Play// Stranger Things

006

Valerie Archer hadn't slept much last night. Not only due to the reoccurring nightmares that had become more frequent, but also because of the overwhelming thoughts about a certain curly haired boy who had left soon after their kiss.

"Hey!" Charlie called out as soon as he spotted the girl, giving her a bright smile while he took in her appearance. She had her hair perfectly curled into loose ringlets and her eyes were neatly coated in a powder blue eyeshadow, a single symmetrical black line above the crease of her eye.

she had darkened her freckles ever so gently and her appearance was paired with a simple white blouse and a pair of light denim flair jeans that almost covered her light yellow floral clogs.

It was safe to say her appearance was the opposite of her emotional state of mind.

"Hey, I didn't see you in Chem. Where were you?" Val greeted the boy back as the lunch bell rang above them. "Skipped it, had a hangover from hell this morning." He chuckled. "Feeling any better?" Valerie questioned as she carefully and quietly closed her locker.

"Mhh, no." Charlie hummed out as he leaned against Valerie's locker. "You know what would make it better though?" Valerie's eyes furrowed before the boy began to tug at her waist, pulling her into his chest before his lips met hers.

"You look really pretty today, Val." Charlie whispered into the girl's lips, causing her to let out a small giggle as she pushed away from him. She wasn't sure what any of it meant, but she couldn't deny that she liked what the two of them had going on.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Charlie." Valerie snickered, a hand resting against Charlie's abdomen comfortably as a vibration rushed through her every time he laughed. Maybe Hawkins wasn't all bad.

"Hey, I brought you something." Charlie chirped as he fished a book out of his backpack. Valerie gave him a curious look as she took the item from his hands, examining the Steven King book which had a ghastly looking girl covered in blood on the cover. "Carrie?" Valerie questioned.

How fitting, she thought to herself, a book about a telekinetic freak gifted to a molecukinetic freak.

"You asked me what my favorite book was." Charlie shrugged as he watched Valerie skim through the pages covered in highlighter and a variety of different colored ink. "You wrote in the margins?" Valerie coo'ed, a teasing smile upon her lips. "Wheeler, who knew you were such a nerd."

Charlie shoved the girl, a small pink tint rising in his cheeks. "I'm not a nerd, I'm an intellectual. There's a distinct difference." The boy corrected as he  swung an arm over her shoulder, leading Valerie down the now empty hallways of Hawkins High school. "Don't be ashamed, it's cute." Valerie continued to tease Charlie. "I'll take it back." He warned.

"Don't you dare." Valerie gasped as the two entered the lunch room, making their way over to Charlie's table.

"Listen, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably just-she's probably just, like, skipping or something." Valerie heard Steve say as her and Charlie reached the lunch table, the two separating as Valerie went and sat by Carol while Charlie took a seat by his sister.

"Who's skipping?" Charlie questioned as he took his sister's orange juice carton without asking and opened it before she could protest. "Other than you? Where've you been dude?" Steve questioned the boy as Valerie watched Nancy frown deeply.