SEASON ONE.
BOOK ONE.
Hawkins, Indiana. A place where hopes and dreams seemed to have skipped and went a few towns over. It were a small town of perfect suburban neighbourhoods and a no crime rate. At least, that was before November 6th, 19...
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Mary got out of her car after pulling up outside of Steve's house — parking a little too diagonally and surely, if the police of Hawkins didn't know who the car belonged to, they probably would have had it towed or gave out a ticket.
As she approached the steps, Mary rubbed at her eyes, trying to keep herself awake and before she could knock the door it already opened, "You took ages. What took you so long?" Steve asked, hurrying Mary inside from the cold of the outdoors and into the warmth of his home.
"What, can't a girl go the normal speed limit for once?" She attempted to joke, offering a half smile but Steve knew his best friend — he knew that she were just faking it and that there was something seriously bothering her. And despite how moody he wanted to be at seeing Nancy with Jonathan through her window a few hours before, Steve knew he needed to keep his mouth shut about it for a while and comfort Mary.
Steve wrapped his arm around Mary's shoulders, "My parents are out for date night so we can sit by the fire and get you warmed up a bit, you're freezing." Steve said as they headed into the living room, where the fire was already lit and Mary found herself missing the fireplace in her old home where herself, Sara and her mother would burn marshmallows — assuring Jim it was the closest to camping they'd ever get.
Steve grabbed at a blanket from the edge of the couch before wrapping it around Mary's shoulders as she sat down on the floor, crossing her legs and pulling the material closer to her body.
"I'm gonna make us some hot chocolate — the barista Steve special," He told the girl, trying to crack a smile out of her and he managed to get the smallest of smiles as she looked up at him, "Back in a min." And then he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Mary alone.
She stared into the flames of the fire, watching as it crackled and burned the firewood. Mary found herself wondering if fire burned in the other side or if it always remained cold — was it always such a dreadfully freezing place? And was Charlie truly stuck there with no way of protecting himself from a maniac monster?
Steve had only been gone a few minutes before he returned, two cups of hot chocolate in his hands with marshmallows on the top — only pink for Mary, whom since as a child always said the white ones tasted weird and would only eat the pink. Steve thought she were full of shit, but still he always found himself giving her the pink ones anyway.
He sat down beside her, offering over her cup and she took it into her cold hands as her gaze stayed on the fire, "You wanna talk about it?" Steve asked, nudging her shoulder a little with his, "Or do you wanna do the Mary Hopper usual and just build it all up until eventually you take a temper tantrum and the whole down has to deal with the fallout of it?"
Steve was grinning and soon Mary was too as she laughed a little, closing her eyes in relief at the sound of her own laugh. Honestly, she was afraid she'd never hear the sound again — after discovering the monstrosities that lived within Hawkins she felt like maybe she'd never be happy again.
