chapter two

break free

☆

DUSTIN HENDERSON WANTED to strangle Alexandra. He was up all night listening to her on the phone with Juno, the urge to kill her became stronger and stronger when he heard the dramatic gasps that left her lips whenever Juno said something shocking or the shrill laughter that spilled from her mouth when she said something funny—it was downright annoying.

He wanted to cut her hair off and shove it down her throat, curing his ears of the shriek that is his sister's voice. After all, he was already having a hard time sleeping as his body was filled with excitement for his favourite time of the year—Halloween!

And his mother didn't exactly help with his mood when she forced the two siblings to take a picture; ensuring that the memory of her sweet little Dusty in his Ghostbusters costume and her eldest in her boring, yet totally fashion-appropriate clothes would encase in her mind forever. And best believe, they both hated it as much as the other. After a very dramatic photoshoot of the two having to plaster fake, strained smiles on their faces, the two Henderson's went their separate ways—leaving Alexandra at her favourite place in the world . . . school!

    Alex was on her way to the library, her happy mood contrasting with her sullen face. Yes, she may have looked like she wanted to die every second, but she was happy . . . deep down, anyway. All because of her Lord and Saviour Deena Ritchie.

    Deena had told Alex to meet her in the library just before the next period and the Henderson knew exactly what that meant—they were skipping. Her favourite part of the day!

    Though that happy mood she was in? Yeah, no, it didn't last long. The reasoning behind it? Because Steve Harrington of all people bashed into her. The teenage boy's eyes widened in shock at the sudden collision, Steve looked down, eyes the size of flying saucers, "Shit! Sorry Alex . . . "

    "God, Harrington, are you blind?" Alexandra snapped, shooting him a quick glare as she fixed her appearance, straightening out her hair she pulled her jacket up her shoulder, concealing the scars that ran deep on her skin from the Demogorgon that ever-so-rudely invited itself into the Byers' house way back when.

    "Woah—is that from-?" Steve's shocked face formed into a frown as his lips downturned upon noting the jagged scars littering her right shoulder.

    "-Dustin? Yeah, he gets real catty when he doesn't get his sleep," Alex retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes as Steve crossed his arms over his chest, sending her a pointed look.

    "You know what I'm talking about, Alex," Steve responded, shortly rolling his own eyes as he took a tentative step towards her, his hand hesitantly reached out to her jacket as he slowly dragged it down her shoulder, getting a better look at the scars. "Jesus . . . I didn't think it got you that bad."

    Alex swallowed roughly, God it had been long since the two had been this close to one another. It felt weird, but a good weird, you know? It was normal, like this warmth had enveloped her body and was holding her captive—well, it did feel like that until Alexandra snapped out of her entrapped daze and shrugged his hand off of her shoulder, scowling at him.

    "Ever heard of personal space, Harrington?" Alex snapped once again, taking a step back, away from him, hostility shining in her eyes.

    "Sorry," Steve fumbled on his words, him too inching away from her as he took a step back—respecting her space. "I-I was just worried, that's all. Didn't think it got you that bad."

    Alex pursed her lips, diverting her eyes to the lockers as though they were more interesting, "Yeah, well, it did . . . but I guess I've got you to thank since you did save my ass and all."

    A small smile made its way onto Steve's face as he thought back to that extremely chaotic night, "You don't need to thank me, Alex, I wasn't just gonna let it eat you like you were its midnight snack or some shit."

    Alexandra nodded absentmindedly as she thought of all the ways she could get out of a long, awkward conversation with Steve. "Well, I gotta go. I'm meeting Deena in the library . . . "

    Steve opened his mouth to tell her that he was on his way to the library as well, to meet Nancy, but he stopped himself upon realising she meant it in a 'leave me alone' kind of way. He nodded, clearing his throat, "Yeah, yeah. Uh—see ya 'round."

    Alex pursed her lips and smiled tightly, turning before she sauntered away in the direction of the library. Steve spun on his heels, huffing as he ran his hands through his hair. "See ya 'round." He recited in exasperation, hand slapping on his hip as he scowled to himself. "See ya 'round? Jesus. What the hell is wrong with me?"

    On the opposite side of the hallway, Alex walked with a perplexed look on her face. "See ya 'round?" She scoffed. "That's it? See ya 'round? No, 'oh, I'm sorry for being a dick, Alex', God—"

    "You know, talking to yourself makes you look like a bigger freak than me." A voice teased from in front of her, Alex looked up finding Eddie Munson stood in the doorway of the library, a teasing grin on his lips.

    "Impossible. No one can look a bigger freak than you, don't worry Eddie," Alex retorted playfully. Okay, so Alex said she only had like, two friends—that being Deena and Juno. But Eddie Munson counted in a way, he gave her drugs, sometimes even for free, so he managed to wedge his way into her small, small list of friends. Besides, he was funny, she'd give him that—but don't let him hear that, it'd go straight to his head!

    Eddie dramatically threw a hand on his heart, staggering back in faux shock before a teasing smile pulled at his lips and he leant against the doorway of the library. "You meeting Deena?" He asked. Deena Ritchie was the one who formally introduced the Henderson and the Munson in the first place, with Deena living in the same trailer park as Eddie she had known him for years—they were close as hell as kids, especially when Deena's dad would send her over to the Munson's for the night, expecting Wayne to look after her while he got shitfaced with whatever drink and whatever woman he could find.

    Alex nodded eliciting in an even bigger grin to form on the Munson's face. "So you're skipping?" He asked, again receiving a nod. "Let me come with you," he clasped his hands together. "I beg."

     And so Alexandra agreed, dragging the Munson with her to meet Deena as he dramatically complained about the school, expressing himself loudly in the library, earning a shh to be hissed in his and Alex's direction as they walked passed the librarian.

     When they had finally gotten Deena and made their escape of the wretched place that is Hawkins High, they found themselves in their usual spot at the clearing in the woods, idly smoking a joint as they talked and caught up with the Munson boy—the two girls shooting him looks whenever he asked if their 'preppy, cheerleader friend' was gonna return to Hawkins anytime soon.

      But he merely stated he was bored and wanted someone new to 'spice' up the town. But Alex and Deena knew it was because once upon a time Eddie had a crush on Juno Cooper after seeing her at Deena's trailer before she left town. If Alex was being honest, even after all these years she didn't think Eddie ever stopped liking her best friend, given how much he asked about her.

☆

    Alex may not have mentioned this before, but she was obsessed with Queen. When she woke up she'd listen to Queen, when she went to sleep she'd listen to Queen, when she was meeting Deena she'd grab her Walkman and listen away. Which explained the ridiculous ( Deena's words ) costume she was wearing. She was dressed as the legend himself in the music video 'I Want to Break Free', skirt, stockings, disgustingly light pink shirt—the whole lot of it.

    Granted, the stick on moustache was a bit much—but luckily for herself, and everyone around her, it flew off her upper lip in the soft October breeze—floating down the darkened streets.

     Deena stepped out of her car and pulled her cigarette from her lips as she stared at Alex's annoyed face. "It looks better without the moustache, dumbass, forget about it."

    Alex turned to her from the other side of the car, glaring over, "I know that, asshole! But believe it or not, a fake moustache is a lot of fuckin' money!"

    Deena pushed her lips out in false sadness before slamming her car door shut. "C'mon," Deena ushered her, rounding the car. "Let's get tonight over with."

    "The fuck's wrong with you now?" Alex glanced over at Deena, brows furrowed at the mood the Ritchie teen was suddenly in.

    "Because, Alex . . . " she trailed off as she came to a stand besides Alexandra, flinging an arm over her shoulder she steered the Henderson in the direction of Tina's residence. "You see blondie over there? The one with the goddamn staring problems," she pointed out a familiar boy stood in the front garden of Tina's house. "Yeah. That's Billy Hargrove, and he has a tendency of stalking girls who aren't fucking interested. He won't leave me the fuck alone. That's what's wrong with me. Him."

    "Ew, stalker much?" Alex muttered as she and Deena slowly made their way up the long path to Tina's house. Billy's eyes followed the two like a cat followed a mouse. His chest was glistening with sweat or sticky beer that he had just spat everywhere in a boisterous show of attention. "Ew," Alex repeated herself, pulling a face as they finally made it onto Tina's lawn.

    Just when the two girls thought they had gone unseen, their hope was diminished when a voice called out the Ritchie teen's name. "Deenaaaa," Billy dragged out her name as he approached the two, a smirk rested on his lips. "Who's your friend?" He asked with a tilt of his head, gesturing to the clearly bored red-head beside her.

    Deena sighed, contemplating whether or not to even answer him before she rolled her eyes and spoke. "Alex," she forced out blankly.

    A charming, very much fake, smile made its way onto the Hargrove's face. "I'm Billy." He introduced. Alex internally rolled her eyes. Boys like Billy were crawling around Hawkins, like a disease spreading. She knew that type well; they'd charm you with their compliments and no doubt fake jaw-dropping smiles, they'd give you just enough attention to leave you begging for more until finally they gave you what you craved and then they'd drop you quicker than a child drops a toy they get bored of.

    Alexandra matched his false smile. "Great," she drawled sarcastically before lifting her hand and pointing in another direction—somewhere that was far, far away from herself and Deena. "Can you be Billy over there?"

    Billy merely laughed, amused by her words as he stood, placing a hand on his hip, the movement caused his jacket to be pushed back an inch, showing off more of his exposed, sweaty, sticky skin. Lovely. The action was purposeful, done with intention and that alone made Deena want to gag.

    His attempt at trying to keep a conversation going was going to be the death of the two teenager girls in front of him. It was harder than talking to most, all of the boys wanted to be him or envied him; most of the girls wanted to be with him or near him, everyone was always engaged by him when he spoke—but Alex and Deena? Alex and Deena looked like they wanted to drop dead any minute now. Quite frankly, Alex would welcome back that same Demogorgan that tore into her skin last year with open arms if it meant she got out of a conversation with Billy 'Asshole' Hargrove.

    Suddenly, Tommy showed up out of nowhere, swinging his arm around Billy's shoulder, a cigarette loosely held between his fingers. He whistled, using the hand with the cigarette to point at the two teenage girls in front of himself and Billy.

    "Better stay away from these two, Billy," he shook his head mockingly, a bitter look of disgust etched across his face—at this point Alex and Deena had gotten used to his look of resentment, it was getting old now. "They're Hawkins very own freaks," he stated before moving his finger in Deena's direction, "Ritchie over here, hangs out with the Munson freak, and she's a band geek, I mean, what kinda freak does band, you know?" He practically gagged at the reminder before his attention fell on Alexandra, he whistled once again, "This one, you see, is your typical loner bitch. All pouty and broody after her little boyfriend ditched her—and for what, really? 'Cause turns out he's a little bitch too."

    Billy said nothing, only grinning at Tommy H's opinionated descriptions of the two girls and listened on, raring to know more. "Wasn't you kissing that 'little bitch's' ass like five days ago? Following him around like a lost puppy and shit, it was cute," she turned to Billy this time, ensuring to further embarrass Tommy in front of the new boy. "He even called him 'King Steve'," she clasped her hands together and leant her cheeks on them. "Now ain't that sweet? Oh! I almost forgot, we overheard Carol talking in the girls' changing rooms," she pulled a face, turning to Deena who caught on and mirrored the expression.

    "Yeah," Deena trailed off as she thought for a second. "You might wanna go to the hospital and get that," her eyes trailed down, "Checked out, it's not sounding good for you, Tom."

    The Ritchie teen patted his shoulder for extra measure and spun on her heals, Tommy cleared his throat awkwardly and shrunk as Billy sent him a weirded look. The two girls finally made their way into the house, Mötley Crüe's 'Shout at the Devil' echoed through the residence, blaring through the pairs' ears.

    Deena turned, leaning over to whisper to Alex, "I'm gonna go find Eddie, he's got the goods."

     Alexandra nodded in answer and told her she was gonna go find them some drinks before muttering a quick bye. The teen made a bee-line for the punch bowl. Grabbing two cups, she filled them as her eyes darted around the room, taking in the abysmal dancing coming from everyone, she looked to the odd few people stood groping one another as they made out, others just stood chatting, screaming over the music so that they could hear and finally her eyes landed on Steve Harrington himself.

    Steve stood, an annoyed look painted across his features as he plucked a pair of sunglasses off of his face, getting a better look at the Hargrove teen in front of him. Alex rolled her eyes at the two basically having a dick measuring contest. She brought her drink up to her lips and lifted herself atop the counter as she awaited on Deena—and possibly Eddie.

    The Munson boy may have been their supplier, but he was their friend first of all, and what do friends do? They force their friends to come to a party with them. So Deena was on 'convince Eddie to stay' duty, but it was unlikely, he hated shit like this, especially because ninety-nine percent of the individuals hated his guts, and while he loved the idea of annoying his peers by simply being there, he hadn't the effort for it tonight.

    Alexandra's gaze somehow landed on the two teenage boys again, and she found Steve already coming her way—oh great! The Henderson grumbled profanities under her breath when suddenly she felt someone besides her, she tensed, silently lifting her cup to her lips.

    "Hey Alex," Steve greeted, like everything was normal—as per usual.

    The red-head ignored his greeting and settled her eyes on Billy who was at the other-side of the room, seemingly flirting with Vicki. "Looks like you got yourself some competition, Harrington," she said mindlessly, sipping on her drink of fuck knows what, but it was strong, whatever the hell it was, so she wasn't complaining. The stronger, the better.

    "Hardly," Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes before he caught sight of the uninterested look on his former best friend's face. "Not like I actually care about that shit anymore," he brushed it off, wafting a hand about.

    "I'm sure," she hummed, unconvinced by his efforts.

    "Seriously, I don't," Steve told her, red cup in hand as he turned to face her. "There's more important things in life than popularity," he rolled his eyes at the thought.

    Alex pursed her lips, ever so desperately wanting out of this conversation because she knew what it'd turn into. And while she had been expecting an apology from the Harrington, it didn't mean she wanted one anytime soon, because it'd unbury feelings, feelings that she had hidden away a while ago—and for the life of her, she didn't need them popping back up outta' nowhere.

    So instead, she simply changed the subject. Forgetting for a minute that she did in fact hate Steve, but she was lonely and bored, and talking to him brought her a kind of . . . nostalgia. "So, what're you supposed to be dressed as?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the all black he was wearing. He looked like he was going to a goddamn funeral.

    "You seen Risky Business?" He asked, Alex glanced at him before tentatively nodding. "I'm Joel," he gestured down to himself.

    Alex tilted her head as she did a quick one over of him. "Wasn't his suit grey?" She asked, meeting his eye again. Steve's eyes widened at the comment as he fumbled on his words.

    "W-well, yeah, but-" Steve cut himself off. "The black looks better, okay?" He held his hands up in mock surrender.

    "If you say so . . . " Alex trailed off.

    "What? You don't think it looks good?" Steve asked wryly, narrowing his eyes at her in mock offence.

    "I never said that," she shrugged, lips pursed. "I'm just saying that—" she stopped herself short, you idiot, stop talking to him, "—never mind."

    Steve felt the small smile that had worked up on his face drop, she was finally willingly talking to him and it was over already? Fuck. "What are you supposed to be?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation going as he took a step back and assessed her outfit.

    From the shiny black heels that sat on her feet to the black thigh-high stockings that rested upon her legs, his eyes slowly dragged further up her body as he took it all in, landing on the shiny, leather skirt that hugged her waist to the light pink sleeveless turtleneck and the pink earrings hanging from her ears.

    Steve cleared his throat, gesturing to her face before he spoke, "You forgot the hair and moustache, can't forget the hair and moustache."

    "Yeah, well, the 'tache flew away and I couldn't find any hair last minute," she answered absentmindedly, lifting her cup to her lips and Steve noticed the pink nail polish that painted her nails and the bracelets that sat on her wrists.

    "Well, it still looks good so I'm sure you'll survive," he told her, that ever-so-charming Harrington smile on his lips which brought Alexandra back to the past whenever he'd flash her that smile and everything was right in the world.

    "Hey . . . " Deena's voice snapped Alex from her thoughts and brought her attention onto the curly haired teen. Deena shot her a perplexed look as she silently took the drink that the Henderson held out to her. "Eddie said he'd stay an extra ten if we go outside with him, he said the song choices make him wanna die."

    Alex nodded and rolled her eyes though a small smile formed as she jumped down from her place on the countertop, simply sending Steve a small, tight smile in goodbye.

    Deena's hand grasped her own as she dragged her through the crowd until finally they got to the other side of the room. "I thought we were going outside?" She questioned, frowning in confusion. "And where's Eddie?"

    "Eddie left," Deena told her with a shrug, lifting her cup to her lips. "He left like five minutes ago, the songs weren't doing it for him he said."

   Alex's frown deepened as she jutted her thumb in the direction of the kitchen where she previously was, "So, what was all that about?"

     "An escape," Deena answered simply, sending her a pointed look. "You're welcome."

    A grin laced Alex's lips as she downed the rest of her drink before inhaling sharply as she felt the burn travel down her body. Placing the empty red cup on the side, she cupped Deena's cheeks with her palms and smiled widely, "My hero!" She removed her hands from the Ritchie's face and sneaked them in her pockets, swiftly pulling out the goods. "And now the fun part," she wiggled the substance, and a grin laced Deena's lips.

☆

    Alexandra was off her fuckin' tits to put it lightly. And goddammit did it feel good, she felt at the top of the fucking planet. Not a care in the world as she danced to the song playing in the background, everything around her had spaced out. It didn't feel real, as though everything and everyone was a figment of her imagination. She didn't notice Deena talking to one of Eddie's friends beside her, she didn't notice the commotion coming from Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington behind her.

    It was all a goddamn blur to her. Not like she cared anyway, it took her mind away from everything. It took her mind away from the stupid, stupid Upside Down, it took her mind away from the fuckin' Demogorgon, or whatever it's called, that tainted her blissful sleep,  it took her mind away from the self-conscious thoughts that her scars would be showing, and in this present moment? She didn't give a damn.

    Alexandra did almost next to everything to ensure that those scars were not seen by anyone. Which made it especially awkward whenever she'd do the deed.

    But right now, she could not give one flying fuck. She was just enjoying that one bliss moment in Hawkins, these kind of moments, they were rare, especially in Hawkins and she had learnt the hard way that you needed to savour them.

    The quiet murmurs were what got her to lift her head, the Henderson watched as Steve trudged his way through the room, heading for the open front door, his sullen eyes met hers and she stared back, red-eyed and confused.

    Steve's mind was reeling as he tried to amass any clue of what the fuck just happened between him and Nancy. They had broken up, that was sure, the echo of Nancy yelling 'bullshit' reverberated through his mind, but that wasn't the only thing making his head spin.

    Nancy had said stuff, stuff that Steve didn't understand. He had been accused of things, she insisted on the matter, actually, but Steve was defensive. And all he needed right now was his best friend, but he fucked that one over—and it's not like he could actually talk to her about it, because Alexandra Henderson was the topic of conversation.

    Apparently ( cue in-denial eyeroll ) Steve was in love with Alexandra Henderson. Could you believe it? It's laughable, right? Steve wasn't in love with his former best friend, she hated him—well he thought she did up until tonight, now he guessed she tolerated him, but still, he was not in love with her.

    Nancy almost went out of her mind trying to explain that to him, how he'd always be looking her way when no one was looking or how in class when she'd do a presentation he'd laugh, but hide it behind his hand ensuring that she thought he didn't give a shit, or how he'd talk about her all the time, telling stories of their adventures in middle school with Juno.

    It wasn't as though Nancy was upset, she was kind of relieved because she and Steve weren't in love, no, whatever they had had been lost a long time ago. Plus, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, there was just something about Jonathan Byers.

    Deena stumbled towards Alex and a laugh erupted from her. "You need to go home, you look like you've not slept in twelve years."

    The Ritchie teen steered Alex out of the house and onto the front yard, avoiding the many teens who were throwing up or making out—even something in between. "You can't drive, dumbass," Alex reminded sluggishly, pointing a finger in her face before she caught a strand of her curly hair and smiled at the curl as it locked around her finger.

    "I know that," Deena muttered, slapping her hand away from her hair earning a pointed stare from Alex. "But . . . I'm finding you someone that can," Deena's eyes travelled along the front yard before she suddenly called out. "Harrington!"

    "Oh Jesus," Alex grumbled under her breath, pulling a face as she tried to pry herself from Deena's grip. "Deena, man, please. I'd rather walk."

     "You expect me to let you walk alone in this town?" Deena rose a brow. "Dream on, Ginger." Steve slowly approached the two, raising a brow at state the Henderson was in now, compared to the last he saw of her.

    "You guys okay?" He asked, wiping a hand across his head as he tried to wash away any stress he had from the events that had happened no more than ten minutes ago. His eyes fell upon the intoxicated Henderson who smiled bitterly up at him, "Does she need a ride?" He asked, almost reading Deena's mind.

    "No," Alex muttered, smile suddenly gone. "I'm capable of taking myself home, thank you."

    "Ignore her, she needs a ride," the Ritchie teen was elated. Steve nodded in the direction of his car, he had only had one drink and that was hours ago so he was fine to take her home.

    "What about you?" He asked as he opened the car door to his maroon BMW. "You need a ride? You clearly can't drive your ass home," he gestured to her swaying state that was struggling to hold up the Henderson before he took her out of her hands, gently moving to place her in the car before she slapped his hands away.

    "I can do it myself, Harrington." Steve raised his hands in surrender and let the red-head get into the car herself, he turned to Deena again, raising his eyebrows in question.

    "I'm not leaving yet," she told him, shrugging. Upon noting the sceptical look on his face she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Harrington, I'm staying with friends from band."

    "You have friends other than Alex?" Steve asked teasingly earning a sarcastic laugh to leave Deena's lips.

    "Funny. Real funny."

    He shrugged, "I try. Seriously though, if you need a ride call me."

   "Fine," she nodded. "Make sure she gets home safe, yeah? And for the love of God, take her shoes off before she breaks her neck."

    "Yeah, got it."

   And she headed back in, muttering something down to Alex about how she was going to call her later. Steve pursed his lips as he placed a hand on the top of the car door, he crouched down and sighed, reaching out to pull the heels off of her feet. His fingers skimmed the the fabric of the stockings, causing her heart to beat increasingly faster at the most innocent of touch. But, at the same time she had the urge to jerk her knee out, hitting him in the face because his presence simply annoyed her.

    Finally, he rounded the car and got in the drivers side. He turned the engine on before his eyes landed on Alex. He sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead, "Can you do your seatbelt or are you incapable of that too?"

    Alex narrowed her eyes, raising her hands in mock surrender, slurred words pouring out of her lips like dirty tap water, "Give me a second. Your car is cold as shit, I can't do anything if my hands are shaking more than a virgin during their first time."

    Steve shot her a weirded look at the reference but shook his head. "I don't think the shaking is 'cause of my car," he mumbled under his breath, but nonetheless he reached over to the backseat and pulled out a yellow sweatshirt. "Here," he threw it at her.

    "Thanks," she mumbled, quickly pulling it over her head before she got stuck. A spluttered, intoxicated laugh fell from her lips as she struggled to move. "Steve. Steve. Steven. Help."

    "Oh, Jesus." He inhaled deeply, yanking the end of the sweatshirt down until it sat comfortably on her. Ignoring the sweet bliss of joy that ran through his body at the use of his name. "There."

    "This doesn't mean I like you again, by the way," Alex reminded, shooting him a quick glance as he finally pulled out of Tina's street.

    A scoff fell from his lips, "I would never dream of it."

    "Good," she drawled, tapping her fingers against the window boredly as she rested her head against the glass. "Just reminding you."

    "Well, thanks for that," he retorted sarcastically.

   She rolled her eyes at his irritated stature and side eyed him as he drove. "So . . . what happened between you and Wheeler?" She asked, raising a brow.

    Oh, we broke up because she thinks I'm in love with you. Which is stupid, very stupid. "Got in a fight," he mumbled. "We broke up."

    She hummed in response, nodding her head. Steve whipped his head in her direction and narrowed his eyes as he kept glancing towards the road, "You could pretend to feel bad for me, y'know?"

    "Why would I do that?" She asked, genuinely questioning him.

    "B-because it's . . . I don't know. The right thing to do," Steve offered, even he knew he didn't make sense.

    Alex rolled her eyes, and turned, facing him. "Okay. I'm sorry your love life went to shit, Harrington," she offered. "Was that any good?"

    Steve pursed his lips, "I think I preferred it when you didn't give a shit."

   Alex nodded in agreement, pulling at the ends of the yellow sweatshirt as she glanced out the windows, "Yeah, me too."

    It was silent for a minute the only sound being played in the back was 'Somebody to Love' by Queen, Alex turned to Steve and rose her eyebrows. She tilted her head, "Is that mine?"

    Steve cleared his throat, "Uh—yeah. You left it in my car and I-I couldn't find anything else to listen to so . . . "

    "Right," she nodded her head.

    Steve reached forward to take the cassette tape out, "Do you—"

    She shook her head, "Keep it."

    Steve frowned, weirded out by the small gesture. " . . . why?"

    Alex rolled her eyes, "Don't then." She reached forward to take it before Steve slapped her hand away. She huffed and leant back in her seat, diverting her attention out the window. Watching the night sky as she neared her house, her eyes followed the heaps of children dressed in Halloween costumes, their parents following after them, smiling as they watched their kids joyfully.

    The car suddenly came to a halt and Alex noticed she was outside her house. Dustin was also strolling down the street just as the car came to a stop outside his house, Steve lifted a hand in greeting and waved at the younger boy.

    Alex rolled her eyes as Dustin smiled over at the Harrington brightly. She reached down to the foot of the car and grabbed her heels, turning to Steve she let a small, genuine smile paint her lips, "Thanks for the ride, Harrington."

    "Anytime," Steve nodded as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut. After watching her whisper something to Dustin he drove off, ensuring that the two were together—what he neglected to take note of was the fact that she still had his sweatshirt.

    "What the fuck are you doing?" Alexandra whisper-shouted over to her brother as she blocked him from Steve's view before she heard him drive off, Dustin held his proton blaster up to the trash can.

    "There's something in there," he whisper-shouted back, quickly glancing her way as she slowly made her way over to her younger brother. "Now shut up, check the trash."

    Alex rolled her eyes as Dustin shoved her towards the large silver tin. "Sooo heroic," she uttered sarcastically, glancing back at him before she turned to the bin—a sudden clatter caused her to jump. "Oh, Jesus," she muttered before quickly praying.

    Dustin rolled his eyes as he watched her touch her head, chest and shoulders in a quick motion. "Cut it out already," he hissed, slowly coming to a stand besides her. He turned his head, meeting her eyes. "You ready?" He asked as she slowly creeped a hand on the lid.

    "Not really," she admitted in annoyance. One whole year. One goddamn year where nothing happened, that's all she wanted.

    "Great!" Dustin offered sarcastically, voice raising a pitch before he nodded at her. The older sibling lifted the lid in a quick motion eliciting in a loud shriek to echo from Dustin's lips as he pointed the makeshift proton blaster in the bin.

    The two shared a look before leaning forward, glancing down at the trash-can.

    "Holy shit-"

    "Is that a . . . slug?" Alex squinted her eyes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE !
the way i keep writing jordanna instead of alex 🤦🏾‍♀️

BUT ANYWAY what do u wanna see?