Blondie blared through the stereo speakers as Becca's bedroom was abuzz with the smell of hairspray and perfume. In the mirror, Anna gave herself a final once over, fixing her hair while Becca looked back and forth between two different tops hanging up in her closet, and Michelle zipped up the boots Becca had insisted she borrow for the evening. Meanwhile, Landon sprawled out on Becca's bed while the three girls got ready, reading a Stephen King book he'd stolen from his best friend's bookshelf upon arrival.
"Any day now," Landon teased, not looking up from his current page of Pet Sematary.
"We're almost ready," Becca retorted, placing the green top back into her closet before changing into the blue one. "We can't all just shake out our hair and throw on the first shirt we find on our bedroom floors, Landon."
A knock sounded at the bedroom door, and Anna turned to see Steve leaning against the doorway, fist still raised by the wooden frame. "Hey, Becs," Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Which New Year's party did you guys decide to hit up tonight?"
"Andy McConnell's," Becca said, fastening up the rest of the buttons on the blue shirt. "Audrey Kline called earlier today to invite us."
"Cool, cool," he mused. "Mind if Nancy and I tag along and meet you guys there? Most of the juniors are going over to Carol's, but I can think of a thousand other things I'd rather be doing than going to a party there."
"Can't say I blame you," Becca smirked. "Yeah, that's fine. We're leaving here in twenty."
"Cool," Steve repeated, flashing the others in the room a quick grin before disappearing back down the hallway towards his bedroom.
As the girls finally finished getting ready, and Anna grabbed her purse from where it lay next to Landon on the bed, along with her coat, they piled into Becca's car, Landon playing his usual role of designated driver that evening. As the McConnell's house came into view, Andy's parents long gone on a trip to Las Vegas for the new year, the music had begun to drift out of the house and down the street, accompanying the line of cars parked on the side of the road from various Hawkins students attending that night's party.
"This is insane," Landon said as they reached the house, his eyes wandering to where a few students were partaking in a keg stand outside, despite the snow on the ground from a couple nights prior.
"Well, you know Andy," Becca replied as she opened the door, the loud music nearly hitting them like a wave as they entered the house. "What do you say? Ready to drink some weed and smoke some beers?"
"First of all, I don't drink, not even weed, and even I know that isn't even in the ballpark of correct." Landon chuckled, shaking his head as they moved further into the house. "I could go for a smoke though."
Journey played through the speakers as Anna looked around the entryway, a big banner Anna assumed had been made by Audrey at the top of the stairs reading New Year's 1984! as various partygoers moved on the stairs below, coming and going from where she assumed the main party was being held in the living room, to where others had branched off into smaller groups upstairs. In the dining room off to her left, she could see Andy locked in an arm wrestling match with Jason Carver, the sounds of cheering from onlookers just barely noticeable over the music. Behind Andy stood Audrey Kline, cheering on her boyfriend before her gaze moved up to see the newcomers, and her expression brightened at the notice of Becca and her friends at the door.
"You guys made it!" Audrey exclaimed, making her way to the doorway. "There's pizza, drinks, and other snacks in the kitchen, help yourselves. Keg's out front, but if you don't want to go outside, just ask Patrick, he'd be more than happy to help you guys out."
"Thanks, Audrey," Becca smiled before looking back at them. "Shall we?"
"We shall!" Michelle beamed as Audrey gave them one last smile, moving back in the direction of the arm wrestling match.
Anna trailed behind them as Becca led the group towards the kitchen, catching sight of the family photographs lining the walls of the hallway. Andy was an only child, in the middle of his two parents in the pictures hanging up in wooden frames as he beamed at the camera, a toothless grin evident in the picture in the middle. On either side showed Andy throughout the years, the ones to the left showing his much earlier years while those on the right had grown to resemble the basketball player she'd shared a handful of classes with over the years since she moved to Hawkins. She'd hardly registered the front door opening again behind them until two more figures had caught up to Anna, stepping in behind her.
"Look at little McConnell," Steve feigned adoration behind her, his voice low enough to not be overheard by the other partygoers, with the exception of Nancy standing right behind him. "It's crazy how such a little stud could grow up to be one of the biggest douchebags in Hawkins."
"A douchebag who's rumored to have the best party in town tonight," Nancy reminded him. "So drink up."
"Drink up," Steve repeated as Anna continued her walk to the kitchen, with Steve and Nancy not far behind.
In the kitchen, Landon was already on his second slice of pizza as Michelle scooped punch into a red plastic cup, handing it to Anna before moving onto the next one. Becca, cup full of punch already in hand, reached up, clinking the edge of her cup against Anna's before taking a sip. Anna reached up to do the same, but stopped short as she caught a whiff of the strong smell of alcohol inside the cup, reminding her of the nail polish remover she'd used as Becca's earlier that evening.
"Oh my god," Anna said, nearly choking from the smell of the drink. "What do you think's in here?"
"I don't have a clue," Becca admitted with a shrug before taking another sip, her eyebrows furrowing together slightly as she fought the urge to make a face in response, and the blonde girl shrugged her shoulders. "The guys probably made it. It'll get the job done nicely, though."
"Yeah," Anna agreed, nodding. "What the hell,"
Without another word, Anna tipped the cup back, taking a drink of its contents and feeling the alcoholic burn pouring down her throat. She scrunched her face up in response before shuddering lightly, looking up at Becca, who watched her with an amused expression in response.
"Well?" Becca asked, Michelle following suit and taking a sip shortly after.
Anna stared back at the drink for a moment before turning back to the girls. "Becca's right. It'll get the job done."
The Journey song faded out on the speakers as it came to an end, a song by Tears for Fears taking its place as Becca began to smile, looking back at her friends. "Let's go dance!" Becca exclaimed, looking back at Anna, Michelle, Landon, Steve, and Nancy.
"You know, I think I'll be good right here," Landon said, still standing in front of the pizza boxes, but Becca shook her head in response.
"Nope," she said, "No way. You're not spending your last minutes of the year cooped out by the pizza and not dancing with your friends. Do you know how lame that is?"
"Actually, I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be in this moment," Landon teased the blonde as she grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him after them towards the dance floor as he reluctantly followed.
As the group began to dance, Anna allowed herself to get lost in the moment, the only thing in her brain being that of the beat, or the lame dance moves of the friends around her. One cup of punch eventually turned into another, and as she began to feel the effects of the alcohol more and more, she became more aware of the amount of partygoers around them, Landon eventually vanishing into the crowd along with Michelle a few moments later, who left in search of another drink.
"I'll be right back," Anna called over to Becca, who nodded in response as she continued to dance.
Anna made her way through the crowd of people as she searched for a quieter place, red plastic cup gripped tightly in her hand in her attempts not to spill on the McConnell family's white carpeted floors. As she finally found an empty spot near the top of the stairs, a small reprieve from the music, she plopped down onto the step, inhaling deeply before taking another sip of her drink.
"Tired already?" a voice asked from the top of the stairs, and Anna looked up to see Steve stepping down to take a seat next to her, a red plastic cup of his own in hand and filled with beer. "It's not even midnight yet."
"I could say the same about you," she retorted. "Where'd you run off to, anyways?"
"Line for the downstairs bathroom was too long," Steve shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. "What brings you up here?"
"Just needed a break," she admitted, the foggy feeling still clouding the edges of her tipsy brain. "It was a good distraction, at first, but it was starting to feel too crowded."
"I get what you mean." Steve agreed. "I haven't been to a party since... that night, and it just doesn't feel the same."
Steve's words hung in the air between them as Anna looked down, feeling the weight of them pressing in on her. Aside from small get togethers with her friends, Anna also hadn't been to any sort of party like the one Steve and Becca held in their backyard the night Barb went missing; the night the Demogorgon had claimed one of their own to a permanent grave in the Upside Down. The thought of it made Anna's stomach turn, and she shook her head, looking back up at Steve.
"Can we talk about something else?" she asked, the color draining from her face as a worried look crossed his features at her expression. "Please?"
"Y-yeah," he stammered nervously. "Yeah, of course. What do you want to talk about?"
"Something," Anna said, looking around for any sort of conversation starter when her eyes landed on Andy's basketball picture hanging near the top of the stairs. "Anything. How's the basketball team doing this year?"
"You've never once asked me about basketball." Steve pointed out, his worried expression soon replaced by an amused smirk.
"So?" Anna retorted. "Who says now isn't the perfect place to start?"
Steve thought for a moment. "Huh," he mused. "Can't argue with that, I guess. It's okay. We've only had a few practices so far, but Coach thinks we might have a shot at making it pretty far this year."
Anna nodded. "Cool," she murmured.
"Maybe this'll be the year you and Becca finally make it out to see a game instead of just hanging out by the concession stands all night." Steve teased as she began to giggle.
"Okay, that was one time." she pointed out. "They ran out of soft pretzels and had to go buy more from the supermarket, and we were not missing out on the next batch before they sold out again."
"I scored my first three pointer that night," Steve said. "Shame you missed it."
"And the picture on the front page of The Hawkins Post the next morning told us that it was a wonderful shot." she teased, giving Steve a sad smile. "Thank you," she said finally.
Steve's eyebrows furrowed in response. "For what?"
"Distracting me," Anna said. "I guess I thought this was all behind me already, and that I was ready to move on, but I guess that might not be the case after all."
"Don't beat yourself up over it." Steve assured her. "Will's only been home for what, a month now? It's okay. We just need to keep reminding ourselves that it's over."
"You're right," Anna said, raising her cup and clinking it against Steve's. "It's over. Back to being stupid teenagers."
Steve smiled briefly before the crowd downstairs began to yell, breaking the two of them apart as the time reached closer and closer to midnight.
"One minute!" the voices yelled. "Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight!"
"I guess that's our cue!" Steve shouted to Anna over the yells, gesturing with his head back in the direction of their group. "Shall we?"
"Yeah!" Anna called back as Steve rose up to his feet, extending a hand to help her up after him, and together they made their way back to the party, just in time to ring in the new year with their closest friends.
The horrors that plagued Hawkins in 1983 had finally come to an end, and Anna would be damned if 1984 wasn't going to give them the fresh start they needed.