Sitting across from her mother in the train, Jacquelyn stared down at the magazine in her hand, eyes glued to the words on the flimsy paper. Her mother cleared her throat, not getting her daughters attention. She did it again, louder.

She did it louder. Jacquelyn looked up, unamused. "What?"

"We're almost at Hawkins. Are you excited?" Her mother grinned and she hummed, forcing a smile.

"Sure. I'm definitely excited to be thrown into the weird kid clique because i'm two years too late to join any of the... normal people." Jacquelyn went back to reading.

"Oh, stop with that. You wont be hanging about with those... Drug dealers and cult leaders for kids." Jacquelyn shut her eyes, shaking her head.

"I doubt that this Hawkins, Indiana has cult leaders. You said you grew up there, and that nothing bad ever happened."

"Well. Times a'changin, Jackie. Kids these days..." Her mother blew out with wide eyes. "I'm just glad Nevada treated you well."

"Yep. Till you ripped it away from me." Her mother frowned harshly.

"I thought a little change of scenery would help with you being so.. Down and gloomy recently."

Jacquelyn paused. "I've been down and gloomy because you and dad got divorced. And then my dog died. So yeah, sorry for being sad." Jacquelyn shoved the magazine in her nose, ignoring her mothers comments.

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Jackie and her mother hopped off of the train, the two squinting in the bright sun. "Oh, I missed this smell." Her mother hummed in contempt, shutting her eyes with delight.

"What? The smell of gasoline and dust?" Her mother whacked her arm, Jackie wincing and stepped away from her mother. "Sorry." She mumbled, the two grabbing their bags and walking out of the train station. "I just don't understand why it had to be Hawkins, of all places."

"Because, Jacquelyn. Hawkins is a lovely place. Everyone here is friendly... To an extent." Jackie rolled her eyes, mocking her mother quietly "Now, let's get ready to go to our new home!"

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Jackie dropped her suitcase next to her feet, looking at the floral wallpaper all around the house with a small frown. "They really like floral." She mumbled, and her mother nodded.

"Yes. It was very popular when I lived here. Looks like it stayed." Jackie grabbed her suitcase again, bolting up the stairs to her new bedroom. She smiled in relief when she spotted her own bathroom, happy she was finally able to get her own space.

Looking around the room more, Jackie frowned as she spotted a small crease in the wall. She walked over to it, running her nail through the wallpaper when she realized it was a small door.

Jackie grunted as she attempted to pry the small door open, falling back when it flew open. Dust rolled out, Jackie swiping it away and looked inside. "Cool." She whispered, noticing that the room was large enough to be a little secret place for her.

"Jacquelyn, we have visitors!"

"Visitors? Who the fuck visits new neighbors..." Jackie stood up slowly, walking out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

Jackie paused at the last step, standing awkwardly when a family of four stood in the doorway. The youngest, a boy, and his father didn't look at all interested in what he was clearly being forced to do, while the mother was grinning widely. The other girl, assuming she was the eldest daughter, was putting on a fake smile.

"Uh... Hi?" Jackie spoke quietly, the boy looking up to meet her eyes. His widened partially, and Jackie looked at his sister. "I'm Jackie."

"Mike I'm." The little boy said, Jackie pausing in confusion. "I'm Mike." He corrected, turning to his mother. "I said my name. Can I go now?" Mike asked as his mother rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But you better be home before dinner or I swear to God Mike—." Mike booked it away from the house, Jackie watching him leave before turning to the oldest daughter.

"Right. Uh— I'm Nancy. These are my parents. And sorry but I really have things to do." Nancy walked away quickly, her parents sighing in disappointment. Jackie looked between the three adults before walking to the kitchen and slipping out the back door.

"Alright. Where would be a good place to—" Jackie hopped over her fence, walking deeper into the woods.

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She had to have been walking for a good hour. Climbing the occasional tree, chasing after a squirrel like she was a dog. Jackie was already enjoying the new town, how quiet it was. Calm.

"Okay, so I can give you maybe... an ounce for $25." Jackie froze in her spot, quickly hiding behind a tree. She looked around in confusion, spotting a guy with longer hair than hers talking to another guy.

"Shit.. What can I get for $15?"

"$15? A tab. I don't sell a lot for that low." Silence for a moment.

"Seriously? C'mon man... Fine. Here." Jackie noticed the man in front of the dealer was wearing a Hawkins football jacket, her brows raising.

"Huh. Guess mom was right."  Jackie thought to herself, hiding behind the tree again as the Hawkins High student got up, rushing away. Jackie froze when a bee landed on her jacket, trying to get pollen from the embroidered flower on the sleeve. "Oh fuck." She whispered, swatting it away.

"Aye! Whose there?" She froze again, slowly peeking her head out. "Never seen you before. You new?"

She stayed quiet for a moment before the guy chuckled. "Look, you don't have to be scared, all right? I'm not gonna bust your balls for seeing me make a deal, dude." He looked Jackie up and down for a moment as she stepped out from her hiding spot. "What's your name?"

"It's Jackie. Jackie Kepler." She answered, fumbling with her sleeve. The guy nodded.

"I'm Eddie. I like the jacket." He smiled, Jackie smiled back.

"Thanks. Made it myself." Eddie's smile held, gesturing to his shirt.

"Made this myself too." Jackie tilted her head at the demon on the t-shirt, humming.

"Hellfire Club. That a cult or something?" She joked, causing him to laugh.

"No. No it's uh— It's a DND club. Ever heard of it?"

"I played it before. Wasn't very good at that and my dad thought it was turning me into a cult leader." Jackie walked over to the bench, sitting down on the table as Eddie joined her, sitting closer to the edge. "So... I'm assuming you go to Hawkins High School?" She asked as he nodded.

"Yeah. Hey— Maybe we'll share some classes. I can tell you who are the bitches of the school and who are cool." He kept his contagious smile on his face as Jackie clicked her tongue.

"As long as I have someone that won't kick me in the ass." Eddie laughed again, looking out to the woods.

"I can't keep promises, Kepler."

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yes i added eddie into the first season. He won't be making a lot of appearances, but Jackie and Eddie will have a lot of very cute interactions :) i was thinking of having the fanfic take place in season four, but i decided with season one because i think it would be a little more difficult trying to get Jackie to join the group with everything going down... and season 4 isn't complete yet.
I will also most likely be breaking Nancy and Steve up earlier than the show said because this is a steve fanfic obv and i have no idea if i will be making a book 2. we'll just have to find out.