𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

17

❝𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊?❞ sheridan questioned aloud upon the sight of lonnie byers on her living room couch. the man and her mother cuddled rather closely, glasses in hand and a bottle of alcohol on the table. lonnie was obviously not sherrie's real father; he was a drunk and a deadbeat dad at best. to put it plainly, he was the type of person dani knew better than to be comfortable around. thankfully enough, he was out of the picture when sheridan was still little. she forgot he existed altogether. "...yeah i'm going to bed," dani rushed out, pushing past jonathan and instantly heading down the hall toward her bedroom.

she drowned out lonnie's sickening voice with stevie nicks's bella donna album and a joint, attempting to prepare for her little brother's funeral in the morning.

upon sunrise, sherrie put on her best black bellbottoms and a black knit long-sleeve sweater, along with her black combat boots. she straightened her hair as a cigarette dangled from her lips. she knew it would be pointless to put mascara on. her routine had seemed more monotonous and somber than it usually was, given the fact that it was will's funeral she was getting ready for. not even the sound of her littlest brother's favorite "combat rock" album could lure her from the slump she found herself in.

sheridan knew, more than anything, that she was not showing up to the funeral with lonnie byers. she nabbed her keys and began to leave her bedroom. the door trudged open and she swiftly walked through the beaded curtain on the other side. standing in the doorway of will's bedroom was lonnie. upon hearing the tantalizing sound of the wooden beads colliding with one another, he turned his head. his lips pursed into a thin, sympathetic smile. dani rolled her eyes.

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𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐘𝐄𝐑𝐒'𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐘 was even more dreadful and gloomy than sheridan could have ever anticipated. her and jonathan sat on either side of joyce, with lonnie regretfully at the opposite end of the girl.

before the repast, lonnie extended thanks to those who came, which rubbed sherrie entirely the wrong way. he even showed his gratitude to steve, who had only come over to talk to dani. "i don't like that guy at all," the girl whispered as steve approached her. in his hands was a vibrant and singular red rose.

instantly, without even realizing it, she had snatched the rose from the boy's hand, placed the stem between her teeth, and began to adjust his tie. it was far too low and loose, it just needed some tidying. steve's mouth went dry as he watched her delicate fingers fiddle with the thin piece of black silk. he noticed that she'd even gone as far as to paint her nails black; and that she had already begun chipping at them.

"who even is he? he looks like he hasn't slept in 30 years..." he whispered back, his gaze flitting from the man to dani. before the girl could answer, those three familiar boys made their way up to the two. tears pricked at the shaffer girl's eyes upon seeing them; they looked so grown up, she just hated that this had to be the reason.

instantly, dani bent down to hug all three of them. she closed her eyes, running her hand over dustin's curly head of hair, and rubbing mike and lucas's backs. "it's a weird feeling today, i know," the girl piped up as she pulled away, causing the boys the chuckle. "i'm glad you guys are here. you meant more to him than you'll ever know." the trio bowed their heads as sherrie wiped away a tear. "you mean more to me than you'll ever know." smiles illuminated their small faces. "go save me a spot at your table, alright?" she shooed the boys along with their families, making eye contact with nancy as she straightened herself out.

"you softie," steve teased as he nudged dani's arm. he let out a small giggle, failing to notice the staring match his friend and his girlfriend were having.

as the wheeler girl noticed the boy behind her, she hastily followed behind her parents without any remark at all. sheridan felt a little bad, sure; steve was all nancy had ever wanted since middle school, and maybe she couldn't help but feel that her newfound friendship in the boy was putting that in jeopardy. so now, there was a lot more to worry about than will's funeral.

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