"Let's go, Tigers!" Lily exclaimed, holding up her pom-poms to shake as she plastered a cheery smile onto her face.

The sound of sneakers skidding against the hardwood floor echoed in Lily's ears along with the cheers of the fans packed in the bleachers, though a sharp whistle cut through the air as the coach called for a time out, with only ten seconds remaining on the clock, Hawkins down by one point at 68-69.

"Alright Cheer Squad, are we ready?" Chrissy asked the group as she began to count off to start their routine.

Lily attempted to keep her eyes on the crowd while they cheered through the routine, but she snuck a glance in Patrick's direction while the team conversed. His eyes met hers, an anxious look on his face, but she gave him an encouraging nod, which he returned before looking back at where the team were all putting their hands in the middle.

The whistle blew again, the Tiger Cheer Squad taking their seats as everyone in the room watched with bated breath as Andy passed the ball to Jason. The boy went in for the shot, and Lily's heart lurched in her chest as it bounced off the backboard and onto the rim before rolling back towards the sea of players ready to catch the rebound.

Lucas attempted to catch the ball, locked in a brief face-off with a player from the opposing team before the ball dropped between them, beginning to roll away. He went after it, picking it up and pivoting on one foot until he was facing the net again. The timer was nearing down with one second remaining as he jumped up, aiming for the net as he released the basketball.

The gymnasium was silent except for the buzzer announcing the end of the game as the orange ball soared through the air, over the heads of the other players, who had stopped their playing to watch its path. Everyone rose out of their seats to watch as the ball spun around the rim, hitting the backboard before falling through the net.

Lily and the others jumped up and down in excitement as the crowd erupted in cheers for the Hawkins Tigers. She and Chrissy jumped into each other's arms in an excited hug as the basketball team all crowded around Lucas, lifting the freshman boy into the air in celebration. The cheerleaders ran to join them, waving their pom-poms, and Lily didn't miss the shocked look on Lucas's face as they carried him across the floor.

"Lily!" Patrick shouted, wrapping his arms around the redhead and lifting her off the ground, spinning her around victoriously as she laughed.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he set her back down, the boy leaning in and kissing her swiftly. They broke apart at the feeling of Andy using Patrick's shoulders as leverage to jump into the air, the boys laughing as the team began to make their way back to the locker rooms, the cheerleaders packing up their own gear to take back to their lockers.

At her locker, Lily quickly traded her pom-poms for her Tiger Cheer Squad cardigan, her name embroidered across the front pocket in dark green thread. As she made her way out into the night, excitement buzzed in the air as fans honked their horns in celebration of Hawkins High's victory that evening. The team was soon behind her, changed into their clothes for the celebratory after-party with duffel bags slung over their shoulders.

"Party at Benny's, boys!" Jason called out as he broke apart from the rest of the team, and Patrick turned back towards Lily as they neared his car.

"Are you coming tonight?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"I'll be there," she assured him, taking a quick glance down at her itchy cheer uniform. "I'm just going to run home and change, and then I'll meet you there?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Drive safe,"

"You too," she said, turning away from him and back to where Lucas was now walking with his older sister, Sarah Sinclair, as well as the ride home she'd been counting on that evening, her best friend, Deborah Buckley, who stood next to her younger sister Robin.

"There she is!" Debbie exclaimed as Lily jogged over to them, pulling her into a hug. While Debbie had graduated from Hawkins High the year before, along with Sarah, she still had yet to miss a basketball game that season. "You look so cute in your cheer uniform."

"Thanks," she said, before turning to Lucas. "Where did that last second shot come from? Where has that been hiding all season?"

"On the bench," Sarah said sarcastically, elbowing her brother in the side with a grin.

Across the road, the side door to the school opened, revealing the Hellfire Club emerging from where they'd been playing the end of the quarter campaign in the drama room. Based on the cheers emitting from the group, they'd been victorious that evening against Eddie's monsters, even without Lucas playing that night, nor Lily as his sub. Instead, Sarah and Lucas's younger sister Erica emerged from the back of the group, an American flag draped over her shoulders and slightly flowing in the breeze as she crossed the street to meet up with her siblings. However, Lily hadn't missed the solemn, longing look Lucas had on his face as he watched his friends from across the street, the same look she wore, if only for a moment.

"On that note, I should get going." Lucas said, gesturing back in the direction of the football guys. "Ryan offered to give me a ride to the party, and I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Remember, don't be stupid." Sarah warned her younger brother, giving him a pointed look as he put his hands up in surrender before jogging back to meet up with the other guys.

Lily turned back in her direction. "You're not going tonight?"

Sarah shrugged. "I need to take Erica home, and I'm opening at Family Video tomorrow so I need to be up early. Not exactly the recipe for a party mood. You guys have fun, though."

Lily, Debbie, and Robin bid goodbye to the Sinclairs, piling into Debbie's car as they sped away from the celebratory honks of the victorious Hawkins fans, pulling onto the main road towards Forest Hills Trailer Park. Lily looked out the window from the backseat, letting the silence settle between her and the Buckleys. While she still saw Debbie from time to time, she hadn't had a full conversation with Robin since Starcourt Mall, aside from surface level small talk either in class or in Debbie's car. In Lily's case, Debbie's ignorance towards what really happened at the mall was bliss, and she was grateful that, even for a few minutes, she was allowed to pretend Hawkins was a normal town with its fair share of tragedies.

"What an incredible shot that was," Debbie said, breaking the silence. "Though, I have to say, watching Lily cheer and Robin play the trumpet is far more entertaining than the game itself."

Lily smiled slightly in response, pulling the sleeves of her cardigan closer around her body to escape the slight chill in the air. As Debbie finally pulled off the paved roads of Hawkins onto the gravel streets of the trailer park, she sat up a little straighter, the Mayfield family's mobile home coming into view.

"Thanks for the ride, Debs," Lily said gratefully as the car came to a stop, and she noticed Max sitting outside with the neighbor's dog, feeding him something off a plate in her hands.

"Of course," Debbie said, and Lily bid a quick goodbye to her and Robin as she climbed out of the car, pushing it shut behind her.

"You missed a good game," Lily called to her sister, stepping closer until she was standing next to Max. "Lucas had a great last second shot, won the whole championship."

"Yeah, I heard on the radio." Max said quietly, her eyes not quite meeting her sister's as she looked up at her.

"Did you have a good night?" Lily asked, trying to ease the obvious tension that had settled between the two of them.

Max shrugged. "Mom's asleep on the couch. Don't worry, I cleaned up while you were gone, so you can go to your party in peace. I'm sure they're all waiting for you."

The muffled sounds of metal music blasting through a car stereo accompanied by tires squealing on the gravel drive of Forest Hills pulled Max and Lily's attention away from one another, as they both looked up to see Eddie's van squealing to a halt in front of his trailer. Lily watched as he hopped out of the front seat, though where she expected to see Nick leaving the passenger seat, she hadn't anticipated the blonde ponytail and cheer uniform that matched the one she currently wore stepping out after Eddie as Chrissy followed him to the front door.

"What's Chrissy doing with Eddie?" Lily whispered to Max, ducking down against the fence so as not to be seen by the two.

"I don't know, you're the one who's friends with her. Why don't you go say hi and figure it out?" Max asked. "Or do you not want Chrissy Cunningham to finally learn that you're trailer trash?"

"This is, uh, my castle." she could hear Eddie say from across the field, as he opened the door and gestured for Chrissy to go inside.

"She's probably just buying drugs for the party." Lily said, ignoring Max's comment, and as soon as they were shut inside the Munsons' trailer and the coast was clear, she rose back to her feet. "I'll just see her there."

Lily left Max alone with the dog and hurried inside, where, true to Max's words, she found her mother asleep on the couch in front of the TV, as she was most evenings as soon as she got off work. She made a beeline for the room she shared with her sister and pulled open the closet, swapping her cheer uniform for a denim skirt and plain black shirt. As soon as she was dressed, she pulled her hair from her ponytail, allowing it to fall loose around her shoulders, and waltzed back into the kitchen.

She pulled the door to the refrigerator open, her eyes scanning in the dim yellow light for the bottle of apple juice she'd stashed behind the milk for the party that night. Seizing the bottle, she shoved it into her purse, the sound of Max coming back inside and shutting their bedroom door behind her joining the faint noise coming from the television.

She shut the refrigerator, pulling her shoes on and heading back for the door, stepping out into the cool spring night. Lily walked the familiar path past the Munsons' and into the woods, taking the quickest path that she knew would lead to Benny's Burgers on the outskirts of town, where Patrick and their friends awaited.