ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜᴏɴᴇ|ʙɪʟʟʏ ʜᴀʀɢʀᴏᴠᴇ

-ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ-

⇰ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖.
𝔸𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕕.

Graduation had fallen upon the seniors of Hawkins and soon, they'd be walking across the stage to receive their diplomas and be shoved into adulthood. For the Rockefellers, graduation day was a big one for all of them. Cassidy hadn't graduated, and Ashton graduated top of his class before getting into business with their family one summer. He was far, somewhere he wouldn't be able to see his baby sister and brother walk the stage.
So Cassidy took the role for both of them. He looked at his little siblings with admiration. 

Bex wore a black, sued dress that reached the floor, a high slit on the right. She was putting her cap and gown on, ensuring there were no wrinkles or kinks. She placed her three tassels around her neck and smiled to herself in the mirror. 
Anthony was ironing out his suit, making them late as always. He thought it needed to be perfect for the girls he was graduating alongside. His cap and gown were hung up behind him. 
Max raced down the stairs, two pairs of heels in hand. "Here, my mom picked these out for you." She handed the girl a black pair of heels before putting her own on.

"She's gonna be there, right?" Bex asked. "Yeah, she wanted to see you and Billy walk the stage together," Max answered. "And she wanted to hear your Valedictorian speech."
Bex brought the girl into a small hug. "It's nothing special," She said, "I'm praying I don't fuck it up in front of my entire graduating class."
The latter shook her head. "You're gonna do great, I promise." 

And she did. When her name was called to give her speech, the room erupted in claps and cheers, her brothers being the loudest. Billy sent her a wink from his seat in the front row. The sun shined down on her, illuminating her brown skin and ethereal eyes. 
Although her hands were shaking the slightest bit, she held it together. 
"First, I'd like to say thank you to the wonderful administration and staff here at Hawkins High School," She started, "When I was told I was Valedictorian I was more than shocked. The last generation of Rockefellers aren't exactly academics."

A quiet fit of laughs spread across the field. She sucked in a sharp breath, crumbling up the paper in her hand. "I was gonna get on this stage and give a speech about how important school is and how you should give it your best shot. And while that's true and you definitely should, that's not the speech I wanna give."
"I've seen... Some crazy stuff while living in Hawkins, and I've met some amazing people through it all. The only thing I have to say is to live and learn, but don't forget the important."

Her eyes landed on her family, on Max and Billy, and the kids she practically helped raise. They were glued to Hopper and the parents of those kids who all looked to her with new pride. "Cherish everything and everyone you have now, because one day, you may never get the chance to. You're wasting your youth on bullshit-"
"Ms. Rockefeller," The principal looked at her sternly. "Sorry..."

"You're wasting your youth on stupid things like when the next party is and who's sleeping with who when you should be living your lives and enjoying your childhood while you still have the chance," She started, "So, this is a big congratulations to the senior class of eighty-four. We're adults now, guys!" 

As she headed back to her seat, the principal stood up at the podium. "Now, all students can move their tassel from the right side of their cap to the left." Billy squeezed her hand as they did so. "Congratulations, I wish you all nothing but the best."
And within the next few seconds, their caps were in the air as they all celebrated. Billy brought the girl to her feet, placing a kiss on her lips and holding her tighter than ever. "You did it, princess," He smiled. "We did it, Billy."

☥

"Keep it up, Rockefeller, great work!" Sweat dripped from the girl's body as she put her focus on the field in front of her. Summer was cut short for her when she had to leave for pre-season training. She was on a strict regime, so writing back to everyone back home became harder than ever.
Her feet worked with the ball between them as she got closer to the net, kicking it in with great power. "Good job, everybody take five!" She hunched over, finally able to catch her breath for the first time since that play. "Hey, you did a nice job." One of the girls on the team had walked over to her, smile reaching her eyes. "Thanks, but you were really good too."
"I've been playing since I was really little so if you're gonna credit anyone, credit my mom."
They both shared a laugh.

The girl abruptly stuck her hand out and Bex took it gratefully. "Eleanor and my friend over there with the constipated face is Kacey." Their eyes landed on her, sharing a laugh once more. "Na'Déja Rockfeller," she smiled. "Rockefeller? Wow, who knew we had a celebrity on our team?"  The girl laughed. "I'm not that close with my family so I'm not much of a celebrity."
As their coach called them in for a huddle, Eleanor's friend ran over to them. "I just heard from Jamey that there's a party tonight at one of the frat houses," she said. 

"Cool, you down for a party tonight?" Bex stammered for a few seconds. 
See, when she moved to North Carolina, her bad girl persona had washed away with the start of the term. It was a defense mechanism strictly for Hawkins, but she was in a new state now and figured she didn't need it anymore.  So partying and getting drunk wasn't as appealing as it used to be.
Maybe it was because her bad influences weren't around, or maybe she was changing into a new person.

"I'm not sure, I haven't really been into the party scene lately," Bex answered. "C'mon, it'll be fun. I heard you were a trouble maker back in Indiana," Kacy said. "Yeah but-"
"Here's my room number, just stop by if you wanna come with, alright?"