october 30th, 1984
SHE HAD GONE the wrong way. Aven had walked from one side of the school to the other, looking into classes she thought she had only to find them empty. She crossed her fingers as she looked inside the final one on the slip of paper the office lady had given her, mentally praying that it was right. Thankfully, she let out a breath, but then her nerves spiked again. Billy was there, standing at the front, the teacher introducing him to the class while he smirked. She had to open the door, even when she knew it was the last thing he wanted her to do.
Billy Hargrove liked attention. He liked to have it everywhere he went, in every single moment, every single time. While Aven most commonly let him have it, due to liking the feeling of being in the background merely watching, sometimes she had no choice. As she stood in front of the classroom, tightening her hold on her books, she debated her options. Be even later then she already was, which would end up in some sort of embarrassing reprimand, skip class altogether, but it was her first class at the new school which definitely wouldn't sit right with the principal, or she could walk inside and hope Billy wouldn't be mad that he had to share the spotlight.
She chose the latter, because, genuinely, the girl did not have it in her to be any later or skip entirely. She cautiously pushed open the door, the movement causing the students' eyes to avert from her twin to the entrance as the teacher droned on. Only did the lecturer stop when she noticed the absence of attention.
Aven's eyes glanced over the ocean of people sitting tiredly at their desks, who all immediately perked up upon noticing the arrival of yet another newcomer. Aven swallowed, sight leaving the crowd to fall on the teacher as she pulled open the door completely with a wide smile.
"Welcome, you must be the other one," the woman grinned as she gestured for the girl to step inside. Aven blinked. The other one. Of course she was the other one.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind her. She avoided making eye-contact with her brother. She knew what his expression would be, what his face would say, what his eyes would murmur. She didn't want to hear it.
Instead, Aven let her eyes look over the class once more. She studied them all intricately, yet in a way that nobody noticed. Mostly everyone was looking at her and Billy, except for a few. One of which was sitting to the right of the room, pen scratching at his page as he doodled along the margin.
Her brows drew in subtly, her lips pressing together. One of his elbows was on the desk, helping hold up his tired head. He drew aimless little sketches, cubes and random dots littering his page. His eyes squinted, narrowed at the desk like it was the only interesting thing in the room. His hair flopped messily over his forehead creating shadows of uneven cuts. An unfamiliar feeling settled within the deepest crevices of her stomach. Her fingertips tingled.
"Alright, class," the teacher said as she placed a hand on both twins' shoulders. Aven snapped out of her gaze, letting her eyes land on her dirt-speckled shoes.
Steve reluctantly looked up from his open book, eyes already beginning to droop tiredly, before they flew open in alarm. It was her: the girl he'd subconsciously chased down the hall. She was standing right in front of him, behind two rows of desks and classmates. He scratched the side of his neck.
Her mannerisms were clear. Her blue eyes watched the floor, searching for something to hook onto, while her fingers clutched almost desperately at the books by her side. Her hair was straight, dead straight, and landed just beneath her shoulders. Everything about her screamed tranquillity and assiduity, and at a guess, Steve thought if he looked hard enough, there'd be a splash of natural ebullience hidden beneath the barriers she was holding up too.
"We actually have two new students today. Please give a warm welcome to Billy and Aven Hargrove, all the way from California!"
Aven turned to the side, forcing a smile as she tried to show some false appreciation for the woman standing between herself and her twin.
The woman looked between the two. "Sit wherever you'd like." While Billy simply walked off, his signature smirk resting across his face, Aven made sure she thanked the teacher before finding a seat in the second row by the window. She dropped her books on the desk, and just as she was turning to sit down, her eyes latched onto the boy with floppy hair. He was already staring at her.
She smiled at him. He smiled back.
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AVEN THREW HER maths book into her bag with annoyance, shoulder pressed up against her open locker door as people shouted and yelled across to each other around the hall. People ran down the tiles, skidding and slamming into one another along the way. Lockers were slammed shut, bangs echoing down the corridor. Everyone was itching to leave.
Aven Hargrove slung her bag over her shoulder before double checking she had what she needed. On her first day, her first session of maths, she was given a chapter worth of homework. At the mere thought of studying at night, Aven silently groaned before closing her locker, making sure it clicked shut.
She quickly walked down the hall, making sure to keep her sight steady as she dodged spatially-unaware students who were jumping around with their friends. Unknowingly, she passed by the boy from her first session.
"How'd you do on your test?" Steve asked Nancy, who was hurriedly sliding her books into her locker.
She shrugged. "Alright." She grabbed the empty bag out of her locker and shut the door, pulling up the zip as she moved. "I've gotta go home. Bye, Steve."
Steve opened his mouth to say something, but his girlfriend only waved goodbye before walking away, not sparing a second glance back like she used to. He sighed. "Bye, Nance," he muttered to himself before he pushed his body away from the wall.
On her way down the hall, Nancy cursed with furrowed brows as her zip got stuck on the inner lining of her bag. "Stupid," she whispered as she yanked it harder, eyes narrowed as she tried to move it. In the process of not looking up, she accidentally collided with someone else. Both participants gasped as they closed their eyes, one holding their arm while the other held her elbow.
"I'm so sorry," Nancy uttered as she quickly looked up, eyes wide with concern. "Oh my God, wait. You're the new girl, right?"
Aven smiled as she nodded her head, running her hand down her arm once before letting it fall forgotten to her side. "Yeah, I am. Aven." She held her hand out.
Nancy grinned warmly. "I'm Nancy," the teen said brightly as she shook the other girl's hand. "Are you liking it here?"
Aven retracted her hand and looked to the side, moving her head to convey her debating. The corners of her lips descended into a downwards smile. "Would you be offended if I said no?"
Nancy laughed. "No, I hate it here." An image of the events of the previous year flooded through her head. The Demogorgon.
Aven looked down at her bag. "Here," she said as she gently took it from Nancy. She watched with a tilted head as Aven bit her lip, carefully pulling the fabric out from beneath the zip before closing the bag entirely. She held it back out with a smile.
"Thanks," Nancy beamed while taking it gratefully, throwing it over her shoulder. "If you ever need anything, or get lost or something, come find me. Okay?"
Aven's eyes brightened, her smile growing. "Sure. Thanks, Nancy."
"Call me Nance," the girl said with a grin before turning around and walking in the other direction. Aven smiled to herself, looking down at the ground for a second in thought, before spinning on her heel and continuing outside.
She could see Max in the distance, leaning against the side of Billy's car with her skateboard kicked up in her hand, a bored and irritated expression covering the majority of her face. On the other side of the Camaro, Billy was standing with an arm on the roof of the vehicle, a smirk resting on his lips as he spoke to a girl. She twirled a strand of curly hair around her finger, looking the boy up and down as he spoke. Aven looked away with disgust, wondering how some people could be so naive.
When Max saw the older teen approaching from the distance, a smile started to grow on her face.
"How was school?" Aven asked as she stepped closer, pausing to lean against the passenger side door. Max shook her head as she looked off into the distance, memories replaying in front of her sight.
"There were these four boys," she snickered, a grin enlightening her cheeks. Aven smiled at the start. "They were like . . . stalkers, or something. They kept following me."
Aven kicked her foot lightly with her own. "I told you people would want to be friends with you."
Max only laughed.
"Hey!" Billy said from the other side of the car, smacking his palm against the roof. The two girls looked over with raised brows, noticing the other girl had disappeared. "Let's go," he exaggerated before dropping into the driver's seat and turning the car on. Max rolled her eyes, sharing a look with Aven, before climbing in.
Steve had moved outside, leaning his back against his own car as he flipped through one of his school books, trying to figure out if he'd left his mess of an essay inside his locker or not. However, as soon as the loud rumble of a car sounded throughout the almost empty school parking lot, he looked up out of instinct. He saw the car first, the one he'd seen drive in earlier that morning, and then he saw her. Her.
Aven watched Max pull the seat back so she could get inside too. She placed her left hand on top of the open door, turning around to fall into the seat, before she subconsciously locked eyes with him. The boy from her first class. The boy with the floppy hair.
She furrowed her brows, watching his eyes widen before he sent her a nod, the index and middle finger of his right hand moving up in a half-wave. She stared at him for a moment, parting her lips, before she heard a voice from inside the car.
"Hurry up or I'm driving off," Billy said rather loudly, yet not loud enough for his voice to leave the vicinity of the car. Aven sighed, sending the boy across the parking lot a smile and soft nod back before falling into the car.