𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

34

𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐘 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 and headed towards steve's car up the block, she knew then that she'd been demoted to the backseat. from behind the bmw, steve and dani's silhouettes were illuminated by the glow of the streetlight. a cloud of smoke wafted between them and spilled out the open windows. her gut twisted like a pretzel as she saw their heads turn to face one another's. their mouths were open wide with laughter, laughter that she could hear from 20 feet away. nancy could see her breath in the air as she let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

the girl eventually made it to steve's car. she pulled the door open and plopped down in the seat behind her boyfriend, slamming the door shut without a word. both steve and sheridan turned around in their seats to face the girl. "hey nance," steve gleamed. he placed a hand on her knee, rubbing his thumb across her leg. nancy's smile was unable to be hidden then. and it faded when steve spun back around and put the pedal to the floor.

dani's snickers could be heard over both the wind and the music, and nancy supposed she was just jealous; jealous that she could be so completely herself, and around steve, no less. and jealous that her david bowie costume was pretty stellar. but she would never openly admit either.

as steve drove towards tina's, dani passed the joint his way. he took a few puffs before handing it back over. sherrie spun around in her seat to face nancy. she extended the lit joint towards her. "you wanna hit, nance? maybe it'll calm you down." steve spat out a chuckle, causing sherrie to fall back into her seat and join him. their roaring laughter echoed into the october night. nancy wheeler rolled her eyes once more.

they noticed the block that surrounded tina's house was packed with a line of cars going either direction. high schoolers littered any and every area outside. steve finally found a parking spot a few houses down, and even from there, the trio could hear the mötley crüe blasting from the house. steve and sheridan powered ahead, with nancy in their shadow. "you ready, sherrie?" steve asked, his eyes flitting towards her. he watched as her eyes widened at the sight of the house. not only was it the epitome of luxury, but it was exactly the rager she was hoping for.

"as ready as i'll ever be!" dani exclaimed with enthusiasm, landing a fake punch on steve's shoulder.

once inside, sheridan instantly powered through the sea of sweaty teens and set her sights on the drinks at the kitchen island. red punch trickled down the sides of the crystal bowls onto the white tile, covering the grout in the mystery cocktail. a fog settled over the liquid, dani disturbing it by dunking a solo cup in. she began to chug immediately. and while steve had tried to follow her, he couldn't help but notice that his girlfriend looked less-than-chipper.

"hey, nance," he muttered. he took her chin in his thumb, tilting her head up for their eyes to meet. "remember what we talked about? one night. that's it." nancy nodded without a word, but her face said enough. steve scoffed and let her face fall from his hands. "i'm gonna have fun tonight. and i suggest you do the same." nancy spun on her heels and decided to join sheridan and grab a drink.

the girl was downing the last of her cup as nancy made her way over. the cherry-colored liquid spilled out over the sides of sherrie's mouth and down the front of her striped sweater. while nancy nabbed a cup of her own and ladled in a serving, dani slammed her's on the counter. she heaved out quick breaths. nancy giggled. "nance, this stuff is killer," she spoke through short pants. "i gotta take a cup to steve!" and instantly, nancy's mood had been killed; like she was judith myers and sheridan was michael.

dani nodded and mouthed the words to "shout at the devil" as she shoved past nancy and grabbed a red solo cup, filling it to the brim with a healthy heaping of the punch for steve. she refilled her own, as well. both cups were dribbling over the edges and sherrie watched them with her life as she navigated through the crowd back to her best friend. "what's up, sherrie?" he asked, watching as she slowly coasted towards him. she extended one of the cups in his direction, taking a sip from her own.

"whatever the hell this is, it's amazing. you gotta try some," sheridan stated as steve graciously took the offering. peering down at the solo cup, the red liquid looked a little bit too much like blood for his liking, but dani seemed to be powering through it. he shrugged, tipping his cup in the air.

"cheers to you, sheridan shaffer." dani peeled the cup from her lips and held it into the air, as well. "happy fuckin' halloween!" steve howled. the girl cheered as they tapped their cups together, both of them taking a swig of the drink.

sherrie finished her sip, while steve continued to down nearly all of his in one sitting. glancing around the room, dani couldn't help but notice a familiar figure headed this way. his eyes met sheridan's from across the room. they were unmistakable. instantly, sherrie's blood went cold. "how you enjoyin' the party, cherry?" billy hargrove piped up. his raspy voice caused dani to lose her own.

steve whipped his head around, noticing that billy was closing in on sherrie. he set his drink down and stepped in front of the girl, ripping his sunglasses off. "are we gonna have a problem, hargrove?" steve questioned, his face straight and as threatening as it could be; which wasn't very much.

"i knew you'd be here," billy spoke through a wicked smirk, ignoring steve completely. sheridan could smell the beer on his breath despite their distance. "remember all those parties we went to in '81, back in california? man, those were the days, cherry." dani snapped her eyes shut. those horrible memories came flooding back. the punch was beginning to gurgle up into her throat.

steve shoved billy's shoulders, the boy only slightly stumbling backwards. his eyes cut toward steve's. his face formed into a scowl. "get lost, billy." the pair held eye contact for a few seconds but it had felt like centuries. tommy came up and draped his arm around billy's shoulder.

"we got ourselves a new keg king, harrington," tommy prodded. billy and steve's eyes still bored into one another's. the hargrove boy lifted his lit cigarette up to his lips and took a drag as two more of his groupies joined his side.

"yeah, that's right!"

"yeah, eat it, harrington!"

even through the taunting and the demise of his reign, steve and billy's eyes didn't move. sherrie tugged on steve's sleeve once she noticed nancy at the drink table. "stay away from sherrie," steve demanded of billy. and with that, he was gone. steve rushed over to his girlfriend, who was chugging away at a serving of the punch, as well. "woah woah woah, hey! take it easy!" he insisted, trying to tug her cup away. nancy swatted at the boy. "nance, nance!"

sheridan finished off her own cup, dunking the edge back into the bowl while steve was distracted. "we're just being stupid teenagers for the night, wasn't that the deal?" nancy sourly questioned, leaving steve dumbfounded. she dipped her cup back in the bowl and tapped it against dani's, the two gulping down their helpings. the last drops of nancy's cup trailed down her cheek. she glared at steve as she wiped them away and sauntered onto the dance floor.

the boy sighed as he leaned against the counter. sherrie went in for thirds; or fourths? "hey, you need to take it easy, too, sherrie," the boy ordered, trying to snatch her cup away. the girl effectively dodged him and nabbed the ladle.

"i just need some dancin' juice!" she spoke through a smile. once she'd gotten enough in her cup, she grabbed steve's hand and hauled him into the crowd.

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