Julia was throwing Melody a pool party in their backyard for her second birthday.
Steve was in charge of inviting the guest.
He invited the older teens, who were excited about the pool party. In August, they were going to start their third year of high school. They weren't so little anymore.
Steve invited Melody's new friend she made at the park a few months back.
He also invited a few of his older friends.
Julia was decorating the backyard. While Steve was taking care of Melody. The two-year-old was ready to go in the pool. She enjoyed the water. She wanted to jump in the pool without supervision.
Steve went to the pool with Melody. The girl was happy and splashed everywhere. She wanted to swim around. Holding her close to him, Steve moved around the pool while she pretended to swim.
Thirty minutes later, people started arriving.
Melody's new friends she made in the park went to her party.
The three kids were thrilled once they saw the pool.
Jasmine skipped while holding her mothers hand.
David held his younger brother's hand as both boys walked fast. The young boy Eric had turned two just a few weeks ago, Melody was now the same age as him. When Melody noticed Eric, she smiled fondly at the boy and wanted to swim toward him. David's mom helped the two boys into the pool.
While the other kids were in the pool, Jasmine was more interested in the chips that were on the long wooden table. The pool could wait; the girl wanted to eat first.
Ten minutes later, Robin arrived alone. Robin was no longer dating Vickie. They broke up early this year. They were sadly growing apart. For college Vickie went out of state while Robin stayed in Indiana.
She was sad at first; it was her first big break up, but she dried her tears and tried again.
In college Robin met a lot of cool people. They were different, and others were like her. It was different from the small town of Hawkins. She was sure to make weekly phone calls to Steve and Julia to update them on her romance life. Steve was very interested and had a few opinions of Robin's dating life.
After Robin got into the pool, she splashed water on the birthday girl and her father.
Soon after, Mike and Will arrived with Nancy. Nancy and Jonathan were going strong, they were still dating, and they were now living together.
They recently opened their own little business. Nancy was the reporter while Jonathan took pictures of the cases. They did small things like report on car crashes, stolen mail, and right now, they were investigating a recent fire. It was the fifth fire in two weeks, and many believe they were dealing with a pyromaniac.
Nancy wanted to get to the bottom of the investigation. Their lives were busy, and Nancy loved every minute of it.
Nancy placed Melody's gift on the small circular table that was outside. Jonathan greeted Steve and sat on a chair. Will followed his brother and sat on a chair near him. He smiled at Julia and waved at her.
Nancy sat on the edge of the pool in front of Jonathan. She took off her shoes and put her feet in the water.
Robin and Melody were still splashing everywhere; they even got Nancy. The young woman didn't want to get wet, but thanks to the girls, the top part of her summer dress was now wet.
Mike stood awkwardly by the edge of the pool. Julia greeted him, and Robin yelled at him to get in the pool. He reluctantly agreed.
Mike and Eleven were taking a small break from their relationship. They were still friends; the pair had classes together in school they couldn't ignore each other forever. It was a little bit awkward at the beginning of the break up, but now it wasn't awkward between them.
They started dating too young. They needed to be their own person and grow as individuals, and maybe they could get together again.
Eleven wore a colorful one-piece bathing suit and sat next to Nancy with only her feet getting wet.
Dustin was doing great. He was still dating Suzie, they were going strong. The long-distance couldn't separate them. During each summer, they see each other for a few weeks. He was the president of the robotics team he created during his sophomore year. He made two new friends in his robotics class, but he always made time for his childhood friends.
Dustin wasted to notice and jumped into the pool canyon ball style. He made a big wave and splashed everyone around him.
"Come on, dude," Steve said. Melody gasped for air, feeling like she was drowning. Steve and Melody got out of the pool. Julia walked toward them with a towel and wrapped Melody in it.
Max and Lucas were the last of the friend group to arrive.
Lucas and Max were dating again. It was the longest time they had been together since they started dating a few years ago.
Max was able to walk on her own without any help or a wheelchair. She couldn't see, recently; she started seeing shadows helping her navigate a little bit better. Going to school was hard for her. She needed to learn in a new different way, but Lucas was there by her side through it all.
He stayed up late at night to help her record the notes and lessons so she could hear them since she couldn't see the chalkboard.
With Lucas' help, Max went into the water. She stayed in the steps, having her lower body submerged. She wore a blue swimsuit, and her hair was in a messy bun.
Seeing her friend, Eleven rushed to her side. The two girls quickly began to talk.
Their bond was better than before. Eleven helped her in everything she could. She made sure Max always looked presentable since Lucas never paid much attention to the small detail like she did. They also gossip about Mike. Eleven would describe in detail of everything that was happening around the school, what she saw and heard.
After defeating Vecna, Eleven's powers weren't the same. She struggled to get them back, and she wasn't as powerful as before.
Seeing that Max was in good hands, Lucas left her side and went with Dustin.
Linda and Kate helped Julia with the food. Robin was telling Nancy all her college adventures, and Nancy told her about the fires that were going on in the town. Both girls were having adventures of their own.
They gave advice to each other, and they wanted to see each other more before Robin went back to college next month.
The party went on, and everyone went into the pool.
The teens did a few tricks; they went against each other to see who could hold their breath the longest. Lucas won. Whenever it was Steve's turn, Melody would cry, worried something happened to her father.
It was close to 10 pm when people left the party.
Everyone had so much fun. The kids were so happy splashing and swimming in the pool all afternoon.
Robin and Nancy helped Julia clean up the mess from outside before they left.
Steve gave Melody a bath before going to bed. Julia was able to read her a bedtime story.
The birthday girl didn't get past the second page of the story. She was fast asleep; she had exercised a lot that day. She was exhausted. Julia didn't struggle with putting her to sleep.
Steve was getting out of the shower. He only had a white towel wrapped around his lower body. His long hair was damp, droplets of water were falling down his hair.
Julia couldn't help but stare at his chest. She loved that man more than she ever imagined she could.
It was still crazy to her that in 1983 they were strangers, and now they have a daughter together, and she's going to be his wife soon.
She remembered how she told Kim she didn't love Steve. It was such a lie. Now she couldn't live without him.
She loved everything about him. His fabulous hair, his big round eyes, his cheesy smile, his sense of humor, his kindness. He was perfect for her.
She got up from the bed and took off her shirt, revealing her naked chest. She made her way to him and hugged him from behind. Her chest touched his bare back. She began to kiss his neck and move to his jawline.
He smiled with every kiss. He turned around, and his eyes lingered on her face and slowly moved down. His smile grew wider.
"Julia Wallace, soon to be Julia Harrington, I love you," he told her and crashed his lips with hers. Within seconds she kissed him back with so much passion.
She had been craving him all day. Seeing him shirtless all day in the July heat did something to her.
She moved her head back, giving him access to her neck. He left marks on her neck.
Tangled with each other, they made it to the bed, where he placed himself on top of her. He knew where this was going. He knew Julia by now and what she liked.
He had memorized every part of her body. He kissed her so fondly but with urgency.
She moaned his name; she was ready for him. The towel he once had on his lower body was long gone. Her underwear was somewhere on the floor.
Steve straddled her and smiled down at her. Her fingers moved through his hair, and she wrapped his hair around her fingers and pulled him toward her. She leaves wet kisses all over his face and chest. She moved her leg desperately, waiting for what was going to happen. She couldn't wait any longer.
"Steve," she said through hard breaths. Hearing his name come out of her made him weak in the knees. He had the best view of her body underneath him.
He adjusted himself once he was in; he picked up the pace knowing how Julia liked it.
Her back arched as she closed her eyes in satisfaction. She moved her hands from his shoulder to his smooth back.
They enjoyed each other's bodies and tastes. The pair explored more of each other. They were familiar with their bodies.
Exhausted, Julia laid her head on top of his chest.
His breathing was uneven, and his forehead was sweating. He moved his large hand up and down on her back. He kissed the top of her head as he calmed his breathing.
She dropped small kisses on his bare chest. "I love you, Steve Harrington."