"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter Eighty-Seven: A Night To Remember
(pre-Suzie, Do You Copy?, Pt. 6)
***
Prom night arrived with startling swiftness.
March and April blurred past, spring break and finals bleeding together into one indiscernible mess. Rowan spent the time not studying for her own tests helping Eddie and Steve study for their finals. And after that explosive first meeting with the assholes that were Steve's parents, Rowan hadn't gone back to Steve's house to study together, which now felt weird—like the time they spent together at Steve's house made it feel like their own private space, just like their spot in the woods did, too.
But now, finals were over, graduation was only a few weeks away, and Rowan was getting ready for prom.
When Rowan had asked Chrissy if her best friend could help her go dress-shopping, Chrissy had been ecstatic. She'd roped in Robin, Nancy and Valerie, and all four of them made a day out of it, shopping for 50s-style dresses—the theme of the prom was 50s—for Rowan, going through what felt like hundreds of dresses before Rowan found the one, then deciding on accessories—Rowan wanted to... personalise her dress—before just spending the rest of the day shopping together, getting something from the food court and finishing it off by spontaneously watching a movie before heading back home, Rowan's prom outfit in several bags.
As fun as it was, it felt odd, since this wasn't her prom, that she was going to Steve's as friends, like she'd gone with Eddie last year—she'd worn one of her aunt's dresses then—but it felt... nice.
And as Rowan stared at herself at the mirror in her bedroom, having just done her makeup—Aunt Aco had done her hair up—Rowan saw how gorgeous she looked, and hoped Steve's jaw would drop when he saw her. At the thought, Rowan felt something in her go funny at that, at the thought of getting herself ready for prom with Steve, at going to prom with him, even if they were going as friends.
She'd been feeling something funny for a long time. Rowan hoped it didn't mean she'd contracted some disease from the Upside Down or those freaking ash or spores or whatever and was slowly dying from it. That would fucking suck.
The rumble of an engine cut through her reverie and Rowan recapped her lipstick just as it cut off, making sure her hair looked okay as the door opened and her aunt shouted, "Rowan! Rich boy is here!"
"I know, I'm coming!" Rowan shouted back as she walked out of her bedroom and down the hallway, seeing Steve talking with her aunt—Alistair was at El's, having a sleepover—wearing a suit with his hair styled as always, an unguarded smile on his face.
Aunt Aco noticed her first and she smiled. "Rowan! Oh my God, you look beautiful, kid!"
