chapter fifteen!
CASSIE WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT El had broken up with Mike. I dump your ass, being her exact words as Max recalled the iconic moment. Cassie had been at El's for no more than ten minutes, and she had been told that El was single, Mike was a dick, and Will was the best guy in the party. Cassie didn't hesitate to agree with the final two statements, making a brief mention that Dustin was a close second to Will. Will had to be the sweetest, and Cassie knew it, despite her deep adoration for Dustin.
Steve had immediately agreed to drop her off at the Hopper residence. He was always more than thrilled to take Cassie anywhere but home. Cassie had to stop by her house anyways, Steve waiting patiently outside while she gathered clothes from her room and walked pass Billy with her middle finger held high. Billy returned the gesture without thought.
It would be an exaggeration to say that her and Billy's relationship was anything close to good but it was definitely less-shitty than before. Their arguments never made it past a punch or two, and Billy did seem to tolerate her presence slightly more. Cassie credited that to Max scaring the shit out him a year prior. He even began buying cigarettes for her when she gave him the money to. They weren't perfect and Cassie knew he was still a racist dickhead, but he was the best he was probably ever going to be.
The three girls laid around El's room, music coming from the stereo. Cassie was laying on the floor, her small bag being used as a pillow. Her Vans were thrown off next to the door and her braids had been taken out of her hair for the night, leaving her long blonde hair wavy.
Cassie remained on the floor as the three girls gossiped about everything that they could. She hopped up suddenly when she heard one of her favorite songs, Bad Reputation by Joan Jett began playing on the stereo. Max looked up from the bed and met the blondes eyes, wide grins breaking out on both of their faces. El, who had never heard the song before, looked between the girls questioningly.
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation!
"Oh. My. God." grinned Cassie, pulling both of the girls off of the bed and onto the floor with a smile. "This is my shit."
"Our shit," corrected Max, the three girls dancing happily to the song.
Living in the past, its a new generation.
"And a girl can do what she wants to do, and that's what I'm gonna do!" shouted the sisters. Cassie grabbed El's arm and spun her around, making the brunette giggle happily. The happy sound caused a flutter in Cassie's stomach. By the end of the song, El was laughing loudly and singing the more common lyrics of the song along with them. Cassie felt proud that the girl had been introduced to amazing music.
After the song ended, the girls danced to one or two more before El sat down on her bed and Cassie flopped down next to her, the two looking through magazines. Cassie begins flipping through the pages, bored and uninterested in the boys. El stopped her at one page, however, her eyebrows raised and her mouth slightly agape. Cassie nodded her head in approvement.
"Ralph Macchio," grinned Cassie upon El's questioning look.
"Macchio?" asked Eleven, amused by the strange name.
"Yeah, the Karate Kid. Hi-yah." said Max, joining the two on the bed. She mockingly karate-chopped the bed, making El laugh. Cassie shook her head, slapping Max's arm away.
"And the Outsiders. Although, Ralph cannot compare to Patrick Swayze or Matt Dillon," sighed Cassie, dreamily. Max laughed loudly, knowing that Cassie's current favorite actor was Matt Dillon because he was so hot as a bad boy in the Outsiders. "I swear to god, Matt would probably be the best kisser ever."
Max laughed, but didn't disagree. The redhead nudged her sister, giving El a curious look. "Hey, is Mike a good kisser?"
Cassie made a gagging noise playfully. Mike and her had an interesting relationship. It was kind of like siblings; they got along through their constant bickering and the harmless bullying from each of them. If someone didn't know them, they would think they hated each other. In reality, Cassie thought highly of Mike because of his loyalty and protectiveness over his friends. Mike held strong respect for Cassie because she was stronger than most people he knew, and he could tell that she cared for everyone much more than she let on. Although Cassie had to admit, she preferred the eldest Wheeler above all. Nancy and Cassie got along surprisingly well, much to Steve's dismay. It wasn't terribly uncommon for Cassie to ditch the party to hang out with Nancy while at the Wheeler residence.
El shrugged at Max's question. "I don't know, he's my first boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend." Max corrected. El frowned and Cassie could tell that she was more upset about the break-up than she was letting on. Cassie rested her hand on El's, hoping to comfort the brunette. Max sighed, quick to reassure the girl. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay? He'll come crawling back to you in no time, begging for forgiveness."
Cassie nodded. Mike was infatuated with El, in a somewhat strange way. "Yeah, I guarantee you that him and Lucas are like totally wallowing in self pity and misery going "Oh I hope they take us back.""
They all laughed. Max smiled at Cassie. Max had stopped wondering months ago about why she hadn't made things official with Dustin. They were a couple in every way that mattered, just without the label. Max had a feeling that Cassie was still scared; the same way she was when she avoided everyone for a month. She was scared of letting people into her heart. Max pitied Cassie for that. Max had a gut feeling— or maybe just a hopeful one— that Cassie's hesitance was in part caused by a certain brunette sitting across from her.
"Oh, what I would give to see their stupid faces," laughed the redhead, pushing her thoughts way. El just smiled. Cassie excitedly sat up, catching on immediately to what El was suggesting. Max gave the two a questioning look.
"What is it?"
El quickly asked Cassie to switch the radio channel to one of static, the brunette grabbing a blindfold and throwing it over her eyes. The three sat on the floor in a small circle, Max catching on to what was happening quite quickly. Cassie was hyper with excitement, her foot tapping rapidly on the floor.
"Is this really going to work?" asked Max, a laugh of disbelief escaping her lips. El nodded confidently. Cassie and Max grabbed each others arm, shaking each other happily.
"Holy shit this is insane!"
"Max!"
"Yeah, quiet. Right."
The three sat there in silence for a few moments, Max and Cassie sharing silent looks of excitement, El spoke up after a second, "I see them."
"What are they doing?" asked Cassie, leaning forward.
"Eating."
"Sounds about right," nodded Max, Cassie agreeing.
El grew quiet as she listened to the boys. Cassie and Max were listening intently for El to say anything. El frowned, "They say we are species."
"What?"
"What the actual fuck?" asked Cassie, her nose scrunched up. "If we're a different species, we're obviously the better, more hygienic one."
""Emotion not logic,"" repeated El, Cassie letting out a low laugh. She could feel her anger rising; sexism being one of her biggest pet peeves. And from people she considered to be friends? Ouch.
"What?" asked Max, sharing a look of anger with Cassie. El remained silent after this for a few moments, continuing to listen to the boys. Only moments later does she rip off the blindfold and hell to the floor; laughing hysterically.
"What?" asked Max, beginning to giggle despite not being aware of what was funny. Cassie immediately fell over in laughter, unable to stop herself. El and Cassie grasped each other in hysterics, Max joining them moments later. The three laughed for a long time, simply having fun and living in the moment. Cassie's heart was happy. She didn't have genuine, fun moments like these often. It felt nice to just let go and laugh about absolutely nothing.
━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━
"Truth or Dare?"
Cassie gave her sister a look. They'd been playing truth or dare for a while now, and Cassie had picked dare each time. Deciding to change it up, Cassie tilted her head at her sister with a smug grin. "Truth."
Max thought for a moment, "Are girls or boys better kissers?"
"Girls," said Cassie, without a moment of hesitation. Max laughed loudly, knowing this would be her sisters response. Cassie shrugged, "I mean, Dustin is amazing; don't get me wrong. But girls are a whole other story."
El gave the two a wide eyed look. Cassie certainly didn't just go around telling everyone she liked both girls and boys- she wasn't trying to get shot, but she had never tried to hide her bisexuality from her friends, knowing that if they didn't like it then they weren't worth it. It appeared to have never came up in conversation with El. "You can kiss girls?"
Cassie and Max shared a singular look before bursting out into hysterics. El continued to look at the pair, wildly confused. Cassie took a deep breath, taking El's hand into her own. "El, you can kiss whoever the fuck you want. Boy or girl. If it feels right, then do it. Well, obviously if you're in a relationship you can't just go around kissing people, but if you're single and you really like someone-."
Cassie was abruptly cut off by El quickly pecking her on the lips. Cassie sat there, her eyes widened in shock and her face tinted pink. Max's mouth hung open in shock, looking back and forth between the girls as she waited for Cassie's response. Max had never seen Cassie blush before. Cassie almost immediately bounced back from her shock, her face still flushed as she looked to Max, "I told you girls were better kissers."
Max began to laugh at Cassie's statement, El's face turning bright pink. There was no time for anyone to respond, however, because a drunken Hopper angrily threw the door open. Cassie looked over at the man, almost frightened. She was so used to her own father, and sometimes Billy, bursting into her room the same way. Drunk and angry. It never ended well. Instead of brushing it off easily, like she was normally able to do, the nerves quickly turned into nausea similar to the feeling the had experienced earlier in the day.
"Three inches!" shouted the older man, clearly expecting Mike to be sitting in El's room. His eyes softened and regret filled his mind and his heart at the sight of a pale Cassie. He looked beside her, recognizing her sister almost immediately. Shock morphed onto his face, then a small smile.
"Jeez! Do you knock?" asked Max with a frown. Cassie laughed at the statement, having grown used to Hopper's antics.
"Yeah! Jeez!"
Cassie smiled brightly, pushing down her nausea and nerves, "Hey Hop!"
Hopper smiled back, equally happy to see the young blonde. He always slept better knowing that Cassie wasn't at home with the bastard she had for a father, "Hey Cas. I'm sorry, I thought that—."
"Mike's not here," assured Max, making Hopper nod dumbly. Clearly he saw that now, embarrassed at the scene he had unintentionally caused.
"They broke up!"
Max slapped Cassie upside the head, "Cassie!"
"Hey! He was going to find out eventually!"
Hopper's grin spread from ear to ear, the man happily internally cheering. He coughed, trying to replace his wide grin with a sympathetic and concerned look for his daughter. Cassie held back a laugh at the sight.
"They wanted to have a sleepover. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," agreed Hopper, the happiness almost audible in his voice. He nodded his head towards Cassie knowingly. "Cassie is always welcome, you know that. Do your parents know?"
"Yep," confirmed Max with a nod. Cassie looked to her, not knowing if it was a lie or not considering she surely hadn't told them. Cassie watched in amusement as Hopper nodded stupidly to himself, his eyes still wide.
"Yeah, that's cool. That's really cool," he told them. He stood there a few moments longer, an awkward silence falling upon the four.
"Um, do you need anything?" asked Max, her nose scrunched up in confusion.
"No, no, no. I'll leave, I'll just leave."
"Bye, Hop!"
"Bye, Cas."
Hopper turned around, leaving the room as he closed the door much more gently than he had opened it. The three girls looked at each other, taking in the interaction. There was a brief pause before they all fell over laughing again.
El looked to Cassie, wondering about the kiss they had impulsively shared. It seemed far from the blonde's mind. Max shared the same thoughts as El, however, and had no problem asking about it. Grabbing El's hand in one of her own and Cassie's in her other, she looked between the two. "So... when's the marriage, and who's maid of honour am I being?"
El's face immediately turned redder than ever before, and Cassie laughed loudly, her ears tinted pink. "As lovely as that sounds, I believe my dear El is already betrothed to Mike. Oh, El, my darling! How I wish you loved me so!"
Cassie's words were teasing, but El turned a darker crimson than before. Max rolled her eyes at her sister's obliviousness. Cassie paused, ignoring the twisty feeling in her stomach as her eyes met El's. She looked back to Max, clearing her throat, "Not to mention, I'm with Dustin."
Max shook her head, "No, you're not."
"Huh?"
"Not technically," corrected Max. She crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. "You," the redhead poked her sister on the nose teasingly, "refuse to make it official with Dustin."
"Well— I could?" she said, the phrase coming out as a question, throwing her hands up into the air in frustration at her own feelings. Cassie didn't know it was possible to be so confused. "I want to, I guess. I just don't know how."
Max facepalmed and El reached out to hold Cassie's hand comfortingly. Max grabbed her sister by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Cassie, if, and only if, you're entirely sure, just do it! You're can just go up to him tomorrow, and ask him straight up if he wants to be your boyfriend. He says yes, and boom! It's official."
Cassie sighed, a knot forming in her stomach. She knows how to literally ask him to make it official, but its the mentally that she didn't know how to prepare for. Nothing would change between them besides a silly label. But them being official made it real. It meant that Cassie had a boyfriend. She was in a committed relationship with a boy that she really liked, and that honestly scared the flying fuck out of her. The nauseous feeling returned stronger. Cassie laughed, pushing Max away from her, "Okay, okay. I'll be back, I've got to use the bathroom."
Without waiting for a response, Cassie made her way through the house and to the bathroom, noticing Hopper passed out in his recliner. She flipped on the light, her arms quickly resting on the sink counter as she leaned over to catch her breath. She'd seen Max have panic attacks before, but she had never had one of her own. She wasn't even sure why this was happening. Sure, she was scared about Dustin and the fear of him leaving was almost suffocating, but that was nothing new.
It was the nausea. It was the sick feeling from earlier and whatever the fuck happened in the mall bathroom. She could feel it happening again, like something besides her own thoughts was swirling around her brain. It was light a bucket of cold water was thrown at her, a freezing-cold chill that made the blonde wrap her arms around herself. She could feel her throat tightening and her chest begin to hurt. She felt her heart beat increase rapidly as she avoided looking at the mirror. Her dumb curiosity made her eyes inch up and come in contact with those in the mirror.
Her eyes were white; a solid white and lacking a pupil or any color whatsoever. Her neck had those weird veins covering it and they were spreading throughout her face. Blood was pouring from her ears; dripping onto the counter. Although when she lifted her hand to touch it, there was no blood there. Despite this, her reflection showed her fingers being covered in blood. She shook her head rapidly, looking back at the mirror.
Everything was normal again. Her eyes were the same blue that they'd always been. Besides the ache in her neck, any sign of the dark veins were gone. Her ears had no blood gushing out of them. Cassie quickly moved to lean over the toilet, her stomach emptying itself for the second time that day. After wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet, Cassie went to wash her hands off when she noticed two drops of blood on the counter, just as she had remembered seeing in the mirror. Cassie wiped the tears that swelled in her eyes and quickly cleaned the blood of the counter. Cassie shook her head, convincing herself that she had gone truly crazy and returned to her girls as if nothing happened.
a/n: {edited} im not even gonna lie, this whole episode was supposed to be one chapter, but the sleepover scene kinda took on a life of its own in my brain and I had to split it up. this has def been one of my fav chapters to write thus far! hope you enjoy!
-maddie