Chapter Text
Holding his small amount of luggage, Steve boards his plane with no fanfare. His mother couldn't be bothered to see him off as she and Richard Harrington were off doing some business venture. Steve didn't mind much, he was used to this type of treatment, but he couldn't help but not feel a sense of dread about going to Hawkins to live with his father. He hadn't been to Hawkins since he was fourteen, when he finally put his foot down about going to visit the dreary Washington city. There wasn't much wrong with Hawkins or his father, it was just awkward and uncomfortable.
The flight was just a mere four hours with an unfortunate one hour drive with his father, Chief Jim Hopper, existing in silence. Jim Hopper, or Chief Hopper, was a simple, quiet man. He lived in his 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom cabin just outside Hawkins. He has had that cabin since he bought it with Steve's mom back in their beginning days of their marriage. Steve was not shocked to see the cabin stayed unchanged since the days when he was forced to endure long summers here with Hopper. He found it almost a relief that not much has changed with Hopper in the past years that he has not lived with him. The car ride was a quiet one with small bouts of small talk, the occasional "Your hair is longer", or "The weather is about what you expect for Hawkins". As the pair got out of the car, Steve looked around while he stretched the long flight and car ride out of his muscles, taking in all the green sprouting around the lawn and nearby forest. What he didn't expect to see was a baby blue 1983 BMW 7331 car in the driveway by the big tree in the front yard. It looked well put together, almost brand new for the type of car. Steve turns to Hopper with a look of question on his face to see Hopper, making his way up the steps of the cabin with Steve's luggage.
"What's with the BMW?" Steve asked to Hoppers back.
"Oh that. That's your homecoming present. Thought you could use a good car to get around town. Bought it off old Sam Owens from the reservation, he put it back together throughout the years so it should run fairly well." Hopper replied in his usual gruff tone, just turning around enough for Steve to see the side of his face.
As they head into the house, Steve can't help but feel grateful for Hopper getting the BMW for him. He didn't have a lot of finances due to not working much in Phoenix. It took a weight off his shoulders that he didn't realize he had. The pair enter one of the bedrooms, the one facing the road, and Steve looks around seeing that it has just been updated to be more accessible to his life as a senior in High School. There was a new-ish looking computer on the desk he got when he was twelve with an old touch tone phone next to the computer. As Steve looked around, Hopper set down his luggage and left him to get unpacked. Steve appreciated that Hopper doesn't tend to hover, his mother would have jabbered on while he unpacked.
As the night progressed, Steve grew more and more worrisome over the start of school the next day. It would be one thing if it were the start of the year or the semester, but it was in the middle of the second semester. The rain was a constant here in Hawkins, considered one of the wettest places in America. He wasn't used to it, and so he just stared up at the ceiling willing for his body to let himself rest for the day to come. Eventually as the night falls, Steve finally falls asleep.
Morning comes, and Steve finds that nervous energy is still there as he gets ready for the day. He checks the window facing the road and sees that Hopper already left for work. He makes his way down the stairs to get some breakfast and notices the cabin isn't very stocked with food, so he adds going to the grocery store to his mental list of things to do. He manages to find something to eat, scarfs it down and makes his way out the door. The BMW revved up with no issues and honestly drives like a dream. It was easy to find the high school as it was the biggest building in the town. He makes his way to the front office parking lot to get directions on where to go. So far there were very few cars in the lots as it was still early but Steve hopped someone would be in the front office. Sure enough, there was a sweet older looking lady who recognized his name immediately. He felt that was an omen for what was to come the entire day. Everyone must know of Chief Hopper's flighty wife who ran off with their son and married a rich business man. The lady at the desk provides him with a map and his schedule, and wishes him a good first day.
As Steve makes his way to his car, he sees students start to arrive in the other parking lot, so he gets in his BMW and drives to follow them. Everyone has similarly older cars but one was more noticeable than others, a large, dark green van with a loose bumper and yellow curtains on the windows inside. It had stickers covering it and it didn't look to be in great condition like some of the other older cars in the lot.
His first class of the day was Science so he made his way to the classroom when a figure approaches him. The figure is a girl about 5'8", with a short bob, and an 80's style outfit.
"You must be Steven Harrington! I'm Robin Buckley." she says in a sing song voice.
"It's just Steve, but nice to meet you, Robin." He corrects. Steve already knew he was gonna be a commodity at the school given how small the town is, but he didn't expect anyone to outright approach him.
"What class are you headed to? I have Science with Mrs. Click." Robin questions while slightly looking over his paper to see what it says. Sure enough, Science with Mrs. Click is his first class, so he turns the paper to show her and nods to the path forward. "How are you liking Hawkins so far? I imagine it's a bit gloomier than sunshiny Phoenix, Arizona."
"It's something. I definitely miss the sun and heat. I don't do well in the cold and wet." He supplies. As they walk to the class, Robin gives him the rundown of how Hawkins works and the inner cliques within. She supplies so much to the conversation that he doesn't feel the need to add much to it. Eventually, they reach their class and he braces for feeling out of depth since it's the middle of the second semester. Mrs. Clicks provides him a syllabus of what they are covering for the rest of the semester and it is pretty easy to him. He has read most of the books on the list at his old school since his mom forced him into Advanced Placement at his last school.
The day progressed as a normal school day was, he found himself being well prepared for all the classes because he either already did everything in that class or did something similar to it. The time for lunch has come around and Steve was unsure what he was in for. But, as he walked into the lunchroom, Robin spots him and invites him over to her table with her friends, some of which he already recognized from his classes. She introduces him to everyone, but he almost immediately forgets everyone's name. He sits next to a blonde headed girl he recognized from his Math and Gym class, he recalls her name being Chrissy. Steve finds her easy to talk to, she is quiet but is also on the Cheer-leading squad. They have conversations about their favorite sports and if he plans on joining the Basketball team. As he discusses his reasoning's for probably not joining the team, they walk in.
"Who are they?" He asks Chrissy while looking over his shoulder to the posse that just walked in and sat down.
"Oh those are the Munson's. They are Dr. Wayne Munson's adopted children. They all just moved here from like Alaska or something—"
"—They are all together though. It's super weird." Robin butts in. "The girl with the curly, brown hair is Nancy and she is with the stoner looking dude, Jonathan. Gareth is the short, lanky kid and he is with Jeff, the tall broad dude."
"Who's the curly haired guy?" Steve asks as he eyes the one left unnamed. He doesn't know why but he has some sort of desire to stare at him and figure him out. He doesn't understand why he is so curious about the names of all his classmates but he finds himself curious about these interesting individuals.
"Oh that's Eddie Munson. He runs a local rock type music group at the night club in Port Angeles with Gareth and Jeff. I've never actually heard them play since we aren't old enough to attend the club yet." Chrissy explains with a smirk on her face while eyeing Steve. Being in a rock band does make more sense for the strange attire a couple of them are wearing. Despite their stand-offish appearance, Steve can't find it within him to look away until Eddie returns his stare.