[REWRITING] When He Sees Me, Steve Harrington

029 Home

     Sometimes Laurie wishes she could just believe what Cutting Edge has been reporting on the news, that everything bad that's happened in this town has been because of a "bizarre chemical leak" that's linked to a local satanic cult called Hellfire. It'd be a hell of a lot easier that way, she thinks, if she was just as naïve as the rest of the world.

A few months back, Laurie eventually reached the point where she realised that she was in desperate need of a break. She needed to get out of Hawkins, needed some time away to clear her head and distract herself with something new and exciting. She was tired of talking to her shrink and she was tired of being paranoid.

     So, she and Robin packed up her tiny, beat-up car and drove across the state line, snacks in the glovebox and map in hand. They hadn't really had an idea of where they were going or what they would do, but summer was almost over so they just decided to take the risk. It wasn't Operation Croissant, not even close, but it was enough for the time being.

And as they drove through busy streets and ghost towns, getting lost in the middle of nowhere and filling her mental lockbox with memories and polaroids of them in grassy fields and abandoned buildings, Laurie soon noticed how she was dreading her and Robin's eventual return back to Hawkins.

It caught her by surprise, how strong her desire to stay gone felt. It must've been building in secret, she thinks. A slow incline crept in from deep in her chest ever since she woke up in Steve's arms the day after the mall burnt down. It made sense, sadly, because Laurie didn't know how she could call Hawkins home anymore since it certainly stopped feeling like it.

So, once her parents started discussing her future as the final months of high school began to approach, she and Robin started scouting for colleges in places other than Indiana. It took a while and then some, a couple of arguments scattered in between because no, we aren't living in nowhere Wyoming, Robin, but they eventually found a middle ground.

They decided that somewhere in Illinois would work, and subsequently, Chicago seemed like the best fit for them. It's still close, only a two-hour drive or a little longer by bus, but far enough that they wouldn't feel the need to keep looking over their shoulders as they waited for monsters to appear.

And that's where they've been the past week, touring colleges and exploring the city with Laurie's parents, learning the streets and getting to know people they probably won't ever see again.

She'd been to Chicago once before with Steve a few months back, but it was only for an abrupt weekend trip where they hadn't packed close to enough and barely had any money for gas. She'd spent most of it hauled up in Steve's grandparent's house, anyway, seeing as his nonna had caught a nasty case of the flu and Steve wanted to do anything and everything he could to help.

But this time she got to explore the city, enjoyed the architecture and the music that was always playing in the streets. She let herself get lost in the idea of living there Robin, getting her degree, maybe even having a life there with Steve, too.

     Her best friend dragged her everywhere, excitement pouring from her mouth faster than she meant to, and not once did the possibility of them staying in Hawkins ever cross Laurie's mind. She was going to get out, and she wouldn't let anything stop her.

     But now she's home again, doing better and looking forward to her future, and a bell rings as she pushes open the doors into Family Video.

It's quarter past 12 and the store is empty, the only sign of life being a spilled can of Pringles on the counter and a half-empty bottle of Cherry Coke to match. Much like the town outside, it's dark as Laurie enters, shades of blues and black casting over the shelves of tapes and swallowing her whole. The flashing lights hung above the display posters across the walls are barely working, and the light that's coming from the neon orange sign sitting by the entrance only illuminates so much.