Hawkins was the perfect place for her; she had the idyllic life - not quite routine, but she was fine with that. Just enough happened in the small town for her to write her weekly journalism columns and normality was certain.
Until a certain chain o...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
◌◌◌
Shay studied her older sister's reflection in the mirror while the young woman did her makeup - exhausted, focused and confused at the same time. The older Xu was rudely awoken by her younger sister pleading for her help. Shay knew nothing about makeup and if she tried to cover the trail of hickeys that Wesley left across her collarbone it would be a disaster. So, Jackie dragged herself out of bed and brought out three separate bags of makeup.
Shay sat as still as possible as the young woman worked, but Jackie had no problem shoving her to where she wanted her, checking the spots in different lighting to make sure the makeup blended seamlessly into her skin. "I never thought my little sister would be so... risky like this."
"Shut up, you've had them in far worse places."
"You're right, but mom and dad couldn't see them and I didn't sneak people in my room."
The teenager shifted in her seat at that remark, unaware that her sister knew about her nightly activities. She doubted that Jackie knew who was in her room, since that would raise all kinds of Hell, but the fact that she knew at all was alarming. Jackie only raised a manicured eyebrow, tired eyelids barely lifting. "You know that mom and dad don't mind you dating, right?"
"I know, his parents are just weird about it. If I tell mom and dad then he'll have to tell his."
Shay immediately regretted telling the lie, mostly because she was awful at it. She may have been gifted in many areas - sports, the arts, spying - but the art of lying was not one of them. Jackie, being the skilled con-artist she was, had no issue figuring out that her little sister was lying. She didn't call attention to it though, instead blotting the final area once more and standing up straight. "You're good. Don't get any more while you're at school."
Shay only flipped her sister off as she adjusted her top to its rightful place.
◌◌◌
Hawkins High was as boring as it was every morning, that Tuesday no exception. Shay felt as much excitement as a caged animal to be there. Even having Bonnie beside her chatting away about no particular subject didn't stimulate her mind enough to get her to smile. She was completely and utterly bored.
Maybe it was her need for some excitement, or her tendency for compassion, but the brunette couldn't keep herself on the straight path once she noticed Jonathan Byers in the hallway. He had a heavy stack of papers in his hand, revealed to be flyers as he stapled some onto the bulletin board. Shay quickly stood next to him, watching for a moment as he nearly dropped all of the papers before calming himself.
