title : you don't know your way around ,
i take it you're new here?
oc / pairing : marsh mayfield and
jj johnston (marshuary)
trigger warnings : none!

DAY FIVE : " i take it you're new here? "

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IT WAS PRETTY EMBARRASSING. BEING IN HAWKINS FOR ALMOST A YEAR now, and still not being able to recognize any of your surroundings. It's not as walkable as New York. JJ desperately missed it. Although Hawkins had the same familiar coldness in the winter, the streets looked entirely different. No cars at night, no loud noises. Just quiet, with the snow crunching beneath her feet. She tried to figure out a landmark to figure out if she was from home. She couldn't find it.

What she did find was sort of a landmark. But she didn't know if it indicated that she was close to home. The Cozy Crumb pretty much lived up to its name. Cozy. It was warm, JJ could smell the baked goods the moment she walked in. She and her father hung around here more often than they should've (maybe it was because her father took an interest in the head baker).

"JJ!"

She immediately looked at the counter. Clarence Stevens sent a wave her way. She waved back. "Hi, Mr. Stevens."

She sat down in one of the steel chairs. She's rubbing her hands together, trying to keep warm. A few moments later, Clarence brought out a cup of hot chocolate for her.

"Oh! Uh, thanks! Mr. Stevens," JJ said to him, "but I'm alright."

"Drink it. It's on the house," Clarence told her, "Besides, it's about twenty degrees out there, I don't know how you're walkin'."

"I've dealt with worse in New York, so has my dad," JJ explained.

Clarence nodded. "I see," he said back, "speaking of which, where is he?"

"Work," she answered, "he's at the firm late tonight."

"Ah," he responded back, "doing his job. Trying to bring justice and all."

JJ chuckled. "Yeah. But, he'll be home by morning. Would rather him be working than to not know where he is."

Clarence was about to say something back when he heard the little bell on the door ring, signalling him to get back to work. "Well, that's my cue," he said, "try and stay warm, will you?"

"I'll try," JJ replied back.

JJ watched as the customer walked in. They're pretty unfamiliar with most of the people in town. She's not surprised that she doesn't know this person. She took the hot chocolate into her hands. It immediately warms them up. She decided to wait to drink it, considering that she didn't want to burn her tongue.

When she deemed it to be cool enough, she went to drink from the cup, but that was quickly interrupted when she heard a voice.

"New York, huh?"

She looked up. A guy her age, long strawberry blonde hair, freckles dancing across the bridge of his nose. JJ slightly tilted her head to the side. She's seen the face, but didn't know the name, unfortunately.

"Uh, yeah!" JJ answered, "born and raised. Though, my dad was born here."

"And he didn't show you around?"

"He did, but, I unfortunately have a bad memory," JJ replied back.

"You don't know your way around," he said, "i take it you're new here?"

JJ shrugged. "Sorta. I've been here for a few months now."

"I thought I recognized you. You're the girl beating all the high scores around the arcade."

JJ chuckled. "Yeah, that's me," she said, "get so bored that I beat the scores. Though, I can't seem to beat that Dig Dug, someone named Marsh. Whoever they are, they've got real good hand-eye coordination for that."

The redhead gave a grin. JJ noticed it right away. A chuckle escaped her lips. "I'm guessing you're Marsh?"

"That would be me," Marsh said back, "And you're──"

"JJ," she replied back.

"Nice to officially meet you, JJ," he told her, before lending out his hand.

JJ put down her cup, lending out her hand so that she could shake his. "So, Hawkins. You like it?" She asked.

Marsh chuckled. "Absolutely not. This is the second year that I had to endure winter. And I'm not very fond of it."

"Second year having to endure winter," JJ said, "Not from here either?"

Marsh shook his head. "No," he answered, "my sister and my stepbrother. We moved here last year."

"Oh! Cool," JJ replied back, "So ... I take it you're from a warm state?"

"California," Marsh told her, "I miss the warm weather, I don't know how much more I can take of this snowfall shit."

JJ giggled. "I will say. I've dealt with worse back in Brooklyn," she said.

"Worse?" Marsh asked.

"Oh yeah," JJ answered, "the snow is past your ankles. Imagine walking to the subway and then trying to get to school."

"I can't even imagine walking through that," Marsh told her, "I can barely walk home without slipping and sliding."

Speaking of home, JJ needed to go back. She definitely forgot that's where her destination was in the first place. She took another sip of her hot chocolate, putting it back down on the table, her hands still connected to the cup.

"Speaking of which," JJ said, "I was trying to find my way back home, but I think I got lost."

"Well, you sound your way here, didn't you?" Marsh asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not convinced I'm going the right way," she told him.

Marsh leaned back in his chair. "What street do you live on?"

"Maple Street," she said.

"Maple Street?" Marsh repeated, "and you're all the way out here?"

A sigh escaped from JJ's lips. "Don't tell me I'm on the other side of town."

"I hate to break it to ya," Marsh said back, "But yeah. You're closer to Cherry Lane."

JJ knew she should've gone the other way. She was coming from the arcade, not knowing where to go. She ran a hand through her hair. She was tired of walking. At this point, she was just going to give up.

"I can't walk back," JJ told him, "I took me forever just to get here."

Marsh thought for a moment. "Well, it's too cold and too dark for you to be walking," he said back, "I could give you a ride, but I dunno if your dad would like that very much."

JJ scoffed. "You don't even know my dad," she said, "and he won't care as long as I get home safe, and that you're not a murderer."

Marsh chuckled. "Sounds like a cool dude," he replied, "so them ... how 'bout it?"

"Hitching a ride with you?" JJ asked, "I don't think that sounds bad."

Marsh pulled out his keys from his leather jacket pocket. "Then we'd better go before the snow gets worse."

"Cool," JJ said back, standing up from her chair, "uh, thanks, by the way. I don't think I would've been able to walk back.

"I'm surprised that you even walked this far," Marsh told her, getting up from his chair soon after.

JJ grabbed the cup of hot chocolate, finally walking toward the door. Before she left the bakery, she waved back to Clarence, saying goodbye.

The car wasn't far. It was parked near the front. JJ would've opened the passenger door if Marsh hadn't beaten her to it. She gave him a small smile, getting inside of the car.

The first thing JJ noticed (other than the joints and pack of cigarettes) were a few mixtapes. Putting her cup of now lukewarm hot chocolate into the cup holder, she grabbed some of the tapes. Iron Maiden, Metallica, even some KISS. But she couldn't take her eyes off the Anthrax tape. Their Fistful of Metal album.

Marsh got into the driver's side. He immediately noticed that she was staring at the tape. Not a lot of girls in Hawkins dig heavy metal. Let alone Anthrax. He gave a small smile. "You like Anthrax?"

JJ looked back up. "Yeah! Yeah, they're one of my favorites, actually," she answered, "why? Is that weird around here?"

"If it were up to most of the other girls in Hawkins, definitely," Marsh chuckled, turning the keys into the ignition and driving off, "I think it's cool, though."

"You're the only one to tell me that so far," JJ told him.

"Really? Would've thought you've met some of us by now," Marsh replied.

"Us?" JJ asked.

"The Rainbow Club," Marsh said, "Most of us are metalheads. Half of them live on Maple Street, some of us on Cherry Lane, and well, some of us are scattered."

"What is it, like a secret club?" JJ chuckled.

Marsh shrugged. "Not really secret, just ... we're the group that Hawkins hates."

JJ nodded. "I see," she said back, "and why would they hate you so much?"

"Because we don't fit into their perfect image. We all come from broken homes, sob stories. We're not the vision that they have, so we just joined forces," Marsh told her.

JJ hummed. She thought for a moment. She wouldn't fit in with anyone else either. It was only her and her dad. But she didn't particularly have any sob story other than her mother passing away.

She looked up. They were already on Maple Street. That's faster than she had hoped. Maybe she was just walking super slow. But then again, it went like New York. This town really wasn't made for walking everywhere.

"It's the only yellow house in the block," she told Marsh.

Marsh nodded, looking for the house. He eventually saw it down the street, slowing down so that he could stop at the house. "Well, here we are," he said.

"Thanks for taking me home," JJ told him, "I don't think I would've survived in that cold any longer."

"It's no trouble."

JJ grabbed the cup of hot chocolate from the cup holder before opening the door to her out. She was about to close it, until,

"Hey."

She looked back at him, the door still open. "Yeah?"

He then pointed to his windshield. But that wasn't what he was really pointing at. He was trying to point to a house. "See that green house down the street?"

JJ nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"That's the Rossi household," Marsh told her, "the club meets there every Saturday, you should come. Bring your dad along, too, maybe."

JJ gave a small smile. "I'll think about it," she said back to him, "drive home safe, alright? I think the blizzard is comin' in."

Marsh nodded. "I will."