twist of fate.
CHAPTER ONE

' Hey, Cindy. It's your boyfriend. '

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     Cindy Newby hated early mornings.

It was far too early to be awake at such a time just for school and no matter how many times she had to do it, the chore didn't get any easier. Cindy had spent way too long getting ready, mostly wasting time in the shower as she hummed along to her favourite song and extensively moisturised her skin. It had taken her so long that her father had ended up offering her a lift to school so that she wouldn't be late. Cindy typically would walk to school herself as she lived not to far from the school, but on this day she decided to accept the offer.

The drive was quiet, neither of them really talking to one another. Cindy was pondering the day ahead as the radio played out, filling the silence. Bob began talking to Cindy who would occasionally nod her head so that he knew she was acknowledging him. He reminded her of what day it was, specifically what the evening would consist of. Cindy had almost forgotten that it was movie night at the Byers and she couldn't miss it. She had promised Bob that she would try and make an effort with Jonathan and Will by attending these movie nights. Cindy didn't want to disappoint him so she always agreed to come.

It wasn't that Cindy disliked the Byers family, because she actually really enjoyed their company, it was just that she always found it awkward. Bob had been dating Joyce for a few months and things were going great between them. Cindy had never seen her father so happy and she was glad he was finally moving on. Bob hadn't really dated anyone since Cindy's mother passed away when Cindy was only eight. They both took it really hard, but as time went on it got easier to deal with and Cindy was glad Bob was putting himself back out there. The only thing Cindy was not anticipating was becoming a sister.

     They Byers boys were both sweet, but Cindy found it a lot easier to connect with Will than she did with Jonathan. They both had similar interests and Cindy loved talking to will about comic books and Star Wars and she even tried to help him with his homework a few times. She quite liked being an older sister, especially to Will who was always so welcoming to her. He made her feel like she belonged in their family.

Jonathan, on the other hand, was a tougher cookie to crack — as her father put it. He was not a big fan of change and so when two strangers started to spend more and more time in his home, he didn't like it. Cindy had known Jonathan for years as they had been in some of the same classes at school, but the two were never close friends. It wasn't that Cindy purposely avoided him, it was just that she already had close friends and Jonathan was always on his own. She thought that maybe he liked it better that way. The two would talk occasionally and last year Jonathan and Cindy were lab partners, but then Will went missing and Jonathan was barely at school so Cindy didn't get a chance to talk to him.

Cindy wasn't the only one struggling to connect with the Byers boys. Bob was also finding it a challenge. He too found a connection with Will, but trying to get through to Jonathan was hard. Cindy didn't want to force him to like her, but if their parents were going to continue to see each other, liking each other would make things a lot less awkward. Cindy was trying her best, but with everything that the Byers family had been through, she understood that they may need more time to process such a big change in life. Cindy could relate to that.

Bob ended up dropping Cindy off just before the bell for first period rang out. She thanked him for taking her before reassuring him that she would be at the Byers house for movie night which made him smile. He could see how much Cindy was trying and it really made him happy which is all that Cindy wanted.

As Cindy walked into the school office she noticed a brunette girl sat on one of the chairs against the wall. A bright smile immediately formed on the girl's face as she looked up at Cindy.    

"What are you doing in here?" Cindy asked as she walked over to her best friend, Natalie. The brunette had the sweetest smile on her face which she wore almost every second of the day. She was by far the happiest person Cindy had ever met and just being in her presence made the day better. Natalie was the first person to introduce herself to Cindy when they were in kindergarten and the two had been close ever since.

"I'm waiting for the new kid," Natalie replied in her signature cheery voice. It was way too early for someone to be that happy. Cindy was barely even awake yet. "I'm supposed to be giving him a tour of the school," Natalie elaborated.

"Sounds fun," Cindy replied, pretending to be excited. Natalie let out a small laugh at her friends response. She knew it wasn't something Cindy would ever do, but Natalie was always volunteering for things around the school, like giving the new kids welcome tours. She thought it would look on her college application so she always took part in extra activities around the school. A lot of the kids made fun of her for it — deeming her the teacher's pet — but Natalie ignored the chatter. She was proud of her accomplishments and the opinions of dumb high school kids didn't faze her in the slightest.

"I'll catch you later," Cindy said before leaving Natalie to wait for the new kid.

The hallway was still filled with students as class hadn't quite started yet. Everyone was chatting to one another, presumably about what they did over the weekend, classes they were dreading and homework they hadn't done. Cindy hugged her books tight as she made her way towards her locker. Her first class was Maths and she absolutely dreaded it.

Cindy was a great student. She maintained As across the board, but that was because she studied like crazy. Every second she had free was a second that could be used to study and she didn't waste it. Cindy had been keeping her perfect A in Maths, but she wasn't exactly a Maths whizz so the class always seemed to drag on forever. And that's exactly what it did on this particular day. Cindy was so happy once the bell rang out signalling that the period was over.

Cindy walked out of the classroom and immediately felt a hand grab her and pull her to the side. She tensed up but soon relaxed as she saw Matthew's familiar face. Matthew was also one of Cindy's best friends but she hadn't met him until his family moved to Hawkins almost three years ago. The two of them immediately hit it off and he was the perfect addition to Cindy and Natalie's duo. None of the three were in the same Math class that morning so he had waited outside of Cindy's classroom to walk with her to next period.

"Did you do the Science homework?" Matthew asked as the two friends walked down the hall and towards their lockers. Cindy turned to him with confusion on her face.

"That's the first thing you say?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. "No, hello? Or, how are you? How has your morning been? Did you sleep alright?"

Matthew looked down at the girl. He pursed his lips to avoid smiling at her outburst. "Well, did you?" Matthew asked, raising his eyebrow back at her. Cindy opened her mouth to continue her outburst, but stopped. She quickly calmed herself before continuing.

"Yes, of course I did," Cindy replied making Matthew laugh. "When have I ever not done the Science homework?" It was true. Matthew couldn't ever remember a time he had asked Cindy that question and she had given him a negative answer. He should've stopped asking her by now, but the thing was, Matthew hadn't done it and was hoping he could copy her answers. Some days he hoped by some miracle Cindy would have forgotten and then at least if he was going to go down for it, they'd be going down together.

"Point taken," Matthew replied before looking at Cindy with his big brown eyes. Cindy smiled as she rolled her eyes and pulled out her homework sheet that was tucked inside of her book and handed it to him. The biggest smile grew on Matthew's face as he took the paper from her. "Cindy Newby, you are an angel," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. The two teens laughed with each other as they reached Cindy's locker.

"What's so funny?" a sweet voice from behind the pair said. They turned back to see Natalie approaching them.

"I was just asking if Cindy had done the Science homework," Matthew told her as he held up the sheet that had all the answers on it. He quickly pulled out his own book and began copying over the answers, changing some of them slightly so that he wouldn't get caught out by their teacher.

"Of course she has, it's Cindy we're talking about," Natalie shrugged, unsure why he would've wasted his breath asking that question.

"Once again, point taken," Matthew said as he continued jotting down the answers before handing the page back to Cindy. Cindy opened her locker and began putting some of her books away.

"Oh, how did it go with the new kid?" Cindy asked once she was finished, closing her locker and turning back to face the brunette. The smile immediately dropped from Natalie's face.

"Horrible," she answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's a new kid?" Matthew asked, suddenly intrigued with the conversation.

"Yeah, his names Billy Hargrove. He's a total ass," Natalie said, annoyance laced in her tone. "I recommend avoiding him at all costs," she warned.

Cindy pretend to write it down in her notebook. "Noted," she replied as the three teens began walking down the hallway to their next class. As they got closer to the end of the hallway they all heard a shriek coming from a few lockers down. All three of them jumped as they scanned the hallway to locate where the noise had just come from. Cindy's face dropped as she watched Steve Harrington lift Nancy Wheeler into the air before putting her back down and pulling her into a flurry of kisses. Cindy also noticed Jonathan just awkwardly stood there, watching the interaction.

"Oh, God," Matthew said, looking at the couple with disgust on his face. His expression soon changed as a thought popped into his head. "Hey, Cindy. It's your boyfriend." Matthew snickered to himself as Cindy playfully smacked him on the arm.

"Shut up," Cindy whispered as her eyes darted around to see if anyone had heard his comment. It was no secret to Matthew and Natalie that Cindy had a crush on Steve Harrington and she had done since the second grade. She had managed to avoid social interactions with him as to not embarrass herself, but now that she was his tutor it made it a little more difficult.

"That's not funny, Matty!" Cindy pouted as all three of them continued to watch the interaction.

"Come on, it was a little bit funny," Matthew said, holding up two of his fingers to demonstrate the measurement. Cindy just glared at him and lightly elbowed his side which just made him laugh even more. "Nat, back me up here."

Natalie eyed up the two teens beside her. "I'm staying out of this," she told them, shaking her head as she looked away from them. Her eyes fell onto Jonathan who was just stood there before walking away from the steamy couple. They could all tell that he liked Nancy, that much was obvious.

Cindy shot Jonathan a smile as he walked past, giving him a small wave at the same time. Jonathan halfheartedly returned the smile, but kept walking towards his next class. The bell then rang again, signalling the start of the next period for the students of Hawkins high school. Cindy, Matthew and Natalie continued walking when suddenly Matthew decided to speak — or more appropriately — yell out to his fellow students.

"Get a room!" he called out to the teens who had just been all over each other a few seconds ago. Cindy's eyes widened as she saw Steve look over in their direction. The blonde grabbed Matthew by the arm and pushed him down the opposite hallway just before Steve could see them. Matthew and Natalie were hysterically laughing as Cindy hurried them along to class.

"I am never letting you copy my homework again," she told the boy, her serious tone faltering at the end of her statement as she allowed for some laughter to slip through.

...

The day seemed to be going quite quickly as the bell rang out once again to signal it was time for lunch. Cindy entered the cafeteria where it seemed most of the students were hanging out. It was really loud and Cindy contemplated turning around and finding somewhere else to sit, but she stopped as she saw two familiar faces sat at a table in the centre of the room. Cindy smiled to herself at seeing Natalie and Matthew sat beside each other, laughing over something trivial. Natalie noticed Cindy walking towards them and instantly smiled, waving her hand for Cindy to go over to them, which she did.

"There she is!" Natalie cheered as Cindy took a seat opposite the two teens.

"Ay! How has your day been?" Matthew asked as he stuffed food into his mouth, making Natalie roll her eyes at him.

"Uh, fine I guess," Cindy shrugged, playing with her own food. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry and the pitiful plate of food being offered by the school cafeteria didn't exactly entice her appetite.

"Well, it's about to get a whole lot better," Matthew said, his mouth still slightly full of food. He reached beside him before pulling out a small orange flyer. He slid it across the table towards Cindy who furrowed her brows. She stared down at the luminous orange piece of paper, her eyes reading the bold black text.

"What's this?" Cindy asked, letting out a breathy laugh as she looked up to see Natalie and Matthew staring at her with excitement on their faces.

"It's a party!" Natalie exclaimed. "Tina's throwing a Halloween party and everyone's invited, so you have to come."

"I don't know," Cindy sighed. She wasn't really feeling up for a party and she never really was. Cindy wasn't a fan of parties. She'd much rather just spend the night at home watching movies and studying.

"Matty is coming over to mine to get ready before, so you can too," Natalie kept talking. It didn't sound like Cindy was going to be able to wiggle her way out of this party.

"Come on, Cindy doll," Matthew encouraged. "It'll be fun."

Cindy smiled at how badly they wanted her to come. "I don't even have a costume," she told them as she looked back at the flyer to see that it said it was a fancy dress party.

"I'm sure we can find you something," Natalie shrugged, her eyes hopeful. "We could go into town after school and pick something out."

"I can't," Cindy replied. "I have tutoring after school and then it's movie night at the Byers tonight and I can't be late." She knew a quick trip into town with Natalie would not just be a quick trip and she'd end up having to sleep over because of how late it would get.

"Can't you just bail on the movie? I swear you do it like every week. It wouldn't hurt to just miss one," Natalie pleaded, but Cindy still couldn't agree to go.

"I promised my dad," Cindy told her. "But I'll talk to him tonight and maybe I'll go to the party tomorrow," she added hoping that would make up for it which seemed to do the trick as both Natalie and Matthew smiled.

After lunch, Cindy went back to class and managed to drag herself through the rest of the day. She felt unusually tired and was kind of wishing she could just go home and maybe take a nap, but instead Cindy had to make her way to the library for tutoring. She had signed up as a volunteer a while ago, but no one ever asked for help so Cindy never had to do anything. However, this year was different and suddenly Cindy had to fulfil her commitment and meet with the student who asked to be tutored. Never in a million years did Cindy expect to see Steve Harrington in that library, but there he was every session like clockwork.

Except for today.

When Cindy walked into the library she headed straight for the table that the two always sat at. Not many people stayed behind after school so it was rare that their spot was ever taken. Typically Cindy would get there first and then Steve would show up a few minutes later, however he didn't today. Almost half an hour had gone by and Steve hadn't shown his face in the library yet. Every time the door opened, Cindy's eyes would dart across the room only to be disappointed. She was starting worry if he had forgotten, but she tried to keep herself busy with homework she had received that day while she waited.

Finally, the door opened again and Cindy smiled as Steve walked in and sat down across from her. He looked out of breath as he scrambled around in his bag and pulled out his folder.

     "Hey," Cindy said, smiling at the boy as she placed her pencil down and focused her attention on him.

"I am so sorry I'm late," Steve said, pushing his hand through his hair. Cindy was mesmerised by his actions that she almost forgot to speak.

"Oh, right, yeah, it's no big deal. You're here now, so..." Cindy stared at him, waiting for him to discuss what he needed help with this week. They didn't have a particular procedure for these sessions, instead Steve would just ask for advice with whatever it was that he needed help with on that particular day.

Steve realised why she paused and quickly reached into his folder, pulling out a few pages of lined paper. "My college essay," he said as he handed the pages over to her. Cindy took them and briefly glanced over them. "The deadline for early submission is soon and well," he said, pointing to the essay, "this is a mess." He looked upset as he said this which made Cindy frown.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Cindy said, trying to reassure him, but he just shrugged. Cindy noticed he kept glancing up at the clock constantly. "Do you mind if I make notes on it?"

"No, go ahead," he said, shaking his head. He was distracted and Cindy noticed it. She also noticed the fact that someone else had already made a few notes on the first page of the essay.

"Did someone else already read this?" Cindy questioned, pointing at the faint pencil lines circling different sections.

Steve nodded. "Nancy took a quick look at it this morning, but..." he trailed off. Cindy didn't push it any further. She began to read the first paragraph, but she couldn't help notice Steve's movements. He kept shifting in his seat as his eyes darted from the window, to the clock and then back on Cindy. It was distracting.

"If you have somewhere you need to be I can just take this home and read it and then give it back to you next time," Cindy offered. Steve's eyes widened at the suggestion.

"Do you mind?" he asked. "It's just that I have this dinner thing with Nancy tonight and she'll kill me if I don't go." Cindy forced a smile onto her face at the fact that he wanted to leave just to be with Nancy.

"No, I don't mind," Cindy lied. "I totally understand. It's movie night tonight so I've gotta get home too," she said, letting out a breathy laugh.

"Thank you," Steve said as he grabbed his stuff. "I owe you big time."

Cindy smiled at his sincerity. Steve threw his stuff back into his bag and began to stand up from his seat. She didn't know why, but the thought of Tina's party suddenly slipped into Cindy's mind which made her wonder if Steve was going.

"Hey, Steve," Cindy blurted out and she immediately wished she hadn't. She looked up to see Steve looking straight at her, waiting for her to speak. "I, uh— Are you going to Tina's party tomorrow?" she stuttered.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Tina's party," Cindy repeated. "I was just wondering if you were going. My friends want me to go, but I don't know..."

Steve thought about it for a moment. "Uhh, maybe," he replied, slowly nodding. "But, yeah, you should go. It'll be fun. And you deserve some fun."

The comment from Steve made Cindy smile. She knew she worked too hard and so did Steve. He watched her intently every study session as she worked nonstop to complete her assignments. At first he thought it was impressive how dedicated she was to her schoolwork, but the longer he spent with her, the more he saw how hard she was struggling to keep up with all of it. He really appreciated the time she took to help him out and he wished there was a way he could help her out too.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cindy," Steve finally said as he walked away and left through the library doors.

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AUTHORS NOTE
don't forget to vote & comment !
i really hope you liked the first chapter :)
i'm so excited to write this fic and i hope you all enjoy it <33

this chapter was originally way longer but I've decided to split it into two chapters so it's not so much at once. that should hopefully be up soon as well!!

also, idk if anyone noticed but Matthew was originally called Eddie when i first published this, but now that s4 is out and it has an Eddie in it i decided to change it so it's no confusing. hope that makes sense.