𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

27

𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍, you'd think that sheridan shaffer would be bored out of her mind. that his poppy music taste (which she secretly enjoyed) would cause her eardrums to burst, and that his cologne would singe her nose hairs completely off. that she would bite his finger out of frustration at his constant poking and prodding. that she would shove him off in an instant if he went in for a hug, which happened often. that she would bury his pillow and blanket in the backyard after a three-day stay in her bedroom. that she ultimately would rather be with literally anyone else. but it was actually the opposite that occurred.

they were attached at the hip, almost as if they were put on the planet to be the other's best friend. they spent every minute of every day together, from december to october. they popped a bottle of champagne together to ring in 1984; they went camping over spring break, where sherrie discovered steve's deep hatred for the outdoors; summer days were spent in steve's pool, and the nights with talks over smores by the fire; they would take turns listening to records in dani's bedroom while homework occupied their thoughts; and when sheridan wasn't working at the radioshack, they spent their weekends in steve's empty house, bingeing their favorite movies. they even watched michael jackson's hair ignite into flames on live television.

as the sky darkened in hawkins, steve rested against dani's wood-paneled wall, an oversized poster of stevie nicks watching him scribble out a sentence for his chemistry paper. sherrie flipped her bowie record to the other side and gently set the needle on top. she pulled her orange hair out of the tight ponytail and headed towards her dresser to find something to swap out for her work polo and slacks. "do you have any idea what the five types of chemistry are?" steve inquired with furrowed brows, the boy tapping his pencil repeatedly against the lined sheet in his lap.

sheridan sighed as she flipped through her band t-shirts. "well, let's see: there's organic chemistry, physical chemistry," the girl listed off, steve writing each one down, "sexual chemistry-"

"oh my god," steve cut her off. dani let out a few snickers as she plucked out a fleetwood mac t-shirt—from their indianapolis stop on their mirage tour—and some sweatpants. "you're no help at all, you know that?"

"hey, i listed the ones i knew!" she protested. just as she went to change in the bathroom, will burst through the beaded door curtain. his chest heaved with short breaths and sweat glistened on his forehead. "holy shit, were you running laps or something?"

"can you take me to the arcade?" her youngest brother questioned. sherrie glanced down at the clothes in her hand, a small sigh falling from her lips.

"let me get changed real quick, i'll meet you in the car." will nodded and dashed into the living room. dani heard the infamous jingle of her keys as she slipped into the bathroom and into her comfy clothes. she hastily tossed her uniform into the hamper, and pulled on some sneakers once she was back in her room. "i gotta run," she told steve. the brown-haired boy tilted his head towards the ceiling and groaned. "i'll only be a few minutes!"

"i won't wait up," steve taunted. dani rolled her eyes; she knew he wasn't going to move from his spot while she was gone.

the ginger-haired girl made her way towards the living room. "i'm taking will to the arcade!" she announced, ready to slip out of the opened front door. rounding the corner from the kitchen was joyce's new boyfriend, and sheridan's boss, bob. a frilly apron was wrapped around the man's torso to compliment his wide grin.

"tell him not to spoil his dinner, i'm cookin' tonight!" sherrie shook her head as giggles fell from her lips. when dani got the job at radioshack, joyce brought her lunch on her first day, and the rest was history. although the dynamic was interesting, she was just glad that she didn't get the job simply because bob was in love with her mom.

sheridan got into the car with will in the passenger's seat, and a dire straits tape in the stereo. a song by the name of "romeo and juliet" popped a question into will's mind. "are you and steve dating?" the young boy blurted out. regret pulled at his heart, but the question had been on absolutely everyone's mind as of late. it was all the buzz between will and his friends, and he'd even overheard nancy whisper a word or two about the situation.

"psh," sherrie hastily pushed aside. "we're just friends."

"i remember you being in love with him in middle school, dani. you don't think that has anything to do with being 'just friends'?" will inquired, making finger-quotations.

"god, if i could slap you right now, i would," the girl joked through gritted teeth. but he was right. and she knew it. she would come home every day and gush to joyce about the star basketball player that sat in front of her in geometry. how he smelt like farrah fawcett spray and everything that was holy. "listen, will: things are... complicated. even if i liked steve, he's dating nancy, and i can't-"

"you admitted it! you do like steve!" he cheered victoriously.

her lips pursed into a quaint smile, her cheeks flushing. "maybe," she played along. "but he just wants to be friends and i am very much okay with that."

"how do you know?"

sheridan's brows dipped. "how do i know what?"

"that steve just wants to be friends."

✽