Please review, if you enjoy what you read, thank you so much!
"I have a bad feeling about this," Will said nervously, his eyes darting between his friends. He pulled his jacket around his body and shivered, breath visible in the cold air.
"Don't be a wuss," Lucas retorted, lightly punching Will's arm. Will chanced a look at his stepsister Jane, to see if she was still going along with this crazy idea. She looked uncertain but was generally agreeable to anything the rest of the party wanted to do, especially if Mike was on board. And he was definitely on board with their current brush with rebellion.
It was Christmas break of their freshman year in high school. Jane had enrolled when school started, and her dad had married Will's mom the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It had been an exciting and eventful semester for them all, navigating the beginnings of high school together. They viewed their present activity as a rite of passage, one they wanted to experience as a group. So they'd chosen a time a few days before Christmas when the whole party was together without any adults at home. Which had taken some convincing in the first place.
"Please, Hop?" Will had asked at dinner two nights before. "We're just going to hang out here and play games and watch movies and stuff. Max is in California visiting her dad till after Christmas so Lucas is all mopey." It was fine with Hopper for Will and Jane to stay home alone, they did most days after school until their parents got home from work. But the prospect of an entire day and adding three other teenagers, including his daughter's boyfriend, had the chief's brow furrowed in doubt.
"Will you be around, Jonathan?" Hopper asked. The older boy still lived at home but he went to the community college in the mornings and delivered pizzas in the evenings to save up money. He also picked up work as a freelance photographer at weddings and other events. His plan was to do that for two years and hopefully save enough to go away to school for his final two years of college. Hopper had told him they would match whatever he saved. Jonathan's packed schedule meant he wasn't home much and when he was, he was usually studying. His head snapped up from his plate at hearing his name and he frowned nervously.
"Nancy gets home tomorrow and she's only in town for two weeks…" Please don't ask me to spend one of my precious few days with Nancy babysitting, he thought to himself.
"Relax, son," Hopper chuckled. "I'm not saying you'd have to be here the whole time. Just maybe check in on things at some point during the day? Make sure the Wheeler kid isn't being inappropriate with your sister?"
"Dad!" Jane said incredulously. Will stifled a laugh.
Jonathan looked relieved and said agreeably, "Sure, we can do that."
"I think it's alright, honey," Joyce said to her husband, patting his hand.
"I could have Harrington drive by a few times too," Hopper said, nodding slightly. Will and Jane exchanged a hopeful glance. It sounded like he was about to give his permission.
"Dustin will love that," Will added, smiling. "He says you keep Steve too busy."
Hopper snorted in laughter at Dustin's assessment. "Harrington is a good cadet." Steve was a cadet at the police academy, and Hopper's unofficial personal assistant. The chief used Steve's affection for Dustin and the rest of the party to his advantage, often having Steve help out with driving the teenagers places and even helping them with schoolwork in the afternoons.
So Hopper had agreed, to the delight of Jane and Will, who had radioed the rest of the party after dinner to tell them the good news. It was during the course of that conversation that the plan was hatched to dabble with some minor teenage rebellion during their upcoming day of independence. Will was the one who had taken some convincing, knowing if they got caught, they could say goodbye to anymore days like this. And possibly to their parents' trust. In the end, he had agreed the plan was basically harmless and seemingly foolproof. Jane had remained silent, nodding her hesitant agreement even though the rest of the party wasn't there to see it. Her communication skills had improved vastly in the previous two years but she still relied on nodding or shaking her head when she was nervous.
Now they stood in a circle after walking a bit into a wooded area behind Will and Jane's house for privacy, coming to a stop after a few minutes so they wouldn't get lost, the house still in their line of sight behind the trees.
"Look, don't you think it's smart for the first time we do this to be together? I mean, what if we get invited to a real high school party and we look like total dweebs because we've never done it before?" Dustin asked, pleased with himself for coming up with such impressive reasoning.
"We ARE total dweebs, in case you hadn't noticed," Will said with a roll of his eyes. "And who's going to invite us to a party, anyway?"
"Are we doing this or what?" Mike asked, growing impatient. "We're standing around here. Let's get it over with." With that, he held out his hand in front of Will. Will sighed and reached into his pocket.
The cigarettes were slightly bent from being hastily shoved into Will's pocket after he'd swiped them that morning. He had made a point of taking a few from each parent's pack so it wasn't noticeable. Hopper and Joyce were making an effort to reduce their smoking habit since the wedding, knowing it was unhealthy and a bad influence on the kids. Still, old habits are hard to break and they each kept a pack handy. The whole family pretty much knew Hopper probably chain smoked while at work, though he and Joyce both had cut back on indulging while at home. They usually just smoked one or two on the porch after dinner.
"And?" Dustin asked expectantly. "Unless Jane can light them with her mind, we're missing something."
Another huff from Will as he produced a silver lighter from his other pocket.
"Check this out," Dustin added proudly, pulling two cans of beer from his own coat pockets and one from behind his back. "May as well do it all since we're here."
"Aw, hell," groaned Will, uncharacteristically swearing. "Where'd you get that?"
"Duh, from your fridge, five minutes ago," Dustin said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"If we get busted, we're gonna be in so much trouble," Will mumbled, looking at the contraband he was still holding.
"How are we gonna get caught?" Dustin challenged. "Your parents are at work. Jonathan and Nancy are Christmas shopping. Steve just left so we know he won't be back soon. He wouldn't tell anyway. We're standing in the woods with no one around. It's the perfect time."
Mike took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and grabbed one cigarette and the lighter from Will. His hand had moved quickly, as if he may lose his nerve if he hesitated. He brought the cigarette to his lips and lit it, holding it awkwardly. He was certainly glad they weren't currently at some cool high school party, because he knew it would be obvious he had no clue what he was doing. Once Mike took his first good drag on the cigarette, he broke out into a coughing fit. The others laughed, Mike's discomfort cutting through the tension. After catching his breath, Mike too dissolved into laughter, which lead to more coughing. The rest of the party snatched a cigarette and lit theirs in turn, Mike's experience fueling their courage to try it too. Jane was the last one to get hers lit, Mike having to help her.
"So, think we look cool?" Lucas asked, letting the cigarette dangle from his lip like he'd seen tough guys in movies do.
"You look like an idiot, actually," Dustin commented, puffing a cloud of smoke into the air.
"Me?!" Lucas replied. "Whatever, you're not even inhaling."
"Yes I am!" Dustin retorted, though in truth he wasn't sure. "Here, since you're such a stud, take a swig of this," and he popped open one of the beers and passed it to Lucas.
"Now I bet I look way older, don't I?" Lucas challenged, taking a big sip of the beer while holding his cigarette in his other hand.
"Not really," Jane said, always honest to a fault. She took another beer, which Mike had just opened, and chanced a hesitant sip. She immediately sputtered and wiped her mouth.
"That," she said, pointing to the can, "is nasty."
Mike took it from her, grimaced while a large gulp went down, and pronounced, "It's not that bad."
"Really?" Will challenged, laughing. "'Cause you look like you're about to puke." The cans of beer were passed around the circle of friends, until all three were almost empty. By now they all held a lit cigarette, practicing exhaling and trying to blow smoke circles. Most of the time they were doubled over, either from laughing or coughing or a combination of both. They'd settled into comfortable conversation about everyone's plans for the rest of the break, feeling relaxed and free.
The party was so busy laughing, coughing, and trying not to show how sick they each were starting to feel, they failed to see a familiar car pull into the driveway, or the young man in a blue police cadet uniform and an oversized coat that had "Hawkins PD" emblazoned across the back. The figure quietly made its way through the trees toward the group, following the sound of guffaws and the sight of smoke curling into the air. He carefully watched his step, not wanting to alert them to his presence until he appeared directly in front of their gathering, causing all five teens to scream in surprise.
"Are you shitheads serious right now?" Steve asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "Are you really this stupid?"