In which such broken kids are taken in by the most popular guy at Hawkins High School with the fluffy, luscious hair.
Started: July 17th, 2022
Ended: December 2nd, 2022
It was El's birthday, and while she was sleeping in, the others were decorating for her surprise party.
Max put out the last of the pale green streamers and asked Steve, "Has Robin got the cake yet?"
He shrugged and said, "It's Robin. She probably stopped to get a gag gift for her or something."
Mike chewed his lip nervously. "We've only got an hour until she wakes up, so Robin better hurry."
"Dustin, go make sure she's still asleep," Max commanded.
Dustin saluted her and headed up the stairs.
Just then, Nancy walked through the back door with a blue Happy Birthday bag and a tub of chocolate ice cream.
She gave Steve a quick peck on the cheek, put the ice cream in the freezer, and set the bag down on the coffee table.
"Wow, this place looks great," Nancy said with a bright smile.
Steve grinned and said, "Thank the kids. I didn't do sh*t."
"She's in such a deep sleep I had to check that she wasn't dead," Dustin announced, jogging down the stairs.
"Good," said Max.
Thirty minutes later, Robin came in the back door, smelling like cigarettes, her jeans ripped, wearing a Santa Claus hat.
"What in the world?" Steve asked as she set the tattered cake box down.
"I'm....going....to...take...a...shower," she said in a raspy, tired voice.
Mike rushed over and opened the cake box, but instead of cake, there was a bunch of put-out cigarettes on a dirty slab of cardboard.
Steve sighed and said, "Search the kitchen."
They all looked around for stuff to make a cake, but they found nothing.
"What do we do? There's fifteen minutes until she wakes up," Lucas groaned as Robin limped into the kitchen.
"Howdy," she said, saluting them. They all just stared blankly at her.
Dustin grabbed a pack of chocolate pudding and slapped on the counter. He emptied the pudding cups into a big baking pan, and set it into the oven, which nobody had noticed was even preheating.
"You're a genius, Dustin!" Steve exclaimed.
In all Dustin fashion, he grinned and bowed. Max rolled her eyes as Lucas strained his ears for any signs of El waking up.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Loudly. Lucas could hear the creaking of El's bed, and winced.
Steve frowned and opened the door. It was his parents, back from Indianapolis.
Mrs. Harrington walked in and yelled loudly, "We're home!"
"Shut up!" They all hissed, minus Steve.
Mr. Harrington said, "Now kids, we know you're excited, but we shall go and bathe ourselves. It's been a long drive."
The couple latched onto each other's hands and walked upstairs, Mrs. Harrington's heels making an annoying click-clack sound along the way.
Dustin grabbed the pan out of the oven in a rush, added a couple cherries, and set it on the coffee table with El's presents as they all heard her bedroom door open.
She walked downstairs in flannel pajama pants, a plain grey sweatshirt, and wool socks, her hair in a messy ponytail.
Her eyes widened when she saw the decorations. "Wow," she muttered.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all screamed, and Nancy even whistled. El giggled as she watched them.
"Thanks, guys," she said with a laugh. Steve handed her a big glittery golden box and said, "Open it."
She grinned and took the lid off the box. Inside was an outfit El had been admiring for a while now:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(The outfit used in this picture)
There was also a card that read,
El, I got this card not to say happy birthday, I got it just so I could say I totally ship you and Mike. You're welcome :) Steve
El laughed. Max handed her a white bag with golden tissue paper.
Inside was a silver cross necklace and a soft white and black polka dotted scarf.
There was also a small Madonna keychain that El absolutely loved even at just the first glance.
Dustin got her a coupon to The Gap and a pack of chocolate chip cookies, Will got her a fancy ink pen set and a meaningful, handwritten card, Nancy got her a beautiful pale blue dress, and Robin got her a couple pairs of jeans and a couple collared shirts along with a photograph of a cute German Shepard puppy.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
After that, they all got situated to eat some cake and ice cream.
El took the first bite, and swallowed with a sour look on her face. "It tastes like melted pudding," she observed.
"It is a melted pudding," Dustin replied sourly.
El rolled her eyes. "You guys realize there was cake mix in the garage right?"
They all exchanged looks. If there was a year for the Stupidest of the Year, they would win it.
A/N: okay so this sucks but I have an idea for the next chapter!
