𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞

𝟑𝟓.

Gosh, I hope that Will likes it.

That's all I've been thinking about all day and it's making me lose my mind. Nancy places her hand over mine, assisting me in holding the hammer and I reward her with a soft smile.

I exhale sharply and close my eyes before slamming the flat surface of the hammer against the nail, giving myself a few moments before opening my eyes again.

I stand up and walk a few steps backwards to take in my version of Castle Byers, biting my lip in doubt.

It's... well- not that bad?

My sister places her hand on my shoulder.

"It's awesome, okay? Will is going to absolutely love it." She answers my thoughts with a smile and I grin right back at her, feeling better immediately.

I shouldn't overthink it - Will is the type of person who will appreciate something no matter how small it is, and (not to be vain, but) I put a lot of hard work into this den. I know he'll love it.

"Well- you wanna go home, now?"

I furrow my brows (a.n. Fr the iconic face mike makes😭) "No... we still have to decorate the inside."

"Jeez, Mike- when do you plan on showing him this, tonight?"

I was thinking more... Valentines?

Yeah- she's right.

"It's no rush, yeah?" Nancy reminds me.

"Okay, okay." I give in. "But like- I wanna finish it before I have to go back to school, y'know?" That's in less than a week, so we kinda have to work quickly. I mean- there isn't much to do left, all I need to do is decorate with pillows and blankets and stick his art on the indoor walls.

Wait- precisely! There isn't much left, so I may as well get it all done today.

"Never mind, Nancy- can you just bring me the stuff from the back of the car then head home? I wanna do the rest myself." I ask, looking up at her hopefully, doe eyes being displayed.

She crosses her arms and stares and me with a blank expression before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine. But that also means that you're walking home today."

"Yeah- totally!" I smile.

Mon. 20th January, 1986 | 5:53pm
Jane Hopper

Lessons start tomorrow, but the school grounds opened yesterday, giving me permission to roam around the building. I arrived earlier today and volunteered to sort out all the books in the library since it'll come in handy a lot this week. Makes sense, I suppose, since everyone has to pick a book to read for book review sessions in English lessons this semester.

I quickly let the librarian know that I'm done with the chores and make my way to the bathroom, not having peed for a couple of hours, by now. I'm quite desperate, to say the least.

I rush into a stall, lift up my knee-high skirt and pull down my translucent, black tights, releasing into the toilet. I sit lost in thought for a few moments. Seconds later, I finish wiping and flush the toilet before exiting the stall and washing my hands.

That's when I hear the sound of coughing and spluttering coming from one of the cubicles.

I cock a brow in disquietude.

"Hey, are you okay?"

...

"Yeah, I'm- I'm fine."

I recognise that voice immediately.

"Angela? Is that you?" I ask.

"El?" She replies, assuring me that it's her.

"Hey, come out." I advise her with a gentle tone. Something is wrong - I just know it.

The lock of the stall clicks and the blonde that I expect to see emerges from it.

"You okay, Angie?" I question her softly. I only really use that nickname when I'm trying to comfort her. She looks up at me and nods.

"Yes, just a cough..." Angela avoids making eye contact with me and I can't tell whether she's telling the truth or lying.

But I don't really have time to think about that - both of our heads snap towards the entrance of the bathroom closing up, and we share panicked expressions.

I hurriedly make my way to the exit and try to open the door again, but it won't budge.

Fuck.

To Be Continued...

a.n.
FUCKING FINALLYYY
this took so long because of dumb tests 😭😭 AND I HAVE MORE NEXT WEEK KMS.

I'll probably be consistent after that, tho.

well, anyways 😁

I hope you liked it <3