MY TEARS RICOCHET 𛲕 STRANGER THINGS

6. These Lies Will Catch Up to You

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SA

CHAPTER 6: These Lies Will Catch Up to You

A simple complication,
Miscommunications lead to fallout
— The Story of Us, Taylor Swift

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

November 7th, 1983: The Hawk Theatre, Carpark

A WEEK AFTER THE FATEFUL EVENTS OF STEVE'S HALLOWEEN party, Daphne and Fern lounged daintily on the roof of Meera's red convertible. Meera herself was perched on top of the adjacent wall, drinking from a bottle of raw vodka. She took a long sip of it before passing it to Daphne, who accepted the bottle gratefully. After getting a taste for alcohol at Steve's party, she'd been relying on it a lot more to get her through the week.

She hadn't told anyone about what had happened to her yet. She was embarrassed for letting that boy corner her; for not putting up enough of a fight. She was worried that people would be angry at her for giving in, especially Steve. And she was afraid that if Ethan heard what she was saying, he would come back and take it out on her.

And the thing was... nothing actually happened, did it? She was drunk, Ethan was drunk and things got messy. Perhaps she'd simply given him the wrong signal and he'd misinterpreted it. Maybe it was her fault. All he had done was kiss the wrong girl at a house party... right?

"Daphne," said Fern sharply, snapping Daphne's attention back to reality. "You zoned out again."

"Sorry," replied Daphne, taking another swig of vodka. It burned her insides, and it felt good. A welcome distraction from the thoughts swirling around in her mind. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying how you two need to convince your 'rents to buy you cars for your seventeenth," said Meera bitterly. "Being the designated driver all the time sucks."

"Not all of our parents own half of Hawkins, Meera," retorted Daphne. "What do your parents rake in, like six figures a month?"

"And I have a car; I just share it with my idiot brother, and he's never home," replied Fern bitterly.

"At least he's a smokin' hot idiot, though," said Meera, wiggling her eyebrows. Fern mimed gagging in her mouth. "Oh c'mon, Fern. Your brother is hot. All the girls had a crush on him when he was at Hawkins High."

"God knows why," Fern rolled her eyes. "He's a pig. Try sharing a bathroom with him, and then get back to me."

"I don't mind a bit of mess," joked Meera. "Maybe you could set us up, considering how miserable my love life is right now."

"Hey, you're not the only one with a terrible love life," retorted Fern. "If I have to suffer, you're suffering with me."

"I thought you and that guy from the party hit it off, Fern?" enquired Meera, cocking her head to the side. "What was his name? Mark something?"

"Mike," corrected Fern. "And he blew me off last night. I guess he just wanted to sleep with me, after all." She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice was cold. "Why don't you ask Daphne for advice? She certainly seems to have it all figured out. No shortage of guys there."

Daphne flinched, the words stinging. She and Fern hadn't talked about what she had walked in on at Steve's party yet, and it seemed like Fern was still assuming the worst. She had been stupid to think that her best friend wouldn't believe all the rumours Ethan had been spreading about her since that night. She was surprised they hadn't gotten to Steve yet, but once they did, she knew he would dump her on the spot.