Any Time At All

Chapter Eight

You spent the summer getting over Steve Harrington, you're first love. His touch has already been forgotten as well as his voice. Sometimes, you see him walk into his house but you haven't actually interacted with him since the month you broke up. The day after he tore your heart into pieces, Steve came into school with a black eye and a swollen, bandaged nose. You went up to ask him what happened and he shoved you off. That was the last time you had talked to him. Over the summer, you also made some new friends. One day, after school had gotten out, you went to the arcade. Luckily, it isn't that far from your house. At the arcade, there was a group of friends that would always come in. Over time, you were welcomed into the party. Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Will Byers. On your days off, you would go to Mike's house and play Dungeons and Dragons, eat a lot of food, and pass out in the basement. That was more than you could have asked for. Especially because you were and are getting over Steve Harrington. 

"(Y/N)," someone shakes your arm. "(Y/N)! Wake up!" It's your first day of tenth grade. Going back to school scares you. Seeing Steve makes a knot form in your stomach. Maybe you could fake sick. Your mother, instead of ripping off your blanket and stomping out of the room, tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and smiled at you when your eyes slowly opened. "It's time for school." Your mom has been home for longer than she usually stays. Something is different with her. You get out of bed and head over to your dresser with a quick glimpse out of your window. The sky is a beautiful blue with hardly any clouds. As you are lost in the beauty of the town you live in, you see Steve walking in his bedroom. Shit, you think to yourself. The two of you make eye contact and you duck down. You put a hand to your forehead and hit yourself slightly. You peek out the window to see if he is there. He isn't and so you shut the shades. Steve had done the same thing as you. He flew himself against the floor but when he looked back up, your shades were down. 

Getting ready for school, you feel like the minutes turn to seconds as you look at the clock. You run downstairs when fully dressed and grab an apple on your way out the door. Before the door could shut, your mother shoved her hand around the side of it and was clearly out of breath. "(Y/N), wait," she walks over to you.

"Mom, I'm going to be late," You say while looking down the road. It's early enough in the morning for the sun to still be in your face. You squint your eyes and look back at your mother.

"I was just wondering if you'd like a ride?" She cocks her head to the left and is still panting from running through the house to catch you. 

"You want to give me a ride?" You stop and consider it. She hasn't driven you to school in a long time. "Sure, I would like that," You give your mom a small smile and hop into the passenger side. Your mom ducks in the house to get the keys and comes out, slamming the door behind her. She gets in starts the car. 

When you arrive at the school, you can see people starting to go inside, signifying that class is about to begin. "Bye mom, thanks for the ride," you walk towards the school when you hear your mom yell something from the car.

"Have a good day!" You look back at her, curious as to why she is acting this way. She waves to you with a smile but it seems sad.

"You too, mom," you walk away and give her a quick wave. You fast walk to your first class but accidentally bump into a frail girl with dark brown, curly hair. "Oh, shit! I'm sorry," you look at the girl and she looks intimidated. 

"No worries," she bends down to get the books and you go down to help her. "I'm Nancy," she says shyly. She sweeps a long strand of hair out of her face and lugs a textbook up from the ground. I hand her two notebooks that she also dropped and she thanks me.

"I'm (Y/N). I hang out with your brother and his friends over at your house sometimes."

"Oh, Yeah."