009 - real life

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Time flew by faster than Harley anticipated, seeing as it was now ten and she was yet to get ready. Scurrying around Gracie's apartment, she slipped on a dusky brown backless cami dress along with a gold-plated necklace that she hung on her neck. She then hurriedly put her hair up in a high ponytail and put on her black heels. 

Gracie insisted on complimenting her friend as they were about to walk out the front door. "For someone who's still single, you look HOT. I won't hate you if you run off with someone when we get there." She winked in Harley's direction, then proceeded to start their journey towards the party.

Walking across walkways, they grew more enraptured to get to their destination. Harley spent her time thinking about what meeting the Stranger Things cast would be like. She had been a fan since it first came out.  

Outside the large, brick building, the pair could faintly hear the sound of Camila Cabello blasting through the four walls that contained the crowd of party-goers. 

"Ready?" Gracie held her arm out for Harley to hook hers through. 

"Ready as I'll ever be." She took an exhilarated breath and accompanied her friend inside.

Harley looked around the party to see a couple of girls her age taking shots of gin. The alcohol dripped from their lips when they slammed their glasses down on a table. She was never much of a drinking person, but she wanted to let loose just for that night. 

Gracie went over to dance with the person who invited her, so Harley took the chance to grab a drink. In the kitchen, there were a couple of used shot glasses, a bottle of gin, and a punch bowl filled with God knows what. She didn't want to start the night off too strong, so she hovered by the punch. 

A figure approached her right, taking a plastic cup and grabbing the ladle for the punch. Harley met Natalia Dyer's eyes. "Pure fuel." The latter poured the punch into her cup and took a sip.

"Oh my God, um, hi!" 

Natalia nearly choked on her drink from a small chuckle she strained. She lifted her cup from her lips to say, "Hey! I thought you'd be over here. It's a bit wild out there." 

"No kidding." Harley poured her own drink and sat on the counter beside the bowl. Natalia did the same. "I've been hiding for like three days, but Gracie totally manipulated me into coming. Definitely not my kind of place." 

"Well, I might have an idea. C'mon." Natalia jumped from the counter and held her hand out to Harley, who undoubtedly took it. Nat led her to the dance floor and stopped in front of her. "It'll be fun, I promise." 

Harley awkwardly swayed her arms until she grew a bit more comfortable. The two danced for a while until Nat's boyfriend came up to them and asked to steal her away from Harley. This left the girl to move to the corner of the room, eternally people watching and sipping her drink until a familiar face caught her gaze from across the room. 

She darted her eyes down to her feet with a mortified look on her face. She swished her punch around her cup as a way to bide her time. 

"Trying to blend into the wallpaper, are we?" 

Harley cursed under her breath. She looked to her right, where Joe Keery was leaning up against the wall. "Nice metaphor." 

They stood in an awkward silence before Joe held out his hand. "We haven't properly met."

Harley kept her hand around her drink. "Maybe that's a good thing?"

He uneasily tucked his hand back into his jacket pocket. 

"Sorry... I'm a bit on edge tonight from all of the noise."

"I get it, no worries." He looked over to her. "We should make our master escape plan."

Harley held in a laugh, "And go where?"

"I know places." He playfully shrugged.

"Why do I feel like you're trying to murder me?" 

"Do I really look like a murderer?"

Harley hummed with an undertone of honesty.  


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