**lil warning for this chapter, a bit of nsfw o_O //before and after, I'll put one of these ~*+*~

JULY 1978

Juniper Clark stared up at her bedroom ceiling, examining the glow-in-the-dark star stickers that were miraculously still stuck up there from her spot on her bed.

She laid on her back, her eyes wide and restless. She hadn't woken up too long ago, but it hadn't been easy to fall asleep, either. The bed dipped beside her as the boy to her left rolled over to face her in his sleep.

If June's heart pounded against her chest any harder, he would surely wake up.

She had to get him out of there. The birds weren't even chirping yet, but her mother would be up soon and she didn't want to risk getting caught with Michael in her bed. She groaned internally.

How could she have been so reckless? How could she have been so stupid? She never should have even let him inside. And there he was, in all of his drooling glory, laying next to her in nothing but his boxers.

June was shocked out of her thoughts when he sniffled loudly out of nowhere and sighed. She turned her attention to him, examining the way the light from the beginning of the dawn gently skimmed his cheek. He wasn't wearing that giddy smile that he always carried around, and yet, he still seemed happy.

Juniper reached out and touched his face as if he were made of porcelain and a wrong move could shatter him. She reveled in the feel of his soft skin against hers, and she was reminded of why she had asked him to touch her, of why she had let him stay.

She brushed her thumb over his cheekbones and traced his features: his eyebrows, his nose... his lips. She found herself inching closer to him, even as the unbearably heavy pile of pure guilt sat tauntingly in the back of her mind. The tip of her nose was touching his now, and she suddenly had the urge to feel his lips on hers once again.

Before she could do anything more, his eyes fluttered open. Juniper just barely felt his eyelashes graze her skin before she leaped away from him and off of the bed, thankful for the long shirt she wore that covered most of her body.

Michael sat up slowly, not taking his eyes off of her, and rubbed his eyes as if he believed he was dreaming. Once he convinced himself that she was real, a grin spread across his previously-expressionless face. "Morning, Buggy," he whispered groggily. "What are you doing all the way over there?"

He hadn't felt her, then. That was good. June would never admit how intimate the moment she had just sort-of shared with him was.

"You have to go soon," she whispered back, her voice gentler than he had expected it to be. "My mom's going to wake up."

Michael nodded silently, searching around his side of the bed. "Could you, uh-" his cheeks burned. "Could you pass me my clothes?"

Juniper giggled, a sweet and unexpected sound that made Michael's lips quirk up. "Here you go, dumbass," she smirked as she tossed his shirt and shorts from the night before at him.

He caught them in his arms and she averted her eyes as he rose and quickly slipped them on.

June approached him cautiously, stopped in front of him, and tilted her head up to see him.

He brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, as he knew she liked. His hand came to a rest on her cheek.

She froze for a second, contemplating her next actions, before turning her head and kissing his palm gently.

"What did it mean?" Michael asked softly.

Juniper looked back up at him, forcing herself to make eye contact with him. "I don't know."

Michael nodded. He understood. She'd gotten herself into trouble, and he knew how it felt. "Will it-" he paused to clear his throat. "Will it ever mean anything?"

She searched his eyes for nothing in particular. "That's what I'm afraid of."

He offered a comforting smile, though June saw the sadness behind it. "You don't need to be afraid with me."

Without a word, she rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek. Michael carefully climbed out the window and she watched him trail away down the road before she fell back onto her bed.

≛

"Junebug?" her father called from the kitchen.

Juniper scurried down the stairs. "Yeah, Dad?"

Upon making eye contact with her, Jim nodded his head toward the entryway, where Archie stood with a fresh white rose.

He beamed at her. "Hey, Junie."

Juniper felt like she was going to throw up. Memories from the night before flooded back hauntingly.

Archie's grin dropped. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

She closed the distance between them and tightly hugged him. "I'm fine, just a little nauseous this morning," she lied through her teeth.

Her eyes dropped to the flower. "You already got me one of these."

"Yeah, well, uh," Archie glanced up at her father. "We lost it last time."

Jim wrinkled his nose, not unlike how Juniper often did. "I'm leaving you two alone. Be careful."

June took the rose from him and smelled it before peering up at him through her eyelashes. "I love it. Thank you."

Archie smiled softly and pulled her closer by her waist. "Anything for you, love." He scanned her slender frame, from the top of her tousled blonde bun to her long purple t-shirt to her bare feet. It seemed as if she hadn't changed out of her pajamas since the morning. "You're beautiful."

Juniper flushed and laughed dismissively. "What, in this form?"

"You're always beautiful."

Her arms snaked around his neck as a coy grin played at her lips. "Such a charmer."

"Mm, I try," he hummed before bending down to kiss her.

"Get off my sister!" a high voice yelled from across the room.

The two broke apart to find Thomas standing proudly beside them, brandishing a spatula at the pair.

"Oh, c'mon, Tom, it's only me," Archie reasoned as Juniper rested her head on his chest.

"Ew!" Thomas huffed.

"Ah, that's a good point," Archie nodded thoughtfully.

"Uh, Arch," Juniper murmured. When she had his attention, a small smirk shaped her lips. "I have to go... pick out an outfit for today in my room. Would you mind helping me out?"

Archie unconsciously licked his bottom lip. "I'd love to."

Thomas was scooped up by his mother as they nearly ran up to Juniper's bedroom.

"So, what kind of look are we going for today?" the boy teased.

June shook her head and laughed. "Shut up."

She pinned him up against the door and locked it as soon as it slammed shut. Her hands roamed his chest and shoulders as she crashed their lips together.

Archie gripped her waist, breaking their kiss and exhaling heavily when she pressed her body against his and moved to his neck. He tilted his head to the side to expose more of his skin to her and blushed furiously when he discovered a purple spot in his reflection on her mirror.

"Junie, you gave me a hickey," he said lowly.

Panting, she pulled back to admire her handiwork and ran her thumb over the marks. "I think your counting skills are off." She bit her lip coyly. "I gave you three."

He helped her slip his jacket off and watched her curiously when she slowed down.

Her eyes were cast down to the floor as if she was considering something.

"Junie?" he mumbled.

Juniper turned her gaze back to him and nodded toward her bed. "Lay down."

~*+*~

Archie swallowed and did as he was told. June followed him soon after and straddled his waist. She gently leaned down to kiss his lips again as she slowly undid the buttons on his shirt. His breath hitched when she began to roll her hips over his body.

He could barely believe it, that she was his and they were doing this. That she was wearing nothing but a shirt and panties and she was... she was rubbing herself against him like that.

He released a restrained groan while she left another hickey on his collarbone. Shit, she was making him crazy.

Juniper, on the other hand, was just as excited. She wasn't entirely sure how Archie felt about her taking charge (spoiler alert: he loved it), but he didn't stop her, and God, did she feel good. Judging by the presence poking at her inner thigh, he felt good, too.

Maybe she was overdoing it, though? All the boys she'd ever been with preferred being on top, except Michael.

Michael.

The memories came flooding back again, and suddenly the boy below her wasn't Archie anymore.

His hands had traveled higher under her shirt to her chest, and she was grateful for the fact that she didn't wear bras to bed.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as Michael nipped at her neck and her jaw. She wove her fingers through his hair and tugged lightly.

"Buggy," he would whisper.

She bit her lip to prevent any unwanted sounds from escaping her mouth.

Juniper pressed herself into him once more before the two tensed simultaneously.

"God, M-"

"June!" the boy below her exhaled, and in the split second that she heard his voice, her eyes flew open and Michael disappeared.

"Archie."

~*+*~

Juniper rolled to her side and ignored the feeling between her legs. She snuggled into his side.

"I love you so much," Archie murmured, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her temple.

"I love you, too."

Juniper stared at the wall. She had just... Had she really just gotten off to Michael? While she was making out with her boyfriend who, for the record, wasn't Michael?

And poor Archie was oblivious to the fact that if she hadn't heard his voice, she wouldn't have said his name.

"Do you, um..." Juniper cleared her throat. "Do you need to clean up?"

Archie flushed. "I'll just run home. See you later?"

She moved to the side so he could stand. "See you later."

He flashed a quick smile and left the room. As he closed the door, she spotted the new flower on the ground, crushed from their stumbling around. She sighed and picked it up although it drooped over, and gently placed it on her nightstand.

≛

"Can I ask you guys something?" Juniper asked timidly.

She, Donna, Lucy, and her mother sat in a circle on her bed, gossiping about how Lucy and Donna had seen Archie not long before they got to the Clarks' and he was practically glowing, or how Michael had allegedly broken up with Annette.

"Anything, honey," Lily smiled. She had made a habit of gossiping with June and Lucy every once in a while, and Donna had happened to join the trio today.

"Let's say," she fidgeted, "hypothetically... Someone was dating a boy, let's call him... John. And this person happened to like another boy that they didn't mean to like, maybe his name is... Nicholas." Juniper cringed at the obviousness of the situation. "And the person didn't know that Nicholas was in town until after they started dating John. And Nicholas spent the night at the person's house, and... and... The person cheated."

The three women watched her with dropped jaws.

"What, uh... What does the person do?"

Donna pursed her lips. "June, did you-"

Lucy nudged her new friend with her elbow. If Juniper had wanted to feel worse, she could've just told them that she had cheated on her boyfriend.

"Well," Lily started, "does this person love John?"

"Yes," June practically whimpered. "And they don't want to tell Ar- John, because they're scared he'll get hurt."

Lily took her daughter into her arms. "Well, I think the best thing for this person to do would be to tell John, but it's understandable if they're scared." Lucy and Donna listened just as intently as Juniper did. There was something about Lily's tone that made her mesmerizing to everyone, not unlike June's. "This person just needs to sort their feelings out first. Then, they can decide what to do."

Lucy interrupted sternly. "They can't hurt either of them."

June and she made eye contact and the former nearly broke down. "They will."

And that's what it was, Juniper decided. She wasn't overcome with love. She was overcome with fear. Fear of hurt.

≛

(not) brought to you by that being the rACIEST THING I EVER WROTE LMAOAOOA 

(not) brought to you by me not writing smut often so please let me know how that was bc i don't often do it and i'd like to know like on a scale from 1-10 how cringy it was dfuhauvbaobc

(not) brought to you by you really got me - the kinks

brought to you by lissy <3