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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"But shoot in the right direction Making it your intention Live those dreams Scheme those schemes"
Relax By Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1983)
Valerie walked along the fence at the baseball field, spotting the four boys up against the fence with their backs to her, staring at a girl with bright red locks from afar. Valerie felt a small smile creep up to her lips as she knew the boys were finally getting over their 'girls are gross' stage. "Girls don't play video games." She heard Will say which caused her to internally scoff and creep closer to the boys who were entranced by the girl skating. Valerie had to admit that she did look badass, but she knew that girls are more observational than boys and she had no doubt that the red-headed girl knew they were watching. "And even if they did, you can't get 750,000 points on Dig Dug." Mike sounded irritated as she got closer to them and eventually she was standing right behind him. Mike had always been the angsty one and this proved that he hadn't changed much in the past year.
"Now boys. What have I taught you about women? They are always better at video games." The boys yelled in shock but there yells turned into laughter as they saw their favorite older sibling. Nancy used to interact with the boys more like Valerie but she never did much last year, too focused on Steve and his gorgeous locks. "Dustin, why didn't you tell me she was back." Lucas punches his best friend in the arm before giving her a high five. Lucas was the argumentative one at most times but generally was the least awkward out of them all.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Mike smiled at the girl before quickly nodding his head at her, playing it cool since he thought he was a cool kid. Will slowly walked towards her, radiating nervous and anxious vibes. Val hadn't seen him since the hospital and she left straight after without saying goodbye to him. When Will was younger, he had had a crush on the Henderson girl and loved when she would come around and hang out with him and Jonathan. Will was always quiet and shy, never the one to boast like the others. "Hey Will, how you feeling?" Will just wrapped his arms around the tall, lanky girl as she stroked his hair softly.
"Alright, who are we staring at and why are you angry she got 750,000 points on Dig Dug? You scared she's better than you?" The two pull away and the five stare at the redheaded girl skating around by herself. "That's Max and she beat our high score. And no, a girl can't be better than us at video games." Lucas tells the girl whilst shaking his head. Valerie, amused by the situation, went along with what they perceived was a serious thing. It was like they didn't remember the seriousness of the situation a year ago or life had become mundane and this was the most serious thing happening in their lives. "She shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score. I mean, you kidding me?" Dustin explained to the group as the girl did tricks on her board. Valerie just stood back as they explained, knowing they were jealous of how cool she was.
"Exactly. So she's gotta be Mad Max." Lucas was always stubborn. Valerie remembered all the fights the group would have over Lucas simply being stubborn. "And plus she skateboards, so she's pretty awesome." Dustin chuckled as her sister laughed along with him. Valerie had no doubt that her brother had a crush on the girl and she really hoped that he wouldn't get crushed by her. He deserved the very best, Valerie thought, even if she was a little biased. "Awesome? You haven't even spoken a word to her." Mike argued with the boys, making some pretty fair points. Well, at least Valerie thought so. The boys were in middle school and although they are pretty smart for their ages, they were still illogical middle school boys.
"I don't have to. I mean, look at her. Shit, I've lost the target." Dustin yelled as they all frantically looked for Max's bright red hair. "I'll leave you boys to the stalking and maybe next time keep track of the target" Valerie chuckled before she walked away, hearing a chorus of goodbyes as she left to go back to Hawkins High School. There were only two people left to find and they were usually making out by the lockers, a fact Valerie doubted had changed. As Valerie came to a slow stop at the end of the corridor, she saw Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington in plain sight, giggling to each other. Their backs were facing her and although she couldn't see their faces, she was positive it was them.
"Nance!" Valerie yelled to the couple causing them to whip their heads towards the girl. Nancy's smile grew as she started walking towards the girl whereas Steve stared at the girl he thought would never be back in shock. He had thought about this moment so much. He thought he would see her crossing the street with her hair flowing in the wind with a new boyfriend or even in 10 years with kids. But here she was as beautiful as ever as she smiled widely at Nancy. "Val? Oh, my god. I can't believe you're back in Hawkins." Nancy threw her arms over Valerie's shoulders as the girls laughed out loud, swaying as they embraced. Steve was still frozen. He had thought about that smile so much and that laugh. The way her eyes lit up as she smiled and how her straight hair swayed as she walked.
The girls separated as Steve came to a stop next to them with an increasing smile developing on his face. "Steve Harrington. Still got the hair that defies gravity I see?" Valerie chuckled before throwing an arm around him as he did the same. Steve noted that she smelt of syrup and vanilla and Valerie noted that Steve smelled of cinnamon and hairspray. They both understood how they were going to act. Like nothing happened between them and even though nothing physical did, they would deny what they felt as if it were decades ago or merely a dream. "Valerie Henderson. What are you doing back in this town?" Steve joked as the three stood together in the middle of the hallway, accidentally preventing people from walking past.
"I missed the small town feel. Hey Nance, how are Barb's parents doing?" The two grimaced before Nancy nodded in reply. Steve and Nancy had tried to stop the rumors from spreading around about Valerie for the sake of her and Barb's parents, but they failed miserably. Everyone in town knew about the conspiracy of Valerie killing Barb and word had eventually gotten to Barb's parents. "Yeah, Steve and I were actually going to visit them tonight if you wanted to come? They don't really think the rumors are true. I told them that they weren't" Valerie nodded her head as Nancy referenced the rumor of her killing her best friend but put a smile over the hurt. "I would love to see them. If you two don't mind?"
"Not at all." Steve shrugged his shoulders, swinging his arm across Nancy's shoulders and putting his sunglasses back on. Valerie chuckled at the two before chatting to the two about normal things, Valerie sneaking glances at Steve without him noticing and Steve doing the exact same to Valerie. They were reunited and this time, things would be different. This time, Valerie wouldn't leave.
I'm sorry this is a short chapter, it's just I am really sick and I promise the next chapter won't be soooo sucky.
