A seemingly fairytale romance between the two most powerful people in school was thought to be a match made in heaven because of their similarities.
Except that their similarities are the things that drive them apart.
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It was Halloween night and Tina's Halloween bash was teaming with drunken teenagers in costumes. One of them was Danielle Toledano who arrived fashionably late dressed as Prince, her favorite singer. She'd worked very diligently for a month planning this costume and making sure the purples matched so she outshined all the other guests. She tossed her voluminous curly hair over her shoulder as she entered the house party with her best friend Dana Tate by her side. Dana was a Halloween enthusiast and insisted on making fake blood to scare people. Danielle didn't mind helping as long as her costume wasn't a victim.
Danielle might as well be Moses parting the Red Sea when entering the crowded vicinity. People made sure to move out of her way when she walked by, in fear of what would happen if they didn't. Danielle walked through the open door of the house and headed straight to the kitchen for a drink. She filled up a cup for herself and one for Dana.
"What is this shit?" Danielle choked out, erupting into a coughing fit after one sip of the drink.
"Pure fuel!" an obviously intoxicated teenager slurred, taking on his cup in one slurp. He immediately went back for more, disgusting Danielle.
"This is fucking sick. Where's the real alcohol?" she scoffed, tossing her cup into the overflowing trashcan.
"This might be it," Dana replied, wincing after every sip. "It's so strong."
"Then stop drinking it, you'll kill yourself." Danielle swiped the cup from Dana's hands and handed it off to a passerby. "Let's go outside. This air is making me nauseous." She pushed passed the drunk people that failed to acknowledge her presence and made it to the backyard where a group of boys were kegging.
"You're talking about me killing myself? This is a death wish," Dana commented, revolted at the activity taking place. "Why do you like boys so much?"
"I don't know, they're just so cute and stupid. Like really dumb puppies."
Danielle made eye contact with a blonde boy wearing nothing but a leather jacket. He raised a cigarette to his lips and tried not to give her too much attention. She was pretty, though, and he just wanted to know her name. He nudged his friend Tommy H.
"Who's that?"
Tommy grinned. "Danielle Toledano, the queen bee. Don't fuck with her unless you have a death wish."
Billy Hargrove didn't have a death wish but he did want to talk to a cute girl tonight. He exhaled more smoke before asking another question.
"Queen bee, huh?" he inquired. "If she's the queen then who's the king?"
"Steve Harrington. They dated for an eternity," Tommy replied.
Billy had heard that name attached to that title since he began attending Hawkins High a few days ago. He never thought people took the "King Steve" trope so seriously and he never would've guessed that the king actually had a queen. Billy glanced back at Danielle before handing his cigarette off to Tommy.
