𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙥! 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

SCENE TWO. changes of two

and the girl walked away from the mall, holding the tub of ice cream in her hand. and there was a smile on her face, it was only small of course. but there was a smile. and she noted that this was the best cherry ice cream she had ever had. 

"hey hun, how was the mall?" a voice asked as the door opened, her mother appearing from the kitchen. holding a plate as she wiped it dry. 

"had an ice cream, got your shopping." she smiled as she joined her mother in the kitchen. 

"it's weird, isn't it? being back here?" piper asked as she got the vegetables her mum had asked her to get out of her bag. some carrots and onions. her mother smiled as she grabbed them from her daughter. handing over the mince, sauce and pasta from her bag. see her mum, had asked her to go out and buy food for their food. tomorrow the two would go shopping for actual stuff for their old, new house. see piper used to live here, in hawkins. a very long time ago.  but had moved away after her first year in highschool. after the bullying got too bad. and their father ordered them to move back to new york. and the only reason they had come back was the divorce. which she had not been happy about, even if it were a long time coming. 

"we have spaghetti bolognese then.'' piper asked noting the indergredtians for the meal as her mum smiled. 

"dad's favourite.'' piper mumbled to herself as her mum nodded over her shoulder to her daughter who was now making her way to her old, new room. the room was still the same bright pink colour she had left them. the same pictures hung on the walls, the same posters. and she felt almost sick. the pictures she had let up, the ones of her old friends which had turned against her. including the man who she had bought the ice cream from. but the boy behind the counter acted the same way stee had before highschool. before wanting to be popular. but it seemed they had both changed, because that girl in the picture was no longer her. she no longer had the gap teeth, and no longer had the very frizzy hair. her favourite colour was no longer pink, but red. 

"pip. tea's done." her mother shouted and piper finally zoned back in. now realising  how long she had stood and stared at the photo wall. and piper picked herself up and joined her mum in the dining room. 

"i missed it here, in some kind of way.'' piper said as she lifted the forkful of her food. her mother watching her daughter, noticing something different about her. that including the small smile written on her features, for the first time in a long time. 

"okay, what's up? you've been all smiling since we got here." her mother asked her to take another bite of her food. 

"i'm just glad to have a new start again."

"speaking of which, we're going shopping tomorrow. are you thinking of redecorating?" she asked again and piper was quick to nod, agreeing with her mum. her old room needed to be redecorated.

"i met somebody i used to know." piper added as she took another bite of her food. her mum is curving her brow. 

"who?" she asked, her face twisted in confusion. they only arrived here this morning. and she was running into people. she only hoped it was the right people.

"steven harrington." and there it was, her mother's face falling at the name. 

"ah. him." she spat, the two now drowning in silence. especially after that name was mentioned once more. 

when steve arrived home from work that day, he noticed that his brother's car was actually pulled up for the first time in a while. he usually only came home really late at night and went to work by the morning. and for once there was actually food on the table, definitely one of michael's specialties. 

“micheal.” steve said as his brother appeared from the kitchen carrying glasses. their dad picked his ass from the sofa to join them at the table.

“steven.” micheal said back, noticing his brother’s presence as he sat down at the table. and as usual silence hung in the air of the harrington household. the only sound was the tv playing from the front room. 

"met a girl today.'' steve said as he scooped up a spoonful of the rice from his plate. shovelling it into his mouth as if he were some kind pig. 

"how surprising." micheal spat, glaring down his brother as he took his own bite of the dry chicken. 

"her name was piper." he said softly smiling as he thought about the girl who had bought the cherry ice cream earlier at scoops ahoy.

"piper what?" michael asked, looking up at his younger brother who was now cutting into his chicken. but steve didn’t look up, instead just continued to stab at his chicken. 

"piper parker."

"steven harrington, have you lost your mind?" micheal asked, dropping his spoon as he stood from the table. their dad rolling his eyes at his two sons.

"what?" steve asked, snapping his head to look up at his brother. the boy who’s face had gone slightly pink,and his lips had pressed into a tight lip. 

"piper parker? are you taking the piss?" michael spat again. looking at his brother as if he were delusional. like a mad man. 

"why, what's wrong with piper?" he asked, steven just couldn;t understand what michael's problem was. steve didn’t know her so how would michael. it just didn’t make any sense. 

"you bullied her for two years when you were going into highschool." michael spat. and it finally clicked in steve's head. the familiar face. piper parker. and he dropped back into the seat. burying his head in his hands. oh fuck.

"you two used to be friends as well. poor girl well back in middle school.” michael laughed as he sat back in his chair, their father mumbling as he picked up his plate. disappearing into his room.

"mick, piss off. i feel bad enough.” steve spat, now it was suddenly all rushing back. 

"well now you know she's back in town. second chance?" he mumbled. and steve nodded, standing up from up from the table. leaving his half eaten food as he made his way to his room.piper parker. the name rang in his head, eoching,as he dropped to his knees at his bed. here he goes, the part of his life he had left behind. the old him. the box. gulping as he pulled out the old shoe box. the photos of younger him when he didn't have hair that was as ridiculous as it was now. and the girl. the girl who had been his best friend. the girl he had left behind for popularity. piper parker. but the girl in the photo wasn’t her. nor was the boy in the photo no longer him. he had let her go once, it wasn't going to happen again.