1983 || Stranger Things

ғɪғᴛᴇᴇɴ | ᴛᴡɪɴ-ɪɴɢ ɪᴛ

𝑇𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 26, 1984

      "Julie! Are you ready?"

      Junior year was over. Julie was packing for her trip. Joyce and her kids were waiting on the porch. The early summer sun was beating down on Hawkins, and Julie was kind of excited to be in the Pacific ocean for the summer. Of course, she was going to miss her Hawkins family, but she couldn't deny her excitement to see her California family.

      "Yeah, give me a second!" Julie called through the house to Joyce as she finished putting a pair of shorts into her suitcase. She shoved another book into her backpack and went through her bins of mix tapes one last time. She was finalizing her selection, when a knock sounded on her closed door. "For Christ's sake..." Julie muttered, standing up and going to open the door.

      What she wasn't expecting to see was Steve 'The Hair' Harrington leaning against her door, tossing a ball into the air. "Can I help you?" Julie asked, checking her watch.

      "Not really. Nance told me you were leaving for the summer, so I wanted to say 'goodbye'." he said, accidentally tossing the ball at Julie's face.

      "Well, while I appreciate the sentiment, I have to go." Julie said, walking back into her room to zip her backpack and sling it onto her back, as well as grabbing her suitcase. She quickly shut her window and pushed her boxes back under the bed, before stepping out and shutting the door.

      "You really are enjoying avoiding me, aren't you?" Steve asked, following Julie as she grabbed the snack Joyce had made for her from the kitchen.

      "I'm not avoiding you." Julie said. She was kind of lying.

      "Then why haven't you talked to me at school? I mean, we fought a monster together Julie. Doesn't that promote us to friendly?" Steve said, grabbing Julie's shoulders gently so she had to look at her.

       Julie sighed. She gave in and hugged Steve quickly, reaching up to screw with his hair once she pulled away. "How's that for friendly, King Steve?" the girl teased, patting Steve's chest and side stepping past him to walk out the door.

      "There you are. You ready?" Joyce asked, standing up and smiling at Julie.

      "Yeah." Julie smiled, and Jonathan and Will took her bag from her, lugging it to the car. As Julie opened her car door, she saw Steve slip out the backdoor to go home. He waved at her, and she waved back.

      "So..." Joyce started, turning on the engine as the boys piled into the car. Jonathan in the front and Will next to Julie. "What did you and Steve talk about?" Joyce teased, looking at Julie in the mirror.

      Julie rolled her eyes. "He just said goodbye. Calm down." she said, looking at Will who was snickering.

      Jonathan scoffed from the front. "He's a dick." he said, and Julie raised her brows.

      "He is, but so are you sometimes." Julie said. Jonathan rolled his eyes, but said nothing else.

      The drive to the airport was a little less than an hour, and when the four arrived at the drop-off area, Julie finally realized how real this was. She was going home. They all got out of the car and Julie swung her backpack on as she grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. She walked to the curb where her choosen family was waiting, slightly teary-eyed.

      "Guys..." Julie trailed off, bringing all three into a hug. "I won't be gone long." she promised, and Joyce cupped her face as they all pulled apart.