Is there anything you do, do?”

She gave him a shrug. “I play the clarinet.”

He laughed at that. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Well, it’s the only answer I can give,” she said, becoming more agitated at the guy by the second.

“Then how about you tell me what’s on your mind.” She raised an eyebrow at him as he took another puff of his cigarette. “If you’re not gonna buy, you might as well tell me why you look like you’re about to jump into that fire.”

Lori let out a big sigh. Sure, why not load her problems onto a stranger. It was better than letting them fester up inside. “I feel like I’m stuck.”

“Stuck how?”

“In this town. Feels like my life isn’t going anywhere, might not even get into college.”

He chuckled, “Well I can relate to that. I’m gonna have to repeat senior year….again. Not a great feeling.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, becoming more aware that her problems were minuscule compared to his.

“Don’t be, I know my life isn’t going to amount to anything.,” he dismissed. He waved his hand, the smoke from his cigarette floated through the air. 

“But you…” he continued, pointing his hand at her. “You look like you might have your shit together. Just find that spark again, that thing that doesn’t make you look like crap.”

“Are all drug dealers this deep?” She was surprised to hear such great advise from this guy. 

“Just the good ones.”

Lori huffed, trying to hold back a smile. Holding out her hand to him, she introduced herself. “Lori Hagan.”

“Eddie Munson,” the boy replied, shaking her hand back.

“You’re a very interesting person Eddie.”

He shrugged, taking another puff. “So I’ve been told.”

Eddie Munson turned out to be right. She did need to find her spark again. The spark in question, was helping others do what made them happy. For so long she did only what her mother wanted her to do. Learn Russian, Hebrew, the clarinet — she didn’t know what she wanted anymore. And if she felt that way, there were surely others who did too. 

There was an ad in the morning paper that the Roane County Recreation Center needed help, and Lori took it as a sign. The next day when she went into school, she told the music teacher that she wouldn’t be returning for her senior year. Then, she called up the number on the rec center ad and asked signed up to volunteer. 

That’s how Lori found herself 30 minutes outside of Hawkins, sitting at a table helping children with arts and craft projects. The kids were nice, much nicer than her classmates when they were all that age. She sat at a table with a little girl, working on cutting a piece out paper that was folded up. In the end, it was supposed to unfold into a chain of people holding hands, though at the rate they were going it would end up as a bunch of blobs. 

“Lori!” A little boy shouted, running up to where she and the girl were sitting. He had a big grin on his face that almost as bright as the yellow shirt he was wearing. He held his hands behind his back, hiding something from view.

Smiling back, Lori greeted him. “Hey, Richie, what’s up?” 

Richie shoved his hands forward, showing her the people chain he had created. For a kid in elementary school, it was actually pretty good. The head was much bigger than the body and the feet were only nubs at the base but at least it you could tell it what it was supposed to be. Lori still made a big deal out of it. She gasped loudly, reaching out to inspect the chain, marveling at its beauty.

“Oh Richie this is amazing!” She exclaimed, holding it up. The linked people draped, creating a large “u” shape. “You’ve really out done yourself.”

“Thanks!” The boy replied, proud of himself. 

Handing back the project, Lori leaned forward and whispered to him, “Why don’t you go show Paul over there too.” She pointed off to where the other volunteer, a man in his early 30s was helping another group of kids. 

“Okay!” Without another word, Richie ran off, excited to present his craft project again.

Lori smiled as she watched him. There was a warm feeling that spread over her chest, and it felt full-filling. Helping these children express their artistic endeavors, encouraging them to do what they wanted, Lori wished she had that as a kid. She was about to turn back to help the little girl when she heard her name being called.

“Lori!” She turned to see the rec center coordinator, Helen, frantically walking toward her. When Lori had first signed up, Helen was ecstatic, putting her to work immediately. It was clear not many people helped and the extra hands were much appreciated. 

As the older woman approached, Lori could hear the labored breaths she was taking. Her hair, which was usually in a neat but was loose, flopping as she paced toward her. Even the clip board Lori had never see her with out was disheveled, papers in every direction.

“Hey Helen, everything alright?” Lori asked softly. 

“No, not really,” Helen replied coming to a stop in front of her. She ruffled through her clip board pages. “Debora couldn’t make it today, we need you to watch the skate park.”

The skate park? Those were where the older kids hung out, a volunteer usually watching to make sure no one got hurt. Lori usually stuck with the younger kids and she much preferred it that way. 

“But what about the children-“ she began to say but Helen interrupted. 

“Paul’s got them, don’t you Paul?”

Paul, engrossed in helping Richie finish his project looked up at the call of his name. “Huh?” It was clear he barely comprehended what was being said.

“See? He’s got them,” Helen said. She thrusted a stack of papers into Lori’s chest. “Here are the first aid guides if you need them. Now go!”

She had barely registered agreeing before being shoved outside toward the older kids. None of them payed her any attention when she sat down, an umbrella covering her with shade. Folding the first aid guides in half, she lazily shoved it under her leg. There were barely any kids in the skate park and the ones that were there looked to be pretty good.

Two boys, doing kick flips and board grinds, another boy on the other side ollies. Then there was a girl, her fiery red hair making her hard to miss. She was the only one in the bowl, practicing dropping in over and over again. Lori watched as the girl glided down the empty pool, kicking her board up the other side before going again. She had a great sense of balance, no hint of falling over and Lori wondered if she needed to practice at all. She knew very little about skateboarding but it was clear this girl was better than the rest.

An hour or so went by, the sun slowly setting. The three boys that had left leaving Lori to only look after the redhead. There had been no accidents, the first aid guide still tucked safely under her leg. Lori thought she could watch the girl for hours — skate boarding had proved to look more fun than she thought. But as she looked at her watch, her eyes went wide. It was already closing time.

She stood up, stretching her arms behind her head before walking over to the bowl. The girl had just dropped down again, skating up to the opposite side.

“Hey!” Lori called out. The girl stopped, her foot almost setting down on her board to go again. “You’re not half bad.”

The girl gave a polite smile, clearly not wanting to speak. “Thanks,” she replied courteously. She went to put her foot down again but Lori kept speaking.

“The rec center is closing, we gotta go get you signed out.”

“Oh…” the girl replied, kicking her board up to hold. It was clear she was in some sort of zone, not wanting it to end any time soon. “O-okay then.”

In silence, the two of them walked. Most people had left, making the halls eerily quiet, with the occasional noise from Helen in the distance. They made it to the front, one other kid signing out with their mom waiting patiently.

“Do you have a guardian picking you up?” Lori asked as the sign out sheet became available. The two girls stepped forward. 

“My brother is supposed to be here, he’s probably running late,” the girl responded while filling out the form. “I’ll just wait outside for him.”

The girl turned to leave, clearing wanting to be left alone. Lori sighed, knowing she would be disrupting her day but, she had to follow the rec center protocols. “I’ll wait with you,” she said.

The girl paused, turning back to face her. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I kinda do…we have to make sure all minors are picked up by guardians. You know, in case you don’t get home. People could sue us so…”

The girl groaned. “Fine.”

Without another word, she left, sitting down on a bench just outside the door. Lori followed hastily, sitting on the opposite side to give the girl space. The silence was killing her. Robin had said it was a trait of hers, to want to fill any silence with conversation. She would talk about the most ridiculous things, anything that came to her mind really, and right now was no different.

“I’m Lori by the way,” she started, realizing she never introduced herself.

The redhead looked toward her with a nod. “Max.”

Nodding, she waited a beat. “Do you come skate here often? I just started a week ago I’m not sure who are regulars.”

Max shrugged. “When I can, it’s hard to get a ride out here.” Lori hummed in recognition. It was a short simple answer, no elaboration. So, silence it was.

Twenty minutes went by and Max’s brother still hadn’t shown up. Lori started to wonder if he ever would. There were many times her own brother had left her at school when she had to stay for band. Or forgot that she was staying at Robin’s house until dinner. If Max’s brother was anything like her own, she figured he wouldn’t be showing up anytime soon.

“Max,” Lori started. 

“He’s coming,” the girl responded coldly. Her right leg was bouncing frantically, trying to ignore the obvious. “Neil made him swear he’d come.”

Lori didn’t know who Neil was, only that her brother was not keeping his promise. She couldn’t leave Max here. Even if it wasn’t part of her job, she knew leaving a young kid unattended could lead to bad things. Like Will Byers just one year before — he tried to bike home alone and never made it.

Standing up, she had made her decision. “Come on, I’m gonna drive you home.”

Max looked up to meet her gaze. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t, but I want to. Come on, what town are you from?”

“Hawkins.”

“Well what do you know, I am too.” She began to walk away, digging in her pockets for her keys. She made it only a few feet away when she realized Max wasn’t following. Turning back to Max she raised her eyebrows. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Max seemed to contemplate for a moment. She looked down at the floor, hand tapping randomly on the edge of her skateboard. Driving home with Lori beat the long skateboard ride she was going to take. Finally deciding, she got up, moving to follow Lori to her car. 

The drive home was much of the same — no talking, just the faint sounds of the radio playing. “You know,” Lori began. “If you need a ride to the rec center, I can take you when I volunteer.”

Max turned to look at her unexpectedly. They were practically strangers and she was offering to drive? “Really? Why?”

Lori shrugged. “My brother used to leave me places too. It kinda sucks. Plus, you know, I’m already coming here anyways it wouldn’t be a big hassle.”

“S-sure,” Max replied. “Yeah cool…” A beat. “I-I don’t really know a lot of people in town so, that would be nice.”

“You don’t have any friends at school?”

Max shook her head. “I just moved from California. I mean, there are these boys that I know but, they’re all kind of losers.” Lori bursted out laughing at that, making Max chuckle as well. “I mean that in the best way possible.”

She couldn’t stop laughing as they pulled off the highway, nearing the town border. “Good cause I’m kind of a loser too.” 

At a red light, she turned to look at the young girl. She was smiling, the freckles across her face stretching the same way Lori’s did when she laughed. There was this tough exterior Max had, keeping out anyone and everyone that looked her way. But now, as they sat turning into the residential part of town, Lori could see that facade start to fall. 

“I’m on the corner of Franklin and Clark,” Max told her, pointing ahead to where she should turn. 

Lori did so, and as they rounded the corner, a certain someone came into view. Max groaned, sinking down further into her seat upon seeing her brother. Billy Hargrove was outside shirtless, the hood of his car open as he tinkered away. He was blaring music from a stereo at his feet so he didn’t hear to car approaching until Lori put it into park.

“Billy’s your brother?” Lori asked though she already knew the answer.

“Not by blood,” Max said annoyed, it was clear she had a strong opinion about him too. 

They watched him work. His brows were furrowed, and not in a contemplating kind of way no this looked angry. Lori thought back to the night of Tina’s Halloween Bash. The way he approached her, how his hand slid against the small of her back — it made her shudder just thinking about it. She couldn’t even imagine what living with him would be like.

Max mumbled a thanks, moving to open the car door but Lori put out a hand to stop her. “Wait,” she called out. Reaching into her backseat, she grabbed her school bag, pulling out piece of paper and pen. She spoke as she began to write. “If you need to get out of the house, like, not just to skate, give me a call.”

The redhead looked confused as was handed the piece of paper with Lori’s number on it. “I don’t-“

“Just, if anything gets too rough, give me a call.”

Max seemed to understand then. See the underlying themes in the way she spoke. Slowly, she nodded. “Okay, yeah, I will.”

With a smile, Lori watched Max get out of her car. This felt like a new beginning. She felt like she was meant to volunteer at the rec center and to meet Max. To help others and even make a new friend. 

Lori never liked the holidays, it was the time of year when her parents would leave for some cruise, Tommy would get black-out drunk and Lori was left all by herself. It felt cruel to be surrounded by so much laughter and cheerfulness and a holiday she didn’t even celebrate.

For the first couple of years, Lori was on her own, lighting the menorah on all eight days, reciting Hanukkah blessings even when her parents weren’t there to see it. Then Robin came along, making it a little more bearable. She tried her best, learning some of the traditions that came with jewish culture but it proved harder for her.

However, for some reason, this year felt different. Even with Robin off with her own family this year, the house didn’t seem as quiet. Tommy had been a big surprise, coming down on the second night to recite the blessings with her. 

Once finished, she turned to him with a smile. “I haven’t heard you speak Hebrew since your bar mitzvah.” He let out a loud laugh. “I didn’t think you would remember how to say anything.”

“I didn’t suffer through seven years of Hebrew school to forget how to speak the language. Besides, mom would never let that happen. Continuing dad’s legacy and all.”

Lori chuckled. “With your gpa, I would think you would.”

“My grades are improving!” He exclaimed, pressing a hand to his chest.

“Hmm, sure,” she hummed. 

Ding doing!

The Hagan siblings looked at each other confused. Their parents were gone, and Robin and Carol were both celebrating with their respected families — who could possibly be at their front door?

“I’ll get it,” Lori told him, rushing off to answer. As the door swung open, she was surprised to see her was on the other side. “Steve.”

He looked up from the ground, smiling sheepishly. A hand tugging on the hem of the red sweater he wore. “H-hey,” he said, shuffling his weight between his feet. 

Lori leaned into the door, gripping it with one hand. Her heart jumped when he saw him. Was that a new sweater? It looked really good on him. “Hi…what, uh, are you doing here?”

His eyes were transfixed on hers, and for a moment, it looked like he forgot what he was going to say. With a blink, he looked down struggling to regain his thoughts. One of his hands appear from behind his back, holding out something rectangular. 

“Right,” he said, reaching out to hand it to her. “Merry Christmas, — or wait, shit, I -I mean Happy Hanukkah.”

Hesitantly she took it. It was a comic book, an issue from the Uncanny X-Men series that had been running for a couple of years. Why was she giving this to her? Were they supposed to get each other presents? She wanted to call him a friend, even though he and Tommy weren’t anymore. But even when they were, Lori and Steve never exchanged gifts. 

“Thank you,” she said, turning the comic over in her hands. “I- I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts—“

“We aren’t,” he interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. “I just— I was with Henderson at this comic shop and I remember you read this stuff too so, consider it a thank you for everything.”

She looked down at the comic again, her fingers grazing over the comics authority logo on the corner.  Henderson; was she supposed to know who that was? 

“Thank you,” she replied, motioning to the comic.

“I hope you don’t have it already. He said it was a good issue.”

“I don’t,” she told him. She didn’t even know how he remembered she read comics. It was a sweet gesture, even if he didn’t know she hadn’t picked up a comic in years. Though, he didn’t need to know that part.

“Uh, do you wanna come in?” she asked, opening the door slightly.

“No, it’s okay. I have to go pick up Henderson from the Snow Ball, actually. I just..” The paused, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “..wanted to give that to you.” He smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he stepped away from the front door, back down the path toward his car.  

Lori gave a puzzled expression. “The Snow Ball…Is Henderson a middle schooler?”

Steve smirked, shrugging so his ears disappeared into his shoulders. “Maybe. Happy holidays, Lori.”

She watched as he climbed back into his car. “Happy holidays,” she replied, waving as he drove off.

Even as he pulled out of her driveway, even as his car turned off of her street, Lori couldn’t stayed put on her doormat. It was like she couldn’t pull herself to leave, still bewildered by the interaction they just had. She looked down at the comic in her hands, a strange gesture that she couldn’t comprehend. 

“Was that Harrington?” Tommy emerged from the kitchen, crossing his arms against his chest as he stepped into the foyer. 

Lori finally felt like she could move, hurrying to close the front door so more cold air wouldn’t get in. She leaned against the door as she answered, “Yeah…” Though her eyes were still focused on the comic in her hands. 

“And he gave you that?” She hummed a yes. “Why?”

Lori shrugged and looked up at him. “I don’t know, I mean I ran into him a couple of months ago but we aren’t close or anything, I don’t even know if I would say we were friends.”

“Weird…” 

Under her breath, she said to herself, “It was kind of sweet.” But her brother didn’t hear. 

“I’m gonna go put that movie in that I rented last week. Do you want to watch it with me?”

Lori looked back up at him surprised, her mouth parting slightly. First, he stayed home to celebrate Hanukkah, and now he wants to do something with her. What happened to her brother?

“Sure,” she replied, watching as he nodded and went off toward the living room.

Tommy was really changing, and this time for the better.

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“College applications are coming up next year. Put any thought into where you want to go?” Lori shrugged at her College Advisor. “None at all?”

“Maybe NYU? UPenn?” She said begrudgingly, looking down at her crossed arms over her chest. She could hear her Advisor typing away her response. 

“Those are pretty good schools, you’ll need a good SAT score, at least a 1200. Now,” the Advisor looked up from her computer. “Any extracurriculars? Volunteer work?”

“I-I’m in marching band, I actually just got first chair clarinet—”

“Marching band, good, what else?” She interrupted. Lori shrugged. Her mother had grilled into her since she was little that learning a classical instrument would get her farther in life. Was there supposed to be more? “That’s it?”

“There isn’t a lot of volunteer work in Hawkins, in case you haven’t noticed,” she snapped back.

“Which is why students drive a couple towns over to do so. Listen, Ms. Hagan,” the Advisor said, her tone becoming more agitated. She took her reading glasses off, letting them dangle from the cord draped around her neck. “If these are your top schools, you’re going to have to think about what else you can do to help your case. We’ll meet again next month okay? I expect some ideas.”

Lori gave a curt smile and grabbed her bag, leaving without another word. That College Advisor had been up her ass recently and it greatly soured her mood. All she wanted to do was leave this small, awful town, but it felt like all odds her stacked against her.

Good grades didn’t seem to be enough anymore and with barely any resources available, her chances of escaping seemed to lessen by the day. Stuck in her own thoughts, Lori didn’t even notice the tap she got on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Tina McCline staring at her. 

“Here, take a flyer, Halloween bash at my house tonight,” the girl said joyfully.

Shit, she hadn’t even realized it was Halloween. But then there was the other matter, “Why me?” She asked. She and Tina barely spoke. Maybe the occasional talk during a boring class but she was nothing more than an acquaintance.

The question didn’t seem to bother Tina. “Whole school’s invited, tell your friends!”

Giving her a nod, Lori walked off, her eyes still glued to the bright orange flyer in her hand. Halloween bash? If she was given this last year, she would have absolutely said no. But, maybe it was a good idea. Go out with Robin, get drunk at some party and forget about her worries for a couple hours of the day. 

The bell for first period rang, causing a sudden commotion in the hall. Lori pushed through the crowd of students, thankful she was only a few feet away from her next class. When she finally made it through the door, she was relieved to see Robin already in her seat.

Lori placed the flyer on her desk. “What’s this?” Robin asked, looking only for a moment as she grabbed a notebook from her bag.

Lori sat down next to her, leaning forward with one arm awkwardly resting on the back of her chair. “Tina’s having a Halloween party tonight. You in?” 

Robin scoffed. “Since when do we go to parties?”

“Since never…but this college stuff is driving me insane and I think it would be good to do some…I don’t know normal high school stuff before we graduate.”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t. I’m working tonight,” she said with a sigh.

Lori sat up straighter, “You’re working on Halloween?”

“Yeah,” Robin replied, the response coming out more like a question than a statement. 

“Who’s gonna go to a bookshop on Halloween?”

“I don’t know but I couldn’t change it okay? Everyone else is busy.”

Lori sighed, “Wow, leaving your best friend alone on Halloween, I see how it is.”

“Oh don’t guilt trip me. Besides, you could always come and hang out with me? Tell me the long version of how it was like to beat Vickie for first chair.”

Lori considered it for a moment. She never thought in a million years she’d actually be first chair clarinet. But that was something they would talk about regardless of if it was Halloween or not. 

“I think I’m gonna go to the party,” Lori told her. “Branch out a little.”

“Wow,” Robin said with almost no enthusiasm. “It’s a whole new you.”

Lori couldn’t remember the last time she had been to a high school party. If she had to guess, it was probably one from freshman year. She and Robin used to love going to them. Not to socialize but to sit quietly in a corner, making fun of how drunk their classmates had gotten. It was an easy way to relieve the tensions of being an unpopular kid in high school. But then there was the party where she was introduced to…well, someone she would soon regret to have met. 

Tommy was kind enough to offer her a ride, seeing that he and Carol would also be attending. 

His kindness, however, only extended so far. He yelled up a 30 minute warning of when he would be leaving. If Lori wasn’t ready, he would leave without her. 

Because the party was a last minute decision, Lori tried to make do with what she already had in her closet. She figured something she owned could resemble some coming of age movie character from recent years.

Her fingers glazed over her hung up clothes, her mind working fast as she tried to remember any movie that would help her. Her eyes soon landed on a floral dress hung up near the back. She hadn’t warn it in ages, but knew it would still fit. And if she remembered correctly, she also had a pink shirt that could go with it. 

She hoped people would recognize the look; Samantha Baker in Sixteen Candles. The dress wasn’t a perfect match and she had long dark hair unlike the short redhead from the movie. But with the small amount of time she had, it was the best she could do. 

The ride to Tina’s was short and sweet and before she knew it, she was stepping into the party. Loud music swept through her ears, the humidity of sweaty teens soon filling every pore in her body. She forgot how claustrophobic parties could be, even in a big house like Tina’s. The living room was packed tight with teenagers dancing, barely any room too move between them. They wore a large array of costumes from pop culture moments to just straight up lingerie. Lori couldn’t believe some people could leave the house look like that, thankful that she was wearing something less revealing.

In the open plan kitchen, drinks littered every surface, a large punch bowl with some red concoction sitting on the island counter. There was a ladle slumped inside it, and Lori swore she saw someone pick it up and drink from it. She scowled at the image, so unsanitary.

As she looked around, taking in this view, she felt Tommy give a small tug on her arm. He pointed off toward the backyard where the sounds of people jumping into Tina’s pool could fainting be heard. She nodded in understanding and watched as Tommy and Carol left to join the likes of people like Jason Carver. 

What to do by herself… Lori wouldn’t be dancing, that would be sure. She didn’t even know what possessed her to want to come. Some sense of teenage normalcy? A day she could look back on so she could say she did something in high school? Whatever confidence she had when she agreed to go slowly faded away and she wanted that to change fast.

Getting a drink proved to always be the first step when walking into a party, so, Lori made her way to the kitchen. She was sure to avoid the punch bowl, aiming for a can of beer sitting on the counter. It was a quick and easy decision. She liked beer just fine, despite the occasional hiccup it caused her to have. 

Opening the can, she took a sip, leaning against a counter near the fridge. As she looked out into the crowd, she was surprised that she felt, well, fine. No sense of being overwhelmed, no embarrassment from being by herself - no one was paying attention to her anyways. She looked over the crowed of people dancing, wearing costumes for whatever movies had recently come out, and she felt becoming content with her decision.

That was, until Billy Hargrove approached her.

He was a year older than her, just having moved to town. From what she heard from the seniors in her advanced calculus class, he was a player; trying to get any girl that would even look his way. Lori had never talked to him, had barely looked in his direction in the school halls. And despite wanting nothing to do with him, Billy thought it would be wise to approach her. She hiccuped as he slid into place at the counter next to her.

“Hey sweet cheeks,” he said with a grin. “Got a name?”

She wanted to barf on the spot. Like that line would work on anyone, let alone her. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she took another sip of her beer. “Not one that I’m giving out,” Lori replied. 

She avoided his gaze, her eyes staying fixed on the crowd of people dancing. Maybe, if she ignored him long enough he would go away? No, that would work on a normal boy, and Billy Hargrove wasn’t normal.

He took her resistance as a challenge, a small obstacle in the way of his wants and needs.“Oh come on babe, lighten up.” She felt his arm wrap around her waist, his hand tight on her hip as he pulled her closer to him. His breath was warm on her neck as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I bet I can get you to scream my name.”

She hated that feeling. The unwanted closeness from a boy she barely even knew. But there was something in her that couldn’t push him away. Couldn’t separate herself from the uncomfortable situation. It was like she was frozen in place, like a statue on display for anyone to see. Like at a dinning room table with shitty parents and an annoying brother. Lori tried to take a deep breath and steady herself. 

“I-I think I’ll pass,” she finally said. It sounded less confident that she wouldn’t have liked but she was surprised she could said anything at all. 

Billy only moved closer, his stomach pressing against the right side of her body. “Come on babe, I know that’s not true.” His mouth lingered over her neck, breathing her scent in. It made Lori sick.

“Leave her alone, Hargrove. I bet there are plenty of other girls who would enjoy your company.”

Lori tensed tighter then she thought possible, and it wasn’t from because of Billy. She slowly turned her head, knowing who was speaking before she did so. Wallace Linden stood across from them, nursing a drink in his hand. 

Billy moved away from Lori’s neck, his hand still wrapped around her waist.  “Oh yeah? And what makes you think I don’t like a challenge?”

In the distance, a girl called out for Billy. Wallace turned to address him, “I think the date you left is looking for you.”

“Whatever,” Billy mumbled, looking over at Lori one last time. “I’ll see you later.” 

“Doubtful,” she spat back and watched him walk away. She was thankful that he had left, but doing so left her with the one other person she despised at school. “You didn’t have to stand up for me,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes. 

Wallace shrugged, “It kind of looked like he had you cornered.” 

She scoffed, pushing herself off the counter. “Don’t pretend like you suddenly care for me.”

“I do—“ He started to say as he moved around the kitchen island toward her, but she was already walking away. Lori didn’t have a clear direction; she just picked a hallway and started moving.

“—No, you don’t!” She shouted back but she could still feel him following behind her. Maybe this party wasn’t a good idea. Without Robin with her she started to feel empty. Robin was her other half; the ying to her yang. And without Robin, people like Billy and Wallace can walk up to her with no care in the world; can make her night go from good to awful in a matter of seconds. 

She just needed a place to hide until it was time to leave, which knowing her brother wouldn’t be before midnight. Footsteps were still close behind her and she knew Wallace was following her. Quickly, and without warning, Lori turned around. She held up a hand to stop him, her palm landing on the center of his chest. He was wearing a leather jacket, and her fingers pressed down on the rigid material.

“Just—leave me alone,” she pleaded. 

Wallace didn’t even have time to answer before she was turning back around, pushing through a group of people in the hallway. It was easy to lose him after that, with the insane amount of students packed into the house. At first Lori thought a bedroom would be her best bet to bunker down for the night before dismissing the thought entirely. Running into a bunch of drunk people trying to have sex seemed like an equally awful way to spend Halloween. 

Maybe the bathroom would be better. There were only two in the entire house which seemed like a small amount for the practical mansion she was in — Tina’s parent’s really spared no expense. By the time she reached the door, Lori let out her first hiccup, the beer finally kicking in. It would be the first of many, she thought, but in the grand scheme of things that had happened that night, she didn’t care. 

The bathroom seemed like an okay spot. It had tiled floors, a shaggy mat in front of the bathtub which also operated as a shower. The counter top was long enough that two sinks were sunk into it, a mirror covering the full width of the wall behind. It made so the wallpaper took up most of Lori’s view, some floral design with pink and blue flowers. 

Peeling back the shower curtain, Lori then climbed into the tub. It seemed like the most comfortable placed to rest, thinking the toilet would start to get uncomfortable after ten minutes. She hiccuped and let her back rest against the wall of the bath, her legs coming up to rest almost against her butt. Yeah, it seemed like an okay spot, just relax here until it starts to get late and then go find Tommy.  Lori took another sip of her beer, despite feeling another hiccup rising in her throat. It was still cold, and she appreciated it as the temperature in the bathroom increased. 

What to do while she waited…Lori opted to hum an album to herself. She knew Breakfast in America by heart, having played the record over and over again when it first came out. She got maybe 20 minutes of quiet with her beer before someone stumbled into the bathroom. Shit, she must have forgot to lock the door. Quickly, she shut the shower curtain, holding a hand over her mouth as another hiccup tempted to come through. 

Whoever entered the bathroom started to run the water, the faucet pouring with no signs of stopping. It didn’t sound like they came in here to pee and the sound of another person approaching only confirmed it. Lori hoped they weren’t coming in there to make out, she didn’t think she would be able to handle it. 

Covering her mouth as another hiccup came through her throat, she tried her best not to listen. But with the party muffled by the closed door, it felt like she had no other choice.

“Nance, I’m sorry,” said a male voice. The faucet continued to run with no reply. “It’s not gonna come off.”

A female voice answered. “It’s coming…” She sounded drunk, pushing around a cloth on her clothes. 

It was Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler. From what she had heard from people around the school, they were still together. She shouldn’t be overhearing this conversation, not her brother's ex-best friend, not anyone. 

“Come on. Let me just take you home okay? Come here,” he called out to her. 

“You wanted this.”

“No, I didn’t. I told you to stop drinking,” he pleaded with her. He sounded sincere, the most sincere she had heard him sound in a while.

He was an asshole that day he smashed Johnathan’s camera. The guys brother had gone missing and he just made everything worse. Of course, the younger Byers turned up fine but at the time, he could have had more sympathy. Lori held back another hiccup as Nancy shouted.

“Bullshit!”

“It’s not bullshit—“

“—Bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit Nancy—“

“—No you,” she interrupted him again. “You’re bullshit.”

It took a moment for Steve to respond in a softer tone. “What?”

“Y-you’re pretending like, like everything’s okay. Like i-it’s great, like we’re in love and we’re partying. Yeah, let’s party…this is bullshit.”

“Like we’re in love?” Steve asked, his voice breaking before his sentence could finish.

Lori held back a hiccup, desperately wanting to be anywhere but in the middle of their relationship, whether they knew it or not. 

“It’s bullshit,” Nancy repeated.

Steve held on to her previous point. “You don’t love me?”

He sounded destroyed. From afar Lori thought that this relationship was just like any other she had seen him have. There for a little bit, for the sex or the closeness, and then on to the next. But it was clear that he was right that day he asked for her help, Nancy was different, or at least he thought she was. He went and fell in love with her and it was clear she didn’t feel the same. 

“B-bullshit,” Nancy stuttered again.

He didn’t respond, and Lori heard the door open and shut quickly. She let out a soft sigh, a hiccup forming in her throat; she really should have waited to make sure they both had gone.

The shower curtain flung open, revealing a watery-eyed Steve looking down at her. His face looked like a mixture of confusion, anger, and every emotion in between. As she stared up at him, it was hard to discern what he was thinking.

Lori hiccuped again, clutching the beer bottle to her chest. Trying to form an apology, she quickly blurted out, “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know you guys were going to come in here.”

Again, he stared down at her. She couldn’t tell if he was mad or shocked. Either way, it seemed he accepted the situation. He lazily motioned for her to pull her feet in. She did, dragging them close to her chest. Then, doing the last thing she expected, he climbed in the tub with her.

He plopped down on the other side without purpose, staring off at the yellowing wallpaper. Lori hiccuped again, not knowing if she should go or stay. Before she could make a decision, he reached out an open hand to her. He was still staring off at the wall so it took her a moment to realize he was asking for the beer. 

She handed it over, though she wondered what he was going to do with an almost finished bottle. Without a second thought, he brought it to his lips, tipping it back to finish in one gulp. Afterward he tossed it aside, letting it roll across the shag rug under the sink. 

They sat in silence. She didn’t know how long but it felt at least ten minutes. And for ten minutes, Lori found herself holding in her breath. It felt weird to be with him alone now. Especially since he and her brother had stopped being friends almost a year ago — plus the current circumstances she probably shouldn’t have been aware of. 

She watched as the truth slowly settled over him. And without warning, Steve began to cry. It was like a floodgate opened, placing his head in his hands as they rested against his knees. He wept for himself, for being alone; for the first girl he ever loved not loving him back. 

It was a moment of vulnerability and Lori didn’t want to run away. She wanted to stay, to comfort him. She didn’t know much about his home life but she knew his parents were even more absent than her own.  At least she had Tommy, that douchebag of a brother, but Steve — without Nancy, he had no one. 

Lori reached out an arm, placing it on top of his as he continued to cry. Moments passed and he didn’t push her away. She got closer, moving towards him to pull him into a hug. Steve wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down into his grasp. The tub wasn’t small, but there was barely enough room for the both of them as he held her tight, crying into her sleeve. It was a tight fit but that didn’t matter. She was helping a…friend — they had to be friends at that point. Yes, she was helping a friend in need. 

“Hey Hagan,” whispered a voice.  Lori groaned, trying to turn in her sleep but found there was nowhere to go. “Lori,” the voice said again. 

She jolted awake, sitting up in a — bathtub? Slowly taking in her surroundings, she noticed she was still at the halloween bash, Tina looming over her. 

“Lori,” Tina called out again. “You and Harrington need to get out. My parents are coming back at five.”

“What?” Lori asked still groggy from the sudden awakening. 

There was movement next to her. She peered down wide-eyed with the realization that she was sleeping next to — no, on Steve Harrington.

“Get your boyfriend and get out!” Tina repeated before walking out of the room, yelling at people sleeping in the guest room down the hall. 

“He’s not my—“ Lori began to protest but it was too late.  Awkwardly turning back to the boy next to her, she shook his arm.  “Steve,” she said softly, pushing his arm again.

Slowly, he yawned, trying to extend his arm out as he woke up. Realizing he couldn’t, he let his eyes adjust to his surroundings — he was not in his bedroom. He flinched as he saw he wasn’t alone.

“Lori? What—“ 

Pushing herself up and out of the tub, she extended an arm to him. “Come on, we fell asleep.” 

Steve took her hand, standing up and adjusting his clothes as he stepped out of the bath. He looked in the mirror for a moment, fixing his hair. 

“Tina needs us out of here,” she added, turning to leave without checking if he was following. 

Making her way through the house, she passed a bunch of drunk teenagers who also decided to crash at the party that night. They groaned as they slowly gained consciousness, some even helping clean up. 

Lori passed them and out the door without a second thought. She didn’t expect Tommy to be there, so she started her long walk home. It wasn’t until Steve was calling her name that she realized he was still following her.

“Lori, wait,” he called, trying to grab her arm.

She pulled herself away, stopping to hear what he had to say. “What?” she asked, probably ruder than she meant to sound.

“I…” he took a moment to form the right words. “Thank you, for staying with me. I didn’t realize I dozed off—“

“—it’s fine, Harrington. I didn’t realize either.”

She turned to start walking once more, but again he caught her arm. “Wait, just— can I buy you breakfast?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah, there’s a place that opened up on Cedar Street a few years ago. Tommy and I would go a lot the morning after parties…”

She wanted to say no, to let the weird interaction fall away and never be spoken of again. But there was a look in his eyes, a tone in his voice — it was desperation. The woman he thought loved him didn’t and he was grabbing on to anyone nearby, anyone to not be alone. No matter how awful he presented himself as he didn’t deserve that.

“Could you take me home afterward? Tommy was my ride.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Then lead the way.”

To say these were the worst and weirdest days of Steve’s life would be an understatement. Waking up in a bathtub of all places, squished against his ex-best friend’s sister was an interesting way to start his day; especially after the first love of his life dumped him. 

Did he cry? His cheeks felt damp, eyes puffy as he look in the bathroom mirror before chasing after Lori. He hadn’t cried in front of anyone in a long time. 

When he was little, and his family had to put down his childhood dog, he wept. It was a reasonable thing to do, after losing the one thing he truly cared about. But then his father found him, a scowl crossing over his face. He grabbed Steve by the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up to meet his eyes. Steve still remembered the smell of cigars on his breath.

“Harrington’s don’t cry,” his father had said. He dropped his son to the floor, letting him fall on his ankle in a way they would later learn sprained it. “Don’t let me catch you like this again.”

And he hand’t cried in front of anyone since. Well, until Nancy, and his bullshit, and the urge to let all his pent up emotions over the years get the best of him. Lori hadn’t judged him. Hadn’t ran away or told anyone she saw King Steve crying in bathroom. Instead, she scooted closer, enveloping him in a hug he so desperately needed. 

So when he woke up in the tub that next morning, Lori curled up into his side, he knew he had to repay her somehow. That just so happened to be in the form of a giant plate of pancakes and a hot coffee. 

Steve had taken her to one of his favorite diners. He used to go with Tommy after parties not unlike Tina’s the night before. But since distancing himself from the boy, he started going alone. 

Pancakes and coffee already ordered, Steve found himself unable to lift his gaze up from the table, his eyes glossed over. The events of last night, of Nancy kept replaying in his mind. That their relationship was bullshit, he was bullshit, his love was bullshit. 

He knew he was an asshole, that had been said to him more times than he could count. But he was trying to change. Couldn’t she see he was trying to change?

And though he was lost in his own thoughts, Lori’s voice still pierced through like a lighthouse guiding the boats back to shore. “Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked, voice soft and concerning. 

He looked up at her for the first time since they got to the diner. Her hair was a little messy, costume pushed in different directions which was to be expected from an uncomfortable night sleeping in the bathroom. But still she had this aura to her. This look that made him feel like he could bare his most deepest thoughts. 

They hadn’t spoken in a while, not since he stopped talking to Tommy, and though they were never close, he did miss their talks. She was one of the only people that didn’t say what he wanted to hear. The only one that helped him when he was pursing Nancy. 

He didn’t want to say what happened again, which was okay since she had accidentally overheard his entire breakup. Instead he shrugged his shoulders. “There’s nothing really to talk about right? I’m bullshit.”

Almost immediately she responded. “You’re not bullshit.”

“Maybe I am…” he replied quietly. “I told her I loved her. I-I’ve never said that to anyone before. When she said it back I was so relieved. Sheloved me…”

But she didn’t love you back. The thought echoed through his mind as his sentence trailed off. 

He didn’t have to looked at Lori to know she felt sorry for him. That he was once this great ruler of Hawkins High, who with every passing minute was falling further from his throne. He didn’t mind giving up that title. King Steve, he always hated it but Tommy had insisted on using it as their popularity freshman year grew. No, it wasn’t the title that bothered him, it was that he was turning out to be a has been. 

He wasn’t going to get into any schools, not with his shit grades and even shittier essay submitted. He would end up working some job for his father, doing something he hated for the rest of his life. That’s what scared him.

“It’ll get better,” she said, her tone hopeful.

Steve scoffed. “How would you know? Have you been in love before?”

“Yeah, I have.”

He leaned back against the booth. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. “Really?” They had known each other since they were 12 and 13 respectively. For some reason he thought that if she were ever to fall in love, he would know about it.

Nodding her head, Lori continued. “Freshman year, there was this boy Wallace Linden… He was like, everything I wanted in a guy and I was shocked that he wanted to go out with me.”

It took a moment for the memory to resurface. “Wait, I remember him. He was always over when I hung out with Tommy.”

“Yeah, we were attached at the hip. He was so sweet, and when I said I loved him he immediately said it back. He was my first….”

She trailed off, Steve’s eyebrows rising as he knew what direction she was going in.

“He was my first,” she restated with a shrug. “I guess he just said all that nice stuff to get in my pants because he broke up with me the next day.” 

Somehow, despite all the hurt he was feeling, his heart still leaped out for her, for her pain and misery. He leaned forward in his seat. “Lori, I’m so sorry.”

Quickly she waved him off. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I just wanted you to know that I know what it feels like. It hurts but it does get better.”

He leaned back in his chair taking a long sip of coffee. “Nancy felt different, I didn’t expect this from her.”

“Maybe she is different, not everyone is like Wallace. Look, if you really want to give it another go, prove you’re not bullshit or whatever, talk to her. Bring her flowers I bet she’d love that.”

Was she telling him that there was hope? That there was a chance he could prove to Nancy he wasn’t bullshit. “Really?”

“Really. Now come on, let’s eat. I wanna get home and change out of these clothes.” She picked a fork, ready to move on from the conversation but Steve couldn’t find himself looking away from her. She made helping seem so easy. To feel like the world wasn’t falling apart. “What?”

“Thank you,” he said. “And not just for this, for…everything I guess. You were always really nice to me.”

Steve watched as blush rose to his cheeks as she looked down at her plate. He was used to having that affect on other girls but on Lori? He felt a small spark in his chest. “I’m not like my brother.”

He chuckled, finally picking up his fork and knife. “No, you are not…how is he by the way? Tommy I mean.”

“Still a dick but, trying to do better.”

“Good,” he replied. “At least one of us deserves a family.”

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“You need to practice, darling,” Lori’s mother, Elaine cooed. She placed down a plate of food on the dining table before sitting down. “You’ll lose it other wise.”

Lori groaned throwing her head back. It was a rare night in the Hagan household — everyone was home. Tommy was upstairs doing god knows what as her mother set the table. Her father, Robert, sitting with the day’s newspaper despite it already being night. 

He was no help as always, leaving all the preparation to Elaine as he sat and read his paper like it was more important than family. Then again, there wasn’t much he could even do. The food might’ve looked homemade, but Lori could smell Enzo’s all over it — Elaine just liked passing it off as her own.

The food simmered off the china, almost certainly damaging the wooden dining table underneath. Even though it wasn’t a home-cooked meal, Lori has to admit it smelled good. 

“When would I ever need to speak Russian?” asked Lori. It was a genuine question. With the Soviet War still going strong, it was a part of themselves that never really left the house. Lori already felt like an outcast having so few friends she could count them on one hand. She didn’t think she could handle people calling her a communist as well. 

Elaine huffed, sitting up straight in her chair. She folding her napkin neatly before placing it on her lap. “Because,” she said already annoyed. “My mother taught me and I’m carrying on the tradition. She was born in—“

“—Russia,” Lori interrupted. “Yeah I know, she only talks about it every holiday.”

Elaine turned to her husband, his nose still stuck in the paper. “Honey, go grab Thomas, would you?” Lori tried not to barf at the mention of her brother’s full name. Thomas. It was so official, so not him. 

Instead of getting up to get his so , like any sane person would do, Robert instead yelled. “Tommy, get down here now! Dinner’s ready!” His eyes never drifted from the page.

Lori winced at the sudden volume, her ears adjusting in time to hear the thumping of the stairs as her brother descended. He looked disheveled, his hair pointing in all directions and shirt twisted around almost strangling him. If she had to guess, Carol was jumping out of his window just about now.

“Calm your tits, I’m here,” Tommy said, trying his best to not look out of breath. He took a seat next to Lori, sizing her up and down. “Sup dickwad.”

“Ease it peewee brain,” she retorted. 

Elaine shouted in Russian, “Children silence!” She slammed her hands down flat against the table, the plates and utensils clanking from the vibration. 

Tommy scoffed, “Still keeping up the Russian I see.”

Elaine tilted her head at her child, her forehead creasing in a way Lori only knew meant disappointment. If she were standing, she would be crossing her arms, a foot tapping for rabidly you’d think she was a rabbit. “You should be keeping it up too.” In Russian Elaine continued, “How was your day?”

Tommy crossed his arms over his chest, sinking back in his chair. “Like you would care. You’re never even here,” he said back in Russian. 

Elaine gasped, like it offended her. Like she had a right to be offended. If she really cared about her children, she wouldn’t be off somewhere in the Caribbean for 80 percent of the year. Tommy’s words struck a chord with Richard as well, and for the first time that night, he set down the paper, staring at his son.

“Is that really a way you should be speaking to your mother?” He challenged.

Most kids would back down, just shut up and eat their dinner. But Tommy wasn’t like most kids. “Point out a mother in this room and I’ll apologize,” he said. “As far as I’m aware, your just two strangers that stop by to make sure we’re not dead.”

“How dare you!” Elaine shouted, still using her mother’s native tongue.

“Commie!” Tommy shouted back, leaning forward in his seat as he did so.

Lori knew what would come next. Her father’s anger would boil over. Tommy would try to argue. But in the end, he’d leave the argument with more bruises than words said. He was always so fearless when it came to their father, despite knowing what the outcome of every fight would be. It might’ve been the only thing she envied about him. 

Lori felt stuck in her chair. She wanted to stand up to her parents, to put an end to the the years of misery they had cause her and her brother. Every time, she swore to herself that she would stand up to them. And every time, she remained frozen in place. 

So when her fathers face scrunched in anger, she couldn’t move. Not even a twitch of a leg when her father stood up, his hands slamming hard against the table. Not when he demanded to have a chat with Tommy in his room. Not when she was left alone with her mother at the dining table. 

Elaine sighed, sitting back in her chair, ignoring the shouts coming from upstairs. She sat up straight, and switched subjects like it was nothing. “How’s band practice, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart. How could her mother even call her that when her father was most likely slapping Tommy in the next room? 

“It’s fine,” Lori mumbled, thankful they switched off the topic of speaking Russian. 

Band was no better, however. She was thankful that she met her best friend, Robin Buckley, through it, along with a couple others. But in the end, Lori never really enjoyed it. Not like her friends did. It was just another activity she joined to make her parents proud. Her mother adored classical music, specifically Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. So naturally, she signed her daughter up for clarinet lessons. 

“Did you make first chair this year?” Elaine asked.

First chair? Tryouts were months ago. Her mother wasn’t even in town when she got the news that Vickie Sullivan once again beat her. Lori didn’t mind losing — Vickie was better than her in every way possible when it came to the clarinet. But she knew her mother wouldn’t be happy with that news.

As Lori went to answer, her father walked back into the room. He let out a huff, like he was coming home from a hard days work. Without another word, he sat down and returned to his paper. Her mother didn’t comment on it, instead scooping out some food from the center plate and beginning her meal.

Lori couldn’t stand it any longer. Couldn’t stand how heartless her parents were. How thoughtless they could be unless it came to their kids achievements. Rage was boiling inside her, bubbling up closer and closer to the surface. It was like a volcano ready to erupt after years of being dormant. She wanted to explode, to shout that her parents were awful humans and ever worse parental figures. Maybe she could stand up to them, say the things she had wanted to shout since the first time she and Tommy were left home alone. 

Lori stood up before she could stop herself. Her palms rested against the table, feeling the grains of wood with every slight shift of her fingers. Both her parents looked up at her. Lori finally got their attention. 

She looked at her mom who was still eating her food like nothing was wrong. Then, she dared to look at her father. He had an eyebrow raised. It was like he was challenging her to speak. 

Try me, it seemed to say. See what happens when you talk back.

“I-I…” Lori stumbled to speak, suddenly becoming frightened of the possible consequences. Her chest felt tighter with every second her father stared at her. It was like he was looking directly into her soul. She would not stand up to her parents. Not today. “I-I’m not hungry, I’m just gonna grab a water and head to my room.”

She walked out before her parents could respond, but by the lack of commotion she knew they didn’t care. Making her way upstairs, she had to pass Tommy’s room to get to her own. The door was slightly ajar, letting her see into the mess that had become of it. Clothes were littered across the floor; the small amount of books he owned were ripped off the shelves. 

She stepped closer, the door creaking as she did so. Lori barely made it inside his room when she saw him sitting hunched over on the bed. Tommy’s eyes shot up to look at her, giving her a full view of his black eye. He probably thought she was his father, his hands, already at his sides to push himself back further on the unmade bed. He only relaxed slightly when he saw it was her. 

“What do you want dipshit?” He spat at her. He brought a sleeve of his shirt up to wipe snot away from his nose. He had been crying, Lori had been sure, but pushing things would only make him react worse.

He and Lori were not close, not even in the slightest. But when it came to Elaine and Robert, they were a united front. It was an unspoken rule to be there for the other, even if they didn’t show any signs of wanting affection.

Wordlessly, she reach out to him, handing over an ice pack she had taken from the fridge when she went to grab a water. He only paused for a moment before taking it from her outstretched hand. He sighed with relief as the cool pack touched his battered eye. 

Looking back up at her, Lori could see the silent thank you written in his expression. He didn’t say it out loud, but she knew by his look he meant it. Giving only a nod of understanding, she left. 

Things could probably be better in the Hagan household. But for now, she had to do what she could. Their parents would be gone in a day or two, they never stayed for more than a week, and things could go back to normal. Or, as normal as they could be. 

“Okay, so I’m at work, right.”

“Mhm.”

“And a man comes in looking for a book. So I’m like ‘right this way sir.’ But when I come around the counter, I’m not wearing any pants!”

“Huh.”

“And I start freaking out but it’s too late. The man and everyone else in the store starts laughing and pointing at me.”

“That sounds like a typical fear of being judged dream, Robin,” Lori told her friend, shouting slightly over the noise of the cafeteria. 

Sitting amongst the crowd of students was not Lori’s first call. It was always so loud she could never concentrate on the people in front of her. But she and Robin had band practice after lunch and their usual spot near the bleachers was too far away to make it on time for class.

Lori took another bite of her sandwich, watching as her best friend cleaned the valves of her trumpet. She had been complaining of not being able to push down the keys. 

“Yeah but like, I’m used to getting those dreams about school, not work,” Robin said, picking up a cleaning cloth, working at the valves again. 

“So what, you’re afraid you’re gonna forget your pants at work now?”

“No, I have too much anxiety to let that happen,” she said, making them both chuckle.

“Hey, big brain!” A voice shouted.They both looked up to see Tommy walking by, his arm draped over his girlfriend with Steve trailing behind him. Steve had a smug look just like her brother, but Lori felt like there was more behind his eyes. Was it determination?

Tommy pointed a finger at her and continued, “Be in the parking lot at three , no exceptions, or I’ll leave without you.”

Lori scrunched her face. Her parents were gone again and only left one car this time. She would have to carpool with her brother until further notice. “Oh, how caring you are,” she mocked. 

Tommy flipped her the bird before walking away with Carol. But Steve lingered behind for a moment. 

“Hey,” he said, “Given it any more thought?”

Lori excused herself for a moment, standing up to meet him a couple of feet away from the table. “Yeah. Listen, Harrington, I don’t think I’ll be much help. I’m sorry.”

The smug look he was wearing faltered for a second at her words. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting — for most of his life people didn’t turn him down. Clearing his throat, he looked around to see if anyone saw him. “No, it’s cool,” he said backing up and running his hands through his hair — always the damn hair. 

“If you really want to go after Wheeler, maybe ask her for help studying. Show initiative and all that I bet she’ll love it.”

“You think so?”

Shrugging, Lori said, “It’s worth a shot.”

“Not a bad idea, Hagan,” he said, backing up more. He waved a hand goodbye as he turned to greet Jason who was ushering him over to their spot. 

Lori turned back to the table, sat down, and took another bite of her sandwich. Robin, however, was stunned at the interaction. 

“Who was that?” she asked, confused. How did Lori know a boy like that?

“Steve Harrington, he’s friends with my brother,” Lori responded. 

She nodded, looking off to where Steve could still be spotted on the other side of the cafeteria. “You know now that you say it, he looks familiar. I think he sits in front of me in Click’s class.”

After a full day of successfully ignoring her teachers in class, Lori made it to the parking lot on time. As much as she hated her brother, she did not want to walk home from school. They were back to their normal bickering now that their parents were gone again, the dinner incident never to be brought up.

Tommy was leaning against the hood of his car, tapping his foot aggressively while looking at his watch. She was a few minutes late, yes, but she didn’t think it would be a problem. But by the expression written across his face, his eyebrows scrunching until they were barely visible, she knew he was having a bad day.

As Lori neared the car, he looked up. “There you are, jeez I was just about to leave.”

“I had a class on the other side of campus, doofus, I got here as fast as I could,” Lori retorted. 

Not waiting for another one of his stupid remarks, she got in the passenger side door. If he was going to have one of his bad days, bitching at anyone who pissed him off, so be it. That didn’t mean she had to stand it. Tommy stepped into the car and slammed the door shut, the sound echoing throughout the car. With a long sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair.

Lori asked in the politest tone she could, “No Carol today?”

Starting the car, he backed out of his parking space. “Nah, she wanted to go get ready. Harrington’s having a get-together tonight,” he replied. 

Of course. Nancy was probably invited, an attempt to finally woo her over. Lori hadn’t noticed she said that last part out loud.

“Yeah, he’s had his eye on Wheeler for a while. Surprised you noticed what with your head stuck in those music sheets,” he said. He lowered his voice, and mumbled to himself. “Fucking flute.”

“It’s a clarinet,” she retorted immediately.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the window. Her brother didn’t need to know that she was probably the reason Steve was going to get Nancy in the first place. That he was such a lost puppy he took advice from his best friend’s little sister. As they pulled onto the residential streets, Lori let out a long sigh, resting her head against the window.

“Jeez would you just shut the fuck up,” Tommy snapped at her. 

Wide-eyed, she turned to him. “I let out a breath.”

“Yeah, well it’s annoying.”

Tommy pulled into the empty driveway. As expected, their parent’s weren’t home. When both Tommy and Lori became teenagers, their parents remained mostly absent in their kids’ lives. They even stopped coming home for Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah. 

That meant that every time she and her brother got into a fight, there was no intermediary. No one to break apart their constant battles. It was starting to weigh on Lori. All the fighting, all the hatred building up toward the only person she constantly saw. It needed to stop.

And as something as simple as breathing tipped her over the edge. 

Lori got out of the car, slamming the door shut.  "Why are you like this!” she yelled.

Tommy leaned against the hood to look over at her. “Like what? A normal fucking person? Try and be normal for once huh? Stop playing that fucking flute every five seconds.”

“It’s a clarinet!” she shouted back correcting him again.“You would know that if you actually talked to me! Everything I do is wrong. I walk into a room, it’s wrong. I sit on the couch, you yell at me. I so much as breathe and it’s the worst thing to happen since the Kennedy Assassination!”

Tommy looked taken aback, his eyes widened, stretching his face full of freckles. He had never seen her this way. With so much rage and energy. Every dis he threw her way she absorbed like a sponge — but not anymore.

“I’m your sister, Tommy,” she added her voice growing weaker with every word. “Not some kid at school you can push into a locker.”

She didn’t wait for a response, knowing she wouldn’t get one. No, scratch that. She knew she wouldn’t get a good response. In a couple of minutes, he’d be storming up the stairs, bursting into her room to tell her that she doesn’t get to talk to him that way. 

In the quiet, she waited to hear those foot steps, the thumping that would shake her floors. That would make her tense as her door flew open. But those loud steps never came — she was surprised to hear a knock instead. 

“What?” Lori asked annoyed.

Slowly the door opened, and Tommy stuck his face in. This was unlike him, to knock in their house, to wait awkwardly in the door before getting permission to step into her room. She gave him a nod, letting him know it was okay.

He stepped inside, hesitantly placing a hand on her dresser that stood near while looking at the ground. 

“Sorry,” he blurted it out. 

If was a half-ass apology but then again, she had never seen him show remorse. Drastic change couldn’t come overnight, but this was definitely a step in the right direction. 

“It’s fine,” she said, turning back to her bed to empty the contents of her backpack.

“You should come tonight — to Harrington’s thing. It’s not really a party just Carol and Nancy are coming over. I think Wheeler’s bringing a friend.”

Lori shook her head. “It’s fine, I don’t wanna third wheel.”

He nodded, straightening his posture again. And then, he was gone. She sat in silence for a moment. It was such a small conversation, yet, it fell as the entire world had shifted. 

She hoped it was for the better. 

The party came and went and the only reason Lori knew it was a success was because Nancy Wheeler was now attached to Steve’s hip. Everywhere he went, she followed and Lori seriously considered selling her relationship advice. If the king of the school could get the future valedictorian with her help? Her advice must be gold. 

Lori had plans to hang out with Robin after school but Tommy still had to drive her. Begrudgingly, they walked up the hill to where the seniors usually parked. 

“She assigned another paper,” Lori told her friend as the trotted upwards.

Robin groaned. “Ugh, I have her tomorrow that is not the news I wanted to hear.”

“It should be easy, I mean, we only covered a couple of chapters this week—“

“Woah, look!” Robin interrupted her. 

Across the lot, Tommy stood with a hand perched on the hood of his car. He was cradling something in his hand, something too far away for Lori to see. Carol and Nicole Anderson were next to him, arms crossed. Just a few feet away Steve stood, Nancy at his side. But there was another person, one she couldn’t make out standing across from all of them. Lori squinted, trying to figure out who it was. They were wearing a jean jacket, a messenger bag slumped lazily across their shoulder, looking as it it were about to fall off.

“Is that Jonathan Byers?” Lori asked. 

“I think so,” Robin replied. 

They watched as Tommy handed the item he was holding over to Steve. Jonathan immediately lunged for it. The object looked a little more clear; was it a camera?

Robin whispered to Lori, “Shit, what is Harrington doing?” 

“I don’t know,” Lori replied. “But I don’t like it.”

Deciding to confront him, she began walking again, their voices becoming clearer with every stride she took. Robin wasn’t far behind, trying to match her stride.

“Man, that’s the thing about perverts.” Steve said. He reached forward, adjusting Jonathan’s jacket. “It’s hardwired into them, you know, they can’t help themselves.”

He took a photo from her brother’s hand ripping it up. Tommy laughed maniacally behind him. “We’ll just have to take away his toy.”

“Steve,” Nancy pleaded, but Tommy was already holding Jonathan back.

“Please, not the camera no, no, wait —“

“Tommy stop!” Lori shouted, stepping forward. Her brother turned to look at her, noticing her presence for the first time. There was a slight falter in his look, one she didn’t expect to see. 

Steve turned too, noticing her. They locked eyes and Lori could swear she could see something twitch in him. Like he was embarrassed she was seeing this side of him. Over the past few months, they had been seeing more of each other than every before and Lori liked to think she knew him. Knew him well enough to say that the tough “King Steve” everyone knew was just an act. She hoped that dating Nancy, sweet Nancy who had never done a thing wrong in her life, would help change him. Clearly she was wrong. 

Clearing his throat, Steve looked away. “Tommy, Tommy, It’s okay,” he said, still with Jonathan’s camera in his hand. He turned to the guy, holding it out. “Here you go, man.”

Jonathan sighed with relief and reached forward but before he could catch the camera, Steve let it fall to the ground. It smashed into a million pieces, shards flying in every direction as the lens detached from the camera. Lori could tell from the shock on Jonathan’s face that there would be no hope in repairing it.  Nicole and Carol gasped as it hit the floor. Tommy, laughing as he pulled his girlfriend to him by her waist. 

Robin, who was silently watching the whole interaction, stepped forward to help Jonathan on the ground. But Lori couldn’t stop staring at Steve. He was so nice when they talked in private. Always paying attention, like what she was saying was the most important thing he had ever heard. 

She had spent so many years trying to impress her parents, be the child they wanted. Avoiding her brother who was the only one who understood her ,but chose to be an asshole. Hiding away in her room, barely feeling like she was a person…

Through all that, Steve felt like a breath of fresh air. 

But then she would see him in public, where she guessed his reputation was more important than people’s emotions. She made sure to stare him down, to burn into him that he had made the wrong decision but he was already turning away.

Reaching out for Nancy, he said, “Come on, the game is about to start.” 

They began to walk away, Tommy and Carol following, leaving Jonathan Byers broken and alone. “You were supposed to drive us home asshole!” Lori yelled after her brother. 

Barely turning around, he threw his keys. They landed on the cement in front of her. The clanking of metal echoing with every rock it hit. “Drive yourselves!” he shouted back.

Sighing, she picked up the keys, turning to help Robin pick up the scraps of Johnathan’s camera. “Sorry about them, they can be dicks,” Lori said. 

“Huge dicks,” Robin added.

Jonathan shook his head, taking the remains of his camera and photos and pushing them into his bag. “It’s fine,” he said, standing up. “I mean, it’s not fine, but… I’ll live.”

Nodding, Robin turned to look at her, unsure of how they were supposed to end the conversation. It was awkward, talking to him about mundane things when he had bigger things to worry about. 

A couple days ago, Robin had shown her the morning paper where the headline was a picture of Will Byers, Jonathan’s littler brother. He had gone missing, last seen biking home the night before and was yet to be found. 

“I-if you need help or anything, looking for Will,” Lori said cautiously. “We’re here”

He gave a polite smile, “Thanks.” 

Then, he was gone, running back to his own car with ripped photos and a broken camera. 

“That was…” she started, not knowing what to think. 

“Yeah…” Robin finished, sharing the same sentiment. “I don’t know about you, but, with your brother not home we could finally finish that movie we rented.”

“Oh shit, yeah. Let’s go.”

Lori got in the driver’s side of Tommy’s car, adjusting the seat to her liking. Robin was already fiddling with the radio, going on about her predictions for the end of the movie but Lori’s mind was still back there — with Tommy and Steve and the broken camera. She knew Steve was the “king” of the school but she expected more from him. Maybe the old Steve she knew, the one that was nice and helped clean up the dishes after dinner, was finally gone. 

A hurricane hit the Hagan household. Not a literal one but with the amount of crashing and booming coming from upstairs someone would think one did. Lori barely had time to put her bags down before the sounds erupted through the house. Her first thought was that someone was in danger. Maybe there was a burglar, a kidnapper. Maybe whoever took Will Byers was coming after her or her family.

Quickly, Lori took her clarinet out of her case, gripping it firmly in one hand. It was the closest thing to a weapon, and she didn’t exactly care if it got damaged. Either her mom would replace it or finally let her quit, neither were bad outcomes. The crash sounded like it came from upstairs, and as she slowly rounded the corner, the second floor coming into view, she could see Tommy’s door swung open. 

Slowly, she approached it, her eyes going wide at the scene she saw. The room was a mess; clothes everywhere, the desk flipped over. It really was like a hurricane struck his room — no kidnapper in sight.

Her bother laid against his bed on the floor, a bloody hand she guessed was from the fist-sized hole in the wall. He was breathing heavily, staring off into space like she wasn’t even there. With a raggedy breath, she tried to call out to him.

“What?” he asked, his voice hoarse, not even bothering to look up.

All Lori could manage was, “Are you okay?” He looked back, like really bad. Despite the blood and the bruise she knew was from their father on his last trip home, there were wet stains down his cheeks. He had been crying, and not in a carthardic way. 

He looked up at her, his brows furrowing in confusion. It was like he was surprised she still cared about him. Taken aback, he stuttered, “I-I think so?”

Lori kneeled down in front of him to inspect his hand. His knuckles were bruised, but it was nothing time couldn’t heel. Turning it over, he winced at the contact. There was blood splayed across his palm — he must have cut in on something because the blood didn’t look like it was stopping any time soon.

“You need bandages or else this thing is gonna keep bleeding.”

“When did you become a medical expert?”

“Since our parents stopped showing their faces. Since dad deciding you were a human punching bag,” she said, not thinking before speaking. 

They never talked about their parents absence, or the way Tommy would come out of arguments with a bruised eye. She always thought it was a touchy subject for him and being the loud and abrasive person he was; Lori didn’t want to start more drama.

“Sorry—“

“No, it’s fine,” he interrupted. “Dad’s an asshole, it’s a fact…”

“Why did you do this Tommy?” she asked with what she hoped he would realized was true sincerity.

“Steve uh…” he began. He looked down into his lap. His mouth scrunched at the corners, like he was forcing himself to say it. “He yelled at me and Carol…I don’t think we’re friends anymore.”

“Steve?” she asked, making sure she heard right. “You guys have been friends for forever I don’t think he would just—“

“No, Lori,” he said, forcing her to meet his eyes. “I fucked up, there’s no friendship to be saved.”

What was she supposed to say to that? Sorry you were a dick you’re whole life and you’re just now realizing?

Instead of saying that all to him, she stood up. “I’m going to the drug store to get you some bandages. We’ll clean your room later.”

He gave a simple nod, nothing more needing to be said. She gathered her things quickly, rushing to Tommy’s car. Tommy might not have been a supportive brother, but she could see the change starting to form in him, ever since the afternoon before Steve’s party. Maybe this was what was best for her brother. Maybe Steve leaving was push he needed to become a better person.

She passed the movie theater, some very awful things spray-painted over the movie titles. Tommy probably had something to do with that, she thought, but that wasn’t her mind priority. Making a mental note in her head of the things she needed, she got out of her car. As she did so, the last person she wanted to see looked at her.

“Hey, Lori.” Steve Harrington was propped up on the hood of his car holding a bag of peas to a black eye.

“Harrington,” she said plainly. If he was going to continue to pick on loners and damage their property, he didn’t need her nice gestures. “Who was the lucky guy that got to punch you?” 

He scoffed, leaning back on the hood. “Byers, unfortunately.”

“Byers?” He nodded. “Wow, good for him.”

“Yeah… I mean I deserved it so…”

It was awkward, them talking like this when there were no more ties that held them together. “So… you and Tommy? Dropping your best friend like that?”

“He was more of a douche bag than me,” he said, trying to defend his actions.

“I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m actually surprised it took you this long.”

She watched him roll his eyes. “I didn’t like the person I became with him.”

Lori shrugged. “I don’t think anyone did.”

He took a moment to respond, looking down at the ground like he was disappointed in himself. “I’m an asshole,” he said softly. 

“You’re not an asshole, Steve,” Lori replied. “You were just lost. And if cutting my brother off was what you needed to find yourself again, then I say it was worth it.”

Nodding, he looked off behind her. She followed his gaze to the movie theater graffiti. “That your doing?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Tommy’s. But I’m gonna help fix it.” He got off the hood of his car, taking a moment to straighten his posture. “Bye, Lori.”

“Bye, Steve,” she replied, watching as he walked off to help. 

It felt weird as she watched him walk away. It felt like a final goodbye. To not only King Steve but to their relationship. With him and Tommy not being friends there was no reason for them to talk or interact. It was bittersweet, watching him walking out of her life, hopefully becoming a better person in the process.

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Her shoes were cracking. It was an odd thing for Lori to notice as she walked home from school; but the pain on the soles of her feet was getting harder to ignore. 

Every slam of her foot against the pavement sent a reminder that it had been almost three years since she had gotten a new pair. She was a growing girl, almost done with seventh grade, and her feet would burst from the seems if she didn’t get a new pair soon. She made a mental reminder to ask her mother when she got home. Granted, she didn’t know when that would be. 

Lori saw no cars in the driveway as her home came into view. But that was normal. She couldn’t remember the last time she even saw her father. Plus, it was only three in the afternoon. With her brother constantly out with friends, Lori took pleasure in knowing she would have the house to herself. Even if it was just for a few hours.

Hiking her bag higher up her shoulder, she entered, making her way swiftly to the kitchen. She had a desk in her room but with no one home, sitting at the kitchen table for homework seemed like a nice change of scenery. With a loud bang, she let her bag fall on the table, the sound echoing through the room.

There was a yelp — and it didn’t come from her. 

She turned quickly to find the source of the noise on the other side of the room. Her brother was standing there, hands full of junk food. The pantry creaked open behind him. 

“Lori,” Tommy said, surprised by his sister’s presence. “I didn’t know you would be home this early.”

To say her relationship with her brother was rocky would be an understatement. She was only a year younger than him but it felt like they couldn’t be further apart. While he was loud and abrasive, she was quite and kept to herself. He was a bully, but their parents stopped reprimanding his behavior years ago. It seemed like there was no change in sight.

“Yeah,” Lori said to him. She scratched the back of her neck, the sudden urge to do something instead of standing still. “Um, band practice got cancelled so…” 

Tommy nodded, before looking down at the floor. At first, she thought he was just avoiding her eye-line. But the more he stared down, the more she began to realize that he was looking at something. Something she couldn’t see from the other side of the kitchen island. Slowly, a figure rose beside him. 

It was a boy, one the she had never seen before. He had unkept brown hair and a shirt with too many stripes to count. He too was holding an obscene amount of junky food in his arms. It looked liked he was having trouble balancing all of it, but made no move to ask for help. He turned his head toward her brother and Lori could see a scattering of freckles and moles across his neck.

The boy turned back to look at her with a small smile. All Lori could do was nod, finding it hard to say anything else in his presence. He was so tall, for presumably an eighth grader. She wondered if he had always been that way; taller than the rest, looming over everyone around him. 

He motioned to a bag of chips that dangled loosely between his fingers. “Dropped these…” he said softly.

Tommy rolled his eyes, not bothering to comment on the weird energy in the room. He nudged the boy’s arm, ushering him to follow to what Lori assumed was his usual hang out spot, the basement. Without a second look, Tommy began to walk away.

The boy opened his mouth slightly, like he wanted to say something to Tommy as he walked out of sight. He turned back to Lori who was still standing awkwardly on the other side of the room. She shifted her weight back and forth. He seemed surprised in a way; that his friend wouldn’t introduce him to the girl before standing before him. 

But Lori knew her brother all too well. She could only think about how naive this new friend was. He seemed so nice, so put together compared to her brother. She got sad at the thought that all of that would soon change. Her brother had an effect on people. To make them just as rude and entitled as himself. She silently mourned for this boy, of who he was, and what he would probably become. 

“I-I’m Steve,” the boy said, deciding to make the introductions himself. “Steve Harrington.” 

“Lauren,” she replied quickly. “Tommy’s sister.”

She watched him take in the information with a nod as she silently cursed to herself. She didn’t know why she used her full name. But there was something about this boy that made her fluster. Something that made her heart skip when he looked in her direction. She couldn’t remember the last time a boy had made her feel that way.

Steve nodded, looking off in the direction her brother had left.

“Down the hallway on the left,” she informed him.

“Thanks,” he said relieved, turning to walk off only pausing for a moment. “Nice meeting you.”

“Same.”

As he disappeared down the hall, Lori was left with a warm smile on her face. Steve was so nice in the early days. Thanking her mother when he left, making sure to take his shoes off before stepping inside. There was only so much Tommy Hagan you could take before you start to see changes. 

Lori often looked back on those early days with a sense of fondness. Because as quickly as they started, they passed. Soon smiles were given less, shoes tracked mud through her home, and Steve would walk out the front door without saying his goodbyes to anyone. It was like he was a carbon copy of her bother and she hated it. 

At the end of the day, two Tommy’s wouldn’t be the worse thing to endure. But then Carol Perkins came along. There was maybe one week when the boys first met her that every one was civil — or, as civil as they could be. But then Tommy asked her out and they hadn’t been separated since. 

As the years went by, the Hagan parents seemed to be home even less. Always off on some extravagant work party, which meant Carol became a live-in guest. And even worse, it meant that they could have sex constantly without care for anyone else around. 

There was one night in particular, during Lori’s sophomore year, that she remembered passing by 

Tommy’s room, subject to the most unbelievable noises. They made no effort to hide their moans or the creaking of the bed. Scrunching her face in disgust, she made her way to the kitchen. 

The tiles were cold against her feet. There was a chill in the air and the unlit room almost too dark to see. It was easy to get used to being alone. So when she looked up to see someone in the room, she jumped backwards with a gasp. It took a moment for her to realize it was just Steve. Sitting hunched over at the counter as he absent-mindedly tapped his fingers against the marble. 

“Oh, hey,” she said hesitantly, pulling down the hem of her shorts that traveled just a bit too far up her thighs. 

He still noticed, looking her up and down slightly before back at the counter. “Hey,” he replied.

It felt weird being alone with him. Sure, it had happened once or twice in the four years since they had met. But it was never for more than a few moments. Tommy had made it clear from the start that Steve was his friend, not hers. She didn’t mind though, once he started acting as brazen as her brother. 

Opening the fridge, she hid herself behind the door and basked in the cool light. She tried to think of something to say, anything to keep the awkward silence to a minimum. It was something that always annoyed her, the silence left behind when there was nothing to say. In her mind, she had to keep speaking, even when she didn’t want to.

“I thought you left a while ago,” she stated, grabbing a bottle of water. Good, keep it short and sweet, no need to be a busybody.

She took a water for Steve as well, placing it before him on the island counter. He gave a weak smile as he took it and said, “I was supposed to be sleeping over tonight before Carol showed up…”

Lori nodded in recognition of the extremely inappropriate things happening upstairs, trying her best to still block out the faint noise in the distance.

“I uh, I guess I just didn’t want to go home,” he added, continuing to play with his hands resting on the counter. 

Something about the way he admitted that made Lori stutter. It was like that little boy she had met back in seventh grade was still in there, tightly locked up for few to see. She wondered if he meant to share that detail with her or if it just slipped out. 

“Well, you’re still more than welcome to sleep here. The guest bedroom is at the other end of the hall so you won’t have to hear those animals,” said Lori, motioning toward the stairs. 

Steve chuckled, looking up to meet her gaze for a moment. “Yeah, animals.”

“I’m sorry on behalf of him. I swear he doesn’t know how to behave,” she said, taking a swig of water. She let the bottle linger on her mouth longer than she usually would, hoping to come up with something to say. “Last week I came home to see Jason Carver in the living room, no Tommy in sight. I walked in with Wallace and we spotted him and… well he gave Jason a key and didn’t tell me.” 

“To be fair, I have a key,” he responded, his eyebrows raising slightly as he spoke. 

“Well you’re not Jason Carver, you’re…” she paused, not knowing where she was going with the conversation. Steve looked up from the counter, his gaze focused on her, too intrigued by how she would end the sentence. “You,” she finished. It wasn’t the most glorious ending but Steve got the point. He had been around the longest, the only one who could call Tommy on his most egregious bullshit.

“I see your point,” Steve responded, looking back down at his hands. 

Lori felt her cheeks start to warm up and knew her flushed complexion would still be visible in the darkness of the kitchen. Slowly, she backed away. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah. See ya, Lauren.”

The mention of her full name made her pause. He always called her that, after all, that’s how she introduced herself the day they met. But something in her felt the courage to correct him. 

She turned to faced him again. “Call me Lori,” she said, trying not to give her words too much thought. She tugged at the label on her water anxiously. “That’s what all my friends call me anyways, it’s just easier.”

Without missing a beat, Steve smirked, looking her up and down again. “All right, Lori.”

There was something about how he said her nickname that made her want to giggle and kick her feet. Over the years he really learned how to be persuading — though she didn’t know if that was what he was doing now. Trying not to blush, she gave him a curt nod, then scurried back upstairs to the comfort of her room. 

For the third time that week, Lori’s path crossed with Steve Harrington. She never remembered seeing him so much at school. Was it just a coincidence, or was she becoming more aware of his presence? 

The hallways were crowded, students trying to get to their next class. Someone ran passed her, probably trying to be early — it was probably a freshman. No scratch that, definitely, a freshman. They were the only ones that had a sense of urgency at the school. Most students gave up on timeliness by the end of their second semester. 

Lori turned down the corridor, lost in thought by the scrambling kid when she came face to face with Steve. He chuckled softly as they swayed from foot to foot, trying to step around each other but ended up going the same way. With no end in sight, Steve grabbed her shoulders and maneuvered her to one side. She tried to suppress the blush she knew was forming on her cheeks. 

Embarrassed by the interaction she said a polite thanks before turning to take off. Steve, however, called after her. 

“Hey wait, can I ask you something?” He tugged on her sleeve in an attempt to get her to stay. “It might be weird.”

Confused, she turned back to fully face him. She gripped the straps of her backpack tight, unsure of what to do with her hands. “Uh sure? What’s up?”

She watched as he looked around the hallway, probably making sure no one of importance was watching before he spoke. Tommy might have been one of the popular kids but he made sure that status didn’t pass along to his sister. 

He must had deemed their surroundings safe as he turned back to look down at her. “What do you look for in a guy?” 

Out of all the things, for him to ask, his question was the most unexpected. She stumbled out a response, trying to look anywhere but directly at him. “I uh…I don’t really know…humor I guess?” He shook his head with a sigh, definitely not what he was thinking of. “Do you wanna give me a little bit more context? I’m kind of lost here.”

He looked around the hall at the students passing by again, like Carol or her brother would materialize out of nowhere. “I…” he stopped, trying to reframe his question. “Are studious guys something that girls are into?”

Lori shrugged. “I mean, for some sure. Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about asking out Nancy Wheeler and she’s just different from the other girls I’ve dated ya know? She doesn’t care that I’m like King Steve.”

Lori scoffed. “I mean, I don’t care that you’re King Steve.”  

“Yeah, that’s why I’m asking you she’s just— she cares a lot about school and shit and I figured she would be into guys that care about that stuff too. Does that sound about right? I know she’s in your grade.”

“We’re not really friends. I’ve barely spoken to her,” Lori said, watching as disappointment filled his eyes. He raked a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath.

Something felt…different. Steve was not known for his subtly with the ladies, going through at least one or two a semester since she’d known him. But Nancy Wheeler? Out of all the girls he could have chosen, she felt like the one to avoid. A good girl with good grades who definitely knew better than to go out with Steve Harrington. 

So if Steve was going after her, that could only mean one thing. He had a crush. Lori lost her balance momentarily at the realization, thankful Steve hadn’t noticed despite standing directly in front of her. She had never known him to have a crush, only going out with girls in the hopes of other engagements. But a crush on Nancy Wheeler? It meant he was serious, or as serious as he could be given his past. 

“Listen, Harrington,” she continued, "If I had to guess, yeah, she probably would be into more school-focused guys. I don’t know if that’s what you wanted to hear but it would be my best guess.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he mumbled to himself, letting go of the grip he had now just realized he still had on her arm. Stepping back, he ran a hand through his hair. The jock persona reactivating with a smirk to top it off. “Thanks,” he said with a winking before walking away. 

Lori tried to reply but he was too far down the hall to hear. “No problem…” 

Why was she helping him with this shit? It was always the same. He was nice and less of a douche in private and then turned all cocky when there were people around. She could see the ways Tommy rubbed off on him and she didn’t like it one bit. 

Thankfully, it was almost a full four days before she ran into him again. This time back at her house. She was sitting in the kitchen, trying to finish some homework on the glass table her parents thought was a good idea to get. After so many years of two children running around it was barely transparent, scratches covering most of the surface. 

As she finished another assignment, Lori paused to take a look at her watch. Band practice was approaching and she needed to make sure to leave in time, since Tommy nor her parents would be driving her. Noting the time, she looked up to see Steve sauntering down the stairs in search of a Coke. 

He stumbled slightly when he saw her in the kitchen. Lori looked up with acknowledgment before turning back to her work; it was hard to find it surprising when they just kept bumping into each other. 

Silently he opened the fridge, the sound of Tommy’s music blasting loud from his stereo upstairs. They both looked up at the noise, some new rock song she didn’t know. As their eyes drifted back down to the kitchen, they landed on each other. It was only a moment before both of them chuckled slightly. Lori turned back to her notebook and Steve opened his can of soda. 

“I don’t know why you hang out with him,” she said, opting to be the one to start the conversation. She looked up at him — he was slowly making his way across the room to the other side of the table. “He’s a dick.”

Steve laughed. “He’s not that bad,” he said, taking a seat. “When Carol’s not around, ya know?”

He took a sip . “Carol’s always around,” she said, making him choke on his drink with a snicker. “I mean, she might not be around today but this is a rare occurrence.”

“Yeah that’s true…” he said, wiping away the spilled drink from his lips. “Tommy was one of the first people to really get me, ya know? After everything with my parents—“

He stopped himself with the sudden realization that he was oversharing. Shaking his head, he tried to smile, to brighten the mood again. “Never mind,” he said, standing up.

Just as he was about to leave, he stopped himself, hovering in the doorway. Restarting the conversation, he said, “Hey. That thing we were talking about earlier this week? The studying?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Maybe you could tutor me.”

“What?” she asked, the word coming out more of a chuckle. She didn’t know if was kidding or not. His face barely moved a muscle. 

“Yeah, like — Nancy likes smart guys right? You’re the smartest person I know and—“

“I strongly doubt that,” she interrupted him.

“You know like five different languages!”

“Three,” she corrected him. It sounded impressive, when you blankly state it like that. But when you really think of it, two of them were for practical reasons. English being her first language and the other two being from her parents respective cultures. It wasn’t something she talked about often but Tommy also knew them so she figured Steve found out through him.

“Still…” Steve pleaded. “If you could help me like, get my grades up or something maybe she’ll give me a shot.”

Sighing, she started debating it in her head. Helping Steve get better grades to woo a girl? It wasn’t something she particularly wanted to do. They barely knew each other, she wouldn’t even call them friends. She had no favors for him, nothing in her that needed to say yes. He was Tommy’s friend and nothing more.

“I’m a grade younger than you, Steve,” she told him, trying to let him down easily.

“I know for a fact you could handle the work.” She shook her head, not answering him back. “Look you don’t need to take tests for me or anything. Just help me build a good studying pattern, stuff like that.”

Looking up at him, she said, “Let me think about it?”

He smirked, raising his hands out from his sides. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

Chuckling, she bid him goodbye, trying her hardest to focus back on the homework in front of her. 

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