Rewind: A Stranger Things Apply Fic *CLOSED*

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮

-𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡, 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟗-

.

-𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝-

"𝙔ou've read that book at least ten times," Joyce pointed out, sitting next to Dali. "Aren't you tired of it yet?"

"Pfft, no!" Dali scoffed. "That's why I'm still reading it."

"It's because of Raphael, isn't it?"

"What does he have to do with anything?" Dali challenged, a very noticeable blush painting her cheeks.

"Nothing," Joyce shrugged. "Just wanted to see how you would react, and I got my answer."

Dali rolled her eyes before going back to the book, though her mind was elsewhere.

It wasn't that obvious, right? I mean, Joyce was her sister, and didn't sisters have some sort of ability where they could just read each other's minds? Dali felt like Joyce could and, at times, it'd annoy her to no end.

"Hey, relax!" Joyce laughed. "You guys are cute together. He seems like a good guy."

"He is," Dali mumbled. "He definitely is."

"That's what I'm saying." Joyce smirked before running back to her room, leaving Dali in the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and went back to her book, though she couldn't stop the small smile on her face.

Raphael 'Rapha' Hart. He was the kind of guy Jane Austen wrote about. Almost like Mr. Darcy, to be specific. She couldn't count the number of times someone thought Rapha was stuck-up because he wasn't social. He wasn't like that at all. Rapha was intelligent, and kind, and sweet.

And Dali was in love with him. But she knew how stupid it sounded. Rapha and her were practically polar opposites. He was quiet and shy. Dali... wasn't, to put it simply. What if her extroverted personality annoyed him? Or what if their futures took them to different places?

Or what if they didn't? Dali smiled at the thought. Rapha had read a few of her story ideas and seemed to like them, and even helped her plan out a couple of them. She let her mind wander further.

What if Rapha magically inherited the public library? Or, better yet, opened his own bookstore? And it'd be right next to some made-up café, so the two of them could run over there without him missing any work. She'd have her own personal work room in the back where she could work in peace. At least, until Rapha burst in and ranted to her about some annoying plot twist. And she would laugh and say, 'Rapha, it's just a book.' And he'd gasp, 'Just a book?' And she'd apologize, 'No, no, you're right, it's not just a book.' And the two would talk about what happened, and...

And it was all in her head. What was she even doing? Dali wasn't even out of high school yet! Sure, she was close, but not there. What if she didn't even become an author? What if she got some job at the general store and just worked there for the rest of her life?

And what about Rapha? What if he didn't want to own a bookstore? What if he liked his other job (cleaning the school) better? Or, heck, what if he didn't want Dali in his future?

What if he didn't even like her?

***

-𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞-

"Ok, something's up."

Donna turned to her friend, confusion etched on her face. "Is it something bad?"