Hairspray

III.VIII.IV

One week later

Kimberly squinted while opening her eyes. She was finally being released from the hospital. She had two fractured ribs, and some severe internal bleeding caused by the blunt force trauma. After a bit of surgery to remove the excess blood, and a lot of rest, Kimberly was finally feeling a lot better. She had pretty much slept for the last week straight, only waking up for an hour or so whenever someone came to see her.

Dustin had yelled at her about always somehow ending up injured and in the hospital. She swore to him that it wasn't on purpose, but he didn't fully believe her.

The one person who seemed to always be there when she woke up was Steve. He had claimed the recliner next to her bed and made himself at home. He was still there when she woke up, just sleeping.

She smiled, grateful that he was there. She wished she could reach over and brush the fallen piece of hair out of his face, but she was too far away and moving still hurt. She tried to reach for her cup of water instead, figuring she could manage that. But either she was being incredibly loud, or Steve is a light sleeper because the moment she adjusted herself and started reaching over his eyes opened.

"Mmm let me," Steve groggily said, sleep heavy in his voice.

Kimberly smiled, "No it's ok, I got it. You go back to sleep."

Steve ignored her, sitting up and grabbing the cup for her bringing it closer. She thanked him and took a sip. He placed it back down when she was finished.

"What time is it?"

"Uh," Steve turned to look at the clock, "2:15."

"In the morning?"

"Mmm."

"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you have gone home by now?"

"I wanted to be here. They said you could go home first thing in the morning. And you're mom had to go to work since she had the night shift. I didn't want to leave you here alone."

"That's sweet." She shuffled over a little, and patted the bed. "Come here."

Steve's brows furrowed, "What-"

"That chair cannot be comfortable, come lay with me."

"I don't want to hurt-"

Kimberly chuckled, "You won't hurt me, maybe I'll get a decent night's sleep with you next to me, come here."

Steve sighed and thought for a moment before gently sitting next to her. Kimberly placed her head on his chest and sighed in content.

Steve smiled and gently played with her hair, falling back asleep.

🌳🏀🌳

Three months later

"Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, a wonderful place to grow up, to raise your family, to walk your dog. But then... On July Fourth, everything changed. A terrible tragedy struck this small town. But this was not this small town's first brush with tragedy. Mysterious deaths, government cover-ups, a bizarre chemical leak. Is it all linked? All a vast conspiracy? The fault of a disgraced, corrupt mayor? Or is something more going on in the heartland? Can a town itself be cursed? Some believe a rise in Satanism is to blame. To find out, tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. for "Horror in the Heartland" on Cutting Edge."

Kimberly is running late to helping the Byers move out. She had picked up a few presents beforehand and the pharmacy lost her medication so they took forever to find it.