1983 || Stranger Things

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ғᴏᴜʀ | ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ

𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 7, 1985

      Summer was finally here, and Julie was thrilled. She had more time to hang out with Robin, and to spend time with Steve. Surprisingly, Julie had completed her mission. She had graduated with honors and was given an almost full scholarship to IUPUI. Billy had graduated, and would go to community college. Steve graduated, but he didn't get into Tech or IU. He was sad, but he already had plans to practically live wherever Julie was living.

      Another fun aspect of the summer of '85 was that Starcourt Mall was opening downtown. It was a huge project, that was set to be opening in about two weeks. There were numerous job opportunities, including ones that Steve and Julie wanted. Julie had an interview the next morning at The Gap and Steve had an interview at Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream place.

      Ironically, Robin was interviewing at Scoops Ahoy after Steve. Steve didn't really know Robin well, so it was going to be interesting to see the outcomes of their interviews.

      It was late at night, and Julie and Steve were cuddled in Steve's bed, watching a random movie. Julie was laying on her stomach with her head on Steve's chest and her leg thrown over Steve's body, half-asleep. Steve's fingers were lost in Julie's curls, occasionally pressing soft kisses to her head.

      Neither of them were watching the movie anymore. Julie was knocked out, and Steve was infatuated with the sleeping beauty. But it crushed him to watch Julie sleep. Every once in a while, he pictured Nancy asleep on his chest and not Julie. He pictured his hands in Nancy's brown hair, and not in Julie's blonde frizz. He hated himself for it, and he knew Julie woould too.

      Julie shifted in her sleep, tightening her hold on Steve's body. She reached for his shirt with her lethargic hands, gripping it tightly. her nose was filled with Steve's scent of pine and hairspray, and she loved it.

      Steve smelled her perfume, due to their close vicinity, and it brought a smile to his face. The smile faded, as he checked the time. It was nearing ten o'clock, and Julie had to be home by then. He hated to do it, but Steve had to wake Julie up. He gently shook her body, trying to be as gentle as possible.

      "Jules," He whispered, continuing to shake her. "Jules, wake up."  Groggily, Julie opened her eyes and lifted her head from Steve's chest, looking around the room.

      "What?" She groaned, rubbing her eyes and propping herself up on her elbows.

      "It's almost ten. I gotta get you home before your dad kills me." Steve said, showing Julie his watch.

      Julie groaned loudly, before collapsing onto Steve's chest again. This time, she nestled her head in the crook of his neck, and wrapped her arms and legs around his body. "Can we just stay here?" She whispered against Steve's warm skin.

      Steve sighed. "I wish, but we can't." He said sadly, throwing the blanket off of them both. "If you're not gonna walk, then I'm gonna walk with you." He grunted, standing up from the bed and grabbing Julie's backpack, with Julie still wrapped around him.

      In the period of time that it took for Steve to walk down the stairs, out the door, and to his driveway, Julie fell asleep again. Steve managed to get Julie into the front seat of his car, put her seatbelt on, and close her door without waking Julie up at all.

      When he started the car, Julie woke up because her head jostled against the window. She sat up, blinking rapidly in an attempt to stay awake.

      "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Steve teased, putting a hand on Julie's thigh.