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VALENTINA WAS STOODIN THE LIVING ROOM of Tina Winslow's house, the same place she danced with Billy Hargrove all those months ago, and the same place she'd danced with random strangers at every party following Halloween. She was dancing again that night, only this time she was accompanied by her friends—including her reclaimed best friend, Steve Harrington.
"Do you think there's any bars near here that do line dancing?" she shouted over the music, Kenny Loggins's Footloose blasting over Tina's new surround-sound system.
"If there are, they're not gonna let a 17-year old in," Steve shouted back.
"I'm almost 18!" the girl cried. "Nineteen days-"
"And counting," Steve smiled, leaning toward the blonde as they grapevined to the right. Valentina smiled as he finished the phrase she'd been repeating for weeks, counting down to the days until her birthday.
Caught up in looking at the boy whom she never thought she'd have the chance to party with again, Valentina lost her footing and ended up not moving far enough to give Steve room. He crashed into her, knocking her off balance. In their drunken state, neither of them seemed to mind as Steve wrapped an arm around Valentina's shoulders and continued dancing.
"You didn't make me learn this choreo for nothing," he grinned into her ear. Valentina's face grew red and hot, a reaction of both her best friend's proximity and the alcohol in her system. She was thankful her blonde locks were there to cover her face from his view.
"You would've learned it anyway!" Valentina shouted, standing up so she could finish the dance. She didn't shake Steve's arm off, though. The weight was comfortable, an additional heat to the buzz of intoxication. "Footloose was revolutionary."
"Revolutionary to who? Dancing's not illegal in Hawkins."
Valentina gasped around a frown. "To me! Have you seen Kevin Bacon?"
"I have!" Tina shouted, moseying up next to the happy best friends so she could dance alongside them.
Valentina didn't just force Steve to learn the choreography when the movie came out last year. She forced everyone.
"See! Tina gets it!" The wavy blonde laughed, putting an arm around both her newly blonde friend and her brunette friend as the song faded into the next. She practically collapsed, legs aching from the three minutes and 46 seconds of line dancing.
Steve and Tina looked to each other over Valentina's dropped head, a knowing look shared that said they knew the girl had probably drank more than normal—that said a lot. They both ended up laughing though, because, truthfully, they'd also had too much to drink.
It wasn't supposed to be a big party. Just Jonathan—who only came because Tina allowed him to bring Nancy, Val—who begged to bring Steve, though it didn't take much begging—and a few friends from school. But word got out that Tina Winslow's parents were out of town for the weekend and before they knew it, half of Hawkins High was flooding the girl's house.
