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ONE MONTH LATER
━━━━━ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ━━━━━
“𝐃𝐎 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃?” Helena Gibson let out a groan, as she adjusted the dress in the mirror. “I mean, seriously, it’s bad enough that I have to chaperone, but wearing this?”
She twirled around, facing Lori on the bed. Lori sat cross-legged on her bed with a collection of cassettes, records and CDs sprawled out before her— absentmindedly sorting through her old ones to make room. A red gift bag topped with tissue paper sat next to her. It was the beginning of December— the tiniest specks of snow dotted the grass outside, houses were decorated with Christmas lights and festive embellishments, and the days before break were getting shorter. It smelled like winter outside and it was colder now, and the troubles of Halloween were getting farther and farther from mind.
Things were beginning to slow down. Lori went back to school, started riding with Steve every morning to Hawkins High and ignored every stupid meaningless stare as they walked down the halls together, Dustin came around frequently when he wasn’t playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, and Lori and Maureen started hanging out together more— even if it was just lying on the couch reading late at night, while Lori flipped through TV channels. Steve’s face was all healed, no more bandages. She ran into Hopper more now, usually when she dropped Dustin off at Will’s and he happened to be there with Joyce. She’d called him a few times, too, checking in on Eleven and all that. She’d stuck his number to the pinboard next to her bed. She’d even began talking to Helena, too. Things were changing, bit by bit. And Lori, for once in her life, had no complaints.
It was December now, and the Hawkins Middle School’s Snow Ball was tonight, just an hour away. Halloween was far behind them.
“It’s stupid, right?” Helena grumbled, placing her hands on her hips. “God, so first they make me chaperone the kids dance, and then my mom makes me wear her high school formal dress?”
“It’s definitely vintage,” Lori’s chest pattered in a laugh, as she pushed a cassette to the side. “Circa nineteen-sixty-one.”
“This can’t actually be happening.” Helena turned back to the mirror, in the corner of Lori’s bedroom. “All this for one joint. One single joint.”
Lori couldn’t help but laugh harmlessly, glancing up to Helena. Helena has called a few weeks ago, after everything was over— wondering why the hell Lori had missed a few days of school. And Lori, unable to tell her the real truth, just said she was sick. And that was that for the last weeks, Helena didn’t ask questions— although she wondered, really wondered why the hell Lori was suddenly hanging out with Steve the Hair Harrington. Or why she was suddenly only pissed off, like, seventy percent of the time now. She asked questions, but Lori always brushed them off.
It was brought to Lori’s attention— through Helena’s constant rambling and hilarious over-sharing— that Helena had been caught smoking weed by her parents. And the punishment was chaperoning the Middle School ball, alongside the other High School Students forced to volounteer by their parents. She’d asked Lori if she could get ready at her house— and that she also did not have a ride. It was okay, though. Lori and Helena were becoming quite close friends.
“Who knew a single blunt of good ol’ Mary Jane could cause such a horrible denouement,” Lori said sarcastically, smiling to herself— just joking about it. “It won’t be that bad.”
“Says you,” Helena adjusted the bow at her hip, grimacing. “You get to makeout with Steve the Hair Harrington in his fancy car all night while I serve fruit punch to a bunch of prebubescent little shits.”
“Don’t call him that,” Lori chuckled at Helena’s ridiculousness.
“Just because you guys are in some creepy little relationship, it won’t stop me from making totally hilarious and absolutely reasonable comments.” she mused, running her fingers through the loose curls of her hair. “I simply cannot refrain. It’s engraved in my blood.”
Her hair was always pin-straight, and Lori had never seen her in anything but baggy jeans and t-shirts, sometimes a nice turtleneck sweater. But today her dark brown hair was styled in thick curls, thanks to her mom, and she wore a cute little blue dress— contrasting with the caramel tone of her skin.
“I think you look just great,” Lori said, leaning back on her hands. “If you were heading to Saturday brunch. With your mother.”
“Shut up,” Helena tried to hold in a laugh, fixing her earrings. “You’re no help. Seriously no help right now, Lori.”
Lori smiled to herself and picked up an old cassette, examining the tape and its condition inside. “I say,” she started, “You find the DJ and slip in some of your personal music suggestions. It’ll make the party more… lively.”
“I highly doubt they’ll let me play Sex Pistols at a middle school dance.” Helena replied. “But shit— that’s a good way to get kicked out,” she spun around, eyes wide at the idea. “Then I wouldn’t have to sit through the entire thing dying a thousand deaths,”
Lori looked up at her, unamused by the suggestion. “Get kicked out of a middle school dance, Helena, and you’ll be in, like, permanent exile,” she let out a small chuckle.
She let out a groan and turned back around to the mirror. “I just,” she huffed, “Like, who spends their saturday night at school volounteering.” she said. “Other than Nancy Wheeler.”
Lori looked down at her cassettes, at those words. “Listen— I know you still have your doubts about Hawkins High’s popular class,” she paused, her voice going soft. “But she’s not all that bad. Nancy— I mean.”
“Okay,” Helena turned around again, her face twisted into a skeptical look. “Who are you?”
“All I’m saying, Hels, is that some of them aren’t even that bad,” Lori shrugged, as she grabbed the reject pile of tapes and tossed them into the cardboard box sitting next to her. “Emphasize on the some. Most of them are still condescending assholes.”
Helena stared at her with squinted eyes for a moment, wondering to herself if the aforementioned “sickness” had accidentally gotten to Lori’s head. Or if that bump on her forehead, when she’d seen her last month, was from falling— maybe Lori hit her head really hard and got partial amnesia, or something. But Helena also knew that Lori wasn’t a liar, she always told the truth because most of the time she had zero filter— maybe Lori was right about this one.
“Sure,” Helena said, and turned around to the mirror. She glanced to Lori through the reflection. “I know something happened, Lori, over the last few weeks. And I know you’re not gonna tell me what it is. But for the sake of my inability to refrain from oversharing, I’ll let it slip.”
Lori’s heart sort of skipped a beat in the middle of that sentence, thinking for a split second that Helena was onto something. But she wasn’t. At least, she didn’t have a single clue about the Upside Down or what really happened.
“I’m still gonna keep to my regular skepticism and crippling conspiracies, though.” she added, calmly. “If you do not mind.”
“I do not mind.” Lori chuckled.
The room was quiet for a few moments, as Lori put away all of her records and cassettes into their rightful spots, and Helena fiddled with her dress and her hair. Maureen, downstairs, was jingling Christmas bells or something— because, over the music playing through Lori’s record player, they could hear sleighbells ringing from the first floor. She was setting up for Christmas.
Just before Helena could complain about her dress again, they heard a honk. A double honk from outside.
Lori smiled and looked up to the window. “There’s our ride.” she said, eyes sort of glimmering.
Her hand latched around the gift bag beside her.
“Shit,” Helena spat, rushing to grab her things on the floor as she still tried to adjust her dress. “Oh my god, I’ve never wanted to die more than I do right now.”
“LORI!” Maureen called from the first floor, through the jingling of her stupid Christmas decorations. “Your ride is here!”
Lori pushed herself from the bed, “You look great, Helena. Don’t even worry.” she said, as she turned to the door, grabbing her jacket on the way and turning off the record player. She glanced back and grinned, “Our chariot awaits, mademoiselle.”
Helena sort of smiled to herself because she knew Lori was being genuine, not joking anymore. Quickly, she grabbed her shoes from the floor and rushed to follow Lori out the room, laughing a bit as she did. When they made it to the first floor, Maureen was in the living room, trying hopelessly to wrap festive garland around their basement railing— decorations strewn everywhere. She looked up when the girls reached the front door.
“Oh, don’t you look wonderful, Helena,” she smiled, warmly. Helena smiled back. Then Maureen shifted her eyes to Lori, as she slid on her shoes. “Lori, you should be chaperoning the dance, too— I’m sure Dustin would’ve loved it!”
“I can assure you he would not.” Lori said, standing up straight. She grabbed Helena’s bag so she could slip on her dress shoes.
Once done, Lori pulled open the door and stepped out into the chilly December air, hit with a blast of cold. Little snowflakes drifted from the roof.
“Have fun!” Maureen called, and the two girls both gave her a thumbs up as the door shut closed.
Lori looked forward, eyes landing on Steve’s burgundy BMW parked right there at her curb. She looked to Dustin in the passenger seat, and her eyebrows sort of narrowed at the curls of hair piled on top of his head— but he caught her eye and smiled, so she smiled back from the lawn.
Steve leaned over in the driver’s seat, hand on the wheel, eyes catching Lori’s from a distance. Her face relaxed into an even bigger smile and she let out a refreshed breath of air. He took two fingers off the wheel and waved.
Her and Helena walked down the shoveled driveway, until they reached the sides of Steve’s car. Lori pulled on the backseat door, the one next to the curb, and Helena walked around the hood of the car.
Steve watched as she sat down and shut the door, his arm reaching back into the backseat. “Hey, Philbs,” he smiled, and placed his hand on her knee for just a moment— tapping twice casually.
“Hi,” she said, and then reached her hand over the back of Dustin’s seat to pat his shoulder. “Hagar. Looking quite dapper.”
“Hey, Lor,” Dustin said, but sort of distractedly. Lori followed his gaze, eyes landing on Helena pulling open the door beside her. “Who’s your friend,”
Steve glanced back to Lori and they shared the same look, thinking the same thing. They both noticed the awestruck tone of Dustin’s voice. They couldn’t help but smile at each other.
“Helena,” Lori looked to her as she sat down, “For obvious reasons you already know Steve, but, uh, this is my cousin, Dustin.” she introduced them, tapping the boy’s shoulder approvingly again.
“Nice to meet you,” Dustin said, turning to look at her. “Um, Helena.”
“Seatbelts,” Steve said, from the front seat. He glanced to the rearview mirror before pressing on the gas, slowly driving the car forward. Helena gave Dustin a little wave, casually.
“I would, uh, like to voice my skepticism,” Helena spoke out after a moment, eyes trailing around the car. “If I’m permitted.”
“You’re permitted.” Lori grinned out the window.
“I just find it… interesting,” she said, “That I’m sitting in the back of the King Steve’s car on the way to a… middle school dance. I’m not the only one who thinks this is, like, sort of comical, am I?”
Lori let out a small laugh, because it was quite the odd group of people in one vehicle. King Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with a sudden mullet, Lori Philbin, and a stoner-turned-Sunday-brunch all in his BMW.
The car ride wasn’t awkward, or stiff, or uncomfortable in any sense. It was nice, actually. They drove the distance to Hawkins’ Middle with the radio playing, Helena voicing more of her skepticism and harmless questions, Dustin staring at himself in the passenger mirror, and just talking about winter break and school finals and Christmas coming up. Lori was enjoying herself, actually, and she’d often glanced to Steve through the rearview mirror as he drove— and he’d do the same.
Not long after, they pulled up to the school. They could hear the music from the gymnasium playing, and bright lights spilling from the entrance doors. A banner was taped to the bricks outside, reading ‘Snow Ball’ in big blue letters.
“Alright, I’m already late so I should get in there,” Helena huffed, and it was clear she didn’t want to go in. She unclipped her seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.” she said to Steve, genuinely meaning it now.
Lori smiled at that, watching as Helena pushed open the door. She closed it, and walked around the back end, black shoes hard on the pavement. She struggled a bit on the heels, sort of wobbly, and Lori rolled down her window.
Helena turned around and looked to Lori, walking backwards unstably. She rose her hand up and faked a finger-gun, pretending to shoot it at her head as she rolled her eyes. Lori mouthed the words “Sex Pistols” as a response with a stupid grin, and Helena gave her a strong thumbs up before turning away.
“Here we are,” Steve was saying to Dustin, as he put the car in park. “So… remember what we talked about. When you get in there…”
Lori slouched into the middle of the backseats, sort of lying sideways, as Dustin turned to look at Steve. His hair bobbed with him.
“I’ll play it cool,” he said.
“Unless she comes up to you,” Lori pointed her finger, retreating back on a conversation they had days ago— when the three of them picked out Dustin’s tuxedo. “Then,”
“Then I talk,” Dustin continued. “Then we talk.”
“There you go, you’re learning, my friend,” Steve nodded approvingly. “You’re leanin’.” He reached his fist back for Lori, and she bumped her fist with his— mission complete.
Dustin reached for the rearview mirror, turning it towards him so he could look at his reflection.
“Hey…” Steve said, reaching for the mirror. He placed a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, sitting him back in place.
“What?” Dustin said, glumly.
“You look great, okay?” Steve assured him, fixing the mirror. “You look… you look great,” he put his fingers up in an ‘ok’ gesture.
“You look charming, Hagar,” Lori added. “I’m being serious.”
“Now you’re gonna go in there,” Steve started.
“Yeah,” Dustin’s spirits lifted.
“Look like a million bucks,” Steve declared. Lori smiled at that.
“Yeah!” Dustin nodded.
“And you’re gonna slay ’em dead.” Steve concluded.
“Like a lion,” Dustin looked to him. And then he opened his mouth and let out a purr sound, showing his teeth.
Lori’s eyebrows shot up.
Steve’s bottom lip pulled to the side and he paused for a second, “Uh, don’t do that, okay?”
Dustin stared at him. “Okay,”
And then Steve put his hand out over the center console, for him to take. “Good luck.” he said.
Dustin took his hand, and shook it once approvingly. Lori pushed open her door and stepped out at the same time he did.
“Be yourself, kid.” she told him with a small smile, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You will knock ’em dead, I promise.”
“Thanks, Lor,” he smiled up at her.
“Have fun,” she said.
And then she placed her hand on the back of his head, delicately this time so as to not mess up the style— and pushed him towards the door jokingly as she laughed to herself. She leant on the side of Steve’s car and watched him laugh as he walked to the entrance, smiling to herself the whole time. She pulled open the passenger door once he was inside
“You lent him the Farrah Fawcett spray, didn’t you.” Lori said as she sat down in the passenger seat now, watching Dustin make his way to the ticket stand through the window.
“What makes you say that,” Steve laughed, as he pressed on the gas and drove them towards the parking lot exit.
“I’ve never seen his hair like… that,” Lori sniffed, “Oh, and I can, like, smell the fumes. Farrah Fawcett is just, like, lingering in the air between us right now. She’s practically tangible.”
“You’re ridiculous,” he scoffed with a smile on his lips, turning them out the parking lot.
“He appreciates you a lot,” Lori looked over at Steve, as he turned the car onto one of the long roads, “Dustin, I mean. He looks up to you, Steve— like, a lot.”
“Yeah, I know,” Steve smiled fondly at that, thinking about Dustin for a moment.
The car went comfortably silent for a bit, as Steve drove down a quieter street, just near the main road. The streetlights illuminated the road in warm light, and the stars were bright overhead— most of them, somehow, peeking through the constant arrangement of clouds that night.
“So, what were you carrying on the way to the car?” Steve asked after a while, glancing over to her. “You had, like, a bag in your hand or something,”
“Shit—” It clicked in Lori’s brain and she reached for the volume dial of the radio player. “Yeah, can you pull over right here,” she pointed to a spot on the side of the road. “I don’t wanna go home just yet.”
“Okay,” Steve said, sort of skeptically, but complied and slowed down the car— turning it to the side of the road. He put the car in park and turned to look at her, but she was already looking at him.
“Okay, so I know you told me I didn’t have to get you anything for Christmas,” Lori paused in her seat, staring at him. “And I also know Christmas isn’t for another two weeks. But I couldn’t help myself.”
Steve sighed, “Philbs—”
“Just— wait.” she couldn’t refrain from smiling, as she put her finger up. Eagerly, she turned around and reached down behind the passenger seat— hand searching for the handle of the gift bag she’d placed there. Once grabbed, she brought it back with her as she sat in her original position. “It’s just a little something that I thought you’d like. It needs a new home, anyways.”
He paused in the driver’s seat, and stared at her sitting there with the gift bag on her lap. She had this beautiful grin on her cheeks, and she could hardly contain the goddamn smile— she had to bite down on her bottom lip. Her eyes glimmered.
“Just open it.” Eager, she handed him the bag— arms outstretched like a little kid at Christmas.
He let out a harmless scoff at her adorable mannerisms, and took the bag hesitantly. Glancing up at her one more time, seeing that cute anticipation on her face, he plucked the tissue paper from the top. He reached a hand inside, skin coming into contact with a soft clothing material.
Lori sat and watched, and studied his changing expression as he lifted the Cincinnati Reds baseball jersey from the bag.
“Lori,” he let out a breath of air. His face twisted into an expression of shock, mixed with happiness and confusion. “Wha— no way, this is, like, limited edition shit— I can tell by the label on the side,” he stammered, and finally looked over at her with gratitude in his eyes. “How did you even get one of these?”
She nearly exploded with happiness from his reaction. “It was my dad’s, actually. He was a huge fan of the Reds when I was growing up, and he sent it to me in the mail a while ago,” she reached over and traced a hand on the jersey. “But… jerseys aren’t really my thing, so I figured it could use a better home,” she smiled at him. “I know it’s your favorite team.”
“Jesus, this is, like, unbelievable, Philbs,” he exhaled, eyes trailing over every inch of the jersey. It was like a bar of gold to him. “Do you know how hard these are to come by? Holy shit! How’d you know?”
“I did my research,” she rolled her eyes up, jokingly putting herself on display. “By that I mean I saw that tiny Reds poster in your bedroom last time I was over.”
“You’re unbelievable, Lori,” Steve smiled brighter than the sun as he leaned forward and cupped the side of her face. He pressed his lips to hers for a moment, and pulled away in a smile— face just inches from hers. “Thank you, seriously. I love it.”
“Merry early Christmas,” she pressed her finger to the tip of his nose and laughed.
Delicately, he examined the jersey once more before folding it up. He placed it back in the bag, the stupid smile never parting his face. He was so happy. She wanted to stare at his face forever, lit up with happiness like that.
And then he turned to look at her, and paused with a certain look on his face.
She narrowed her eyebrows. “What?”
“Somehow you have impeccable timing,” he said. “Cause I also have something for you. Right here in this car.”
“Shut up, no you don’t,” Lori’s eyes went wide with some sort of excitement, and surprise. “You’re pulling my leg.”
“I was gonna wait until Christmas, but I can’t wait any longer,” he smiled and pushed open his door. “I really can’t wait any longer.” he sounded like he’d been waiting forever to give her this gift, that he got it a while ago.
“Where the hell are you going?” She called after him as he stepped out and walked to the trunk, leaving his door open. “Is this my sign to run? Are you getting the bat?”
He popped open the trunk, and it didn’t take him long to find what he needed. He grabbed the wrapped box like he meant to all this time, and shut the trunk. As quick as he’d left, he came back and sat down in front of the wheel— box in hand. He shut the door.
“What’s this,” Lori’s eyes softened when she saw the box, all neatly wrapped with a cute little bow on top. “You weren’t kidding.”
She looked up and met his eyes, as he passed her the present. He had that meaningful look on his face, and he wasn’t saying anything yet, just looking at her. He didn’t care if it wasn’t Christmas yet, he didn’t care that she didn’t spend money on his gift, and he didn’t care that she was going to open her Christmas present on the side of the road, in his car. He didn’t care about anything but Lori Philbin in that moment. Nothing but her.
She swallowed the air in her throat and looked down at the box, reaching for the corner where she peeled off the wrapping paper. Slowly, she ripped the Christmas paper from the gift to reveal a cute little cardboard box— and her heart skipped a beat. It was the kind of box jewelry came in.
“Steve,” she whispered, looking up to him.
“Shh.” he whispered, “Just open it,” his voice so delicate and calm.
And then time sort of paused when she pulled off the top of the box, and her eyes landed on a ring in the center. It was a dainty one— unlike the chunky ones she always wore on her fingers— but it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t just any ring.
It was soft silver, a single, thin band with the most beautiful diamond placed in the middle. Not an alarming, crazy diamond. The simplest, most beautiful diamond she’d ever seen. And she’d seen it before. It looked exactly like the necklace. The necklace. No— it was the necklace, but as a ring.
It was the necklace in Lori form.
She stared at it, completely awestruck and consumed by its beauty and the emotions racing through her chest. And the boy beside her.
“I know it’s not like the rings you always wear,” Steve finally said after a moment. “So, um, that’s why I bought two more just in case— cause, like, I kinda started going crazy in the shop after you left— and, uh, those are two of the ones you were looking at,” he pointed to the other two rings in the box, neatly wrapped together.
Two of the ones she’d been looking at. She remembered them, how she’d pointed to them through the glass when Steve had appeared beside her in the shop. He remembered. Two chunky rings. But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the diamond one.
“And if the diamond one is, like, too much, I can bring it back,” he started rambling, his voice going nervous. “It’s, um. It’s from the same collection as the necklace. The old man showed me the whole set while you were outside.”
Lori felt speechless. And she was never speechless. Her heart was beating so fast.
Finally, she looked up at him and her chest nearly exploded from the look of his eyes. Her voice came out quiet, and coarse, “When did you—?”
“When you were in the car,” he cut her off, speaking so honestly. “The man at the counter, he, uh,” he paused and swallowed, and looked right into her eyes. “He told me that I should give the necklace to ‘someone that truly matters‘.”
Her eyebrows twitched, “Then what about the necklace—?”
“I never got it.” he finally admitted. “I never left the store with it.”
Her words got trapped in her throat.
“After what he said, I just watched you walk out of the shop and I, just,” he fumbled for words, “I just couldn’t bring myself to buy the goddamn thing. And then I looked at the rack of rings, and the man was telling me all about this set he had that matched the necklace— like he could read my goddamn mind or somethin’— and we’d just had that talk on the lake… I just couldn’t.”
She swallowed, feeling her eyes bubble with a glossy layer.
“I don’t know how to say this without sounding cliché, or whatever,” he rolled his eyes to the top of his head. “Even though cliché is sort of, like, my thing,”
She let out a laugh, but it was muffle by trying to hold back tears. His eyes fell back on her face.
“When I saw you put on that necklace in the shop,” he said, slowly. “Everything changed. And I think I knew right then that I didn’t want anybody else wearing it. Only you.”
She looked to the diamond ring. “Steve,” she said, softly.
“But of course it’s sort of… in bad taste if I’d have given you the necklace,” he said. “So I got something even better. Something even more Lori Philbin. Even the old man agreed with me.”
She stared down at the ring, completely in awe. Her heart felt like it grew exponentially, so endlessly warm. Beating so fast.
Steve stared at the side of her face. “Look, Philbs,” he said. “If it’s too much just let me know and I’ll drive over and retu—”
She cut him off by placing her hand on the side of his jaw and pressing her lips to his.
She let the jewelry box fall into her lap delicately so she could place her other hand on the other side of his jaw, and he kissed back immediately. A cacophony of fireworks erupted in her stomach and sent her chest into a whirlwind of racing beats. The rings. Her whole body shook with the overwhelming sensation that was Steve Harrington, his lips pressed to hers in the same single kiss— swept up in the feeling of it. Only you. His hand met the back of her head, fingers weaving between the strands of her hair. They kept the same kiss for a moment, entirely consumed by the emotions and passion of it to detach just yet.
When they did detach, her lips split into an uncontrollable smile. He let out a faint laugh, the vibration of it tickling her lips. She reattached through the smile, pressing her mouth to his again and again in a series of slow but tender kisses that she hoped would last forever. Only you. Her laugh reverberated on the car walls and he opened his eyes to see her smiling bigger than she’d ever smiled before, knowing full well that Lori Philbin was the best thing that had ever happened to him. And she never, ever wanted to let go.
𝙅𝙐𝙇𝙄
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my heart hurts so bad
i’ve been holding onto this gift giving thing since November and i’m so ecstatic that i finally get to include it!!!! i hope you all screamed and cried the way i did writing this.
absolute loves of my life 🫶🫶🫶
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