Nine৯ Steve Harrington *SLOW UPDATES*

03| A PARTY INVITE

Chapter Three

A Party Invite

৯

"WHEN alpha particles go through gold foil, they become" Barb, who was reading off Nancy's flashcards, was interrupted by Nancy answering the question before Barb had even finished reading the question; "Unoccupied space."

Nina was walking beside them with her head buried in The Shining, ignoring the world around her.

"A molecule that can..." Barb stopped reading as the cards were ripped out of her hands by Steve Harrington.

Nina was pulled out of the world of her book by the book being ripped out of her hands by Carol, one of Steve's friends. Carol looked at the cover of Nina's book before remarking in a baby voice; "Is the movie too scary for you?"

Her remark caused a crackle to escape from Tommy H., her boyfriend, and an eye roll from Nina who quickly ripped her book back into her hands and moved to lean against the wall behind Steve.

"I don't know, I think you've studied enough, Nance," Steve said to the girl as he shuffled through her flashcards.

"Steve..." Nancy was cut by him; "I'm telling you, you know, you got this. Don't worry."

Nina rolled her green eyes as she turned back to her book. "Now, on to more important matters. My dad has left town on a conference and my mom's gone with him, - 'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him," Steve explained making Tommy pipe up; "Good call."

"So, are you in?" Steve asked, looking down at Nancy whose brows were frowning.

"In for what?" she asked in confusion.

"No parents? Big house?" Carol spoke from where she was leaning against the wall.

"A party?" Nancy said making the others remark; "Ding, ding, ding!"

"It's Tuesday," Nancy piped up which caused Tommy to mock her; "It's Tuesday! Oh, my God."

Nina rolled her eyes again from behind her book as she heard Carol and Tommy laugh. "Come on. It'll be low key. It'll just be us. What do you say? Are you in or are you out?" Steve asked making Nancy think about her answer for a moment.

"Um..." she had started but was interrupted by Carol speaking; "Oh, God. Look."

The group turned around to see Jonathan Byers pinned something to the notice board. Nina closed her book and barged through Steve and Tommy, not caring about the force behind her shove. "Jonathan," she called out as she walked towards him.

Jonathan turned toward the girl and gave her a weak smile. "Hey Nina," was all he could say before she threw her arms around his shoulders.

"My Mum told me about Will. I'm so sorry," she informed him when she pulled away, but her hands remained on his shoulders.

"Thanks, Nina," Jonathan's eyes remained looking at the floor as he spoke.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help," Nina told him which caused his eyes to move up from the floor to her.

A small smile formed on her face as he gave her a nod. "Hey," Nancy's voice caused the pair to turn around to see her standing behind them, unsure of herself.

Not wanting to be a part of their conversation, Nina gave Jonathan one last hug before saying; "I'll see you around."

Nina walked back over to the others who stared at her like she had grown a second head. "Let's go, Barb," Nina said as she grabbed the red head's arm and glared at the others.

She dragged Barb down the hall towards their next class as a voice rang on the loudspeaker; "Attention, faculty and students. At 8:00 p.m. tonight, there will be an assembly on the football field in support of Will Byers and his family. All are encouraged to attend. Volunteer sign-ups for search parties are still available in the office."

৯

"I don't wanna go to a party with 'King Steve' and his friends," Nina whined as she drove with Nancy in the passenger seat.

"Please, Nina," Nancy begged her friend who had stopped her car after pulling up to the Wheelers.

Nina clicked her tongue in annoyance as she looked at her friend. Nancy's eyes were wide, and her bottom lip stuck out making Nina's eyes roll at her. After a few moments, Nina let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine...but you owe me big time," she snapped to her friend who let out a small cheer in victory.

"What are you going to tell your parents?" Nina asked in curiosity as she knew Mr and Mrs Wheeler would not let their daughter go to a party on a school night.

"I'll think of something," Nancy answered as she hadn't thought about what to tell her parents.

Nancy wrapped her arms around Nina's shoulders before jumping out of the car. "You go home and change. Barb and I will pick you up," was all Nancy said before she closed the door and ran towards her house.

Nina shook her head at Nancy before putting her car into drive and driving towards her house. When she arrived at hers, she noticed that her mother's cruiser was not parked outside the red house leading Nina to believe that her mother was working late.

After eating some leftovers, Nina dressed in a distressed grey AC/DC tee and a thick denim jacket to keep herself warm. Her legs were covered by a pair of matching denim jeans with a slit in the knees. Her hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail and she put on a thick-chained silver choker necklace. She laced up her converse before quickly writing a note in case her mother come home saying that she was spending the night at Nancy's.

When Barb finally arrived to pick up Nina, Nina noticed that Nancy was almost jumping with excitement while Barb looked like she rather be anywhere but driving to a party. Nina threw herself into the backseat and slumped against the seats as she really didn't want to go. The things you do for your friends.

৯