Fandom Welcome to Hawkins

[christy]

JESSICA PRESCOTT​

It was back to the grind, which was something Jess was more than welcoming of since the past year had been... well, not so pleasant, considering all that had happened. But now things were getting on track. Jess was back in school and El had started school for the first time, which was a big step, but with Mike's help, and the others, she was doing well. It was honestly an exciting time, and also a bit of a worrying time because though Jess had still not adjusted to the school curriculum, having not studied any of this before, she had to still figure out what she wanted to do after high school.

Everyone was talking about it. She heard Jonathan talking to Nancy about their future, and when he was at home, he was usually talking to her or Will about what he was going to do, and Jess... Well she had no idea.

For the time being though, she pushed that all out of her mind, instead focusing on the drive. She sat in the passenger seat, beside Jonathan, with Will seated in the back seat. A classic rock song that Jessica vaguely recognised was playing, and she was only familiar with it because she'd heard Jonathan play it some time or the other. The trip to school wasn't long, and the three of them engaged in idle conversation to pass the time. Finally though, they pulled up outside the building and Jonathan found a parking spot.

"Are you riding home with us today or is it time for another D&D session?" Jonathan asked his younger brother as they all got out of the car.

Jess adjusted her bag and shut the door before walking around to the other side to witness both boys in conversation.

"Maybe," Will said with a sheepish smile. "Don't wait for me." Which meant he was likely going to be spending time with his friends after school, which was completely reasonable. Jess wanted him to be able to enjoy himself as much as he could. He deserved it, after all they'd been through.

Without saying much else, Will waved tot he both of them and sprinted across the parking lot to join Mike, Dustin and Lucas, who were all parking their bikes. Jess fell into step alongside Jonathan and walked toward the school building with him.

"I've got to catch up with Nancy but I'll see you during History?" Jonathan said, the moment they entered the halls. Jess knew by now that on Mondays, their first few periods weren't the same, so she'd meet him only after lunch, like he said, during History class.

"Sure," Jess nodded and offered a smile. "See you." She made her way to her locker, while Jonathan headed further down the hallway, to go meet Nancy.

MIKE WHEELER​

Mike wasn't usually excited about school or classes, and sitting through classes that weren't Mr. Clarke's classes could sometimes be a little boring because they weren't as interesting, but Mike's excitement lately was solely because he got to share his classes with El, now that she'd joined school. He got to see her every day, and though they didn't share all their classes together, they did share a majority, and he made it a habit to see her in between classes, to make sure she was doing okay and adjusting.

He knew he was probably overdoing it, and Nancy had warned him a few times to take it down a notch, but he couldn't really help it. Having El back after believing she'd been dead, all to save him and his friends, was almost surreal. He couldn't risk losing her again, and so Mike did his best ti spend as much time with her as he could. And she didn't seem to mind so that probably encouraged him further.

Of course, Hopper's distaste with the situation had been made very clear, multiple times, so he tried to behave himself, at least in front of the chief, but when he wasn't around, Mike would happily hold El's hand and occasionally give her a kiss or two -- something he'd become a little bit more confident with, but he still had a long way to go. For one, he felt shy doing anything more than holding her hand if they were in public, and now... well they were in public all the time since she started school.

But, it was going good, and Mike was happy, and best of all, there was no danger to worry about anymore, now that El had closed the gate.

As usual, Mike had met up with Dustin and Lucas on the way to school, and they parked their bikes just as Will approached them, having been dropped off by Jonathan and Jess. She'd been living with the Byers for a little over a year now and while it was initially weird, she sort of fit in. She even looked like the Byers a little, and nobody asked questions, which was what they needed.

"Hey guys," Will said when he approached them, a smile on his face, one that Mike and the others returned. Will then looked to Lucas. "Where's Max?"

"She'll be here, when Billy gets here I guess," Lucas said with a shrug.

Mike wasn't listening to what else they said, because now he was looking toward the road, for the familiar sign of the chief's truck, because he knew that from it, El would come bounding out, and he wasn't going inside till he got to meet her first.


AvianJen

 

[AvianJen]

ELEVEN

Most of school El absolutely hated. She didn't understand much and even with the help of Mike and her friends, it was nearly impossible for her to keep up academically. She wasn't totally failing, but she was close to it in several classes. English was the worst. El knew that she was different than most of the other kids and it showed, especially when she was asked to read out loud in class. She was slow, she stumbled over her words and almost always came across something that she didn't know how to pronounce, but it was slowly getting better. Without her friends it would have been impossible, but with at least she wasn't alone at school. It was frustrating and she'd almost lost her temper more than once, but Mike or Will was always there to calm her down. When she was discouraged, Max reminded her that she was the most badass person in the entire school- well, she and Jess were probably tied for that honor. But she was taking it one day at a time and that was what mattered.

"You study for that math quiz?" Hop asked her as they drove to the high school. El glanced towards him and nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "I'll do better." Better than the last one that she'd gotten a D on, but it was hard to remember which formula went to which kind of problem. They all looked like jumbled numbers and letters to her.

"Hey, just do the best you can. That's all I ask," Hopper encouraged. "Is Mike coming over to study today?" He personally thought the kids did more gazing into each other's eyes than they did studying, but it was better than El doing homework by herself.

"Think so," the girl answered as they stopped in front of the school. "...Is that okay?" Hopper gave his reluctant consent and he hugged her goodbye.

"Have a good day, kid," he said as she slid out of the car. Hopper drove away to work and El spun around, her face lighting up into a smile when she saw Mike waiting for her by the bike rack like he always did. She raced up to them and greeted Mike with a hug, having to stand on his toes because he'd gotten so tall.

"Hi," she said softly, pulling away with a smile before taking his hand. "Did you have fun at Nana's?" She'd learned the hard way a couple weeks ago that kissing him wasn't entirely appropriate in a public setting so she settled for holding his hand. If El was a normal girl she'd have worried about being too clingy, but if she was then Mike was clingy too and besides, there were worse things. Like being separated for an entire year.

Moments later Billy rolled in, his car engine roaring to announce his arrival as he spun into the nearest parking space. Max jumped out of the front seat and slung her backpack over her shoulder, dropping her skateboard to the ground and hopping on it. She arrived at the front door of the school and kicked the board back up, smiling at her friends.

"Hey, losers," she said. The gang finally all together, they turned around and headed into the high school. El kept her hand in Mike's but had to separate as they went to their lockers on either side of the hall. El usually pretended to be unlocking hers manually but almost always used her powers to open the stupid thing, revealing a sparse but thoughtfully decorated locker filled with returned homework assignments and pictures of her and her friends, most of them taken by Jonathan Byers. Attached to a magnet on the inside of her locker was also her ticket to the Homecoming dance this weekend- Jess was supposed to take her shopping tomorrow to find a dress. She was going with Mike, obviously, and she couldn't be more excited.

STEVE

After being dethroned by Billy Hargrove as the King of Hawkins High, Steve Harrington was struggling a little more than usual. He was working on applying to colleges but everything he came up with for his application essays absolutely sucked. Nancy helped him edit a few but it was getting embarrassing and he was tired of sending them over to her. Now he mostly kept to himself, too. He hung out with Nancy and Jonathan some but all the friends he'd clung to since middle school had since proven themselves to be total and complete assholes. Steve was tired of associating with them and he was beginning to realize that his popularity wasn't all that, either. It was nice to not always be around such toxic people and Steve finally felt free to breathe, to be himself. Besides, he was still attractive, still had girls all over him. He might not be the King anymore, but he was still Mr. Cool.

As he walked down the hallway with no intention of getting to his first period class on time, he noticed Jess at her locker. The girl had moved in with the Byers a couple years ago and she was pretty cool; a little off sometimes just like El was sometimes, but she fit into their small group well. Plus, she was pretty badass. "Hey," he said, leaning against the other side of her locker. "How was your weekend?"

Steve had spent it working at the mall trying to save up for his future instead of hardcore partying like he would have this time last year, but he preferred not to talk about that. Moments later, Dustin appeared at his side.

"Hey Harrington!"

"Henderson!" Steve grinned and fist-bumped the fourteen year old, pulling his hand back with a jellyfish motion. "What's up, dude?"

"Not much, you know, the usual. Hey so, I really want to ask Mallory Moore to Homecoming, do you think she'd..." Dustin grinned, raising his eyebrows at Steve.

"Do I think she'd go with you? Hell yeah I do," Steve encouraged him. "Go for it, man." He looked towards Jess. "Right? Don't you think he should go for it?"

"It's just that, after last year..." Dustin looked nervous and Steve placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen to me. Last year you were going after all those mean girls, right? Mallory is cool. She's pretty, she's smart. Just make it not a big deal."

"I don't care," Dustin recited faithfully.

"Eh, well. I think for you, caring a little bit helps. But just a little. Okay?"

 

[christy]

JESSICA PRESCOTT​

Jessica was looking to her timetable -- something she still didn't know by heart -- to see what books she needed for her first period when a familiar voice came from beside her. She looked over to see Steve, and a smile lit up her face. In the past few years, she'd made quite a few friends, and as much as she enjoyed hanging around the younger ones that Will was close to, and of course, Eleven, But it was still nice to have people her own age to talk to, and whenever Jonathan was busy with Nancy, she had Steve.

"Hey," she greeted him in return. "Oh, nothing special. Will was teaching me how to play dunegons and dragons. It's not that bad, actually," she said with a small laugh. Before she got the chance to ask what he had been up to during the weekend, Dustin came over, and Jess smirked a little upon seeing the interaction between him and Steve.

The topic of conversation was certainly an interesting one, and she was curious as to how Steve would handle it. When he looked to her for confirmation, she nodded. "You should definitely go for it," she encouraged.

Once Dustin was gone, Jess looked to Steve. "You told him to act like he doesn't care?" She asked, arching an eyebrow but smiling all the same. That advise probably wouldn't work, but well, she was assuming that it had worked for Steve in the past. She doubted any of those girls were actually dating material though.

"I can't believe you have so many girls fawning over you," she added with a joking tone as she shut her locker and leaned against it. "What do you have first period? I have math and I am dreading it."

MIKE WHEELER​

Mike saw Hopper's truck rolling in and he felt his heart begin to race a little faster. Soon he saw El coming out of it and he was happy to return her hug, having waited for a while to do that. Sure, maybe he was a little too clingy, and Max would probably tease him about it constantly, but he and her had been apart for a year, with him not even knowing if she was alive or okay, so he felt like the clinginess was warranted. And he didn't mind that she was too. It just meant they were on the same page.

"It was okay," he said when he pulled away and she asked about his weekend. "I would have rather stayed behind and played D&D or hung out with you but now that I'm back we have the rest of the week." And more than that, since he doubted he'd be going to visit his nana again any time soon.

Now that they were all together, once Max joined them, Mike happily walked into the school building with them all, parting from El to go to his locker momentarily before he grabbed his books and then went to meet El again. He couldn't remember if they had first period together or not but in any case, he would walk her to class. He could risk being a few minutes late if it meant getting to spend a little extra time with her.

"What do you have first?" He asked her as he hugged his books to his chest and leaned his side against the locker next to hers. He peered in a little to see the ticket to the dance that was soon approaching. His mom couldn't stop gushing about it, and he knew she was going to be even more crazy about it when the day finally came. "You get a dress for that yet?" He asked her with a small smile. Even if he could do without his mom's gushing, he was really looking forward to going with her.


AvianJen

 

[AvianJen]

STEVE

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Dungeons and Dragons? That nerdy game they always play?" he confirmed. He knew what it was because Dustin didn't shut up about it, but it wasn't the kind of think he thought that Jess would be into. Not that there was anything wrong with that, it was just...well, it was a little weird. But Will liked it, and everyone had observed Will becoming a little more distanced from his friends what with Mike and Eleven always being all over each other and Lucas and Max bickering like an old married couple, so...Jess was a good sister, Steve supposed. He didn't think he'd be able to put up with a board game all weekend. "Well, more power to you," he commented with a smile.

He was always happy to see Dustin, though. The older teen had no idea how the kid had managed to endear himself to Steve but he most certainly had, and now he was one of his closest friends. It was a strange relationship. But he liked to give Dustin advice about girls, and he still stood by most of the same philosophies that had won him the many admirers he had.

"Just a little," Dustin repeated, nodding. "I can care just a little."

"Not too much," Steve warned. "That's scares 'em away. Be smooth."

"Smooth." Dustin nodded thoughtfully, thinking that sounded reasonable enough. He'd give it a try. "Thanks, Steve."

"Anytime." Steve raised his hand in a wave goodbye as Dustin rushed to rejoin his friends, beginning an animated conversation with Lucas while Will listened quietly and Max stared at them both, judgment in her eyes as usual. It was an odd thing they all had going, but they were good kids. Steve was just glad that high school hadn't eaten them alive yet.

He glanced at Jess, raising his eyebrows in return when she didn't seem to agree with his advice. "Oh, come on, don't give me that look," he laughed. "It works. Telling him to not care is basically shorthand for having confidence and playing a little hard to get. Desperation is not attractive. Plus, if the ladies think I can get any girl that I want, they're even more flattered when they're the chosen one," he reasoned with a charming smile. "It's perfectly logical." And it did work. For anyone, confidence was key. He smirked at her little jab and shrugged.

"Why so hard to believe?" he smirked. "I've got, uh..." he mentally tried to picture his schedule, "yeah, math. Math. But I was gonna take a lap first." Steve never showed up to first period on time, ever, and he didn't feel like breaking his streak this morning. He leaned against the wall and looked down the hallway, surveying who was here. The group of freshmen had disappeared from the hall, save for Mike and Eleven flirting by her locker. He watched them for a moment. "You going to Homecoming?" Steve asked Jess suddenly, remembering Dustin had said something about Mike asking El last week.

ELEVEN

El smiled when Mike rejoined her at her locker, her mannerisms somewhat shy as she gathered her books. "English with you, silly," she reminded him with a playful smirk. How could he forget? It was only the worst class on earth; it wasn't interesting, and El was terrible at it. She'd gotten better overall at communicating, but it was always a nightmare to be asked to read out loud or write an essay. She honestly didn't know how she'd get through it if it wasn't for Mike and Will, who also shared the class with them. The three of them always did group work together and were very patient with El's failure to understand pretty basic concepts, which she greatly appreciated.

She blushed slightly when he pointed out the ticket and asked about her dress, shaking her head. "No. Going to find one with Jess tomorrow," she told him. El loved spending time with her sister and was glad to have someone to help her pick out a dress- obviously, Hop was hopeless and Max didn't like dresses. But Jess was stylish and El enjoyed looking pretty. She wanted everything to be perfect for the first high school dance. Daydreaming about it for a brief moment, El closed her locker and glanced up at Mike, leaning up against him. with his back against the lockers.

Normally she wouldn't have, but with his being gone all weekend the temptation was way too strong. El found herself rising up on her toes and pressing her lips against Mike's. The hallway was crowded and everyone was so concerned with themselves that no one noticed- well, no one except the students who walked the halls looking for easy targets.

Troy was no longer an issue- after Eleven had broken his arm a couple years ago and made him piss himself in front of the entire school, he'd never dared to make fun of Mike, Dustin, Lucas or Will ever again. But there were always others, and now it was Stacey Lawson, the most popular girl in the freshman class and the same girl who'd turned down Dustin at the Snow Ball last year. For some reason she was always around at exactly the wrong moment, and for reasons no one could understand, she hated El.

Max theorized it was because she had a crush on Mike, but seeing as Mike didn't give her the time of day no one understood how that could have happened. Dustin said she was just mean and realized early on that El was different and Lucas was convinced that Hopper was responsible for putting her father in jail or something dramatic, but it didn't change the facts: El was just one of her many targets.

"Coming through, lovebirds," Stacey announced loudly. She shoved Mike and El apart, causing El to fall backwards onto the tiled floor as all of her books and papers dropped, scattering across the floor. Stacey stopped just long enough to pick one up: a returned reading comprehension quiz with a grade barely above failing. "My god, so you're the one bringing down the class average," she snapped, turning the paper around so that El could see. The girl's face grew red with anger and embarrassment as she gathered up her things, wishing more than anything she could just throw Stacey into the wall.

"Maybe spend less time making out in hall and more time helping your girlfriend with her homework," Stacey suggested to Mike, dropping the paper and letting it flutter to the ground. "Or do you have a thing for dumb girls?"

"Hey!" El turned at the sound of Steve's voice and saw him coming down the hall towards her and Mike, glaring at Stacey. He put his hands on his hips. "What's going on here?"