Steve Harrington hated to say this but he missed her. He missed the way she chuckled at the stupid things he'd do to get her attention. He missed the way she would mock her brother and his friends but if anyone else were to do it, they would be dead...
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"Ship-wrecked love can be cruel Don't be fooled by her kind There's a wind in my sails Will protect and prevail"
Six Months in a Leaky Boat By Split Enz (1982)
Valerie Henderson took a deep breath in through her nose as she recognized the smell of her hometown. The smell of the trees embedded in her memory caused her to smile at the familiarity. She jumped out of her beat-up Triumph Acclaim that had been through so much in the short amount of time she had owned it and took slow steps towards the front door of her home. She had missed the yellow diamond window in the center of the door. She had missed everything about this town. She hesitated as she prepared to knock on the door, her heart in her throat as she thought about how she left everything. Her poor mother didn't have a clue, simply assuming her daughter was going through weird teenage mood swings.
She finally raised her hand and before knocking on the plain wooden door that had chipped paint on the bottom edges. She furrowed her eyebrows as she heard rustling from the trashcan behind her which she assumed was her beloved cat, Mews. Curious about the sound, Valerie began to walk towards the metal bin before hearing the door swing open in front of her before she could get very far. Her eyes quickly averted to her mother who had her hand in front of her mouth and eyes wide with shock. It was as if she had never left as she looked at her mother who looked exactly the same as before and even her clothing was the same.
"Oh, Vallie. You're home." Her mother cried out the nickname before enveloping the girl into a tight hug and swaying the two back and forth. Valerie smiled in her mother arms as she felt Mews rub her fur and trail around her calves. She truly was home and out of Florida, a place which she began to hate with a passion as she and the beach had a love-hate relationship. Her mother's curls brush against her cheeks and next to Valerie's straight hair. Valerie used to have curly hair like her mother and brother but as she got older, she started looking more and more like her father with slim face structures to compliment her straight brown hair. People said she looked depressed or that she was trying to be edgy without being gothic. She just told them to fuck off.
"Oh, mama. I missed you too." The two women held back tears as they split apart and walked into the house. Valerie sighed as it smelled exactly the same as before, smelling of cat and her mother's old perfume. Valerie looked around, noticing that her toothless younger brother was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Dustin?" Valerie sat next to her mother on the couch with Mews jumping on her and purring in her lap as she was being petted. To say that Valerie had missed her brother would be the understatement of the century. The Henderson siblings together were the perfect combination. She remembered when she humored him and his friends by participating in their silly games before they both became infatuated with D&D. Valerie, a geek herself, loved spending time with her brother as he geeked out over movies and games.
"He's at the arcade with the boys. He should be back soon." Valerie nodded, a little disappointed that her little brother wasn't there but carried on chatting to her mother about her year spent in Florida. She told her mother about Tropical Storm Diana that had happened a month before and the horrid beaches for an hour before the front door knob twisted to reveal Dustin with his back facing them as he pointed at Valerie's car.
"Mom, why is there a car-" Dustin paused as his sister stood up, sweeping Mews' fur from her black shirt before smiling up at her brother as she noticed the shocked expression on his face. "Hey Dust. You miss me?" Valerie let out a chuckle as her brother stared at her with his mouth agape and wide-eyed. After the shock passed, Dustin sprinted towards his older sister, throwing his arms around her waist causing her to stumble back as she attempted to not fall over and crush Mews under her weight. The cat meowed at them before walking away and hiding somewhere in the house.
"I missed you too." Valerie stroked the boy's baseball cap as she heard him sniffle into her stomach. The two hugged for what seemed like an eternity whilst their mother took photos with tears gathering in her eyes. Claudia Henderson was so proud of her children. They had been through a lot and Claudia couldn't have done it without Valerie or Dustin. She would die for her children and they would without a doubt do the same. "How you been, bud?" Valerie asked as she and her brother were still enveloped in a hug. Dustin pulled back and smiled at her which caused her to gasp and stare at his teeth. She put her hands on his cheeks and looked at the pearly whites in amazement. "I got these now." He made a purring sound which Valerie promptly ignored as she stared at his teeth with a smile on her face.
She really hoped that this would stop those dipshits bullying the poor boy because after what happened last year, Valerie was tougher than she had ever been and was ready to fight. The two siblings stayed up all night talking about the boys, middle school, and Hawkins Lab which left a bad taste in her mouth, remembering all of the things they did. Valerie looked at her brother talk animatedly about his friends causing a sad smile to come onto her face. She felt guilty. She shouldn't have just left her brother, she should've been there for him. She should've been there for everyone.
"How's Nancy and Jonathan?" Valerie was curious to find out about her friends. She knew what had happened to Barb, a thing she still felt guilty for as the events of the night at Steve's house flooded back. She had wondered about the two as Nancy had gone from being a shallow bitch to being concerned about Barb and about her brother's safety. The thought of the eldest Byer boy made Valerie feel guilty as she knew she should have supported him after he got his brother back. But she was selfish and looked out for herself and own self-interest instead of helping the people she loved.
"Nancy is dating Steve and he isn't a son of a bitch anymore and Jonathan is still a social outcast. But there's something I have to tell you...." Dustin trailed off as he fiddled with his fingers, looking nervous. He didn't want to tell Valerie what everyone thought but as Valerie looked at him with reassuring eyes and a smile on her face, he had to. Thoughts about what he would say rushed through Valerie's head as she imagined the worst possible scenario. Nothing could be as bad as the Demogorgon coming back and that could never happen.
"Everyone at school thinks you had something to do with Barbs death." Valerie's eyes widened at the mention of her best friend's death that she had somehow been accused of. "What? How?" She asked as she thought about everything that had happened and how she leaving made her look and to be honest, it wasn't good. Of course, it wasn't like the police thought she was guilty but rumors in a small town like Hawkins spread fast. "Well, you kind of got out of here straight after all that shit went down so they just kind of assumed." Valerie nodded as her brother looked down at the ground solemnly before giving him a sympathetic smile.
"Oh well, that isn't important anymore. What's important is Halloween. What are we going as?" Dustin smiled before rushing to his room to retrieve his costume. It was a tradition for the siblings as Dustin loved Halloween and Valerie just loved how excited he got about it. Valerie brushed off the serious talk and fell back on her old bed and smiled. She was back and determined to make up for her year's absence with her brother and her friends. She was going to be the best possible version of herself which meant one thing to her if she was going to be successful; No feelings for Steve Harrington.
The brunette boy brought a smile to her face but he was just trouble and the last thing Valerie need or wanted was trouble.
Just a short lil intro to this story that I quickly wrote. Of course, the next chapter will be longer as I will be unoccupied then but rn this was just a short thing. Thanks to everyone who is reading this, means a lot.
