Jailbird || Stranger Things

thirty-seven ➵ platonic

May, 1985

Teresa Hopper considered herself prepared for anything. It was one of her little things that she'd picked up since being caught up in the mess that was last November. In a way, with the kids that she was mostly babysitting on a regular basis, she wanted to be prepared for anything possible.

Her car housed not only an extra softball bat, but a shovel, and even an axe, hidden under a bag of a change of clothes. She always carried her dad's old switchblade; in the sole of her boots, or hidden in the side of her bra if she was in sneakers. Her lighter was always tucked into a pocket, even if her cigarettes were thrown into her bag, and rarely touched when she wasn't stressed. Which was becoming rare with the diminishing threat of her nightmares.

Teresa Hopper kept a first aid kit in her bag, her previous little tin of bandaids having been expanded into a lunchbox of bandages, painkillers, and anything she could find at her local chemist. It wasn't just for her little nicks from electric parts, but for the kids, and for bigger jobs. Like a fight, if it came to it, which was why there was a second one in her bag in the car too.

The daughter of the chief also always had at least three radios on her. One in the bag of clothes in the car, one tucked into the glove compartment, and one in her day bag at all times. Her father had installed a radio in her car that linked directly onto the one they had at home too, just in case.

So yes. Teresa Hopper was prepared. For anything necessary, whether it was to do with the Upside Down, or the party of kids and some adults.

What Teresa Hopper was never prepared for, however, was prom. It was a Thursday, and she ended up drunk. Miserably so.

"Harrington!"

Steve had no idea how it happened, but she was actually quite drunk, more so than he'd ever seen her. He thought it was due to her breaking Billy's keg stand once again, but something told him it also had something to do with Billy sucking face with Vicky in the corner of the living room, and when he wasn't, his face was in her neck.

Either way, Teresa was Steve's friend. So he was on drunk girl duty for a little while.

Nothing could be as bad as Halloween.

Letting out a short sigh at her wavered voice, Steve turned his whole body towards the girl and caught her. "Was this your idea of letting go?"

"Yep!" Teresa replied with a wide grin, eyes shining with mischief as she stared at him, a couple of inches taller in her heels.

"You all right?"

"Me?!" she exclaimed, raising her head, though it lolled to the side a little. "Yeah! I'm so good. I'm having a blast. Hey, did you know that like— guys in school have crushes on me? I gotta beat up someone, because if I'm— like, you know, desirable, then they might get ideas, Stevie," she dramatised, facial expressions all over the place as Steve held her up and helped her sit onto the counter of his kitchen against a wall.

"Stevie?" he echoed with a confused expression, until he shook his head. "Would that be bad? Do you want to be alone for the rest of your life?" he asked instead, struggling a little to push her to lean back against the wall. "Come on, you good? Are you gonna fall?"

"I'm good," she replied, words only a little slurred as she tugged at the collar of her dress. It had been perhaps the first time Steve saw her in a dress, but he chose not to comment on it.

Of course, a lot of other people did.

"Do you think I can punch Tommy in the face? I kind of want to," she told Steve as he gave her a bottle of water, and she started drinking it.