"Lonnie Byers? Really, Joy?"
The words were practically snorted around the drag of his cigarette Hopper took before passing it to the girl at his right, who rolled her eyes as she took it with their friends looking on in amusement. It had become a normal occurrence since the six of them had started high school just three months earlier for their small group to meet in a secluded area of the quad to have lunch while Hopper and Joyce shared a midday cigarette.
"Leave her alone, Hop." Karen said, tossing a questionable looking cherry tomato at him. "She's got a date, and she's excited."
"And I'm happy for her." Hopper replied, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "Just think she can do better than Lonnie Byers."
Lonnie Byers happened to be a boy two grades ahead of them that Hopper had no qualms voicing his opinion about. The kid was a delinquent, and not in the charming way he and the rest of them were. He was a player too, and Hopper didn't want Joyce getting hurt by a guy like that. He didn't want Joyce getting hurt at all. Not to mention, he didn't particularly want the expulsion he'd get for beating the kid to a pulp for fucking with his best friend's heart. She could do better, and he wanted her to know that before she made the decision to go out with a guy that was beneath her.
"She can." Sue agreed. "But if she thinks he's good enough for her, then we should be happy for her."
"I am happy for her." Hopper grumbled, annoyed by that being called into question.
"It's just a first date, Hop." Joyce said, nudging him as she handed the cigarette back. "Not like I'm marrying the guy."
They all laughed as the bell rang, and they began to pack up their things, the half finished cigarette crushed beneath Hopper's faded boot. He stood and offered Joyce his hand, hauling her to her feet as the others stood as well.
"You really can do better, Joy." Hopper muttered to her as they began walking back towards the school building. "You deserve better. That's all I'm sayin'. Just want you to be happy."
"I know, Hop." she replied softly. "But like I said. It's just a first date."
He nodded, unable to shake the feeling of foreboding he'd had ever since she'd dropped the news that she'd agreed to the date. It wasn't that he wasn't happy for her, despite what everyone seemed to think. She was his best friend, and she'd never been on a date before, and he knew it bugged her sometimes, made her think she wasn't attractive enough for a guy to want to go out with her. So, of course, he was happy that she'd been asked on her first date. He was simply of the mind that she deserved to have a nice first date with a guy who hadn't attempted to get into the pants of every girl in the school.
"I'll see you after school, yeah?" Joyce asked as she stopped in front of her class. "You're still okay to drive me home?"
"Yeah, course." he answered. She nodded, reaching out to squeeze his arm before stepping into her classroom. He watched her go, only walking away once the classroom door closed and she was obscured from his sight, his mind still filled with thoughts of her and Lonnie Byers. The thoughts left him distracted all day and well into the night, as he lay staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom before finally closing his eyes to try and get some sleep.
After all, it was only a first date.