⊹ RIVAL YEAR ⊹ ||stranger things

003

"No more tears left to cry."

LAURIE WOKE up with a start, her dream still fresh in her eyes, her throat stung, and her lunges ached. She was wrapped in the most suffocating fur blanket known to man, so the seat wasn't helping her cool down from her vivid nightmare, she wipes her sweaty hair out of her eyes and lazily rolls over, nearly falling off the pink king-sized bed.

The softs sound of heathers snoring and the soft humming of the heater being the only things heard in the large house, so Laurie's panting sounded foreign in the quiet room. 'It must still be early' she thought, tilting her head to look at the tiny bright pink clock on the nightstand.

5:00 am

She noticed the lack of bustle in the Halloway home, by the time Heather woke up her parents would be long gone.

It was strange to see how little the family interacted, Heather would say the only time her father would take any notice of her was if there were people watching or if she'd done something wrong

"just to keep up appearances" she would say, trying to disguise the clear bitterness in her voice with a laugh or a joke about how little her father cared, perhaps that's why both girls felt so comfortable with each other, they could speak of sad things as if they were light hearted jokes.

Even when Laurie's own situation wasn't any better, she had always pitied heather, with her father never even giving her a second glance, and her mother, with her head up in the clouds thinking about one conspiracy or another.

After all, Laurie had her mom who adores her children and has always cared for them, she wouldn't ever completely understand what her best friend would go through, but she could comfort and try to understand the complicated feelings heather would often have and would often numb with partying, but no matter what she did, Heather always seemed lonely, no matter how many friends she made or party's she was invited to, she always seemed to be on an island, far away from everyone else. whenever Laurie was over, it was always heather alone or Mrs. Halloway in her own world writing letters to the government about some conspiracy or whatever paranoid thoughts she had.

She much preferred living with her family in the small but cozy home that was always filled with love instead of fancy furniture, wanting to share some of that love, she would often invite heather to eat or watch tv with will and Joyce during the holidays, heather would mention that's when her own house was the most depressing.

This house was always too quiet, too carefully decorated, like a carefully curated museum. You could look but not touch.

At this time a day her family would still be running around the house trying to get will out of bed on time, making a quick breakfast or helping her mom find her keys.

She could hear heathers father making coffee downstairs, arguing with someone on the phone, the slamming of the front door, then the start his -probably very expensive- car.

Laurie had hardly ever spoken to Mr. Holloway, he'd normally keep to himself or stayed out during most of Laurie's visits, but when he was home, he would be lounging in a brown leather chair or watching television, perhaps a greeting or a thank every now and then was exchanged between the both of them but never an actual conversation, but if Laurie was honest, he intimidated her.