𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

Taking the last bite of her food, Alex noticed Dustin's careful eye on her as she chewed ever so slowly. Lightly pressing her hand to her chest, she had managed to choke out a few coughs. Dustin's frown deepened at her horribly failed attempt at choking during dinner so she chose to amp up her game. Coughing loudly, she banged at her chest over and over as she pointed toward her mouth. All eyes had been on her but none had reacted.

Quietly, she lowered her hand with a small shrug. "It was worth a shot."

"Terrible," Dustin whispered. Throwing his fork down onto his plate, he shook his head. "Embarrassing!" Standing up, he angrily gathered up all the plates to speed up this disaster.

Laughing uncomfortably, her mom clasped her hands together as she looked over the girls. "Well, you two should get going. Don't want to keep Steve waiting!"

"Oh, he can wait," Alex mumbled. Standing up, she motioned for Barb to follow along. If they had hung around any longer, it was most likely that her mom would end up throwing her out. The two had sulked their way to the door, throwing on their shoes and jackets as Alex's mom had given them strict instructions on how to stay safe given Hawkins current situation.

『••☀︎••』

WHEN BARB AND ALEX HAD PULLED INTO THE WHEELER'S DRIVEWAY, IT HAD BEEN TYPICAL FOR ALEX TO CLIMB FROM THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT TO HER RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE BACK. The moment that Nancy had giddily made her way into the car, she flashed each of the girls a smile that had been obvious this was her first party. "Aren't you two excited?"

Frowning, Barb had pulled out of the driveway without expressing her complete disinterest in the night's coming events. So instead Nancy had turned back towards Alex, "This'll be so much fun. Don't you think?"

Through the rearview mirror, Barb had met Alex's eyes in question. Both knew that tonight would most likely end awful. Alex ended up shrugging, "Maybe. Tommy might ruin it though."

"Ignore him. We're there for each other, not him. Besides, he'll just be with Carol the whole time, right?"

Barb couldn't help but laugh loudly in response to Nancy's words. "We're there for each other? If we were doing this for each other, we wouldn't even be going. This is for you to see Steve."

"Alex is friends with Steve," she spoke quietly, turning back around. Barb had made another comment under her breath that neither Nancy nor Alex could make out. Rather than continuing and making Barb madder, they didn't bother asking to repeat. Instead, they kept their silence. Alex preparing an excuse to head home earlier and Nancy hiding her giddiness to see Steve for the night.

As they headed down the street, Nancy realized how close they were getting and could no longer contain it. "Barb, pull over!" After her demands, the car had come to a halt on the side of the road.

"What are we doing?" Barb questioned. She had figured the earlier they had gotten there, the sooner they could leave and Nancy was only preventing that.

"We can't park in the driveway. The neighbors might see." Checking herself out in the mirror, Nancy began to apply her lipstick and fix the few strands of hair that had been out of place.

"This is stupid. I'm just gonna drop you off." Turning in her seat, Barb directed her attention to Alex. "Sleepover at your place?"

Seeing as the boys weren't expecting her anyways, Alex had seen no harm in a sleepover. It beat hanging out with Tommy all night. "Sleepovers good with me," she agreed. However, Nancy wasn't going to allow that. "You both promised you'd go. You're both coming. We're gonna have a great time!"

"He just wants to get in your pants," Barb fought back loudly. Alex turned her attention out the window so neither could catch her frown in the mirror. The forest had been dark but it had seemed a lot nicer to be out there than in the car with an angry Barb.

Chuckling, Nancy played it off as if those were not Steve's intentions. "No, he doesn't."

"Come on. He invited you to his house. His parents aren't home. You are not this stupid."

"Uh, Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there. Besides, he used to always have Alex over when his parents weren't home and you never called her stupid." Nancy had tried to turn back towards Alex to get her opinion but Barb had turned her back forward.

"That's not the same thing," Barb whispered harshly.

Frown deepening, Alex decided to speak up before the fighting could continue with her name involved. "We're just friends. We weren't ever dating so he never tried anything."

There was a silence as Nancy battled Barb silently with a strong glare. Seeing that Barb was not looking to lighten up and trust her enough, she settled on something that would make her feel better. "All right, well then you two can be like, my guardians. All right?" Nancy said as she pulled her top off, "Make sure I don't get drunk and do anything stupid."

Watching Nancy, Barb had a look of disappointment spread across her face. "Is that a new bra?"

"No," Nancy whispered. Pulling a shirt over herself, she looked at the two with a smile. "We can walk the rest of the way." Popping open her door, she had been the first, and most eager to get out. Since this had been so important to Nancy, both Barb and Alex had ended up deciding on following along, preparing for a long walk ahead of them to head to a place they would rather not be.