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( HAWKINS, INDIANA 1984 )
ACT ONE: CALL ME A PRINCESS, BUT I GET
WHAT I WANT AND I WANT YOU!
⤷ CHAPTER ONE  ⎯  MADMAX

        ARTIE USED TO LOVE HER BIRTHDAY. That is until her father went and became Mayor of Hawkins when he completely forgot about one of the most important days of his life.

        She always thought she was lucky to be welcomed to live on a night when children were given candy, parents had fewer things to worry about, and ghosts of the undead roamed the moonlit streets.

        Fall was her favorite climate season because her birthday symbolized the end of the year and the adventure for something new.

        The days were shortening and the nights could swallow anyone whole. The tree leaves were changing colors from forest green to vibrant sunset colors of saccharine red, burning flames of orange, or deep and rich amber yellow.

        Sure the wind got a bit chippier, but nothing is cuter than a permanent blush creeping on your cheeks when it bites at the raw skin. It became the perfect weather for cozy, pastel sweaters and plaid skirts; for wool-knitted knee-high socks that tightly hugged her legs; for little boots that showed sophistication, style, and class.

        The autumn season used to bring her joy for all types of reasons, that is, until one late September night when she spotted her father and his secretary being quite intimate with each other.

         It was like a domino crushing onto her heart, unable to breathe as one rib cage to another fell upon her lungs. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. She sat there in silence as the pair continued to move into the backseat of her mother's car.

        She's still surprised she didn't freeze to death that night.

        All she remembers is hearing the wind howling past the shell of her ears, a certain screech of a car stopping and a mumbled yelling for her name.

        Artie couldn't look away, her nails digging into the styrofoam cup of hot coffee she had gotten for her father down the road. The boiling heat radiated off the drink, burning the numb and delicate skin around her nails.

        It wasn't until Sheriff Jim Hopper had to physically yank the cup from her hand that she could feel something. . . anything that told her body she wasn't dead from shock.

        "What the hell are you doing out here, Artemis? Didn't you hear me calling for ya? Are you tryna freeze to death?" Jim questioned angrily, each phrase more annunciated with his thick, midwestern accent than the last.

        "I- uh- umm," She stuttered, the cold air invading her beating chest as her throat begins to trap in some unwanted pain. She hardly ever cries, much less in front of strangers or important people. She's been taught not to, but not a single learned lesson was at the forefront of her mind.

        Her eyes started to burn as the nippy wind freezes any sign of water; tears tipping over the edge and glaciating down her face. "I don't know. I- 'm sorry. I sh-shouldn't be here."

         "Oh, Jesus," Jim sighed, his brows contorting in empathy as he gently places his hands on the girl's shoulders.

         "Okay, it's okay. You're not in trouble. Look at me, Artie." He commanded, changing his soft voice back to an urgent tone. The blonde quickly stares into the Sheriff's eyes, watching as he paused suddenly and allowed her to copy his steady breathing. His broad shoulders and big chest lifted up slowly before releasing his foggy breath, flushing her icy face with warmth and comfort. "Where's your father?"

"Over there," Artemis stated, her face frigid as if fear had stricken her, but in reality, if she moved an inch she would've begun to scream.

Her ocean eyes flicker past Hopper's left shoulder, urging for him to catch on— which he easily follows, allowing her to continue. "I-In a parked car with a, uhh, a woman that's not- um, my mother."

"Shit." The sheriff mumbles under his breath, watching in disgust as the car starts to shake steadily. He turns his head back to the girl, urgently pushing her shoulders slightly to walk back to his car. He didn't want her to see, or hear, anymore. He thought that it was the least he could do for the Mayor's sorry-ass, as Jim hoped he would've been a little more discreet.

She doesn't budge. Instead, Artie scoffed ruefully, her hands picking at the threads of her old jeans as something snapped in realization. Kinder to an open flame, burning in her heart, singeing in her brain. "Did," her eyes glancing over to big and stern blue ones, "did you know?"

Hopper closed his eyes, grunting an illegible curse from his bearded lips. He knew he shouldn't be occupying this. He knew he had to be back at his cabin. He had a daughter back home. He shouldn't be looking after another girl, especially not the Princess of Hawkins. But he felt for her. He really did.

When he opened them, he noticed how the tears vanished and froze into thin air without a trace. The skin around her eyes was a little puffy and red, but still, she meant business, she deserved the truth. "Yeah, I knew, kid. Look, lemme take you home, get you away from here."

            Artemis halts completely as the word 'home' echoes through her mind, bouncing off one eardrum to another. Her eyes watched as Hopper opens his side door, only to realize that the blonde wasn't moving anymore and shutting it closed again. "I'd rather freeze to death."

"Yeah, well," Hopper sighs, rolling back his shoulders in annoyance, his arms drooping to his sides as he puts his hands on his hips. He licks his chapped lips before speaking, "I'm still the Sheriff, and if you don't cooperate with me, I'll have to arrest you."

"You wouldn't." Artie scoffs, shaking her head and folding her arms over her chest as another chilly breeze wraps around her bones. "Besides you can't, I know my rights."

Jim rolls his eyes, looking at the starry sky and wishing to trade spots with a meteor hailing toward another planet. It would be better than dealing with teenage drama. "It's been a long night, I'm needed at home, and my patience has grown wearily thin. You really wanna test me, princess?"

            He looks back at the blonde girl, her shit-eating grin quickly turning into a thin line. Depending on who says it, that nickname affects the butterflies nesting in her stomach. It could be a scared shitless sensation, or, in this case, something more sensual.

            Something that could make her knees buckle and drop to the floor, kneeling down and would do anything to hear him say it again— preferably with his large hands in her hair. 

            "Okay, fine," she swallows the feeling, trying to contain her lust, "you win this time, Hopper. I'll come with you, but I am not going home."

            Jim Hopper rocks the dad-bod appeal, no one can deny that. Yes, he's a man-whore and has been in every corner of the town. But word travels quickly through gossiping ears— so don't blame curious Artie to see if the rumors are true if he's actually that great in bed.

            "You have another option?" He nods excessively, practically yes-sing her to death, walking back towards his truck and opening the door for her.

Artie follows, gently grabbing his arm and hoisting herself into the seat. Her eyes beam into doe-like ones, the gloss from her tears shining bright under the streetlights. Like a light bulb, her scared-of-the-future personality switches off, and the broken heart within her is looking for a slight fix. Attention. Her Achilles' Heel.

She bats her eyes, looking down at her outfit— internally cursing herself for wearing something high cut and temperate. "Um, no. No, not really," she shrugs, mumbling a half-truth.

Jim shuts the door gently, not trying to bring attention to the fact that someone other than Mayor Kline knows what is happening in the back of his wife's car. He bites his bottom lip, lightning-blue eyes pouring into Artemis' oceans, crossing his arms and leaning into the car. "You're telling me, that Miss Hawkins doesn't have any friends or a boyfriend she can stay with for the night?"

"Well," she begins, tilting her head back so that her fruity perfume wafts around the frozen vehicle. Jim waves his hand for her to continue speaking as he walks around and enters the driver's seat.

"There is this one guy. . ." she blinks over to how his thick thighs are spread on the old leather chair— wondering what they would feel like underneath her own— before quickly looking back into her twiddling hands. "But he might not be home."

"Guy? What guy?" Hopper turns on the ignition, noticing the change in the atmosphere but doesn't act on it. He would never. He knows that Artemis Kline is a beautiful woman, but this little crush ends now and tonight. He's a man of the law.

His stern voice shatters any flirtation she had stored in her mind. She knows that she went too far. Embarrassment appears in the form of reddened cheeks and avoiding eye contact. Instead of saying what she wanted to say, she decided to play it safe and confess about love instead of risking it all and going for full-on lust. Her tongue spoke the truth, "Steve Harrington."

Jim scoffs, glad that this sudden flirtatious manner was dropped and she returned to the heartbroken teenager a few minutes prior. "The one that's head over heels for Nancy Wheeler? That one?" He pulls off from the sidewalk, quickly zooming past the infamous parking lot and heading towards the Kline family home.

"Yeah," the blonde nods, watching as they speed past Town Hall and the main village of town. "I already know I'm in deep shit."

"Trust me, kid, I know what that's like." He replies, turning his lights on to blow past the stop sign on her block. He knew that Eleven would be wondering where he is. Yet, Jim just couldn't radio in his reasoning because he would endanger his daughter and the Mayor's.

"Being in deep shit or having feelings for unattainable people?" Artemis questions, noticing her family home growing closer and closer as Jim never lets his foot off the gas pedal. When he doesn't bicker with her right away, Artemis knows his silence is the answer.

HOPPER SMIRKS KNOWINGLY, WAVING THE
GIRL  TO GET OUT OF HIS CAR. ARTEMIS JUST LAUGHS, EXITS, AND RUNS UP HER DRIVEWAY TO OUT BEAT THE COLD AND HER BEATING HEART.

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fez speaking!

i hope y'all loved this update as much as i do!

artie is everyone when they receive attention
from an older attractive person.

also fuck mayor kline :/
but also fuck jim hopper ;).

please remember to vote and comment.
love you all very very mucho.