𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇; 𝘴. 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯

one

y/n

Blankly, I stared at my television screen, the rays burning my eyes, but I did not blink. I could not bring myself to miss even a millisecond of the news headline of the morning.

The face of my father was being etched into my brain. His wrinkling fore, furrowed brows, and floppy chestnut hair. His smile was almost bigger than his face in the picture the news department had chosen. I remember the day it was taken as a good one; my 6th birthday.

My father took me to my favorite restaurant in L.A. and then took me to the fair. He and mom were in a heated argument that morning so she was not there. I was amazed by the elegance of the restaurant even though I had been there multiple times before. It was the type of elegance that I could only dream of now.

After my father was shot, mom and I were forced to move back to her hometown, Hawkins, Indiana. We could no longer afford the costly lifestyle of Los Angeles. It took me a while to adjust to living in Hawkins full-time as it was drastically bipolar from L.A. but I viewed the smalltown as my home now.

''Remembering Christopher Winston 10 years after he was shot to death outside of his L.A. home.''

The phrase replayed in my mind over and over. I let it consume me, keep me frozen in place. I was stuck like this until my mother burst into the room, ''Y/n! Get in the car! It's your first day back!''

Her words sprung me back into reality, yet I remained sitting on the couch with my hands clasped together in my lap.

I whipped my head around to see her. Taking in her crippled state was hard as always. Her hands were shaky and her skin was pale. The bags under her eyes were particularly heavy today.

"Mom," I frowned getting up and advancing towards her, "You need to rest, I can drive myself."

She gave me looked at me hesitantly but ultimately gave me a nod of approval, "Be safe, honey" she smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

"I will, love you!"

Grabbing the car keys from her, along with my backpack, I made my way to the driveway and into the car.

~

The crowded sea of familiar faces filled me with a rush of adrenaline. My eyes were overwhelmed and could not focus on a single thing, yet I tried my hardest to locate my group of friends, Nancy Wheeler more importantly.

Nancy and I had been friends for as long as I could remember. We met at daycare when we were 4 years old and our moms, who also happened to be close friends, urged for us to connect. Their hope for a friendship to bloom between their daughters was fulfilled as Nancy and I were now 16 and still inseparable.

As we transitioned into high school, we were terrified of the idea of making new friends, but that fear was thrown out the window when I met Steve Harrington, the boy with pretty hair in my science class.

Meeting Steve changed everything. He was well known at Hawkins High due to him being on the basketball team. Although he was amazingly good at what he did, he remained stricken with some flaws. Steve could get ignorant and angry and would lose control of his emotions, resulting in him getting into fights and receiving bad grades. Yet, he could
never stay upset for long; I admired that.

My eyes locked with Nancy's. She was leaning on her locker, books pressed into her chest. She was surrounded by Steve and his best friend, Tommy. From the corner of my eye, I could see Tommy's girlfriend, Carol approaching the group.

"The Princess of Hawkins has returned!" Steve laughed, embracing me. He smelled like cigarettes and fresh mint and I tried to remember that as I pulled away.