Riley Hopper's life wasn't exactly 'normal' to begin with. The cancer diagnosis, eventually leading to the tragic death of her little sister had torn her family apart and had left a hole in both her and her parents' hearts. Her parents got divorced...
Sorry it took me so long to post this! I've been crazy busy. Big Thanks to @MSTXfanfix1 for the suggestion! If you have any ideas for bonus chapters you want to see, please leave them in the comments!
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I sat on the floor of El and I's bedroom, our full-length mirror propped against the wall in front of me as I attempted to use a curling iron on my long, blonde hair.
My outfit for the evening was hanging on the back of my closet door, and Eleven was sitting on her bed with a pillow in her lap, watching me get ready. Music played quietly from the radio that sat on our dresser, and I was singing along quietly to the music.
"Nervous?" El asked, leaning her chin against the pillow. I shrugged, removing a section of hair from the iron.
"Maybe a little," I admitted, "I'm mostly excited though. I mean, Steve and I know that we like each other, and after everything we've been through, a first date doesn't really seem that scary."
"What are...dates?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "What do you do?"
I shrugged again, assessing my hair in the mirror.
"Whatever you want really," I answered, "I don't really know, I've never been on one."
"Is it like the Snow Ball?"
"Kind of," I told her, "I mean, its less formal. It definitely won't be a chaperoned school function."
I heard a hesitant knock on the door, and El and I both listened in anticipation to see if the knock would adhear to the secret pattern or not. It did, with a few pauses here and there, indicating that whoever was outside had learned the code fairly recently.
Eleven and I shared a look and she jumped up, rushing out of the room to answer the door. I blew out a breath, standing up and rushing over to the closet to put on my outfit.
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It was a little out of character for me, as I tended to avoid skirts if at all possible. But a first date with Steve seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out, so I went with a button up denim skirt that had been sitting in the back of my dresser drawer forever.
I ran my fingers through my hair, adjusting it around my shoulders before walking out of our bedroom and shutting the door behind me.
Eleven was leaning on the arm of the couch, her arms crossed over her chest, and Steve was leaning back against the door. He was wearing what looked to be new jeans, a black t-shirt and a dark blue Member's Only jacket. His hair was neatly styled, as always, and I instantly clocked the bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. The two seemed to be locked in a serious conversation, due to the intense expressions on each of their faces, which caused me to raise my eyebrows.
"Am I interrupting something?" I asked, causing them both to look at me. "Do you want me to go back in, get ready a little longer?"
"No. We're done." Eleven said, standing up straight and turning to look at me. Steve smiled, holding up a bouquet of flowers.
