𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙸𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 | Steve Harrington

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙱𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜

"What're you talking about? Of course he likes you and it's obvious that you like him too," I told Nancy as I sat across her on her bed. I shifted my weight while looking up at her and laughing. She shook her head slightly and smiled down at her lap.

"You don't know that, Jo. I mean, he's a junior," she replied with a red tint on top of her pale and freckled complexion.

"Come on Nancy. You've snuck away to make out with him three different times in-between classes,"

"Three? It was only twice,"

Nancy Wheeler, Barbara Holland, and I had been best friends ever since I had moved to Hawkins, Indiana in fifth grade. Although Nancy and Barb had already been friends for three years at that point, I immediately felt like I belonged the second I sat down at their lunch table. That very same day we made a pact to be best friends and when you're in fifth grade, a promise like that is hard to break. 

We had all gathered at Nancy's house to work on a school assignment, but quickly lost focus and began to talk about anything but our homework. Barb had left earlier than I had because she didn't want to miss dinner with her family, a daily tradition they took very seriously. On the other hand, I had as long as I wanted to stay at Nancy's house since Dad probably wouldn't notice what time I got home after a long day at work. And besides, Nancy's parents welcomed me to their house like their own daughter.

She was the most stereotypical teenage girl next door in our trio. She had long brown hair that was usually pulled back by a clip and big blue eyes. She cared about clothes and wore makeup, much unlike me and Barb. Although we were all very good students and put school as our first priority. I think I would have turned out a lot more like Nancy if I had stayed in New York with my whole family. But things change so now it's just my dad and me, Jim Hopper, also known as the chief of police in Hawkins.

Barb was quite a bit taller than both me and Nancy and she always kept her ginger hair cut short. She had big glasses that covered her brown eyes and the freckles all over her face. She was an only child and was probably the most socially anxious between the three of us. Although one thing I loved about Barb was that she didn't care about any materialistic things or how popular she was at school. Of course, she would occasionally confide in me about her insecurities about her looks, being as red headed and having as many freckles on her face as she did, but at the end of the day, she was happy with her life. Neither of us really talked about that kind of stuff with Nancy though, seeing as she was already perfect in the eyes of everyone in Hawkins. I don't think that I'm horrifically ugly or anything, just unnoticeable next to her. Plain.

At that point in the evening, we had already finished the bulk of the work and now were free to talk about what we wanted. Her parents were both downstairs and her younger brother, Mike, was playing with his friends in the basement. As long as I had been friends with Nancy, those kids would be in the basement for hours playing Dungeons and Dragons. Those four kids, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin were the tightest group of friends I had ever seen. From watching just one interaction of them, you could immediately tell what role every single one of them played in the group. Mike was a sort of leader who took charge of them all. Dustin was the comedic relief in a way, always lightening the mood with jokes, whether intentional or not. Lucas, the realist, yet still as goofy as the rest of them. He kept them all thinking critically, although at times, he was the most immature with his fart jokes and constant bickering with Dustin. Finally, Will was the peace keeper. He was the most shy and quiet and usually kept them from killing each other.