THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT ｡ STRANGER THINGS

24 - WAIT AND SEE

Orange and brown leaves littered the front yard of the Lonsdales' house and the colours matched the backdrop of the block party Marigold had planned for her cousin, just wanting him to fit in more with town life. She had decorated the tables and chairs set up on the grass with orange cloths, had purchased a few pairs of rollerblades for the kids to share around and had even roped Dottie Fields into baking a number of pies and plates of baked delights. The neighbourhood had been more than happy to allow the party, many families from all over town joining in for the celebration.

"Dustin's pinched least half my apple pie," Dottie Fields had mentioned in passing to her best friend, who had smuggled her own watered down punch from inside where her mother was gossiping away with her book club ladies. Daisy smiled with the notion. "I mean, at least he's eating it. Nobody's even touched the pecan pie."

Baking was a delightful hobby to Dottie, who found peace in creating something tasty. She had spent all night baking away for the party and was worried nobody would enjoy her baked goods. "It's not even dusk yet. Everyone's still on the spiked punch. Give them time." Daisy reassured her friend and popped half a brownie into her mouth. "It's very moist."

Dottie playfully nudged her back and headed towards the street where a few kids were buckling up their skateboards. She plopped herself down next to Mike Wheeler, who gave her a glum look and turned his attention away to watch his friends laugh and joke at something. Sadly, he had somehow found himself on the outside lately, missing one particular girl too much. Before Dottie could even offer him some advice in trying to cheer up, somebody sat down next to her. Duncan Downings passed her a pair of rollerblades with a weak smile. "Mari mentioned you could, um, teach me how to rollerblade."

Duncan glanced over his shoulder, watching the scene of family and friends mill around the front yard. Everyone was chatting merely away while children laughed and messed around. He had spotted his grandfather in the mix, Fredrick Lonsdale who had given him a blunt nod of his head in greeting. There was a strange itching in his stomach and honestly, Duncan just wanted to be anywhere else but pretending to enjoy the party. But he had promised Marigold that he would try and he didn't break promises. "I'd love to, Duncan." Dottie smiled kindly. "You've never rollerbladed before?" Suddenly, she felt stupid for asking such a question with his sad history.

The boy just shook his head, eyes falling to his lap. Mike Wheeler glanced across at him, seeing somebody else in his strange and somewhat lost behaviour. Many months ago, he had taught Eleven things she knew nothing about too. "It's not hard." he blurted out, trying to help. "You might get a few cuts and bruises on your knees, but you'll get the hang of it."

Dottie felt her heart swell a little bit with the boy's attempt. "Bruises fade but rollerblading lasts a lifetime." The young girl wiped her hands down her old overalls and buckled up her own rollerblades. Swiftly, she got to her feet and held out her hand for Duncan. "Come on, it's fun."

By the refreshments table Marigold Lonsdale watched the sweet scene play out, a shy of a smile touching her lips. She had planned this entire party for Duncan and was actually glad a few kids were going out of their way to make him feel welcome, to help him fit back into society. She knew it wasn't easy, not with the voices in his head, but she was truly glad everything was working out perfectly. "That's very sweet." Nancy Wheeler suddenly mumbled from beside her.

A napkin full of pecan pie sat in her hands as the studious girl watched her younger brother, along with Dottie Fields and the older boy lamely struggle on the road. Dottie held tightly to Duncan's hands as she skated backwards, teaching him the skills to stay upright. "Yeah," Marigold agreed. "Mike's a good kid."

Nancy laughed. "I was talking about Dottie. She's very kind to help him."

Marigold stared back at her, noticing something new in her eyes. "Dottie's wonderful, yeah. She's got a massive heart, you know? She loves too quickly, but extremely deeply."

With the little comment, Nancy's cheeks flushed. "Yeah, I know."

The two girls went back to watching the kids rollerblade, a steady conversation jumping between them as Jonathan Byers and his family arrived. Bob Newby was with them, eyes taking in the scene as his hand slipped around Joyce's waist. Little Will Byers beelined towards his friends, planting himself down next to Mike, while Jonathan gave Nancy and Marigold an odd wave before finding a spot alone to watch his mum and new boyfriend from a far.

Daisy Lonsdale found herself a little overwhelmed by the guests, not really in the mood to play happy family for the town to watch. She had tried to head upstairs and wait out the party by herself, maybe find some extra time to sketch, but her mother had interfered and pushed her back out the doorway and reminded her to mingle and greet her grandfather. The youngest Lonsdale girl had groaned quietly and snuck around the back, hoping to hide out around the rose bushes, when she found a lonely boy sitting on a fold out chair smoking.

"Steve, hey."

He looked up, a smile touching his lips. "Goldilocks, trying to hide away are you?"

Daisy dropped into the free seat. "Something like that. What are you doing? You usually love the spotlight and adoring attention from town folk. I'm sure my mother would love to show you off to her book club."

Steve Harrington rolled his eyes. "Your mother already tried that. I was almost eaten alive by those gossiping hags." Daisy laughed a little, knowing that was indeed nothing but the truth. "Plus, Jonathan just arrived, right? Surely, Nancy will find her way to hang out with him. Her other boyfriend."

There was a strange bitterness in his voice. "They're just friends." Daisy replied.

He didn't really believe that. "Yeah, just like we're friends, right?"

Daisy adverted her eyes away.

Without another comment about that somewhat strange topic, he handed her his cigarette and watched as she took a drag, the smoke billowing around her. Sometimes, Steve Harrington wondered what life could have looked like if he hadn't have messed everything up by lying about Marigold running away. He most likely wouldn't have dated Nancy Wheeler and could have ended up with Daisy instead. But that was just a fantasy. "We're just a couple of friends, sitting lonely and sharing a cigarette while a party occurs within our reach. That's the beginning of some cheesy movie, huh?"

"Does our movie end as a teen romance or a horror movie, Harrington?" Daisy asked quietly, a little amused by the question herself.

Steve glanced across at her, taking the cigarette back with a grin. He always found himself smiling around her, usually because the girl made some witty remark or took the piss out of his somewhat predicable life. He liked that about her, that she wasn't so serious about everything all the damn time, not like Nancy Wheeler was. "We'll just have to wait and see, Goldilocks."