PLEASER [001 - peter ballard]

II - watercolor eyes

[song: watercolor eyes - lana del rey]

even though her parents didn't care what she did, vienna still stayed on track with her priorities; her top one being walking the stage of hawkins high. she was determined to fulfill her actual dreams: traveling around the world. her freedom wasn't going to be limited solely to hawkins, indiana.

outcasted from the different cliques at her school, she became an individualist. she didn't follow the social norms and pattern of the other high schoolers. she was just herself. her style was ahead of the 80s trend and added her own touch to her outfits.

driving way past the speed limit in her old, black convertible, she made it to school in time. she hurried inside as her way-too-long baggy jeans scraped across the concrete with every step she took. she made her way to her class, running her fingers through her long, straight hair.

vienna strode to her class distractedly; she rummaged through her school bag to find her walkman. music is the only thing that can get her through the days. she lives with music in her ears.

"oh my god, i'm so sorry," vienna apologized as she bumped into someone. she had dropped her entire bag onto the ground while the mystery person didn't move a muscle.

she quickly tried gathering all her stuff and stuffed it right back in her bag. as she reached for her walkman, she made contact with their cold hand. they had quickly put her headphones on their head,

"who knew you had good taste v-" that's when vienna finally looked up at whom she bumped into. the first thing the brunette girl had noticed was his eyes. his icy blue eyes made her shiver. his tone towards her had been polite and comforting, yet made vienna feel cold. in fact, his entire demeaner was off-putting and dark. she never noticed him around, but then again, she didn't pay attention to anyone really.

"i'm sorry?" she stammered, cutting his last word off. she was surprised at what he had said.

"i'm peter," the boy said, giving me back my walkman, his enlarged eyes pressing me for an answer.

"oh um- i'm vienna valenza, nice to meet you," she said with a fond look. "sorry, i'd love to stay and chat, but i'd better get going," she said slowly walking away from him. she turned her head, only to find the same cold hand wrap around her wrist.

"can we meet afterschool? i'd love to talk then, ms. valenza," peter said with a smirk.

vienna, on the other hand, was too stunned to speak. she had never seen him in her entire life and now he wants to get to know her? the truth is, she had never really had a true friendship with anyone, let alone a boy. another fact was that this guy was hot. she turned back at him, eyes widened.

"oh, yeah? meet me in the parking lot later, pretty boy," she concluded before turning around on her heel. "oh my god, this absolutely cannot be happening," vienna told herself. she ultimately decided to just skip her class and go to the woods behind the school. she often went there to soothe her, as high school kids are absolutely brutal. sometimes she'd smoke back there and think about how she got to this point, occasionally with the infamous eddie munson.

eddie was like her, socially speaking. outcasts and "freaks". it didn't bother eddie as much as it affected vienna. when she first moved to hawkins, he was there to comfort her when the nasty comments and rumors became overwhelming.

however, eddie actually had friends. he had the hellfire club and even after the constant begging, she never joined. vienna could never get into their fantasy game or really fit into the club members. being the only girl, she ironically felt outcasted in a group of outcasts. she could only really bond with eddie and the new freshmen who didn't know any better: dustin henderson, lucas sinclaire and mike wheeler. the three looked up to her as a big sister, feeling comfortable talking her about their troubles of high school.

she thought about how eddie munson was fearless. he didn't care about what the basketball bullies said about him, or the rumors spread about him being a cult leader.

"this year is my year," eddie had said to vienna once. that's what she loved about eddie. he just simply lived for himself and didnt care. she looked up to eddie the same way the freshmen look up to her. she can talk to him about absolutely anything with 0 judgement. he would always believe her, regardless of how insane she might sound.

vienna valenza suffered from insane nightmares. they were so surreal. she felt like she was losing her mind. so, she resorted to drugs and confiding in eddie to ground her and keep her from spiraling into more madness.

now, despite her few friends within the hellfire club, they weren't enough to be fully committed into this clique. she'd rather spend time by herself, being herself, which is exactly why she skipped class for the woods.

as she made her trek into the forest, she felt eyes on her. whoever it was, she hoped, better not be a faculty member. with that lingering on her mind, she walked a bit faster, trying to avoid getting in trouble.

vienna valenza thought about her childhood, and how she actually didn't remember much of it. she remembers as far back as about middle school. she thought about her parents, relationships, peter.

vienna had actually spent 8 hours just lost in her thoughts. she didn't even notice that the school bell had rang, signifying that the day was over, until she heard the commotion of students.

she quickly walked to the school's parking lot to meet peter. when she got to her car, she looked around at all the students. suddenly, she spots peter standing in the middle of the sidewalk, at her. vienna smiled at him, but she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. she looked down as he made his way over to her.

vienna, with a new-found wave on confidence, suggested to him, "let's go to my house. i'm dying for a strawberry popsicle."

peter, eyes dull and emotionless, reluctantly agreed.

vienna got in her car and started it up. peter looked around the surrounding area, as if he was looking for someone. what had happened to the egotistical guy she had meet a mere few hours ago? vienna almost regretted inviting him over in the first place.

the 10 minute drive felt like hours as they sat in an uncomfortable silence. she felt the cold aura around him that made her feel uneasy. peter, however, was alert and was constantly looking around.

"well," vienna asserted, trying to ignore the tension. "shall we get to know each other more?"

"hm?" he said, his eyes focused on the side of her face.

"oh, nevermind. i said 'we're almost there,'" she lied, sensing his once cold eyes now burning into her.

'fuck this' vienna thought. 'i just wanted a damn strawberry popsicle. what the fuck is even wrong with me. now i'm bringing an actual fucking stranger into my home and i'm introducing him to my popsicle stash.' vienna had a habit of mumbling to herself. her words are incoherent, but her anger and expression on her face is still evident.

peter ballard's eyes became more relaxed and soft and his lips slightly curling at the edges as he further surveyed her, like he could tell what she was thinking.

peter's powers didn't stop at telekinesis. he can just tell what vienna is thinking by her facial expressions. he felt the awkwardness and annoyance burning off of her as he stared deeper into her mind, trying to depict what her exact thoughts were.

peter ballard had thought that vienna valenza's seriousness about her strawberry popsicles was quite comical and attractive.