chapter 000 , part i
the first crack in the glass
november '83

                           "I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIM," Lucy Andrews ranted to her boyfriend, leaning against the locker next to his and ignoring Tommy and Carol altogether. "He keeps saying he's fine, but I know he's not. I mean, first Will, and now—" She lowered her voice to just above a whisper so Carol and Tommy couldn't hear, but they weren't paying attention anyways. "Now our parents. It's ridiculous! The kid's best friend is missing, and they don't have any remorse. How hard is it to put your stupid argument aside and ask your son if he's okay?"

     "No, yeah, I get it." Steve Harrington's brow furrowed. "Have you tried talking to them? You could tell 'em they're being douches. Would that help?"

     "Yeah," she scoffed, "let me just tell my mom and my dad, who are in the midst of a divorce, about how they're being inconsiderate to their son's feelings. I feel like that would go over really well."

     Steve raised his eyebrows and lifted his hands in defense. "Hey, I was j—"

     "I know," she said, immediately regretting her words, waving a hand and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be snappy. It's just—"

     "No, I know," Steve said. "I'm sorry you have to go through this, Luce. Your parents' problems shouldn't have to be yours, too."

"Thanks, Steve," she said, her face melting into a smile. She planted a kiss on his cheek. "I've got a chem test to go pass. I'll see you after school, right?"

"See you then," he agreed, waving goodbye as she headed off down the hallway.

"You guys are so gross," came Tommy's voice over Steve's shoulder. The latter turned around with a scrunched facial expression. "All PDA and shit."

Steve frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't you guys just get out of detention for doing it in Ms. Click's fifth period?"

Tommy and Carol exchanged a look. Carol twirled the ends of her hair around her finger. "I mean, yeah, but..." She broke into a fit of giggles. "Not like you and Lucy haven't been doing the same thing."

Steve scoffed, disgusted. "We would never. Lucy would never."

"Yeah, but you would," Tommy laughed. "Sorry she's so uptight that you don't get to feel the freedom of doin' it wherever you want."

     "Dude," Steve said, nowhere near amused, "don't say that about her. Don't do that."

     "Don't do what?" Carol scoffed. "Be right? C'mon, Steve, admit it."

     "No, Carol, I won't admit anything. Frankly, I think you both are being pretty harsh on her. She's had a rough week, okay, so could either of you not be assholes for a while? At least until her parents—"

He stopped himself, clearly on the verge of spilling something he shouldn't. Tommy and Carol caught it—they shared an unkind glance, a hint of a smirk tracing both their lips. Tommy cleared his throat. Carol shifted, pressing her tongue against her cheek challengingly.

     "What's up with her parents?" she asked lullingly, her voice heavy with mocking curiosity.

     Steve shook his head, lowering his eyes. "It's—it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, no, pretty boy," Tommy said, "you don't get off that easy. Just tell us, dude. We're her friends. We're worried about her, right?"

Carol nodded innocently. "Right."

Steve exhaled a conflicted sigh, rubbing his eyes. "It's just... they've been fighting a lot. Lots of talk of divorce. It's been really hard on Luce and her brother, okay? So she doesn't need you two making your little sex jokes."

Tommy wrapped an arm around Carol's shoulders, nodding in heavy agreement. "Right," he said, slowly and drawn-out. "Right, we'll lay it back on the sex talk. Don't worry, man."

"Thanks," Steve said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Means a lot."

Carol smiled vindictively. "Don't mention it."

chapter 000 , part ii
the breaking point
the following day

                         WHAT KIND OF MALICIOUS, COLD-HEARTED MONSTER would print out a newsletter that someone's parents were getting a divorce and photocopy it to spread the news around the entire school—and, just for good measure, hijack the morning announcements and relay the message over the loudspeakers, too, in case they missed the neon pink papers?

     The very malicious, cold-hearted monsters that Lucy had been friends with. Really, she knew Tommy H. and Carol could be assholes, but never in a million years would she expect them to stoop low enough to air her family problems out to the entire school.

     Clearly, she thought too highly of them.

     Her cheeks burned as she walked through the halls of Hawkins High. She kept her head low, but still could somehow feel the berating stares of her peers. The whispers carried from behind their palms and into her ears. Who knew the golden Andrews family with zero surface-level issues could suffer from the dark, thunderous cloud of divorce above their heads? Shocking. Absolutely groundbreaking.

     She knew it wasn't that big a deal, but between everyone in school's eyes glued on her, her friends spreading humiliating rumors, and the fact that her closest confidante had broken her trust—it was too much to handle. All she wanted to do was burst into tears and hide in the bathroom.

     But apparently that was too much to ask, because as she made her way to her locker, standing by her destination with a big, dumb smile on his face was the very guy whom had betrayed Lucy's confidence and begun this whole fiasco to begin with.

Before she even knew it, her fists made livid contact with his chest, pushing him backwards and away from the embrace he'd had his arms spread for. His face dropped, and she knew he understood exactly what she was upset about without her even having to say it.

"What is wrong with you?" Lucy demanded furiously, her face burning with both heated rage and embarrassment. "You don't get to hug me right now!"

Steve's eyes searched her face anxiously, pleading for any sign of remorse or even humor, like she was just playing a prank on him—like a really, really bad prank. "Luce, babe, I don't—"

"No! Don't.. don't do that." She cut him off sharply, her chest heaving with unwept tears. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't pretend to be confused. You—you just... I cannot believe you. I told you in confidence. How many times did I tell you to keep it between us? I just—God, I can't believe this, Steve!"

Some deep part of her, the more conscious and rational side to her reminded her they were still in school; still in the middle of the hallway; still under the watchful eyes of every peer surrounding them. Any other day, any other time, Lucy would have tried to move their argument to a more secluded part of the school, but she couldn't find it in her to care about anything more than the fight at hand. There was only one way for their altercation to end. She wanted to get it done and get it done fast.

Steve's gaze broke away from hers, eyes hitting the ground in what she knew was shame. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't—it was an accident, Luce, please—"

     "Now you're lying to me?" Lucy's voice rasped with emotion, and Steve couldn't tell whether it was betrayal, fear, sadness, or—the more plausible option—all of the above. Her bottom lip trembled. "You told Carol and Tommy about my parents, about their fighting. You gave them details. How could that be an accident? Tell me, Steve. Explain to me how that could possibly have been an accident."

She paused, waiting for his excuse, while he racked his brain for just that. "I—I didn't know I couldn't tell Carol and Tommy, babe. They're... they're your friends, right?"

"Carol called me a whore not even two days ago," she seethed, swallowing back the lump of tears in her throat. "Tommy made fun of Leo to my goddamn face. You know I'm not friends with either of them. Please, Steve, just..." Lucy shook her head, biting the inside of her cheeks, raising her eyes to the ceiling to try and prevent the tears from spilling over. "I thought I could trust you, Steve."

     "You can!" he exclaimed, his shoulders lifting in genuineness. "You can, Luce, you can trust me—"

     Lucy shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "No, I can't." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I... I just have one thing to ask you, and I want you to answer honestly."

     "Anything," he said, nodding earnestly. "Anything, Lucy. I'm—I'm just so sorry..."

     She ignored his apology and bit her lip. "Did you let them do it?"

His brow furrowed, jaw tightening. "Let them do.. what?"

Lucy drew in a deep breath. She met his eyes, her own glossy with tears. "I want to know if you stopped them while they talked about me. Because I know you, and I know them, and I know how they would have reacted when you told them. They're mean people, Steve. I know they—they talked trash about me, about my parents. About.. about my brother." Lucy's heart lurched as the realization hit her that not only was she the only one hurt in this situation, but her brother, too. Her chin quivered. "Did you let them shit on Leo? Right in front of you?"

     She knew what his answer was when he broke eye contact, his gaze lowering in guilt. Her stomach knotted. She scoffed sadly, her lips pursing in disappointment. "God. How could I ever—?"

     "No, Lucy, please—" He spoke over her, reaching out to cup her face in his hands, to show her how sorry he was—but she wasn't having it. She pushed him off. His eyes glossed over. "I love you, Luce..."

     The blonde shook her head, her lips lowering in a frown she just couldn't hold back. "Don't." She took a step back, the gap between them thick with tension. "Don't call me that. Don't say that. We're done, Steve. I can't date someone who I can't trust, and I won't date someone who—who doesn't even defend me to his own friends."

"Lucy..." Steve's voice broke. "Please, Lucy, I'm so—"

"Just save it," she said, her voice morose. "We're over. Go to hell, Harrington."

He took a hesitant step forward, but she held out a hand and stopped him in his tracks. Avoiding his gaze, she shook her head.

Steve dropped his head, exhaling a sigh. "Fine. If that's what you want. I'll just... see you around, Andrews."

Lucy began heading back down the hall, still facing Steve long enough to say, "I really hope not."