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Dustin stared at the large house looming in front of him, the bright white paint a stark contrast from the darkness of the night. Drunk graduates lingered on the front lawn, talking or arguing or whatever it is that drunk teenagers do. Music playing from what must’ve been hundreds of speakers inside carried towards the street, the bass pounded so hard Dustin swore he could feel it in his chest.
Somehow, this was scarier than anything he had faced in the Upside Down.
Slowly, all of them moving in sync, he and his friends began walking to the front door. Before they could even think about it, the front door swung open and one of the kids from their class came rushing out to throw up in a bush, red solo cup still in hand.
“Oh my god, you came! Guys, Mr. Valedictorian showed up!” Stacey, the girl who had invited them after their graduation ceremony, pointed at him, slurring her words slightly. She walked over to the little group, putting a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, “we have to get you drinks, like right now. Follow me!” She practically shouts over the loud music blasting through the house, walking away and hoping the others were following.
They followed her into a large kitchen with a bowl of punch on the island, a cooler full of cans of beer, and a boy filling shot glasses with tequila. She quickly hands them all red solo cups filled with punch, smiling at them.
Dustin and his friends all share looks, seemingly speaking telepathically, before they all shrug and drink from the cups. The drink burns his throat a little as it goes down, but he can’t help the smile that creeps up on his face.
___________________
Will had been nervous at first, the whole situation had scared him since he first agreed to go to the party. Feeling the fuzziness of the alcohol start to creep up on him, and the steadiness of the bass of whatever song was playing, he finally shook off the nerves and bobbed his head to the music. He downed the rest of his drink, grimacing slightly.
The boy on the other side of the island, Dylan from his math class, pointed a handle of tequila at them, “you guys taking shots?”
Will was about to decline, but Max pushed to the front of their little group and smiled, “hell yeah, we are!” The boy smiled widely and generously poured five shots. Will coughed after the shot went down his throat, but smiled when he heard Mike and Lucas laughing at the face he made.
He got another cup of punch, drinking it slower than the first, and made casual chatter with his friends. His ears pricked up as he heard the song change and the opening notes play, Will immediately leaned into the small circle he and his friends were standing in and interrupted whatever Lucas was saying, “guys they’re playing it!!” He reached to the other side of the circle and grabbed Max’s hand, who took Lucas’s hand, and the chain continued until all five party members made their way into the living room, where all the furniture had been pushed to the walls and it seemed like their entire graduating class was dancing in the middle of the room. Will pulled them all closer to the middle of the makeshift dance floor, bumping into people as he moved.
The boy turned to them, a bright smile on his face before jumping up and pumping his fist with the whole crowd, who seemed to move as one as the speakers blasted the chorus, “Pink Pony Club! I wanna keep on dancing at the Pink Pony Club! I’m gonna keep on dancing down in West Hollywood!” He felt a little bit of his drink slosh over the rim of the cup and land on his hand, but he didn’t care as he watched the rest of his friends laugh and jump around with him, all remnants of nerves completely gone.
He felt lighter, like he was floating. Will thought it was from the alcohol, but deep down he knew it was because, for the first time in his life, he was free.
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Max smiled and leaned into Lucas a little more, tucked comfortably under his arm while she listened to him talk to his teammates on the basketball team. They had found a quieter hallway off the the side of the living room to hide away in and chat.
She had never really liked the idea of going to parties. She also never had the opportunity, what with being cursed by Vecna and being trapped in his mind for two years, but that was beside the point.
However, shouldn’t help but enjoy herself. She finally felt like a teenager, doing dumb teenage things, instead of saving the world every week.
Max had tuned out her boyfriend’s conversation before snapping her head up as Lucas said “I wish I knew she had a pool, I love doing backflips off diving boards.”
She laughed, “there’s no way you can do a backflip.”
He looked at her with that fake-offended face he’d make, “um, I can definitely do a backflip.”
She shook her head, the other boys in the conversation laughed, “I’ve literally never seen you do a backflip, you definitely can’t do it.”
“I can do one, I swear!”
She shrugged her shoulders and smirked, “prove it then.” He stared at her for a minute before handing her his half empty solo cup. The other boys went “oooo” as Lucas backed up slightly, spreading his arms out to make more room for himself. He leapt up, completing a perfect backflip and landing on the ground. He straightened up and plucked his drink out of Max’s hand, smiling at the fact that her jaw dropped and him proving her wrong.
“See? Told you I can do a backflip.” The other boys laughed and clapped a little. Max rolled her eyes, but kept smiling up at him.
She glanced over to the living room, where Will was still on the dance floor. After dragging them all over there while Pink Pony Club played, the others split off to different areas of the house while he danced. The boy made eye contact with her and pushed through the crowd, grabbing her hand before looking at Lucas, “I’m stealing her,” he said simply. The other boy nodded and moved his arm so Will could pull her away from him. Max laughed and let herself be dragged to the dance floor.
As the opening notes of Mr. Brightside played, she shook her head and shouted over the music, “I don’t dance!”
Will grabbed her hands, practically flailing around as the song played, “shut up, zoomer! Just jump around!” She laughed but followed his lead, jumping up and down with the other drunk teenagers.
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Lucas’s teammates talked amongst each other, something about plans for college or the latest NBA game, he wasn’t quite sure. He was too focused on the girl dancing in the middle of the living room. He smiled to himself as he watched Max and Will, laughing and swerving in opposite directions as the song blared through the speakers.
As if feeling his eyes on them, they both turned to him and waved him over. Lucas turned to his friends and shrugged, downing the last of his drink and setting the empty cup on a table beside him, “duty calls.” One of them patted him on the back and he walked over to his friends.
Max practically jumped on him when he approached, “hey, stalker, saw you staring at me!”
He put one hand on her hip, pulling her in, “what, I can’t watch my girlfriend dance?” She shook her head at him, pretending to be serious. He leaned down and kissed her softly, but pulled back to laugh when he heard Will fake gagging.
Will continued bouncing around, he looked happier than Lucas had ever seen him. Lucas grabbed Max’s hand and spun her around, pulling her back and forth as the living room filled with teenagers screaming along to the song, “we at the hotel, motel, Holiday Inn! We at the hotel, motel, Holiday Inn!”
Soon after that song, Max slowed down her movements, leaning into Lucas a little more each time he pulled her in. He leaned down close enough for her to hear him whisper, “are you tired, do you want a break?” She looked up at him and nodded. Even if it had been a while since she woke up from her coma and regained feeling in her limbs, she still got sore and tired if she was standing for too long. Lucas looked around for a place to sit, but all of the couches were full with people making out or dozing off, he looked back at her and smiled. He turned around, squatting a little and held his arms behind his back, signaling for Max to get the hint. He could hear her laugh behind him before she climbed on, he stood at full height, adjusting his grip. “Better?”
“Better,” she said right next to his ear.
He spun in a little circle, mostly so he could hear her laugh again. He was so happy he got the chance to hear her laugh even after everything they’ve been through. “I’m glad you’re here, Mad Max.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing a little, “I’m glad I’m here too, stalker.”
_________
Mike slouched on a couch near the entrance, holding his second cup of punch, swirling it slightly to watch the liquid slosh around from where it was halfway filled. He sighed, he was a little tipsy, but not enough to dull the sadness he had been feeling lately.
He looked around, Dustin was on a couch talking to a few random people, Stacy draped on his shoulder and smiling up at him. He overheard his friend say drunkenly, “and then she, like, flipped a van with the bad people in it! It was— it was so cool.”
Mike should’ve cared that Dustin was spilling all of the secrets they had been keeping for years, but he couldn’t bring himself to care as Stacy said, “you’re so funny, Mr. Valedictorian. And that speech you gave was really good.” She giggled, she was too drunk to realize what Dustin said was real. Mike shook his head slightly before surveying the rest of the room.
He watched from his seat as Lucas bounced Max up and down on his back, her head thrown back in laughter as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder to keep herself from falling. Next to them, he could see Will’s signature bowl cut swaying back and forth as he moved to the song.
Mike sighed and went back to staring into his cup. He didn’t understand how everyone could be here, at this party and having fun, after everything that happened. He tried to think back to what Hopper had said, but the morning already felt like a distant memory.
“Enjoying your drink?” He jumped slightly and looked up to see Will smiling at him.
Mike shrugged and chuckled, “not really, no.” Will flopped down on the couch beside him, and the two sat in silence for a little bit, the loud music filling the space between them.
“You know, it would be fun if you went out there and danced with us.” Mike shook his head, but Will kept going before he could respond, “I miss her, too. We all miss her. But even if we miss her and all the other people we lost, we still have to keep moving forward.”
Mike took a gulp of his drink and turned to face Will, “I just don’t get how everyone is so okay with moving on! We’re here at this party like we’re normal, like our friend didn’t die, like we didn’t save the world, it doesn't feel right.”
Will set his drink down on the floor, careful not to knock it over with his shoe, “no, Mike, we’re not normal. But why can’t we be, just for one night? Why can’t you just go out there and celebrate the fact that we lived to see our graduation, that we lived to go to a party like this? El was my sister, and I miss her every day, but wouldn’t want me to miss out on all the good things just because she isn’t here.” He picked his drink back up and stood. He turned to the boy still on the couch, holding out his hand, “so, are you coming to dance with your friends and act like a normal, stupid teenager for one night?”
Mike stared at him for a long moment before downing the rest of his drink, wincing at the burn, and taking his hand, letting himself be pulled to the dance floor.
As they walked, Dustin seemed to have caught sight of them because he jumped up from where he was sitting, accidentally pushing Stacy, and bounced over to them. “Guys, this party is so fun!!!” He shouted over the music, slinging his arms around Will and Mike.
Mike laughed and let himself dance to the music, enjoying the time he had with his party.
__________
Steve sighed and checked his watch, 2:42 AM. He needed to finally go to sleep. It had been a long day, celebrating his younger friends’ graduation, seeing his other friends for the first time in months since they had all gone their separate ways. He needed to relax from the excitement of the day by watching a few episodes of his favorite show, he did not expect to watch TV until almost three in the morning.
He clicked off the TV and stood up, stretching out his arms as he let out a long yawn. Steve picked up the jacket he had shrugged off when he got home and made his way upstairs to his bedroom. Just as he sat down on his bed, his phone buzzed rapidly.
With a groan, Steve looked at the caller ID: Little Shit Wheeler.
“What do you want?” He asked seconds after picking up the phone. He could hear loud noises coming from the other end, the distinct sound of Dustin whooping and music blasting.
Mike paused, like he was trying to think, “hey, Steve!! Could— could you come get us? And don’t tell Nancy!” Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, of course he’s the one they call when they’re all too hammered to drive home.
“Where are you?”
Another long pause and Steve was actually really glad none of them are stupid enough to drive in their current state. “Sarah— no, Stacy’s house.”
“Stacy Albright? You dipshits got invited to a party at her house?”
Mike sounded offended, “yeah? Are you gonna pick us up or not?”
“I’ll be there in ten. Don’t do anything stupid before I get there, I mean it.” He sighed and pulled his shoes on.
In the background of the call, he heard Dustin shout “are you calling Steve? Give me the phone! Steve!” The man quickly hung up.
Nine minutes later, Steve pulls up to the large house, still blaring music like the party just started. Standing near the front porch, Mike waved lazily at him. Beside the boy, Max leaned on Lucas so heavily he was practically holding her up as she dozed off. Steve got out of the car and bounded up to them, “I’m missing two, where are they?”
Lucas shrugged, making Max’s head bob slightly, before he pointed into the open door of the house. Steve sighed and walked in, pushing past a few drunk teenagers as he made his way further inside to look for the boys. He immediately found them in the middle of the living room, lit up by flashing lights hung up on the wall, and jumping up and down as Superbass played through massive speakers.
He pushed in and grabbed Dustin and Will’s shoulders, they both turned to look at him. Will’s face lit up and he hugged Steve, “Steve! Oh my god, you’re here! Guys, mom is here!” Dustin joined in on the little hug and Steve gently shoved them off before pulling them over to the front door.
Steve, a hand on the back of each of their necks, ushered them down the stairs of the porch and to his car. He turned around and waved for the others to get to the car, “come on, dipshits, hustle up! Get in the damn car!” They all piled in, Dustin in the front seat while the other three boys piled in the back, Max sprawled out on both Will and Lucas’s laps, making sure to “accidentally” kick Mike’s leg.
Steve let his head fall onto the steering wheel for a second, regretting every single decision he made in life, before putting the car into gear and pulling out onto the street.
He drove down the quiet streets, listening to the soft music of the radio and Dustin’s drunken ramblings. All of a sudden, Dustin springs up in his seat and practically screams, “Steve! Turn now! Steve, turn! Steve!!!”
“Aaaaah what? What??” He looked back and forth, looking for signs of danger out on the street in front of him.
Dustin, still sitting straight up, pointed beside the car, “Taco Bell!” Steve had to resist every urge to strangle the boy in the passenger seat. He glanced in the rear view mirror to see Max perk up at the mention of food, all four kids in the back staring at the driver expectantly. Steve sighed and pulled into the drive thru.
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Mystery Inc.
Bat-Man: (image of all five teenagers dog piled on Steve’s floor, passed out. The floor is littered with taco wrappers and empty Baja blast cups.) Sent: 9:14 AM
Bat-Man: come get ur children
Robin: they’re ur kids, dingus
Nancy Drew: Were they drinking last night??
Nancy Drew: I’m going to kill Mike
Bat-Man: u cant be talking Nance
Nancy Drew: Shut up, Steve
Nancy Drew: I’ll come pick up Mike in 20
Shaggy: I’ll be there for Will in an hour
Robin: i still can’t drive so the other three are ur responsibility
Bat-Man: how did they become my problem?
Nancy Drew: You chose this life when you decided to help Dustin find Dart
Bat-Man: whatever just come get them