48 parts Complete Mature"sara, you're the poet in my heart,
never change and don't you ever stop "
Fleetwood Mac
________
Sara Henderson has survived three years of high school, countless soccer practices, and more late-night babysitting shifts for her little brother Dustin and "the Party" than she can remember. After just finishing her junior year at Hawkins High, she's ready for a normal summer-whatever normal means in Hawkins.
Sara and her best friend Robin Buckley land summer jobs at the new Starcourt Mall, spending their days stocking cassettes at Sam Goody while Robin complains nonstop about her obnoxious coworker across the mall: Steve Harrington.
Steve, freshly graduated and flipping ice cream at Scoops Ahoy, has always been on Sara's "asshole" list. She and Robin watched his ego rule the school for years... and yet, Sara used to harbor a tiny, humiliating crush on him. One she thought she left behind-until last fall, when Steve helped her, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Will, and Mike fight off Demo-Dogs. He became a hero in front of her eyes... then disappeared from her life again.
Now, in the sweltering summer of 1985, Sara finds herself pulling away from the wreckage of a breakup with Eddie Munson, who chose getting high over treating her right. But as Robin vents about her annoying coworker, Sara starts to see Steve differently. He's changed. He's kinder. He looks out for Dustin like a protective father figure, and treats the boys with a brotherly devotion she didn't know he had in him.
And as days at the mall turn into shared conversations, loaded glances, and unexpected moments of connection, Sara realizes something dangerous-Steve Harrington might not be the guy she always thought he was.
He might be someone she could fall for.
Started: 11/28/25
Finished: 12/27/25
