I am every age I have ever been
All time ever does is pass and all I ever do is remember
✷
Sue Zhao
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Steve Harrington & Daphne Laurier,
the king and the fallen angel.
✷
And if you're thinking of me,
I'm probably thinking of you.
Body Paint, Artic Monkeys
Daphne Laurier had the perfect life.
Daphne had been put on a pedestal the moment she was born. The gods whipped their heads in laughter when people called her perfect and soon she became their little cosmic joke. At least until they felt it was enough for people to call her a fallen star. Their goal was to squish her golden heart to ashes and drain her of the 'perfection' that ran through her veins like roots on the soil. They'll make of her a display of mockery and then will laugh at her themselves.
Throughout her childhood, she had the privilege of residing on the wealthy side of Hawkins, Indiana. Her best friend, Steve Harrington, was her next-door neighbor. She excelled in math and history classes but was a great student overall. She was the soccer captain and she had a talent for the piano. Her parents, Oriana and Patrick Laurier, utter perfection, surrounded the girl with anything she could ever want. Daphne was living proof of the American Dream.
Daphne Laurier lived in a world painted with pastel colors, where every step she took seemed to be on a path of rose petals. Her life was a delicate dance, a symphony of perfection. However, beneath the surface of her flawless facade, cracks began to form, like a porcelain doll slowly chipped over time. The once vibrant hues of her existence started to fade, mirroring the ephemeral nature of her near-ending perfection. As the shadows lengthened, Daphne found herself grasping at the fleeting moments of her once idyllic life, desperately trying to hold onto the fragments of her fading splendor. Like a wilting flower, Daphne's world began to wither, petals falling one by one, leaving behind a trail of fading beauty.
Living the American dream was fun until it wasn't. It seemed to come crashing down at her all at once. It began with her parents being in the midst of a divorce but still living in the same house out of the belief that it was best for their daughter. As if she could not hear the endless discussions and the reasoning behind the divorce— Oriana's secret lover.
This new bitterness in her parents and the whole situation provoked a change in Daphne, her whole persona just flipped. She quit piano and got kicked out of soccer for engaging in a physical fight with a teammate, her grades slipped drastically and she got suspended from school. This causes yet another endless fight between Oriana and Patrick for Daphne to drown out.
It might be the reason why Oriana snuck out in the middle of the night with all her belongings and fled— presumably to Philadelphia (her natal state). No note, no goodbye, nothing. Just up and out.
It was a shock for the town of Hawkins that the couple that seemed so in love were bound for a divorce. It was even worse when Oriana decided to leave. It hit Daphne like a truck does a deer. She could not really process what was happening and just lay in bed, with no tears capable of slipping out of her eyes. She only allows Steve and her cousin, June, inside her room. But Steve always stays there the longest just sitting next to her. Daphne's barely thirteen and people are calling her damaged goods behind her back. A fallen star. The Gods are laughing endlessly, content with what they've accomplished.
Steve's parents forbid him from seeing her since it's ruining their image (the Lauriers were their business partners and were now cutting off ties). For a little while, he snuck around to see her and they made sure his parents don't find out. That's all before the basketball season began and he became busier. It was around that time that his teammates and newfound friends teased him for being friends with her. The odd girl who just keeps quiet and sits in the back. So, he made the choice that will boost his image and begins to ignore Daphne. He made sure to leave before she can spot him, doesn't answer her calls which were scheduled for when his parents weren't home, doesn't go over to see her, nothing. He just bails.
Daphne assumed that he had just gotten busy and did not blame him for it (even though she was missing him like crazy). She just gave him the space he was hinting he needed, maybe she had been drowning him with her problems and she hadn't realized what he needed. Until she overhears Steve and his friends talking about her. She confronts him about it and for ignoring her, he simply says she's too much for him and he doesn't want to be friends anymore. They have a huge fight about it and call each other things that they never thought they'd say to the other.
Her world is about to collapse and the person she's going to want feels far away from her grasp. The gods are not yet done torturing her.
On the coldest of nights, Patrick pecks a small kiss on Daphne's head and walks out the front door. But unlike Oriana, he did not make it far, having crashed his car and died upon impact. Daphne was woken up in the middle of the night by her aunt and uncle, who were assigned to break the news to her. Everyone around her is weeping but she's already out of tears. They tried tracking down Oriana but did not find her.
Her uncle and aunt, Emile and Priscilla, agree to take her in. Her cousin, June, is thrilled and eventually turns into what Daphne considers her sister. It's because of this new life she was launched into that she eventually gets better.
From her neck hangs a golden chain with a heart that June gifted her on her fourteenth birthday— Daphne takes it as a symbol of the golden heart she was blessed with. It's what encourages her to put her past behind her, lock it in a chest, and move on. (Even though it looms on her like a whisper of gentle breeze). She grows into her beauty and her bitter heart has begun to mend. This brings her to a stage of somewhat popularity. She doesn't mind it. It's better than people calling her a lost cause. It's the bridge to becoming close friends with James 'Monty' Montgomery and Peter Whitlock. And also, Nancy Wheeler, a girl she's known forever and managed to reconnect with.
Her once childhood best friend is now her biggest enemy. The one she shared most of her childhood with. The guy that the young version of her was convinced she'd marry. They have made it each other's hobby to torture the other. People find it amusing to watch the pair go at it in the hallways, out of school, in class, everywhere. But it's a different story when Nancy Wheeler begins to date Steve and they are forced into being around the other. For the sake of Nancy, they'll try to be civil even if they want to tear each other apart.
Somewhere deep within, their bones ache, missing each other. The empty spaces left by their absence in each other echoes through their being, a haunting reminder of the void they had carved into their souls.
But they won't admit it under sane judgment. It'll only take chaos to unravel and engulf them like a Venus fly trap for them to realize.
Ella Purnell, Daphne Laurier
daph. scorpio. the archer.
✷
Joe Keery, Steve Harrington
Olivia Holt, June Laurier-Fairchild
Milo Manheim, James Montgomery
Nick Pugliese, Peter Whitlock
As Described, Priscilla Fairchild
As Described, Emile Laurier
As Described, Patrick Laurier
As Described, Oriana Laurier
Natalia Dyer, Nancy Wheeler
Charlie Heaton, Jonathan Byers
Millie Bobby Brown, Eleven
Finn Wolfhard, Mike Wheeler
Jaeden Martell, Will Byers
Caleb Mclaughlin, Lucas Sinclair
Gaten Matarazzo, Dustin Henderson
Sadie Sink, Max Mayfield
Maya Hawke, Robin Buckley
Dacre Montgomery, Billy Hargrove
Priah Ferguson, Erica Sinclair
David Harbour, Jim Hopper
Winona Ryder, Joyce Byers
Others as described
or as themselves.
✷ CREDITS, i do not own any st credentials. all rights go to their creators. i do own my characters, plot lines, etc. cover has a filter by @kaijucat on polarr. all dividers / borders can be found on pinterest. layout is my own; credit if you use it please.
this work cannot be copied, republished or translated without my authorization.
✷ WARNINGS, book will include things that may be triggering. read at your own risk.
✷ NOTES, revamped this book with a new name for oc (daphne is too good), the background just a bit, her dynamic with steve and added some new characters like peter and monty!!! i adore my pookies. IM SO EXCITED FOR THISSSSS. daphne they could never make me hate you. this revamp is gonna be so good like i have so many ideas honestly. me 🤝 giving my ocs traumatic backgrounds
i post edits for my books on tiktok. my @ is in my bio / location!!!!
✷ DEDICATIONS,
to rylee, saltburnd , i would fight any creature from the upside down just for u
to viv , poetsmeadow , meeting u is such a pleasure i adore u
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