At first, Shannon Bishop was just the babysitter. It was convenient, living in the same neighborhood as the Hendersons, but it wasn't too much of a stretch to move to the Wheelers' house or even out where the Byers family lived to watch all the boys...
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With startling, abrupt clarity, Shannon quickly learned that she had been pulled back into the fold of how things had been a year ago as if her months of isolation had never even happened. Having Nancy pull her by her striped sleeve down the hallway to her locker bank where Barb stood, waiting, was evidence enough of that.
"Sorry I missed the other night," Barb told them once they were within earshot. "I didn't mean to, but my parents-"
"It's fine, Barb. Really," Nancy told her, dragging Shannon to a standstill next to the redhead. "Next time, okay?"
Barb nodded in agreement. "So what did I miss?"
Nancy instantly blushed, and Shannon couldn't help but snort. "You made out with Steve after I left, didn't you?"
"Shannon!" Nancy yelped, laughing to cover it up at the same time Barb asked, bewildered, "Steve was there?"
"He climbed right through her window." Shannon held up her books defensively when Nancy moved as if to cover her mouth. "Had a bit of a shock when he saw me instead."
"He was expecting me, and I didn't show up. He just came over to make sure everything was okay," Nancy defended.
Barb's eyebrows rose slightly. "I didn't realize he was invited to girls' night."
Nancy sighed. "He wasn't."
"Nance wanted me to meet him," Shannon supplied helpfully. "I told her no."
Nancy sighed even bigger. "I just don't understand. He's not that bad once you get to know him-"
"He doesn't care about getting to know anyone but you," Barb interjected coolly. "He just wants to get in your pants."
Nancy shot her a glare. "He's not like that, okay? Stop saying that he is." She turned to Shannon. "You looked like you'd been talking to him for a while before I came back. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? That he's not that bad?"
Shannon wrinkled her nose a bit. Just because Steve "The Hair" Harrington clearly seemed to have a soft spot for Nancy Wheeler and didn't pick on Shannon or remind her of her dead mother– which he clearly had to know about, given how small of a town Hawkins was– during their one real conversation didn't mean he was as sweet as Nancy thought him to be. "He's kind of a pretty boy, though, isn't he? Like, too pretty to be true." As if summoned by her words, Steve appeared down the hall, headed right in their direction. "Right on cue."
Barb flattened herself against the bank of lockers as Steve drew up next to Nancy, sliding one arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you."
Nancy blushed, smiling girlishly. "Hi."
"I'll gag if you two start making out," Shannon warned them, a little surprised by how honest she was.
