CHAPTER THREE
↳ definitely no madonna
⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒
( content warning : minor homophobia )
Laurie Fisher was beyond hopeful that maybe Lucas would be given a small chance at being involved in the basketball team. She had spent the whole entire year vouching for the poor boy, though Jason was 'nervous' to place a newbie on the team immediately. Like, sure Lucas was new and young, but he had a lot of potential for someone so young. Laurie immediately assumed Jason didn't want him playing since Lucas was better at throwing balls into hoops.
Though, Jason did deny that.
She gave a wide grin the moment the boy and the other boys appeared, brightening up massively when Lucas gave her a small wave. Though she couldn't wave (having a pompom in her hand and having to cheer), she did give her same old toothy grin that Lucas appreciated.
While all the girls stood to the side, their voices were very much evident, even through the applause and cheers.
"Let's go, Tigers!" They all cheered and ever so often, Laurie couldn't help looking at Robin Buckley as she played alongside the marching band.
The girls continued to cheer. "Let's go, Tigers!"
While Laurie knew very well that Robin wasn't even paying attention her way, she couldn't help just look ever so often. She couldn't really control it whatsoever, her smile widening more and more. Though, to everyone else it just looked like Laurie Fisher was being herself.
But, Laurie Fisher was being truly happy. Like, happier than ever. She could see Steve Harrington walking up the aisle of people. She recognised him very well as the boy who would sometimes drop Robin to school. She never really held a full on conversation with him, but she knew he was exceptionally famous for his reputation as the king of Hawkins High.
Until Billy Hargrove came around, that is.
She noticed he was with some girl she didn't recognise and held back her frown. Laurie had been given the impression that Steve had a thing for Robin, so why on earth was he bringing some random girl with him to the basketball game?
Before she could get lost in her cheer routine and thoughts, the band completely stopped and the speaker man spoke, "Everyone now please rise for our national anthem." All the cheerleaders placed their pompoms on the ground by their feet and waited until whoever was singing walked out. Now, being born and raised for like six years in England, Laurie absolutely didn't get why Americans were so patriarchal. From doing the Pledge of Allegiance to so many other things, she didn't expect so many changes to occur. Like, she assumed it must be normal though, not questioning it.
But she absolutely found it tiring.
"Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest." The speaker man started. "All the way from Nashville, our very own Tammy Thompson!" The crowd broke into cheers, recognising Tammy immediately. Laurie was absolutely confused by Tammy Thompson's surprise appearance. From her recollection, the girl was definitely no Madonna. Maybe an off brand Hawkins Madonna, but even that was a stretch.
"Go, Tammy!"
"We love you, Tammy!"
The moment the girl began singing was the moment Laurie felt herself holding back a lot of things. It wasn't her being rude, but she wasn't in tune whatsoever. She was straining her voice and the microphone was squeaking way too much, making some people visibly wince.
Chrissy leaned closer to Laurie, whispering into her ear, "I feel bad for her."
Laurie subtly nodded. "Yeah. Poor girl."
While trying hard not to die on the spot from Tammy Thompson's unfortunate singing, Laurie didn't fail to notice how Lucas looked back to the stands, his face dropping when he saw none of his friends. Laurie felt her heart drop for the poor boy, who looked absolutely devastated that they didn't even try and see him possibly play.
Like, yes, Lucas had been benched for most the year, but that didn't mean he'd always be benched. Dustin and Mike should've at least tried to be there to see him, even if it meant seeing him sat on the bench.
If Laurie wasn't a cheerleader, she would still be here for Lucas. Even though she despised basketball and found the screaming overbearing. She'd endure it to be the one supporter Lucas wanted in the crowd.
The moment the whistle blew, the crowd broke into shouts of absolute support.
While the cheerleaders were bouncing around in chants of support, the basketball players threw the ball to one another, catching it and throwing it around. Now, Laurie didn't really fuss around with basketball at all, finding the game almost boring to even watch. But, as a cheerleader, she had to and hence here she was. She could see Lucas on the bench, like he always was, and felt annoyance encase her simply because she knew the Sinclair boy would play, it was just he never got the chance.
She could see Jason bossing the team around like he always did. His constant reminder of staying on them for each player rang throughout the cheers. He had pointed at Chrissy with his usual smile when he had scored one for the team, though Laurie could see how odd the girl was acting.
She subtly nudged her, reaching down and grabbing her hand to give it a squeeze. She was cold to touch, which made Laurie shiver. Chrissy was never this cold. "You okay?"
Chrissy nodded. "It's okay." She gave a weak and strained smile to Laurie which didn't assure the girl at all. A pit of worry engulfed Laurie whole.
There was something Chrissy wasn't telling her. Laurie could sense it. She'd ask Chrissy again if she was okay after the game.
Laurie continued watching and cheering, holding back winces every time something didn't go to Jason Carver's plan. It happened more frequently than she had expected, albeit she was somewhat glad when a team member was injured. Maybe now Lucas would be given a chance.
And he was given his chance.
Laurie broke into loud cheers the moment Lucas rushed into the game, although he looked absolutely shocked he had even been given a chance. Laurie made sure Lucas could hear absolutely every cheer she had for him for every moment he became victorious, passing the ball to other players and securing more points.
A proud smirk was painted across her face. It was about damn time that Jason Carver realised Lucas Sinclair wasn't that bad after all.
The hype grew more and more the closer the time came to the end of the game. Laurie felt absolutely sick with nerves watching the competing team gain more and more points. She continued her loud cheering, along with the other cheerleaders and also the crowd in general. Everyone was absolutely on edge. Chrissy turned to Laurie with a prominent smile on her lips as she watched the game grow closer and closer to victory. It was so close, they could all just feel it. The timeout brought time for the cheerleaders to cheer on, while the basketball players plotted out victory, or perhaps doom.
Laurie knew very well Jason wanted to take the final shot. She knew how much he wanted the weight of the game to be dependent on his shoulders. But, this wasn't his shot to take and call Laurie bias but she would absolutely go mental if Lucas was able to do it instead.
After the constant leaving out, it would be pure enjoyment to watch as the game fell in their favour because of Lucas Sinclair.
But, the moment Jason Carver threw that ball, Laurie Fisher knew that he wasn't the decider on victory. She knew, that when that ball was caught by Lucas' hands, that he was the real decider.
And, god did he decide to take victory in time. Everyone was in complete awe, watching with open jaws as the ball seemingly went through the air in slow motion. It hit the side of the net, bouncing to the other side, hitting the backboard, before finally landing in the net with an absolute shrill of applause.
Laurie and Chrissy immediately cheered together, grinning like mad men as the pair held onto each other's hands and jumped in place. Immediately, all the team, including the cheerleaders, rushed to absolutely swallow Lucas in cheers and hugs.
Laurie gave him a tight hug and her heart absolutely swelled when the boy whispered in her ear, "thanks for always believing in me."
She gave him a toothy grin, laughing with him and everyone else.
What a great day.
⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒
Laurie Fisher did not know where Chrissy Cunningham had slipped off to after the game had ended. The blonde haired girl had the full intention of asking Chrissy if she was really okay, yet now she was no where to be seen. She had asked some of the girls who were playing if they had seen Chrissy, but they'd all shrug and tell Laurie that she shouldn't get so worked out. But, she had to. She knew Chrissy would be this worked up over her so she had to reciprocate the feelings.
The blonde awkwardly threw on a jacket, carrying her bag on her back while she walked outside with everyone else following the game.
"Hey, Laurie, you coming to the party?" One of the boys, Patrick, had asked the girl the moment they were outside. Patrick was actually a pretty nice boy, someone Laurie found to be nice to talk to. She could see him awkwardly scratching the back of his head, while the boys behind whistled.
Oh. Her face nearly dropped at the mention of the party. "Uh, no." She gave a polite smile to the boy, who looked nearly deflated. "I wasn't told there was a party." That bit was true. Laurie simply assumed that the party was spontaneous.
Patrick laughed, nervously shuffling on the spot. "Yeah. Sudden idea really." He gave the girl a smile and Laurie couldn't help returning it. "You wanna be my date?"
Laurie could hear the boys behind Patrick whistling at the pair, expecting for Laurie to say 'yes' and allow Patrick to whisk her away to some party where she'd undoubtedly end up drunk.
She gave him a sympathetic smile. "No, sorry." She felt awful when she saw his shoulders sag and some of the boys laughed. She glared slightly at them. "But, hey, go have fun, okay?"
Patrick gave her a smile, though she could see how affected she was. She felt slightly bad, but knew how out of control this was to her. "Always a next time?" He gave a laugh to her and Laurie awkwardly laughed, waving him off.
"Yeah, maybe." No, there will never be a next time because I do not feel any sorta romantic feelings for you whatsoever and hopefully you will move on and find someone who deserves you. "Anyways, any of you seen Chrissy? I wanted to ask her something?"
Jason shook his head at Laurie. "No, she said she was going straight home. Bad headaches really, she said. Why?" He looked at her almost suspiciously.
Laurie smiled, ignoring the look he had given her. "I just wanted to see if she was okay. She just looked tired."
Jason frowned at Laurie. "You don't need to be worrying about her, that's my job as her boyfriend." Laurie held back the scowl that threatened to appear on her face, clenching her hands slightly.
"Oh, I know." Laurie awkwardly laughed, breathing in and out in a pace that didn't seem normal. "Friends can be worried about friends, right?"
Jason laughed. "Yeah, though sometimes I worry you may be a queer and have a crush on Chris."
Laurie went pale. "What?"
"Yeah, though, you ain't no fairy. Are you?"
Laurie shook her head, swallowing down her nerves with one gulp. "Of course not." She awkwardly stared at Jason before giving a small smile. "I better be off then."
Laurie, now, felt like the worst human in the existence of mankind for several reasons. She could almost kick herself in the back. She had embarrassed Patrick right in front of his friends, which was something she never wanted to do but still did. She really did feel terrible.
She made him look like a complete idiot, simply because she didn't feel feelings for him.
She never did feel anything for any of the boys. She had realised this years ago and, to this day, still teared up over the fact. She wanted to feel the sparks other girls felt. She wanted to have her heart racing when passing an attractive boy.
But it never raced nor did she feel those sparks.
Laurie couldn't help feeling sick from what Jason had remarked about her and Chrissy. It really took her aback when he said that about the pair of girls. He acted as though it would be disgusting if her and Chrissy were in love.
The thought of Jason finding out made Laurie feel awfully sick.
She was walking along the side of the road, kicking rocks as she walked when she heard a beep. She turned around with wide eyes, a smile breaking out on her face when she saw who had beeped.
"Laurie!" Robin had yelled from the passenger seat of Steve Harrington's car. The window was open and Laurie could make out Robin's gorgeous eyes and smile that she knew all too well. Her eyes were blown out wide, her heart racing slightly and her chest feeling overwhelmingly warm. Laurie found herself immediately perking up, something Steve Harrington also immediately noticed. "Need a lift?"
Laurie went slightly red, her mouth open in an 'o'. "You sure?"
Steve from besides Robin nodded. "Yeah." He gave her a smile letting her know that it wasn't at all bothering him that he would be able to take her home.
"Oh I don't wanna be a bother."
Robin deadpanned at her. "Come on, it's freezing and you expect me to let you walk home alone?" Laurie exhaled and reluctantly opened the back door, climbing in and closing the door behind her.
She beamed. "Thank you."
"Anytime." Steve replied, starting the car. "Though I assumed you'd be going home with the boys."
Laurie laughed. "I don't really see any fun in getting a massive hangover with any of them." She commented, fastening her seat belt and placing her bag besides her.
Robin turned to look at her. "You looked good today."
Laurie went a crimson shade. "Thanks. You looked great today as well."
Robin laughed. "Where to is your place?" She had asked, more so for Steve to drop Laurie off.
Laurie's smile faltered slightly, though she replied, "Forest hills, please?" She looked down almost embarrassed. She looked out the window, smiling. "Though, here's perfect."
Steve frowned. "You sure? I can drop you off at yours exactly-"
Laurie interuptted him. "No, here's fine. I wouldn't want to disturb any of my neighbours. They aren't overly fond of cars late at night." She unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbing her bag and opening the door.
"Bye!"
"Bye, thanks again for the lift!" She thanked Steve directly, before turning her attention onto Robin. "Hey Robin?"
"Yeah, Laurie?"
Laurie gave a grin. "You look very pretty today. Love your mascara and eyeshadow, though you're just as pretty without it. It just gives you a spark." She didn't notice the bright blush on Robin's face. "Bye!" Very quickly she turned around, yelling slight, "oh and you played really good today! Bye!"
"Uh-uh bye!" Robin waved and Laurie laughed.
The moment they pulled away and saw the girl's figure disappear from sight, Steve gave Robin a shitfaced grin. "You know, I take back what I said months ago." He looked very much amused by Robin's blushing mess. "Laurie definitely likes boobies."
"Steve!"
If it was possible, Robin Buckley went an even brighter shade of red.
⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒
lesbians.
yes lesbians.
lesbian rights !!
steve be cheering for lesbian rights rn
i know because he told me himself
also the exchange between laurie and jason.
i feel bad for her
like imagine being a closeted lesbian and being the first person to date the homophobic jock's gf. we stan laurie and chrissy <333 sapphics in love
laurie: getting a lift with robin and steve while practically flirting with robin
meanwhile, at eddie's place: