Robin and I geared ourselves up for Linda's Party by playing some of Journey's best hits; after jumping around to 'Don't Stop Believin' I sat on the edge of my bed and looked at Robin seriously, "Have you Spoken to Vicky?" Robin's girlfriend was travelling back to Hawkins from college today and was meeting us at the party. "She called the store from a gas station about 2 hours ago, she should be back in Hawkins by 7" Robin said. My alarm clock flashed 6pm in vivd red. "I'm so glad her parents are letting you stay with them - but in case anything changes - you're more than welcome to crash in the spare bedroom." I told her. Thankfully Vicky's parents were much like my mom; as long as Vicky was happy and healthy, who she chose to date didn't bother them. Robin's smile touched her ears and she pulled me in for a one armed hug, "I love ya, Raindrop."
My mom brought Dinner up to us on a tray, wearing a green bandana smoothing her dark blonde hair to her head. "If you end up crashing at Linda's or Steve's, or anybody's, remember to call me." She looked directly at me when she said this, silently reminding me of the time I scared her to death by not letting her know I was crashing at someone's house after a party out of town and she thought I'd been abducted or something. "I'll make sure they do." Robin smiled to my mom. Then my mom handed me a small bottle of gin, saying "Drink responsibly. Keep hydrated." My mom was the kind of parent who would rather get alcohol for me herself, knowing I was drinking, instead of pretending to be oblivious about it and make me hang around the convenience store waiting for some dodgy adult to buy it for me. We filled ourselves up on Tacos, switching to a Motorhead tape, before getting ready for the party.
Robin was wearing her dark green jacket with huge pockets over a sleeveless black tee tucked into navy slacks. We were standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror inspecting ourselves; Robin applying a shimmering navy shadow to her eyes. I looked myself over twice, feeling like something was either missing or not right. I was wearing red and black tartan shorts that I had made by cutting and re-sewing a pair of trousers, with silver chains layered round the waist and hooked through the pockets. I had also DIY-ed a crop top out of one of my black Joan Jett & The Black Hearts T-shirts, which I put on over a white vest that was tucked into my shorts. Before the incident with Billy I loved wearing crop tops (when he allowed me to), now I was too wary of the scars on my stomach to wear them without something underneath. "hmmm...I feel like this needs something..." I muttered. I pulled on my black leather jacket with the small spikes on the shoulders, this didn't fix it.
"It's not like I need to get dressed up or anything, its just a party with the losers from highschool." I told myself in the mirror. Robin came behind me and held my hair up in two messy buns, "this looks cool." I grinned widely, what was missing wasn't a part of the outfit, it was a part of me. "one sec" I said as i ran to my bedroom and grabbed some hair ties and scissors. I held the hair ties out to Robin and she scrunched my messy purple hair into the two buns, asking "Whaaat are you doing with those?" I pulled some hair free and gathered my grown out side pieces together and began cutting some shaggy bangs in. Robin stared at me, mouth slightly open. "Well isn't someone a little risk taker" she teased when I finished, helping me dust off the pieces of hair that were sticking to me. After I finished swiping on some black eye liner and mascara, with some cherry scented lip balm, We poured ourselves each a drink in paper cups and began walking to Linda's house.
A horn surprised us both, making us jump, Nancy had pulled up behind us. "Wanna ride?" she shouted out the window. Robin climbed into the back seat, next to Mike and Dustin, I slid into the passenger side. Nancy was wearing more makeup than usual, but sitting closely to her I could see her face was a little puffy, most likely from crying. "You're the designated driver tonight then?" I asked as she started to drive. "The mom's think Nancy's taking us to Max's to stay over because her mom's working." Dustin caught my eye from the rearview mirror. "Where are you actually staying after the party?" I questioned. "At Max's. See - not a total lie." Mike smiled to me. I raised an eyebrow at Nancy, "and you?" She didn't take her eyes off the road when she said, "I'll be staying with anyone who wants me to." Yup, she and Jonathan were definitely broken up. This was rebound Nancy. Yikes.
Nancy parked a couple of streets away and we walked together to Linda's house. If Steve's parents were rich, Linda's must be millionaires. The house was 3 storeys high, with a huge garage and a tonne of land around it as it backed onto the woods. Nancy linked her arm through mine, grabbing the bottle from my hand and taking a straight slurp, "Party time!" She plastered a smile on her face. Here we go.