𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕟 | steve harrington

𝟎𝟏𝟒. the snowball of 84'

"You know, it did taste a little bitter," Nancy laughed before turning to face Jonathan who was in charge of the photo booth to shield her eyes, pretending like she couldn't notice the girls in front of her.

Max tore the bag open and held onto the top of it while Julie tilted it over the bowl that held the red liquid. Julie tried to stop after pouring a good amount but Max kept her hands on the bag making sure all of it went in. When the bag was empty, Julie tossed it into the trashcan at the end of the table. Julie and Nancy shook their heads at the unnecessary amount of sugar that Max added to the refresher.

"They have to drink it, not us" Julie giggled to Nancy.

Max playfully rolled her eyes walking away from the refreshment table and back to the party's designated table that Max had saved for them after she had to get there early because of Julie and Sarah who had driven them.

Julie walked around the table and took her place next to Nancy. She was in charge of the snacks and making sure that none of the kids took more than the limit they were given. They were silent with each other although listening to the music blasting out of the speakers set up around the gym. Besides Julie's first day at Hawkins High and Nancy being one of the two people to welcome her, they hadn't talked much. At least, always in a group but never alone. It was not as if they had much to talk about because they didn't know each other well. But now they were bonded after the whole Upside Down debacle. Julie loved to hide the fact that she was intimidated by Nancy and found herself growing nervous almost every time she had to talk to her.

Julie noticed how sure Nancy always was of herself and she admired that. She admired the way Nancy always went after what she wanted and she always got it because she worked so hard for it. Never once did Julie see Nancy hesitate and she thought it was because Nancy didn't. Julie was nothing like that, she hesitated way too often. It was more of an on-and-off feeling that depended on her situation or the problem and maybe that wasn't a bad thing but Julie didn't know it.

Unknown to her, Nancy was fascinated by Julie and not just because of her breathtaking hair. In Nancy's eyes, Julie was a take-action kind of person and though Julie believed she hesitated most of the time, Nancy knew and witnessed that she never did when it came to protecting the people she deeply cared about. Whether it was a mere bully or a monstrous dog from another dimension, Julie wouldn't have it.

"So," Nancy began capturing Julie's attention, "I like your outfit."

She wanted to start up a conversation but wasn't sure how to say what she really wanted to say.

"Oh, thank you. I actually wanted to say earlier that I love your dress" Julie complimented to which Nancy smiled.

It got silent between the girls again and it was honestly annoying. It wasn't like they were meeting for the first time.

"This is stupid," Nancy rolled her eyes, "It's probably, most definitely not my place to say this but I think you should go out on that date with Steve and if the reason you're holding back is because of me then don't because I would feel terrible about that. There are absolutely no feelings between us at all, not anymore. I want him to be happy and I'd like you to also be happy and I'm not saying that you need a guy to make you happy but I just mean romantically at least."

Julie had been completely taken back by Nancy's random outburst and so had Sarah who had walked up to the table to grab a drink and talk to two of her favorite girls. Julie had heard pleads from everyone that surrounded her on a daily including her younger sister, so they didn't expect Steve's ex to be persuading her to go on a date with him. It was an interesting situation to overhear.

"Oh, uh," Julie tried to form her words while Sarah stared at them completely engulfed in the scene unfolding in front of her eyes, "Don't feel bad at all, it's not your fault at all. The reason I haven't done it is because-" Julie cut her words short.